Month: November 2010

So much to be grateful for this year. Right now a HUGE thing is

our Four Happy, Healthy Children.

Happy Thanksgiving.

We arrived at the hospital around 7PM last night and Lorelei Grace was born at 10PM a health 8lbs 3oz, 19 inches long. The delivery went well, Emily was Incredible!

Lorelei arrived with a full head of hair and is every bit the princess that her mother is.

We’re still waiting for baby girl, and my Doctor informed me, that I am the first on his list December 1st to be induced if she hasn’t made her appearance yet– If we’re going to be induced, first in line is a good place to be 🙂

We’re trying to make sure that we stay ready (which is harder than you’d think! 🙂 ), in case she does come on her own, keeping up on homework/school assignments/life/house and etc.
(Here are the trading post signs Tucker made–explaining his homemade flower clips and crayons he made…He sold over 20 of each, so apparently he’s rich with classroom dollars 🙂 )

But also trying to enjoy our life before a newborn comes.We’ve been fishing/chasing ducks (In case you were wondering, they still haven’t caught a fish)

One of our children, I mean The Breakfast Elf made a visit by our house, and when Truman, Elliot and I got to the kitchen we were all surprised to see cereal, milk, water and our vitamins all ready for us that morning. What a sweet surprise.

We enjoyed a basketball game cheering on the Aggies at the local Stadium. The night was very enjoyable, besides the fact we lost 🙂

Truman is reading, reading, reading up a storm!

Truman Reads from Christopher Phillips on Vimeo.

Tucker earned a BUG lunch with the principal…

And Elliot is Elliot (he loves to watch himself and make movies of himself)..such a cutie.

Silly Elliot. from Christopher Phillips on Vimeo.

So we’re staying busy, and life really is good.

Especially if you have kids, and have seen how they tell stories about the same event…

Thanks Toph for a good laugh today.

Getting ready for bed and I see this:

FROM TUCK
I love you
(Don’t forget to tell dad to stop snoring)

Sweet love notes from Tuck. I am a lucky woman.

(The beginning of November I posted like 20 posts, somehow this one didn’t come thru?? Sorry for the belated post, but better late than never!)

Becca and Mike welcomed sweet baby Emily into to the world!

Just can’t wait to squeeze this sweet babies cheecks, doesn’t she just look delicious?
Congrats to the Evelyns, and welcome to another of the 2010 babies!

What can I say?? Third year for Tuck! First for Truman!

And they take after their father and love to wrestle! This is something Tucker looks forward to every year, and always is asking when it starts, and I have a feeling that now that Truman’s gotten a taste of being on the mat, he’ll be begging for it all year round like his big brother!

Not as many pictures this year, as my time was spent chasing our very mobile and energetic little Eli around, but a few videos:

A video of Turkey Tail, one of Tucker’s favorite games at wrestling:

Wrestling from Emily Phillips on Vimeo.

And a couple videos from there wrestling matches.

wrestling 1 from Christopher Phillips on Vimeo.

wrestling 2 from Christopher Phillips on Vimeo.

Wrestling 3 from Christopher Phillips on Vimeo.

Untitled from Christopher Phillips on Vimeo.

Wrestling 5 from Christopher Phillips on Vimeo.

Truman also worked extra hard this year, and earned his Gray Shirt! A huge accomplishment, that he worked very hard to receive.

It’s been a busy month and an half, and am glad to have seen the boys enjoy something so much.

Thankfully this year, most of the practices/matches fell on nights where Christopher was able to attend with the boys, and help them. They are lucky to have a father who is willing to help them learn, and it is so fun to watch them share the same interest together!

So the year of 2010 wrestling completed!

So many little changes around our house…which equates to a whole lot of change around our house. (Basically a little summary as to where we are all at! 🙂 )

Elliot has ‘come into his own’. He has totally and completely realized he is his own unique person. He has realized that his actions produce consequences which in someways is good, like how he has learned to say ” I hungry, I need apple’. But there is some negative things, like the realization that pulling his brothers hair makes them scream. He also likes to yell at them and say ‘No (insert big brother name here)! Be Nice! Not Mean!’ (even when that big brother has done nothing, but look at him..which most days elicits the reaction of laughter from his big brothers). He has become so inquisitive, and has also decided that everything is ‘Mine’. Some may say that he has entered the terrible twos…I don’t know if that’s what it is, or the anticipation of big things ahead, or just the knowledge that he is his own independent being who can and should have emotions of his own. Either way, it’s been a big change around our house!

