Christmas 2012...come and gone

In the blink of an eye, another Christmas has gone by. As much as I was not looking forward to the holidays this year, God definitely worked on my heart and I changed my attitude just in time.
As horrific as the Connecticut shooting was, I think it was THAT tragedy that caused me to change my ways. For days, it caused me to reflect on my own life and to see just how blessed I am. I was able to look forward to Christmas with my kids. I was able to go out and buy them gifts. I was able to go to their Christmas parties and programs. I was able to count down to when Santa came and go to church with them and just be with them. So many moms in Connecticut got that stolen away from them way too early.
Real Christmas for us started the Saturday before Christmas when Mom and Butch took us all to eat dinner at Ruth's Chris. It was so fun to get dressed up and go to a VERY nice dinner with the family. It was so delicious and there was lots of great conversation and laughter that made it even more fun. Dennis and I even did a late night trip to Toys R Us after dinner and finished up our shopping! I got just a few stares inside the ghetto Rivergate Toys R Us since we were so dressed up!

Sunday, we headed to Opryland Hotel for our 2nd annual overnight stay with the kids. They were so excited! They kept saying how excited they were to go to the "biggest hotel"! We had a great time. We were so blessed to be able to do it. I thought that it was something we were going to have to give up this year because of our finances, but Dennis worked it out by purchasing a Black Friday special! He knew how much fun we had last year and there's just something special about being at that hotel right at Christmastime.

Monday morning, we got up and went to Deb's for Christmas! It was great! Lots of fun presents and laughter!

We went straight from there to church for the Christmas Eve service. We took the kids into the service with us for the first time and they loved it.

We went to mom's straight from church and opened presents and had the most delicious dinner EVER. Oh my...it was seriously the best meal I have ever had!!!! We had so much fun opening gifts and I love hearing the kids squeal when they get something that they are excited about. We looked up at one point and we saw Sadie coming in through the back door downstairs. When my mom asked where she had been, Sadie said "I thought I heard jingle bells outside". So sweet!

We headed home and put out the reindeer food and set out cookies and milk for Santa.

This is always my favorite time...I love the excitement that the kids feel when they are ready to take their baths and get ready for bed. There is nothing sweeter than watching the magic in their eyes and the wonder of how in the world does Santa really do what he does...and do I really have to be asleep in order for him to come?? And, will he come at all? I. Love. It.
So, after we read the Christmas story and tucked the munchkins into bed, I went to the kitchen to make monkey bread and banana bread, and Dennis headed upstairs to start putting stuff together. I didn't go to bed until after 1:00...Dennis didn't come to bed until 3:00 a.m.!!!! He was also doing BBQ, which is what kept him up so late.

The kids woke up around 7:30 and were UNBELIEVABLY excited!!!!

We had them sit in Sadie's room until we were ready and then we let them come in. These faces were priceless!

They had so much fun opening their presents and seeing what all Santa brought. It was a LOT of fun for all of us! This was the first year EVER that Dennis and I didn't buy each other gifts. I thought I would be sad, but I wasn't at all. I found my joy in my kids excitement that morning, instead of material things. I also remembered a million times through the day WHAT the TRUE meaning of that day was and WHY we even celebrate that day. It was a very happy, content day for me.

I continue to be so thankful that Dennis and I made the decision after Sawyer was born to stay home all day on Christmas Day. It is such a peaceful day. I love letting the kids play all day and hang out together and eat, and not have to worry one bit about even leaving the house. It is such a blessing!!!
I look back on this Christmas and am thankful. I was so afraid at the beginning of December that I was going to look back on Christmas and regret it this year because of the way that I was feeling, but I am thankful that God changed my heart and I was able to enjoy all aspects of it.

Tragedy in Connecticut

As I sit here, just 10 days shy of Christmas Eve, watching the tragic news of the shooting at the elementary school in Connecticut, I can't even wrap my mind around it. One of my first thoughts was obviously...what if it were my child?

My sister and I were sitting in Chocolate Covered Strawberry when I saw the information on my Facebook. I immediately started to cry, not being able to fathom if I heard it had happened at my kids' school. I mainly thought of Sadie, b/c she is in Kindergarten, and the majority (possibly all) of the students that were killed were in Kindergarten as well. Would she even know what to do if a gunman came into her classroom and started shooting people? Probably not. At 5 years old, these poor kids were just sitting in class enjoying their day. More than likely coloring a picture of Santa Clause or practicing math by counting Elves or Snowmen. Maybe even decorating Gingerbread houses, just like Sadie's class did earlier this week. These precious kids are too young to know that when something like this happens, they need to hide, or be afraid, or try to run. Their minds cannot comprehend what is going on fast enough because their sweet innocence doesn't allow them to know these things yet. I pray to God that it all happened so quickly...that they never had the chance to be scared...that their tiny eyes were somehow shielded from seeing their "BFF" killed right before their eyes...that they didn't even have the chance to feel the need to run or wonder what was going to happen next.

I keep thinking about all of those sweet older sisters who sat in the 4th grade of that same school, wondering if their little sister was ok down the hall. Or, that precious little brother who won't have his big sis come home from school today, which is what he excitedly waits on every single day. Be still my heart.

I just keep trying to picture Jesus waiting for each and every one of them as they skipped and probably RAN into Heaven straight into His arms, where they will forever feel safe and secure. Even if they were scared for a second in their classroom, they will never, ever feel fear again. He will love on them and sing with them and promise them that their mommies and daddies and brothers and sisters will be there soon.

Dear God, PLEASE have mercy on those parents who have lost their babies in this tragedy. I pray that each of them will see HIS love through this. Somehow. Someway.

I have no other words than these. Just pure sadness. Devastation. Disgust.

Counting my Blessings

After re-reading my last post, I saw how sad it sounded. I almost went back and deleted it, but I want to remember how I felt.

I DO want to re-iterate though, that I feel blessed.

I am beyond blessed with a precious husband. We are so much alike, yet very different. We are definitely each others' ying and yang, which works perfectly...most of the time. I feel like we were cut from the same mold, which isn't really possible, but whatever. Maybe its because we are both the "youngest"...who knows. I know he's always got my back. Always. I still see the same look in his eye as I did when we met and fell in love almost 20 years ago. Yikes.

I have a precious little girl who is the apple of my eye. I see a lot of myself in her and a little bit of Dennis. I am sure that will change through the years, but that is how I view her for now. She is full of love and if she ever says something hurtful, it's not on purpose...I know that. She is a people-pleaser, if I have ever seen one! She has never talked back to me, said she didn't love me, stomped away, or shown me one tiny sign that I should worry about our years ahead. (again, I know that will probably change)

I have a precious little boy who gives the BEST hugs. He squeezes me tighter and tighter every morning when I go and pick his sleepy body up out of bed. His legs are hanging longer on my body, but I want to never stop picking him up and carrying him out of bed. Then, I might miss those tight squeezes. He runs (literally) to me several times a day and throws himself into me just to hug me...for no reason, and then he will go right back to what he was doing. He is a LOT of Dennis and a little of me. I am okay with that. He is a lover, not a fighter. He is a rule-follower, which is rare in a young boy! He is also a people-pleaser, which I think is rare to have 2 of...?? But, his daddy and I are the same way, so maybe that's where both of our kids get it.

I can cry because I am so loved, not because I am not loved enough. I can be happy because I am blessed with a wonderful family, not because I have enough "things". I can take time to decide which friend to call on, instead of wishing I had a friend at all.

Life is not always sunshine and roses, but I do need to take the time to remember how lucky I am.

Not so Thankful Thanksgiving

Well, Thanksgiving 2012 will go down in the books for me as the most depressing Thanksgiving to date! I am just being honest here...which is what my blog is about. I'm not trying to sugarcoat things on here.

Sadie got a HORRIBLE stomach virus in the middle of the night on the weekend before Thanksgiving. She threw up for about 12 hours straight, every 10-15 minutes. Then, the next day, she started having diarrhea...then, the next day, it was a little of both...the next day was a tad bit better...then, came Thanksgiving Day. Well, we couldn't take her anywhere because she had still been having an upset stomach the day before and she felt AWFUL from not eating for 5 days. So, I stayed home with her while Dennis took Sawyer to Pam and Corky's for lunch. She did help me put up the Christmas tree, but only before a little while when she tired out and had to lay down. Bless her. I remember getting so angry that day because I was feeling sorry for us. How stupid is that? It was just another day. And, to be quite honest, looking back on it, it was kind of nice to just chill out all day and spend time with her in a very quiet atmosphere. But, at the time, I was so sad.

