2018!

So the Philips family went of the grid for quite a few weeks. I'm not sure if it was the anticipation of Santa, the fear of Santa taking Reed's binkies, the fact that our house looks like Toys R Us took a poop in it..somewhere, somehow I lost sense of time and haven't posted forever!

While we were gone:

Dec 15: Rhett had his 3.75ish month pictures taken! I'm so impressed with myself that I'm keeping up with pictures. It was so fun and of course they turned out just perfect! He is such a happy little guy. :)

Dec 17: Our family was all in our church play! Joseph (Derek), Mary (me!), a cherub (Ryne), a lamb (Reed) and Baby Jesus (Rhett). It was so much fun! Our church and church family has been one of the best things about moving. I wish I would have had a picture of how Derek had his headpiece tied during practice..he had it tied around his head like a ninja. HA! Reed didn't go down at practice, so I was shocked when he went down during the play! He had his lamb head on backwards and a binky in his mouth, but hey! At least he went down. :)

Dec 22: Rhett turned 4 months old. How is this even possible? Time has gone so fast and I just feel so lucky to be able to stay home with the boys. Baby Rhett is such an easy going baby..it's totally a third-born thing. :)

Dec 23: Reed's last day with his binky. We laid them out on a plate for Santa to take. Santa came a day early so that we could go see our families over Christmas! It surprisingly went better than I could have ever imagined. He was so obsessed with that thing! I had my expectations low, but he really has done such a great job!

Dec 24: We leave for our family Christmas and know 100% sure that we have a WHITE CHRISTMAS! Holy cow, my whole heart was exploding. The best part is that it's still here! My dad loved snow so it must be in my genes (better than my jeans!). 

Dec 26: The boys are so excited because Santa brought Rhett bubbles and they get to use them! I'm extra cautious with bubbles, so having them is a treat to our kids! Nothing better than soaking in some bubbles delivered by the big man! 

So much togetherness over break...sometimes when five people are all smooshed in a house together because it's freezing cold outside, you realize that there is a such thing as TOO much togetherness. Sorry Rhett, I feel the same...me too, me too.

Other random Dec pictures:

I added Benny the Bunny to my decor collection and he is my new favorite. He will be my seasonal bunny, next Christmas he will have a little wreath around his neck! :) 

One week in December it's in the 50s and you can wear your dinosaur underwear and cowboy boots to take your brother to preschool..the next the ground is covered in snow!

 He's got that mean muggin' pout down! Reed ruined his snowman ornament he made at preschool and I'm not even kidding you, it was a rough couple of days. Tears, more tears, yelling, pouting..luckily his teacher helped him make a new one! Mended his little soul and also kept me from losing my sanity! You betcha that snowman ornament was hung at the top of the tree so no little hands could grab it and destroy it again!

 Fun snacks are a must during the holidays! Some plain popcorn kernels cooked, pretzels, M&Ms and almond bark! Oh, and the most important..sprinkles! I used 1/2 cup of popcorn kernels, a few handfuls of pretzels (or however many you think look good in it!), a bag of M&Ms, and a block of almond bark! Mix the ingredients together in a large bowl and drizzle the almond bark over all the yummy goodness! Gently mix so that the almond bark coats the deliciousness and pour onto a pan! So easy, so fast..it didn't even make it into a container before someone's little fingers were picking at it!

2018: My BIG announcement! I'm opening a home decor store called James & Jute! It will start online (or you can stop by my "warehouse" if you're local!) but I hope to expand to a store front in our community eventually! James (Jim) after my dad and Jute because I thought it went well together! Ha! It's been a dream of mine and one day I just decided to shut out all the fears and worries and go for it. So here I am, going for it! My team & crew are busy working away to get the website going and the product here so we can start the fun! There will be a daily home decor release and live video showing you what the items look like and how you can use them in your home! COMING SOON! Real soon..real, real soon. I think my New York website man is probably tired of me contacting him a million times. He might be just as excited as I am to get it up and going! We'll have rustic, farmhouse, vintage, old-looking-new-stuff..something different every day to keep the fun and excitement going! Cheers to 2018..and the start of James & Jute and to everyone for their continued support!

xoxo

J