Compassion

 "Compassion is not a bending toward the underprivileged from a privileged position; it is not reaching out from on high to those who are less fortunate below; it is not a gesture of sympathy or pity for those who fail to make it in the upward pull. On the contrary compassion means going directly to those people and places where suffering is most acute and building a home there."

Check out this link to a speech by Katie Davis...totally awesome and inspiring.  I have to remember that we have the hurting, poor, and need right here on our doorstep too.  We just need to look, listen to the Lord's voice, and obey His call.

Hawkeye Baby

 I've been loving Craigslist lately, trying to find good baby deals so we don't go back into debt buying baby things. :)  A lady from Colorado posted this ridiculously awesome lot of hawkeye clothes, and we snatched it right up (size 3 months - 2T!).  SO, here's our Hawkeye baby!

Can he be any cuter?!

Will with all his Hawkeye goodness.

Sporty baby!  Hard to wear all these clothes living in State country though...

Isn't this hat awesome?!

"Mom, is all this posing really necessary?!"

Seriously: Why IS there SO MUCH LAUNDRY!?

I guess a blog is about documenting your daily life, so I've decided to fully embrace the new roles in my life and just go for it!  Some day I know I'll look back at these posts with fondness, remembering some "in the trenches" moments.  :)  

Now, from this and my last post, those of you with a keen eye for detail may be able to sense a theme in my life.  Inquisitive minds want to know: Nicole, why do you have so much laundry?  

Reason 1: Chris

(The plane has nothing to do with this post, I just like this picture!  Note the ridiculously huge remote control hanging from his neck...that's my man!)

Yes, I am married.  Have been for 7 years, so this first reason shouldn't surprise me.  I guess I have a lot to be thankful for actually, because compared to his brother MATT FARLEY (love you brother!) Chris produces very little dirty laundry!  :)

Bigger Reason 2: Will

SERIOUSLY, could this boy get any cuter?!

Who knew such a little guy could make so much dirty laundry?!  Case in point: note the slobber beginning to creep down his shirt...washing machine here we come!

BIGGEST Reason 3: CLOTH DIAPERS

Ah yes, the REAL culprit.  I am LOVING using cloth diapers, but I wasn't quite prepared for how many loads of laundry would be added to my life!  Wouldn't change it though, I'm a serious fan.  (more to come on that later!)

What Happens to Our Laundry When We Die?

 Since Will has been born I've been really surprised at how little time I have to get things done.  The first month I didn't want to lay him down while he was sleeping, so I blame that month on myself.  Now though?  Where does the time go?  When will I start getting everything done again?!  (moms: cue laughter!)

Obviously that last question is a big joke.  I've been caught up in the "rat race" mindset lately, where I get to the end of a day and realize that I've just spent the whole day rushing rushing rushing to get...wait, what did I get done?  I obviously get things done, but many of the things that happen in my day have little or no eternal value.  I mean, let's be honest.  It's nice to have a clean house and good smelling laundry, but I'm pretty sure my perfectly ironed pants will not be accompanying me when I approach those pearly white gates!

After my grandma died I remember finding a journal that she had kept of what she did each day.  Her days were FILLED with "un-eternal" things - laundry, cleaning, food preparation, gardening.  What's so interesting, though, is that grandma impacted so many lives in the midst of her "unimportant" tasks.  Stuck between two loads of laundry and making lunch for grandpa, she'd "visit with Verla" or "take supper over to Sam" or "call Brad" or "send a birthday card to Tommy".  She didn't let the to-do list sitting right in front of her distract her from people. 

My biggest fear is that I'll get to the end of my life and wonder if it was well-lived.  God is working on that fear (1 John 4:18 - ...perfect love drives out fear...), and I think He's doing that through this time in life.  Because the most pressing items on my to do list is to snuggle my baby and make supper, I am able to focus on people more.  I'm obviously still working through this, but it's a start!

Just a little push...

I'm definitely a seasonal person. I absolutely NEED a change of pace, an ebb and flow, an altering of "normal".  Being a music teacher,therefore, is perfect for me.  We have concert seasons, show choir seasons, semester, quarters, grading madness, and the best of all - summer!