In the midst of ALL of this, Memaw was taken to the hospital, thought to have had a heart attack, which ended up just being an infection around her heart, but STILL...it was so scary and so sad to not have her at home for Thanksgiving. I have never spent a Thanksgiving without going to Memaw and Pepaw's house, so that definitely added to my depression. Thank the Lord, she was okay, and she is back home now, but it was just not a good week all together.

Dennis and Sawyer left for the farm on Thursday night, so it was day 5 of me and Sadie being stuck at home for hours on end. Geez! I can totally see how people get depressed when they crawl in their hole and stay away from all outside things. I hope to never be stuck at home for the many days in a row again!

Looking back on it, (and trying to be positive) I do feel that Sadie and I got closer; reached a new level if you will. We snuggled, chatted, and I got to care for her like I haven't gotten to in a long time. She wanted me and only me for the most part, and that made me feel so good.

Friday morning, we decided to GET OUT OF THE HOUSE! Sadie still wasn't eating, but we were both going stir crazy, so we decided to grab Rachel and Emma and head to the farm where all of the boys were. It was a beautiful day and it did me some good to get some fresh air. I think it made Sadie feel soooooo much better too!! We had a wonderful day. The Simpsons were all there, Corky, Keith, and Jeffrey/Chance. The kids had a BALL all day long. We just sat by the fire and chatted and had a wonderful time while the boys hunted. After my depressing/pity party-of-a-day Thanksgiving, Friday was welcomed with open arms!

I have not been in the Christmas spirit yet...usually, I am chomping at the bit to get my house decorated, tree up, shopping etc., but for some reason this year, I am just not feeling it. I know most of it has to do with our finances. When you don't have the money to go out and buy the gifts that you want to buy for the ones that you love, it can take a major toll on your emotions, attitude, etc. I am trying (HARD) to focus on the REAL reason for the season and look to Jesus every time I start to feel down or sad. But, for the first time, I can totally see how people can get really down in the dumps during the Christmas season. I have never had to deal with this before, but I am just trying to see what God wants to teach me through all of this.

As Thanksgiving ends, REAL Christmas is beginning. I am willing to put my sadness aside to experience the excitement and magic of the season with my kids. They deserve nothing less! They are already so excited!!! They helped Dennis put up the outside decorations last night and they are really fired up about that.

Here's to a happy, joyful, thankful, learning , and hope-filled season...even when I am just hoping for hope...

Taking a Walk Down Memory Lane...

The kids and I were headed home from Opry Mills yesterday, and I took a detour to Joyce Lane to show them where I grew up. Its funny how I know exactly where to go. I never drove when I lived on Joyce Lane and there are multiple ways to get there, but not matter which way I go, I know every turn to take just like its second nature. Weird.

No matter what mood I am in, I always get the same feelings when I pull up to 606 Joyce Lane. Feelings of sadness, happiness, loss, joy, and lots of love. Even though the current owners have not kept it up to my approval, it still looks just like I remember...the shutters are a different color, the front door is different, the tree that Rachel fell out of is no longer there, and the front porch oddly seems smaller, but everything else is just the same.

This was the house where I remember my sister and I finding real fossils in the stone wall beside the house. We thought that was the coolest thing. This was the house where I broke my big toe in Kindergarten, which Sadie thought was hilarious. This was the house where my sis and I stained the corners of the living room walls with our tears from being in time out. Ouch. This was the house where I would practice piano. This was the house where I remember taking my very first shower and being SO excited to do so! This was the house where I remember feeling a quick tinge of disappointment when my dad told us one year that Santa must've brought all of our toys to the wrong house because everything we got was for BOYS! (obviously, he was just joking, but NEVER tell a kid that! LOL) This was the house where I had my very first slumber party. This was the house where my sis and I would spend hours on any given day building forts in the front living room and promising EVERY time that we were going to sleep in them at night...we never did. Guess we loved our own beds too much! This was the house where my sister and I used who knows what to drill a hole in our closets so that when we were sent to our room, we could talk to each other through the hole. Hilarious! This was the house where we would hunker down in the long hallway during bad storms and my daredevil dad would stand outside on the front porch watching the storm. This was the house where I learned to ride my bike and I would ride for hours, all over the neighborhood. Those were the days. This was the house where my sis fell out of a tree, AND slid down the driveway on her chin after falling off of bike. This was the house where I would set up all of my dolls in my bedroom and pretend to be their teacher. This was the house where I became a Christian. I could go on and on and on...

The one thing I remember, whether it was actually true or not, is that there was lots of love in this house. I don't remember lots of arguments or sadness. I remember lots of love and happiness. Lots of fun times. I love the feeling that I get when I pull up in front of that house. Even if it was only for a few minutes, I enjoyed taking my kids on a walk down memory lane and sharing with them a HUGE piece of my childhood.

Ephiphany

I was just in the shower, praying...yes, I know...a bit strange. But, the house was quiet. Sadie was settled in watching the new Tinkerbell movie and eating lunch. The boys are hunting at the farm. So, I jumped in the shower before we were headed out to run some errands. I've been freezing all morning, so the hot shower felt so good! I never take the time to just be still and listen to God. I come up with all kinds of excuses to not take the time. I know that is awful, but it's true. I DO have my quiet time every morning, but it is usually in a jiffy!

So, I felt God telling me to just be still and listen. So, I did. I had no excuses. I was in the shower...what excuse could I come up with? I sat down (yes, in the shower...sorry if this is TMI) and just prayed to myself about some things that have been on my mind. Then, I heard God remind me of the verse that was Sadie's verse of the week at school...Phillipians 4:13 - "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". I have heard, said, studied, etc. this verse my whole entire life.

Rewind to this past week. I found myself several times throughout the week saying "I can't do it ALL"! I can't be a good mom, be a good wife, cook, clean, run errands, take and pick up the kids, be a good friend, AND work!!! I just can't do it. Something HAS to give!!" I said it several times out loud this week and even more times to myself.

Fast forward back to today...when God reminded me of that verse in the shower, it hit me. I CAN do ALL things through Christ who strengthens ME. I can do ALL things THROUGH Christ who strengthens me. I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME.

Do you know what this means? I really CAN do it ALL!!!! By myself? No! Through Christ? Yes! What an epiphany!!! Praise God that I really can do it all. He will give me the strength to do it all. I used to think that this verse just meant that you can do any ONE thing that you set your mind to at that particular time. I never thought about it meaning that I can do EVERY thing that I set my mind to at ALL times.

Thank YOU for YOUR word today, Lord Jesus. I sure needed it!!!!!

Grace

God has really showed me His Grace this week. I have been tired. Like, T-I-R-E-D. My whole entire body has been exhausted. Rachel and I cleaned the cabin on Sunday. We got it down to 5 hours, which is about as quick as I think we can do it and still feel good about the work we've done.

Monday, Rachel and I cleaned our first house for Dennis. It was great! It only took us a little over an hour, because we only had to clean a portion of the house.

Tuesday, we started mulching, hedge trimming, raking leaves, etc. at Memaw and Pepaw's house. Hilarious. We cracked up thinking about the people that were driving by and seeing 2 blonde chicks out there doing a "man's" job. We worked our rear ends off!!!! We stayed several hours on Tuesday, but we didn't get finished. I think we are both a bit of perfectionists. We move as quickly as possible, but we want to be proud of our work, so we always make sure we are doing the best we can. I'm pretty sure I've never done hard labor like that in my life! My whole body hurt! I think when I was trimming hedges, I quit breathing for a moment or two. LOL!!! The funny thing is, (and this is where HIS GRACE come in) I had a lot of fun doing it! Rach and I laughed a LOT! Sawyer had to come with me and he was a PERFECT angel! Thank you JESUS! I never thought I would say that doing all of that work was fun, but it really was. We were blessed with beautiful weather too!

