IF I KNEW.....

The letter from the Pastor’s Desk in our church bulletin had me in tears on the way home today….so I thought I would share.

In honor of Christopher (Mike's brother who left us all too early) on the day to remember…..hoping it not only brings you to tears as well but that God somehow inspires actions in all of us!

Dear Friends,

As I read the following “If I Knew,” by George Michael Grossman, I thought about the words of Stephen
Grellet: “I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good thing that I can do or any kindness I can show to any fellow human being let me do it now. Let me not defer it for I shall not pass this way again.” So often we procrastinate.

How often have you attended a funeral with regret that you had not said what needed to be said weeks,
months or years before – but now it is too late? Maybe you’ve regretted not tearing down the wall you had kept up for so long and usually for an inconsequential reason in the first place? How often have we been slow in justcshowing appreciation to another? Or simply telling another that you love them? My grandmother had a favorite expression: “Give me my flowers while I am living.”- say the nice things now. Perhaps the following lines are so poignant for me because of a funeral this past Tuesday for a 35 year old woman killed in a car accident. What I am certain of is that life is all too short and some of us are too stingy sharing our love and appreciation for others.

How easy to take people for granted- even within our own family. The following is food for thought for all of us.

If I Knew

by Norma Cornett Marek

If I knew it would be the last time

that I'd see you fall asleep,

I would tuck you in more tightly

and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.

If I knew it would be the last time

that I see you walk out the door,

I would give you a hug and kiss

and call you back for one more.

If I knew it would be the last time

I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,

I would video tape each action and word,

so I could play them back day after day.

If I knew it would be the last time,

I could spare an extra minute

to stop and say "I love you,"

instead of assuming you would know I do.

If I knew it would be the last time

I would be there to share your day,

Well I'm sure you'll have so many more,

so I can let just this one slip away.

For surely there's always tomorrow

to make up for an oversight,

And we always get a second chance

to make everything just right.

There will always be another day

to say "I love you,"

And certainly there's another chance

to say our "Anything I can do?"

But just in case I might be wrong,

and today is all I get,

I'd like to say how much I love you

and I hope we never forget.

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,

young or old alike,

And today may be the last chance

you get to hold your loved one tight.

So if you're waiting for tomorrow,

why not do it today?

For if tomorrow never comes,

you'll surely regret the day,

That you didn't take that extra time

for a smile, a hug, or a kiss

And you were too busy to grant someone,

what turned out to be their one last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today,

and whisper in their ear,

Tell them how much you love them

and that you'll always hold them dear

Take time to say "I'm sorry," "Thank you,"

"Please forgive me," or "It's okay."

And if tomorrow never comes,

you'll have no regrets about today!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OUR SWEET FAIRY PRINCESS!

Where did the past 5 years go?  I absolutely can't believe that my baby is turing 5 today!  I can still remember walking around the hospital at Langley AFB waiting for her to appear! 

She was soooo excited today!  She has been counting down the days to her birhtday for weeks, and last night she kept saying she wanted to go to bed early so that "this day will be over and it will be my birthday!" 

We woke her up this morning singing Happy Birthday and when she finally opened her eyes...she smiled, stretched and said "thank you!"  She got dressed almost as fast as she did the first day of school.....which says A LOT!  She doesn't like getting up in the morning. 

We let her have her cards from Nana/Papa and Grampa this morning....daddy stayed home to walk her to the bus....we will be joining her for cupcake treats (and cards from GREAT grandparents) this afternoon (I don't think she realizes that daddy took the whole day off for her!)....then take her to pick out her bike (we want to make sure she tries it out before we buy it!)....then she asked for dinner at Friendly's where we will give her the gift from Colin, Auntie Auntie, Auntie Cathy and any others that come in today!

Party is still a little while off....Oct 3rd so she wll be celebrating for a while!

Enjoy the pics of the whole day!   5th Birthday Pics!

First Soccer Game! and more tidbits from the first week of school!

Today was Colin's first soccer game!  He had sooo much fun!  They actually won 5-3 and Colin ALMOST scored a goal....the ball missed by mere inches!  He is starting to get to know the players even though none of them go to his school, and daddy is even the assistant coach!  Should be a fun season for all of us...well except Ashlynn who tends to get a little bored sitting there, but usually manages to find someone to play with eventually!

