A Day in the Life Of...

Do Not Dismiss

2012-01-13T15:45:00.004-06:00

Earlier today, during "naptime", Sadie called me into her room several times saying that something was pinching her hand. I was so confused. After the 2nd or 3rd time of me going back there, looking at her hand, kissing her hand, and seeing N-O-T-H-I-N-G, I told her to lay back down A-G-A-I-N and try to go to sleep. I wasn't getting upset with her. I just seriously could not see anything wrong with her hand. Sadie NEVER complains about anything. Ever. I never even know when she's really sick b/c she doesn't "act" sick. I knew something had to be wrong. What is it, God?

Anyways, a few minutes later, I hear her in her bed, crying. Softly. Breaks my heart. So, I went BACK in there to see why she was so upset. She kept saying "mommy, something is really pinching my hand". I turned around and as I turned the lamp on in her room to get a better view, I prayed to myself - "God, please let me see what's hurting her". I looked, and looked, and looked, and felt...and finally...I felt the smallest little splinter right where she'd been pointing. Thank. You. Jesus.

So, I scooped her up, brought her into my bathroom, removed the splinter, put some neosporin and a princess bandaid on it and carried her back to her bed. She was a much happier little Tinkers now.

Do not Dismiss those gentle whispers that God gives you. I came back and as I sat down on the couch, I thanked God for letting me see her hurt.

One of my NY resolutions is to try to REALLY see every thing, BIG and small, that God does this year in my life and have a deeper heart of gratitude towards HIM. Even something as small as a splinter.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-30T22:26:00.009-06:00

*so, I started trying to put all of the Christmas pics into this blog, but it takes sooooooooo long, so for now, the blog will have to be minus MANY pics...one day, when I have 10,000 hours in my day, I will add the pics...(seriously, blogger, can you please provide an easier, faster way to add pictures?????)
We had such a great Christmas this year. I seriously believe that Sadie and Sawyer's ages this year (3 and 4) are by far the BEST ages to have at Christmastime. I know, I know...I'll probably say that again next year...and the next...and the next. But, you get my point. We had SO MUCH FUN!!!

Friday night (Christmas Eve-eve), we went and had dinner at Casa Vieja. Yum. We were supposed to have a big shindig at my sister's house, but unfortunately Emma got strep throat the night before, so we had to cancel the activities for the night. Boo. So, after we went to eat, Dad and Lori came by and we did our gift exchange with them. The kids loved opening their first gifts of the season! Then, they both helped me open all of mine. So cute.

After they left, we let the kids watch our wedding video with us for the first time. It was SO precious. They loved it! The questions they asked and the comments they made were just priceless. I cried like a baby through most of the video. Okay, I sobbed. The kids kept asking me why I was crying and I just told them it's because I was so happy. Yes, that was part of the reason for sure. But, frankly, it's just plain hard to watch! I can't believe it's been 10 years. So many people have changed in that 10 years! There are people who are no longer with us that were in the video because they have passed away. My Grandpa, for example. He was so healthy then. Just walked himself right down that aisle. There are also people who have gotten much older and aged so much in just 10 short years. Dennis' grandfather, for example. He was so much healthier (and quicker) 10 years ago. Then, of course, there were people in the video who are no longer around due to the ugliness of divorce. Boo. It was just plain hard to watch how happy EVERYONE was in that video. Dancing, singing, clapping, smiling, loving, etc. And, then, there was precious little Chance, who was not even 2 years old in the video. There are no words to say how stinkin' precious he was!!!!!!!!!!! I loved and will always cherish that first time that we got to let the kids see how it all began. They need to see that. They need to see how happy we were back then. And, they need to see how happy we are now. It all matters.

Saturday morning, we got up and went straight to Grammy and Captain's house. We had so much fun there. Grammy dressed up as the Fairy Godmother and handed us all of our passes to Disney for the whole week. I seriously cannot wait for that trip to get here! We ate a great lunch and let all of the kids play. It was a wonderful time!!!!

We came home and let the kids nap and then we went to see my Grandma. She's just so wonderful. She's lovely, she's hilarious, she's loud and quiet all at the same time. She's just as perfect as they come. Kate, John, Stacy, and Brittany were all there too. We stayed just a little while and I loved every second of it. I soak up every moment I have with that woman. She's so special. There's just not one other woman on the planet like her. She got choked up several times while we were there and as always, she cried so hard when we left. God bless that sweet woman.

We headed to mom's after that. We had a DELICIOUS dinner and then opened what seemed like a million presents. Mom always goes all out at Christmastime. She got Sadie the cutest little desk for her American Girl Doll. Sadie LOVES it! And, she got me the cutest Prada purse from New York and I LOVE it!!!!!!

We left and came home to put out the reindeer food and cookies/milk for Santa. The kids kept thinking that they heard Santa and it was so darn cute!!! They seriously FLEW through bathtime and getting their PJ's on, b/c they knew that Santa wouldn't come until they were in bed. They kept telling me to look outside and see if he was there. They were excited beyond words and it was so much fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They came to the den to tell Cocoa, our elf, goodbye until next year and then they went straight to bed. We didn't hear a peep out of them.

Then, the "fun" began. Dennis and I were up until 2:00 in the morning getting it all ready. Wow. We were tired. Excited, but definitely tired. Neither of us slept all night long.

We got up around 7:00. The kids did not. They didn't wake up until sometime after 8:00. Seriously? Who does that??
Sawyer woke up first and then we got Sadie up and the whole moment was a bit anti-climactical. They ran in the den and I think were immediately overwhelmed. They were REAL excited, but they just weren't sure what to do. Hilarious. Sadie just happened to walk by the door and see the trampoline out in the backyard. She was SO excited!!!! So, we put on coats and houseshoes and went straight out there to jump! They loved it!!!!! Mom and Butch came by for just a second and then Dennis and I opened our gifts to each other. He went WAY overboard. He always does. He spoils me. I got him a new 9mm Glock, so he was pretty fired up too! :)
Deb and LJ came by for a few minutes and when they left, we made our Christmas morning breakfast. Mornin Glory Oven French Toast. Yum-O!
We pretty much played all day long. The kids napped and then Dennis' dad came by for a few minutes too. The kids loved showing off all of their stuff.
Dennis smoked bbq all day, so we had a delicious Christmas dinner too. We played our new games on the Kinect and just had a ball. Love the memories of Christmas. They never get old.

Monday morning (the day after Christmas) we got up and went to Dennis' grandma's for Christmas. It was crazy, but a lot of fun! It felt pretty good outside, so the kids were able to play out there, which was nice.

It was a wonderful, wonderful Christmas this year. I definitely was not ready for it to be over. But, it's nice to be able to look back on it and know that it couldn't have been any better!!!

Christmas Surprise at Opryland

2011-12-23T14:31:00.014-06:00

Sooooooo, Dennis came home a few nights ago and surprised me with a nights stay at Opryland Hotel for Thursday night. (last night) He found out that he wouldn't have to work on Friday, so we all got to go and enjoy our night together as a family.

He met us at home and we loaded up and headed to the hotel. We hadn't told the kids yet what we were doing. They just knew we were spending the night somewhere away. When we pulled in and they saw all of the lights and the size of the hotel, they were fired up!

The lady at check-in upgraded us to a room in the Delta with a balcony! Woo Hoo! We went straight to the room to see our view!

After we checked out the room, we went and bought the kids their "passports" so that we could go and meet and have our pictures made with all of the Shrek characters. Sadie was a little shy at first, but once we got to meet Puss in Boots, she was ALL about it! We also got to go into Gingy's Gingerbread House and decorate Gingerbread cookies. It was SO MUCH FUN!!!!!

We walked around some more...and some more...and some more...the lights everywhere were just beautiful!!! We grabbed some pizza and burgers and had some dinner and then we went and rode on the Delta Riverboat around the hotel. It was so neat. This was a huge hit with the kids!

I had to throw in that picture of Sawyer eating his pizza. It was the biggest piece of pizza I've ever seen and he had the greasiest face and hands. Hilarious!

We went and got some ice cream and then headed back to the room. We all went to bed very quickly b/c everyone was worn out!

We got up and the kids went straight to the balcony! They loved looking out over everything and getting to see people walking by.

We checked out and grabbed some breakfast at Cracker Barrel and headed home to get ready for our fun Christmas weekend ahead! Can. Not. Wait.

Thank you honey for the most WONDERFUL way to kick off our Christmas weekend together! I couldn't have asked for a better night to spend with my family!!!!!!

Christmas Crack

2011-12-20T08:44:00.005-06:00

Well, it has officially hit the Phillips household. It should be illegal, but it's not. It is only offered for a few weeks during the year and the best part...??? It's FREE! It's called CHRISTMAS CRACK! And, Sadie and Sawyer are on it EVERY DAY! All. Day. Long.

I love it!

They are definitely filled with the Christmas Spirit. This has been the BEST year so far with the kids. We have done lots of fun things. We have gone to the Rockettes, gone to see Christmas lights, gone to visit Santa, gone to a Shepherd's Breakfast at church, done several countdowns to Christmas, watched several hundred Christmas movies, talked about the birth of Jesus, talked about the importance of Christmas and giving, had several Christmas parties, and last but not least...we are looking SO forward to Sadie's very first Christmas program tomorrow morning!!!!! I remember going to Chance and Emma's programs at school when they were very little and I would almost cry every time, so I hope I don't embarass myself tomorrow!

We still have LOTS to look forward to this week. We are making cookies for Santa, making reindeer food, making LOTS of people food, and celebrating Christmas with ALL of our families! And, Dennis planned a special, AWESOME night for the 4 of us coming up on Thursday night. I. Can't. Wait. We haven't told the kids yet, b/c we fear the Christmas Crack will put them in rehab, but we are so excited! There are no husbands/daddies better than mine! He is the most unselfish, giving, loving, 34 year old kid that I've ever met! He took his small Christmas bonus this year and bought the kids a Christmas train set b/c he knew how much they would love it. And, they have. And, he planned this whole night for all of us on Thursday night that I am looking so forward to! (details to come)

One of my favorite parts of Christmas is Cocoa, our Elf on the Shelf. Although, I brought Cocoa out a little too early this year (whew!) we have so enjoyed him being a part of our family during this time of year. He has ziplined across the den, eaten cupcakes and hot chocolate, brought the kids letters to write to Santa, sat in Santa's lap, played in the fireplace, written on the mirror in the bathroom, been a snowman, and many other things. We're sure going to miss the little guy when he heads back to the North Pole this weekend.

Anyways, I hope everyone else is getting to experience the Christmas Crack this year! It's definitely a drug worth taking!!!!!!

Christmas Heart

2011-12-14T15:48:00.005-06:00

Christmastime is all about the heart. What you feel in the heart. What you let your heart lead you to do. What you let fill up your heart, etc.
Contrary to popular belief, I don't think Christmas has to be ALL about giving to others. I know what you're thinking..."wow, did she really just say that?"
Yep, I did.
The reason I say that is because I feel as though we should ALWAYS be giving to others. Don't just save it for Christmastime! If we would all give all year long, there maybe wouldn't be such a "need" during this time of year! And, if we all would find ways to give all year long, we wouldn't feel the "guilt to give" during this time of year.
People love to proclaim to everyone who will listen what they're doing to "help" others during Christmas. If you're letting the world know everything you are doing to help out others during Christmas, your heart is probably not in the right place to begin with and more than likely, you're not doing it for all of the right reasons.

We love to get our kids lots of goodies for Christmas! I don't think there is anything wrong with that. Now, if we never gave to the church, never helped anyone out, never gave money to help the orphans, or a single mom, or the homeless, etc., and we STILL showered only our kids with gifts at Christmas, I can see the problem. But, I don't think there is anything wrong with allowing your kiddos to have a good Christmas.
I know everyone's convictions are different. Some people desire for the praise of others. Some truly want recognition. I am not here to judge. I am only here to say that only God knows our hearts.
That's what having a "Christmas Heart" means to me. It means that I can do things that maybe nobody else knows about, but all that matters to me is that God smiles. I can do something for someone that my own husband doesn't even know about, but I don't need the praise from him. I simply do it because God leads my heart to do it and we are only called to be obedient.
So, for what it's worth, have a Christmas Heart this year. A heart that's not so focused on how much you're "supposed" to spend on someone, or how to make everything "even" between the kids/grandkids/parents, etc. Just do what your heart leads you to do! Give because you WANT to give. Not because you're "supposed to"! Let your heart be blessed!!!!!

Month of Thankfulness

2011-11-03T14:48:00.005-05:00

As I read everyone's post on Facebook about what they are thankful for each day during the month of November, I find myself constantly reflecting on what I am thankful for, although I don't post it to Facebook. I often think that people get way too personal on Facebook. It's not just used as a "social networking" site anymore. Its not that I don't want to share with my friends what I am thankful for. It's just that sometimes I don't think that people are completely honest on Facebook and I like to go against the grain sometimes. I mean, of course we are all thankful for God, our family, our friends, etc. But, I find myself discovering that I am thankful for things that maybe aren't as obvious. But, they still make my heart scream with thanksgiving. For example...
-I am thankful that God whispers to me. I don't audibly HEAR God talking to me, but He definitely gives me gentle nudges (which I refer to as "whispers") all day, every day. It may be something small, like whispering for me to go and love on the kids. Or, it may be something large like whispering for me to step out on faith about something.
-I am thankful that my kids love each other. Ok, I know what you're thinking...blah, blah, blah. But, to me, it's so extra special that my kids love each other like they do. I constantly see them doing sweet things for each other. Sweet things that I don't think ALL siblings do for each other. Sadie takes care of Sawyer. Her little heart truly wants him to be okay in every situation. She rubs on his back if he's upset and she crawls up in the recliner with him while he does his breathing treatments so that he doesn't have to sit by himself. Sawyer loves to see Sadie's face light up when he goes and digs out an old favorite toy that she hasn't played with in a while and he hides it behind his back as to "surprise" her with it when he takes it to her. They love, love, love to play together. Even to the point that they will kick me out of the playroom just so that they can be alone together with their imaginations. I'm perfectly fine with that.
-I'm thankful for my family. But, even more than that general statement, I am thankful for my mom and dad. I am thankful that I have such close, different relationships with each of them. I am thankful that even though my parents are no longer "together", I can recollect memories of 18 years that I did have a complete family and for that, I am thankful. There are lots of kids whose parents get divorced when they are very young and they have no memories at all.
-I'm thankful for my children's health. Again, I know every parent is thankful for this. But, when I was pregnant with both of my kids, I went through times of numbing fear that something would be wrong with one of my kids. I am "that mom" that usually bursts into tears anytime I hear of another child that has cancer, passes away, etc. My kids are so healthy and so perfect and for that, I am thankful. I am thankful that, unlike many other parents, we don't have to take trips back and forth to the hospital, or keep up with medications every day.
-I'm thankful for Dennis. I'm thankful that I've loved him over half my life. I'm thankful that we have a HUGE history together and that I can barely remember life without him. I don't really have to worry that I will "find out something new" about him one day, because I pretty much know it all, and I am thankful for that certainty. He knows every detail of my past, and he is going to be in every detail of my future. I am thankful that he doesn't hound me about money. He lets me get my hair done, buy a shirt when I need some retail therapy, and go to dinner with my girlfriends without ever complaining. I am thankful that he loves our kids and he especially loves our little family. I am thankful that commitment actually means something to him and he doesn't take "marriage" lightly. I'm thankful that divorce is not an option with him.

Those are just a few things that my heart is thankful for. They might be a little different than what others perceive to be thankful for on Facebook. But, that's ok by me. I'm a lucky, lucky girl!

Fall Break 2011

2011-10-19T15:10:00.008-05:00

We had an extremely uneventful Fall Break this year. Luckily, for the most part, the weather was great. So, we had lots of time to play outside! By the end of the week though, I was going stir crazy!!! Dennis had already planned to take Sawyer to the farm all weekend, so I knew it was just going to be me and Sadie Jane for the weekend. At the VERY last minute, Dennis surprised me and told me that I could take Sadie somewhere for the weekend. I decided to try and plan a weekend trip for my mom and I to go to Chicago and take Sadie to the American Girl mega-store up there. But, it didn't work out, so we decided to go to Atlanta instead. Which, I love Atlanta and it has become a little like our 2nd home, so I was still real excited about it! Our main purpose was to get Rebecca's ears pierced and her hair done. I also booked us a late lunch at the American Girl Bistro, b/c it was so fun and delicious last time.
We left Friday afternoon and got there with just enough time to go into the store and have her ears pierced and hair done. Sadie was SO excited. It was precious. She was also a bit delirious b/c it was pretty late!

We went to have dinner at Fuddruckers. YUMMY! Then, since my mom is just like me, we went to the Cheesecake Factory and got Linda's Fudge Cake to go! We went back to the hotel and hung out for a bit and chowed down on our cake. Sadie was so tired that she put herself to bed after her bath.
We got up Saturday morning, got ready, and headed straight to the mall. We ate some breakfast and got some coffee at Starbucks and then went back to the American Girl Doll store. We shopped in the mall, shopped some more, shopped some more, and then went to the Bistro for lunch.

We headed home after our lunch. I had such a good time. There's nothing like spending time with your mom and your daughter. I couldn't ask for anything more!!!!!!

