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!!!!!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
God's Blessings
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.
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.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Big Boy
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.
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.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Christmas 2010
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!!
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.
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.
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!!!!
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