Family Fun Day

Friday Matt and I decided to take the day off to hang out as a family. Also, it was our 4th wedding anniversary on Thursday the 24th and we always do something for that special day. Parker had his 4 month checkup that morning and then for lunch we treated ourselves to Mama's Pizza. It was yummy! After that we decided to take a tour of the Cowboy Stadium. Parker was a real trooper considering it took 2 hours and it was time for his nap. Let me just say Jerry's World is huge!!! We had so much fun spending the day together!

The cost of snacks!! Crazy!

My two favorite boys...Witten and Romo's lockers

Matt's favorite players!

The locker room!

The Miller Light Club where they run on the field at the beginning of the game

Matt telling Parker all about the Cowboys!

The Cotton Bowl Administrative Offices

The wallpaper in the hallways were made out of football textured fabric with actual playbook formations from the Cotton Bowl games.

Behind the seating area

The Huge Screen....it really is bigger than our house!!! 2500 sq. ft. and 7 stories high!

4 Months Old!

This week our sweet baby boy turned 4 months old!! People keep telling me how fast time will go by and they are so right! Matt and I took the day off today to take Parker to his 4 month checkup and to spend the day as a family. He did great at his doctors appointment. Poor little guy did cry a little bit when they gave him those awful shots. Parker now weighs 17.1 lbs (75%) and is 26 1/4 inches long (90%). He gave us the OK to start rice cereal if we thought Parker was ready for it. I will blog about his first eating experience when we decide to start the cereal. Parker is doing a lot of fun things now. He is grabbing toys and putting them in his mouth, smiles and laughs all the time, and is a very good sleeper!! He still loves his exercises we do for alternative tummy time. He loves to sit up in your lap and he also likes to stand while we hold him up. We are going to start the Jumper on the doorway this week so that he can start to use his legs more. Parker has found his voice and is getting louder as he squeals and laughs. He loves to just blabber on and on when you are talking to him. I swear sometimes I hear the word "Hi" and "Mam"...he has no idea he is saying it but it's fun for me to think he knows ;)

Having fun at Dr. Meyer's office looking in the mirror

I am a big boy!

Marriage Conference

Matt and I attended a marriage conference at Pantego Bible Church this weekend. It was good to get out just the two of us for a change. A big thanks to Beverly who kept Parker Friday night, and GiGi for keeping Parker Saturday morning so we could go. It was like a church service in some aspects that touched on topics regarding marriage. To summarize what we learned here are a few topics they talked about...

1. Why God created marriage- for a partnership, procreation, to complete us and to communicate HIS love. 1 Cor. 7: 2-3

2. Understanding our spouses most important needs in life. It might be acceptance, affection, appreciation, approval, attention, encouragement, respect, security, support or comfort. These feelings are not always constant either they could change day to day. What we learn about our spouse as years go by is how to recognize which one our spouse needs the most at that point in time.

3. How to communicate effectively- there are 3 levels of communication in a marriage and family.
-Level 1-Living Room Communication- we share what we know. Example: kids need to be picked up at 6:00 (surface talk)
-Level 2-Kitchen Communication-we share how we feel about things. Example: I liked this food you cooked tonight. This level can be a little bit more risky.
-Level 3-Bedroom Communication- the more intimate communication such as how you are really feeling about something, the deeper things in life.

Something that we found interesting about this section was try not to ever use the words "Never" and "Always" in a negative comment. It will attack the other person and they will turn away and become defensive. Also try to use "I" rather than "you". Instead of saying "You never remember to take out the trash", say "I took out the trash this time if you wouldn't mind taking it out next time". It becomes more receptive from the other person.

The 3rd session was about resolving conflicts
1. Do whats right--recognizing your spouses love language Rom 12:17-18
2. Confront in Love
3. Measure your words (be quick to listen and slow to speak) Prov. 18:21
4. Get to the real need- sometimes people often forget what they were initially fighting about and bring up all kinds of other issues that should have been left alone.
5. Never go to bed angry Eph. 4:26-27
6. Don't give up--statistics show than 50% of our society's marriages end in divorce. Isn't that so sad?!

Matt and I are coming up on our 4 year anniversary this week!! When we got married we didn't have the chance to go through a class like this. We just had a 2 hour session with the pastor that was marrying us. It was so refreshing to learn about each other as we listened to this conference. This has been the best 4 years of our lives and we can't wait to see what God brings us in the many years to come!!

The most adorable sound...

Go Cowboys!

The Ferrell Family loves Sunday's during the fall. Why you ask? Because we get to watch the Cowboys play!! Nearly every Sunday during football season we put on our Dallas Cowboys shirts and cheer for the boys. Parker even has his own jersey too (thanks to my sweet friend Robyn!). Here is a few pictures of us watching the game together.

Matt teaching Parker all about the game...so cute!!

GOAL!!! Yea Cowboys!

My handsome boys!

Me and my little boy...he is trying to watch the TV!

Mommy & Mr. P

I told you so...

Something I have been thinking about...

Having a child really opens your eyes to a lot of things we used to think was "just not fair". Remember all those times your parents told you "No" and you were just so devastated because you couldn't get your way? Remember your response being "but why"?? Parents response: "because I told you so." I used to hate that answer because it didn't explain to me as to why they said no! At that point we just thought our parents were not being fair and just didn't want us to have fun! (Especially as a teenager!)

Well being a parent really makes you realize why your parents did they things they did. They did it out of love. You just love your child so much that you don't want to see them hurt or disappointed. I totally see their perspective now... Matt and I just hope we can explain this to Parker so he will understand how much we love him. God blessed me and Matt with wonderful parents and we are so grateful to have them be apart of Parker's life!!

Labor Day Lake Weekend

We spent Labor day weekend out at Cedar Creek Lake. Matt's sister Keirstin and her husband Tony have a house out on the lake. We always have a wonderful time when we go out there. It is so relaxing and we just have a blast playing with all the kids. Below is all the activities we did in just 2 days! Matt and I can't wait until Parker is old enough to play with his cousins!

Cooper and Kenzie playing baseball

Matt was teaching Trevor how to shoot cans. I tried twice and missed ;(

Matt having a father to son talk

Kenzie and Keirstin putting together a Barbie puzzle

Our nieces...Sloane (4), Blair (12), and Kenzie (6)

Me and Mr. P

Parker watching the kids and his Dad through the window...so cute! He loved tummy time because he could see all the action!

Matt with the kids on the jet ski and pulling the band wagon...notice the slight tilt ;)

The result...he thought he was being funny to splash me as I was taking pictures. It only cost him his Oakley sunglasses and laughing kids for throwing them off.

We celebrated July birthdays while we were there. Happy late birthday to Caroline and Kathy!

DeDe and Parker!

Thanks guys for a fun weekend! Hope we can do it again soon!

Family Picnic

My 10 year high school reunion was last weekend. It started off with a family picnic at Veterans Park during the day. That night we went to the Fort Worth Stockyards for the party. It was a lot of fun catching up with old friends. I didn't take my camera to the night event so those pictures will come later after I get them from Heather and Jennifer.

Like Father like Son...

I walked in one night and found my boys like this...