We’ve had daddy home for 10 of the past 11 days (thank you, sale barns!) and tomorrow we must give him up to the sale barn again. We have had such a good time together; no amount of days off would be “enough” for me.
Being a wife to my handsome hubby and a mom to my three cuties is better than I ever imagined it would be…better than I ever could have dreamt it… Are there hard days? Of course. Are there days when I need to run to town just for a little bit of quiet? Sure. Are there times when Wrexy and I need to recharge and get back to the basics of our marriage? Absolutely…but being a wife and mom are the best jobs I’ve ever had. My soul is satisfied with this calling…
While daddy was home, we…
went on a family date…
had family fun day where Sawyer and I got pedicures while the boys (and Sayble) had ice cream and went to Menards…
celebrated with Sawyer as she finally earned that Barbie Pop-Up Camper! We are so proud of her!
We had concerts…
checked out the nativity scene in the neighboring town…
took selfies where mom’s arm didn’t quite reach…
played Paw Patrol, farm version…
ridden horses…
crawled around with this cutie…
worked on trailers, took down Christmas decorations, played a mound of games, listened to at least 15 episodes of Adventure in Odyssey, watched a ton of football and just enjoyed being together!
I remember my parents telling (and re-telling) the story of me opening gifts at my grandparents’ house one Christmas. They always did things BIG and I had opened gifts for a bit and I laid back in a pile of wrinkled wrapping paper and said, “Oh, the more I get the more I want!” I’ve come a long way since then. *ahem*
I feel this way about my family, though; the more time I get with them, the more I desire! They are my best friends, my closest confidants, the ones I get to minister to and the ones who minister to me. They know me better and love me more than anyone on the planet and for that alone, I am so grateful.
We will send daddy off with smiles tomorrow and eagerly await his return home. I’m so thankful that while he’s off buying cows and providing for our fam, that I get to stay home and hang with these babies all day.
Sawyer and I have a date to play Barbie Pop-Up Camper WITH water in the pool and Wryder wants help making a card for Goo Goo and I have no doubt Sayble will want me to make funny noises and kiss her cheeks and snuggle her in the chair. I love these guys…I just can’t get enough…
We got to see Santa and a couple of real live reindeer…
We ate a few chicken nuggets, went to the doctor for the FIFTH TIME IN 2 WEEKS and then came on home.
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Sweet Sayble is finally feeling a bit better. She got croup just like brother but had two infected ears on top of it and now has a cold. We did a lot of this around here…and I haven’t minded a bit to be honest…
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One of my FAVORITE things to bake is pumpkin bread and banana bread. I’m not a fan of thick, dense, heavy bread and these two are moist and light and heavenly, if I do say so myself.
Since we had a little downtime with all the sickies, I cooked up 22 loaves for some of our sweet friends…
We ate two and took two the Phipps family Christmas and the kids were asking for some this morning. Guess I shoulda made more…
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We always get the kids Christmas jammies as an early gift. They got to open them before we went Christmas light looking and hot cocoa drinking last week.
They got changed immediately and looked ADORABLE!
We cruised around Holyoke and then came home for some popcorn and a little Apple Dumpling Gang watching! This was one of Wrexy’s FAVORITE movies as a kid and our kids have fallen in love with it as well.
It was a REALLY good day…
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My home is truly a place of refuge for me. The other evening we had the lights off and the Christmas tree was glowing and the candles were filling the air with sweet scents…the kids were playing joyfully in the other room and Sayble was cooing at an angel from the nativity scene…daddy was on his way home and supper was in the oven and I was just so at ease. There is truly no place I’d rather be than HOME.
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Our sweet neighbors invited us over to have supper and have a little Christmas celebration. The kids had a ball (per usual) and were bouncing off the walls in excitement. (Pretty sure the Krueger house was a LOT quieter after we left!)
Mr. Rick built the kids a barn for all of their farm animals and toys and it. is. gorgeous! The hay mow flips open and the barn doors slide; there’s glass in the windows and ‘Phipps’ is engraved in the side. Seriously, you guys, it’s one of the kindest, most thoughtful gifts we’ve ever received. The kids have played with it CONSTANTLY since then!
Wryder didn’t fully understand that the barn was ours to take home. When it was time to go, he immediately started melting down and said, “Can I please come back and play with it sometime?” Ms. Kristi jumped in and saved the day and helped him realize he got to take it home. He stopped, dried his eyes and started jumping up and down with joy! It was pretty cute.