I'm naming my last personal season "Blog? What Blog?".  The onset of this "season" happened for a variety of reasons...Will was born, summer happened, I entered a new stage of life, and we got a new camera/new phones/new computer storage so our picture systems were totally messed up.  I also would blog about events in the past, but big events are less possible with small kids.  Hmm....the universe was conspiring against this blog!

I ran into my friend Rachel Greene today at the grocery store (hollah Rachel!), and she said something about my blog absence.  And, that's all it took!  I spent the drive home thinking of million posts I could write.  New format?  Everyday life.

Every Day Life: Aldi

In honor of Rachel's nudge back into the blogging world, I thought I'd write about a place that I often frequent (and where we ran into each other): Aldi.  I SERIOUSLY love Aldi.  We've been going there since we were dirt-poor during my second grade year.  We were always really low on moola throughout my childhood, but when my dad decided to go back to grad school, cash flow dropped to an all-time low.  Enter Aldi (and food stamps, but we'll save that for another post).

Since we just grew up going there, I never had the hesitation that a lot of my friends feel.  Admittedly, some Aldi stores can be a bit sketchy.  But it is SO CHEAP!  I got a full cart load of predominantly fresh produce today, and the grand total?  $84.  Would have been pushing $140 at Fareway or Hy-Vee, EASILY.

And so, Aldi has become a part of my bi-weekly life.  Every other Friday Will and I head off to cheap, nameless brand, park-your-own-cart and bag-your-own-food world of Aldi.  We've kind of gotten it down to a science.  And anything we can't get there, Chris picks up on his way home from Hy-Vee that night!

I'm not saying anyone should change their mind about Aldi.  If it feels too sketchy and you don't like to pay a quarter for your cart, that's just fine.  Me?  I'm an Aldi girl all the way. :)

What's the Buzz...

I had a friend from high school that would always sing "What's the buzz, tell me what's happening" from Jesus Christ Superstar.  So as a call out to Katie Baedke, here's "the buzz" from the Farley household.

I'm totally enjoying time home with Will this summer.  I try to plan an outing at least every other day, and then have a small to-do list on the days that we stay home.  It's been a little harder to want to leave the house with the extreme heat lately, but if I stay at home for too long I go pretty stir-crazy!  We've been going on lots of walks, been rollerblading/biking with dad, meeting up with friends in Ames and at different parks, and we even went grocery shopping without any help from dad one day!  (It's the little things that are suddenly so exciting!)  Just when I think we're getting into a routine though, something crazy happens with Will's body and everything is thrown out of whack.  He had a long two-week growth spurt where he acted almost collicky every day.  Then as soon as that was done, he started sleeping through the night (yippee!), which has seemed to change his eating needs during the day.  All that to say, I'm realizing that our routine may change from day to day, and I just need to be okay with that!

Let's see, what else?

- We put our Webster City house on the market again, and are PRAYING WITH FAITH for God to sell it in the next three months.  I've been doing a lot of thinking about Jesus' statement that if we ask for anything to the glory of God, He will give it to us.  Also praying that God will grow my faith and wipe out the fear that so often comes with asking for something from the Lord.

- We've had some really fun visitors - my best friend Katie Suddarth and her husband Eli came for an awesome visit, and then our friend Dave Wiebe from Kansas stopped through to meet Will.  We love visitors!

- We've gotten to go boating twice with Will, and it feels almost empowering.  It's been great to figure out ways to do the "normal" life activities with a baby...life isn't over as we know it, just a little different!

- Chris and I are re-doing our budget and praying about how God wants us to live life from this (debt-free!) point onward.

- As of June 18th, we've been married for 7 years!!!   How the time has flown...

- We're praying about finding a place overseas that we can invest in over an extended period of time...go there twice a year, raise money for that specific place, line up other volunteers, etc.

- I've been so thankful to be living with my parents lately!  It's always been great, but it feels like this home has morphed into something awesome since Will was born - just so supportive and loving, it's so fun.

- I'll say it again in case you missed it the first time - Will is sleeping THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!!

- I've started talking with the full-time choir director up at Webster City, and we're organizing the room/storage areas and starting to form a vision for what next year is going to look like.  I'm pretty excited, but am starting to feel sad about not being home with Will full-time!  I think it's going to be a lot harder than I expected to even be gone just two days a week.