Hilton Head Island, 2011

2011-09-13T21:49:00.008-05:00

Ok, this blog is TOTALLY for our memories! I sat down each night on our trip and recorded on here what we did that day. I never wanna forget it! So, feel free to skip this particular blog, b/c it will more than likely bore you to death. I was going to add pictures throughout the whole thing, but I knew it would take too long. Don't say I didn't warn you!!!!
Our vacation officially started around 5:30 on Friday, September 9th. Dennis got home from work a little early, got us all loaded up fairly quickly, and we hit the road. We stopped for a quick dinner-to-go and headed to Kennesaw, GA, where we stopped to spend the night. We always have a good time staying in hotel rooms together. Always an adventure, that's for sure, but we always have lots of laughs and we love being in close quarters together. We got up Saturday morning and headed over to our favorite Cracker Barrel for breakfast. We stopped in Macon at our favorite outlet mall and had a bathroom break and some Dairy Queen. It's so nice over there. We love it. One day, maybe we can even do some shopping! They have the BEST stores!! We were to anxious to shop today though! We wanted to get to HHI!!! So, we headed that way! We only had to stop one more time for a quick potty break, which was unbelievable. Normally, we have to stop about once an hour for someone to go to the bathroom. So, we were pleasantly surprised at how easy the travel was this time! We got to our house and immediately walked down to the beach to see the ocean. I love to see how the kids faces light up when we all take off running down there. They get so excited. We headed back up to the house and as soon as Dennis unpacked the car, I headed to the grocery store. Once I got back, we went over and had dinner at Steamers. YUM! The GA/SC game was on, so it was a bit crazy, but we still had a great, delicious dinner. It's one of our most favorite places to eat here. We had a full moon, so after getting ice cream at the Ice Cream Cone, we headed down to the beach with our flashlights, headlights, glow wands, etc. The moonlight was so bright, it just made a beautiful reflection on the ocean. Just gorgeous. We chased a few crabs around and came on back to the house to call it a night. We were exhausted! Sunday, we got up and ate some breakfast. I then realized that I had not only forgotten ALL of Sawyer's underwear at home, but I also forgot to bring the kids' floaties. They don't technically "need" them anymore, but I always insist they wear them when we go far out in the ocean, for obvious reasons. So, we went to Walmart and luckily found underwear and floaties. LOL
We came back here and went to the beach. It was a BEAUTIFUL day. Not a cloud in the sky. Very calm ocean. Little bit of a breeze. Just perfect. We played and played. We came back to the house and swam in the pool for a little while. I made lunch for everyone and the kids took LONG naps. Sawyer slept for almost 3 and 1/2 hours! Wow! We went to dinner at Marley's Island Grille. Aimee Brown recommended this place to us and it was delicious!!!! I got the sea scallops in a sugar cane sauce and oh me, oh my. It was to DIE FOR!!! We also had Sesame Ahi Tuna and Calamari. Everything was just wonderful. Marley's also has a homemade ice cream shop, so that's where we headed after we ate dinner. We walked around for a while and ran into Harris Teeter to grab a movie from RedBox. We came back here and went down to the beach again. We chased crabs around FOREVER. It was so much fun. It was one of those nights where you want to stay out there forever and just push pause. The kids were having a ball. The Lord has already blessed us with gorgeous days and nights and we've only been here for 2 days.
Monday morning, we got up and headed straight to the beach. Another perfect day. We love the beach here b/c there is NOBODY here! It's almost as if you have your own private beach. The kids can run around anywhere they want to and you don't have to worry about them getting lost or bothering anyone else. Not to mention, the breathtaking beach homes are not a bad backdrop either. It's much better than staring at highrise condos or hotels! Sadie's little foot got stung by a jellyfish, but she really seemed ok. We saw TONS of dolphins swimming in the ocean. It was amazing. They swim so closely to the shore. It is truly unbelievable!!! Sawyer also almost got attacked by a dog, but Dennis took care of that quickly...enough about that...We played a little football on the beach and then headed back to the house for some pool time. We had lunch and swam a little more and then the kids took a nap. I love naptime, b/c it gives Dennis and I some alone time. We just lay out, hang out in the pool, and relax. All by ourselves. Ahhhhhhhhhhh....
Monday night, we went to eat at Salty Dogs, another one of our favorites. I got a drink called the Kiwi Colada. Wow. That was by far the best frozen drink I've ever had. YUM! I got the Margarita Salmon, which unfortunately made me throw up later in the night. So, even though it was delicious at the time, it kept me up half the night while I was sick as a dog! After dinner, we walked all around the docks at Salty Dog. It's so pretty there. We watched the moon rise. It was literally pink as it started to make it's rise. The kids even thought it was the sun, b/c it was so bright pink. It was so pretty watching it rise into a cloudless sky. Just beautiful. We headed to the Ice Cream Cone (again). Sawyer was carrying his ice cream and tripped outside and just ate the sidewalk. He was SCREAMING. The whole place was staring at us. Lovely. Sadie was so sweet to him. She was letting him hold her new dalmation puppy that she had just bought. And, she was hugging him and kissing him. Made my heart just overflow. We came back here and took the kids bubble guns that light up down to the beach. Somehow, our time down there turned into a dance party. The kids were dancing around everywhere and having a ball. No, there was no music. Just daddy saying "Go Sadie, Go Sawyer, etc.". Love it. We came back here and were washing our feet off and we decided to sit on the side of the pool for a minute. Then, I decided to push Sadie into the pool with her clothes on. Then, we decided to push Sawyer in. Then, I went in, and lastly, Dennis jumped in. The kids thought that was the greatest thing ever. Love making memories with them. I hope they remember those times forever! We got them in bed very late!
I was awoke at about 2:00 a.m. to extreme nausea. I threw up for a while! Yuck! Don't really ever wanna look at salmon again. Luckily, I brought tons of medicine, so I took a Zofran and went back to bed.
The kids slept REAL late on Tuesday. Yay! So did we! We went down to the beach and played for a long time. Sadie and I about got taken down by a HUGE wave that was WAY over our heads! It sucked us under and ripped my sunglasses off and ripped my ponytail out! Wow! I was freaking out! Sadie flipped out a little bit, b/c I think it scared her so bad. But, we were fine. Dennis helped the kids build some sandcastles and then we headed up to the pool. After lunch, the kids conked out again and took great naps. We got ready for our beach pictures. Maureen came around 6:00 to take our pics. Then, the kids played in the ocean..in their clothes. Lovely. They were having a ball though, so that's all that mattered. We went and had dinner at the Smokehouse. It was pretty good. We needed a break from seafood for a night, especially after my episode the night before. We went to the Ice Cream Cone and then came on home. We skipped going to the beach, b/c we were just pooped!!!!
We got up Wednesday morning and ate some breakfast and decided to do some shopping. We headed to the outlets and we shopped around for a couple of hours at the new Tanger outlets in HH. We went and had lunch at Fuddruckers. YUM! We came back home and let the kids take naps. Dennis and I spent some time out by the pool. When the kids got up, we headed to Harbour Town. We had a hard time finding a parking space, so the kids and I jumped out and walked around on the pier until Dennis got parked. Then, we headed up the Lighthouse. The kids booked it up those stairs faster than I even thought they could! We were sweating when we got to the top! Goodness!!! The sunset was gorgeous. We came back down and walked down the pier again and saw our very own dolphin show. They were everywhere! It was so neat!! We left there and went and had a late dinner at the Black Marlin, one of our favorites. It was sooooooo yummy!!! I had a Lobster BLT and it was delicious! The kids were so good. It was VERY late and they acted like perfect angels. An elderly couple even stopped as they were leaving to tell us how precious and well behaved the kids were. Made us BEAM with joy!!! We are definitely proud of them. We went to the Ice Cream Cone (where else??) and had some ice cream just as they were closing. We came home and put the kiddos to bed. They have slept like champions this whole trip. They've taken unbelieveable naps every day and have slept all night, every night until pretty late in the morning. It's been wonderful.
Thursday morning we got up and headed straight to the beach. It was so much fun. The waves were pretty big today, so we didn't venture out too far. We played in the sand a lot and played football for a while. It was another gorgeous day. We came back here and swam for a long time in the pool. I fixed us all some lunch and afterwards, we let the kids swim some more. They were having the time of their lives. They were just playing in their own little world. During naptime, Dennis and I layed out and swam and just relaxed. After naps, we went back to the outlets and just went to a few shops. We went and had another LATE dinner at Skull Creek Boathouse, one of our most favorites. We sat outside and it was a gorgeous night. We tried to go by the Ice Cream Cone afterwards, but it was closed. So, we decided to have a cookies/milk picnic on the beach. We packed up our cookies and milk and headed down to the beach. It was so much fun and so memorable. I honestly didn't think I could love my kids anymore than I already do, but this trip has definitely made me realize that I love them more than ever. The memories we have made and the laughter we have shared is completely priceless. The ocean was so peaceful and there was a perfect breeze. That night could not have been more wonderful.
Friday morning, our very last day, we woke up to some cloudy skies and COLD temps! We attempted the beach...but, we had to come to grips with reality...it was just way too cold and windy! So, we headed straight back up to the pool. Luckily, our pool is heated, so the kids jumped right in and had a blast. Last minute, we planned a shark fishing trip, and it got moved to 1:00, so since it was so cold, I left Dennis and the kids playing in the pool, and went to search for some warm clothes for the kids so that they wouldn't freeze on the boat! I ended up at the Salty Dog T-Shirt Factory and got what I needed, then did a quick trip by Food Lion for some snacks and returned home just in time to feed the kids (and hubby) and make everyone take a Zofran! I wanted to be sure nobody, including myself, ended up getting sick on that boat! We headed to Harbour Town and boarded the Integrity. It was sooooooooo much fun. It started a little slow, but then Sadie caught a tiny baby shark. It was precious!!!! Cutest little shark I've ever seen! Then, Dennis reeled in about a 35 pound shark! It was a great boat, b/c it had an air conditioned cabin with satellite TV, bathroom, etc. It was perfect for the kids. Right about the time we were set to come back into the dock, I was able to experience reeling in an almost 100 pound stingray! It was by far the most exhausting, physical, adrenaline rush, thing I've ever done in my life! I was sweating, out of breath, hurting in about every muscle on my body, but I was also having the time of my life. It took me about half an hour to get it all the way in. What a rewarding experience! I want to do it again right now!!! There were definitely a few moments that I thought I was going to have to give up, b/c I couldn't feel my arms and hands, but I pushed through and reeled that sucker in! It ended up being a lot of fun and I'm already looking forward to next year! We came home from that and let the kids take late power naps while we got ready for dinner. We went and closed out our week the same way we started it...at Steamer! YUM! After we ate, we had to meet our photographer back here to pick out our pictures and then we went to the Ice Cream Cone one more time. What a perfect, perfect, perfect vacation week. Every year we say that there's no way it can be better than the last. And, every year, it just keeps getting better.
Saturday morning, we got up and finished packing everything up. Boo. Dennis actually got up very early, as he always does on our last day, and he went to Starbucks and then went to watch the sun rise...only, the sun rose behind all of the clouds, so he didn't get to see it. Bless his heart. He woke me up and asked if I wanted to come. I was OUT, so I declined the offer. Whoops! We packed up and headed out. We stopped to get me some Starbucks and then ran in Publix to get the kids some muffins to eat in the car. We decided to stop for a quick potty break at the Bass Pro Shop in Savannah. We walked around for a little while to stretch our legs and we were trying to decide what to eat for lunch. Somehow, as we were leaving Bass Pro Shop, we decided to check out and see how far Lady and Sons was from where we are. Much to our luck, it was only about 10 minutes away!!! It's been a dream of mine to go eat there, b/c I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Paula Deen! So, we drove down there and put our names in for the 2 hour wait. We went and parked, took the kids by Quiznos to eat a quick bite and then took them down to the Riverwalk. We got to show them where Dennis and I stayed for our 1 year anniversary. (at the Westin) It was so special! We took them in the candy store on Riverwalk and let them pick out some candy. Then, after walking around a little more and checking out Paula's store, it was time for us to eat. We were starving!!!! It was sooooooooooooo worth the wait! Most. Delicious. Food. Ever. And, that's saying a lot, considering we had just come off of a full week of delicious seafood! Dennis got the buffet which consisted of meatloaf, fried chicken, mashed taters, lima beans, black eyed peas, creamed corn, mac and cheese, collard greens, green beans, and candied yams. Whoa! I ordered the meatloaf sandwich, which was served on pumpernickle bread with a mushroom mayonnaise. It was to die for! Then, the best part...they gave us samples of ALL desserts! Warm peach cobbler, homemade banana pudding, and Paula's famous chocolate gooey butter cake. Be still my heart. Then, because Dennis is Dennis, he ALSO ordered a HUGE piece of Key Lime Pie, which looked unbelievable. And, yes, he finished it ALL! It was just absolutely delicious. No other words. So worth it. And, the best part was that our bill was only $39! I cannot believe food that is THAT good is served at a famous restaurant at such great prices!!!!! We left there and headed to Atlanta. We got to North Point Mall just in time to run in American Girl and buy Rebecca a few hair accessories. LOL We walked around the empty mall (b/c it was closing) for a few minutes to burn a little more energy and then grabbed a VERY LATE dinner at Fuddruckers. Hey, why not??? We made it to our hotel around 10:30. It ended up being a great day. Especially b/c we started the day not knowing what our plans were!!!!
Sunday morning, we all slept LATE!!!!! Woo Hoo!!! We had 2 fans going in our room, the air turned to FRIGID, and I had made sure that sun couldn't get through one spot in that room. It worked! We got ready and went to have breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Then, we headed back over to North Point Mall to do some more shopping. Basically, we were looking for every reason to prolong our trip back home. We ended up staying at the mall all day. We took the kids to Build a Bear and let them totally pick out a stuffed animal to take to Alba at the airport next week. It was very sweet. We hope she likes it!!!! We also took Sadie to get her ears pierced. Aaaaggggghhhhh! At first, she chickened out, b/c a baby was screaming in front of her after getting her ears pierced. So, we left and let them ride the merry go round, and then she said she wanted to go back. So, she did it. She was so nervous. It was breaking my heart. But, she did it. My sweet, brave girl did it! Now, she definitely cried. Which broke my heart even more. But, only for a minute. I think the "stick" shocked her more than it hurt. She looks so unbelievably grown up now. Boo. But, I love it! She looks like a precious little lady. We got treats for her. Ice cream, cupcakes, cookies, etc. She deserved it all!! We headed back home. Again...BOO! None of us were ready. I went into a major post-vacation depression pretty quickly. We literally had the time of our lives this year. It is a trip I will never, ever forget. God blessed us in so many ways that whole week. He blessed us with memories, laughter, perfect weather, content children, simplicity, good food, pretty sunsets, pretty moons, etc. The list could go on and on and on. We are so blessed. I'm already counting down the days until we go next year!!!!

Random Thoughts...

2011-08-26T14:35:00.003-05:00

I've been meaning to update this blog for the past couple of weeks. I've had a lot on my mind lately, but none of which has seemed worthy enough for a whole blog post.
First of all, my friend Cayce, had something horrible happen to her precious little boy, Crew (2 and 1/2), the other night. He fell off of the top of a barstool in their kitchen and basically had 100% impact on his little mouth as he hit the hardwood floor. Long story short...he had to have emergency surgery at Vanderbilt that night. He had to have 3 teeth pulled (which were basically already dangling by their roots after the fall) and LOTS of stitches. He had a facial fracture. He was swollen. Bruised. She said he didn't look like himself. To Bryan and Cayce, it was tragic. Obviously, it could've been much worse, BUT, to them, it was AWFUL! And, to me, it was AWFUL! I seriously felt (after talking to her) that it had happened to one of my own children. I was disturbed. Upset. Shaken. Unsettled. I had never heard Cayce THAT upset in my life. I have known her for 23 years and she has NEVER sounded so sad, scared, distraught. So, I said all of that to say, I have spent the whole week just wanting to be with my kids. I don't want them away from me. I was scheduled to go on a girls trip this weekend, and along with Cayce, am not going anymore. I just don't want to leave my sweet family right now. Some things happen that puts things into perspective. I just realize how precious those kiddos are and I just want time with them right now.
So, we are going on our first camping trip tomorrow night! Ok, so we are cheating a little bit. We are camping at the farm. BUT, we are still sleeping in a tent! We just have the "option" to escape inside the house, if needed...Baby steps, ok?? Growing up, our idea of "camping" was in a motorhome! So, all of this is new to me!!! I was spoiled! But, I am super excited and think it's going to be so much fun. The kids are soooooo excited! You'd think we were going to Disneyworld or something!!! I love that they get so fired up about the simple things of life! I know with technology these days and with ALL of the changes in toys, TV shows, etc. since when I as a kid, it's hard to keep them grounded. But, I want them to appreciate the simple things and to grow up loving the things that I did while having wonderful imaginations as well!
On another note, I am covered up with VIP tagging for the upcoming consignment sale. Wow. Never seen so many clothes in my life, but am hoping to make a little extra money by doing it. We shall see!
Both of the kids are loving school. Love, love, love. They get excited to go EVERY time! Yay! They both have great friends in their classes and they both love their teachers. Doesn't get much better than that! And, I have TOTALLY enjoyed having a little free time each week! I've gotten to spend time with my precious friends and I have LOVED that!!!!
So, all is well at the Phillips household. We are READY for vacation! We leave 2 weeks from TODAY! Bring it!!!!!!!!!!!!

First Day of School! First Day of School!!

2011-08-08T15:18:00.006-05:00

This is a day I have been waiting on for...well...a long time. I am not ashamed to admit it...I have been LONGING for a little bit of freedom...especially over the past year.
Those of you that know me, like, REALLY know me, KNOW that I have needed a little separation from Sawyer. He's precious, precious, precious, BUT, he is 100% attached to my hip!!!! Which, I know...go ahead and say it..."one day you will wish he was still attached...blah blah blah"! I know that. But, for now, I need some separation. Just a little bit. Or, I might kill him. Just kidding...kind of.
He's my little buddy. I could eat his face off. But, I knew he was ready to go to pre-school and be away from me. It's just for 4 hours a day, 3 days a week. Perfect. Not too much, but not too little.
And, as for my little Tinkers. Well, she just loves school, so it was natural for her to continue on and start Pre-K this year. Sadie is a teacher's dream. She loves to sit, color, paint, read, etc. That's just her thing. She's just like me! She loves organization, projects, schedules, etc.
I have looked forward to this day all summer, but I've also been a little sad about it.
The kids were both fired up about starting school. They were both excited to get up this morning and get ready to go! Well, kind of excited. I had to wake them up early and they were both a little slow to get started, but they still did it with smiles on their faces!
Dennis stayed home this morning so that he could go with me to take them to school. Oh, if he could do that every morning!! Life would be so much easier!!! But, it is definitely a special treat when he is able to do it!
Sawyer rode with him and Sadie rode with me. We took some pictures before we left!

Once we got to school, we took a few pics with some of our bestest friends!!!! So thankful to have these kids and friends at school with us!

We took Sawyer first. He actually hesitated just a tad. I was surprised, b/c I thought he'd be the one to run right in! Sadie kind of helped to show him what to do and then, without our prompting, she gave him a big hug AND a kiss and told him goodbye! Precious.

Then, we took Sadie. I was freaking out inside. I was so afraid she was going to be so scared. Well, I was wrong! She actually did so well, I didn't even get a good picture of her. She gave us a hug, walked right in, and started to put her bag and lunchbox away. She turned around, blew me a kiss and that was that. Broke my heart. I was so proud of her, but at the same time, I realized what a big girl she has become. She was the one SCREAMING, KICKING, and CRYING last year when we dropped her off! What a difference a year makes. Love her. This is the only picture I could get of her in her room. Her and Olivia were putting their stuff away together.