More tid bits from the first week....They both love their classes and always have little things to share....they are starting to learn friend names and are loving the bus ride! 

Colin:  got to go to music and the computer lab and they played fun games on the playground....they started math review and he is looking forward to art and the library this week!

Ashlynn: has shared many songs they do in class...they went "on a bear hunt"  which is too funny to see her act out...i'll have to try to get that on video!  And she loves music, art and computer lab!

This week is Open House in their classrooms, scout day at church and the first cub scout meeting, and our first dance class.....so I'm sure we will have lots more to share

Have you Forgotten

I hear people saying we don't need this war

But, I say there's some things worth fighting for
What about our freedom and this piece of ground
We didn't get to keep 'em by backing down
They say we don't realize the mess we're getting in
Before you start your preaching let me ask you this my friend

Have you forgotten how it felt that day?
To see your homeland under fire
And her people blown away
Have you forgotten when those towers fell?
We had neighbors still inside going thru a living hell
And you say we shouldn't worry 'bout bin Laden
Have you forgotten?

They took all the footage off my T.V.
Said it's too disturbing for you and me
It'll just breed anger that's what the experts say
If it was up to me I'd show it everyday
Some say this country's just out looking for a fight
Well, after 9/11 man I'd have to say that's right

Have you forgotten how it felt that day?
To see your homeland under fire
And her people blown away
Have you forgotten when those towers fell?

We had neighbors still inside going thru a living hell
And we vowed to get the one’s behind bin Laden
Have you forgotten?

I've been there with the soldiers
Who've gone away to war
And you can bet that they remember
Just what they're fighting for

Have you forgotten all the people killed?
Yeah, some went down like heroes in that Pennsylvania field
Have you forgotten about our Pentagon?

All the loved ones that we lost and those left to carry on
Don't you tell me not to worry about bin Laden
Have you forgotten?
 
Darryl Worley

We will never forget....

Sept 2005 1st DC Freedom Walk at the Pentagon!

Colin on Sept 11, 2001....        we were enjoying morning playtime when everything changed!

As I sit here on 9/11 I can't get over the sadness.....8 years ago today at this very moment I was in our living room in Suffolk VA  playing with a sweet little boy just 8 days shy of 11 months old.  When he says...Mommy airplane hit building!  I turned to see the replay of the 1st plane hit the World Trade Center on Good Morning America.  I sat holding Colin watching as they realize this was not an accident...a second plane crashes....the buildings are on fire...people are running and screaming....then the news of the plane in the Pentagon and the sadness turns into absolute fear.  I started going through our friends trying to figure out who might be there....and realize the Mike was supposed to be there that day.  He was fortunately in MS in class....I broke all rules and started trying to call him....they hadn't got the news yet....how sad, angry, and afraid, but how happy that my family was safe.

I spent the rest of the day with my neighbors who all seemed to gather at my house....holding tight to our babies that would now live in this world where people are so evil!

Now watching the group of now 12 year old kids who were 4 year old preschool students the day the terror hit.....they ran holding hands with the teachers away from the burning inferno....the world our children now live in....when did this all go wrong?????  Almost wish I had let the kiddos stay home from school today just so I could sit and hold them all day!

Today and always....remember those who lost their lives this day and those who risk and even loose their lives making sure our kids never have to go through this again!

I love my military family...God Bless You and Keep You ALL Safe!

First Day on the bus!

Another tough day for mom....I put my babies on a big yellow bus in the hands of a stranger on VERY crowded streets!  I had a worry day again, but volunteered at Ashlynn's lunch again and she told me the bus was FUN and they had no problems!  Her teacher then put me in tears.....she said Colin walked her down to the class, walked her in, gave her a big hug and said "have a good day Princess, see you this afternoons!"  HOW SWEET!  Made me so proud....of course I told Mrs. Verwers not to let them fool her...tomorrow he will be kicking her off the bus :)

They made it back home full of fun stories of school and new friends!  Maybe mommy can finally have a productive, quiet, worry free day tomorrow.....ok probably not totally worry free I think I'm stuck with that for a lifetime of parenting!

Where has time gone?????

