Mrs. Petersen is Retiring!

My mother dearest is retiring from Wellsville Elementary after teaching for 28 years! WOW!

The school threw an awesome party for her and Mrs. Jensen. They started at Wellsville the same year and have taught next door to each other for 20+ years, so it is fitting to send them out together. Everyone has been calling them "Thelma and Louise" and laughing about what kind of adventures they can embark on now they won't be spending all day with 8-year-olds.

The proud husbands!

Congratulations, Susie Q! You are amazing. I don't think anybody can ever fully grasp the magnitude of a teacher's influence, especially one like my mom. Many of the students I taught in Jr. High were kids my mom had in elementary school, and I always loved telling each new group of kids that I am Mrs. Petersen's daughter. They were always so excited and full of positive things to say about her and their 3rd grade year. Now that I'm a mom myself and have been a teacher, I can honestly say I don't know how my mom did it for so many years. Not only did she do it, but she did it well and I know it wasn't easy. We are all so proud of her and are excited to enjoy this new chapter in her life together.

Mostly, I can't wait to have her around more to babysit my kids. Hahahahaha--Just kidding, Mom. (She has been adamant in telling my sister and I that she is not retiring to become a full-time babysitter, so not to get any ideas about going back to work.) I'm sure we can keep her plenty busy!

Sometimes You're Desperate...

...and you give your baby a cupcake so you can frost the rest of them in peace.


Oh Abby--she's such a little sass. We love her like crazy, but I was expecting our little girl to be a bit sweeter. (Everybody always tells me what a sweet little girl I was, and I guess we just figured Abby would be the same.) Not so much. Those Phillips genes are STRONG, and she is FEISTY! Greg says she's just like Mal when she was a kid. For the record, Mallory has grown into a lovely woman, so we're holding out there might be some hope for our little diva.


A few examples from the past few days:

• She was eating an ice cream cone and it was dripping everywhere, so I took it from her and licked it down. Not a good idea. She was so mad I had taken it from her that when I handed it back, so threw it on the ground with an emphatic "EH!" and then turned away and wouldn't have anything to do with me or the ice cream cone.



• Greg and I were chatting in our bedroom and heard her coming so Greg started hugging me to see what she would do. (Garrett always gets upset when Greg hugs me and yells, "Leave my mom alone!" or something similar.) Abby walked in, looked at us, gave us the most disgusted look you could imagine, and then threw herself against the bed. Like I'm serious when I say a hormonal teenager couldn't have given us a dirtier glare.



• ARGH! There was one other sassy she did the other day that I considered blogworthy, but I can't remember it for the life of me. I'm going crazy. That's what raising little girls does to you.

Why I Love Saturdays...

Hello sun! It's been a dreary week and we are LOVING the blue skies and sunshine today! I was out running errands this morning and came around the corner to find Greg and the kids all crammed on the tiny 3-wheeler. (It was Greg's when he was a kid.) It made me smile. I love days like today. A little dose of sunshine is good for the soul, I tell ya!

Horse Walkers Aren't Just For Horses...

Little boys can sure have a good time on them, too!

Cows and Kites

Who ever knew a Tuesday could be so exciting? Usually Tuesdays are pretty ordinary around our house, but today was a great one!

Our awesome neighbors let Garrett show one of their prize calves in the Richmond Black and White Days Cow Show today. Garrett loved it and we were so proud of our little guy!

Getting some advice from Dad before the show...

Abby loved seeing all of the cows and would moo back at them. Funny girl!

He is ready for the show!

Braden, our neighbor and Garrett's idol, was so great to walk with Garrett and help him.

Front row seat for Abby-Cakes.

Getting the coveted blue ribbon! (Okay, all of the kids got blue ribbons, but who needs to know that, right?)

Showing off his winnings...

Garrett was sitting on the bleachers looking pretty serious. I asked him what he was doing and he responded with, "I'm having some alone time." It was all I could not to burst out laughing.

Our little cowgirl. Get it? Cow...girl...lamest joke ever.

Garrett was being "a scary spider."

Self-pic of me and my girl. (I've always stunk at taking self-pics.)

The wind was blowing this evening and Garrett wanted to fly his kite.

If that doesn't make you smile, you're a loser. Just kidding, but seriously, what could be better than a little boy flying his kite?

Sweet Chelsea was a trooper and chased the kite around while I documented the moment for posterity.

This was one of those "cup runneth over" moments when I felt so blessed to be this little guy's mom and couldn't imagine loving anything more or a day more perfect.