I left, went to the post office, went to my step class at the gym, came home, showered, sat and ate some yogurt, and then headed back to pick them up! It went by VERY quickly!!
Sawyer seemed to have a great day. Ms. Pam and Ms. Shannon said that him and Emma Cate had a small issue in the gym b/c Emma Cate hit Sawyer, but besides that, all seemed well!! LOL We picked Sadie up and she seemed great too. Both of them said they had a "great" day! Yay for school!!! I pray that every day this year is WONDERFUL for both of them!!!!

10 Years

2011-07-21T14:34:00.004-05:00

Wow, 10 years! Definitely has gone by REAL fast! I wanted to reflect on what I remembered from my wedding weekend.
I remember showing up at rehearsal and seeing Dennis sitting at the VERY top of the balcony all by himself. I went up there to see what was wrong and I remember that he was either crying or almost crying. I don't remember exactly why, but I do remember that it had something to do with family. Still dealing with those issues to this day.
I remember having a lot of fun at our rehearsal. I remember almost putting some exes together (bridesmaids and groomsmen) walking down the aisle as a pair and having to make some last minute changes to avoid that! This also resulted in Cayce and Bryan walking down the aisle together, which years later turned into them getting married!
I remember sweet little Chance, who was not even 2 years old, running down the aisle to me! I also remember realizing at that moment, he probably wasn't going to cooperate the following night at the actual wedding!!! HA
I remember loving every minute of the rehearsal dinner. Just hearing story after story after story and doing lots of laughing! I remember going back up to Dennis' grandaddy and Joann's hotel room after the dinner and they gave us the most beautiful vase as a wedding gift that we still have to this day.
I remember telling Dennis goodbye.
I remember going back to my mom and Butch's apartment in Rivergate to spend the night. Rachel stayed with me. I remember us sitting out on the back patio and chatting until it was time to go to bed.
I remember waking up that Saturday morning and being REAL excited for what the day had in store. I remember that it was supposed to be a beautiful day, but it was extremely cloudy and humid and I was real afraid it was going to rain...it didn't.
I remember going to get a massage and I specifically remember laying there and I was actually able to relax! I remember going to get my hair done and making sure that Angie did it VERY simple.
I remember going to the church to get ready and ALL of my sweet friends and family being there to get ready with me.
I remember Rachel putting my make up on.
I remember telling lots of stories. I remember Dad and Cathy bringing tons of food and snacks up to the church for everyone.
I remember getting nervous as guests started to arrive.
I remember my dad telling me right before the doors opened for us to walk down the aisle "this church is SO big, so it doesn't look like there are a lot of people here, but there are!" At that very moment, I didn't care if those doors opened and Dennis was the only person standing there. That's all that mattered to me.
I remember the very second the doors opened after the bell chimed 6 times, I looked at my dad and asked him if he was ok. He didn't answer. Then, he started to cry. Then, I started to cry. We both cried the whole entire way down the aisle. I loved every minute of it because it was so real.
I remember trying not to laugh during our vows. I didn't think it was funny or anything, but I think I was just nervous and wasn't used to being so "serious" with Dennis.
I remember when all was said and done, I have never been more happy walking back down that aisle with my "husband". I also remember when we got into the foyer, giving Dennis a big hug and realizing that he was crying happy tears. Precious!
I remember wanting to get those pictures over with quickly so we could get to the reception!
I remember having the time of my life at the reception, but its still a blur. There were so many people to talk to, so many things to do. Even though I was having so much fun, I was ready to start the honeymoon right away!
I remember leaving the country club and driving to Opryland Hotel. I remember lots of people staring at us as we got out of the Prowler in our wedding attire and checked into the hotel.
The rest...I defintely remember...but it is not for me to share!!!!!!!!
So, happiest anniversary to my love! I cannot wait for these next 10 years!!!!

Last Minute Girls Trip

2011-07-10T14:42:00.009-05:00

Tuesday night, my sis called me to see if me and Sadie wanted to go to Atlanta to the American Girl Doll store w/ her, mom, and Emma on Thursday for Emma's birthday! I was so excited. Sadie didn't really know what to be excited about, but she was real excited about another road trip!
So, we headed off (much later than expected) on Thursday night! We didn't get to our hotel until 1:00 in the morning! My precious, 4 year old trooper, never skipped a beat! Never dozed off, never whined, never complained! She just went with the flow and had a blast just being up late and hanging with the older girls. I was so proud of her and a little bit shocked that she can go off of so little sleep! We got to the hotel and pretty much went straight to bed.

We all slept in Friday morning and after we were ready, we went straight to the mall to hit the American Girl Doll store.

Sadie LOVED it! She didn't even know what it was up until this point, but she became hooked very quickly...as did I! She picked out "Rebecca" and mom was very excited b/c that's mom's name. I thought it was real sweet.

We had lunch at the American Girl Doll Bistro. They had the BEST food! I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious ALL of the food was. They do it right! The girls got to eat lunch with their new dolls. Sadie thought it was so cool b/c they serve little plates and cups for the dolls to pretend eating out of.

We headed BACK into the store after lunch to do a little MORE shopping! It was so much fun!!!
We did even more shopping throughout most of the day. I have never had so much fun with Sadie in my life. She was so much fun and so super sweet and she made me so proud because of what a trooper she was. She had NO nap again on Friday while we shopped all day long and she was as happy as a lark! We headed back home Friday late afternoon.

We made such great memories and I cannot thank my mom enough for taking us and for maxing out her credit card (see picture below) so that the girls could get so many nice things!

I know that Sadie will treasure her little Rebecca doll for years and years! But, even more than that, I think she will treasure those memories that we made even more!

I hope and pray that we will get to do things like that more often!!!

WONDERFUL 4th of July Weekend!

2011-07-05T14:40:00.031-05:00

We headed to Ross Bridge Resort on Friday for our long 4th of July weekend! We were sooooooo excited! We were meeting Grammy, Daren, Rachel and Mc there!
The kids and I picked up Dennis from work on Friday afternoon and off we went! We were running a little late in getting there, so we detoured and got the kids some dessert at Sonic and went by the Cheesecake Factory to get us a little treat as well.
When we got to the resort, Mc came running! It was so cute to see how excited all of the kids were to see each other. Precious!
The others went on to bed, but once we got unpacked, we wanted to show the kids the resort property. So, we took them down to the pool and they were blown away! It was so cute!

It was late, so we headed up to bed, but had to have dessert first!!!!! My baby girl KNOWS what is good! Sharing chocolate cake with her momma!

Saturday morning, we all got up and went and had the DELICIOUS breakfast buffet. YUM! They seriously have the best french toast in the world. They make it out of crossiants and it is wonderful!! Of course, we headed straight to the pool after that and played ALL day!!

I bet the kids went down the waterslide no less than a hundred times a day! They loved it! We did too! We know how important it is to do these fun things with our kids, so we tried to cherish every second of the day. We want them to remember these fun times forever!

I took the kids up for naptime and Dennis went and played golf with Daren. Well, I think Daren just rode in the cart...but, Dennis played an AWESOME round of golf and they got some well deserved time together! All the girls, plus Sawdawg, headed back down to the pool after naptime for a few more hours of fun!!! Dennis and Daren joined us after they finished up on the golf course. We adopted a little girl, Charlotte, for the afternoon playtime! She was precious. Deda (aka Daren) ran himself ragged with these 3 girls!

We decided to stay on the property for dinner and we ate at the Clubhouse Grill, which is my favorite. They have delicious food! We got to go out and see the bagpipe player at 7:00 while we were eating dinner. The kids thought it was so neat!

After dinner, we walked over to the golf course and we let the kids play on the hills. They loved it. Sadie was playing like she was an "animal searcher" and she was searching for animals. McHaney was pretending she was an "explorer". Love it! We ended up staying on the course until after dark and walking around some different holes. Wonderful memories made. So glad that Grammy was with us all so that she could be a part of the memories. When we headed up to the room, we gave the kids their baths and then they went on our balcony and had Oreos and milk together. So freaking precious!! I think they were even having an adult conversation. Too sweet!
I can't forget to share about what happened around 11:30 that night as we were all just about asleep. The fire alarm started going off! Sawyer was basically having a panic attack, Sadie was really confused, and Dennis and I were running around like crazy people trying to get clothes on, etc. so that we could go outside! Of course we can laugh about it now, but at the time, it was a little scary. We were only outside for a minute before they told us we could come back in, but it was hard to get the kids settled back down to go to sleep because they were so afraid the "fire engine" was going to go back off again.
Anyways, Sunday morning, we ate breakfast and headed back to the pool again for more fun!

The kids had snow cones right before lunch and they were a hit!

Rach and I got in the on the fun and had a little fun of our own with the water guns!

We took the kids up for naps and Dennis tried to take Sawyer to play golf with him afterwards, but as soon as they got down there, they pulled everyone off the course due to lightening. Bummer! They sure looked cute though!

For dinner, we all went out to Cocina Superior. We knew nothing about it, but we pulled in and went for it. Turns out, it was delicious and a wonderful, fun atmosphere. We had the best time! I had the best mini-chimichangas I've ever had. Yum!!! We got lots of cute pics of our crazy kiddos!

Aunt Rachie and I had a lot of..ahem...fun too!!!!!

We took a few pics outside by the fountain and then went across the street to a cute dessert shop called "YoLo". It was kind of a combination of a Sweet CeCe's, GiGi's cupcakes, and lots of other desserts too. My kind of place!!! Lots to choose from! The kids were in heaven! We had a hard time getting a picture of Grammy with the kids b/c Sawyer wouldn't stop eating long enough!!! LOL

We headed back to the hotel and decided to do a little night swimming. Well, we let the boys do the swimming with the kids b/c it was lightening and we thought they were only going to get to swim for about 5 minutes. Well, 5 minutes turned into over an hour! Rachel had bought all of the kids glowsticks, glow wands, glow masks, etc. so she brought those out and let the kids swim in them. The kids thought this was the cooloest thing! Good idea, Rach! Sadie is STILL talking about this night swim. I think it was the highlight of her trip!

The picture that looks like Sawyer is falling over the side of the slide is actually Dennis sliding down with him and then THROWING him up in the air as they hit the bottom. Sawyer loved it!

We all headed to bed and I started to pack things up. Boo! We all got up and yes, once again, ate the breakfast buffet, and then headed BACK to the pool to finish up our weekend of fun! Grammy got us all late check-out so that we could stay and swim for a little while. We played for a while, had some more snow cones and decided to call it a day!

We had an amazing, amazing time and made tons of wonderful memories! Thank you Grammy (and Grandma) for allowing us to go on this fabulous weekend getaway. It is definitely a weekend that we will never forget! The kids will remember it forever!

Early 10 Year Anniversary Getaway

2011-06-14T14:23:00.004-05:00

Dennis and I needed to get away together. Like...REALLY needed to get away together. I was at the point of almost strangling one of my children (do we need to guess which one? LOL) and Dennis was PAST DONE with his work situation. So, we decided to plan our 10 year anniversary trip a month early. July is crazy for us, so usually do something in June anyways. We had planned on going to Vegas for a few days, but it didn't end up working out, so we headed to Ross Bridge Resort in Birmingham, which is one of our most favorite places to get away to!
We headed out Thursday around lunchtime and took the kids to Deb's house. We went and had lunch at Pei Wei in Brentwood. YUM! Then, we hit I-65 and headed south! As soon as checked in, we hit the golf course. There was nobody else playing, so we had the course to ourselves. Dennis played 11 holes and we got to watch the sunset. Beautiful. Just beautiful. There are few things more peaceful than being on a golf course, alone, watching the sun go down.
We ate dinner in the clubhouse that night and afterwards, I got to take a bubble bath for the first time since before I had kids!!!! I forgot how good it felt!
Friday, we layed out by the pool and just relaxed all day long. Dennis tried to play golf that afternoon, but there was some lightning that had caused them to pull everyone off of the course, so he was unable to play.
Friday night, we headed to the Summit and did some walking around and shopping and then we had dinner at Flemings. It was my first time to eat there and it was FABULOUS!! Delicious! We had so much fun. Oh, and did I mention that the temperature dropped to around 75 degrees and it felt WONDERFUL outside! Finally! A break from the HEAT!
We stopped and treated ourselves to some dessert-to-go from the Cheesecake Factory as well.
Saturday, we got up and layed by the pool again for a while. Once again, Dennis tried to play golf that afternoon, but was turned down AGAIN due to lightning! Bummer! We got ready and went back to the Summit and shopped around on the other side. (that place is HUGE) Our plan was to have dinner at the Village Tavern, which is where we ate last year for our anniversary. Well...as we were shopping around, the electricity went out in the WHOLE area. Crazy!!!! So, the Summit shut down, along with all of the restaurants in the area. We're still not sure what caused the power outage, because it was a BEA-U-TI-FUL night again, but it was out EVERYWHERE. So, we were a little disappointed because we were looking so forward to celebrating our anniversary there, but then we realized...it's just a restaurant. There are lots of other places to eat! We drove to a couple of different places that we had heard of, but they were packed, so at a little past 9:00, we ended up at Ruth's Chris! YUM! I was definitely NOT disappointed that we ended up there!! My favorite!! They sat us at this very private, cozy table in our own little room and it was WONDERFUL! We will never forget our precious waiter, Mike D. He was a much older black man and he treated us so wonderfully. He was one of a kind. When we told him it was our 10 year anniversary this year, he went and brought us back 2 homemade CD's with blues and jazz music on them. We have no clue where he got them...maybe they were both his...nonetheless, it was one of the nicest things anyone has done for us and we will cherish it forever! It turned out to be a very special evening.
Sunday morning, we got up and headed home. Boo!!!
We are so thankful that we have 2 wonderful mom's that took such great care of our kiddos while we were gone. Thank you Nana and Grammy!!!! The kids had a blast while we were away!!! We are so blessed!!!!

Best Mother's Day Weekend

2011-05-14T20:54:00.005-05:00

I'm a little behind on my posting! Mother's Day was last weekend and it was WONDERFUL!! Seriously, the best Mother's Day I've ever had!
Dennis was so precious and offered to take both kids to the farm Friday night and all day Saturday.
He also left me the sweetest card and surprised me with some shopping money! Yee Haw!
I slept in Saturday morning (best feeling ever) and drank some coffee on the couch. By. Myself.
I went and shopped all morning! Got some new tennis shoes, some new workout clothes and then met my friend Jodi at the Streets and we shopped around together for a while. I came home and got ready (again, by myself!) and me, mom and Rachel all went to Green Hills Mall and to eat dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. It was so fun! We laughed a LOT and shopped around and just had a great time.

Dennis and the kids came back pretty late Saturday night and they went straight to bed.
We got up and skipped church on Mother's Day. I know, I know...that's awful!!! But, I was feeling a bit nauseous for some reason and didn't feel like rushing around and trying to get everyone ready. So, Dennis and Sawyer went to pick up some Munchkins and we just hung out until it was time to go to Grandma's for lunch.

My favorite part of the whole weekend was that Dennis made us reservations to eat dinner at my favorite place, Ruth's Chris for dinner for just the 2 of us! It was sooooooo much fun and soooooooo delicious!!!! He made me feel special all weekend long just letting me do what Mother's sometimes just need to do! I'm a lucky girl!

Too fast!

2011-04-17T15:29:00.001-05:00

I feel like every time I get on here to update my blog, it's about Sawyer achieving another milestone, with flying colors might I add. he he he

This time, its his transition to a big boy bed!!! We kind of decided on a whim that we were going to make this change. A friend of ours put a very cool bunk bed up for sale on Facebook, so we decided to buy it. It looked like the perfect bed for Sawyer's very small room. Since we hadn't really planned on doing this right now, I still haven't bought him any bedding or really even decided what we're going to do to make his room a "big boy" room. Dennis wants to do an outdoor/camping theme (imagine that), but I cannot find any bedding that I like.

So, we're starting with a few small things and we're going to go from there. So far, it's pretty cute and Sawyer is super happy with what we've done so far!

On another note, it was much harder for me to see all of his baby furniture go. We sold it to a sweet couple who are about to have their first baby. It was just sad to know that the bed, glider, changing table, and dresser that I have used for both Sadie and Sawyer was gone! Memories came flooding back (along with some tears) as I was taking all of Sawyer's stuff out of the crib so that Dennis could break it down. Sadie was sitting next to me in the glider and she so innocently said "mom, Sawyer's bed is going to be gone forever. We won't have any of this furniture anymore". Thanks, Sadie. I needed to hear that. LOL

Providing a little bit of comic relief, she also proceeded to ask if we were selling Sawyer along WITH the furniture. LOL She said "I might miss Sawyer, mom". So then I had to explain to her that Sawyer wasn't leaving with the furniture.

Sawyer loved helping Dennis move the furniture. So precious!

He also loved helping Dennis bring in the stuff for his new bed!! He and Sadie were such big helpers!

Once they got the bed put together, it was time for everyone to try it out!

First night in BIG BOY BED!!!

Pictures from our Weekend Getaway

2011-04-13T14:56:00.001-05:00

Our friend, Mr. Bear, coming by to say "hello" Ya think he thinks I look tasty????

At the top of our hike to Rainbow Falls

About halfway up to the top of the Falls. We were hoping this wasn't what we had hiked so long for!!!

One of the so called "bridges" along the hike. As you can probably tell, it was a very, very narrow bridge with only one side rail. I felt a little bit nauseous as I crossed it.

Me and my baby!

Riding the sky lift!

A little embarassing picture of me in my morning robe, BUT, I wanted to remember the peacefulness I felt as I just got to sit and drink my morning coffee. Doesn't happen very often, or...EVER.

Our annual trip to the grocery to buy our "junk food" proved to be successful, as you can see. Pay special attention to our boxes of AdvoCare in the back! Luckily, due to AdvoCare, we did not eat very much of this food at all. But, it was still fun to have!

A Weekend to Remember...

