Showing posts with label Mama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mama. Show all posts

Mama

Each of our girls celebrated Mother's Day with a special tea in her respective classroom. There were snacks, special gifts and songs for all the moms. It was a precious time with each of my girls.

Mama and HJ

The table settings with an original art piece displayed on a teeny, tiny easel. HJ titled her creation Mommy in a Flower Garden. Inside the card was an original poem by HJ.

My silly girl

HJ presented this necklace to me as the key to her heart!

Then she sang a song for mama.

AE greeted me at the door with a flower and escorted me to a table set for us moms.

She and her classmates sang a song about mothers.

Ever the hostess, AE went to the buffet and made a plate for me and poured my tea all by herself.

AE and Mama

AE is right on with her assessment of mom.

HJ's portrait of me doing pilates next to a flower.


I really like my age in this one!

The girls were so sweet to me on Mother's Day. We drove up to Atlanta to surprise Nana and Mema, and boy, were they surprised!

The Daddy and his brother (with a little help from Uncle C's girlfriend, Alyson!) cooked everyone a beautiful dinner. Our short and sweet visit "back home" was just what the doctor ordered for all!

I Want to be Recognized

I want to be known for the food I cook.

I want my house to be clean.

I want my children to behave and love the Lord.

I want those children to say the right things and do the best they can.

I want to be the mom that does it all with an effortless grace.

I want to be seen. I want to be seen. I want to be seen.


If you ever feel the same way, take some time to READ THIS TODAY.

Then come back and tell me how you feel. I know I feel differently.

I'm Away! I'm Back!

Coming to you from the tired mind of one PREGNANT lady...

On Wednesday the girls and I packed ourselves up and scooted out of town! After we picked AE up from school, we headed up I-75 to Nana and Papa's house. The plan was for Nana and Papa to get some good, quality time together and they did.

On the front porch with Renegade the horse

(Remember Renegade's trip to Sea World? This Renegade is a little different, but the idea is the same.)

Putting together a BIG princess puzzle

Enjoying the BIG surprise from Nana and Papa

The tent lights up in the dark!

Thursday, Nana and I went crazy at the outlets buying up all the baby boy things.

Friday, I headed even further north up to my home state, Tennessee for some girl time!

I know I told you my friend Tausha is pregnant
and due on the same day as us, but there are FIVE of us preggos in my little ADPi group of girlfriends from college. All four of my friends are pregnant with their first babies, and we are celebrating one friend this weekend, Julie. See how different we all look pregnant!

Gretchen~11/19, Tausha~9/14, me~9/14, Julie~8/15 and Kara~8/2
(Lined up according to due date!)

The shower luncheon was held at The Belle Meade Plantation, a place I often went for field trips. I think I remember learning how to churn butter there!


Now there is a beautiful barn, darling gift shop and cafe on the plantation where you can hold events. The plantation is used for many Nashville weddings. I would have loved to get some pictures of the grounds and main house, but the weather was quite iffy. As a matter of fact the picture of the five of us was taken just as it started to rain!

LOOK at these darling centerpieces!

Delicious dessert


Here's the whole group of us ladies. They put us preggos in the front! The two sweet girls in the picture are Julie's nieces, Patton and Emerson. ADPi legacies!

After a great time catching up with girlfriends, I headed back to the ATL to rest for a day before making the trek all the way back to Florida. We girls are glad to be home again with The Daddy!

What Do You Do?

Once upon a time, I played softball. I was a pitcher. I got hit in the mouth with a line drive. I had a root canal on my front tooth. More than 20 years ago.



That tooth is dead to me.

A couple weeks ago, I tried to deflate an inflatable basketball net. I tried to open the valve with my teeth.

I heard a crack.

Then I felt a wiggle.

Then I cried.

Because what do you do when you crack a tooth in half WHEN YOU ARE PREGNANT?

Oh, and it was a Friday evening. In our new town where I DON'T HAVE A DENTIST YET.

Seriously, what do you do?

I cried some more.

I waited until Monday morning and went to a recommended dentist (out of network) because I was desperate to not be THIS BIG and TOOTHLESS.

And what did he do? He glued it back together.

Now I permanently (for the next 4-5 months) look like I have bread stuck in my two front teeth.

God is working on my vanity.

God is working on my ridiculous weight gain. Ha! Ha! Ha!

