Thanksgiving Vacation

This is definitely back-tracking a bit, but with the move, I've fallen a little behind on my blog. We had the AWESOME opportunity of flying out to California this Thanksgiving to spend some time with my Dad and grandparents in Chowchilla. I wouldn't be surprised if none of you have ever heard of Chowchilla because it's one of those small towns that takes about 10 minutes to drive through completely, about 30 min north of Fresno. I was SO grateful to have David with me this time since flying with Hazel on your lap at her age is quite a feat. Since my lap is nearly non-existent at this point, David did most of the work while I tried to snooze.

Here's a few quick laughs I want to remember about this flight:
~Dumping red pepper all over our pizza slices as we ran to the gate; by time we were seated, we had extrememly spicy cold pizza, a fussy daughter, and spilled water in my shoes.

~Having way too much stuff with us; jackets, stuffed animals, stroller, carseat, baby, diaper bag, blankies...and a partridge in a pear tree.

~Looking over at eachother as Hazel was screaming her head off and just laughing at ourselves, wondering why we ever agreed to fly at night with this girl.

~We had a lengthy layover in Vegas, where David showed Hazel how to work the machines...This was the point where she was so overtired that she started to get silly and then on that last flight, inconsolable. (We were actually asked to remove Hazel from the gambling area at this gate).




We spent a few days at my grandparent's new home in Chowchilla, ate great food, watched way too much TV and caught up with my beautiful sisters who are growing up way too fast!

Here's my cute grandparents with Hazel Jayne.

My sisters brought the new and improved Monopoly game where you swipe credit cards and Boardwalk cost $4 million instead of $400. What is the world coming to?

So so tired. Isn't this what Thanksgiving is all about? (well, that and the silk pajamas)

So, I've always wanted to make one of these weaved pie crusts but they looked like they were way too difficult for a "beginner" like me. I finally tried one with this blueberry pie and it was easy! I'm still so proud.

Hazel's showing her Grandpa how the walker works.

Brenna, who is ten, was Hazel's best friend the whole trip. They played forever on this exercise ball. Hazel loved it.




Isn't my sister Gianna beautiful??
I love taking pics of other people sleeping mostly because I could never do this!
Ah, the most beautiful couple in the world.

All the girls


My grandparents' backyard is bordered by this beautiful lake.
Seven months pregnant., whew! The best part about it is that David and I shared a twin bed this entire trip. At one point, David actually fell off the bed onto the floor. It still makes me laugh.

I know, I know; this is disgusting but I have no idea who took this picture (well, I could probably guess who) and I just thought it was hilarious. This is Lottie, the dog.


We took a little canoe out on the lake after Thanksgiving dinner. I think we were all a little heavier than we thought because we were pretty low in the water and any slight movement caused the whole thing to rock.


We had a wonderful time! Happy Thanksgiving!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We had a warm and cozy Christmas morning at our house with just our small little family and spent the rest of the day with David's family. We spent the weekend in Tucson with my mom's extended family for the grandparents' 50th anniversary and now we are back in Ogden Valley with David's family building snow caves, playing games, and eating delicious food. We are excited to be back in our home this weekend, preparing everything for the little one who is due to come one month from today! We love you all and hope that your holiday was full of happiness. I finally found my camera cord, so we will be posting pictures of our eventful month of December soon. We have a lot to catch up on and pictures of the new house to show you!

P.S. This pictures was taken by our friend Camille Garrison who is an amazing photographer (check her out at http://camillegarrison.blogspot.com). She and her husband Ben had a "sleepover" with us a few days before Christmas and these were taken the next morning when Hazel decided to be a HAM. We love you Camille!

The furniture is in, the toilets work, the kitchen is stocked and unpacked, the floors are swept and mopped, the walls are painted....and tomorrow we'll be in. Ah, at last.

the phipps

Trials and Blessings

I was motivated to post some new pics, but now I can't find my camera cord. I even made it down the stairs and back up again in search of that darn thing, which in my present condition shows a huge amount of ambition, ha! I am quite pregnant these days; I feel bigger with this little girl than I did with Hazel although I've gained less weight so far. David loves to point out the fact that I weigh just two pounds more NOW, seven months pregnant, then I did at the lowest point of my mission. Sick, I know. The biggest problem is that this little baby has decided to jam her feet up into my right rib and refuses to move, even for just a little bit. I also get winded more easily this time around--thus the problem with the stairs. It's good practice though since our new house has stairs.

