Whirlwind July 2009 - Week One

July 1:
Not much going on today. Trying to take a deep breath before July really kicks in. The first few days of this month are usually pretty low key. I took dinner to Sonnie since she had surgery last week. She seems to be doing great!!! We got home waaaaayyyyy past the kids' bedtime tonight, b/c Dennis' truck was in the shop and we had to take his mom's car back to her, then drive to H'ville to pick up his truck, etc.
But, we are thankful his truck is fixed! It has to carry some donkeys to Shelbyville next week for cryin' out loud!! ha ha
July 2:
Today was a fun day! Me and the kids met Cayce, her boys, and Rachel Fontenot and her girls at Indian Lake to play in the fountains. It was a lot of fun!!





These next 2 pictures are of Ella Claire and Steele literally wrestling over a ball and I thought it was hilarious!


After naptime that afternoon, my dad came over to bring his last load of fireworks that he had bought for the 4th. I invited him to come with us back to Indian Lake that night for the live music, etc. We went and got Buffalo Wild Wings to go and spread out a blanket and had a little picnic, along w/ everyone else in Hendersonville. It was such a gorgeous night. We had a ball! The band was playing all Beatles music, which is my dad's most favorite and since I grew up listening to it, I love it to! Sadie played in the water a little bit and had a blast. I didn't put her bathing suit on her, b/c it was a little chilly for that. I can't believe I'm saying it was too chilly on the 2nd day of July, but wow, we've had some great weather!!!



We took Sadie to get some ice cream at the Marble Slab Creamery that is right there in Indian Lake and then we headed back home. This man asked me to hold his dog's leash for him while he went in to Marble Slab to get some ice cream and I said "sure". The dog was small and didn't seem to be causing any trouble. Well, the man came back out a few minutes later and he had actually bought the ice cream FOR THE DOG! Are you kidding me????? I should've taken a picture of that. The dog was so excited. Now that's what I call a spoiled little puppy!!!

July 3:
Dennis was off work today, so we got to spend it as a family which I loved! I wish he was off every Friday! We just went to the gym and hung out all day. Tonight, we had a date night with Travis and Anita. We all went to Southstreet and had some yummy food! We had so much fun.


It was the first time since I have had Sawyer that I was able to stay out past 8:00 because I didn't have to nurse him. We were still home by 9:15, but hey, we're getting old!!!! Dennis' dad and Barbara came over and kept the kids and put them to bed for us. It was the first night that I haven't been here to give Sawyer his bath and put him to bed. He did great! I was very thankful for that. It's nice to have a little bit of freedom back! After we left Southstreet, we drove over to Indian Lake and had some delicious ice cream and then headed back home. It was so nice to hang out with Travis and Anita. We have so much fun with them. We used to go to Southstreet a lot before we all had kids, so it was fun to go back. Dennis started up the smoker when we got home and he was up all night long smoking the barbeque for the 4th.
July 4:
What a day! Dennis was up all night long smoking the food. Bless his heart. He was afraid he'd mess it up if he fell asleep, so he only slept in short spurts on the couch all night long.
Here are a few pictures of him throughout the night:


We got up and hung out all day with my dad. He came over fairly early to help Dennis with all of the food and to get all of the fireworks and things ready for that night. Here are a few cute pics of him and the kids first thing this morning.



He and Dennis worked their tails off all day long. We had a little fun in between all of the work too! My dad has been buying fireworks for tonight for the past year. It was more fireworks than I've ever seen in my whole life! He started a tradition about 4 years ago with Chance to shoot fireworks with him on the 4th, and he hopes to continue it for years to come.



I got a couple of cute pictures of the kids before everyone got here. Sadie was being so sweet and wanted to be right next to Sawyer.





Here are a few pics throughout the night. The first one is of the yard and all of the stuff that we had set up for the kids to do when we thought the weather was going to hold out for us. But, we had the best time. Lots of family, wonderful food, good memories, etc. I couldn't have asked for a better time. Sadie had the absolute time of her life. I never saw her without a smile on her face. She was playing with everyone and she was in heaven!











I have to explain this next picture. Okay, so we are under a tornado warning as we are getting ready to do the fireworks show. Not good! My dad had spent an ungodly amount of $ on the fireworks and we were all determined to be able to see them!! So, just as it started to rain, Dennis says "let's make a memory!!". So, Dennis, my dad, Chance, and Jeffrey all start running around like crazy people setting up these hundreds and hundreds of fireworks and they start setting them off. The only way I can explain it is that it was like a 20 minute constant grand finale of a fireworks show. I had to bring both of my kids inside within the first 30 seconds because they were both freaking out. But, I heard it was great and everyone else enjoyed it. We had people in our neighborhood drive by afterwards yelling out of their car windows about how awesome it was! I took this picture when all was said and done b/c they were all soaked!!! Hey, the show must go on!

It was a great night. I wouldn't have changed a thing. Even though it would've been better had the weather been a little nicer, it was still so much fun.
July 5:
Today was a very restful day. We got up and went to church and it was wonderful! We had a guest speaker and I thought he was great. Worship was great, the sermon was great, etc.
We came home and after the kids went down for their naps, I took the first Sunday afternoon nap I have taken since Sawyer has been born. It felt so good!!!!! I chose it over going to the gym and I am so glad I did! This weekend wore us out!
Let the next week begin!