Then we walked in the garage to put the kite away and discovered the bottle of Show Sheen Garrett had knocked off the shelf with his golf club after he had been told earlier to leave it alone. (Show Sheen is a hair polish/grooming spray for horses and Greg had just bought it to get Garrett's horse ready for the show on Saturday.) The stuff isn't cheap and 3/4 of the bottle had spilled out. ARGH! When something like that happens, I think of myself taking a $20 bill and just tossing it in the garbage. It's pretty much the same concept. So frustrating, but such is life with a little guy around. I guess we can't expect him to rock it at the cow show and fly a kite with the expertise of Charlie Brown and never spill anything, right?

Because I know those pictures just left you longing for more and I aim to please...

I Can Do Hard Things...

Like take 3 kids under the age of 3 to Wal-Mart.

And take goofy pictures to keep them entertained while waiting in the check-out line.

Sundays and Miracles

I love Sundays. I think Sundays are like nuts and certain vegetables--you acquire a taste for them as you get older. At least I have. Besides the obvious reasons (like going to Church and spending time with family), I love having a day to just rest and relax. On every other day, I have a hard time just sitting down if I know there are dishes in the sink, or clothes in the dryer, or the floor needs swept, or the toilets need cleaned, or...you get the point. But on Sundays, I just let them be. And I enjoy the day.

Today has been an extra great Sunday. It all started when we pulled into an almost empty Church parking lot at about 9:02 AM. We have a big congregation and our meeting starts at nine. By the time we arrive, the parking lot is usually full. Not today. Greg and I were thoroughly confused, so I ran in the building to see what was going on. I was kindly "reminded" that our meeting was starting at 9:30 this morning because the youth had a special early morning meeting to commemorate the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood. Awesome.

We have a serious issue with being on time for Church. It drives Greg and I both crazy. It doesn't matter how early or late we get up, it just seems like we can never make it there on time. I even made a New Year's Resolution this year to be on time for Church, but haven't been very successful. (It's better to try and fail then not try at all, right?) Because we were late last week, we missed the announcement that Church would be starting later today.

Unexpected blessing: WE WERE ON TIME FOR CHURCH TODAY! Like 25 minutes early! WE totally rock, I know. We knew if we went home we would just end up being late, so we took a nice drive up to the Reservoir and showed Garrett where we are going fishing for FHE tomorrow and then headed back to the Church. We were in our seats nice and early--just the way we like it. New Year's Resolution: DONE AND DONE! The best part: we still got out at noon and didn't even have to stay the extra half hour. So, we were on time for Church for once and our meetings were 30 minutes shorter. Best day ever! :)

We had an excellent Sacrament Meeting today. Truly excellent. One of those where you left feeling so good about life and really glad you got your tail out of bed and into the Chapel. I have such a great calling and love teaching the 10 and 11 year old girls in the Primary. There are 17 girls in our class and most of them are active. We usually have a big group, and they are just the best girls and I sincerely look forward to seeing them every week.

The lesson today was on some of the miracles Jesus performed during his earthly ministry. There was such a sweet spirit in the rooom and the girls were excited to share some of the simple miracles they have experienced in their own lives. Their examples were so simple, but so tender, and I was reminded of why we must become like children in order to inherit our Heavenly Father's kindgom.

One girl talked about losing her iPod and how she had searched "forever and everywhere" to find it and finally was really sad, so she decided to pray. After she finished praying, she had the idea to look in her baby sister's room. Sure enough, her iPod was in there, lying underneath a pile of dirty clothes. Another girl talked about how she and her brother had lost their baby lambs and were really worried. They also prayed and were soon guided to find their lost little lambs. One sweet girl talked about how she had got lost at SeaWorld and how scared she had been until she offered a prayer in her heart. She instantly got a warm and peaceful feeling and knew she was going to be okay. She found the Lost and Found station and waited in there until her parents came for her. The tears were rolling off her cheeks and onto her scriptures as she told us about how her dad came running in and was crying as he picked her up and held her.

I couldn't help but think of the desperate prayers I offered in my heart last Summer as I signed the papers and sent my very sick husband off to surgery. I had no idea what the next few hours would bring, but I felt peace in my heart and knew I had to trust in our Heavenly Father. The next few days would bring many miracles for our little family and those who love us. When I returned to Church a few weeks later, I knew it wasn't a coincidence the Primary theme for that month was, "Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and He is a God of Miracles."

Whether it is an iPod, some lambs, a sweet little girl, or a very scared wife, the miracle of it all is that nothing is ever lost to God. Sometimes we get busy and lose Him, but He will never lose us. Our Savior is the Expert at finding and restoring lost things--which is a pretty big comfort to a young mom who tries her hardest, but still can never make it to Church on time. Maybe one day...

