Thanksgiving – The Bless Your Heart Blog

Random Rambles

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!

Cute as a button...and bald as a cue ball! — Cute as a button…and bald as a cue ball!

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…

Shopping with Sayble. I'm sure this is safe, don't worry... — Shopping with Sayble. I’m sure this is safe, don’t worry…

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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…

Saylor (8 months), Chase (7 months), Sayble (7 months)

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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.

Signing her paperwork with our sweet friend, Katie

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…

Cute Toots

Man, I’ve got cute kids! I mean, I’m sure I’m a weeeeee bit biased, but these guys are just melt-your-heart preciousness! These pics are from a family photo shoot that the lovely Stormie did for us at Thanksgiving. I ADORE them….

So. In. LOVE…with the pictures…and with these kids. I am a blessed momma.

Share with me which one is YOUR favorite or else I might print them all!

Thanksgiving 2013

My heart is full. My proverbial gas tank maybe a little empty after such a wonderful weekend, but my heart is FULL.

We traveled out to Denver and spent the weekend with our adopted family – always a good time! There’s never an inadequate amount of hugs or smiles or laughs or food…just time. Would any amount ever be enough?? I think not…

That's a good-looking, gracious bunch... — That’s a good-looking, gracious bunch…

We stayed at the {beautiful, pregnant} bestie’s house. It was so nice to spend some time with her and her hubby before their lives get even busier with baby. She’s scheduled to arrive the 16th!! EEP!

Gorgeous pic (taken my sister Stephanie Kelley) — Gorgeous pic (taken by sister Stephanie Kelley)

They have a piano in their foyer and Sawyer couldn’t get enough of it! We’d set the timer for five or so minutes and she’d play her heart out. She and Dessa sat down and played together one night before supper, which thought was especially wonderful.

Wryder was teething all weekend (hello, top teeth!) and wasn’t the happiest he’s ever been but he got to play in the laundry basket while we got ready for supper and I think he actually liked it!

Containment, people...containment! ;) — Containment, people…containment! 😉

On Saturday, Wrex took the kids to run some errands down south and I got to go out and Christmas shop. Alone. I’m never alone! I had Starbucks for breakfast and Red Mango for lunch and walked until my feet were about to fall off. It was nice to get in and out of places so quick and to have a little break, but I was ready to meet back up with the troops that afternoon.

Sunday morning, the lovely and oh-so-talented Stormie (I know you haven’t forgotten about her) took our family photos. God bless her. It’s not easy with two incredibly unphotogenic people, one toddler with a vicious smile and a 7 month old. I can’t wait to see the finished images.

We spent the rest of Sunday with the lovely Stukas family. They bless us more than words can say. They have four gorgeous kiddos that are incredibly sweet, kind and well-behaved and we love that they love Sawyer as much as she loves them! The Lord has interwoven our lives in a beautiful way and we are so so so so thankful for them. I can’t fully describe what it’s like to have people in your life that you trust so fully and implicitly. Wonder if they’d ever move to Holyoke….hmmmm….

How do we know so many beautiful people?!

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend. So needed. We grew so much during our time in Denver and we made some phenomenal friends that we miss being able to do daily life with. We know that we know that we know that this is where the Lord called us and that makes missing them a little easier, but miss them we do. Thankful for the time. My heart is full.

Those People

The Phipps family is heading to Denver to celebrate Thanksgiving with our family in the faith and we are soooooo excited! We’ve made a few quick trips now and then but this time we’re going to have four solid days with some really solid people. Wrex has to work Friday in Wyoming – HUGE BUMMER. In an effort to save money, we’re only taking one vehicle which leaves me transportation-less on Friday. So? I put out the all-call on Facebook and we were humbled and blessed to have so many friends respond with offers for us to borrow their cars/trucks/vans.

The first friend to reply is such a dandy. When I called her back, she said she’d leave the carseats in and that we could borrow the vehicle all weekend if we needed. She said, “Heck, come in, eat a meal and have a party at my house if you want – I don’t care!” She and her husband are THOSE people. You know, the ones that send you home with way more than you came with…the ones who feed your kid snack after snack and drink after drink and let them take the cup home…the ones who upgrade their things and bless people with the earlier version instead of selling it for a little pocket money. They are those people who really get what our stuff is all about and Who it really belongs to.

This house we live in? It’s the Lord’s. The car I drive? It’s the Lord’s. The car I borrow? Also the Lord’s. The paycheck my husband draws? The Lord’s. These kids of mine? The Lord’s. The clothes in my closet and the shoes on my feet? The Lord’s. The animals in our pasture? The Lord’s. He’s allowing me to borrow them, to care for them and to use them for His glory.