- I'm working to catch up on my bible/book reading, since I have totally slacked since March.  The end of school and then Will being born took me out for a good three months!  Gotta get back on it if I'm going to reach those goals!

- We have decided to change our foster care status to "respite only" until we move out of my parent's house.  We've been doing more respite lately, and it feels really fun to stay involved even when we can't take long-term placements because of emotional and physical capacities.

- I've kind of "resigned" myself to being back in the states indefinitely, since it's been very clear that God brought us back here to learn some things.  It feels good to have come to that point emotionally (not longing to be back in India or somewhere overseas), because I'm now becoming focused on intentionally living well here in America, whereas before I felt like I was in a sort of holding pattern until we could move again. 

- Chris is thinking about going to a "Power and Love" conference that our cousin Jason went to.  It's basically about allowing the power of the Holy Spirit to work through you, and sounds really neat.

- We're working to find new and exciting things to do here in Iowa.  I'm realizing that even though I've lived in this area for basically my whole life, there's a lot of things that I've never done or seen!  Anyone have something we should check out in central Iowa?

- We went to the fireworks at the capital last night with some family/friends...totally sweet!

And there's "the buzz" from the Farleys!  Happy 4th, and stay cool!

Loving Me Some Shutterfly

I just want to say that I. LOVE. SHUTTERFLY.  Why, you say!?  Let me tell you!

1. It's simple.  I don't have to have a scrapbooking station that takes up a whole corner of a room!  I also don't have tons of paper scraps and stickers lying around everywhere...

2. It's reproducible.  I made a scrapbook of the trip that my dad and I took to Chile to visit Matthew, and was able to order a smaller version for him for Father's Day.  It would have taken HOURS to make another scrapbook for him the old way.

3. It's cheap.  When I scrapbooked the old way, each scrapbook probably cost between $300-$400 by the time I was finished.  These books cost between $50-$75 each depending on how patient and resourceful you can be with coupon codes. :)

4. It looks good.  I especially love how big the pictures can be.  The old way, I used to get all 4 x 6 pictures...and in a current book I'm working on, I've got a full 24 x 12 spread!  It's pretty sweet.

5. It's small.  Each book is about 1/2" thick and extremely light.  The old way, each book was 3-4" thick, and was HEAVY!

6. It's stored.  If there's a fire and our new books get burned, I'll just order new ones.  If there's a fire and the old books get burned, I lose tons of work and memories.

7. It's multi-taskable (is that a word?!).  You can work on multiple projects at the same time.  I'm currently working on a "Will, Year 1" book, a "Ladakh" book, 2 "India" books, a June 2011-December 2011" book, and a "2012" book.  That would have taken up an entire room the old way, jeez!

Just thought I'd tell the world...I'm Lovin' Me Some Shutterfly!

Happy 7 Years Baby!

I can hardly believe it, but I've been married to the love of my life for 7 years!  We didn't have a huge celebration this year...except that we left Will with mom and dad, so we had time to ourselves, and I guess that felt huge!

Chris got off work early and we got a couple's massage (Chris' idea and TOTALLY awesome!), then went out to eat at Olive Garden in Ankeny.  During supper we had a really great conversation inspired by the marriage study we're going through with our small group.  We asked/discussed these questions...

1) What are you concerned about?
2) What do you desire?
3) What are you willing to do about it?
4) List 7 inexpensive, simple things that the other person can do to make you feel loved.

The questions were so open-ended that it really encouraged great conversation.  I feel like I learned a lot about Chris' heart for where our lives are right now and where he wants to lead us.  He thinks deeply and has lots of dreams, but (unlike me who just says everything that's on my mind!) is so introspective that sometimes I don't know what he's been thinking unless I specifically ask.  Before Will was born we seemed to have more time to have those conversations, but since he's been born it's been much harder to find that time.  

And so, with a simple supper and a great conversation, we celebrated 7 years of marriage.  We've had lots of adventures, lots of change, lots of relationships, and lots of growth in those years...and I can't wait to see what the next 7 bring! 

Love you babe!