Lots Going On!

Well, today is special for a few reasons! First of all, my niece, McHaney turns 3 years old today! We all went to Monkey Joe's to celebrate! It started out as just me and the kids going to meet her and my sister-in-law since we won't get to go to her actual birthday party this weekend. Then, it slowly started to grow and practically the whole family ended up coming!
Here are lots of pictures from our fun time!














Also, my sweet little boy is 11 months old today. I cannot believe that one month from today, he will be 1 years old. I literally cannot believe it. I wasn't sure we'd make it to this point!!! ha ha

He is growing and changing every single day now. He sleeps like a champ at night. It's unbelievable. I am now a firm believer in the "cry it out" method. Although, I'm not sure I would ever do it before 9 months. Anyways, it worked! He sleeps all night long, every single night now. He's even gotten into the habit of sleeping until about 9:00 or later every morning! Praise the Lord! I have 2 late sleepers!!! I couldn't ask for more. He's crawling around, cruising around, and just starting to get brave enough to go from one piece of furniture to another. I suspect he'll be walking before long. He wants so bad to keep up with Sadie when she runs past him.
Another small milestone is that we have done away with Sadie's highchair and she's now in a booster seat. She's so proud of herself and she feels so "big".

I would've left her in a highchair until she was 5 years old if I could. She's always done great in it and she's always loved it. But in the past couple of weeks, she's been asking to sit at the table with me while I eat lunch, etc., so I figured it was time to move her over to the "big" table with us. Now, if I can just get her to start eating like a big girl...
July brings an extremely busy month for this Phillips family. I told Dennis last night that I may do a huge blog and update it every single day with what all we have going on this next month. I think we have 14 family birthdays in the month of July. It's crazy!!! And, our 8 year anniversary is in July as well.
So, stay tuned to see what a whirlwind the month of July is for us!!!! Thank you Lord for all of our blessings. I continue to feel blessed beyond belief every single day!

Father's Day Weekend

We started out our Father's Day weekend by attending my sister's wedding! It was incredible. The weather was hot, and I mean HOT!!! But, it was very sweet and perfect. My sis looked so pretty and I think it ended up being the perfect night for both her and Jeffrey. I'm so thankful for this reconciliation and I hope and pray that they will be blessed beyond their wildest imagination. Here are a few pics from the wedding. I wasn't able to get very many, b/c my camera wasn't working right, but I plan to post some more once I can get my hands on everyone else's pictures.

Here are 2 videos from when she walked down the aisle and then when they were pronounced.
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For one of Dennis' Father's Day gifts, I surprised Dennis and set up a golf game at Hermitage golf course for him and his dad to go play on Saturday morning. They had a ball. Dennis was on cloud nine and said he had the absolute best time playing with his dad. I was so glad for them. I knew he needed some time away to do something that he loved and Lord knows he deserves it! I didn't want him to hang around here all day and feel like he needed to be doing "work" around the house on his Father's Day weekend. That afternoon, my dad came over and we all went out to Cool Springs and met Dennis' dad for dinner at Famous Dave's. It was delicious!!!!! We had so much fun.

After we ate dinner, we headed over to White House Black Market where Barbara works. Between her, Dennis' dad and my dad, they basically let me go on a shopping spree for my birthday! (which is not until next month) It was so much fun! That is one of my all time favorite stores and I got so many cute things. It was the first time I've done something like that in a very long time. They shut down the whole store just for me! (okay, maybe I just happened to be the only person in there, but it was a nice fantasy, okay???) David and Dennis took Sadie over to Maggie Moos to get some ice cream and then we all headed home.
Sunday was Father's Day. Nobody was in the mood for pictures, except for me, so I didn't get any!!! Here's the only pictures I got of Sadie and Sawyer.


I had to keep the nursery at church, but from what I heard, Bro. David's sermon was incredible on "dad's". I will be sure to listen to it online once it is on the website. After church, we went with Dennis' mom's side of the family to the Chop House for lunch. It was a little bit of madness, but we still had a good time. We got to celebrate with Dennis' grandad, and that was all that mattered. He loved having us all there together.
Here are a few pictures of our afternoon fun once the kids got up from their naps. Dennis was letting Sadie help him wash his truck.

This one is of Sadie in the baby pool immediately after she dumped a whole bucket of water over her own head!

This is the little buddy having the time of his life in the pool!


We had a great weekend. I hope that Dennis felt special all weekend because he deserves it. I know I can never do enough to repay him for all he does for this family, but I love him more than anything for the kind of father he is. He is so present and protective and loving and giving and more fun than any dad I know! I know that I married him for so many reasons, but one being that he reminds me so much of my own dad.
I also have to give a shout out to my dad who has become like my very best friend. I talk to him almost every day. He is just the best. He's so passionate about everything and I love that. He knows me better than I know myself. He just gets me. I love that about him. I'm so lucky to have him in my life. My kids just eat him up and I love that too. I love you daddy!