2011-04-10T21:48:00.000-05:00

Everytime Dennis and I get the chance to get away, we have the BEST time. I'm still not sure if it's just due to the fact that we are away. together. alone. Or, maybe we really do just have THAT much fun together. still. We left on Thursday when D got home from work, drove to Cookeville and stopped for dinner at...where else? Outback, of course. It was delish! Love driving in the car on roadtrips with my man with no kiddos. We just talk. Not about anything deep or profound. Just talk. Reminisce about the 17 or so years that we've been together. We listen to and tell stories that both of us have heard and told a million times. But, it's still so much fun! We didn't get to the cabin in G'burg until well after midnight and that was just fine with us! We got comfy and just hung out til we felt like going to bed. Ahhhhhhh, that was nice. Friday morning, we slept until about 9:00. Wow. Felt. So. Good. I didn't have to jump up out of bed, wash my face, throw on my clothes, get the kids up and ready in record time and be gone out of the house in 30 minutes or less. We just got up, drank some coffee, chatted, watched a little TV and didn't go to b'fast until about 11:00. Works for me! We went to Pancake Pantry and it was soooooooooooooooo good. Dennis gets the same thing every time. Sweet Potato Pancakes, 2 eggs over easy, side of hashbrowns, large OJ. I switch up between the French Toast and the Buttermilk pancakes. We went 3 days in a row, mind you, so I got to switch up! We decided after b'fast to go and ride the Sky Lift. Such a "touristy" thing, but neither of us had done it since we were much younger, so we went for it! It was a gorgeous day and it was so relaxing. I remember seeing a picture of my parents on the Sky Lift when they were younger, so I can't wait to show our picture to Sadie and Sawyer one day! We went on a WONDERFUL hike to Rainbow Falls. We'd never done it before and it was great! The internet said it was a little more strenuous than the Chimneys and we were up for the task! We started around 2:00 and it took us a little over 3 hours round trip. It was a great hike. There were hardly any other hikers on the trail since it was so late in the day. The only wildlife we saw were lots of chipmunks. The falls were BEAUTIFUL! For dinner, we drove to Pigeon Forge and ate at Bullfish. It was very yummy!! We came home and rented "Inception". It was horrible. Way too confusing, made no sense whatsoever, and way too long. Saturday morning, we slept in again and went and had a late b'fast at Pancake Pantry again. Just as delicious as yesterday!! We did a little people watching afterwards and came to the conclusion that everyone in G'burg is overweight, smokes, and wears daisy dukes. Kind of gross. I felt like I needed to pass out my AdvoCare business card to every other person that walked by. We had no plans for the day, so we walked around G'burg, shopped to find something to bring back for the kids, and then decided to go to Ober Gatlinburg. Keep in mind, this is VERY unlike us! We're not the "touristy" type! But, it looked like fun, we hadn't done it in about 25 years and we wanted to check it out to see if it was something we want to bring the kids back to do. We actually ended up having a great time! We rode the Alpine slide and had a ball! We know the kids will love it! We got Dippin' Dots and slushies and just acted like kids ourselves. Lots of fun!!! We came back to the cabin and chilled in the hottub for a while. Soooooooooooooooooo relaxing!!! While we were getting ready to leave for dinner, something outside caught my eye! It was a bear!!! Right outside of our cabin! We scrambled around quickly, but quietly and grabbed every camera in sight. We snuck outside and just had a stare out with the bear on the other side of the deck. I mean, he was RIGHT THERE. On the other side of the deck we were standing on. Right there. I don't think I've ever been THAT close to a bear. We had quite an encounter with one last year on our ChimneyTops hike, but we didn't even get this close to that one. It was so cool. He was just looking at us! He started to make his way towards our neighbors cabin, so we let them know! They told us we could come over and look off of their back deck. The bear was just chillin. We got LOTS of pictures of him. He was literally just hanging out. Love it!!!! We finally made our way to dinner around 8:30 and went to the Park Grille. It was very good!!! We went and rented the final "Saw". I swore on my life I'd never watch another scary movie after I had kids, but I was feeling a little dareing. LOL It was horrible. I was secretly a little bit happy it wasn't good, because I knew it'd stay with me for days if it scared me to death. We got up Sunday morning REAL late and had to scramble to get ready and get out of the cabin by 11:00. I think after 3 days, we were starting to get a little too used to staying up late and sleeping in! Back to reality!!! We went and ate one final time at Pancake Pantry and then started our trek back to Gallatin. It was soooooooooooo good to see the kids! I missed them so much, but I thoroughly enjoyed my alone time with Dennis. It was so needed and so important! I love that boy more than anything and am so incredibly thankful for these past almost 10 years that we've been married!!!! I'm already looking forward to our next getaway!!!

Freedom...sniff, sniff

2011-04-06T15:04:00.001-05:00

Everytime I look at this picture, I laugh. He couldn't have been happier being able to jump off of this dock. Half the time, he fell flat on the ground, but he would jump right up and do it again. And again. And again.

I love this boy.

I went this morning and registered him for pre-school. I clearly remember going this time last year to register Sadie. It was definitely easier this morning. I knew what to expect. I know who his teachers are going to be. I know half the kids that are going to be in his class, etc.

I actually left there this morning already feeling a sense of freedom. Freedom that I will feel in August when I get to FINALLY have a few days to do the things that I haven't had time to do in about 4 years! Go to the dentist, make a doctor's appt if needed, maybe go have lunch with my mom BY OURSELVES, or get reacquainted with some friends!

Although I cannot wait...I'm so sad!!! My baby boy is heading off to school. I'll be making his little lunch every day just like I do Sadie's. He'll have a cute little backpack. He'll make friends of his own.

I love that little guy.

I was in the shower earlier today before we went to pick up Sadie from school and I heard the footsteps. Those dreaded footsteps...running. Usually, it's "mom, I gotta go potty", or "mom, I spilled my juice", or "mom, shhhhhhhhhhh, I just put Woody to sleep", etc. LOL Anyways, when I heard him come running, I thought..."uh oh...what could it be this time??" "Am I going to have to jump out of the shower soaking wet and help him use the potty...AGAIN?" But, this time, he yells "MOM!!!" I said "what, Buddy?" He goes " I LOVE YOU MOMMY". My. Heart. Melted.

I stopped and thanked God then and there. Because that's what we should do. God has blessed me with a precious little guy who loves me more than life itself!!!! And, I love him too. More than I could've ever imagined. He's my little bud!

Potty Training Update

2011-03-21T14:52:00.001-05:00

Well, I can happily report that after ONE week of potty training, we are 100% officially TRAINED! Yay!
This went MUCH more successful than I had EVER imagined!
He has done AMAZING!
Still no accidents since before naptime on Day 2! Go Sawdawg!!!
You have made this mommy very proud of you for being such a big boy!!!

We even ventured back to the gym today and he went and found a teacher and told her he needed to go...and he pooped...at the gym...in the potty...all by himself!

Thank the Lord that this milestone is over! This was one that I have not looked very forward to and God came through for me and surpassed all of my expectations...as He always does.

Now...on to getting Sawyer in a big boy bed! :)

Sawyer - Potty Time!

2011-03-16T15:05:00.000-05:00

If there is ever a day that I have dreaded about being a mom, it's Potty Training! Sorry...don't judge...it is what it is!

But, after I trained Sadie last January, I thought...maybe it won't be so bad. Sadie did great!Honestly though...I knew Sawyer would be different. I knew he wouldn't be as easy as she was. Or, so I thought!

He's done GREAT!

P-O-T-T-Y, Potty Potty, Let's go Try!!! That's what we have chanted every time the timer goes off. The picture below was of Sawyer after he pee-pee'd for the 1st time and got to put his first sticker on his Potty Chart.

Day 1 was good and bad. He started well, had a bit of a lull after naptime, then ended well once Daddy got home. Day 2 started HORRIBLE! I pretty much figured he had forgotten everything we learned on Day 1 and by about 11 o'clock on Day 2, I was ready to give up and just try again later. Luckily, my good friend Rachel Fontenot, who was there to help me during Sadie's training as well, called and gave me a wonderful Pep Talk!! She told me that nobody she had ever talked to had a successful Day 2, so it made me feel better.
I stopped what I was doing, prayed, drank an Oasis and decided I was going to change. I calmed down and just went with it!
By the end of Day 2, we were back on track and hadn't had any accidents since before naptime. Yay!!!
Day 3 was PERFECT! No accidents at all, AND, he even started telling me that he needed to go, so we didn't have to use the timer as often. Praise the Lord!

God has given me an unbelievable amount of patience through this process. I woke up on Day 1 DREADING this and when I woke up this morning (Day 3) I had no anxiety whatsoever and was ready for whatever was coming my way. I can only credit that to God and His incredible peace that has definitely surpassed MY understanding through this process. I mean, I've never had a lot of patience with Sawyer...ever! Again, don't judge...it is what it is...I'm learning.
But, God has taught me a lot through this week of Potty Training and I so appreciate this "down time." I've had lots of time to spend with the kids. I've had lots of time to catch up on my Bible study. I've had lots of time to blog (obviously) which is something I never have time for anymore. And, I've had lots of time to work on my AdvoCare stuff.
Even though we've been stuck in the house for 3 days, God is about to blow us away with LOTS of sunshine and warm weather. I've been looking forward to it all week!

I am hoping that Sawyer continues to be successful on this journey and I can't wait to look back on it and remember how well he did. That's my boy!!!!

Sadie Jane turns 4!

2011-03-15T11:04:00.000-05:00

What a milestone for this family. We have a 4 year old. No longer can I say that I have a 2 and 3 year old. Now, it's a 2 and 4 year old!

Sadie had a great birthday. Dennis stayed home a little later than usual that morning so that he could be there to wake her and say Happy Birthday. Also, it was "Goodies with Grandparents" Day at school, so my mom and Deb met us at school on her birthday and they got to stay and have goodies with her!

I sent cupcakes to school with her as well, so they celebrated with her at snacktime. We decided to wait and give her her birthday presents on the day of her actual bday party, which was Saturday.

On her birthday night, we went to Sweet CeCe's and met Rachel, Jeffrey, Chance and Emma for some yummy treats!

Saturday morning, we got up and gave Sadie her new bike! She had picked it out the weekend before when Dennis had taken her and Sawyer to Toys R Us. She passed on all of the cutesy little bikes with Barbie, Princesses, etc. on them and he said she had her heart set on the Tony Hawk bright pink one with no bells or whistles. Totally unlike Sadie! But, if that's what she wants!

She was REAL excited about her new bike! And, my mom and grandparents went in together and bought her a PlayHouse for outside, so Dennis put that together as well and we played outside all day long. It was the prettiest day of the year so far and we had so much fun being outside!

Saturday night was her big party at Peekaboo Playtown! Almost all of her friends were there! It was crazy! There was probably around 50 people or more that came. So much fun!! She is one loved little girl! We know how blessed we are all to have so many people that love our family! She had so much fun! She did not enjoy all of the attention on her when it was time to sing Happy Birthday to her. She's still my shy little girl and does not ever like to be the center of attention!

She got so many great gifts from all of her friends and family. We came home and against our preference, she opened all of her presents right then and there! Sawyer sat and watched patiently while chomping at the bit to jump in there and rip her presents open! He did so good just sitting back and watching.

What a great birthday for her!

Some great facts about Sadie at 4 years old are...she loves to dance! She loves twirling around and trying to do ballet and other moves. She's a great ball player! She loves to kick the soccer ball around and hit the softball off the tee, attempt to play golf, shoot the basketball, etc. She might be our little sports girl! She's still an extremely picky eater! She's still a great sleeper! She is a wonderful big sister to Sawyer. She plays so good with him and when I'm not around, she totally acts like his mommy! She has a precious heart and always is there for a big hug and kiss when she sees I'm stressed, sad, or frustrated. She loves being at school and learning new things. She loves playing dress up. She loves watching Princess movies. She loves doing anything outside, particularly swinging. She has finally learned how to swing by herself and she's already trying to teach Sawyer how to do it. She's teensy weensy, just like I was as a little girl. (boy, has that changed! ha ha) She's only about 31 pounds and around 38 inches tall. She has the smallest waist I have ever seen in my life! And, her legs are like little toothpicks. She has a bed FULL of her "friends" (stuffed animals among MANY other little things) and she has to keep ALL of them in there at all times! If we try to sneak anything out, she knows right away and has to have it back in its place. A little OCD...

I am one blessed mommy to be able to have her as my little girl and I know we will be best friends forever! Her 3rd year was my most favorite so far. I didn't want to see it go, but am just as excited to see how her 4th year is! I hope it's just as wonderful!!!

I love you sweet Tinkers!!!!!

Longing for Spring...

2011-03-04T13:41:00.000-06:00

I admit...I have been beyond horrible at updating my blog posts. I've been a busy, busy girl. And, its only just begun.
I am soooooooo ready for warmer weather!!!! We keep getting teased with it and then the cold weather comes back! I'm ready to be outside all the time! I'm ready for swingset time, playtime, bonfires, outside walks, etc.
When the consignment sale rolls around every year in March and August, I always feel overwhelmed! I have to get my stuff ready, work the sale, shop the sale, and many other things. But, for now, this is where I get most of my kids clothes, so I feel like I have to be a part of it. And, it really IS enjoyable. I love "getting away", meeting new friends, hanging out with old friends, finding great deals, AND most importantly, MAKING SOME EXTRA MONEY!!!! But, the sale happens twice a year and it just so happens to fall right at Sadie's birthday AND Sawyer's birthday. So, in the midst of being involved in the sale, I am always planning birthday parties as well!
Which brings me to Sadie...she turns 4 next Wednesday. Seriously? The thought of her turning 4 has definitely been hard. I can't have the thought without my heart dropping and feeling VERY sad. She's grown up so fast. I also think because age 3 has been my most favorite age so far. I loved 3! Ages 1 and 2 were hard/challenging/learning experience. But when 3 rolled around, it was WONDERFUL! I loved every minute of her 3's. In a couple of weeks, I go to enroll her in pre-school. Pre-school. Seriously? I can hardly grasp my mind around that. Because that only means that this time next year, I will be registering her for the "K" word and I won't even SAY that word right now. On to more positive things...she is super excited about her birthday party next weekend at Peekaboo Playtown. She wants everyone she knows to be there...and then some. Sadie got asked to be part of a Dollar General ad a few weeks ago, so on Valentines Day, we took her to have her picture made and she will be featured in the Dollar General circular on April 3! Our little girl is bringin' home the bacon! ha ha What is so funny is that I was in a Dollar General commercial as a little girl! What a coincidence! My pretty baby girl growing up to be such a beautiful young girl.
She has the biggest heart and is always EAGER to please. She's definitely a people pleaser. She's the best big sister to Sawyer and has more patience than I ever will. She is always teaching him new things! Which brings me to...
Sawyer! My little baby boy is growing up WAY TOO FAST also! Where does time go? Seriously, where does it go? We are going to start Potty Training during Spring Break. I know...fun, fun! But, I thought it was the perfect time because we can hang out at home all week instead of having to take Sadie to school, etc. That's going to be a LONG week. I am already trying to mentally and emotionally prepare for that week. Whew! I know he won't be as easy as Sadie was, but I'm still determined! He is my precious baby boy. I love him more than life. He's definitely my challenging one, b/c at 2 and 1/2 years old, he STILL wants me to hold him all the time! He doesn't like to be told "no", but he is learning. He is the cutest thing I have ever seen and I love to just make him smile. His smile and those eyes melt my heart. He is going to be a heart-breaker one day, I can tell. Watch out ladies!! ha ha
AdvoCare is still going wonderful! It continues to provide us with additional income each month and I continue to be thankful that God brought this opportunity into our lives. To be able to feel THIS great WHILE making money is mind-blowing to me. And, the best part is, we are helping to change others' lives as well.
I have the best husband, the best family, and the best friends! God has blessed me beyong my wildest dreams and I love my life!!!!

The Farm Life

2011-01-29T14:26:00.000-06:00

Oh, the Farm life...to get to step out of reality for a full 24 hours and just...stop, relax, unwind...all the while making memories, laughing, eating, playing, and lovin' all over my family.
Sometimes I do wish this was reality.
Everything is slower down here.
Everyone is just a little bit happier down here.
No responsibilities. No clothes or dishes to wash, no house to clean, no food to prepare.
Just time to be with each other and enjoy one another's company.
We got down here late last night and for the first time (except for when we've stayed in hotels), we all slept in the same room. We brought twin mattresses in from other rooms and put them on the floor for the kids and Dennis & I slept in the "big bed", which is really half the size of our bed at home. But, when you're at the farm...who cares????
And, it actually went pretty good. We all slept pretty well and didn't hear little giggling voices til about 7:30 this morning.
This place is a little piece of Heaven for us. There is so much to do, yet nothing to do. The kids' imaginations run WILD down here. They get into their own little world of creativity and will go for hours with just 2 sticks in their hands. Oh, the simplicity...
As I sit here and watch Dennis cleaning out the fire pit for a fire that will be roaring before long, I sometimes wish we could live like this. The TV only gets turned on if we wanna watch the late night news...no video games...not many toys at all...just lots of fun and HUGE imaginations!!!
But, reality is not so bad either. I just sometimes wish life were a little bit more simple in the real world. A little more quiet. A little more calm.
So, instead of sitting here wishing...while my babies are taking naps, I will sit on the porch and relish these last few hours we have in our little piece of Heaven before we have to head back home tonight.
The only sounds I hear are a little country music on the radio, birds chirping, a crow "cawing", and an occasional old beat-up truck driving down the country road.
Sounds like Heaven to me!!!!!

God's Blessings

2011-01-24T13:50:00.001-06:00

Today I woke up feeling...well...tired. I haven't felt this way in a long time!

Since I started on these AdvoCare products, I honestly feel better, sleep better, have more energy, etc.

But, this morning, I was dealing with the aftermath of a restless night. I went to sleep feeling frazzled, anxious, uptight, stressed, etc. and it kept me up basically ALL. NIGHT. LONG.

I prayed and gave my day to God, as I do most mornings, but God showed himself more to me today than He has in a long time. Or, maybe I just noticed Him more this morning. He knew I needed it. He knows me like that. :)

I went to wake Sadie up for school and if you know Sadie, she is NOT fun to wake up. I basically have to wake her up every morning and she is NEVER a happy camper. Much like her mommy, I don't like to be woken up either. She gets it honest! Well, I went to wake her and with very sleepy eyes, she reached up those 2 sweet arms at me, wrapped them around my neck, and pulled me down to hug her tight. I immediately had tears pouring down my face. God knew just what I needed and he used my "not a morning person" child to bless my heart!!!

Secondly, I had put on Facebook that I hadn't slept well and while trying to use that and some other words to encourage others to let God's peace reign, I was the one blessed in the process! My phone rang and rang and rang with concerned friends/family calling to check on me. Not just text me, or comment on my status, but straight up call my phone! Precious. My heart was about to burst and it was only 9:00 a.m.! After letting everyone know that NO, I was not about to jump off of a cliff, I continued on with my day.

Thirdly, Sawyer and I were home for lunch before picking up SJP, and I heard him go back to his room and start singing something...so, I turned his monitor on and could hear him singing "Jesus Loves Me". Again, precious. He came back in the den a minute later and I asked him what he was doing and he said "I was putting Mickey and Woody to sleep in my bedroom, mom" (yes, he calls me mom now...something I'm having a hard time with) Then, he said "you have to be quidet". (supposed to be pronounced "quiet", but he throws a "d" in there for some reason. Love it.) Again, my heart was filled with joy.