Wednesday, I had to get up at the crack of dawn and get ready for Sadie's first field trip. I took her to school and then we headed to Smyrna for the Walden Farms Pumpkin Patch. It was so much fun! She has such a GREAT group of friends!! We are SO blessed!!! The moms are great. The teachers are great. The students are precious. I couldn't be happier! Sadie has a smile on her face at all times when she is with her friends at school. It blows me away. Her teachers and helpers tell me all of the time that she is the happiest kid they have ever seen. One of them said to me that they could tell her to run 20 laps around the school and she would say "AWESOME"! LOL (I doubt that, but you get the point)

Thursday, Rach and I (and Sawdawg) headed back to Memaws to finish our job. We had to kick it into high gear to make sure that we could finish! It was a little bit hotter outside, but still beautiful. Sawyer was wonderful again and he even helped us rake leaves!!! We had another great day together. I am so thankful that Rachel and I work so well together! We are the perfect team. I never thought I would say that! I honestly couldn't pick a better partner to work with. My muscles are hurting in places that I didn't think could hurt, and I am beyond exhausted, but I am thanking God for these opportunities!!

Today is Friday and we are headed to clean another one of Dennis' houses. I am actually looking forward to it, because I know we will have a good time. I am a lucky girl.

I can tell that God has totally been working on my heart and my attitude this past week. He has helped me change the way I look at things. I know that things are hard for us right now, but I am thankful that God has provided a way for me to help out. I will continue to work my rear off as long as I can!!! One day, maybe the money I earn can be used for "fun" stuff, instead of for paying bills, but for now, we will keep on keepin' on and continue to HOPE that God has something amazing for us right around the bend.

The R-E-A-L Housewives of Sumner County

Its hard to be transparent this day and age. It's hard to let the world know when you need help! When most people around you are doing perfectly fine; emotionally, financially, physically, spiritually, etc. It's just hard to admit that you're just not doing so well. But, people NEED transparency. They don't always need to think that everyone around them is doing SO much better than they are! Sometimes, there is freedom in just stating the TRUTH. So, I am here to state that we are not where we thought we would be at this time in our lives. A huge "thank you" to Obama and the economy. Gas is out of control. Healthcare is out of control. The economy is out of control. So, therefore, we are one of those families that have taken a huge hit and since we can't depend on the government to make changes to help us out, we are choosing to help ourselves as best we can. So, with that being said, we are starting a new venture this week! My sister and I are the new "cleaning ladies"! LOL We have been "hired" by my mom and Butch to clean their new 5 bedroom cabin each time guests check out. We have also been "hired" by Dennis to start cleaning some of his remodel jobs, insurance jobs, etc. when the contractors are finished working. We are excited about this new opportunity, mainly because it gives us the chance to help our families out financially. We have both been praying for a way to help our hubbies out and we feel that God has brought us this opportunity to not only contribute financially, but to also allow us to spend time together as sisters. My hope is that most of these jobs will be done while my kids are in school, so I can focus completely on them when they are at home. Pray for us as we begin our new journey as the modern day cleaning housewives! :) And, THAT RIGHT THERE is what it is like to be REAL housewives in todays economy!

A "First" for us - Parent/Teacher Conference

Okay, this blog comes with a WARNING! I am going to brag on my child. I never get on Facebook and brag all over my children. But, since this is my own personal blog that I use as my "journal", I am allowed to brag on my kids without feeling guilty! And, I want to document these things so that Sadie can look back on them one day!

We had our first Parent/Teacher conference yesterday with Sadie's Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Lankford. I will admit...I was a nervous wreck! I know that Sadie loves school, but since I've never had a conference with any of her teachers in the past, I had no clue what to expect! Was she going to tell me that Sadie is WAY behind in everything? Was she going to say that Sadie never follows directions? Sadie was never "tested" before she got accepted into Goodpasture because everything was so last minute, so I had no idea if she was even "prepared" for Kindergarten. Anyways, I said all of that to say, I was a little bit nervous! Okay, a LOT nervous!

As soon as Dennis and I sat down, her teacher said that it was going to be a very easy conference about Sadie. Whew! Immediate R-E-L-I-E-F!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
She began to show us all of Sadie's assessments; reading, writing, memory, math (I didn't even know she was doing math!), etc.

Mrs. Lankford said that Sadie's handwriting is perfect. Perfect. What parent doesn't want to hear that something their child is doing is "perfect". Smile. :)
She said that she got a 100 on her math test. Test? I didn't know that they took tests in Kindergarten! She's memorized and recited all but 1 of her Bible verses that they learn every week. And, Mrs. Lankford thinks that she just got shy during that one verse that she wouldn't recite. Who knows?
She's doing great on her reading. Praise the Lord! When Mrs. Lankford told us all at orientation that our kids would be reading by Christmas, I thought she was crazy! Sadie had never read anything in her life! I NEVER in a million years thought she would already be reading after just 2 months at school! Amazing!!! She is right where she needs to be and that is perfectly fine with me!
She follows instructions, behaves wonderfully, gets along with everyone, etc. That made me more proud than anything! I want to know for certain that Sadie is doing what she is supposed to be doing while in school! At least I know we have done something right as parents! :)
She said that she has no worries about her needing to go to Pre-First. She is confident that Sadie will be 100% ready for First Grade at the end of the year. She is right on track. I have always said that my children do NOT have to be the best in their class, or the smartest, etc. But, I DO want them to TRY their best! As long as they are "right on track", that's all I care about!
On a more personal note, she said that she is so happy to have Sadie in her class and that she is the sweetest thing. She said that she can't ever imagine having to get on to Sadie for anything.

From our perspective as her parents, we couldn't be more happy. Sadie has come busting out of her shell since she started Kindergarten. People who didn't know Sadie before she started going to school there cannot believe that she was ever "shy". Last night at church, Dennis took her to Kids Choir and he said that she went in doing the "Wobble Wobble" dance. What? Then, another friend went to drop her girl off in there and said that Sadie was up front dancing and had all kinds of friends all around her. Just goes to show how much confidence she has gained these past few months!! She loves school so much that she never wants to leave! She has made SO many friends that I can't keep up with them all. Her confidence has gotten much better! She doesn't seem as skeptical to try and do new things either! She still has her reservations, but she has done a 180 since starting school. As you can see from the picture I posted above, she is full of herself and loves, loves, loves being at Goodpasture. She is constantly singing, dancing, and laughing these days!!!!! We continue to be SO thankful that God has allowed her to go to school there!!!

The Title-less Post

I couldn't really come up with a title for this post. My creative juices have not been flowing lately. Not that I have any creative juices to begin with, but whatever.
Its been a tough couple of weeks! It's funny to me how I can look back at my previous post just a few short weeks ago and I can tell I am on a mountaintop. But, such is life, we also go through valleys as well. Mainly, my journey through this valley is due to the fact that I can't get over the sadness that we weren't able to go to Hilton Head together. And, THAT stems from the sadness that since school started almost 2 months ago, my sweet little foursome-of-a-family has had VERY little time together! I kept thinking to myself that we would plan a little trip over Sadie's Fall Break, so that was making me feel better...until we realized that Sadie's Fall Break is NEXT week and NOTHING has been planned. :( Not to mention, the funds are definitely not available for us to take a little trip, if ya know what I'm saying....

I'm not in some deep dark depression or anything like that. I just notice a little bit of sadness looming over me. Family vacation to some, is just another trip...another time to go to the beach after you've been several times with your extended families all summer, etc. Our family vacae is much different. We have gone since Sawyer was just 1 year old! And, I can attest to the fact that every single year has been better than the previous. And, every single year has been perfect. How does it get better than perfect? I don't know, but somehow it does! We eat up every single second we get on that vacation and we don't take one second for granted. We make memories that get us through the whole next year until we get to go back again. We take hundreds, and I mean HUNDREDS of pictures and I carefully document each one in a photo album that sits in chronological order in our entertainment center. We get our annual "family photos" made on the beach that we have hung all over our house. And, we stay on this vacation until we just can't come up with any more excuses to not come home! We extend it the whole way home, detouring every chance we get! I think the hardest part of not going this year was feeling like we lied to our kids. We've had them pumped up about going to the beach ALL. SUMMER. LONG. And, then we just didn't go. That will hurt a momma's hurt to see the sadness in their eyes as they kept asking how many more days until we leave for the beach??? Just for me to say..."I don't think we get to go this year". Very hard to explain to a four and five year old. Ok, I am moving on...

