Sayble – Page 4 – The Bless Your Heart Blog

Soaking Up Summer

This time of year, most sale barns in this area take a week or so off for wheat harvest and such so daddy gets 10 or so days of built in vacation time. Are we blessed or what?!

Since we went to Texas last month, we’re opting for more of a stay-cation – with a few day trips thrown in for good measure. We’ve already been to Nebraska to see the grandparents and Oklahoma cousins. We got to go to Cody Park and feed animals and ride the rides…we stopped in at the Children’s Museum in Kearney with good friends and today we had really great company come to the house for lunch! The kids were stoked to have visitors and we loved every minute with them! (More on that later).

Last night, daddy took us to supper and we stopped at the fireworks stand on the way home. Tonight, Wrexy lit some up and the kids had a BLAST!

They stood on the edge of the yard, holding hands waiting for the bang and the flash of lights. Their little eyes were wide with excitement and anticipation. Wryder jumped nearly every time but then would squeal with glee and run around asking daddy for more.

I love their excitement and zeal over all kinds of things…from fireworks to new swimsuits to meeting real live missionaries to eating Mexican food to watching a DVD in the car to seeing new baby chicks to spotting the moon in the sky before it’s even dark…the world around them is new and exciting and ready for them to explore…..AND? As their parents, we get the pleasure of taking that journey with them.

Friends of wee ones, we are living in the best days of our lives, I am convinced! Wrex and I were married for 5 years before we started having babies and those 5 years were really sweet. We did that {horrible, awful, ridiculous, no good} long distance dating thing for 3 years before we were married so it was so nice to have some “us” time. It allowed us to really solidify our marriage and prepare ourselves for raising children.

As good as that time was, we love this time of our lives even more. To be able to see and feel and interact with the product of our love is such a treasure. Oh yes, there are some hours and days that may feel long but oh – the joy far outweighs the work and the blood, sweat and tears that go into this parenting thing.

There’s a chance that you’ll never be this loved, this exciting, this worthy of emulation in their eyes ever again. Revel in it.

Friends, I encourage you to soak up those kiddos of yours this summer…

Say yes a little more often…

Go swimming more than you want to and get in that swimsuit and jump in with them…

Eat at McDonalds (or Mickey Don-dalds) even if you just drink a Dr. Pepper…

Blow bubbles and jump on trampolines and go on nature walks…

Look for ways to show them grace…

Get messy and muddy and eat popsicles to beat the band…

Take lots of pictures and capture those smiles and squeals and ingrain them in your mind’s eye for days to come…

These are the best days of our lives. Soak them up.

Worth 1,000 Words: Summer Fun

We have been flat out having fun this summer! Daddy’s sales have been short and we’ve been enjoying the days of our youth…

Here’s a little of what we’ve been up to!

We’ve done a little swimming…

and a little playing at the Children’s Museum…

We rode some rides at Cody Park…

and rode a dinosaur!

We’ve hung out with the neighbors…

and mowed around the house…

and snuggled cute sisters…and had lunch with cute dates…Tomorrow, we’re headed to see the Oklahoma cousins for a few days and then head back home to start our “summer vacation” when we get daddy to ourselves for two weeks! YAY!

Happy Day to the Best in the Business

Sawyer, Wryder and Sayble are the three most fortunate children I know. One could say so for many reasons, but especially because they have this guy for a daddy:

He is gentle, yet firm. He disciplines in love and is incredibly slow to anger. He doesn’t lose his temper or raise his voice, much less a hand, in angst. He is kind and gentle and loves unabashedly.

He seeks adventure and is definitely the more fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants of the two of us…which is a good balance for our home. He’s quick to take the kids to try something new or something on a whim or press the activities leading up to bedtime to the very last second – something they will remember far more than being well rested.

He is quick to ask for forgiveness and even quicker to grant it. I’m not sure that he holds a grudge (or ever has) with anyone about anything…which is good, because I tend to hold enough for the both of us. 😉 He keeps short records and has a tendency to see the best, and only the best, in most people.

He is strong and capable and wildly courageous. He protects us and provides for us unlike anything I’ve ever seen. We have never lacked any good thing with him at the head of our household.

He provides a stable, static home by never being afraid to show the kids how much he loves them or their mommy. He is always up for a hug or a kiss or a snuggle from me or any of the three of them. He is a lover and he’s not afraid to show it.

