Thankful

Yes..it has been ahwile since I've been out here..no excuses, just haven't come to visit! So here I am and feeling thankful for all that I have...a caring, loving & supportive husband, 2 fun, happy & healthy peepers and one crazy puppy, Charlie!

This morning, I loved watching "Hanker" (our 7 year old) play his first baseball game of the season for the Gators...man, that's been a long time coming (in Hank's mind) and the Gators did great! Love seeing my husband out there coaching Hank...I always find myself getting emotional when my kids play or perform...just happy and thankful. Yes, I'm a bit of a softie.

Hannah's last soccer game of a long season since last fall comes to an end tomorrow morning at 8am (yes, on a Sunday) and so excited to see the Golden Arrows "kick it" one last time. Love watching my sweet Hannah do her thing on the field!

Of course, I can't leave out my hubbie (as Hannah says), Torie...this Mother's Day, he surprised me out of nowhere! Not only did both H&H write these amazing letters (Hannah got a bit derailed about our puppy Charlie & a monkey...but nonetheless, very sweet), but Torie had found this gorgeous, sparkly necklace back a month ago and had intended on giving it to me for our 12 year anniversary in July, with a whole planned performance in front of my dad & Paula, on the knee kind of thing..however, much like when he asked me to marry him, he couldn't wait and gave me the bling for Mother's Day...LOVE it and HIM :)

Just some random thankful thoughts today and know there will be many more!

Drive to school conversation...

I never know what subjects will come up in our 5 minute drive to school, but trust me there are some doozies! This morning's topic of choice was H&H's lunch cards @ school .... in which this mom (yes, me) forgot to put money on (which not only do I get an email reminder but "in person" reminders from H&H) and once again I was getting a reminder. It's interesting to hear H&H's viewpoint of money .... Hank always relates things to $1000 and Hannah's a little more sensible. So this morning, Hank asked, "Mom, do you take money out of our bank account (b/c we've set up their "savings" accounts) for our lunch card?" Love his thinking .... and so I reply, "No, honey, you don't have to pay for your own lunch ..." and before I could finish, Hank pipes in, "Well, it has to come from somewhere!" What? Like the money tree? I wish! After I stopped laughing, I let him know the money comes from Daddy & I's bank account and by then we were up for drop off. What a way to start the day! Glad they're thinking .... always!

Spring Break Baby!

What a crazy, cool, culinary (well, in H&H's eyes - Fritz's) creative (Kaleidoscope), colorful (see St. Pat's pics), cuddly & celebratory week it has been here in the Phillips Fam! I was so grateful to have the week off with my peepers...I had so much fun with them just doing what came our way and thankfully the weather was A-mazing! One of the many things I love about H&H is just their simple look @ life and everything around them. I love my Hank who wears his heart on his sleeve and speaks his mind ... and surprisingly most days his 6 year old mind makes perfect sense! The other day, we were driving and Hank said, "Mom, can I have a drink?" So, I passed my water back. Then another question from the back (this tends to be NON-STOP), "Mom, can I have a snack?" So, I pass back a snack (I've learned to keep things on hand). Then the best part from Hank, "Mom, you're handy!" Love. That. Boy.  Then there's my sweet first-born, junior mom, by the book, Hannah ... always checking to make sure I'm in the right line - position @ carpool line (yes, I've been honked at), parking in the right spot, having the right clothes on and that everything's covered and "appropriate" .... good to know my Hannah has my back!

From Kaleidoscope to Fritz's to helping @ Harvester's (where H&H were treated to a solo right in the warehouse, from an original American Idol - yes we are fans! - tryout this year!) to playing @ the park to the St. Patrick's Day Parade to of course a Costco Run to Hank learning to ride his bike to Birthday Parties to fun & festivities with friends and everything else in between! Whew! We survived!


Fritz's & sibling love @ its best!



Kaleidoscope! Still love doing the melted crayons!

Kansas City St. Patty's Day Parade...FUN!

So ... as this week comes to an end and back to reality for all of us ... I love my peepers more & more each day .... it just gets better and I'm defintely blessed!

i heart faces!

So this is my first entry in i heart faces...thanks to my friend Julie (ck out her blog - http://www.justjuleseveryday.blogspot.com/) ... not only do I love reading her blog but LOVE her pictures so thought I'd post one of my own of my sweet Hannah, on the left and my two nieces, Peyton & Jaidyn....what a sweet threesome of girls!

People's Choice Photo Challenge ~ Best Face Photo in January



3 sweet cousins who are more like sisters!





My brother's in town!



Eric & I two years ago!