Truman is so sensitive, and is so aware of the change ahead! He is anxiously awaiting the arrival of his baby sister. And intensely aware of emotions of those around him. (which feed into his own personal emotions) I have watched him over the past few weeks…being such a peace maker, but also on those rough days, being at the end of his little rope. He is such an intelligent little boy, and a model student at school, his teacher commented how she would love a classroom full of Trumans. He is learning so much, and it’s crazy to see him bring home books to read to me. His newest hobby? The computer. If there was no parental supervision, I think the kid might just stay infront of the computer ALL DAY LONG. 🙂

Tucker is really enjoying second grade. He has a great teacher, and comes home from school with stories of second grade. He loves the ‘Diary of Wimpy Kids’ books, and still loves to create things. He often rushes home to complete his homework, then can be found either reading, ‘creating’, playing outside, doing money jobs to try to earn money, or with playing with friends. We’ve also been getting some help confronting his anxiety, and I am so proud of Tucker. He’s taken to it like a true champ, and loving the things he is learning.

Toph recently began a new job (Manager of Disability Services for the Church), and thus far is LOVING it. He is still learning the ‘ins and outs’, but thus far is feeling like his dream job truely is a dream. He stills stays busy in the evenings doing his side jobs, helping at the church, or chasing his little boys around. And if that is not enough busyness, he also tries to keep up with his crazy pregnant wife, make her get in bed, and take care of the ‘loose ends’ of the day.

Me, I continue to grow bigger every day, and most days, most of the time, I am enjoying this little gift of ‘extra time’ of nesting. I love having organized closets, and have enjoyed getting a few of them more organized. If only they all stayed this way, and if only it didn’t take me all day long to complete a task, as I move so slow!
I was also released from my church calling of 3+ years today. It was such a bitter sweet day…I have deeply loved the women I have served with, and the women who we have served, and felt like I could have continued serving in this church position for along time. I live amongst amazing women. And today, as many have said, the timing is perfect, with the arrival of a new baby, I would agree. The past few years, I have felt blessings just flow into our home, and for that I am grateful. It is always hard to close a chapter of your life, and this one is especially hard for me to close.

A good season of life to remember, ”The only constant in life is change”.

Warning, short post turned into long essay below:
🙂

So some of you may know, others may not, ( some of you may not care 🙂 ) that the last month-ish has been a tad bit different for me, as far as this pregnancy goes. Big contractions, a kind of ‘take it easy’ lay down for a couple hours each day or you’re going on full bed rest talk from my doctor…

Not a super easy task with three children running around, life, and etc. His words which I remember very clearly, were ‘You just have to make it to November 5th. Then she’ll be big enough.’

So when the 5th came and went, I must admit it was a huge relief. We had made it! And I couldn’t be more grateful for my good husband and kids who have ‘rolled’ really well with this pregnancy. They have had to do alot by themselves, and put up with alot of sub-par mommyness! I’ve also learned alot about myself, mostly about just letting somethings go…and not stressing about them, especially housework.

So now I’m just trying to keep our baby ‘cooking’ as long as possible, she’s going to be a winter baby, and needs to be as big and healthy as possible! But I think subconsciously I am starting to feel ready (I think I started to imagine that the 5th was a due date of sorts). Every night for the past 4 or 5 days multiple times a night I have had dreams that my labor has begun (and they are vivid!) …waking up feeling exhilarated with the idea of meeting our little girl, then realizing it’s all a dream! I have never made it to my due date with my previous three children, and can only imagine this is just a small taste of what you women must experience who go past their due dates.

In reality we’re more ready for her physically then we were for Elliot (Who arrived way earlier than expected). She has a bed, clothes washed, organized, ready. A box full of diapers, and blankets ready to swaddle her up. But in other ways,I am savoring our family of 5. The routine/normalness we’ve settled into is nice right now. I’ve been trying really hard to take alone time with each of our children, and really focus on each of them. I know that’s going to be harder with a newborn around. So for now, we’re cooking a baby, and trying to get the house ready (I wish I had nesting urges ALL the time!), and enjoying fall… trying not to take my going into labor dreams too seriously, but eagerly awaiting the arrival of our sweet baby girl!

is not always full of just rainbows and sunshine.

Tucker stayed home from school a couple of days last week, with a tummy ache. The kids played so nice, and I began to long for the fun summer days with them at home! I was enjoying this marble run with the boys, and thinking how much fun it was to have three kids who were playing so well together, when I started filming..

And then the disagreeing started..

Marble-ness from Christopher Phillips on Vimeo.

Don’t mind my ginormous piles of laundry in the background, Sometimes life is just like that. Lots of disagreeing and horribly big piles of laundry 🙂