He is incredibly generous with his time and his resources. It’s a rare day that we feel second best or a lower priority than anything else he has going on in his world. He treats us like we ARE his world…and I believe it.

His knowledge of the Word is deep and abundant and he guides us in the ways of truth on a daily basis. Our kids will know how to love the Lord (and how the Lord loves us) just by watching him be their daddy…

Wrexy, every child the world over should be so fortunate as to have a daddy like you. Bless you, my love, for loving us so well. We honor you this Father’s Day, and every day, and pray we bring you honor right back.

Thank you for rising up to the plate and being a man of God in a day and age where that isn’t always the easy or popular thing to be.

Thank you for making us a priority in all that you do and for never making us feel like a burden – 15 bags, baby carrier and all.

Thank you for making today an easy one to celebrate…we love you!

Road Trip Funnies

During a 2,000 mile road trip, funny stuff is bound to happen! (Especially if you have two adorable kiddos who are observant of their surroundings and have stories and ideas they want to share). Here are a few of my favorites…

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EVERY time Wryder saw a deer crossing sign (and there were a few in that part of the country), he would excitedly scream, “John Deere!” and look around for the green machines. Thankfully, he only woke the baby a couple of times…

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On the tractor note… We were talking about Sawyer’s show cow named Cindy. When Sawyer turned four, we bought Cindy as a starter project and investment. All of the income would be hers, as well as the debt and when she was old enough, the work.

Before we left town, we dropped Cindy off to be AI’d and then turned out with a bull since we’d be gone during her heat cycle. Sawyer was asking if we were going to sell her calf and so Wrex and I were talking about needing to set up a livestock account just for Sawyer to keep that money separate. I then reminded him that we’d need to be on the lookout for a heifer or cow for Wryder who then piped up and said, “When I four, I want tractor. No cow.” The boy is serious about his tractors…

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When we arrived in Booker, the kids unbuckled and Wrex went around to their door to let them out. What he didn’t know was that Wryder was leaning against the door and as soon as he opened it, poor WD toppled right onto the concrete parking lot.

He skinned his arm and head and had a bit of a black eye. We finally got him calmed down and took him inside to meet some of Wrex’s co-workers.

When he met Roger, the CEO and Wrexy’s big boss, he was showing him his owies. Roger asked what happened and Wryder said, “Mommy hurt me.” WHAT?!?!?!?

We told him what happened and that if ANYBODY hurt him it was daddy and Wryder just kept saying, “Mommy hurt me.” How kind. Dad’s got him brainwashed, apparently… 😉

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The night of the rehearsal dinner, we forgot to take the kids’ cups to the wedding site and drinking out of water bottles is still a little hard for Wryder. He tends to put his entire mouth around the opening and always lets a little water back into the bottle.

By the end of supper, his water looked a little murky. I think at least an 1/8 of his dinner was floating around the bottom of the bottle. I was overly careful not to accidentally grab his by mistake and I even ended up putting a wedding favor koozie on it so I knew which one it was.

Fast forward two days later. We’re driving along in the car and Wrex is on the phone. He’d been eating trail mix and was a little parched and reached into the back seat to grab a bottle of water. He found one that was about half full (not a big surprise after that many days of traveling) and took a big ole chug…and then proceeded to spit and gag.

Yep, he found Wryder’s bottle.

See that murky goodness?? Go ahead and enlarge the pic and really take note. You’ll dry heave before ya know it…there was a whole Cherrio in there, folks. Still gagging…

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The kids were pretty hot in Texas. Sawyer’s a little like me when it comes to heat; she much prefers 70 degrees and drier climates. There was a bit of complaining a few times but we gently reminded them that we had talked about the heat before we came and that we all agreed to tough it out.

As soon as we got home on Tuesday, we let the kids out to run around and we started carrying stuff in. As we were making our first trip into the mudroom, they both came out of the mudroom looking like this:

Apparently, 82 degrees in Colorado warranted sweatshirts after their quick acclimation to 95 degrees and 97% humidity in Texas. Hysterical!

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I’m sure I’m forgetting things that I’ll have to add later, but these were some of my faves. Sure do love this (funny) family of mine…

Uncle Travis Got Married!

Wrexy’s boss and longtime friend, Travis, got married this past weekend in Cleburne, Texas. Wrex was the best man (awwww!) so obviously he had to be there.

