A Very Phillips/Riddle Thanksgiving

The kids table
(James, Nolan, Levi, and  cousin Josh)

This was a very special thanksgiving for me, and I was unaware how much it was going to mean to me until it had past.  For the past few months I have been working on the house in which I grew up.  My parents brought me home from the hospital in this house.  The trees I climbed as a kid are still here (Way to big for me to climb, but they are still here).  There is a piece of concrete at the entrance of the house with the hand prints of my sister and I in it with the year 1981 written with a twig (I was 8 years old).  This house has all of my childhood memories locked in it, and it is especially meaningful that the work on the house was complete enough to have thanksgiving dinner here.

A very juicy grilled turkey

I can't figure out all the words to express what the dinner meant to me.  It was the first time my parents and my in-laws sat for a meal together since the reception at my wedding.  It was the first time since I moved back to North Myrtle Beach that my Father has visited the house for a social reason rather than working on the stucco, crawling under the house to fix the plumbing, or trying to figure out some electrical issues.  It was also the first thanksgiving where I was the one who welcomed everyone to the table, thanked everyone for coming, and prayed for the food.

And then the food...

Everything was awesome.  Mom's sweet potatoes, Heather's Peanut-butter pie, and there is something nostalgic (and very tasty) about my Fathers dressing. But...my father-in-law cooked a turkey on my grill for 5 hours, and it was unbelievable.  My one mess up was that I forgot to put the cranberry sauce on the table, but now I have two cans of cranberry sauce to eat with the leftovers! Yummy!

Nolan sleeping on the roof

We recently were given a plastic playhouse for the boys and they have been loving it.  Nolan (age 5) enjoys the roof.  While James and Levi are running around and shooting each other through the windows of their "fort," Nolan spends his time climbing on top of the roof then climbing or jumping down. While James and Levi were running all over the place Heather went to speak to Nolan as he was laying on the roof,... again.

"Hey Spiderman!"

Nolan looked at Heather and said, "I think the roof of this house is my favorite place in the world.  You know Mom, Spiderman used to sit on roofs all the time.  He liked climbing buildings too.  I'm just like Spiderman because I like climbing and sitting on roofs, and I can stick to the roof and I can stick to anything."

Not a picture of my kids

James Skating

Another old blog I never posted

Dad:     James, why do we fall?
James:   (Through his tears) why?
Dad:     So that you can get back up.

A special thanks to the movie the "Batman begins" for the parenting tips.

Levi learns the facts of life

My wife is pregnant...That's right...and yes again!  Now be quiet and read the cute story about Levi.

My wife is pregnant, and she and my youngest son  Levi (3 years old) have been arguing about the baby.  Anytime we talk about the baby Levi simply says, “we are not having a baby”.  Finally Levi has conceded the fact that Heather was pregnant.

Levi:  So we are having a baby soon.

Heather:  No, not soon it will be a long time from now.

Levi:  Will we get the baby from the store?

Heather:  No! Mommy is making the baby, and it is in her stomach.

Levi:  (With a puzzled look) YOU ATE THE BABY!  That’s not very nice.

Most kids who are around their pregnant Mom have a moment like this, but my favorite part of this story is the matter-of-fact way Levi said..."That's not very nice".

The Top Ten Things I Treasure From the Dolin Wedding

I wrote this on paper a few months ago.  Not sure why I did not post it earlier, but here it is.

I was asked by Troy Dolin and Jenny Roberts (currently Jenny Dolin) to be the officiant at their wedding.  I was blessed to be apart of this.