Lastly, I went to bed mostly feeling overwhelmed with my new business venture with AdvoCare. I ended my night late last night with a webinar from one of AdvoCare's top producers. It was awesome. Very encouraging, informative, etc. But I was left feeling inadequate, which I know was just Satan trying to bring me down. So, to make a long story short, I had several orders today...one being from someone I don't even know! :) And, my sweet husband called to remind me how much God has already blessed our business and its only been 2 months! So, there. Satan, back off, buddy! You're messing with the wrong sister!!!!!!!!!!!

What has God blessed you with today? Sometimes I wish I would remember to focus more on His blessings than what I choose to focus on.

Big Boy

2011-01-06T14:24:00.000-06:00

Well, some changes have taken place in the Phillips household over the past few weeks. First of all, I have a full Christmas blog ready to post...except I am trying to put pictures into it. So, as soon as I find 12 hours to load the pictures onto the blog, I will post it! LOL
Anyways, to hold myself accountable, I am putting on here that I am getting VERY close to attempting to potty train Sawyer. By doing this, I am totally going against what I've always believed, which is that kids aren't ready to use the potty until closer to 3 years old. Sadie was the easiest child in the world to train and I credit that to the fact that she was 2 months from turning 3, so she was "ready".
I'm willing to start with Sawyer a little sooner because I feel like he is "ready". He talks about it all of the time, he asks to use the big boy potty; he's even started talking about wearing "panties", which I have to remind him that boys don't wear! I correct him and tell him that boys wear underwear.
He also no longer has a pacifier, which was a huge deal for us! He never has been attached to his like Sadie was to "Big Orange", but he still had it every single time he took a nap and went to bed at night. He went to stay at Grammy's the other night and she couldn't find one in his overnight bag, so she said she put him to bed without it and he slept perfectly fine. I've heard of this happening to several friends/family, but never thought it would EVER be that easy with mine! But, he literally came home the next day, went down for his nap without it, and never made a fuss at all. He asked about it a few times, but when we told him that big boys don't need them, he was cool with that. Praise the Lord!!!
So, now that the pacifier is gone, potty training is on the calendar, and my baby boy is growing up way too fast...Dennis is already pushing to get him in a big boy bed. STOP THE MADNESS! SLOW DOWN!!!! He's still my baby!!! :) Times are good. I am blessed beyond belief.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-27T15:42:00.000-06:00

Since I never was able to finish adding pictures, I went ahead and decided to post this since Christmas was well over 2 months ago!!!

Okay, this blog will probably be much longer than I anticipate, but I want to capture every moment from this Christmas so that I can look back on it and remember every detail!!

We started our "4 Christmases" the weekend before Christmas by going to Tullahoma to celebrate Christmas with Dennis' dad and Barbara. We met Daren, Rachel and McHaney down there on Saturday and we all spent the day there. We had a wonderful dinner and opened presents and then we had to head back to Gallatin because we had to be at church on Sunday morning! Here are a few pics from the day. We hardly got any pictures because we were so busy talking, playing and laughing, but here are just a few!

Our next Christmas event came on Thursday night. My dad came by our house to get his Christmas gift and then we all went to Jeffrey and Rachel's for dinner and to open presents!! We had so much fun, as always! My dad cooked a delicious prime rib dinner and we had wonderful desserts as well.

Poppy with the kiddos after he opened his electric smoker.

Sawyer LOVED his train tracks from Poppy! It was definitely the hit of the evening!!!!

Sadie got some great Cabbage Patch angels and a Snoopy puzzle that she put together about 40 times!!!!

Rach, Dad and me!

Sadie rang the "dinner bell"!!!

All of the cousins playing with Sawyer's new racetrack!

Thank you daddy for all of the wonderful presents and memories!!!!

The next day was Christmas Eve. We got up and got ready and headed straight to Grammy and Captain's house. We opened presents right away because Grammy has never been one to want to wait on that. She's always WAY too excited!! The kids got so many fun things! The biggest surprise was for Sadie and McHaney. They both got new 4-wheelers!! Sawyer had already gotten one for his birthday, so Grammy had to get them for Sadie and Mc too! They were both so excited. We ate a wonderful lunch and let the kids play until Sawyer was about to fall over.

Grammy and Captain coming down the stairs with more presents, just as they do every year!!!

The kids having a ball riding their 4-wheelers together for the first time. No more sharing!!!

The girls were sent to the garage to get their "big surprise"!

This was shortly after we gave Grammy and Captain our picture of the kids. This picture says a thousand words. Grammy was touched. She sure loves her grandbabies!!!!

Deda played princesses and horses with the girls. He was cracking me up!! I thought it was so sweet!!! He was really getting into it.

We came home and let the kids take a nap while Dennis and I cleaned and got things ready to prepare for Christmas later that night. When they got up, we went over to my Grandma's house with Rachel, Jeffrey and the kids to visit with her for a while. She's such a precious, precious lady. I love her dearly. Before we left, we hugged her and she said "I love you. I know I don't tell you that very much, but I mean it". Broke my heart. Dennis said she was crying as we were leaving. God bless her soul.

Afterwards we headed over to my mom's house to have Christmas with her! We ate a delicious dinner and then opened lots and lots of presents!!

When we got home that night, we got things ready for Santa to come! We let the kids put out "reindeer food" (new concept for me!) outside on the front lawn. It was oats with glitter in it and it was meant for the moon to glisten on the glitter and attract the reindeer. Hilarious!!! Then, we got Santa's cookies, milk, and cheerios for Rudolph. (We saw Santa at Chick fil A one night and he informed us that Rudolph's favorite cereal was Cheerios. Who knew, right??) The magic was beginning.
The kids took their baths and got ready for bed and we read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" in Sadie's bed. Then, after much convincing that Santa was not going to come until they were asleep, Sadie finally fell asleep.

That's when the real work began! Dennis and I spent hours putting toys together, cleaning, laughing, playing and of course eating freshly baked Monkey Bread!! YUM!!!! It was also snowing like crazy outside when we were getting ready to go to bed. Dennis even went outside and found some real live Rudolph tracks right outside our back door!!!!!!

We finally went to sleep and we woke up on Christmas morning much earlier than the kiddos. We were so excited! We woke up to a White Christmas too!! The first recorded in 17 years!!

When the kids finally got up, they were so excited! They came into the den to see that indeed, Santa had come!! They played, opened presents and had the best time. After the initial excitement and after Dennis and I opened our presents from each other, we started cooking our Christmas Day breakfast. Mornin' Glory Oven French Toast with egg nog syrup, eggs and bacon. I can still taste it!!

Most all of our parents came by to see the kids and what all Santa brought them.

We hung out all day long and let the kids play and rest. Sawyer barely made it to naptime. He was so exhausted.

Dennis cooked a Boston Butt in his new electric smoker and we were supposed to have it for dinner, but it was a bad piece of meat, so we were left with nothing for dinner!!! What a bummer! He ran out and got himself some Subway but I ended up having Cheerios for dinner. Oh well. :)

We busted out the Kinect that I had gotten Dennis for Christmas and we played forever! LOTS of fun!!! I can see many family memories coming from that electronic device!!!

What a perfect Christmas!!!!!

The day after Christmas we had gotten more snow, so hunkered down and decided to stay in and take down all of the decorations. The kids were busy playing all day, so we thought it'd be a good time to do it.

That afternoon, we all went to Grandma and Grandad's for Christmas with them. It was a lot of fun. Sadie was kind of ill the whole time because for the first time that day, we didn't make her lay down and take a nap. Well, that's the last time I will try that! She proved to me that she still needs that rest time!!! But, all of the cousins had a blast playing together for the most part. It was a good ending to the Christmas holiday!!!!

Christmastime Pics

2010-12-22T22:17:00.001-06:00

Sawyer had to taste-test his cookies for Santa!!

Working so intently...

Sadie has always loved the frosting. She is MY kinda GIRL!!!

The carload of gifts that our Small Group bought to take to a single mom in need!!!

Our 1st snow of the season! We weren't out in it for very long because I think the temp was only around 15 degrees!

The above shot is of my dad and Sawyer when we went to look at Christmas lights one night. Sawyer looks like he's more interested in watching the Christmas movie!
Our friend, Mr. Elf got into the pantry one night and snacked on some delicious Oreo cookies!!!
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

Sadie did a great job helping me decorate the tree this year. She really was very careful with each and every ornament!

Getting all of the decorations out and ready to put up!!

Christmas, Feet, and other Phillips happenings...

2010-12-21T21:30:00.000-06:00

Christmas is just around the corner...approximately 3 days away to be exact! This Phillips household is super excited!!!! Our kids literally have been acting like they've been on crack for the past few days. It's been so fun!
Sadie wanted absolutely nothing to do with seeing Santa this year. She pretty much ran from him. It was quite funny. She kind of talked to him at Chick fil A one night, but that was while she was pretty much hiding behind me! Sawyer loved Santa this year, but I'm sure that will change next year. I am convinced that one of these years, I will actually get a picture of both of my kids with Santa Clause!!
They are growing up so fast! I've always been obsessed with my kids feet. I know...very strange, right? But, I can remember how much I loved to smell their feet when they were tiny babies and how much I just love, love, love to kiss on their precious little feet! I looked at Sadie's the other day and they just don't look like tiny little baby feet anymore. Sawyer's are disappearing right before my eyes. My little boy is getting so big. Just a sign that I don't really have "babies" anymore.
They are so sweet to each other. They definitely have their moments when they have wrestling matches in the den, but usually within minutes, they are best friends again. The other night, Sadie and I had gone to see Tangled together and Dennis had taken Sawyer to get his hair cut. When we got home, Sawyer was already in bed, but Sadie insisted that we go in and tell him good night anyways. I let her go in there while I was putting my stuff up and when I went to go in there, I stopped and listened to Sadie talk to him. She was kneeling down, and had her hand through the slats of his crib rubbing his belly and she was saying "good night buddy...if you need me, I'll be right on the other side of your wall". Okay, as a mom, I about fell in the floor bawling!!! I just thought it was precious. The look on his face was as if he knew everything in the world was just as it should be simply because his big sister said so. Priceless.
We are all settled into our home. We love it. We are very "cozy" in here, but it's just how we wanted it to be.
Dennis and I are both doing the AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge. We've never felt better. It's the most amazing product I've ever gotten my hands on. My Challenge finishes up tomorrow and I've lost a little over 10 pounds. Dennis still has about a week left and he's already lost around 13 pounds. We joined the AdvoCare team a couple of weeks ago and can't wait to jump in and start helping people after the 1st of the year. We both believe so much in this product and know that it's going to continue to make a difference in our lives both physically and financially.
We are making lots of memories this Christmas and continue to start new traditions while keeping the old ones. We continue to realize how blessed we are. God has been so incredibly good to us in 2010 and I cannot wait to see what He has in store for us in 2011!!!!!

Thankfulness

2010-11-28T22:29:00.001-06:00

Today, I am filled with gratitude. The Thanksgiving "holiday" is officially over, but I feel even more thankful today than I did a few days ago! Here is why...
On Thanksgiving Day at my Memaw's house, she told me that there was a box of "my stuff" up in her attic. She asked if I wanted to go and get it all because she was afraid it'd get ruined. I didn't even realize that I had a box of stuff up there. What I found was priceless. It was my journals from high school. I did not remember that I had journaled EVERY SINGLE DAY in high school. Thank you God that I did. I came home with all of them and immediately became addicted to "revisiting" my past. I felt like I was one of those teenage girls reading the Twilight Series!! I couldn't put them down. Only, it wasn't a book someone else had written. I was addicted to my own books!! For several hours over the next couple of days, I read every single page of those books. To spare you from going into all of the melodramatic details, I was filled with thankfulness that God allowed me stumble upon these journals. They were FILLED with mine and Dennis' journey! What joy it brought me, along with some hurt, to relive our journey together, day by day, year after year. Wow. Crazy. I had forgotten so many things about our past together. Some, I wish I could still forget. More, I am so glad I got to remember! So, today, I am thankful that not only did I give Dennis a second chance (and a third...and I think maybe a fourth), but I am thankful that he gave me a second chance as well! I found a part in my journal where on my 17th birthday, he took me to eat at Texanas and just did some other special things for me, and I poured my heart out on the pages of that journal and said "I looked at Dennis tonight and saw my husband in his eyes". Never did I ever imagine in my wildest dreams that those visions would one day become a reality! What a sweet journey we have shared together and continue to share. I cannot wait to show those journals to Sadie one day. I feel like they serve a greater purpose than just to give me a glimpse into my past. I feel they will serve a more greater purpose in the future maybe when Sadie experiences heartache or maybe just when the kids want to know how "mommy and daddy" began!
The 2nd reason I am filled with gratitude today is because I feel as though God has brought a special opportunity into my life to start a little side business with AdvoCare. I will explain details later, but tomorrow I start not only my road to a healthier lifestyle (and hopefully a little weight loss!), but I also hope tomorrow begins a journey to some sort of financial freedom for Dennis and I.
Thank you God for continuing to show me that YOU are not finished with me yet. I am STILL important to YOU and YOU love on me in ways I can't imagine.
Stay tuned...

My Dream Home!

2010-10-17T21:54:00.001-05:00

We are finally moved! We are settled! We are giddy with excitement! This move was QUICK! We've never moved all of our stuff in ONE day. ONE day! We got up early on Thursday morning and we were 100% completely moved into our new home by about 1:00 the next morning. So, I guess technically speaking, we moved in one day and 1 hour. What a LONG, LONG day. I almost had a major breakdown when I left my "old" house for the last time. Almost. Except that I was too tired. Thankfully, I was too tired because it could've gotten ugly. It wasn't the fact that I was leaving our old home for a new home. It was the memories that we made in that home. Both of our kids took their first steps in that home. My sweet baby boy came home from the hospital in that home. We've made some of the greatest memories of my life in that home. I walked into Sawyer's room at one point and I smelled "his smell". All of you mom's out there know exactly what I'm talking about. It's that delicious smell that only your kids have. It's a familiar smell. That smell you LOVE and just want to taste sometimes. That smell was what about caused my breakdown. I had to just leave the room and move on. His sweet little smell will move with us.
We love our "new" house, which is definitely not "new". It's OLD. I actually think it might be older than me. But, it's exactly what we wanted. I told Dennis last night that although I know it sounds a bit corny, I feel like I'm living in my dream home. This house reminds me a lot of my own that I grew up in. It's got the big porch, big trees, big yard, etc. But the house itself is nothing big. It's precious and we love it, but it's not the house itself that makes the home. I knew it was home when I saw the kids toys sprawled out all over the floor and there were sticky spots on the kitchen floor from spilled juice and I could hear the laughter of them playing up in the play room. It's home. It's our new home and I absolutely cannot wait to make lots of memories here. And, it doesn't hurt that we can be much more financially stable in this home too!!!! :)
We had so much help while we were moving. Grammy and Captain kept the kids for us for a few days so that we could get moved in. My mom came over and "helped" which mainly meant sharing lots of meaningful conversations, keeping me fed, laughing and maybe unpacking a box or two....oh, and she helped me clean my old house after the movers got out. I love you mom!!!! We had FUN!
My dad was with us for about 48 hours straight! He helped move TONS of loads of stuff from one house to the other. He built storage shelves for me in the garage. He hooked up my washer and dryer, and so on and so on and so on! We couldn't have done it without him. He was Dennis' right hand man all day on moving day and he didn't leave us until late Thursday night and he STILL had a huge smile on his face. He came right back over on Friday EARLY morning and he stayed all day again to help me while Dennis had to work. Oh yeah, AND he cooked all day on Saturday and brought us dinner too. Wow. Machine.
The kids love the new house. Sadie squealed with excitement when she saw her room. Sawyer is so proud of his. They love having a playroom with ALL of their toys. God picked this house out for us a long time ago. He knew the desires of our hearts and he satisfied every stinkin' one. WAIT ON THE LORD! He never ceases to amaze me! Thank you God for picking this house out for us. We love it!

Long Time, No See...

2010-10-08T21:01:00.000-05:00

It's been a very busy past 2 months! Sadie absolutely loves school! She loves it 10 times more than I ever thought she would. She has learned so much over these past 2 months. I am amazed at how quickly she has learned certain things. I am extremely impressed with the teachers and the preschool that she is attending. I am very thankful that God led us there. I can't wait for Sawyer to start next year. He is going to love it. He already runs into Sadie's classroom every day and wants to be a part of it so I know he will fit right in and love every minute of it!
We recently got back from the best vacation EVER! We never thought anything could ever top last year's Hilton Head trip, but this year's DID! God blessed us so much with wonderful weather every day again this year. The kids were so awesome. They were both so much more independent this year. Dennis and I actually got to relax quite a bit and it was wonderful. We made so many memories and shared so many special moments. I literally already can't wait to go back next year. Sadie also gave up "Big Orange" on this trip which was a huge milestone! Praise the Lord for that one!!!
We also recently sold our house and bought a new one all in the past month. Thankfully, we sold our house in about 3 months, which was much sooner that I had ever anticipated. What a blessing!!! Then, we stumbled upon the exact house that we've been searching for! We wanted an older, one-level home with a bonus room and we found just that! We move next week and we are super excited to have a smaller space. We never built this house that we are in now with the intentions of wanting a huge house. We built it with the intention to sell it and make enough money to pay cash for something and be debt free! Obviously, our plans fell through when the economy when PLOP!!!! So, we had to sit down a few months ago and see what was best for us and that's when God laid it on both of our hearts to downsize BIGTIME! Our church has recently gone through the Crazy Love Campaign and we both felt led to try and get rid of our big house, which comes with BIG bills and get into something more comfortable so that we have the opportunity to help others more. We are excited to see what God has in store for us next. I truly feel that God is about to do something big in our little family. He keeps dangling things here and there in front of our face to show us clearly that He is at work in our family and He definitely hasn't forgotten about us!!! So many times over the past few months, I ask Him..."God, what do you want us to do about this (or that)"...He just keeps saying to me "Baby girl, I'm right here and if you let me, I will lead you down the right path. Just keep your focus on Me and I will take care of the rest". So, that's what I'm trying to do on a daily basis!
So, that should catch everyone up to what has been going on in the Phillips household.
Sadie is just precious. She is growing up so fast into an amazing young lady. She is super protective of Sawyer, but loves to pick on him too!!!! She has started to have a huge opinion on what she wears and it drives me crazy. So, I try to give her choices of what she can wear each day. I never thought she would care what she wore at 3 years old. She also has started to have real "fears". She wants her door cracked when she goes to bed and she wants the light on in the laundry room so that there's some light in her room. I never want her to be scared of anything, but she's definitely become somewhat of a scaredy cat. It breaks my heart. She's still just like me in the fact that she's super shy around people when she first meets them. She is full of love and energy and she has a huge heart and I love her more than life itself.
Sawyer...oh, Sawyer. My little man. Full of more energy than any boy I've ever seen. We've started to nickname him "Taz" because he reminds us a bit of the Tazmanian Devil!!!! ha ha He still loves his momma more than anything and would be perfectly content if I sat and held him all day long. He is so precious. His goofy little smile and big brown eyes absolutely melt my heart. He's super smart and talks really well for his age. He absolutely adores the ground that Sadie walks on. He wants to do every single thing she does. He is definitely her little shadow. They are so much alike, yet so different. I'm so thankful for their closeness in age because they seem to really like a lot of the same things. Sadie has taught him everything she has learned in school. He's just edible. I love that little guy.
That's about all for now. Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to document what's been going on for the past few months. I had planned on posting a bunch of pictures, but I'm having computer issues, so I'll have to come back and do it later on.