The kids were desperate to go (who doesn’t love a good wedding?! Plus, they LOVE Travis and his new bride, Kasey) but I wasn’t so sure how I felt about taking care of three kids – one of which was barely a month old – by myself in triple digit heat 14 hours from home. Do ya blame me?!

We sucked it up, spent 3 days packing, 2 days driving and did the dang thing! So glad we did!

We drove to Booker, Texas the first day where the weather greeted us with a balmy 100 degrees. *ahem*

Later, we experienced a flash flood (not sure my shoes are dry yet) and the loudest thunder I’ve heard in my life – no joke!

Wrex visited at the plant a bit, showed off miss Sayble and the next morning we scurried farther east and made it (by the skin of our teeth) to the rehearsal dinner. Despite the high humidity (oh my poor hair) there was a breeze and some shade at the wedding venue. Jesus loves me…

The next morning, while Wrex and the groomsmen hung out with the groom, we ate a yummy breakfast, picked up some some snacks and glowsticks for the wedding and then hit the splash pad!

The splash pad was a genius idea, if I do say so myself. It cooled us off, was highly entertaining for $0 AND served as an easy pre-wedding bath for 2 of the 3 kiddos. Oh yes, they were clean…

Everyone napped good, except for mom who was busy ironing clothes and packing diaper bags and feeding babies and attempting to make my hair do something other than frizz…and then off to the wedding we went!

Daddy almost sweated to death in his tux but he made it! The kids had a ball dancing to the Hogg Maulies and running around and making new friends and we had a good time catching up with old friends while witnessing Travis and Kasey make their covenant with one other.

Sawyer's new friend, Katie, caught the bouquet and shared some flowers with her — Sawyer’s new friend, Katie, caught the bouquet and shared some flowers with her

A few of Wrex's Clarendon College judging team members... — A few of Wrex’s Clarendon College judging team members…

By 10:00, we were all hot, sweaty, TI-URD and oh so happy we made the trek.

As Wrexy said in his toast, here’s to a lifetime of marriage…and a pastel of little sheep showmen…to the bride and groom!

Love you guys!

****And for those of you at the wedding that asked for a copy of said toast, I’ve pasted it here…

Good evening. My name is Wrex Phipps and it’s my honor and privilege to be able toast the happy couple tonight. I promise not to take up too much of your time as I don’t want to embarrass Travis too much…I’d like to return to Colorado as a fully employed man this next week.

First of all, lets make sure we all know who Travis is as he seems to have quite a few different nick names: In his early years you might have know him as Floyd, then later on maybe Woodrow or Toothpick. Now, he answers to Babe or Rathead – but you’ll have to ask Kasey about that. Now, I mainly refer to him as Travis my boss and also one of my best friends.

Travis and I met in junior college 14 years ago. We were on the livestock and meats judging teams so we spent A LOT of time together. Now we work for the same company and we spend a lot of time on the phone together.

As you may know Travis is not an over communicator! Sometimes, he can even be a rather private person. Or maybe that’s just with me and I get that. Our relationship can be kind of hard to define at times. When we talk, sometimes it’s friend to friend. Sometimes it’s boss to employer and sometimes I have a tendency to over-share other people’s news. They don’t call me “Radio” back home for nothing.

So when he first started dating Kasey, I didn’t know anything about it. I had kinda suspected he might have a lady friend when he was a little more chipper and optimistic than usual on the phone.

Normally, it’s a “Hell-oh” or “Roger” or “Odie”…anybody that’s hung out with him or called him in the last 5 years knows what I’m talking about…but things had been a little different lately.

He seemed to laugh more and I didn’t seem to be getting in near as much trouble when my cows were high. Not that that happened very often……

And then one day, I got a text…and I knew for sure. I had sent him a message from the sale barn that morning saying: “About 250 head here. You thinking the same bid?” He wrote back and said yes, I wrote back and said ok….and he wrote back and said, “Love you, too” – with 2 exclamation points!

Now, for a minute there, I was a little taken aback. I thought, whoa……he just took our friendship to a whole new level. And then I realized – aha! There IS a girl!

Then “ol Radio” kicked in. I immediately took a screen shot and sent that message to my wife and about 7 of our closest college friends…and Travis’ boss… This was good stuff! On a lot of levels!