Mr. Logan and sweet Sara got the kids an EQUALLY awesome gift – a membership to Adventures in Odyssey! For the year, we can listen to any and every episode that we can! With our living in the boonies and driving 30 miles+ to get anywhere, this is a GREAT gift! The kids (and us!) love it!
We are blessed with some of the best friends, I tell ya…
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On Christmas Eve, we spent the day getting ready to head to Nebraska. We still had laundry to do and suitcases to pack and a few last minute gifts to wrap.
We ate a yummy lunch of steak and potatoes – everybody’s favorite – and took communion as a family. We are so thankful that Jesus was born! We took time to thank Him for the ultimate sacrifice He made for us with His death and took time to remember the faithfulness He’s shown us in 2015. We are a blessed people….
We went to Christmas Eve services at church and the kids got to get fancy!
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Sawyer and Wryder left Santa some cookies and milk and they left carrots for the reindeer. 🙂 Santa showed up and the kids didn’t even get up until 8:00 to check out their goods!
For Santa and friends
Wrexy snacked on the carrots and then threw them in the yard as if the reindeer ate them. The kids found them this morning and were SO excited!
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They have been so kind and gracious and grateful this year…makes a momma’s heart happy. They’ve wrapped “gifts” they’ve taken from their rooms and made gifts and then wrapped them all with whatever they could find.
Wrex was looking for his shoes to go to the barn the other day and Wryder had taken those, too! We found them wrapped in tissues under the tree. Their generosity and desire to bless blesses us…
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We headed to Nebraska on Christmas day to be with the Phipps family. We had a WONDERFUL time being together. The kids had so much fun playing with all of their cousins and we had fun with their cousins’ parents. 🙂
The boys got pajama pants and we took the mandatory modeling picture. If you don’t hear from me for a while, it means one of these guys has killed me for posting this. 😉
All of us grandkids got to give Grandma Rusk a very special gift this year. We wanted to make it the grand finale – the last gift to be opened – but we were all so excited we did it pretty much first thing!
It worked out well because the kids were all quiet and there weren’t a lot of other distractions. This lady is something else and so deserving of every good thing.
We took time for everyone tell the family a big thing they felt like the Lord was doing or something they really needed prayer about in the new year. During that time, Granny said that she’s gotten the same word two different times that the Lord has a mission for her in Stillwater. She was saying she didn’t really have a clue as to what it might be or have any preconceived notion what it was but she was ready to get there and get going! Lord I hope to be here and be that ready to serve the Kingdom at 80 years old…
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We finished up Christmas here today. This year has been especially fun with the kids older and fully able to soak up the joy of the season.
We are so fortunate to have daddy home with us the rest of the week for Christmas vacation. We plan to soak him up and watch fun shows and eat fun food and play games and enjoy being together…our favorite thing!
Since we finally got the new carpet in, we finally got the tree up…the latest we’ve ever done so. I didn’t want to put it up just to take it down or drag it around…
Our tree is covered in memories…special ornaments from when Wrex and I were little kids…ornaments from Grandma’s…ornaments our kids have made…ornaments we’ve given them each year…ornaments from our lean years and our years of plenty… It has no rhyme or reason or theme and I LOVE it!
The kiddos get a special ornament from us each year that they’ll get to have for their own grown-up trees one day. This year, Wryder got a golf cart to commemorate the cart from the elder WD. He LOVED it and just wanted to drive it instead of hang it on the tree.
Sawyer got a very outlandish chihuahua decked out in a bow, necklace, tutu…much like my pretty princess dresses day to day.
Sayble got a sparkly gold boot…mainly because I just really liked it…but it’s kind of like a baby shoe…right? Right. She just wanted to eat it anyways….
We pulled out the cookie cutters and made gingerbread men and women and candy canes and stockings and pumpkins. Yes, pumpkins. Thank you, Wryder.
They had so much fun getting frosting up to their eyebrows…and sprinkles all over the floor.
We have some friends in the Denver area that have a tradition of rotating photos for their Christmas card. One year, it’s only the kids…the next, it’s kids and parents. I liked that idea but the way it’s shaking out around these parts, it’s just easier to photograph the kids and call it cute. That’s REALLY who people want to see anyway, isn’t it?!
Taking photos of a baby isn’t my strong suit and for a smiley little thing, she didn’t have too many smiles to give this day.
Wryder leaves a lot to be desired in the listen-and-obey department and was more interested in exploring the front yard than focusing on smiling or taking photos.