Preschool!

2010-08-11T14:25:00.001-05:00

My baby girl started preschool last Friday. The days leading up to this day were not fun for mommy. I cried several HARD cries and had several random breakdowns. The worst being while I was at the grocery store one day buying snacks for her lunch. It hit me what I was doing and it broke my heart. I boo hoo'd the whole way home.
She seemed so excited about going though so I knew I was doing the right thing. When Friday morning, August 6th rolled around, I felt knots in my stomach and lumps in my throat bigger than I thought existed!!!! We had gone and met her teachers, Ms. Pam and Ms. Shannon, the day before and she couldn't wait to go for her 1st day!
Daddy even stayed and went with us that morning to take her.

She seemed great all the way up until we put her lunchbox down and I started to walk out. Then, the tears started. And, they weren't just tears. The tears came with holding my leg, screaming for me not to leave her and sobbing. I was trying to be strong, so I took her out of the classroom, (well, actually, I think she was running out after me at this point) and sat her down and told her that she was going to be fine and that she would have so much fun and that I would be back to get her very shortly.
This didn't work...at all.
She was still sobbing, yelling, flailing, etc. Yes, I had "the kid" that everyone was staring at!!!!
So, Ms. Shannon saw what was happening and came and just took her. She told her that she would take her to see Ella Claire and Greyson right down the hall. She was still screaming as I walked out the door and it was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I had to leave. I knew it was best for her.
I cried for a while, but then realized she was okay. Rachel Fontenot checked on her and said she was already okay and it'd been less than 5 minutes.
Since then, she has loved every single minute of it. She gets so excited about going and hardly wants to leave when I pick her up, although she gets REAL excited when she sees me at the door.
I love this time in her life. I want her to remember it forever. The hardest part is seeing her grow up so quickly right in front of me. Every time I pick her up from school, I feel like she's grown even more. She seems smarter, more independent, etc.
I want her to learn and have so much fun, but it's hard to let her go!
I thank God every day for being with her and giving her excitement that I was afraid would take a lot longer to come. She's such a big girl and I fall more in love with her every day.

Best Week Ever!

2010-07-07T14:29:00.000-05:00

Last Tuesday, Dennis and I left for a much needed getaway. We decided to celebrate our birthdays and anniversary a few weeks early since the month of July gets rather crazy in our house. BOTH of my kids got sick 2 days before we were to leave...of course! But, I knew that they were on medication and I knew that they would be in the best of care with Grammy and Captain. So, we went on and left for our trip on Tuesday afternoon. I am soooooooo thankful that we went. It was the most wonderful getaway. Bryan and Cayce had been trying to convince us to go for a while and so we owe them a lot for recommending this place. It's called Ross Bridge Renaissance Marriot Resort in Hoover, AL, which is basically Birmingham.
We got there pretty late on Tuesday night because we decided to take a detour on the way and we stopped at Dreamland BBQ in Huntsville. It was okay. We've heard it's the best around, but I still don't think it's any better than my dad's and Dennis'!!!!
We walked around the resort and checked out the luxury that we would be staying at for the next 3 nights. There was also a Porsche conference there all week, so we enjoyed looking at all of the beautiful cars!

We got up Wednesday morning and played golf at their premier golf course. Wow! It was the first golf course I'd ever been on and it was fantastic. Breathtakingly beautiful. Dennis assured me that not all courses look this way. We were treated like royalty. It was a beautiful day. I enjoyed getting to watch Dennis play. I was rather impressed with his golf game!

That night, we drove over to the Summit and we shopped around for a while. They have all of the best stores there!! We went to eat dinner at the Tavern on the Summit (we thought it was the "Village Tavern", but later found out we were in the wrong place), but ended up walking out after waiting for 45 minutes and getting sat at a table right in the middle of the bar that was so loud we couldn't hear each other talk. No thanks! So, we ended up at this local joint that was pretty disgusting...but, we were starving!
The next morning we got up and ate a great breakfast and went down the pool all day long. It was probably the most relaxing day of my life! We just played in the pool and on the slides and had a wonderful lunch on the patio.

That afternoon, we went and played golf again. I just drove the cart again, which was perfectly fine with me. I just enjoyed looking at all of the wonderful scenery. The resort also has a bagpiper that plays the bagpipes every afternoon to "call" the golfers in off the golfcourse. Fascinating!

That night, we got dressed up and went to the Village Tavern, which was also located at the Summit. It was DELICIOUS!! Again, we were treated like royalty. Not sure why...but, it was soooooooo nice! The manager even ended up giving us 2 free appetizers because he found out that we had tried to come the night before and ended up in the wrong place. We also found out he was from Centerville, TN. Small world, huh?

We went by the Cheesecake Factory to get dessert to go and we came back and enjoyed our dessert in our PJ's.
Friday morning, we got up and headed home. Boo!!!!!!! I was actually a little depressed when we were leaving because I wanted to stay so bad!!! But, I missed my babies and it was time for reality again!
I was soooooooo excited to see them when we picked them up from Grammy's. Sawyer just climbed in my arms and layed his head down on my shoulder for the longest time. It was precious. I think he thought I had left him forever. ha ha
Saturday morning, we got up and started getting ready for our "Fireworks Party" as Sadie called it. We had lots of family and a few friends over for some delicious BBQ, lots of desserts, and a HUGE fireworks show. Dennis cooked 4 boston butts. The most he's ever done and it was the best by far! We ended up having over 30 people here to eat and watch the fireworks! My dad bought tons of fireworks over the past year and we so appreciate him putting the show on for all of us. It was awesome!!! Sawyer loved it. Sadie had to sit inside the whole time and was scared to death. Thanks to Grammy for sitting inside and missing the show to sit with Sadie. A few others came in to join her during the show too that got a little scared.

Sunday night, we had dinner at Aunt Pam and Uncle Corky's house, but we left before the fireworks started that night.
Monday, we got up and went to the farm for the day. It was a wonderful day! It was a last minute decision to go, so we had to pack up quickly and get down there, but it was well worth it all. We played all day and stayed until after 9:00 that night! It was so much fun though. What I will remember the most about that day was after the sun started to go down, we all 4 jumped on the Kubota and headed down into the woods for a drive. The lightning bugs were AMAZING. You just had to be there, but it was gorgeous! Sadie thought it was so neat. The one picture below of Sadie's leg and hands was the most precious story! The story behind that is that we told the kids to "hang on" while we rode on the Kubota and Sawyer reached over and put his hand on Sadie's leg the whole time and I almost cried. It was so sweet!!! Just one of those "mommy" moments, I guess.

So, I said ALL of that to say that me and Dennis both thought that week was the most perfect week. We got to not only enjoy quality time together, but we got to spend lots of time with our family, friends, etc. It was wonderful!!!!

Lately at the Phillips' household...

2010-05-20T13:33:00.001-05:00

Well, it's been way too long since I have blogged. Along with many of my fellow bloggers, I think we just get too busy. So, I am updating mine! Nothing too exciting, just a few notes of what's been going on lately at our house!
Sawyer and Sadie have become the best of friends. They play together all of the time and aside from a brother/sister disagreement every now and then, they get along GREAT! It's been a blessing!!!!
We've been going down to Dennis' grandad's farm a lot and having a ball. We're even changing some things around down there to make it more like home. The kids love it and we love it too, so hopefully we will continue spending lots of time down there. Of course Dennis is in heaven when I want to go down there, so that makes me happy. I know he is hoping that once deer season opens again in the Fall, I will want to come down there with him every weekend. Not so sure about that...we will have to wait and see.
Mothers Day came and went in a breeze this year. At the last minute on the Friday before Mother's Day weekend, I decided to join Dennis' mom and LJ in Hilton Head the following week, so most of my Mother's Day weekend was spent getting things ready for that. We did go to the farm all day on that Saturday and it was a great way to relax for me. Here are a few pics from that day.

The memories that we have made and will make down there will last a lifetime. Sometimes we wish we could just move down there and get away from all of the busyness of life.
Anyways, Sunday morning we got up and went to church. Here are the only 2 pictures we took that morning...

We went over to Dennis' grandparents house for lunch. The whole family was there and it was a lot of fun. Madness, of course, but lots of fun!
Later that afternoon, my mom and Butch came by and brought the kids a Barbie Jeep! Sadie was a little unsure at first because it's much bigger than the little pink car she drives around now, but once she got the hang of it, her and Sawyer rode around on it all night long.

Me and Rachel took my mom to the Cheesecake Factory for Mothers Day. We had so much fun!!!!
Last week I drove me and the kids to Hilton Head to spend the week with Dennis' mom and LJ. We had a blast. The place we stayed was unbelievable. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect set-up for me and the kids. We had tons of room and the resort had all kinds of pools, activities, etc. for the kids.
Sadie and Sawyer swam until they couldn't swim anymore. They were both 2 little fish!

So, that's what has been going on around here.
Our fitness center is closing this weekend, so we have to find a new place to go by next week! We're hoping it'll re-open soon because we love it there!!!!!
Next weekend, we are all heading to Atlanta to the Braves Game for Memorial Day weekend, so stay tuned!!!!! My mid-year resolution is to get better at updating my blog!

My Baby Girl is "3"

2010-03-10T13:28:00.000-06:00

My sweet angel turned 3 yesterday. This was a big one! She just seems so "big". So "old". Dennis' mom and stepdad told me last night that they remember the huge smile on my face when they saw me for the first time in the hospital being wheeled into recovery after my c-section with Sadie. I think I even threw my arms in the air and said "yay"!!!!!! I remember that moment and she is STILL making me smile each and every day!!! We had a fun day together. We started out by Dennis and I decorating the kitchen area for her so that when she woke up and came downstairs she would be excited! We sang Happy Birthday to her and put candles in her muffin.

We went to the gym, (which was fun for her to get to play with her gym friends that she hasn't seen in a few days), then we met Jodi and Reese at chick fil a to have lunch and play!
After naptime, we ran to Toys r Us to pick up some last minute stuff and then we came home and ate pizza for dinner.
Deb, LJ, Grandma and Grandad all came over to help us celebrate. Deb brought delicious cupcakes from Hello Cupcake.

We opened her presents from Grandma, Grandad, Deb and LJ. She was so excited about everything that she got!

Last but not least, I cut Sadie's hair for the 1st time last night. I figured her 3rd birthday was a good time to start. ha ha
Luckily, I don't have to do it very well, b/c she has such curly hair so it masks any mistakes that I might have made. She loved it! I think she felt like such a big girl.

This morning we got up and my mom came and met us and took us to Build A Bear so that Sadie could get some more clothes for her Bunny. My mom took her a few weeks ago to get a Bunny and she just had to have some more clothes for her!!!! She got her some new PJ's, slippers, and a Tinkerbell dress up costume. Oh yes, and some bling-bling sunglasses which are sooooooo cute!!!

We've had such a fun few days and her party isn't until Friday so there's still more fun to come!!!!! Happy Birthday to the sweetest Tinkers in the whole world!!!

Turkey Show 2010

2010-02-23T14:37:00.000-06:00

Dennis took Sawyer to his 2nd annual Turkey Show at Opryland Hotel this weekend. Although Sawyer wouldn't let Dennis put him down for one second, he seemed to have a great time!
Here's a picture from last year and then one from this year. How sweet!!!

We went back that afternoon and took both kids and walked around until the show ended. Then, we ate dinner on the patio overlooking the big water show. It was great! Fun times with the fam!!!

February...so far

2010-02-16T08:02:00.001-06:00

Two words to describe our first half of February...SLOW & SNOW! If this snow doesn't go away soon, I might lose my mind. I have never been more ready for sunshine and warm weather! I want to get outside and play!!!
We had a huge Superbowl bash at our house!! Okay, I'm joking. We did nothing. Here is a picture of Dennis' dinner plate the night of the Superbowl though. Wow...

Sadie likes to "read" her Bible. So, I had to take some pictures of her. She also likes to "read" it to Sawyer. Very sweet...

These next pictures are one day at lunchtime. Sawyer was so tired that he literally laid his head down on his highchair while eating lunch. Of course, Sadie had to do the same thing...

And, then there was Valentines! Ahhhhh, something fun in the boring month of February!!!
Here are the kids opening their Valentines goodies from me and Dennis on Sunday morning.
Sawyer got some M&M's in his bag and they all fell out of the package so he started gobbling them up as fast as he could get them in his mouth. It was hilarious!
Nothing like M&M's for breakfast!

Sadie was very excited about all of her goodies in her bag.

Anything else in here, Dada????

Thank you, Dada! Happy Valentines Day!!!

Here's to a much faster 2nd half of February and NO MORE SNOW!!!

January Fun!!

2010-02-05T13:50:00.000-06:00

Where did January go? It flew by for me!!! We started with potty training, which went wonderful! It's already been 4 weeks and she's still done GREAT! Except for one accident during week 2, she has done amazing. We've gone through all of the hurdles of going to the bathroom in Target, Kroger, restaurants, etc.
We've even used our little potty that I was keeping in the back of the car for "emergencies only". We needed it terribly two times this week, so I'm thankful I had left it in there!
Here is a picture of her current "potty chart"! I asked my mom today when she thought I'd be able to stop letting Sadie put stickers on here every time she goes to the bathroom...

We had some awesome snow days this month as well. We made lots of memories. I hope and pray that Sadie isn't too young to remember them. She seems to have a good memory so far, just like her mommy. She tends to bring up things that I cannot believe she remembers from months ago. And, she will remember every little detail!
Here are a few pics from our snow days!

The kids have been having so much fun together. They play together so well and it's so much fun to sit back and watch. I can't even imagine life without them both.
Oh yeah...daddy joins in on the fun too!

Sawyer went in yesterday for his 18 month check-up. He weighs exactly 24 pounds. Still a pretty little fella! We gotta put some lbs. on this guy if he's gonna play football! ha ha
I've been planning Sadie's 3rd birthday party that will be in March. Just over a month away. CRAZY!!!!!
Although many days, I wonder how I will make it through the day, I wouldn't trade my life with my family for anything in the world. They make me who I am. They keep me getting up every morning (some mornings a little earlier than I'd like). They keep me trusting in my Everlasting Father for peace, patience, and love every single day! And, I have the greatest husband in the whole world who continues to be my rock. I'm the luckiest gal in the whole world!

Potty Training - Day 5

2010-01-13T13:47:00.001-06:00

Okay, this will probably be my last blog on Potty Training. I feel I can now say that Sadie is Potty Trained after just 5 days! The method I used worked absolutely perfect for us and I am glad it's over!!! We have spent LOTS of time doing this...

I even brought out the playdough and let Sawyer play with it yesterday. I had bought a neat little playdough "play pack" at the store to give to Sadie as one of her rewards and I couldn't let Sawyer not play with it too while me and Sadie were! I must've reached my desperation point to let an almost 18 month old play with playdough, but I was there!!
She has done so great these past 2 days. No accidents whatsoever since Saturday night. I know that she will still have some in the near future, but I'm just proud of how far she's come in such a short amount of time. Yesterday we didn't even have to use the timer. She came and told me every time she had to go! And, she finally went at the gym today, which she hadn't done yet. I think she was afraid of the potty because it's a bit different, but she went and did great!
Looking back, it wasn't so bad after all. There were a few long days, mainly because we were stuck in the house, but the actual training part wasn't bad at all!!!!
Go Sadie Jane!!!

Potty Training - Day 4

2010-01-11T20:29:00.000-06:00

Day 4 has been another huge success! No accidents!! Yippee!!!!
Tonight was rough though b/c we had somewhere to be at 6:15 and Sadie decided that she "needed to go" around 5:30. Well, after 3 or 4 times of her up and down off the potty, I made her sit there until something happened. Sure enough, she pooped! So, at least I know she's starting to know when she needs to go. Even if it is an hour before it actually happens! ha ha
A couple of times today, she would run to the bathroom and say she needed to go and when I would pull her panties down, I would see that she went a little bit, but then she'd finish up in the potty. My friends at small group said that was good though, b/c at least she's realizing once it starts, it doesn't need to finish that way, so at least she takes off running and finishes up in the actual potty!!!
It hasn't been so bad, but I'll be glad when it's over and I feel more comfortable just letting her tell me when she needs to go instead of me obsessing over it all day long!!!

Potty Training - Day 3

2010-01-10T18:28:00.000-06:00

This is our potty chart thus far!!!! 4 Poops and many pee-pee's over the past 3 days. So far, we've had a total of 4 accidents. Not to bad...I don't think...
I won't bore you all with the minute-by-minute breakdown, but today has been a huge success so far!!! We've still got about an hour to go before bedtime, but so far, so good! I stayed home from church w/ her and we worked pretty hard on it again and she hasn't had an accident all day long!
We even took a quick family outing to pick up some pizza tonight and we didn't have an accident in the car.
I am ready to venture out of this house, but not sure when I will have the guts to do so. I am dying to get back to the gym tomorrow, but we will see!!!!
If anyone has any suggestions for our first few outings out, let me know!
I have those plastic covers I can put over her panties, but she's not a huge fan of them so I'm not sure if it'll work.
We have our church small group tomorrow night that we HAVE to go to, so I'm hoping and praying she won't have an accident while she's playing with all of the kids.
Keep your fingers crossed!!!!