You see, my wife has known Travis as long as I have and he’s taken as good a care of her as he has of me. She’s always been a big fan of Trav’s and she repeatedly said that one day Travis would have the best, sweetest and cutest wife out of our little group of friends. So we had been praying that he would find just that. While I’m incredibly fond of my wife, I can equally say – “Well done, Rathead.”

Here’s to a lifetime of marriage…and a pastel of little sheep showmen… To the bride and groom!

One of Those Weeks

It’s been one of those weeks.

Nothing horrid. Nothing to cry about. Nothing to shake your fist at the Lord about. Nothing remotely as bad as the majority of the world probably deals with. Just one of those weeks were some things have just felt off and we’ve had a lot going on and Wryder’s in another “testing the boundaries phase” and we’ve been at the mercy of a couple of people who weren’t people of their word and that?! Oh, that’s a tough pill to swallow for me.

Despite all of that, these little guys make my world SO worthwhile. They bring us such joy…unimaginable joy! Watching them play or seeing their smiles or hearing their sweet voices just ignite my heart with such love…

These are just a few of my favorite pics of our week!

I love momma's dish towel, apparently! — I love momma’s dish towel, apparently!

Holding daddy's hand — Holding daddy’s hand

Cowgirling it in her shorts... — Cowgirling it in her shorts…

Riding our newest gift, "Stubbs" — Riding our newest gift, “Stubbs”

Handsome boy with a tractor in his mouth... — Handsome boy with a tractor in his mouth…

Baby feet - who doesn't love baby feet?! — Baby feet – who doesn’t love baby feet?!

Watchin' a little baseball with Mr. Zach — Watchin’ a little baseball with Mr. Zach

Getting some love from Miss Jen and Miss P

These guys just have a way of redeeming all that’s wrong in the world…my world, at least…

I Got the Gift

Well, well…fancy meeting you here again. 😉 I’ve been a little m-i-a since the wee one was born. Do ya blame me?! I mean, look at that sweet face…

I rejoin the blogging world for a very special occasion…this handsome fella’s 33rd birthday!

I always feel like I’m the one getting the gift on his birthday.

As a little girl and young woman, when I was dreaming up my ideal husband, I couldn’t have put together someone more perfect than my Wrexy. He’s all things good and kind and gentle and sweet and loving and right and joyful…and watching him (especially) the past 3 weeks has made me fall in love with him all over again.

He was a champ – a dream – in the delivery room. Having a natural labor requires a LOT of teamwork and he was the best teammate I could’ve asked for (much like the other parts of my life). He encouraged me and let me squeeze his hand until I thought it might fall off…he held me up when I couldn’t hardly hold myself up and kept me on track when I wanted to cave to pain killers…he supplied me with cold rags and words of affirmation…he counted and encouraged and encouraged some more and encouraged even more…he was a constant ray of sunshine and excitement… I mean this to the fullest extent – there is NO WAY I could’ve birthed that baby without him.

When Dr. Kohl came in the next day, she checked me over and then she said something to the effect of, “I just have to tell you something. Yesterday, during labor, I was so impressed with you and Wrex. My favorite part was that during transition, he was calling you ‘Fox’.”

Ah, yes…transition. That point in labor where the pain is almost unbearable and you start thinking you can’t do it (and don’t want to) and you say that this is your last baby and you are writhing in pain… And in the middle of all of that…when I (most likely) wasn’t looking my best or acting my best or even coherent enough be fully aware of all that was going on around me, he was treating me like I was the foxiest thing he’d seen all day. See what I mean when I say I feel like I’m the one getting the gift?!

Watching him with this sweet, new babe is equally swoon worthy. He’s so gentle with her and talks about how cute she is and dotes on her constantly. He’ll hold her and she’ll fall asleep and he’ll say, “You should come take our picture.” Uh, ask me for anything and you can have it this very moment.

He’s my best friend and lover and teammate extraordinaire and I am SO VERY GLAD that he was born!

Sexy Wrexy, I pray that 33 is your best year yet! On this, the best day in June, I bless you in the name of Jesus!

I bless the work of your hands…that the Lord would honor your fortitude and entrepreneurial spirit and that you would continue to operate for His glory.

I bless you with loyalty…that the same amount of faith and fidelity that your pour out to those around you would be given right back to you.

I bless you with with the receipt of grace and mercy…that it would envelop you as freely as you give it away.

