March 22, 2018

Two weeks ago we went to CC Tuesday and then left for Dallas to celebrate Spring Break. Francis was in Denver for a conference, and so the kids and I made it to my in-laws' house late afternoon. After dinner with Frankie's mom and the kids, all of us went over to BJs restaurant for my mother's election watch party. I am happy to announce that she won the primary and is now an official candidate for state representative in November. Go mom!

Wednesday the kids and I met up with Christian and the cousins for some play time at the playground at Prestonwood. We had lunch at chick-fil-a with them and then parted ways, with my crew heading over to my parents' house. The kids played in the yard (the third playground that day!) and spent time with Japapa, my mom, and my dad. It was a very pleasant afternoon and by that afternoon my kids had run around happily nearly the entire day. That's how you do Spring Break! They should have been exhausted but instead insisted on an evening swim in the hot tub at my parent's house. Even after that they made it back to my in-laws' house awake. I wish I had that energy! Thursday the kids and I met Japapa, my mom and the cousins at Grapevine Mills mall to play at the huge playground inside the bowling alley (playground doesn't do it justice...it's almost a mini theme park) and have lunch. My mom had to run Japapa to the airport, so I got to watch all 5 kids for around 30 minutes. Aside from Issac finding the most obscure places to hide, it was smooth sailing. I'll take that as a win! We went back with my mom and spent another afternoon in the sun before meeting up with my dad, mother-in-law, Danielle and Kevin for dinner. It was so fun!

And now we come to the part where my kids and I part ways. Friday morning I headed to Denver and the kids got three glorious days with Nana and Grandad. They went to Legoland, the aquarium, and the zoo. They built cardboard castles, played video games and had a blast. They even celebrated Robert's half birthday with cake and singing on Saturday. I, on the other hand, caught the early flight to Denver where Francis picked me up Friday morning. We had breakfast and then went and toured the Botanical Gardens there. After walking 16th Street Mall, we had lunch and caught a movie (Black Panther) before heading out to Evergreen, CO to our hotel. There was a little bit of snow here and there, but also the promise of spring. The lake near our cottage was frozen over and people were ice fishing, but the next lake over was half thawed. It was interesting to see. Our cottage was amazing. It had a bedroom, sitting room, porch, and a huge bathroom. We had a delicious steak dinner at a place down the road and then I asked Francis if I could take an hour nap around 7pm before we did anything else (I'd been up since 3am). I woke up at 6 am the next morning. Oops! Saturday we wandered by car through the mountains finding beautiful overlooks, Buffalo Bill's grave and Red Rocks park, with the only natural acoustically perfect outdoor amphitheater. We walked up and down the whole theater (no easy task at that elevation) and then headed back to town for lunch. The pizza for lunch was top notch and the fudge we bought from the little store across the street afterward was addictive. and it snowed on us as we headed back to the car! Francis missed the snow at home earlier this year so it was icing on the cake for him. We went back to the room to take a nap and then visited the Hiwan Homestead Museum down the road from our cabin. The lady docent was so happy to see us and showed us around while telling us every little piece of history of the 27 room cabin, the families that lived there and the area as a whole. It was fun because I really love that stuff. We had dinner on the lake watching the sunset. Back at the room, we settled in to watch a movie, but met with a very different evening. The carbon monoxide detector went off, tell us to evacuate immediately. So we did, out into the cold night air. Due to a series of events which was understandable, it took us quite some time to get a hold of management. When the owner finally contacted us, she was beside herself with worry about us. She moved us to their nicest suite, gave us a discount for the night and even brought an amazing breakfast up to our suite in the morning. The room had a huge living room, full dining room full kitchen, two bathrooms, a large bedroom, two walk in closets, and a hot tub (which I unfortunately couldn't use). While the night was overall unsettling, it had a super wonderful ending. Breakfast in our room the next morning was beyond delicious, and after we checked out we headed back into Denver. We visited the Denver Art Museum, capitol, another historic home and had lunch. Before long, it was time to drop off the car to begin the journey home. Francis grossly underestimated the walk from the car rental place to the train, and so when we finally arrive at Union Station, I was spent. Thankfully the train went right up to the airport or I might not have made it. We go through security quickly and had one last leisurely meal before the flight home. Overall it was a wonderful weekend for the kids and us both, but we were glad to be reunited early Monday morning.

Last week was spent playing a lot of catch up. Getting home Monday meant that I had to shift everything a day and still squeeze in the missing one. I did so successfully with some effort and we even managed a trip to the Children's museum to play in their new helicopter play set. Tuesday we had no CC which was good, because when I got  home from the grocery store, water was gushing from our lawn and flooding the street. Turns out our water main broke. If that were not enough, the A/c guy came less than a week later to tell us the coil in our attic was busted and the repair of such would require bringing part of the A/c up to current code. So we've been bleeding money it feels like, but we are hopeful that everything is now fixed. Also Francis left for Washington, DC today for a job interview tomorrow, so being praying for a him.

I had my 24 week appointment today. Baby is doing great, but my lymph nodes have yet to return completely to normal. I've had quite a few visits to doctors as of late and none of them seem to have an answer to the mystery of what it going on in my body. My OBGYN has referred me to an infectious disease doctor. She is confident that this man will be able to provide me with some answers. Here's hoping!

We are nearly done with our school year. I can't believe we've been homeschooling for almost 2 full years now. It's amazing to see how much the kids have learned and that is what gets me through the tough days. William is an avid reader and Robert is beginning to sound out words (he just turned 4 1/2!). Hannah is increasingly more articulate and is counting and singing her ABCs when inspired. She has a lot of spunk, that girl! William has again begun riding without training wheels. Last time around he had the balance but not the attention to detail needed and would look away while biking. This time it only took him a few tried before he looked like a pro. He's ridden up and down the street and to the park and back a couple times now. This has inspired Francis to air up his own bike. He also got out the bike trailer which Hannah has christened her "carriage". She rides in it by herself or with Robert (who is her "prince") and has the most delightful time. It's pretty adorable. I've been walking while they ride around. We have been loving the wonderful weather!

That's it for now!   

March 4, 2018

It's a boy! Baby Phillips #4 is a boy! We are so blessed and can't wait to meet this sweet baby boy come July. He's healthy and growing like crazy. I feel him more every day and Francis actually felt him for the first time on Friday. Baby started kicking like crazy and I quickly grabbed Francis's hand and put it on the spot. Francis smiled and I knew he had felt it. It was a special moment. Something about someone else feeling the baby makes it seem so much more real.

Saturday morning we went to Home Depot for their monthly kids project and then took Francis to lunch at Layne's Chicken. He got to choose his last meal in Texas for the next week and that was it. The kids and I then drove him to the rental car drop off and said goodbye, but not before slipping some handmade special notes from us in his bag. He will be in Denver until next Sunday for a conference, and we miss him already. Silver lining is that I get to join him on Friday for a weekend "Baby Moon"! Thanks in advance to Nana and Grandad for watching the kids!

The boys both passed their skating lessons class so William can go into a free practice hockey time and Robert can move up to snowplow 3. Hannah really wants to take lessons, but you have to be 3 or older. Your time will come soon big girl!

We will be celebrating our spring break this week and will be slightly out of pocket, so I wanted to get in a quick update about baby boy and what is going on. Till next time!