On the other hand, I am extremely thankful for Fall!!! The weather changing has me very excited! I love going to Football games in jeans and long sleeves! I love the kids being able to play outside anytime they want to! Dennis and Sawyer went for their first hunt of the season this past weekend and of course, Sawyer loved every minute.

Updates on kiddos:
Sawyer is lovin' Pre-K. He has made lots of new friends and he is SUCH a good boy! He has only gotten in trouble one time and that was because he was talking on the rug. I can't complain about that! Especially for a little boy! He is coloring so much better and he is doing really well at learning to write his name...legibly. ha ha
Sadie is obsessed with school, just like I knew she would be. She is already reading, which blows my mind. She loves, loves, loves her school. I love it when we are at the football games and she goes running up to ladies and gives them the biggest hugs and then she'll introduce me to them. They all love on her like crazy and it is so wonderful! I met her PE teacher and her computer teacher the other night. They all know her by name and I love that. She is really having a great year and I don't have one complaint.

That is all for now. I am choosing today to focus on my blessings and I am going to trust that despite the sadness, God always has something GREAT right around the corner. Stay tuned with me to see what that is... :)

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Love this song. It has been so special to me for so many different reasons. We even had it sung at our wedding because we love it so much. Anyways, I truly feel that God's faithfulness to me has been astounding these last few weeks. I know that some have said to me that this is just a "season of blessings" for me and my family. I hope not. I would love to feel this close and in touch w/ God at all times; not just for a season. I don't really consider it a "season of blessings". To me, it's more of a deeper relationship that I feel with my Savior. Maybe a closeness that I have never felt before. I've been trying so hard to turn to God first. He needs to be my source of strength. If I can get to the point where this is my FIRST instinct, I will be where I need to be. I think it just takes practice. I think it takes discipline. But, I think once you've got it, you've "got it", if that makes sense. The other morning, Sadie was crying before she left for school. I knew it was nothing serious. I knew she was just tired and cranky. But, did that make it any easier to watch her walk out that door with huge tears coming down her face? Um...no. I seriously wanted to come back inside and cry my eyes out, worry, get mad at God, etc. But, instead, I went straight to my room, got on my knees and prayed for her. Like, earnestly, intently prayed for her. It's amazing how much better I felt when I was done. I honestly wasn't worried anymore. I laid it at God's feet and I let go. Sure enough, when Dennis called me after he had dropped her off, he said that she was perfectly fine and hadn't cried since they left the house. I immediately thanked God for being faithful to my prayers. God never changes. (Thou changest not) He never stops caring about the small things. (Thou compassions, they fail not) Thank. You. God. Another thing I have tried to start doing is when I am faced with a decision, whether it be big or small, I try to ask myself..."is what I am doing considered Christ-like?" If so, do it! If not, don't do it! Simple, huh? Yeah, not so much...But, I've got to start somewhere. If we are created in God's image, and we are called to be like Christ, I believe every single thing we do/say should imitate Him in some way. I'm not putting myself on a pedastal in ANY way, but I am trying so hard to learn how to be "different". These are the few things that have come to me over the past few weeks. I believe that if we are faithful in our walk with God, we will see over and over again that God has always got our back! When Dennis and I were in Atlanta this past weekend, I accidentally left my stuffed puppy dog that he gave me for my 18th birthday. I have slept with it every single night since he gave it to me. He surprised me with it at Planet Hollywood in Nashville on my 18th birthday. He had the waitress (which happened to be his cousin, Anita) bring it to our table with a diamond bracelet around the puppy's neck. How sweet is that? Anyways, I have slept with that dog for 16 years! That thing goes everywhere with me. It wasn't until we got home from Atlanta that I realized I had left it in the bed in our hotel. I was DEVASTATED! At first, I panicked (see? still learning...) Then, I texted my friend Shelly that was still at the hotel in hopes that she could get the front desk people to go upstairs and find it. They didn't. So, I called the next day and begged the lady to please have someone go and look. They called back to say that they checked, but didn't find anything. I was so sad. I prayed and prayed that God would work it out. I'm SUCH a sentimental person and those types of things mean SO much to me! I mean, heck, I still have a Snoopy stuffed animal that my dad gave my mom when they were 18! Sure enough, a sweet man from the hotel called me later that night and told me that my puppy dog was found on a different floor of the hotel while the staff was putting clean sheets on the bed!!!!!! He even offered to Fed Ex it to me for FREE! Great is Thy Faithfulness! So, whether I am in a "season of blessings", or whether I'm just figuring out what it means to really practice my faith in God on a deeper level, I am enjoying where I am and I am in constant prayer that I can continue to go deeper still.

"Coach Phillips" first game!

What a week! I've definitely been running on autopilot this week. Going through SO many emotions, mostly sadness, all week long. I have just missed Sadie so much more than I ever thought I would. It hurts my heart. On one hand, I am BEYOND excited for her. She loves her new school so much. On the other hand, if I could, I would turn back time in a heartbeat and start summer all over again, just so that I could appreciate my time with her so much more. I was with my kids ALL summer long. I had very few "breaks" from them, but I loved every minute of it. I don't regret for one second all of the time that we spent together, and I'm especially even more thankful now that I miss her so much. She woke up this morning (Saturday) and the first thing she said was "awwwwww MAN! I wanted to go to school today!!!". I just laughed at her and said "well, I'm thankful that I get you ALL weekend long"!!!!! Goodpasture's first game was last night against their big rival CPA. Dennis was so excited to be coaching from the sidelines. I was so nervous for him!!!! The game was madness. The kids were out of control from having no sleep all week long. My head was spinning from trying to figure out who everybody is. Sadie wanted to go and "cheer" with the other little girls during halftime, so we got there an hour and a half early to practice, only for her to decide immediately that she didn't want to do it. Awesome. So by the time the game actually started, they were already out of control. Lack of sleep turned into being overly tired, which turned into them acting CRAZY! Geez! So, even though I didn't get to pay much attention to the actual game, we were so proud to have daddy out there! At one point, Sawyer was screaming "D-A-D-D-Y" as loud as he could. Dennis couldn't hear him, so Sawyer screamed louder. Dennis still couldn't hear him, so Sawyer buried his head in my chest and started bawling. Broke. My. Heart. Goodpasture lost by one touchdown, but it was a great game! I brought the kids home and put them straight to bed and hurried to the TV to watch "Touchdown Friday". Unfortunately, the GCS/CPA game wasn't even mentioned. Whatever. D didn't get home until about midnight. Ouch. But, he loved every minute of it!!!!!

The Time has Finally Come!

Sadie Jane had her first (1/2) day of Kindergarten yesterday at her new school. We all woke up so excited for her. Sawyer had gone to spend the night w/ Grammy the night before b/c we had to be at Goodpasture so early the next day. Sadie was VERY tired when we got her up at 6:30. That's E-A-R-L-Y for her. And me. Geez. We got her ready and headed out the door. I felt good! Then, Sadie said she wanted to ride w/ Dennis, which made me have "alone time" for about 40 minutes. Not so good. After about 5 minutes in the car, I started sobbing. I was listening to an old Praise and Worship CD by Travis Cottrell, and "You Humble Me" came on. That's all it took. Describes EXACTLY how I feel. So, I proceeded to cry on and off the whole way to school, while trying to drive in traffic, dab a tissue on my eyes to keep all of my make-up from coming off, etc. Lovely. The good part was that by the time we got there, I was good again! LOL We went to get Sadie a shirt to wear to her class and then we dropped her off. She got REAL nervous when we got down there. She started saying her belly was hurting and she needed to go to the bathroom. I was afraid she was going to throw up. I don't think she's ever been "nervous" before! Luckily, Tracy was there to show us the way. Tracy is going to be my godsend this year, I can already tell! We walked to Sadie's classroom and all of the students were sitting on the rug listening to Mrs. Lankford. Avery turned around and yelled "SADIE"!!!!! That's all it took. Sadie took off over to Avery and sat right down beside her. Thank. You. Lord. Her teacher grabbed us real quick and took all of our picture and then we left. We went to fill out all of the paperwork, meet w/ Mr. Bloodworth, went to the Cougar Corner to spend our life savings on MORE supplies and Sadie's new wardrobe. LOL Then, we went back to the Little Red Schoolhouse for the Parent meeting. Mrs. Lankford gave us the lowdown on everything we need to know about Kindergarten in about 10 minutes. There was a bad storm approaching, so they were trying to get us out of there quickly. My head was SPINNING!!!! Then, we all got shuffled into the cafeteria to listen to a few others talk to us. After that, we got to get her! She turned around when she saw me, and the first thing I saw was a HUGE goose-egg on her head! She had fallen off of the monkey bars and landed on her head on a rock. Awesome. Good times. She seemed ok though, but her poor head looks awful! We stayed and let her play with Avery for a little while.