Every. single. thing. we. “own.” is the Lord’s. They are not ours. When we regard them as His, we tend to hold them a little more loosely; we don’t put our hope in them, we don’t idolize them, we don’t hold them with selfish ambition. When we know that these things were provided by THE Provider, we gain a mindset that acknowledges His provision. It’s an understanding that pushes out that orphan mentality that makes us snatch up our stuff, hold it close to our chest and shelter it from outsiders; the mentality that tries to convince us that we better not lend them out because “what if?” What if something happens and they are damaged? What if something happens and they aren’t repairable? It’s the mentality that tells us that the Lord will never provide again; it’s the mentality that puts the something above the someone.

But, when our faith isn’t in an object, a funny thing happens. When we release our grasp on these “things” and share them more freely…when we are willing to open our hands to give them away…

our hands are now open and ripe for the receiving of the blessing that lies in giving. When our fists are so tightly clenched around our stuff…stuff that moth and rust will destroy or that thieves can steal …we can’t possibly receive any of the blessings and goodness of the Lord; our hands just can’t contain it.

He is a giver. He doesn’t withhold good things from His kids – why should we withhold our things from our fellow brothers and sisters? He will provide. He always has. He always will. And sometimes that provision comes in the form of our being willing to share what we have been given with others.

Thank you, sweet friends, for living a life with hands wide open. I pray the Lord blesses you; blesses you with His presence, His goodness and His grace…and with even more for you to give away.

Thoughts on Thanksgiving

What are you thankful for?

The question that will be asked around countless dinner tables a week from tomorrow. The question that shouldn’t take much thought to answer…

The Lord’s grace…my family…my friends…my home…my amenities…my freedoms…

I’ve written about some of the things I’m thankful for here and here. And here and here and here. Gratitude is a beautiful thing! I know it delights the heart of the Lord to hear His children thanking Him for the good gifts He has given; gifts we don’t deserve but gifts He gives regardless.

Ann Voskamp posed this thought:

What if the question around holiday tables wasn’t: What are you so grateful for?

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But rather: How are you changing the world because you are so grateful?

Good question, yes?

Shouldn’t we be acting out our faith and moving mountains for other people because we can’t contain our gratitude? Shouldn’t we be tripping over ourselves looking for moments to bless and aid and assist because we’ve been so blessed and aided and assisted? Shouldn’t we be giving so sacrificially of our time, resources and talents that we’ve nowhere to turn and no one to point to except the Lord?

Yes, let’s give upwardly! Let’s give the Lord due praise – EVERY.SINGLE.THING we have comes from Him! He is most worthy of our gratitude…but less us also give outwardly, in His name…

I have a friend who posted on Facebook about her morning experience. She was in the waiting room of her doctor’s office waiting to be seen when an elderly lady came in; one who was obviously sick and needed medical care. The elderly lady didn’t have money to pay her copay so they had her reschedule her appointment to a day when she would have the funds. My lovely friend, jumped up and paid the co-pay.

That is Christ in action. That is a life changing the world because of gratitude. That is a life living out the ‘giving’ piece of ThanksGIVING…because how can we have Thanksgiving without the giving??

I pray that as you’re enjoying your family time and your turkey dinner…as you’re counting your blessings and recounting the goodness of the Lord…that the borders of your heart are expanding and that the world around you starts changing because of your gratitude. And not changing just for this season…for good. We are blessed to be a blessing so let’s live it…

Thankful Tree

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name. Psalm 100:4

The first of the month kicked off our family’s thankful tree activity. Nothing fancy – just pure, unadulterated gratefulness for the countless blessings we have in our lives.

We ARE a blessed people! We have a roof over our head that is comfortable and climate controlled…we have access to a clean, safe water supply (that can be heated for comfort and cleanliness)…we have the cheapest, safest and most wholesome food supply in the world…we have the privilege to worship how we so choose…we live in a democratic society that although, not perfect, is better than every other alternative… we are healthy and thriving…my husband has a job and one that provides for our financial needs…I have the benefit of staying home to raise our children…we have more than enough food in our cupboards and freezers and stomachs…we have totes of clothes we aren’t currently wearing…we have extra shoes in our mudroom…we own animals for pleasure…we have access to more than one vehicle…we have MORE.THAN.ENOUGH.

Let us not forget from whom all blessings flow.

Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. James 1:17

So, we will praise Him. We will praise Him with our voices and words and blogs. We will praise Him with our attitudes and the posture of our hearts. We will praise Him with our paper leaves.

It’s funny how something so simple can evoke such emotion. To hear Sawyer say she’s grateful for her…

just takes my breath away. She gets it.

Daddy said he was thankful that…

to which Sawyer quickly replied, “No, silly! We live in Holyoke!”

And the past couple of days? I’ve been especially thankful…

The ways in which He provides for us are many and we’re really good at celebrating the gift…but let us not refrain from worshiping THE GIVER.

My heart overflows in gratitude for all He has given…and for the things He took that He knew I didn’t need. Really thankful for those things, too…

Let us cultivate a spirit of gratitude among us, in all things and in all times. It leads to joy. It leads to selflessness. It leads to a greater perspective. It leads to Him.