Potty Training Day 2 Continued

2010-01-09T21:15:00.000-06:00

Well, potty training kind of failed us this afternoon. My sweet friend Rachel Fontenot told me that "Day 2" is usually the worst, but for us, so far, it'd been completely successful!!!!
Well, when Sadie woke up from her nap, I should've taken her straight to the potty, but I didn't. She said she didn't need to go, so I let it go and sure enough, she pee-pee'd all over herself within 5 minutes. Totally MY fault!!!!
Well, then we made the mistake (unknowingly) of having friends over for dinner tonight. The friends weren't the mistake. It was just the distraction that came along with it. Sadie wanted to do nothing but play, play, play! So, even though we still took her to the potty every 20 minutes, she wanted to get up after about 30 seconds to go and play some more. So, after "holding it" all night, I suppose, she finally pee-pee'd on herself AGAIN around 8:00. So, we ended the day w/ 2 accidents after a totally successful 24 hours!
Oh well, tomorrow is a new day!!!
Sawyer came home this afternoon too, which put a whole new spin on everything, adding a whole new degree of difficulty to the training process. He wants to be all up in her grill the whole entire time we're in the bathroom and I'm not sure how I'm gonna handle that. I guess I will have to figure something out!!!
Wish us luck on Day 3!! Hope it's better than today!!!!
By the way, Sadie won't be going to church tomorrow. I learned tonight that it's WAY too early to depend on her to know when to tell her teacher that she needs to go.

Potty Training - Day 2

2010-01-09T15:16:00.000-06:00

Well, today has been a success so far. It goes as follows:
8:50 - get Sadie up, change into big girl panties and go straight to the potty!
She sat for about 3 minutes but nothing happened.
9:20 a.m. - timer went off; sat for about 10 minutes...nothing
9:35 a.m. - said she had to go...ran to the potty...Pee Pee'd!!! I think it's starting to click!!!!!
From 9:40 until 10:30, she kept saying she needed to go, so we'd go and sit for a few minutes but nothing would happen.
10:30 a.m. - timer went off; sat for 3 minutes...nada
11:20 a.m. - timer went off; Pee Pee!!!! Yippeeeeeee!!!
Time to go outside and play in the snow!!!!!
12:20 p.m. - came back inside and tried to go...nothing
12:50 p.m. - timer went off right before naptime; sat for a few minutes and she pooped! Yippee!!! GO SADIE!!!!
I am proud of my little girl. I wonder if we'll venture out and try to go to church tomorrow. Can I really expect her teacher(s) to take her to the potty every little bit and see if she needs to go?
Any advice from you moms out there on how long I should wait before we venture out???

Potty Training Day 1 Continued...

2010-01-08T21:23:00.000-06:00

Okay, so post-naptime went AWESOME!!!! She woke up, we put her big girl panties back on. (some new ones, of course)
4:00 p.m. - We immediately sat on the potty for about 2 minutes...nothing.
Her diaper was almost completely dry though, which was good...
4:05 p.m. - Sadie said she needed to go to the potty again, so went and sat for about 3 minutes...nothing again.
4:10 p.m. - Sadie said she needed to go AGAIN...AAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!! But, this time she PEE PEE'D!!! Yippee!!!!!!!! I was very, very excited!!!
4:30 p.m. - timer went off so we sat on the potty for about 10 minutes.
To spare you the boredom, for the next 2 hours, she went and sat on it every 20 minutes and nothing happened, which was fine. She actually wanted to sit there for the whole 2 hours and I wouldn't let her. For crying out loud child! I am about sick of sitting in the bathroom floor. I will admit it. Sorry.
6:55 p.m. - timer went off and she Pee-pee'd again!!!! Yee haw for Sadie!!!!!
7:20 p.m. - POO POO!!!!!!! (she'd been on the potty for about 20 minutes b/c she just loves it) I hope that part will end. I don't know how many days I can spend on the bathroom floor...
I think she's just excited though. It's something new, and I'd much rather her be overly excited than throwing a fit every 20 minutes when we have to go!!!
Day One = HUGE SUCCESS!!!!!!!
Only 2 accidents and they were both first thing in the morning. The rest of the day couldn't have gone any better!!!
I'm so proud of my little girl. I will admit to only my fellow bloggers that I did shed a few tears on my way home from the grocery store tonight, b/c I can't believe I'm potty training my baby! It's just gone too fast.
Also, to top off her great day, she ASKED to wear her pull-up to bed...??? What in the world? Isn't this the same thing that put her over the edge at naptime. Oh well...I went with it, and she's now fast asleep. Who knows???
Here's to Day #2...let it be as successful as Day #1!!!!

Potty Training 101...ha ha ha

2010-01-08T13:13:00.001-06:00

Okay, so today is our first official day of Potty Training. I've waited long enough! I know she will kill me for taking this picture of her one day, but I just couldn't resist!!!! I know so many people who just allow their kids to let them know when they are ready to go to the potty, etc., but I've learned that if I don't take action, I may be the first mom who sends their kindergartner to school in a diaper. Sadie is sooooooooo laid back and I just don't know that she would've ever invited this change into her own life. So, I made the goal a few weeks ago that this weekend was going to be the time. I wanted to get past the holidays, etc., and I've always said my goal was to have her trained by her 3rd birthday. So, here we go!!!
This blog post is mainly for me...well, for me and anyone else who is in the midst of potty training that wants to see how their child is comparing to mine in the process. I wish I had someone's blog to read and see how their progress went!!! I need some encouragement!!!!
Rachel Fontenot gave me her "method" on how to train Sadie. She trained her little girl this way and she knows many more that have successfully trained theirs this way as well. Basically, (to put it in a nutshell) you sit inside your house for 3 or 4 days and set a timer to go off every 20 minutes or so. When the timer goes off, you do a "potty cheer" or "potty song" or whatever and you run to the potty. Then, you require them to sit for at least 2 or 3 minutes and see what happens. If nothing happens, you go back to what you were doing, re-set the timer, and start over.
I had my mom keep Sawyer all day today so that I could spend all day with Sadie helping her out. He's going to be at my mother-in-law's house all day tomorrow too.
We already had bought big girl panties, potty seat, activities, etc...
Here is how the morning went...
8:50 a.m. - big girl panties ON for the 1st time!!! Sit on the potty for 1 minute right when she came downstairs...nothing
9:10 a.m. - Sadie told me WHILE she was already in the midst of pee-peeing that she needed to pee-pee so we RAN to the bathroom and she finished up in the potty...not a total success, but not a total failure nonetheless
9:35 a.m. - timer went off; sat on potty for 8 minutes...nothing
10:00 a.m. - timer went off; sat on potty for 3 minutes...nothing
10:15 a.m. - pee-pee'd on the floor in the kitchen - WHOOPS!!! (not sure what happened here)
10:16 a.m. - I was already getting frustrated and realized I needed to stop and pray for extra patience AGAIN...
10:45 a.m. - timer went off; sat on potty for 10 minutes...nothing
11:10 a.m. - timer went off; sat on potty for 5 minutes...nothing
CALLED RACHEL FONTENOT TO SEE IF IT WAS NORMAL THAT I WAS ALREADY LOSING MY MIND. SHE SAID "YES", SO I GUESS I'M GOOD.
11:40 a.m. - timer went off; sat on potty for 10 minutes...nada
WOW! THIS DAY IS GETTING REALLY LONG!!!!!!
12:10 p.m. - Sadie said she had to go to the potty, so we ran! Sat on potty for 3 minutes...nothing
12:15 p.m. - said she had to go again, so we RAN!!!! Sat on potty for 3 minutes...nothing
SOMETHING IS GOING ON HERE!!!!!
12:30 p.m. - said once again that she had to go...went to the potty and sat...played a game while she was on the potty and in the midst of the game I then realized something WAS happening!!!! SHE POO-POO'd AND PEE-PEE'd!!!!!!! YIPPEEEE!!!! Our first real success of the day!!!!!!!
Whew...at least I know she can do it...
Went upstairs for her nap; attempted to put on her pull-up for naptime since there are supposed to be "NO MORE DIAPERS". Well, that didn't go over well. She hated the pull-up, cried her eyes out, and I gave in...put the diaper on for naptime. Hopefully, I haven't completely screwed her up!!!!
Stay tuned...

New Years 2009/2010

2010-01-02T13:56:00.000-06:00

Well, since Facebook won't let me download any photos, I guess I will have to put all of my New Years photos on my blog, which I intended to do anyways, but wanted them on Facebook as well.
We had a very low key New Years Eve this year which was just what we wanted. We went to Clay and Jodi's house and they had 4 other couples over as well. We ate a very nice dinner and just let all of the kids play all night. It was a lot of fun. Most everyone left by about 9:00, but we stayed until about 10:15 when Sadie proceeded to vomit right in their kitchen!!! She has had some drainage going on and she, Reese, and Sawyer were all running around all night, so I think she got hot, had too much to eat/drink, and the drainage messed up her stomach. So, that was a bit of a party foul, but she couldn't help it. So, we cleaned up her mess and headed home and got the kids in bed by about 11:00. This was the first year in a LONG time that I actually stayed up past midnight. The past 3 years or so, I've either been very tired from being pregnant or I've been up nursing, so I was already in bed by then.
Happy New Year to all of my fellow bloggers!!!!
This first one is of Sadie and Xander playing with the bells on the door. They spent quite a bit of time on this one.

This one is of Sadie playing on the rocking horse. She loves this thing! She about tips it over because she rocks so hard on it.

Moving on to the other rocking horse...

Happy New Year from Saweeeeeeeee!!!!

What? Just because I just sat here and ate 3 hotdogs in one sitting does NOT mean you have to take my picture...

Sadie and Reese playing under the kitchen table...

Sadie and Xander playing some more...

Uncle Sam has all of the babies! Doesn't he look like a natural??? ha ha

Sadie and McKenna playing "chase".

Me and my buddy Ann Loraine!!

On New Years Day, we got up and fixed a big breakfast and just played inside all day long. It was a nice, peaceful day of rest!!!
My sweetest little Tinkers eating her lunch on the counter.

Sadie "sharing" some crunchies with Sawyer. How sweeeeeeeettttt!!!

Christmas 2009

2009-12-29T20:38:00.001-06:00

I can't believe Christmas is over. It came and went so quickly. I feel like I blinked and it was gone! The preparations felt as though they took months and then the actual day was gone in a flash. Here is how our Christmas went...
Christmas Eve was great! Dennis was off work all day! It was very last minute so we weren't able to plan anything special, but that's okay. We were just thankful that his boss had some kind of heart at the last minute! We went to church at 4:00 with my dad and then we went to my mom's house to have dinner and do our Christmas w/ her. It was great!!!!! My mom and dad surprised Chance and bought him a dirt bike this year, so he was ecstatic!!!! We all got lots and lots and lots of fun stuff for Christmas from mom and were so very grateful!

We came home from my mom's and we let the kids open one present each...their Christmas PJ's!!!! We gave them their baths, etc. and then we all climbed in Sadie's bed and read "Twas the Night Before Christmas". Sadie was hanging on every word. It was precious.

Dennis and I played Santa until a little after midnight. I was pooped! But, we got it all done. And, I made some delicious Monkey Bread in the process that I ended up snacking on all night long.

Christmas morning was soooooo much fun!!!!! We got the kids up around 8:00 or so and made them sit at the top of the stairs for just a moment while I got the video camera ready.

They were both soooooo excited when they came downstairs. They didn't know what to play with first. It was awesome to watch their little faces. The played and played for hours!!! Dennis and I cooked a huge breakfast and ate while the kids never stopped. Sawyer stopped a few times to eat a few bites, but Sadie didn't stop until it was time for her nap that afternoon. Food was of no importance to her!

Deb and LJ stopped by when the kids woke up from their naps to see all of their new toys! Sadie was so excited to show everything off.
David and Barbara came by after that and stayed and had dinner with us. Dennis smoked a ham all day so that's what we ate for dinner and it was quite delicious. We opened gifts with them and shared in their sadness that little Zoe had passed away the night before. We are going to miss that precious little dog. She was the best! She could lick you from across the room with that LONG tongue. I loved her to pieces!!!! Rest in Peace precious little Zoe. Tell Cocoa that we said "hello".

The next day, we got up and headed to Grammy's for Christmas w/ her, Daren, Rachel, & McHaney. It was so much fun. Once again, the kids got tons of stuff!!!! They were so excited. The funniest part was when they were bringing Sawyer's car downstairs and he was going crazy over it. It was the cutest thing!!!! I'm not sure I've ever seen him get that excited.

We came home for naps and I took down all of the Christmas decorations (because I had obviously lost my mind) and then we headed to Dennis' aunts' house to do Christmas with that whole side of the family. WOW! It was madness, but so much fun!! The kids all played pretty well together and we had so much fun.

Here is a hilarious video of the kids running around in circles and singing "Jingle Bells".

What a wonderful Christmas to remember. It was the best thus far! I know that each year will only get better, but I'm even more excited to see what 2010 has in store for this family. God has already blessed us beyond our wildest imagination and I know He has even better plans for us for the next year!!!!

The Phillips Household at Christmastime in 2009

2009-12-21T14:11:00.000-06:00

What's been going on around the Phillips household this Christmas? Well...not too much! It has been a low key Christmas season and I have been so thankful for that. First of all, I can't go without recognizing that my baby girl has officially moved into a big bed! It breaks my heart but I am so proud of her. We did it on a whim. I had no intentions at all, because she has showed no interest and that was perfectly fine with me. Her big bed has been set up in her room since we moved in. I was just waiting on her to be ready to use it. Well, one night last week, it happened? Dennis mentioned something to her about sleeping in it, and she goes "OKAY!!!!!!" and seemed real excited, so we just went with it! She has done great every night and she loves, loves, loves it!!! She hasn't tried to get out of it one time. Thank goodness, b/c I have heard some horror stories about kids that get out and play all night long, etc.

Other than that, we've just been running around and trying to get things ready for this week. The kids are sooooooo excited about Christmas. It has been so much fun. I know that Christmas morning will be a blast. I have tried to incorporate the real reason for Christmas into everything we've been doing. I want them to know that we are celebrating the birth of Jesus on Christmas and that it's not all about toys, presents, etc. I'm not sure they totally get it all yet, but I figured that it's never too early to start!
Here are a few pics we got Sunday morning before we left for church. The kids had their Christmas outfits on, so I had to get a few pics. I had to keep the nursery that morning, so that is why I wasn't dressed up.

Sunday night, we had Christmas over here with my dad, sis, Jeffrey, and the kids. We had the BEST time!!!! My dad cooked a gourmet meal, as usual. We had prime rib, beef wellington, potatoes Anna (no, they are not named after me...just a coincidence) broccoli/cheese casserole, rolls, and cheesecake for dessert. YUM! I was sick when I went to bed because I was still so full. We opened lots and lots of presents. I was so proud of my dad for everything that he picked out for all of us. He did sooooo good! He had hardly any help at all! He was so generous and we all just had so much fun together. The kids screamed, yelled, ran around, chased each other, and had the time of their lives.

Today, (Monday) Grammy came and picked up Sadie and took her over to Aunt Pam's to make gingerbread houses w/ Cole and McHaney. From what I heard, they had a great time. I think they have pictures that they took, but I don't have them quite yet. Here's a picture of Sadie's masterpiece!

This is my most favorite week of the whole year. The excitement of Christmas just around the corner. I love it!!! I only wish Dennis was off work all week to enjoy it with us. That would make it all absolutely perfect!!! Thank you God for sending your precious Son to be born into this world and giving us all a reason to celebrate this time of year.

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-12-04T13:24:00.000-06:00

I'm a little late on my Thanksgiving post, but it's been a crazy week! Sawyer has RSV...again! Bless his heart. I took him to the doctor yesterday for the 4th time in a month and they finally figured out what's wrong with him. So...sorry to everyone that has been exposed to him over the past month. Who knows how long he has had it. You can't say I didn't try though after over $140 in just co-pays to go to the doctor!!!! Can we say I might need to switch doctor's???? We'll see...
Anyways, we had a great Thanksgiving this year. It started on Tuesday of last week when Dennis' dad and Barbara came out and took us to dinner for Thanksgiving at Mimi's Cafe. Yum!!! The kids were a bit crazy, but luckily we had the whole back room to ourselves so it wasn't too bad. Wednesday night, we went to my Memaw & Pepaw's house to have pizza with that whole side of the family. Here's a picture of all of the grandkids and great-grandkids. (minus Chance)

Afterwards, we took the kids over to Deb's to spend the night because we had to get up very early the next day.
Thursday morning, we got up and ran the 5 mile race at Indian Lake. I can say now that it was great, but during the race I thought I might not make it!! I ran it in 52minutes, which was a great time for me. I will try harder next time to make it in under 50.
Afterwards, Dennis went and got the kids and we got ready and went to Aunt Pam's house for lunch. Most of that side of the family was there.

After that, we came home and let the kids take their naps and we went to my dad's for Thanksgiving dinner that night. I think it was the best meal I've ever had. It was sooooooo delicious!!!!!

Friday, we headed to Chattanooga with Clay, Jodi, and Reese for a weekend of fun!!! We checked into our hotel and headed to the Aquarium. It was so neat!!

The kids had so much fun looking at all of the fish, running around, crawling through things, touching (or, trying to touch) stingrays, etc. It was a very neat experience. I think they were at the perfect age to try something like that out because they were in awe by it all.

We left afterwards and made the mistake of taking 3 VERY sleepy kids to eat dinner at Sticky Fingers. It was a less than enjoyable experience that I won't even go there...
Saturday morning we got up while we were getting ready, Sadie and Sawyer got in our bed and watched TV. Sooooooo cute!!!!

When we were all ready, we all went to eat breakfast at Cracker Barrel and then we headed over the Children's Discovery Museum. It was the neatest place!!! It was a success for the kids. They had a ball! We stayed there for over 3 hours and I think Sadie and Sawyer would've stayed longer if we didn't make them leave. We were worn out!!!

There is so much for the kids to do. We didn't even get to do it all. You could spend hours and hours there. I wish we had a place in Nashville like this.

We headed home after 2 very long, but fun days! We made lots of memories which is what it's all about! The Curtis' were great travelin' buddies and we know there will be lots more of those types of weekends in our future!!!

Decorating for Christmas!

2009-11-23T14:08:00.001-06:00

Sadie and I got to decorate our house for Christmas this past weekend. Both of the kids have been sick, so I knew I wanted to stay in this weekend. Sawyer was feeling better so I let him go spend the night at Deb's on Friday night. Dennis and Travis headed to the farm Friday night as well, so it was just me and Sadie.
Before we took Sawyer to Deb's and before Dennis left for the farm, he put up the Christmas tree. The kids were so excited. Check out Sadie's face in the one where we turned the lights on. She was so happy!

Saturday morning, Sadie and I got up and she came downstairs and saw a few of the decorations that I had already put up. It was like Christmas morning. The excitement from her was priceless! I decided to put up some Snow Village this year and she loved it. She ran over to it and said "it's beautiful! I want to go in there!!!"