An update on our little family...We are still staying at David's parents, hoping to move into our house the first week of December. Things always take longer than expected don't they? Our contractor is great, but he's been short a few men so things are just taking longer. We finished painting the office and Hazel's room--I can't wait to post pics of Hazel's room because we did an accent wall with rows of diamonds that turned out really cute. Pictures will come one day, I promise! They've started the new tile in the bathroom and our master is drywalled and ready for paint. I'm so anxious to get into our house!

We're leaving tomorrow night for Fresno where we'll spend Thanksgiving with my Dad, grandparents and two sisters. This weekend we'll drive up to Livermore and visit my mission and our good friends Ben and Camille and Bradley and Jackie--yeah! I'm so grateful that David will be with me on the plane this time. Hazel is quite a handful when she's cooped up on your lap for a few hours. Hopefully all will go well. I can't wait to be back in my mission and see so many people that changed my life forever.

I'm so excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year! We have so so much to be grateful for. It is true that in the midst of trials and tests come rich blessings. Just last week we had a handful of mishaps: the big deal of the year at work didn't work out like we planned, we got a flat tire and then our car broke down while I was driving in a snow storm. Our spare went flat and to top it off we lost our keys for a few days so we couldn't take it in to the shop. We had some extended family drama that caused concern, we lost our tile guy and the demo guys accidentally knocked out large chunks of the walls adjacent to the bathroom. Last but not least, my editing job dissolved due to the economic downturn and a change of direction for the company. What a week!

In the midst of all of that, I was starting to wonder what on earth we were doing wrong! But now that a few days have passed, I can already see the hand of the Lord so clearly in our lives and how everything is working out just as it is supposed to. Honestly, I'm not just saying this to sound extra righteous and I'm not just being an optimist (that's a quality I haven't mastered yet), but we are so happy. We have grown and learned so much this year and especially these past couple months as we've seen our closest friends face some of the most difficult trials and as we've faced trials of our own. I am more aware than ever of the importance of relying wholly upon the Lord and doing everything possible to be worthy of His spirit at all times. A man in our Sunday school class today said something to the effect of "The kite of happiness flies highest against the toughest winds of adversity." That is the point of this life after all, isn't it? Not to escape our trials but to use them to our best advantage.

Blessings have already come pouring in: our car miraculously works just fine; all we needed to buy was new tires. The deal at work is still going to work out and maybe even for the better--just not in the time period we expected. The bathroom is being tiled and the walls have been repaired, and I was offered another job by the same company (editing and writing) that pays more! And the greatest blessing of all: we have a healthy little girl and another on the way. Could we ask for more?

Life is beautiful. Thank you to our dear friends that have been such great examples of faith and endurance and to our family that surrounds us constantly with love and support.

We love you all,
Janelle

Hazel Jayne

We love her.

My birthday....a little bit ago

David, me, my step-dad, and little brother Bradley.

Hazel in her Hello Kitty slippers from her Grandma.

David and I on our way to Tucano's.

Six months and counting.

Backtracking a bit....October 17th was the best day! In fact, the entire week leading up to my 26th birthday was a blast. My husband knows how much I love surprises, so he decided to surprise me each night, starting the Friday night before my birthday, with a fun and unexpected date. Thanks to our many babysitters, we were able to go out just the two of us almost every night for a week! What a great husband and what a great birthday.

On my actual birthday weekend, my parents and little brother came into town to celebrate (and help us pack up our garage). On Friday, David took me out to Tucano's (delicious food and some of the best birthday singing I've ever heard) after which we watched a movie with my mom accompanied by very rich chocolate cake, yum! Saturday we packed our entire garage and had a family party with our families. Thanks to everyone for a perfect weekend!

Happy Halloween

Friday, October 24th we went to our ward's Halloween Party which was a blast! It took most people a few seconds to put together what our family was supposed to be: A little lion, a witch, and a wardrobe! Hazel even kept her "mane" on her head the entire night. It was fun to pretend that we were still part of the Sugar House Ward. We love you guys!


We bribed Hazel to wear her mane with candy corn and belief it or not, it worked!





A week later...we took Hazel to our new neighborhood in Ogden and went Trick-or-Treating. She carried her own little pumpkin basket and put every piece of candy she received inside of it. If we chatted too long with the candy giver, she would continue to pull treats from their bowl and put them into her pumpkin. We even got her to say "Trick or Treat" in her own one year old way.