These 2 girlies sure love each other! So, first 1/2 day was a success. Last night was ROUGH for me though. I was coming home from getting more supplies for her from Walmart and I literally couldn't breathe from crying so hard. Does this ever get easier? I'm just so sad. I'm happy that she's going to a great school, but I'm so sad that she will be gone from me so much. She has been my little buddy for over 5 years now. She's never been gone during the day for more than a couple of hours. Now, it is going to be ALL day. Boo. This morning, we got her up for her first FULL day! She was VERY excited, which helped me a lot. We let her pick which uniform she was going to wear and then we got her ready and took her picture on the front porch.

I prayed with her before she left and gave her a huge hug and kiss. She said "Mommy, I'm going to really miss you today". Be still my heart. I'm going to miss you too, baby girl.

When God changes your plans...

When God changes your plans....THIS is what happens!

So much has happened in the past week. So. Much. I wanted to be sure and document each event over the past few days, so that I can look back and remember how faithful God has been. Warning: this is going to be LONG! God has shown up SO visibly in these past few days; more than I have probably ever seen before. I always know that He is there. I know that He is in every detail. But, in these past few days, I have seen it CLEARLY with my eyes and felt it so tangibly. So, since I am a planner...like, P-L-A-N-N-E-R..., I had already bought Sadie's school supplies for Jack Anderson, ordered special "Sadie Jane Phillips" butterfly labels to label each supply with, labeled her supplies, bought things to decorate certain supplies (yes, I'm a little OCD as well), bought her backpack and matching lunchbox, had both of them monogrammed with her name, bought her "first day of school" outfit, bought her teacher's gift for the first day, planned playdates with new classmates that we haven't met, signed up to be her "room mom", signed up for Cafeteria Duty for the first week of school, already written every important date for the rest of the year on my calendar at home, etc. Do I need to go on? You get the picture. We were about as prepared as we could be for her to start Kindergarten at Jack Anderson as you can possibly be. Except...we had NO clue when she was actually going to start. (refer to my previous post if you have no idea what I'm talking about) So, Sadie and I have had a fun week together while Sawdawg has been in school. We have played princess duck-duck-goose (Sadie made that one up - when you get "picked", you must stand up and do something that a princess would do), gone swimming with friends, gone to Chick fil A with friends, gone to "Inside Out" to play, gone to breakfast together, etc. It's been a special week with my girl. Wednesday night, right as church started, Dennis came in and whispered something VERY unexpected to me. He told me that one of the coaches had approached him about helping to get Sadie enrolled to start Kindergarten THIS year at Goodpasture! What????????????????????? My eyes immediately filled up with tears and I had to leave and go to the bathroom. I think it was just so shocking, yet I was so thankful, yet it became real that she might actually be starting Kindergarten in just a few short days! I regained my composure and came back into the worship center. We spent the next day and a half praying, thinking, talking, not-sleeping, etc. while in the meantime Dennis was talking to everyone and their brother at Goodpasture trying to figure out what they could do to help us out. It was SO STRESSFUL! We didn't know what to do!!! Friday morning, Sadie and I took my mom to b'fast for her 60th bday after we dropped Sawyer off at school. I was finally able to talk to my mom about all of this and she was the one that confirmed our decision to GO FOR IT! She reaffirmed the fact that this was a total God thing and I agreed 100%! We were waiting to hear back from a few different people before we knew if it was definitely going to happen. I felt a TOTAL peace about it. Total peace. Such a good feeling. From that point on, it was just a waiting game. Dennis was waiting to hear back from the President of the school to see if he was going to give us his blessing. Around 3:45, I got a text from Dennis that was a picture of a Goodpasture application!! I obviously won't go into the financial details that were decided upon, but let's just say that we are EXTREMELY blessed. Beyond our imagination. Thank. You. Jesus. When D got home from work, we told Sadie that she was going to a different school since we weren't sure when Mrs. Parker's class was going to start. She was REAL excited to FINALLY be getting to go!!! And, we told her that her friend Avery was going to be at the same school and she literally screamed. The screaming continued as we told her that daddy went to the same school when he was little and that she would be in a little red schoolhouse and that they have an I-pad lab! Saturday morning, D got up and had to head to the Goodpasture scrimmage. I brought the kids a little later and we watched some of the game. It was so neat to be there and watch Dennis out there coaching on the field, doing something he absolutely loves. The kids just enjoyed playing on the bleachers! LOL

The President of the school, Mr. Perry, came and got us and took us on a tour of the Little Red Schoolhouse. Sadie LOVED it. It's so precious!! She's going to be in Heaven at that school, and my heart could not be more thankful! If you look back on one of my blog posts from a few months ago, I mentioned that I would give ANYTHING if Sadie could go to a private, Christian school. My dream has come to fruition and I couldn't be more thankful. I took this picture as we left the building. Dennis was in the first class ever to be in the Little Red Schoolhouse, so I found this to be appropriate.

The last not-so-little blessing we received was news that Sadie got Mrs. Lankford as her teacher. What is SO cool about this is that she is also Avery's teacher! We had heard from many that her class was already full, so there was NO way Sadie would get her. Guess what? God had other plans!! I still do not how or why Sadie was placed in her class, but I am beyond thankful!!!!! She called me today to "welcome" Sadie to her class. She had been up at school all day preparing for Sadie to be in her class. What a blessing. We keep saying how "crazy" all of this is. And, we keep being reminded that none of this is "crazy" to God! He knew this all along. And, for that, I am thankful!! I am definitely sad that Sadie starts school tomorrow. My heart hurts, but in a good way. I'm just not ready to let go of her. But, I am SO happy that she gets to go to such a wonderful school where she won't just be a number, but she'll be important and she will get to learn about Jesus every single day. We feel extremely blessed that we have received this opportunity for our daughter and we are humbled.

We only THOUGHT it was "Getting Closer"....

So, apparently Sadie won't be starting Kindergarten as soon as I thought she would. (see previous post) Don't get me wrong, my heart is doing the happy dance with this information! BUT, my Type A personality is struggling with NOT knowing WHEN she will actually start!!! The school board and the County Commission cannot agree on a budget for Sumner County schools. Therefore, school cannot begin until they settle this issue. I totally agree w/ the school board in this. Our schools NEED more money. We have GREAT teachers in our county, and the test scores prove this to be true. BUT, when our county is compared with other counties as far as budgets, technology, etc. go, we are WAY at the bottom! I even noticed in Sadie's new Kindergarten class that the computers looked like they were from the 1900's. Come on, people! Let our schools have some more money! I am in total agreeance to pay larger taxes if I need to. And, trust me, I am not always willing to say that. BUT, they won't agree to do that, b/c I'm sure they are afraid they won't get our votes next election. Kiss it, people!!!!!!!!!! You're not going to get MY vote, b/c you won't let my child be in school!!!! I-D-I-O-T-S! So, we are patiently waiting. Every. Single. Day. We have NO clue at this moment when schools will start. They're saying anywhere from next week to the middle of September. Middle of September would be great, except for when we're in Hilton Head, but that's another whole story. Geez people! Just agree on something and let our sweet kids start school. The positive side of this is that Sadie and I get to spend lots of quality time together that we wouldn't have otherwise gotten had she started school this week! Sawyer DID start yesterday, since his school is considered "private", so we're just taking him to school and wondering when Sadie will be next. The negative side to the positive side is that since Sadie is not in school, I am constantly trying to plan fun activities for EVERY day so that we can fully appreciate all of this extra time we have together. Why is that negative, you ask? Because our bank account is dwindling each time we have another "fun" day! LOL Anyways, Sawyer did indeed get to begin Pre-K yesterday! He was BEYOND excited about this!!!!! Precious little boy.

Sadie was so excited to take him to school and to get to walk him into his classroom. He did so good and he was FIRED UP! His little friend, Addie, is not in his class this year. She's going 5 days a week instead of 3, but they are across the hall from each other, so they will get to see each other on the playground!