Thankfully, we have Sawyer who posed her way through 20+ shots to make my job a tick easier. 🙂
I’ve been in love with gold glitter…well, for forever…but I’ve used it a lot lately and our Christmas card was no different.
See? Don’t ya love the gold confetti glitter, too?!
I was thankful that I did end up with some good individual shots of each of my cuties…
My favorite (not in-the-moment favorite…but after-the-fact favorite) is the “blooper reel” that always has a way of manifesting itself. Take a peak…
Seriously, even the bad/frustrating/didn’t-go-like-I-planned moments are GREAT moments. Thankful for this life…
A dear (and beautiful) friend checked in on me yesterday. She had noticed my lack of blogging and wanted to make sure all was well in Phippsville. Indeed, it is. We’ve just been in a season of feeling like we were just keeping our heads above water with all we’ve had going on. It’s been GOOD stuff, just lots of it!
Today’s blog is an attempt to catch you up on the past 6 weeks of our life…most likely in no particular order because oh, my brain….
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Sayble turned 7 months old and went in for her 6 month old check up. *ahem* (Re-read the first paragraph…we’ve been a little busy). She weighed in at 19 pounds and was 29 inches long! She was terribly fussy yesterday – not usually her style – and lo and behold there was a sharp little nugget of a tooth pushing it’s way up!
She started eating baby food and LOVES it. Kid is eating about 16 ounces a day and would eat more if I’d let her. She’s still just as sweet and smiley and bald as ever. It’s gonna grow. Really it will. Soon, sweetie…soon.
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We got new carpet! YAY! That’s what happens when your adorable 6 month old starts the barrel-rolling/crawling phase and she’s wrapped around daddy’s finger and he thinks the old carpet that was here when we moved in needs to go. Hey, whatever it takes! 😉
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One of Wrex’s dreams came true and he got a pony…with a cart. His name is Ernie and he’s about as wide as he is tall. He’s 12 years old and is actually quite broke and talented. The kids ADORE him and they can’t wait to ride him in a local parade. Keep your eyes out for us!
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I had the honor of hosting a baby shower for one of the sweetest girls I know! She is expecting a baby girl named Mesa Rae (isn’t that gorgeous?!) in January so we showered her with lots of love and gifts and (soup and cupcakes)! It was a fun afternoon of celebrating mommy and baby to be. There’s just something about a first-born girl…
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Sawyer has been DYING to have a Barbie Pop-Up Camper. I mean, they are pretty cool. I had the Barbie RV AND the Barbie Dream House when I was growing up so I get where she’s coming from. 😉
Wrex and I had pretty much finished her Christmas shopping and had gone back and forth on whether to take something we’d already gotten for her back to get this but that just didn’t set well with us. She has a dollhouse that she plays with and we felt like the Pop-Up Camper would be similar and that she’d enjoy some of the other things we had already purchased a little better.
Pop-Up Camper was ALL we had heard about for quite a while and we just asked the Lord for wisdom on what to do. She doesn’t have to have EVERYTHING she wants…this is the just the first thing she’s ever REALLY asked for by name. People always ask her what she wants for Christmas or her birthday and she has no clue, so this was definitely different…we just didn’t know how to navigate it. He answered.
She woke up last week and said she had an idea for us. She wanted to know if she could cash in her piggy bank and then do chores to work and earn money to pay for the rest; we were definitely behind this plan!
Girl had $64 in her bank! Thanks, sale barn buddies! We created a chore chart and she’s been working outside and moving chickens and picking up trash and doing laundry and dishes to beat the band! We saw it in Wal-Mart today and that added to the excitement. I’m so proud of her for having a goal and working for it! That will serve you well, sweet pea…
She did say she wasn’t going to buy it until AFTER Santa came because if he wanted to buy her one, she’d save her money for something else. She’s a smart one, that one…
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Speaking of Santa, we went and saw him Monday evening in town. He left a little to be desired in the santa looks department (no offense, sir!) and Sawyer was a little skeptical. She told us afterwards, “He doesn’t talk like the santa we saw last year. I’m pretty sure one of this is just some guy dressed up as santa…” She’s a smart one, that one…
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We met up with the Phipps side of the family for Thanksgiving and the three youngest cousins got to meet each other for the first time! These cuties were all born within about a month of each other. We took somewhere between 50 and 100 pictures and I’m thinking this is one of the best ones we got! Three babies plus a house full of people trying to get them all to smile equal chaos…
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Sawyer sold her first show heifer this past month with some help of daddy and her good friend John Tucker. She got her check in the mail and opened her first checking/livestock account this past week. My baby is growing up, it seems.