The Top Ten Things I Treasure From the Dolin Wedding
10.  The groom and groomsmen were upfront alone for 10 minutes when Donald Stephens called out, "Troy, I don't think she is coming".
9.   I called Troy "Roy" during the vows.
8.   When Jenny, Troy, and I signed the marriage license.  From a legal standpoint that is when they were married.
7.   Some of her close friends catcalled the maid of honor, Katie Kavanaugh, as she came down the aisle.  As she past me I heard her say, "What a bunch of jerks".
6.   At the reception Katie and Troy were called forward for the first dance.  (Sorry Jenny)
5.   During the Maid of Honor's speech while Katie talked about what a great friend and accountability partner Jenny was, Jenny was talking to someone else.
4.   During the vows I told Troy to take Jenny's right hand with his right hand.  If you would have seen the level of confusion with the process, you would have thought I asked him to disarm a nuclear weapon.
3.   I got to talk about sex during the sermon.
2.   Jenny was beautiful in her dress.
1.   As the officiant I got to say "Dearly Beloved", "I pronounce you man and wife", "You may kiss the bride", and I was the last person on earth to correctly call Jenny, "Jennifer Rae Roberts".

Thanks again Troy and Jenny.  It was a huge blessing.

James starts playing football

This year my oldest son (7 year old James) began playing Rec. football.  It has been pure joy to watch him play this game over the past few weeks. Before I get to far into the things that I found so meaningful during this pee-wee football season, you must know that James is smaller than all of the guys on his team; he doesn’t understand the concept of the game; he is the least athletic kid on the team; and he is very hyperactive. 

When the season was beginning some of the parents were stressed out that it might be a bit dangerous for 7 and 8 year olds to play tackle football, so the decision was made to make this age flag football.  I was ok with the idea as I thought it would give James a year to learn the game without having to deal with tackling or the even bigger issue of having to take a hit which I was not sure James was ready for.  The reality of 7 year old flag football is that now you have 10 kids who have no idea what the are doing running around, knocking each other over, and tackling each other…all without the benefit of football pads. 

The first game James’ grandfather, my dad, showed up to watch him play.  It was great to watch Dad give coaching tips to James during the game.  There was one moment during the game when James was chasing the guy with the ball.  My Dad got all excited and screamed, “Get em’ Joey”.  He looked at me, and I was smiling.  For a second he went back in time and was cheering for me playing football.

Not being the biggest or fastest it is rare that James is able to really get noticed during the game, so James has found a new way to get attention.  If James is ever knocked down during the game he lays on the ground way longer than he has to.  During the last game a kid hit him pretty hard and James crashed to the ground and then lay on the grass like he was in a coma.  A few of his teammates tried to pull his lifeless body up but to no avail.  Finally, after nearly 10 full seconds, James slowly pulled him self up to his feet and “fake” limped to the sideline.  This is not a one-time occurrence.  James does this once or twice every game.

I mentioned in the last paragraph that a kid hit James pretty hard.  James was hit after the play was over, and if I were the kid I would have hit James too.  James would always try to catch the guy with the ball, but he would rarely come close.  For nearly 5 plays in a row James would run after the guy, not catch him, the whistle would blow ending the play, and then James would run up to the player holding the ball, snatch his flag, and then run off with the flag cheering.  I guess the kid had enough of James’ shenanigans.

James is getting better, and learning the game.  He runs as hard and fast as he can, and he does not quit.  During the most recent game James even got a legitimate sack.  Near the end of the game James’ team was winning 34-12, and they were on the 1-yard line getting ready to score again.  The coach looked at me and said, “Mr. Phillips, watch this we are gonna' get James a touchdown.  James was lined up as the running back.  The center hiked the ball.  The quarterback handed the ball off to James.  James promptly took the ball and threw it in the air hitting a lineman in the back.  They got back in the huddle and explained to James, “We are going to hand you the ball.  Don’t throw it.  Just run hard and fast up the middle”.  James agreed, and the team headed back to the line.  The center hiked the ball.  The quarterback took the ball and handed it off to James.  James took the ball and quickly threw it in the air hitting another linemen in the back.  The coach yelled to James, “What are you doing?”  James responded, “Coach, he was open”.  Later on James confessed to me that he only threw the ball because…and I quote… “That was my only chance to be quarterback”.

All in all football has been a great experience, and I am very proud at how hard James has played, how much he has learned, and how much he has improved.