We went into Ms. Sharon's room and Sawyer found his name at the table and he is right beside his precious buddy, Emma Cate. These 2 are pretty excited to be in class together again!!!

We picked him up after school and he said that he had a great day. He doesn't know anyone's name yet, but he will learn and he seemed to like his classmates. He already seems so big!!!!! I'm so excited about what this year will hold for him. We took him to his 4 year check up today and he is 37 pounds (SKINNY) and almost 43 inches tall (TALL)! Dr. Lund said that he is "normal" in weight, but off the charts in height! Where did my kids get their height from??????? He did so good though and answered all of her questions just as he was supposed to. I'm so proud of that little dude. Stay tuned for Sadie's Kindergarten Start update!!!!!

Getting Closer...

Last night was Sadie's "Meet the Teacher" night at Jack Anderson Elementary. She was soooooooo excited!!! I was actually excited too, b/c I've heard SO much about her teacher, so I was very anxious to meet her myself! I haven't heard one negative thing about her, so I was already pleased, but I still wanted to meet her for myself! I took the kids to eat dinner at Zaxby's beforehand b/c Dennis had his first scrimmage, so we were just meeting him at school. We had fun at dinner. The kids are just so big. I sat there and watched them last night while they were eating and just began to realize how independent they are. Time has literally jetted by! We were a little early getting to school, so we just chilled in the car while we waited on Daddy to get there. This was when the nerves (mine) started to kick in!!! The more anxious and excited and impatient that Sadie got, the more fearful, stressed, and nervous I got! It was at this point where I almost decided to just put the car in reverse and drive away!

I realized that it wasn't logical for me to try and kidnap my own daughter and not allow her to start school, so I tried to change my way of thinking. My sweet friend Jodi texted me and said that she was praying for me, and I think it worked! My nerves started to die down and once Dennis arrived, I was good to go. We marched right into that school and we followed the line just as we were told to do. Everyone we came in contact with seemed very friendly. They were all so sweet and welcoming to Sadie, so I think that put her at ease. After we filled out some paperwork and paid some dues, we got to go and meet the new principal, Dr. Aldridge. She seemed very nice. We then headed down to the Kindergarten hall. AAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH.....that scream was what I was feeling! I was excited, nervous, anxious, scared, and I started to get the feeling again that I wanted to grab Sadie and R - U - N!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But, she was SO excited, so I couldn't take that away from her. We found Mrs. Parker's room and we walked right in. She was waiting on us! Sadie was her last student that she hadn't met yet, so we got to sit and talk to her for quite some time. She seems WONDERFUL! Very laid back, but very sweet, and you can tell she loves teaching Kindergarten. I think she will be perfect for Sadie. God knew exactly what he was doing when he placed Sadie Jane in there. Sadie was looking around at everything and she seemed to love it! When I asked her to go over to Mrs. Parker and let me take a picture, she jumped right up in her lap and gave this big ole smile. Can you tell she's a little excited?????

This picture above says it all. Sadie is THRILLED to start this next chapter of her life! How can I be sad?? I am going to try my very best and EAT UP every second I get with her next week. Her "phase in" day isn't until Thursday, so we will get some special days together while Sawyer is already in school. I can't wait! When we were walking out, Sadie said "I want to live here, mommy"!!!!!!!!! For now, I am excited for her. My heart still h-u-r-t-s at her starting school, but I know she's going to be in great hands and I am thankful for that.

Sawyer is 4!!!!!!!

My little buddy turned 4 today. It was such a good, good day. Dennis decided to get him up early and take him to a special breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Boy, was he EXCITED!!! What a special time! I couldn't be more thankful to Dennis for doing that. Sawyer told everyone about it all day long. As soon as he opened his eyes, he wanted to know if he could get up and he wanted to know if he was 4 yet. I think he thought something magical was going to happen when he "turned 4". Bless him. He was so proud of his "4 year old" shirt that he got to wear all day. Some of Sawyer's "stats" are: He is about 42 inches tall and weighs about 38 pounds. He's still a little dude, but we're going to work on fattening him up a bit this year! Sawyer is the sweetest little boy in the world. His smile melts me. He is looked at and flirted with by every female he comes in contact with. He has no idea how much people "ooooh and ahhhhh" over how cute he is. He loves to sing, LOVES country music, and LOVES going to the farm with Dennis. He would rather be there than anywhere else. Hmmmmmmmmm, sounds like someone else I know. He's FIRED UP about starting Pre-K next week. He is soooooo excited about being in Ms. Sharon's class, just like Sadie was. He feels like he is so big. Yet, he's so tiny! He has just recently really expressed an interest in sports. He is always asking Dennis to go outside and play ball with him, which makes Dennis extremely happy. He and Sadie play together all day, every day. Their imaginations together simply amaze me. He will pretty much go along with whatever she says and he loves every minute of it. He just feels privileged that she asks him to play with her all of the time!

He still loves his momma, but he's not so "attached" to me anymore. And, yes....for those of you that want to know if I miss it, the answer is yes....I never thought I would miss it, but I do. He's always willing to make new friends and play with all kinds of different people. He's a FABULOUS sleeper and a pretty good eater. He loves candy over chocolate, just like his daddy. Every morning when he wakes up, I pick him up out of his bed and carry him into the den so that we can cuddle for a little while. Every. Morning. Wouldn't trade it for the world. He is a total goofball and makes me laugh hysterically on a daily basis. I'm beginning to learn that he is very smart. He memorized a Llama Llama book that I had read to him no more than a handful of times. It baffled me! He told me he wanted to "read" it to me, but I didn't really think he was going to actually "read" it! Ok, he memorized it, but STILL! He's also memorized several Bible verses this summer and he gets them so quickly! He's gonna be a smart little guy!! He is a precious, wonderful boy and I love him more than I can put into words. He is my little bubby, bud bud, Sawy, Sawdawg, Ninja, goober smoocher, and so many other things. Happy 4th Birthday to my most favorite little boy in the WHOLE wide world!!!!!

One Month To Go!

Well, today is July 6th, which means the first of day of school is ONE MONTH AWAY! Am I any more ready than I was a month ago? Nope. The upside is that 2 months from tomorrow, we leave for our family trip to Hilton Head! So, even though the kids will start school soon, we still have our most favorite week of the year to look forward to shortly after school starts! We've had a great summer so far. It's been VERY laid back. Lots of sleeping late, lots of seeing friends, lots of movies, lots of laughter, lots of time at church doing camps and VBS, a little swimming, and lots of fun! July is our busiest month of the year, so I know it will fly by! I am a little bummed b/c Sadie didn't get the Kindergarten teacher that I REALLY wanted her to get, but I know that God is in control and I know that He will put her in the most perfect classroom for HER. I'm currently covered up with consignment clothes! I've offered to tag 4 of my friends' clothes this year so that I can make some extra money for Hilton Head, so I have clothes all over my house right now! But, it's such an easy way to help them out AND make some extra money with very little effort! And, I don't have to give up time with my kiddos to do it! More updates...Dennis has a little venture that he is planning to start in the Fall. We are both SO excited about it and are hoping that it works out for him. This has been a HUGE passion of his since he was really young, so I'm so excited for this opportunity!! Not much news going on, but I just felt like I haven't updated my blog in over a month! Oh, I can't sign off without failing to mention that we have had RECORD HEAT for the past couple of weeks. It's. Been. Miserable. We haven't been able to play outside AT ALL, which really stinks, b/c that's our most favorite thing to do. There is relief in sight, so we're crossing our fingers that we'll get to spend the last few weeks of summertime outside, where we should be!!!!!!

Back to Reality...