 I'm so excited my brother Eric is in town ... it's been 2 years (I can't believe it!) since he's been back in KC. He's been living in Bend, OR for the last 15ish or more years (I lose count in my old age) and gets back here once in a while. The cool thing about this visit is not only is he here but more of how he got here! Back in November, one of the radio stations was doing a "Home for the Holidays" contest ... send in a letter/email of why they should fly your loved one "Home for the Holidays" ... well, after hearing one of the more emotional stories one morning on the way to work .... I put my own emotions to the test and sent off an email. Lo and behold a few weeks later, I received a call on the way to work .... and ... the good news was ... they were flying Eric "Home for the Holidays"! I couldn't believe it ... I had to pull over ... and the news came on Eric's birthday! Of course, I had called him the day before to say Happy Birthday and now had an even better reason to call him again!

So ... Eric arrived in KC last Thursday and is here until this Friday ... it's been great ... just like he never left! We had a big family day @ my Dad's Sunday (lots of football, food, beverages and the like) ... lots of old family stories and belly laughs ... the good stuff!

Yesterday I took the day off and Eric & I just got to hang ... had a blast and more importantly just caught up on life in general. The best part (so far) was last night when we (my fam & Eric) were watching old home videos (my dad took all his big super 8 tapes & had them converted to DVDs for all of us) from pretty much my birth until 2nd grade or so and had of course both my brothers and sister too. While I was watching all of this ... of course it brought back amazing memories of my mom ... but the part I loved the most was really seeing how much my mom & dad loved us. Most of the videos were around birthdays & holidays and for every occasion, my mom or dad was up close with me or Eric or Adam or Emily ... I could just "see" how much love, compassion & excitement they had for each of us. What that showed me is that I want to carry on that same love, compassion & excitement in my family ... for my husband, Torie and Hannah & Hank. Life is short and it's really about the simple things and being together. I'm so blessed to have such an amazing husband and two amazing kids who are healthy & happy.

Happy New Year & all that jazz...



Christmas morning @ 14612



Santa goodies!









Well ... here we are in good 'ole 2011 .... can't wait to see what the new year brings, although I already feel so blessed and want for nothing ... well, most of the time! It was so nice to be on vacation for 2 full weeks during Christmas & New Year's and just do pretty much nothing. We slept in til 9am (most days & including H&H), watched a lot of movies and of course there was a fair share of eating too!



Peace & Love from H&H

 For those of you following the basement finish ... it's nearing completion (minus the bar & some french doors) (@ least there's carpet & tv/surround sound/wii & Santa brought the XBOX - I think for the kids but maybe more for my husband since it came with 2011 NCAA College Football ... can you say Huskers? Also, I must add, in the bathroom, there is a urinal, yes, I said urinal ... since my husband works for Kohler, we only have the BEST fixtures in our house ... thanks babe! Not to mention the sweet cobalt blue porcelain sink for the bar ... will look awesome with the granite! 



Hank & Daddy



Hannah & Daddy

 









But enough about the basement ... guess what I'm trying to say and or reflect on is that it was so nice to just do nothing and hang together with the fam (we had lots of fam @ the house over Christmas) and I'm so thankful we could all be together. It was especially great to just do whatever with Torie, Hannah & Hank and of course, the constant entertainment from those 3 is non-stop. I love what Hank said when he opened a puffy vest for one of his gifts ... he said, "mom, I don't get it ... it's like a tank-top coat!" All I could do is laugh ... I love how Hank puts everything into simple terms. Speaking of simple, I'll leave you with this ... we were talking about New Year's @ New Year's Even dinner and Hank so simply says, "God tells my heart what to say". I love that. I want to be loving like that and have God tell my heart what to say .... could it be any better?

Merry Christmas Week!

I'm listening to Glee Christmas (love it!) with the Christmas tree lights on, Christmas candles burning and pretty much all things Christmas this morning ... and yes, I'm on Christmas vacay because it's calm & quiet (other than Torie cleaning & getting the basement ready for stereo/tv/wii/etc install today and carpet tomorrow...yay...the basement is almost finished! Merry Christmas to us!) ... anyway, my point to this post is that I love Christmas music so much that I start listening pretty early and this year I noticed as I was listening on the radio I was just focusing on the basic holiday tunes (It's the Holiday Season ... a fam fave - you should see my brother Eric do a lip sync rendition complete with trench coat & fedora ... Baby, it's cold outside .... I'll be home for Christmas (always bring tears because it makes me think of my mom ... her home was always so home-y & especially @ Christmas) and then @ church we sang Away in a Manger and it hit me (a big reminder) to remember what Christmas is all about and why we celebrate and that I should be so thankful that Jesus was born and came to save us. My mom was definitely a big reminder of Christmas and pretty much her life in general ... so when I hear O Holy Night or Angels we have heard on High ... it's like a sweet reminder from my mom. So Merry Christmas to you mom and to all my family & friends! My cup runneth over!