And if you've made it through my spiritual ramblings, you deserve to be rewarded with a few less-than-great snapshots of my favorite little miracles.

Welcome Baby Ella!

I am so happy to announce we have a beautiful new niece! This moves the niece count up to 5 and the nephew count is holding strong at 0. Garrett loves all of his girl cousins and so far has no problem with being Prince Charming/Flynn Rider/the Beast/etc. in their fairy tale games, so I think we're in good shape.

Sweet little Ella Sue joined us on Tuesday at 8:01 PM and weighed in at 7 lbs. 9 oz. and was 20 inches long. My sister always has the most gorgeous babies with oodles of dark hair. Little Ella is a beauty, just like her big sisters.


Being in the delivery room when Ella was born was one of the sweetest moments of my life. I recently told somebody I would give birth every day if I didn't have to go through the pregnancy and raise the kid. (That sounds terrible, I know. I really do love being pregnant and cherish the experience, but the whole barfing my guts out all day, every day for 6 months makes me a little scared to do it again. And I really do love my kiddos more than life and wouldn't choose to be anything other than their mom, but they are a lot of work!) Anyways, back to Ella being born. Childbirth (with an epidural) is just the most amazing experience and I loved giving birth to both of my babies, and being there when Ella was born was every bit as special. There were 2 other babies born during the time we were waiting for Ella to make her debut, and I found myself getting teary when I heard both of them cry for the first time. Ahhh...I just love babies!

The happiest and proudest big sister you could ever imagine!



Ella is named after my great-grandma and my mom. Both of them are amazing ladies and little Ella Sue has a name she can be proud of. (I was so happy when they decided to name her Ella. Our great-grandma Ella was a heck of a good lady and we loved her dearly. The name "Ella" was in the running when we had Abby, but it just didn't seem quite right for her. Now we know why.)

Garrett was dying to see his new baby cousin. Brooklyn and Gracie stayed with us for a few days and they told Garrett all about Ella. He had lots of questions for them. Like, "Is she baby Jesus? Is she laying in a manger? How did she get out of Emmy's tummy?" He really, really wanted to "pet" her. Unfortunately for him, only siblings of the baby can go in the room, but Em rolled her up to the window and showed her off through the glass.

Don't you just want to kiss those little cheeks and snuggle her? And then send her home and let her mommy stay up with her all night long while you sleep tight in your comfy bed? (Okay, I'd be lying if I didn't admit being around her has definitely made me a bit "baby-hungry.") Newborns are just so precious!

Happy "Mudder's" Day!

I'm a bit late posting about "Mudder's Day" (as it is affectionately called by my little Garrett). I had planned on doing a nice post regarding my feelings about motherhood and honoring my mom, mother-in-law, and other significant women in my life. Ironically, just being a mom keeps me busy enough I often don't find the time to do all the good things I would like to. Oh well. I remind myself that one day I will have all the time in the world to do all the things I want to, and then I will probably be lonely and long for the days when "the sound of little feet was the music we danced to week to week." (Name that song, anyone?)

We are realizing more and more that with Church callings and kids, we can't always go everywhere and be everywhere all the time. Consequently, we decided to spend Mother's Day with my family and Father's Day with Greg's. The obvious highlight of the day was visiting with Greg's little brother, Matt, who is serving a mission in Spain. Garrett had been so excited to talk to him and then froze up when it was his turn. He covered his ears and cried, so we finally gave up. He started sobbing about 5 minutes later because "he really wanted to talk to Uncle Matt in Spain on the phone," so we cheated and called him back. After a little prodding, Garrett and Matt had a lovely conversation about baby chicks, spiders, Abby, and everything else Garrett loves. They were chatting away when the phone card ran out and Garrett was very excited to tell all of his friends in the nursery at Church that he talked on the phone to his Uncle Matt in Spain.

That evening, we enjoyed a little family gathering at my aunt's house and all the little guy wanted was to snuggle with Grandma.

Once Grandma had been sufficiently loved, he moved on to the dog.

A lovely family photo--if only Miss Abby would look at the camera. (I do love Garrett's cheezer smile in this picture, though. He looks like a proud papa holding his baby for the very first time.)

To sum it up: Mother's Day is a great holiday. I love my mom. I love my mother-in-law. I love being a wife and a mom. I love being a woman. I love the countless women (many of whom aren't mothers) who have blessed my life. Even more, I love the wonderful women who have blessed my children's lives with their goodness. (You know who you are.)

God bless mothers and women everywhere--ours is an important work. Let's not forget it.