Wow. Disney World really takes its toll on ya! ALL of my friends have been to Disney World with their kids. All of them. I've heard their stories, seen their pictures, taken their advice, etc. But, until you've been there, you don't really KNOW. Now, I KNOW. I KNOW just how special it is. I KNOW just how magical it is. I KNOW just how addicted you can get to being there. It truly is the "Happiest Place on Earth"!!!!!! The characters are happy. Duh! The people visiting there are happy. Well, for the most part. (we did see a husband and wife get into a SCREAMING match one night on the way to the tram...in front of their 2 precious girls. So sad.) The employees are even happy! Like, even the sweet guy who was changing out the trash bags in the trash cans on Main Street. He joked around with Sawyer. How kind! I'm not sure what the Disney people do to ensure that their employees will all be so kind, but they do it well! We had such a special week. I was NOT ready to come back. Dennis and I both said that we wish we could've just stayed for another week and started all over again. I feel like if we want to go back in 5 years, we better start saving NOW. Ouch. Sadie and Sawyer were the king and queen of Troopers this week. We woke them up early almost every day, would wear them out to the point that they would be delirious, take them back for rest time, make them go to sleep immediately, wake them up from naptime, shove food down their throat, take them back to the parks and wear them out until midnight, and then bring them back to the condo and make them immediately go to sleep again...just to start all over the next day. The greatest part is, they loved it! They were so awesome all week long! No meltdowns all week! Woo Hoo!!!! Not to mention, the food that we were feeding them was far from healthy all week. I think a few mornings they had Hershey Bars and Reese's for breakfast. Pizza many nights for dinner. And, for lunch? Maybe a bag of Doritos and a sucker?? LOL They could've cared less. We just needed to fuel them up! Whatever was handy was what they got! LOL Sawyer CRACKED ME UP this week. I mean, I seriously laughed at him more this week than I ever have before. I don't know what it is about him, but his little personality is really started to shine. He is going to be hilarious. The girls are gonna love him one day...he's cute AND funny...sounds like someone else I know that I fell in love with almost 20 years ago...hmmmmmmmm..... Sadie was exactly like I wanted her to be. She was intrigued by every Princess. She LOVED getting to meet them all. She was totally wrapped up in the "magic" of it all. She was never afraid of the characters like I feared she would be. She LOVED them! She's much more cautious of things, and we definitely had to continuously explain to her the difference in "pretend" and "real". She was much more brave than I thought she would be and I was so proud of her!!!! I love that girl more than words. Is it possible to love your kids MORE while you're at Disney World??? LOL We're slowly but surely getting back into the swing of things in our "real world". I'm going to try my very best to enjoy EVERY second of these next 2 months with my kids, especially Sadie Jane, since 2 months from tomorrow, school begins again!!!!

Last Day at Disney...BOO HOO

We got up early this morning and headed to Magic Kingdom to finish up our week! I really wanted to be there early enough to watch the whole production of the park opening. They put on a little show and then the train pulls in with a lot of the characters on it, including Mickey and Minnie! They sing songs, do a countdown, and "open" the park!!!! It is really a neat thing to watch. We marched right on through the gates and went STRAIGHT to Rapunzel. Our goal for the day. Even though we were there right when the park opened, we still had to wait about 45 minutes to see her! Unfortunately, the rain started as soon as we got in line. But, we pushed through and got to see her. She was precious to Sadie and Sawyer. She asked Sawyer what his favorite color was and he said "camo". She said "well, then you and Pascal will be best friends b/c he's a chameleon and he loves to be camo! Wait...is Pascal on your shoe?? (he had on Camo crocs) Sawyer jumped back and looked at his shoe like there was really a lizard on his shoe. Too cute. She was super sweet and took a lot of time to talk to them. Sadie was in heaven! After that, we went and waited in line to meet Daisy. The line was short and moved quickly, so Sadie really wanted to get her autograph. Afterwards, we went to "Confectionery". If you can't guess what that is by the name of it, it's a DELICIOUS chocolate/candy/sugar store. Basically, my heaven! Everything is shaped like Mickey and everything has tons of chocolate on it! We got a couple of Mickey shaped/icing covered brownies, a Mickey shaped Cake pop w/ marshmallow ears, lollipops, and a cupcake. That was our breakfast...LOL We went over to Frontierland and Sawyer wanted to stand in line to see Donald and get his autograph. Donald was fired up that Sawyer had a "Donald Duck" pen and he started jumping up and down. We then went and rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad 2 times. There was no line, so it was AWESOME! Sawyer was thankfully JUST tall enough to ride the big rides! He, of course, LOVED it and wanted to ride it about 50 times. It started to really rain, so we found a spot to eat some lunch. We headed over to the Magic Carpet Ride and then it REALLY started raining. So, we rode it in the pouring down rain. We went over and got to meet Jasmine and Aladdin. I love the way the characters take so much time with the kids. They make each kid feel so special. And, I love the way that they always stay in character, like they are in their movies. After that, we decided to head back for naps and a break from the monsoon! It's funny how you don't even care that you are soaking wet and riding rides in the pouring down rain. As long as the kids are having fun!!! After we rested, the 4 of us decided to head back and finish up our trip at Magic Kingdom. Grammy and Captain took the night off. It was the most PERFECT night!!!! We went and rode a Stitch ride and it was HORRIBLE. Waste of time. Disney needs to take Lilo and Stitch off the map. We went and watched the "Dream Along w/ Mickey" show at the Castle. It was WONDERFUL! It had all of the characters plus some of the prince and princesses. The kids loved it! Sadie and I rode Space Mountain together. I haven't ridden it since I was about her age, so I was REAL excited. She cried during the ENTIRE ride. I think she was just scared b/c she had to ride by herself, b/c it was only 1 person per seat. I loved it though. Afterwards, she said she wanted to ride it again, but we weren't able to. Dennis and Sawyer went and rode the Buzz ride again and then met us afterwards. We went over to FrontierLand and watched the Electric Parade again. It was worth it! I know I said it the other night, but I love how the characters all interact w/ the kids! It makes them feel so special! They all either came over or waved to Sadie and Sawyer and they just ate it up! When it was over, we ran to Thunder Mountain Railroad, but it was closed for the night b/c it was broken. So, we decided to suck it up and ride Splash Mountain. It ended up being one of my most favorite rides!! It was so fun!! The kids both LOVED it!!! We came out just in time to catch our last fireworks show. Yes, I cried. I've just had the BEST time this week and I'm not ready for it to be over. The good thing is, we did EVERYTHING we wanted to do and more, so we can leave with NO REGRETS. It has been the most special week and I wouldn't have changed a thing. Watching the kids faces light up over and over again has been the biggest blessing of all. As we were walking out (and I was still crying) Sawyer said "bye Cinderella. bye Castle. bye Disney". Bless him. We stopped at the Edy's ice cream parlor on Main St. as we were leaving, then we took the Ferry back to the parking lot. What a special, special week that I will never, ever forget!!!!