Seriously. It has taken me some time to get over it.

Just please don't tell me I have something in my teeth when you see me!

I'm a Mother



If I'm really being honest, I started this post back near Mother's Day. Last year.

I also kinda feel bad that I missed blogging on Mother's Day. Last year.

It's a day that I used to dread. Mother's Day.

I've talked just a little about my mom here on this little blog, but I don't know that I've ever done her justice. After recently organizing family photos, I scanned in a few of my favorites of my mom.

My mom was the mom that all my friends loved.

My mom with her cousin, Tom

My mom was a talented needle-artist. She cross-stitched like a mad woman. It was perfectly done on both sides of the fabric. Almost where you could flip it over and not exactly be sure which side was supposed to go on top.

My mom (right) with her sister Judy (left)

My mom stayed up late and slept in only after getting up to make my dad his breakfast every morning.

My mom with cousin Tom again

My mom always gave me so much confidence. She bolstered me with all the love that made me never doubt myself.

My mom grew up in Minnesota.

My mom used to drive my friends and me to the grocery store late at night for sleep-over sustanance. Then she'd drive us by all the cute boys' houses.

My mom just after having my older brother Matthew

My mom had an incredible sense of style. Way ahead of her time.


My mom was in the car with me (driving) when I had my first kiss. Pretty funny!


My mom got a job at The Limited when I was in middle school: 1. so we could get a discount on clothes and 2. so we could get a discount on clothes. Remember Outback Red and Forenza?

My mom in a bridesmaid dress that I used to play dress up in~I still have it!

My mom had an affinity that I share to this day for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

My mom smoked. For a long time.



I lost my mom when I was fifteen, but I feel like I'm getting to know her on a totally different level now that I am a mother. My appreciation for her deepens each day I spend with my girls. Her love for me still shines, and I miss her everyday.

Happy Mother's Day to y'all, and give your mama a hug for me!

Who's In?

I've got something fun to look forward to!

This weekend, I'm headed to Atlanta {alone} to look for fabric and maybe some furniture and to attend a framing workshop lead by Eddie Ross. He's going to teach us all about how to make our treasured items look pretty!

Remember the fun I had last January at The Scott Antique market? That's when I ran into:


Rhoda AND Eddie!

Rhoda's going to be there again and a little birdie told me about some other big time bloggers who will be there! Aren't you curious who?

Remember what I bought???


So who wants to go with me?

If you're not convinced, go over and check out the spread and framed "eye candy" Eddie has in store for us! The session is free to bloggers and only $10 if you don't have a blog. He's even hosting a giveaway from the framing workshop sponsor, Larson-Juhl! I know you've got something you've been putting off getting framed. :)

Seriously, email Jaithan (jaithan@eddieross.com) today to reserve your spot and let me know if you want to meet up!

A Whole Lot of Something

Not a lot of blogging going on here, but here's what's been going on:
  • I consented to letting the moving company pack for me. Just can't do it by myself. Tough. Very tough to give away that control for me. Whew. 
  • It has rained. A lot.
  • We had a birthday party for a certain 4-year-old. I neglected to take any pictures of the food, the cake, the games, the favors, our family of four humans, etc. Yea! A birthday to remember!
  • I got to hang out with my dad for several days. He entertained the girls while it rained and rained and rained. 
  • The girls missed preschool/MMO two days this week because of the flooding in Atlanta. Thankfully, we had no problems with flooding in our immediate area, but just down the road in Austell, there has been devastation. 
  • I've been sorting, organizing, making piles and tossing stuff out in preparation for the packers. Thus, I found this brilliant picture, forcing me to take a break from the pits of the picture pile-up that never got organized in the last two years since we last moved-

The Daddy and I on our first date!

I will leave you to ponder a few questions:
  1. Am I really that short?
  2. Why wasn't I wearing heals?
  3. Or am I?
  4. Is The Daddy really that tall?
  5. Do I look good in leather?
  6. Just how long and curly WAS my hair?
  7. How skinny were we?
  8. Why did The Daddy just last month finally get rid of that there fleece?
  9. Where do you think we went for a romantic dinner that night?
  10. How cool was The Daddy to point out at the restaurant that I had lipstick on my teeth?
  11. Isn't it amazing to think that this is the evening when The Daddy shared his testimony with me and led me to this realization?
Send me some love. Leave me a comment. You don't have to have a blog to say something!

