Brandywine Farms

After Franny's untimely death Bryan decided he wanted more goats. The two we have are not effectively mowing the 3 fenced acres. It's making us look like bad neighbors. So...we got three new baby goats. Bry and Caden went weeks ago with Bryan's dad to pick them out when they were just weeks old. Monday we were finally able to pick them up. Ours are actually temporarily squatting at the other Phipps residence while we build them a safe home so they don't suffer the same fate as Franny. Gasp. We got the goats from a breeder at Brandywine Farms. The kids were loving it there. Especially Parker who found a way to cause mischief every 5 seconds and inevitably ended up in his car seat strapped in safe and sound. Some days I still cannot believe that I live in the country. If you had gone back in time and told highschool ashley that this would be her life I think she would have laughed in your face. Or maybe she would have cried. Okay, probably cried, and then taken three showers. But, honestly, I love this life! I love that my kids get to experience all these neat adventures. I love that living here has made me a better person in a lot of ways, but yet not changed me so much that the younger Ashley isn't still very recognizable. :)

This guy was my favorite. We are still working on names, so I'll keep you posted. I'm sure you'll all be losing sleep from the anticipation.
Caden had a hard time grasping how to be soft. He would grab a big tuft of hair on the goats back and try to lift him up. And the kid doesn't miss a thing. Really! He saw one of the larger goats kick one the babies. What does he do? Gives it a swift jump kick right back. Logical consequence I guess. I would love to know what my mother-in-law is thinking right here! "My grandkids are nuts. Why did I buy so many goats {9}? Why is Ashley letting that goat go to the bathroom on her foot?" Yes, that really happened. And yes, I bleached my foot.Little Parky was loving being in the goat's house and Evan was more than happy to help him stay there. I adore that devious little smile. :) And I fear the mass destruction that will come from 4 boys in a row on this side of the family. {Tami is pregnant with the 4th...not me! :) }We ended the night we a nice game of King of the Hill. And really, really long baths. Here is to another adventure on the property.

One of my friends posted a link to this blog on her facebook. For some reason I couldn't help but check it out. Moments later Bryan looks over at me and I'm bawling, almost to the point I can't breath. He laughed at me and asked why I was reading someone's blog, that I didn't even know, and allowing myself to feel so much saddness.

The truth is that I kept reading it because although it was painfully sad, it was filled with a spirit that was the exact reminder I needed of how precious this life is, of how each moment really is a gift. It also put things back into the eternal perspective, which sadly sometimes I lose sight of. I woke up this morning with a renewed sense of what is truly important. I am blessed beyond measure to be a wife, mother, and member of an eternal family. Challenges will come, {I can't help but hope they wont be as difficult as this families} but all that really matters is that we are an eternal family. We have forever.

This reminder couldn't have come at a better time...today I got the privelege of climbing into the Carl's Jr. playplace to rescue Parker. :)

"If my ears start bleeding..."

You know those guys, the ones who are super tough? They can work a full day, landscape the entire yard, drive a tractor while lifting 200 pounds with a single finger, and then come in a make a 5 star dinner. They never complain about anything, BUT then they get sick, and they turn into the BIGGEST BABY in the United States of America?!? Yeah, well, I married one of them.

The last few days Bryan has been sooooooooooo sick {mind you, I have been dealing with the same cold for 3 weeks, and both boys have had it equally as long}. I swear not 20 seconds has gone by without me hearing a grunt or moan. He purposely breaths at an nonhuman volume, much like Darth Vader. Bryan walks around the house hunched over, repeating how he's surely going to die, or his head is going to explode, or his ears are going to bleed... I sure wish something would happen already to put us all out of our misery. I haven't slept in 2 nights because apparently his "restless leg syndrome" also acts up when he's on his death bed. I get kicked 20 to 30 times a night followed by prolonged bouts of completely unnecessary hacking and sniffling which is then accompanied by more moans and groans. All I can say is bless the gene pool for giving me Caden who does not act at all like his father. Parker on the other hand suffers from an intense case of Bryan-itis. Like Parker, I'm sure Bryan would have been begging, "up, up," all day long if that were physically possible.