Disney - Day 5

We overslept this morning! Whoops! We hurried and got ready and headed to our day at Epcot! I didn't think there would be a lot to do there, but we loved it! We met the other Phillips family there and we all rode the Nemo ride together, which was SO neat!! Probably one of my favorites from the week. Its one of the newer rides, so it was really cool! We left there and did the "Crush Talk" w/ the turtle from Nemo. It was super cute too! We went and rode the Figment of the Imagination ride after that, which was pretty good. Then, it was time for me, Deb and Sadie to go our Princess lunch in Norway. Sadie was STRUGGLING, b/c it was H-O-T for the first time all week, she hadn't eaten anything yet all day, and she was tired. So, I actually let her eat a sandwich while we were waiting to go eat w/ the Princesses. It totally helped to perk her up and give her some energy. As soon as we walked in, Belle was standing there for pictures with each child. Sadie was in heaven! She was so sweet. She had her picture made with Belle (in her matching Belle dress, of course) and then we were seated for lunch. I had a roasted shiitake mushroom ravioli w/ a parmesan cream sauce and it was delicious!!!! Once we were finished eating, here came the princesses!!! First was Aurora. Sadie loved her! Then, Snow White...then, Cinderella again! Next was Ariel! Sadie couldn't believe it! All of her favorites were there! After the princesses all came by, they let each child go on a "princess walk" around the little castle. They all lined up and they played a precious song, and yes, at that point, I cried. I couldn't help it. Sadie just looked so happy and I knew I'd never forget that sweet moment of seeing her walking behind Cinderella with all of those other sweet kids. Mc and Alba came in too and we got to see them before they went to do their lunch. We met up with Dennis, Sawyer, and LJ after that. They had gone to eat lunch in Mexico and then rode a Voyager ride while we were doing our Princess lunch. We walked around all of the countries. It was GORGEOUS! Epcot is so well-kept and the surroundings are just breathtaking. It was neat to see each country, although we didn't really stop and go in, b/c it was H-O-T, and we were all DRIPPING w/ sweat! We did get to see storybook Belle and the Beast, and Alice on our way to go ride "Soarin". We did Fast Passes for Soarin, so we wouldn't have to wait. It was an AWESOME ride. Probably the coolest ride so far. It literally felt like we were flying over all parts of America. The coolest part was that the ride ended by us flying over the Magic Kingdom into the fireworks. The kids loved it! We went and rode a little boat ride also and then headed home for rest time. The kids were even more exhausted today b/c the heat was out of control! They napped until 6:00 when we HAD to go and wake them up. They were both dead asleep! I think we have officially worn them out, but we CAN'T STOP NOW!!!!!!!!!!! We ordered pizza (our resort has an onsite Pizza Hut, KFC, and A&W restaurants), ate quickly and headed to Hollywood Studios. We went straight to the Pixar section, saw that the Toy Story Ride was on an hour and a half wait and were bummed... But, Dennis turned around and saw Buzz and Woody, so we jumped in line and let Sawyer have "his moment". Sadie has had LOTS of "moments" all week, and it was now Sawdawg's turn! He was REAL excited to meet his 2 favorite peeps! It was awesome! The worker made sure to sneak over and tell Buzz and Woody that Sawyer has been waiting ALL week to meet them. So, they spent a little extra time with him. Sawyer RAN up to Buzz and yelled "To Infinity and Beyond" and then he ran to Woody and said "There's a snake in my boot"! It was hilarious. Afterwards, we went and got to see Mater and Lightning McQueen. Another 2 of Sawyer's faves! We went to see the Muppets 3-D show. It was precious. Then, we went and rode Star Wars. It was actually pretty cool, but it totally made me nauesous. Too much moving and shaking for me! We made our way back over to Toy Story and only had to wait for about 10 minutes! Woo Hoo! The ride was really neat!!! The kids loved it! Afterwards, we went and saw the Voyage of the Little Mermaid. It was another show and it was really cool! Once that was over, the park was closing, so we had to leave. It was a GREAT, GREAT day. The weather was AWESOME tonight!!!!!! We have definitely been BEYOND blessed this week!!!!!!! I realized something tonight...even when I have been so tired, beyond exhausted, body hurting, sunburnt, carrying 250 things, sweating profusely, tired of waiting in lines, sick of people, etc...NONE of that matters when I get to see my 2 kiddos living it up and having the time of their life. I learned this week to throw selfishness out the window and I have soaked up every single minute with my family. I'm not sure when we will be able to do this again, so I have definitely cherished EVERY single moment. I haven't let a day (or an hour) go by when I haven't just stopped and thanked God for allowing us to be here at such a time as this!

Disney - Day 4

We got to sleep in a little bit today, which was nice. We went to Typhoon Lagoon as soon as we got up. It was amazing. I've never been to a water park quite like this. The kids LOVED it! Sawyer went down all of the water slides about a thousand times. Sadie loved the lazy river the most. We played and played in all of the water stuff until we were ALL pooped!!!! We came back to the condo and rested for just a little while before getting ready to go to the Cinderella dinner. Sadie got all dressed up in her beautiful white Cinderella gown. I pulled her hair back in a tight bun, put on a little bit of make-up, and put her crown on. She looked so beautiful!!! I almost cried. She was so confident in the sweetest way. You could just tell she was proud of herself. We arrived at the Grand Floridian for our Royal Cinderella dinner. It is such a beautiful resort. We all met and ate dinner w/ Rach, Daren, Mc and Alba, and Rach's parents. They do it so neat there! They sound a trumpet and announce each "character" before they enter the ballroom. Prince Charming was first, followed by Cinderella, then the stepsisters and the stepmother. Sadie was starstruck. It was adorable. Sawyer even enjoyed it all! All of the female characters left him BIG lipstick kisses on his cheek and he was precious. Then, Prince Charming and Cinderella do the Waltz together. It was magical. The cast all stays in "character", so it was hilarious to see the stepsisters fighting. The stepmother came over and was "mad" and made them hug and make up. It was just awesome! After dinner, the big adults came back to the condo while we all decided to go and do Magic Kingdom for a little while. We headed over and rode Dumbo, Goofy's Barnstormer (several times), Peter Pan, It's a Small World, and the Mad Hatter Tea Cups. There was hardly a wait for any of them, except for Peter Pan, but it wasn't bad. Sadie and McHaney were so excited to get to finally ride some rides together. They were so cute. We headed out of the park around 10:30 and got stuck in the LONGEST line for the Monorail. The kids were beyond exhausted, but we made it home close to midnight. We were so glad that we went, b/c we had a great time!!!!!

Disney - Day 3

We FINALLY got to sleep in this morning. Praise the Lord! I slept til after 8:30 and so did the kids. I felt like I could've slept all day! We had planned on going to Typhoon Lagoon today, but the radar didn't look good. So, we decided to use today as our "swim at the condo" day. We swam in the pouring down rain and still had a ball. It only rained for a bit and then it was just cloudy. Luckily, our pool is heated, so we were warm and toasty for the most part. The kids had an absolute ball. I think they could've stayed out there all day. We did stay for several hours. We ate lunch out by the pool and swam some more. We came in and let the kids take naps and then we ordered some pizza and got ready for the night. LJ took the night off tonight, so Grammy came with us and we went to Downtown Disney. We went straight to the World of Disney store. My personal favorite! I love that store and I am pretty sure I could spend hours in there!!!! It's the biggest Disney store in the whole world. We walked around all of Downtown Disney. We wanted to ride the big hot air balloon, but they saw some lightning, so they shut it down for the night. We got the kids some ice cream and went over to the ampitheater and watched some of the show. I went to another one of my favorite stores, Ghiradelli, and got me a DELICIOUS brownie!!!! Y-U-M!!!! We had a great time. I definitely do NOT want this week to EVER end!!!!!!!

Disney - Day 2

We started out our day, a little earlier than I would've liked, at Chef Mickey's. We went to bed SO late last night, that I could've slept MUCH later than 7:00 a.m. this morning! However, Chef Mickey's was a HUGE success! It was so much fun! Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto all came around and we got to have pics made with all of them. The kids were fired up the whole time. We left there and headed to Animal Kingdom for the day...or, so we thought...we went in and immediately went to "A Bugs Life" 3-D show. Some of us (adults) thought it was great! The kids, well, not so much. It was a big much for them, b/c spiders came down out of the ceiling and a scary grasshopper popped out of the wall, among other not-so-pleasant things. Sadie was pretty good. But, Sawyer was literally acting as though someone was stabbing him over and over again. He was S-C-R-E-A-M-I-N-G through almost the whole show. He climbed in my lap and was shaking and screaming and crying. I was hysterically laughing b/c I knew nothing was going to happen to him, and honestly, I couldn't help it! We left there and went to see The Lion King. It was a GREAT show! Lots of songs and dancing. Almost like a mini-Broadway show. The kids loved it. After that, we headed to DinoLand and we rode the Triceratops while Grammy and Captain went to get our Fast Passes for the Safari. Only, when we got off of the Triceratops, the bottom FELL OUT of the sky and it POURED! Like, full out, thunder, hard rain, for a long, long time. We called Grammy and Captain and we met them at the car. We headed back to the condo to rest, and dry out! After naps, we headed back to Animal Kingdom and we rode the Safari. It. Was. Awesome. We saw elephants, hippos, rhinos, zebras, giraffes, warthogs, cheetahs, and lions. We got to see them all up close. I was speechless. I've never seen anything like it before in my life! It was amazing! Afterwards, we went and walked through the Trail that had tons of animals to look at. We saw a hippo swimming under water in the fish tank. It was right on the other side of the glass. So cool! Then, we took the kids on "Dinosaur". It wasn't approved by Tour Guide Mike, b/c it was supposed to be scary, but we hadn't been able to ride hardly anything, so we went ahead and took the chance. It was a GREAT ride. Scary? Yes! Dark? Yes! Fun? YES! I was so proud of the kids for doing it and not completely freaking out. It was such a good indoor roller coaster! We took the kids and rode the Triceratops ride one more time. There were no lines for anything at this point, so that was nice. It is definitely a benefit to go to the parks and stay late! Nobody is there! We went and had dinner at Fuddruckers and then came back home. Another great day in the books! Can't wait til tomorrow!!!!!