Regarding My Cryptic Self



So for a month or so, I've been kind of cryptic about what's going on in the Phillips' household. With our Africa trip, we were overwhelmed at the idea of leaving a 2- and 3-year-old for 10 days. We also knew that a mission trip like that would be life-changing. But all the while, something else was brewing. 

The Daddy and I have recently made a decision that will affect our family and friends. We are moving to FLORIDA!

Now to be honest, last year when I started this little blog, it was really so we could keep in touch with our friends and family IN CASE WE MOVED. If you go HERE, and read #3, it makes sense. When I wrote that very first blog post, we were contemplating the move to Florida. When the opportunity collapsed, I breathed a sigh of relief and kept on blogging. This year, when a similar opportunity arose, I was much more open to the idea. Funny how God works like that. He prepares you and He's prepared us. We wouldn't be doing this two years ago, and we wouldn't be doing this three or four or five years ago. And here we are: getting close to leaving our family and friends in Georgia. 

In the meantime, I've come to love blogging, especially making so many new online "friends." I love writing again, and I love showing the girls' their pictures on the computer. I love reading about other people and their families. I love looking for design inspiration. I love being a fly on the wall watching families grow, grieve and give of themselves. 

While it's sometimes easy to hide behind the computer screen, it's often hard to take an honest look at what I chose to write about and what I chose to "ignore." I go for that method of dealing with problems sometimes. Ok. Often. 

I've been ignoring the fact that we're moving, but as the calendar pages keep turning, and we begin to wind down our time in Georgia, I start to hyperventilate a little. Breathe. Breathe, girl. Breathe. 

Alright. So I said it. I can't ignore it any longer. I feel better already!

Like Fine Wine

Still taking a break, but I stole these photos from Facebook to show you some of the cute girls {women} from my high school. We graduated 15 years ago together. Some of us went to college together. Some of us moved back after college. 

Oh, wait. 

I am the only one who doesn't still live in Tennessee! 

Not everyone was there that night, but it was so much fun to catch up and see who was there. 

My good friend Cayce and me {note name tag with hideous senior photo}

This picture is hilarious! It looks like my face is melting! That's Cayce and me with our friend Kathryn. We called her Grandma in high school! They both look exactly the same as they did 15 years ago.

I'll be back next week once I feel more settled. Life is screaming at me and I feel I need to listen. For once. 

Have a great weekend, y'all!

There's Mama!

Over the last year or so, the girls have shown me how much they love me through hugs, kisses and the looks of joy in their eyes when they see me. 

Nothing can compare to the ego-boost I get when we see THIS:


and AE says, "Look, there's YOU, Mama! It's YOU!"

If you live in Atlanta, I KNOW you've seen this billboard and I KNOW you've seen the commercials on TV!

It's happened on MORE THAN ONE occasion. 

This evening as we made our way home, I almost gave The Daddy a heart attack when I squealed and made him pull over so I could take a picture. 

I think he would have a real heart attack if he rolled over in the morning and saw this:



Sweet dreams, honey!

Quiz!


Why did this sight make me cry this week?

A) I'm hormonal.
B) Those socks had an atrocious smell.
C) The socks weren't arranged by color.
D) Every sock in there is now too small for HJ and I had to pack them away with all the "hypothetical next baby" things.

Please answer in the comments section below, phriends!

Phriday Photos

This is where The Daddy took me on Tuesday for dinner.

The Daddy got the Chili Dog combo.

I got the Slaw Dog combo. 

Then we shared, one of each dog for the both of us. I'll have to tell you, the onion rings far outweigh the fries. If you're thinking of going, go for the onion rings. 

Here are our seats for the rest of the date. 1st base line. Nice.

The Braves went to extra innings and pulled off the win!


Had to include this one from just after seeing the eye doctor yesterday! He dilated my eyes, soooooooooooo this is what I ended up looking like while I drove home. 

NOTICE: the car seat behind me is empty. That's thanks to my sweet, sweet friend Carrie who watched my two girls along with her two boys. FOR THREE HOURS. By herself. And she fed them lunch. 

She may never come over again! Thanks, sweet friend!

***Those first three photos were from another blog because I didn't take pics at The Varsity. The last three photos were taken with my iPhone.