4 years later and I remembered the password!

Well hello there!
I got a wild hair and thought to myself, "Hey, I used to have blog. Wonder if I still do?"
After several failed attempts to sign in to my blog account, because emails have changed, passwords have been forgotten, and life in general is happening all around at light speed; I finally got it right!
I wonder what will happen next. I mean in the past four years we've managed to add 2 big boys to our family and a baby! Mark has started pursuing interventional radiology, I've gone back to school (again), Travis and Cody are both serving missions, Emma has just over a year left of elementary school, Wes is crushing the 1st grade, and baby Jake is stealing hearts the world over (I can say that because Travis is all the way over in Belgium). We have amazing friends and family and live in the best ward ever! Our love for the gospel of Jesus Christ increases daily and we are so blessed to see His hand in our lives all the time. It's a good day to be a Phillips :)

A New Post

I've been getting rightly hounded about my lack of blog content. I think you all know me by now, and know that I am a huge slacker when it comes to self fulfilling endeavors. But, now that I know it means soooo much to soooo many others, I will strive to be more vigilant.

I changed my template!!

Enjoy!

Samoan Fiafia

We had so much fun on Saturday night! Our church ward family had a Samoan Fiafia (a Polynesian feast) to celebrate and bring an end to our 40-day fast. It has been a great experience for us. Our good friends, the Pauga family, shared their Samoan culture with us and even provided myself and the kids with traditional clothing to wear for the fiafia. Wesley's "skirt" is called a lava-lava, and he did not want to take it off. He was running around in it at the park, climbing on the playground and everything. When we got home that night, he wanted to sleep in it. It did however, fall off before he went to bed, but he wanted to put it right back on the next morning. Unfortunately Mark had to go into work Saturday night (7pm-7am), so he was sleeping when we left for the party and he didn't get to see us all dressed up. Honestly though, I think he would have freaked right out to see me in a moo-moo (that can't be how it's spelled). These pictures are the first glimpse that he gets. I'll be honest, it sucks that we don't always have him around, but we appreciate all the hard work he does to take care of us. And I'm so thankful that he enjoys his work. Being in the health care realm, he sees a lot and it makes us realize daily just how blessed we are.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

We Love Valentine's Day!!

Wesley woke up in the best mood, wishing everyone a good morning and a Happy Valentine's Day! He was full of hugs and kisses for all.

Emma always looks forward to Valentine's Day. She says that it is her favorite holiday because of all the love and the pink and red decorations.

Mark and I haven't given each other any grand and glorious gifts in the past 5 years, but we love to wake up on Valentine's Day and pay extra close attention to all those little moments of stolen passion. I love him sooo much that it sometimes feels explosive. This is our 10th Valentine's together, and there are still times when we hold each other and don't want to let go. He's brought the greatest love that I konw into my life, and for that I will always be grateful!

Emma wanted to make her own class Valentines this year, and here are the results:

I think they turned out beautiful! We had such a good time working on them together. I love that she wants to create things. It makes my soul smile.

Happy Valentine's Day to All !!

Out of The Mouth of Babes

Conversation with Wes:
Mom : "Wes, why are you being so ornerey today? You've been acting a little crazy."
Wes : "Oh. Um, I want baby."
"You want to be a baby?"
"No. I want have a baby. Oh mom, get baby at the store!!"
"You want to buy a doll at the store?"
"Mom, you are funny. No doll. I want have a baby. I be big sister like Emma."
"You want to have a little baby brother or sister?! This is why you are acting up."
"Let's go mom! I so excited! Let's get baby at the store!"
"You're going to have to wait and talk to your dad about that."
When Dad came home:
"Dad, we need go to the store and get baby! I so excited!"
"What?!"
(Brief explanation)
"Wes, do you want to have a little brother or sister?"
"I want baby. I be big sister."
"No. You would be a big brother."
"Oh! Yes, I be big brother like Emma."
"Do you want a little brother or a sister?"
"I just want a baby."
"Well, your mom and I will have to work on that. But, we can't get a baby at the store. I'm sorry. It might take awhile."
"I so excited!"

So, anyway, I guess we have some work to do.

New Year's Eve 2008

Just to get "The Fear" down the page, because it seems that I managed to scare plenty of people with that post, I have finally decided to post pictures from New Year's Eve.

Yea!!!!!!!!

And the night ends.

Guess who the party animal is in our home.

The Fear

This is just something that has been on my mind. Sometimes I feel like we live in a constant state of fear; ie: The cost of health insurance is ridiculous, but if I don't have it and something horrible happens, the cost of health care is far worse. The fear that makes us question everything.
Last week on two separate occasions I happened upon 2 unfortunate souls. On both occasions I was driving either to or from home with my kids in the van. The first, I was at a stop light and glanced around. I noticed for the first time a little park (1 bench, some flowers, a trash can, and a sign indicating that it was indeed a park), perhaps because there was an elderly woman with what looked like all of her possessions in a bag beside her on the ground. She did not have much of a coat, and she seemed to be getting ready to take a nap. I couldn't help but feel like I should turn around at the light and go and talk to this woman. I wanted to offer her a warm meal, a bed to sleep in, or even just a listening ear. But, there was the fear. What if she's unstable, what if she has some contagious disease? I have my kids with me. I can't put them at risk. If it were just me, I would stop. Or would I? When Have I seen thee naked and clothed thee? An hungered and fed thee? If I want to teach my children to be kind, shouldn't they see me being kind?
On the second occasion, we were just leaving our alley way and I noticed a woman walking along the side of the road. She was obviously having an inner struggle as she twitched and cursed out loud as well as in sign language. (I think it was sign language) But what I noticed next was that she did not have on any shoes. Her feet were dark black from the dirt and tar stains and she walked on the side of them. What could I do to help? It was obvious that she was unstable. Bringing her back to our home was clearly not the wisest idea. Did I have any shoes that I could give her? If I went back to find some, would I be able to find her again? What if she doesn't accept, and then I end up making the kids late for school and they're wondering why that strange lady just spit on their mother. Again, the fear.
It's crippling. If at the moment a thought of kindness comes into our minds and hearts and we act immediately wouldn't we be able to make things so much better in this world. But, there's not even time to act before the doubt and the fear take over.
Does anyone else feel this?
Because we believe in a divine spirit that can lead us in the right direction and keep us from danger, shouldn't I be able to have a faith strong enough that I could essentially live without fear. Your mind would be free from doubt and uncertainty because you would have the assurity of the spirit to clear it away. That is my goal. To increase my faith to the point that I can truly live in the world and not be of the world. Does that make sense? What better protection could I afford to give my children?