This is all said with the greatest amount of love any wife could have for her husband in his deepest time of need. Once the cold finally does him in, like he's sure it will, I'll make sure to only say the nice things I started out with at the beginning of this post when I deliver his eulogy.

Mother's Day.

Take One:Take Two:
Take Three:
Things might not always be picture perfect but I love these sweet little boys with all my heart and count myself among the luckiest people in the world to be their mother.
I'm sitting on my present; lets just say Bry scored MAJOR points with this gift. If you come knocking at my door and I don't answer you'll know why...

Hope all my beautiful friends had wonderful Mother's Days. You are all an inspiration to me! Xoxo.

I had a nice long conversation with my mommy on Mother's Day, and then had to text her again that night to tell her how much I love her. I got an "o" response. Followed twenty minutes later by an "o k". Let's just say my dad took a sorry shot at texting, that same response would have only taken my mom five minutes. :)

Major Massacre

Caden and I put on our farming boots & went out to collect our eggs for the day.

When we opened the gate I noticed some feathers, never a good sign.

Caden skipped up to the coop, stopped in his tracks, & examined the scene.

Feathers, tons and tons of feathers, in every direction.

It left me with a very vivid, unwanted picture. Poor Ferdinand.

"Where are all my chickens mom?!?"

I wanted to lie.

The animal kingdom is a cruel, cruel place.

So I told him another, bigger animal must have stolen them.

He kept searching for his chickens, got bored, & decided it was time to watch Mickey Mouse.

Thank goodness.

I'm mad; I had just barely started to appreciate cooking with fresh eggs everyday.

That aside, we put a lot of time and effort into those darn chickens.

With a sad heart I cleaned the last of our eggs, & plotted my revenge on the animal that stole our chickens.

Latest Project.

The mirror. Steal of a deal. With a coat of paint, some sanding, and some more brush strokes it's exactly what I wanted.

Bryan's on-call tonight for his dad's business. I always get lots of questions about it since it's such a, shall we say, unique business. I just try not to think about what he's actually doing and focus more on how grateful we are for the extra income. :) So, I'm home alone and since I already cleaned the entire house I figured it was time to sit down for some good old catharsis.

Mitt Romney announced his presidential candidacy. As I was reading about it, I landed on a page listing the pros and cons of each candidate. On Mitt's cons list it stated something along the lines of other Christian faiths not accepting him because he's Mormon.

This boggles my mind. It makes me mad. mad. mad. Not because I automatically support him because we share the same faith but because some people still choose to cast him in a false light because of his faith. This motivates me to be better--to be more like my Savior.

I hope there is a day that the majority of people will understand that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are Christian. Our lives and our decisions are always influenced by our belief in the Savior Jesus Christ. I hope that people of any faith will see us for the good we are trying to spread instead of the awful, untrue rumors that so often circulate about our religion. {Why can't we foucs on the fact that our church's humanitarian services provided more than $1.01 billion to assist the needy from 165 countries or that there are over 50,000 missionaries, many 19 year old boys, from our church that give 2 years of their lives to go serve others and bring people to Christ?}

In highschool one of my closest friends brought me a flyer his church had sent out, inviting me to come hear why I was going to Hell. Yup, lovely. He said he was joking, but deep down I always hoped he wasn't one of those people in that congregation that believed those malicious words. Ten years later, I hope that my friends of faiths besides mine are not numbered among the people that wont vote for Mitt Romney simply because he is LDS. I know better than anyone that I am no where near perfect, but I hope that I have been a good enough example and open enough about my faith that my friends will trust in me over the cruel falsehoods that will undoubtedly be said during this election. Now, if you just don't like the guy because of his politics, I will not be hurt.

On to less heavy subjects. Why is it that the Biggest Loser is so addicting? I made it 9 seasons without being sucked in. I couldn't understand how it could be all that exciting to watch people lose weight for an entire season. Well, guess what...it is! One night, probably much like this one, I was bored and started watching. I haven't missed an episode since. And why is it that I bawl through every episode? Like a big, big baby.

Tonight Caden gave me a recap of his day. "I went into the woods. It was scar-rey! And then I saw an alligator. Good night mommy." What I wouldn't give to be little again...