Memorial Day Family Reunion

Since my parents have built their dream house, they've been really faithful to fill up the rooms as much as they can.  One of those ways has been hosting family events, since they have a space big enough to accommodate a large number of people.  For Memorial Day weekend, mom invited everyone to come celebrate a bunch of things in one fun-filled weekend :)

Uncle Matthew met Will for the first time!

Papa made his famous whole-wheat waffles. :)

We had a really neat memorial service for Nana...

...and planted a tree in her honor.

A celebration isn't complete without a cake from the Quality bakery!

Snuggle time meeting Uncle Doug!

Olivia was such a good helper with Will!

"Uncle" Matthew doing his thing with the kiddos.

Just love this picture!

We had a birthday celebration for Papa...89 years old!

The kids all took turns holding Will :)

Papa with all the "May-babies" (3 were born on May1st, 2 were born on may 3rd!)

Can't have a trip to Story City without having a ride on the carousel!

LOTS of this over the weekend...hanging out and visiting.

We hung out all weekend!

Snuggle time while meeting Uncle Doug

Papa's other specialty - rides on the lawn mower!

They threw us a baby shower...so fun!

Our prediction for when the next baby will show up. :)

Hmm....not sure that one fits right...

Buddies

Weirdo :)

Off they go!

Don't tip over!

Master Griller!

Slip 'n' Slide,,,

And some serious water-game competitions

The whole crew!

It was a GREAT weekend, filled with laughter, noise, chaos, conversation, and great memories.  We missed the California Ouimettes, but otherwise this was the largest family reunion we've had in years!  We love family. :)

A Week of Blessings

Every week is filled with untold (and sometimes unrealized!) blessings. We get to experience life and love -we get to have deep conversations and laugh hard with friends - we get to eat hamburgers off the grill and taste homemade ice cream.  :)  Sometimes we forget to see the blessings.  And sometimes God makes the blessing impossible to miss!

This week was one of those times.  :)

Huge Blessing #1: My new job! (check out my last post for more details)  This one blessing will impact our schedule, our money, my talents, and my dreams.  It's like God custom-designed this blessing for our lives!

Huge Blessing #2: My sister's new job!  Amy and Matt have been living with us for 3 weeks, and during that time Amy had 3 job interviews and was offered 2 of them! (kind of unheard of in the Cedar Rapids area...especially when she didn't really have any prior connection to the schools!)  She actually originally wanted the only one she didn't get offered, but once again God knew better, and the one she ended up accepting is a MUCH better fit, and will bless their family immensely!

Huge Blessing #3: We paid off our debt!  We've been chipping away at our debt since we got married, but because of life circumstances, the progress always felt pretty slow.  India set us back quite a bit, but also pushed our butts into gear as we experienced what it was like to have choices taken away from us because of money.  When we got back we started being really intentional about using our money frugally, but when we started thinking about having a baby, we realized that I wouldn't be able to stay home if we didn't get this debt paid off!  And frankly, we had had enough of our choices being made for us. :)  So we packed our apartment up, moved into my parent's basement, and spent as little money as possible for 14 months.  Two cars and 4 student loan chunks later, we are officially debt free!  We still have our house, and are planning to put that on the market in the next couple of weeks.  Hopefully in the next year we can sell our house and get a down-payment saved up while we're still living with my parents.  WAHOO!

This debt thing has been interesting, because we could have gotten it paid off a lot sooner if we'd made the "tough" choices then.  However, I was thinking about what we've done, where we've lived, the experiences we've had, and I wouldn't trade any of them.  So, I feel like I can rest in the knowledge that things are just as they should be!

God Knows

These last couple of weeks have been a reflection time for me as I've waved good-bye to many things (sleep, control over my schedule, to-do lists, my profession) and said hello to their replacements (exhaustion, sweet cuddle time, a focus on important vs. urgent, the new job of motherhood).  Even writing this blog post is different - I'm pecking it out one-handed at 4:00 AM while nursing, and will definitely need multiple sessions to get it finished. :)  

It was really hard for me to process the fact that I wouldn't be in the teaching world for a while.  I LOVE teaching, and felt a little like I was losing one of my ministries, not just a job.  It took awhile but I eventually allowed God to pry away my controlling little fingers and rest in His provision for our lives.  And just when I did...

Like God so often does...