She picked out checks with horses on them and is so generous, she wanted Wryder’s name on them, too.
Even cooler than the checking account, she tithed off of her income to a ministry our church runs and supports called CARE Uganda. I helped host a fundraiser for them this fall and she’s as bought in as the rest of our family is. So proud of my girl…
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In the midst of all of the busyness, we have had so much to be thankful for. We have entered this Christmas season at a slower pace and a purposeful turning of our hearts towards Jesus. We’ve spent our mornings with our hearts and noses in our advent readings and have worshiped through song before bed every night. He is so worthy of it, friends…
We don’t get to watch a ton of TV around these parts, but when we do, the kids’ FAVORITE show is Paw Patrol. (It’s actually quite cute…and they don’t talk ugly to each other or whine…and the boy’s name is Ryder!!)
We had never heard of it until we had Wryder and someone at the clinic asked us if we named him after the Ryder on Paw Patrol. We looked it up, Wrex and I checked it out and the rest is history!
I’m a sucker for a good, homemade costume so for $28, all five of us were, indeed, the Paw Patrol! Wrex sewed the vests (come on, you know I can’t sew!!) and I made all the ears and hat details and collars… They looked ADORABLE!
We carbo-loaded with some spooky spaghetti! (I dyed the noodles with icing dye!)…
We went trick-or-treating downtown on Friday and then we met our sweet neighbors in town and took Wrex out for his first time trick-or-treating EVER (the kids’, too). They had a ball!
We came home, ate some candy (duh!), a few other fun snacks and had our annual camp in!
The kids got to go to the pumpkin patch earlier in the week with the Christian school group in Grant. They had a BALL there, too!
With all of that partying, everyone was a little under the weather and VERY tired come Sunday. No thanks to the time change, mind you…
We’re still adapting around here. The 6:10 bedtime we’ll have tonight will be fun…the 6:40 (most likely) wake up call from upstairs in the morning? Not so much…
We traveled to Nebraska yesterday to visit Wrex’s paternal grandparents, or Grandad and Lalice if you ask the kids.
We met Grandma at Perkins for brunch then headed on behind her to see Grandad. He hasn’t felt too spiffy the last month or two and that’s sure hard to see but it was good to be with family.
Wryder Douglas is named after Willard Douglas (Grandad) and William Douglas (Papa) AND he’s the elder WD’s first great grandson…in other words, he can do no wrong. 🙂
We grabbed some Burger King to eat on the way home and the kids had to get a crown (so cute!) and make silly faces and do silly things – you know, kid stuff!
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We got a new kitty last week, appropriately named Kitty. She’s a sweet little thing and the kids adore her. She’s gotten a little attention since she’s been here…
Sawyer used a dollar she got in the mail and bought Kitty a toy, which she loves!
Kitty has even made nice with Booey…
And the cat scratch/bed/stand? Well, I should’ve known WD would use it more than the cat….
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We’ve worn lots of cute clothes this week…
and painted pumpkins…
and made some Halloween pretties…
and dressed up in all sorts of costumes to practice trick-or-treating…
They are ready!
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Sawyer’s reading is getting better everyday and she read to Sayble the other day…it was the sweetest.
I love how much they love their little sister…
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Now, I’m just finishing up our Halloween costumes. They wanted to be the PAW Patrol this year so I’ve been getting my hot glue on…
I can’t WAIT to get everything done and them on them!!! And, of course, I’ll post pics. 🙂
Today was one of those tough mom days where I didn’t really enjoy my job. Wryder is in a definite boundary testing phase…again. My apologies ahead of time to the wonderful sitter I have lined up for tomorrow. *ahem*
There just seemed to be an overload of disobedience and nasty tones (some of them mine, unfortunately)…unkind gestures and more housework than I could juggle. I just felt defeated come nap time.
We made it through the afternoon – praise the Lord for short sales and daddy’s who come home quick – and the evening ended decently well.
Sawyer is learning to read and doing a fantastic job! Our plan is to home school (for multiple reasons) and there are days when I wonder if that will ever work. Sawyer is an incredible student but we have a few little distractions running around…and I’ve never taught school before…and I don’t remember how to teach someone to read…and I’m not the most patient soul on the planet…and days like today, where it feels like we barely survive the normal daily activities, I wonder how I can add one more thing…and the thought of trying to teach Wryder to read…well…that’s just scary.