She helped me put ornaments on the tree and we listened to Christmas music all day and it was a day I'll never forget. Sooooooo much fun w/ my little Tinkers!

Here are "our" finished products!

Tis the Season! Let it all begin!!!

Busy October

2009-11-03T13:15:00.000-06:00

We have had a very busy October, but so much fun!! October is one of my most favorite months, b/c it's the kickoff to the Fall season, and all of the holidays are just around the corner. I love it!
Halloween was a lot of fun this year. We did lots of stuff Halloween weekend. The weekend before Halloween, we had our annual weiner roast at my mother in law's house with that whole side of the family. It's a favorite night of ours every single year. Sadie saddled up and rode the donkey for the first time. She loved it!

Sawyer...well, not so much...

I think he just didn't like the pink saddle. ha ha
Most of the family was there and had such a good time. We took 2 hayrides. One before it got dark...

And, one after it got dark...

We threw rocks in the creek, and Sadie even touched a yucky salamander!!!

Here's a pic of the kids all trying to find more rocks to throw in the creek.

All the boys played some football...

And the girls...well, they just danced...

Then, the boys played hide and seek...

And, the girls...ATE!

We had a great time!
Sawyer loved being by the fire and he pretty much stood there and ate all night long.

On Halloween Eve, we went to my mom's house for what was supposed to be a cookout, hayride, roasting marshmallows, etc. Well, the bottom fell out and it poured all night long, so the cookout was moved into the garage.

We still had fun though! The kids all dressed up in their costumes and just ate and played!

On Halloween morning, I had all of my high school girlfriends and all 12 of our kids over to my house for a breakfast playdate. It was so much fun!!!
Here are a few pics from our morning together.

Here is a picture of Sawyer and Harrison WAY too close to the TV!

That night, we had BBQ that Dennis had smoked all day long. It was delicious!!! It was the best he's ever done. It literally fell off the bone and melted in my mouth!! My dad came over and hung out with us. Then, my mom and Butch came by and ate dinner too.

Jodi, Clay and Reese came over and we went and trick or treated with them for a while.

Then, we came back here and hung out by the fire the rest of the night. It was wonderful! What a perfect night!!! Dennis' mom, LJ, and his grandparents all came by later on too.

Life is good, life is fine....Life is good...LIFE IS FINE!

Hilton Head 2009

2009-10-06T14:20:00.000-05:00

Well, I don't know how I could fit all of the pictures and all of our memories into one post because it would be way too long, so I thought I would just summarize with some of my favorites!
First of all, the trip was awesome. It was perfect. And when I say perfect, I mean perfect. I wouldn't have changed one thing! The traveling was great, the house we stayed in was wonderful, the weather was unbelievable, the kids couldn't have been better, and the memories we made will last forever! I never imagined that it would be so great. I thought with 2 kids as young as ours, we'd just be trying to keep our heads on the whole week. But it was nothing like that. It was so much fun. Sadie woke up every morning and went to the back door (where you could see the pool) and said "ooooohhhhhh" and "aaahhhhh" because we had our own pool. She was beside herself. It was so cute! They both loved the beach. The sand didn't bother either of them. Sadie loved the ocean the whole time. Sawyer didn't warm up to it until the last day. He liked the pool better because it was warmer. The beaches in Hilton Head were gorgeous! There aren't any high rises or anything there to block your views of anything so it makes everything seem so nice. We saw some of the most gorgeous sunsets that I've ever seen. We were so blessed. I thanked God a thousand times a day for the time that we were having together. It was worth every penny that we had saved to take this trip.
Dennis amazed me on this trip as well. His patience with the kids is unbelievable. He is so good with them. And, if you know Dennis...he's not the most patient person in the world. But, for some reason when it comes to me or the kids, his patience is boundless. He played and played with them. He built sandcastles and dug holes in the sand every single day when Sadie asked him to. He would take them in the water a thousand times if they asked him to. He would swim with them for hours. And so on and so on. It was precious. Even when I would get to my breaking point where my patience was about to run out, he would still be going. Thank the Lord for that. And the best part was that he seemed to enjoy every single minute of it. He did it all with a smile on his face like it was the first time they'd ask him to do it.
We got up every single morning, ate breakfast, went to the beach for a few hours, came back and swam in the pool for a little while, had lunch, put the kids down for their naps, went out for dinner, played, went back down to the beach to look for seashells and run around, go get ice cream at the "Ice Cream Cone" and come home and go to bed. It was so much fun.
We took over 700 pictures so obviously I will not post them all, but here were some of my favorites! These are all different than the ones I put on Facebook.
This is Sadie's little footprint in the sand. So precious!

Me and the kids excited to see the ocean!

Sadie running away from the waves.

Daddy and Sadie headin' into the water.

The pool at our house.

Sadie eating ice cream at our nightly spot, "The Ice Cream Cone" where she ordered "playdough" ice cream every night, which was really called "Superman", but she thought it looked like playdough.

Sadie and I walking up the hundreds of stairs to get to the top of the Lighthouse in Harbortown.

Playing on the HUGE playground at Harbortown!

Me and Sadie walking down the path to go eat some dinner one night.

You can't really tell, but I wrote "Sadie and Sawyer 2009" in the sand and we tried to get their picture. This was the best we could do...

Sawyer's face is blurry, but he loved when Dennis would throw him up in the air in the swimming pool.

This may look like a sweet picture, but I'm really getting onto Sadie because she ran away from us on the beach.

Had to get a close up of the sand and pieces of seashells that are embedded into Sawyer's face. He could've cared less.

One of the gorgeous sunsets that we got to enjoy every night.

Dennis ate raw oysters almost every single night for his appetizer. Yuck!!!

Sawyer enjoying his first chicken wing on our way home from Hilton Head.

Dennis and I attempted to sneak down to the beach very early the morning we were leaving to catch the sunrise together and this is what we saw...

The huge jellyfish that Dennis spotted our last day at the beach! Glad I didn't see this on the first day or that would've been our last time on the beach!!!!

Sadie and I "shared" a huge dessert on our last night. It was delicious!!!

The gorgeous sunrise that Dennis got to see one morning.

What great memories we made and we can't wait to go back next year!!!

Oh, How I've Waited...

2009-09-11T15:04:00.000-05:00

I think I can say I have waited my whole life for this. Okay, so it's just my children's panels hanging on the wall together to you. But to me, it's so much more. I can still remember the days, weeks, months, years that I prayed to have a child. It literally still hurts my heart deeply when I hear of couples who are having trouble conceiving. I know your pain. So, to look up at my wall and see these 2 panels hanging together, representing the first year of both of my babies lives means so much to me. It's something that we will have hanging on our walls for the rest of our lives. So many other pictures will change in and out of the frames, but these 2 will always be hung together in mine and Dennis' home for as long as we live.
Anyways, we have been so busy lately! I started a new mom's group at church, I-Mom. It's going to be great! I can't wait to see what all God is going to do with this group of mom's. I also started a women's Bible study at my church on Wednesday nights called "I Am". I think it's going to be amazing as well. For the first time in my life, I am praying so hard for God to change me, use me, let me know Him better, give me a hunger for His Word, etc. I am so excited to see what will happen over these next few months. Sadie started her first real "class" on Wednesday nights as well called "Jasper's Bible Club". I went and bought her a new Bible and she carried it around for days and wanted to read it during every spare moment that she had. She would sit down, open it up, and pretend to read it over and over. I thought we might have the next Beth Moore on our hands! ha ha They get special stickers and things for bringing their Bible every week and learning verses, etc.
As a mom, the most important thing to me is for my kids to learn all about Jesus from me. I want them to see God in me. I want them to see me pray. I want them to see me in His Word. Our pastor's wife asked us the other day: If someone were to ask your kids what they think is important to you, what would they say???? Would they say it's: cleaning the house? clothes? Money? Having the best things? Or, would they say "Mommy loves Jesus!!!" It's definitely something to think about.
We are leaving for our very first family vacation in a week. We are beside ourselves. I think Dennis would leave today if it were up to him. He's so excited. It's the first time he's been out of town in almost 4 years! I got to take Sadie to the beach a couple of years ago, but he didn't go, so it's been a long time coming for him. We don't even care if it rains every day. We're just looking so forward to getting away from everything and spending time together as a family.
When we get back from the beach, we're going to Gatlinburg for a weekend, then I'm going to the Beth Moore conference in Memphis, and so on. It's going to be a busy Fall, but I can't wait!!!!
I've also decided to do a half-marathon in November. What am I thinking???? Barbara asked me to join them in Chattanooga and do one with them because her and her best friend walk it together. I think we're going to try and make a whole weekend of it, so it should be fun, regardless if I can do the whole thing or not!!!
So, that's what's been going on in our lives. Stay tuned for lots of pictures from the beach!!

Sadie Day

2009-09-04T13:48:00.001-05:00

It's been a long time since I've been on here to update. We've been extremely busy, yet things have also seemed a bit calm. Sawyer started walking last week. Yeah!! Our hope was that he would start walking before we go to the beach and he did! We leave for Hilton Head in just a few weeks now and we are all beside ourselves. We cannot wait! Our very first family vacation!!!!
Anyways, Sawyer went last night to spend the night w/ Dennis' dad and Barbara (aka PawPaw and Gimmy) for the first time. It was actually his first time to ever spend the night away from home. I was mostly at ease about it, but I was a little sad. I knew he was in great hands. I just didn't want him to not sleep good, etc. But, from what I hear, he slept great and has had so much fun so far. Praise the Lord!!
I couldn't wait to have Sadie all to myself for a whole day. For those of you that have 2 children close together, you know how it feels when that second one comes along...you feel as though you'll never get time alone with your first again...EVER! So, I have been looking forward to this all week.
As soon as David came to pick up Sawyer, Sadie and I got ready and headed over to Shelly's parents house to meet her and Greyson and go swimming. The boys came when they got off work and Ryan brought Mexican over for dinner. We had the best time. I know that all of you out there with only one child will roll your eyes at this...but, I couldn't believe how easy it was to just have one child again!!!! Wow! I had totally forgotten what it was like! Here are some pictures from our night.

As you can see above, Dennis was having just as much fun as the kids doing a few cannonballs of his own!
After we ate dinner and watched the gorgeous moon rise, we headed home. Dennis took Sadie to get some ice cream while I went and got some medicine for this horrible cold that I am fighting.
Friday morning, I got to sleep in until 8:00 which I haven't done since who knows when. Sadie and I got ready when she got up and we went to Monkey Joe's, which is one of her most favorite places! I gave her the choice to go to Monkey Joe's or the park, and she chose Monkey Joe's. We had a blast!
Afterwards, we went to get a cupcake from Gigi's and came home to eat lunch.
Here is Sadie's nutritional lunch...

A princess cupcake, a capri sun, and some crunchies. But, hey, this was "her day", so I let her get away with it.
I have so enjoyed having some time with her. I do miss Sawyer bunches, but I have enjoyed the break!!!

Sawyer is ONE!

2009-07-31T14:03:00.001-05:00

So my little fella has finally made it to his 1st birthday. I think there have been many days in the past year where I thought none of us would make it! He has definitely kept us on our toes! What a joy he has brought to our family. He has created a whole new dynamic in this house and I wouldn't trade that little guy for nothin! He made our family complete and I thank God for him.
I went in his room first thing in the morning and took his picture right away. You can't tell but all of his lights are out and it's pitch black in this picture. The flash took care of that though.

We hung out together for a little while before Sadie got up. I just wanted to get a few pics of him on his birthday. Of course, he wouldn't let go of "Monkey" long enough for me to get a good shot.

We had dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings with my dad, sis, and Emma. Can you get any cuter than this???? I don't think so!!!!!

Afterwards, we came back here and Sawyer opened what few presents we bought for him. Well, Sadie actually opened them, as you can see...

This is a picture of Sawyer pulling on Dennis' leg, wanting him to hurry up and get one of his trucks open!

We tried to do the "cake" thing again, but he still didn't want anything to do with it. Oh well...I tried to get one good picture, but it just didn't happen this year.

I love my little buddy more than life!!!! Happy Birthday Saweeeeeeee!

Last Week of July 2009

2009-07-22T20:24:00.001-05:00

Well, this is our last crazy week for a while, I hope! Tuesday started out with my 8 year anniversary!!! It's gone by so fast! I have been happily married to the love of my life for 8 years now and only hope that our next 80 will be just as happy! He is so good to me and I thank God for giving him to me every single day. I am blessed! I took the kids to Toys R Us today to finish up some shopping for Sawyer's birthday. My mom met me there because she had to get a few things as well. Tuesday night, we took the kids to David and Barbara's house and they kept our kids as well as McHaney so that we could go and have dinner with Daren and Rachel to celebrate all of our July birthdays. We went to Bonefish Grill in Cool Springs and it was just as delicious as last time. I crave that Bang Bang Shrimp and Calamari. I think I'm going to dream about it! We had a great time hanging out with them. We never, ever get to do that, because we're always with more family or we always have the kids, so it was so nice to be able to have a couple of hours to just sit, talk, enjoy one another and hang out. We picked the kids up and got home very late. The kids were DONE by the time we got home. Whew! Wednesday, I went to 1st Baptist to take the last of the birthday stuff to the lady that is helping with his party. My mom met me up there because I thought it was going to take a lot longer than it did. I took the kids to the play area for a little while after that and let them play. Sawyer was loving it! I'm so excited to see how he'll be at his party on Friday night!! Thursday, I got to go and get my hair done. Thanks mommy for keeping the kiddos for me!!! It was a nice break. I came home and did some things for Sawyer's party. Thursday night, me and the kids met Dennis at Red Robin for dinner and then went to Walmart to get the drinks and stuff for the party. It never ends!!! Friday was a busy day. We got up and went and bought some cupcakes from Gigi's. Sadie loves doing that. She feels like such a big girl getting to order her own cupcake. I got the princess pink one for her and I got a strawberry shortcake one for my friend Shelly for her birthday. Then, we went to the gym, and then we went and met the sweet girl who did Sawyer's birthday cake. It looked incredible! I was so excited!!! I sent her a picture of his napkin and she matched his cake to that and his little smasher cake is a 3-D haystack, complete with an edible pitchfork coming out of the top. Sooooooooooo precious!!! I was so impressed with her talent!
We've always used Mandy LeMay for all of our cake needs, but Mandy was "off" during July this year, so we had to find someone else to do Sawyer's cake. It's the same girl that did my sister's wedding cake and it was delicious! Friday afternoon was spent getting ready for the party. My dad came over and Dennis came home a little early and we all headed over to 1st Baptist to set everything up and get ready for everyone to arrive. We had so much fun! The party was a success! Sawyer did great for a while, then he got overwhelmed, hot, and tired and was pretty much DONE! It kinda made me sad, but he was a trooper for the most part. Once everyone was gone and he got to just crawl around the halls of the church and play with his new John Deere riding toy, he was in heaven! Most of the pictures have been posted on Facebook, but here are a few of my favorites!

All in all, I thought it was a great 1st birthday party. I know Sawyer won't remember a thing, but he had lots of friends and family there that love him to pieces! We tried to get a group picture of all of the kids at the party, but we are missing a few in the picture. Oh well...
Saturday morning, all of the new toys were out and Sadie thought it was Christmas. It was pretty funny. We hung out all day long. My mom came over to keep Sawyer for the night. For Dennis' birthday this year, I planned a surprise night out for him. It was the first night that we have had to get away overnight together since the kids were born! It was needed...badly! I planned for us to go eat at Stoney River in Cool Springs, stay in the "Embassador Suite" at Embassy Suites, and then have breakfast at the Loveless Cafe. We were soooooooo excited! So, my mom came here to keep Sawyer so that he could be in his own bed, etc. That made me feel so much better because I knew he would sleep good. She said he was perfect. We took Sadie to spend the night at David and Barbara's for the first time. She was so excited and the said she did great as well! Success for all!!! Dennis and I went to the hotel, checked in, and hung out for a bit. We got ready for dinner and took a few pictures. We had dinner at Stoney River and it was delicious. It's one of our favorite places. Here's a cute picture of the birthday boy! Here's a picture of me texting my mom during dinner to see if Sawyer had gone to sleep okay.

Here's a picture of the Village People, I mean a group of guys that sat right next to us. I only wish this picture could've captured what was really going on. Dinner was great and we had the triple layer chocolate ganache cake with shots of milk for dessert. Be still my heart... We rode the shuttle back to the hotel with a large group of soldiers from Fort Campbell who were sent to Franklin for a night out. What a way to be humbled. They were super nice. Dennis thanked them several times for their service. We had to finish off the cake before we went to sleep!! We got up Sunday morning and headed to the Loveless Cafe for breakfast. Dennis was more excited about this than anything I think. We only had to wait about 20 minutes and it was well worth it. Look at the spread of food we had!
The waitress who brought our food out couldn't believe Dennis was going to eat all of that food. She came back by a few times to see if he had eaten it all and was quite impressed! She did not understand where he was going to put it all. It was hilarious. We took our last few minutes alone after breakfast and rode around Brentwood/Franklin and looked at some of the most beautiful houses. It was nice to just be alone in the car, listening to our bluegrass Christian CD, talking, enjoying each other in the peace and quiet. We take it for granted! We went and picked Sadie up and headed home. What a night! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to my mom and to Dennis' dad and Barbara for allowing us to have that night together. I feel very rejuvinated and we made some great memories. Dennis and I needed that time alone more than anything!!!! We had so much fun! God answered our prayers and blessed us with the most perfect night together. Sunday afternoon, we got the kids up after 3 and a half hour naps and we went for a ride on the 4-wheeler. Fun times! Monday was Dennis' birthday!!!! Happy Birthday my love! I hated to send him off to work on his birthday, but that's just life, I guess. We had a great weekend, so I hope it made up for the fact that he had to spend his whole birthday at work. Every Monday, Sadie talks about how much she misses Dennis. She's used to him being here on the weekends, so she always expects him to be here on Monday mornings when she wakes up. So, I was trying to get her to say "Happy Bday" on video today so that I could send it to Dennis at work, but she just kept getting a sad face and saying "I miss daddy". It was breaking my heart, but kind of funny at the same time!

For his birthday dinner, we went to his mom's house. LJ fixed him a TON of crawfish and from what I could tell, it was delicious. I won't touch the stuff. It looks like bugs to me!

One of their donkeys had a baby right after dinner, and I got to watch it on the video monitor. It was pretty cool! I've never seen anything like that before!!!
That about wraps up our month of July. One word? Craziness! But, so much fun! Lots of memories were made as usual.
Sawyer's 1st birthday is Thursday, so I'm sure I'll post something then.
Thanks for hanging with me during this busy month!!