He turned things upside down... :)

Webster City contacted me before Will was born to let me know that my old high school choir position was going to be available if I was interested in applying.  I told them that I really wasn't interested, unless there was a possibility of something part-time (which was a joke, since the full-time job was completely overwhelming...no way it could be turned into part-time!).  HOWEVER, the principal called me last Wednesday to tell me that they wanted to turn the job into 1 1/2 time, and since I wasn't looking for anything full-time, they wondered if I'd be interested in the part-time job.  And oh yeah...I could pick what I did, how many hours I worked, what days I came in...and salary was negotiable!

We decided to at least check it out, and after they approved every single one of our requests - we accepted!  I'll be working 2 flexible days a week, and will basically just be supporting the full-time choir director: running sectionals, accompanying, giving lessons, helping with administrative things.  :)  VERY few outside of the day commitments...my mommy dream job! 

It was amazing how God waited until I had surrendered, and then gave me what I didn't even dream was possible.  Part-time teaching jobs don't come around very often...part-time teaching jobs with everything you could dream up?  Only when God decides to drop them in your lap.  :)

What I've Learned...

I feel like these last four weeks (has it really been that long?!) have been a sweet crash course.  Here are some if the things I've learned...

1. My husband is an awesome dad.

2. They don't call it the "Ring of Fire" for no reason.

3. I can leak out of every hole in my body...simultaneously.

4. Will can explode out of every hole in his body...ALSO simultaneously!

5. I feel an unbelievable amount of happiness 

when my son passes gas.

6. It's entirely possible to stare at the same beautiful 

face for an entire afternoon.

7. Almost anything can be done with one hand. 

8. I am NOT the boss!

9. 3 diapers in 3 minutes = normal.

10. My whole life is changed. 

11.  Grandparents are totally awesome.

12. No matter how much you fight it, exhaustion will eventually turn you into an irrational crazy person.

13. People are extremely generous...especially when they get to buy cute baby clothes!

14. Sometimes a mother's intuition beats the baby books.

15. There's nothing better than a good long snuggle.

And here's a picture to make your day a little happier. :)

Sweet Baby...

School Showers

Roland-Story is a really special place.  There aren't very many young teachers here, so it's been a while since there's been a pregnancy/birth to celebrate.  I didn't get many pictures taken, but let me just say - I felt SO loved!

The elementary shower was before he was born.  We got so many cute things...and then to top it all off, a bunch of the teachers went together and bought the rocking chair we registered for!  It was a total surprise, and so exciting.

The middle school shower was after he was born, and was more of a "come and go" day.  Will and I hung out for a few hours at school and teachers stopped in when they could.  Needless to say, Will got lots and lots of snuggles!  Again, so many cute things!

 And last, I brought Will in to the last day of school, and one of the teachers had organized for the students to bring money if they wanted to for a present for Will.  They gave Will over $200!  His college fund has been started by the elementary students of Roland-Story!

We are so blessed!

The Last 2 Weeks

 We have been having a BLAST at the Farley residence over the last few weeks!  Now, just so no one gets the wrong impression, let me clarify a few things.  We are exhausted.  There have been some very overwhelmed moments.  Until recently I was convinced I would never walk regularly again. :)  BUT, we're finding a rhythm, and truly loving every second of it!

Here are some of the things that we (mostly Will!) has been up to!

Meeting Aunty Cindy!

Measuring up to cousin Blake...

Snuggling with NanaVon...

Getting dressed up and looking ridiculous..

Being very happy...

And not so happy. :)

Turning one week old...

Having our first bath....

Taking some fun pics...

Having a first Mother's Day celebration...

Snuggling with Uncle Matt...

Getting some "Sweet William" flowers....

Having a baby shower at the Middle School...

Meeting some of mom's teacher friends...

Sucking some snot... :)

Snuggling with Daddy...

Hanging with Mr. Sleep Sheep...

Getting gas relief from Grandma...

Sleeping with papa (great-grandpa!)...

Spending LOTS of time with mommy!

These last 2 weeks really have been amazing.  I already feel sad that I haven't taken more pictures...there are so many things to remember!  We've had lots of dinners brought over to us, accompanied by Will snuggles and great time with great friends.  We are so very thankful for this new adventure we're on!