I bless you with strength and boldness as you continue to live a life of transparency that shines the light of Jesus, even in (and especially in) those dark places.

I bless you with an increase in wisdom…that you would press into the Lord and receive His heart on how best to parent and love and discipline our growing family.

I bless you with the time and means to pursue the things that satisfy your soul and refresh your spirit.

And, as any good cow buyer’s wife would, I bless you with cheap cows and easy roads…copious amounts of Mt. Dew and highly marbled steak.

I love you, handsome! Happiest of birthdays to you! Thank you for giving me the gift of YOU all year long…

Love Multiplied

I keep reminding myself that I need to blog…but I feel like I’m lacking subject matter…or new subject matter, I guess. We’ve just been playing outside, enjoying this spring-like weather in the dead of winter.

We’ve played with goats and chalked on sidewalks and jumped on trampolines and played at the park and gone on walks and fed chickens and explored and ran and played ball and ate popsicles and built things and rode scooters and had cookouts…but what we’re really doing is soaking up these last days as a family of four.

We speak of and treat Sayble like she’s already part of the family (because she IS) but she’s not out of the womb yet…and we all know that when that time comes, things will change again.

She’ll require more of me than she does now and will need more of my hands on attention. We’ll all work on bonding and transitioning to our new normal as a family of five. There will be less time for individual time with the kids…for everything (for a while) for that matter.

I remember being scared to death before Wryder was born because I couldn’t imagine how in the world I was going to be able to love him even half as much as I did Sawyer. I mean, that girl…

The Lord does miraculous things with love; mine was multiplied, not remotely divided! I mean, isn’t that how He is with us?? He doesn’t divide His love equally among the entire human population and we all get the tiniest sliver to survive on. No way! We all get ALL of His love!

I remember when they placed Wryder on my stomach and I saw his sweet, quivering lip and his little face that looked so much like his sister when she was born I was smitten! As time has gone on, I love him even more…her, too.

I have no qualms about having enough love for sweet Sayble. He’s multiplied it once, I know He’ll do it again.

Until she makes her arrival, we’ll soak up these last days together before four becomes five…before love is multiplied…before we wonder how we ever were before Sayble…

The product of Wrex and I's love... — The product of Wrex and I’s love…

DIY: Baby Layette

I’ve had my eye on a boutique layette for sweet Sayble’s coming home outfit but there was NO WAY I was gonna pay $30+ dollars for one. With that being said, we decided to make our own and let me tell you, it was WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY easy! Here’s what you’ll need….

onesie (or a t-shirt would work)
fabric for the gown part of the layette
sewing machine
elastic
embellishments (optional)

Step 1: Choose your fabrics, measure and cut.

I chose this heart onesie and a soft, minky fleece for the gown. We have long babies and I wanted this to be snuggly and comfy, so with a bigger bottom seam allowance our fabric piece ended up measuring 20″ (wide) x 24″ (long).

Step 2: Pin and sew your bottom seam.

This is where your elastic will thread through to make it fitted over baby’s feet. Our bottom seam was about an inch wide. A half inch would totally work if using elastic. If you wanted to use ribbon instead, make it the size of your ribbon.

Step 3: Sew your back (or side) seam.

I opted for having my seam run down the side in the event I decided on ribbon vs. elastic, that way the bow would be seen. Either way works fine, you pick!

It also helps to have cute helpers around. 🙂 He was enthralled with the sewing machine!

Step 4: Measure out where you want the gown to start on the onesie and pin in a gathered fashion.

We placed our fabric about an inch or so down from the armpits of the onesie and pinned it upside down so you just have to flip it over when you’re done. (My apologies for the blurry pic – what the heck??)

Step 5: Insert your elastic, add embellishments and marvel at your work!

I mean, c’mon…isn’t that adorable?? I can’t wait to bring our sweet baby girl home in this snuggly little thing – with a big bow in her hair, of course. 🙂

***Kudos to my fabulously talented hubby who sews far better than I, that can take my ideas and help make them come to life!

Pink is Making a Comeback

So today we worked in the toy room, which is now going to be Sayble’s room when she comes along (hopefully not anytime soon). We left the toy box and the bookshelves but added a few touches to make it a little more girly. I still have a little more work to do on the curtains (if my nesting energy prevails) but until then, here’s the {somewhat} finished product.

This changing pad cover was my inspiration for the room.