Today has been a tough day for Mommy and Daddy....our babies were off to school!  Kindergarten and 3rd grade.....just how did THAT happen?  The kids were SOOOO excited they were up, dressed and we made it to the school parking lot 20 minutes early with two bouncy kids.  They did GREAT getting settled.....I think they were trying to figure out why we were making such a big deal of everything!

Mommy dropped daddy off at the metro and headed home to update all of you on the last few weeks, now I'm heading to clean the house before I have to volunteer with Ashlynn's class at luch (yeah the teacher thinks I'm being so helpful....what she just doesn't get yet is that I can't let go of my baby that easy!)  I'll update more tonight or tomorrow to let you know how the first day went and maybe add some pics of the house (now that it is all put together!) and soccer practice!

More 1st Day of School Pics

Nana and Papa Visit!

Yes just shortly after Bethany left, Nana and Papa headed into town!  They were brining the hutch for mommy!  Mike helped his dad build part of this hutch when he was little and I have always loved the piece.  It looks GREAT in my living/dining room!  Thanks Papa for all of the hard work!

While they were here they played LOTS of games with the kiddos, we took them into DC to see the Kennedy family grave site in Arlington (to include the new one of Ted Kennedy...Mike says I killed him because when we took Bethany here I simply said to Mike..."When Ted dies will they bury him here as well" I figured you know he has an inoperable brain tumor....it is only the inevitable.....well he died at midnight THAT night....OOOPS!), to the Air Force Memorial (our first look at it), and the Pentagon memorial (we took Beth on a full tour of the Pentagon to include the inside of the memorial and the chapel, but you can't take pictures inside the Pentagon AT ALL...so you will just have to take our word for it!)

Pics with Nana and Papa

Bethany comes home and we start exploring!

We officially had our first guest (well she is not really a guest since she is part of the family, but you get the point!).  Bethany, our 20 year old, came to visit for the last 2 weeks in August and we tried to stay very busy!  We toured lots of DC and some of the surrounding towns as well!  We went to Baltimore the day before her flight to tour the National Aquarium and the Inner Harbor....we even looked for Fired Stations for Tyler (we call him "the boyfried"!)

The kids were SOOO excited to have her (mom and dad were too) and now she is getting ready to start another year of College.....when did she become a Junior???????

Bethany Visit and First VA/DC Pics
Baltimore Trip and Goodbye Beth :(

Summer is almost over

Well this has been one of the craziest summers on record for the Phillips Family!  We started out the end of the 2008-2009 school year in Germany, after the kids finished school and all of our stuff was packed up, we took them to Paris (and of course Euro Disney), we said goodbye to our Dragon Squadron and Family, took  a long vacation to Vipetino, Pisa, Florence and Venice Italy. 
Then we flew home to the good ole USA where Nana and Papa met us with a big USO welcome, saw our new house, registered the kids for school, had a great visit with the Pfingsten family, and then we were on the road again!
We drove 2 days through some beautiful American scenery (the Shenendoah Mts are Awesome) all the way to Mississippi where we spent 4 days visiting Kerry's Family!  We met the newest (well until the 3rd is born )Johnson Ellie Kate, played lots with Emma Grace and even had time to visit the Silly Mamaw, Mamaw and Papaw Oglesby, The Scarbrough cousins, The Smith Family, Part of the Reedy Family and even ran into some friends from LONG ago at my old family church! 
Then we were on the road again....2 days up to Langley AFB VA to see our adorable godson Nicholas and his parents Aunite Amalia and Uncle Brian, and even popped in to see the Spanos!  It was great to visit friends and see the base where Colin was born, but we were really ready to get our house and our stuff....2 months of moving is just too much!
So on to DC we go!  We were in a hotel there for almost a week while daddy started in processing to his job and we waited for our house to be ready and our shippment to get off a boat and onto a truck!
Finally on July 23rd we got the keys to our house (met our landlords who are GREAT...another military family) and the next day we got a HUGE delivery with most of our "stuff"! 
We have now had time to unpack and find room for most everything and are ready to start exploring the area!
COME VISIT AND EXPLORE WITH US :)

Move in Progress Pics
Final Days in Germany Pics
Catching up with Mommy's HS and College Best Friend!
MS Trip

Slideshow of our trip to MS

Hello!

Just thought I would try out a new way to keep everyone updated on the lates Phillips Family Adventures!  We are constantly in motion around here!