Some days I just wonder if I’m gonna be able to finish this mom thing and finish it well…
And then…Sawyer read new words she struggled with just this morning…and I came across a blog that was saying exactly what I was saying…and I learned of families fighting far bigger battles than ours…and my world got a little broader and my self-pity a little smaller.
I have no doubt that HE wants me to finish this mom thing and finish it well and thus He will encourage me and refresh me and renew me and strengthen me and grace me and give me the wisdom I need to do such a thing.
Bring it, Friday…
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The last two nights, Wrex and I have grabbed a blanket, killed the power to the mercury light and laid out on the trampoline to watch the meteor shower. The sky has been cloudless and our prairie view has allowed for an awesome window in which to watch.
I was thinking of how majestic the Lord truly is and how He blessed us through His creativity. I mean what if He chose not to make stars? What if the night sky was just black? What if instead of a blue sky during the day, He chose olive green instead? What if there were no such thing as animals or what if every human looked exactly the same? What if birds didn’t make sounds or what if food had no taste? What if…
His creation speaks of His wonder and goodness and glory…
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The other day, the kids had gone out to play and I had to change Sayble’s diaper before I went out with them. I got that done, grabbed my shoes and headed over towards the tree, right where they were playing when out of the corner of my eye, I saw an orange streak slither quickly in their direction.
It was a long, nasty garter snake and he was headed right towards them. I told them to move and then cornered him while Sawyer got me a shovel. (The only good snake is a dead snake around these parts)…
I chopped him up and threw him in the ditch…and then had the willies the rest of the day… But it was a good reminder of how the enemy is doing just that – heading for my kids. He’s on the prowl, folks. He’s real and he’s looking for someone to devour.
Pray for your kids! Cover them and intercede for them and demand satan to flee in the name of Jesus. You’ve got no authority here, you creep.
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On a brighter note, I saw this the other day in Sterling…
It made me feel so at home. Only a few more days until the start of football season and I’m sure hoping for a mildly successful one to say the least. Now, to get Wrex agree to cable for the winter…
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I’m headed to a consult with the orthopedic surgeon tomorrow. I hurt my foot/ankle/leg back in February and it’s gotten increasingly worse. I’m sure they’ll want to do an MRI and all of that (expensive) jazz. If you would join me in prayer that it could be healed without surgery, I’d much appreciate it.
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Praying your Friday is fun and that the presence of the Lord is thick with you this weekend. Praying that for me, too…
I plugged my phone into my computer to charge last night and I realized I have a lot of pictures that haven’t made it anywhere, so I thought I’d post some of my favorites! We’ve had such a great summer…can you believe it’s August?!
We took a little trip up to the sandhills of Nebraska to see the elder Phipps’…always a good time and good food!
We had supper with some friends and the kids got to check out the volunteer fire department!
The Stukas family came for a visit and we had more fun than we knew what to do with!
Daddy brought home some new barn kitties. Wryder is officially in love. Poor cats.
Wrex made this arrow for me for a wedding gift. I loved how it turned out so he’s cranked out a few more since!
I bought groceries one night ALL BY MYSELF. It was a little quiet but quite nice. The kids were incredibly tired and thus distraught when I left. I had to document the fact that they were crying because I was leaving. That never happens…either thing – me leaving or them crying because I do. 🙂
Sawyer has gotten her craft on lately.
She’s also been drawing a lot. Here’s a picture of a fish…
So, let’s just get straight to the point…I’m WAAAAAAAAY behind on posting pics of our {spectacular} summer so far. Here’s a tiny recap of what we’ve been up to!
The kids got to go to the Denver Aquarium with Uncle Warner…
We checked out the Kearney Children’s Museum with some friends…We checked out the Sutherland Rodeo on July 4th…We’ve played in the water…a lot!We’ve played hide and seek…I loved Wryder’s hiding place. Sister couldn’t find him and he was more than content with that!We’ve enjoyed daddy being home for a week or two…We’ve had pop surprises and yummy desserts…We’ve gone on adventures, decked out in our finest, no less!We had missionaries come for lunch, whom the kids did NOT want to leave!We’ve taken our chickens out for strolls…Totally kidding. Just seeing if you were still with me. Isn’t that picture hilarious!?
All-in-all, we’ve been having a blast together! The next big thing (besides local county fairs and more summer fun) is gearing up for someone’s 5th birthday. How in the world did that get here so quick?!
The little lady asked for a county fair party so we’re hoping people are too county-faired out to come – she’s SOOOOO excited!
I hope your summer is going just as well. It’s a hot one here today and we’re headed out to throw some water balloons! YAY!