Life with my sister

Jules and I have so much fun together...I love my sister! Rand and I had so much fun staying up until 12:30 Friday night playing Guitar Hero with Jules & Stephen. My sister can tear up some "More Than a Feeling" (duh, it's Boston, after all!) Stephen can tear up any of the songs because he is just awesome like that, Rand can tear up on some "Sweet Child of Mine" and I, myself rocked out to "Woman" after many failed attempts. I love that game!!!!! We cracked up at the boys because they think Cherry Pie is really about cherry pie and sing the song...oh, the downsides of that game. The twins got a trampoline for their birthday last week and it is the hot new item on Bobbies Circle. We jumped for 2 hours Saturday morning and ate donuts from the village bakery. It was wild: Stephen tried to slaughter me on it, Jules is quite the cheerleader as she can still do a toe touch, Rand taught Anna that is okay to fall down and that it is actually fun, Rand made...

This is a random blog, but isn’t that what makes blogging fun? Someone brought a huge sack of Jolly Ranchers up to work and put them in a big bowl in our lobby. Well, I frequent that bowl once before lunch and once after lunch. I hate that it draws me in, but it does. Jolly Ranchers remind me of my childhood so much, especially cherry and apple. I used to ride my purple Huffy, spoke charms and all (which my mother later sold for $10 in a garage sale), to the E-Z mart at Windsor Park and Albert Pike, to load up on Jolly Ranchers. I would save all my coins (or my sister’s coins) and put them in a DoubleTree Hotel chocolate chip cookie tin. (We used to go stay at the DoubleTree in Tulsa all the time because Daddy had a comp with them through the radio station.) I would pour all my coins out in the floor and count them to see how many Jolly Ranchers I could buy.(They were 3 cents a piece) I would then load up on my bike and study how I was going to haul the tin to the E-Z Mart while riding...

Today the D's are 6! I called them this morning to tell them happy birthday at about 6:45 and Dan told me Happy Birthday also...too cute. Then, Dave caught himself about to tell me Happy Birthday and so he said “ You having a good day?” It was hilarious to hear a 6 year old ask that!! I think they were still half asleep and had no idea what they were saying. They were opening their presents also, so their focus was not on the phone. Bless their hearts...they are so funny and super cute, if I must say so myself. Julie has had a big birthday week, with Anna's last Friday (along with her duck party), the D's today and then their pirate party this Saturday. Whew! Then to top it off, they have a revival this week. They have planned for this for a long time and have been very excited about it. Please pray for them, their church, their city, the guest pastor and musician. We will post birthday pictures soon! Abby

It is one thing to be friendly, yet another to be a friend. John 15:15 gives me goose bumps because Jesus calls us his friend. Wow...that is cool! In John 15, He commands us to be more than surface level with people and to truly get to know their hearts. He encourages us to build relationships with people, all people. Jesus served all people, even sinners. Why do we think we are above that calling? I know I am guilty of it as much as anyone. I often think, "Oh, I can't get too close to her/him because they don't know Jesus like I do and I shouldn't share my heart with them." This way of thinking is wrong on my part. Jesus hung out with the sinners, down & out and the poor. When we get past the surface, we all have the same needs and we all deserve to be treated the same, regardless. Everyone deserves the same attention despite their sins. Jesus followed this rule and we should do no less than our King. We as Christians need to get personal with all people beca...

As I think about the shooting at Virginia Tech Monday I have so many thoughts. Ever since the Jonesboro school shooting in 1998 I have thought and prayed about the protection of our boys. Not just my boys but all boys. Every school shooting has been enacted by a boy or young man. A boy that a mother loved, a boy whose mother kissed his scratched knees when he fell off of his bike. A boy whose mother smiled at her sons fascination with bugs, dirt, or sticks. I don't know what happened to these young men, except maybe they never heard the clear message that Jesus loves them. Maybe no one invited them to Sunday School or Vacation Bible School. Maybe they were overlooked by Christians. Maybe they didn't understand that Jesus died for them and their sins. That they could be free from their sin, they didn't have to feel in bondage to it. Let's remember to pray for our boys. Not only for their protection from evil events, such as school shootings but also protection from the e...

For those who know the “real” me, you know how easily excited I am. The calmness in my soul lately is truly the work of the Lord. I love experiencing him shaping and molding me through all these uncertain possibilities on my horizon. Sometimes I think Randall thinks I have grown numb to it all because he can’t fathom why I am not on edge about everything before us, as it is my nature (He is slowly being convinced). I am finally in a place in my life where I am honestly trusting God to take care of all things. Scripture is coming alive to me like never before. Last night while lying in bed, I started reading Romans 12. (As my favorite verse is Romans 12:2) I was like a black man preaching at the Temple of Deliverance, proclaiming God’s word aloud in our bed! Randall was a good sport to sit through it as I am sure he was thinking, ”Could you not do this earlier in the day. Why do you wait until bed to get inspired?” I think I am finally growing up, maturing and blossoming into the woman ...

Here are pictures from Easter Sunday....better late than never! Aren't they precious! (Daniel's pants crack us up!) Sorry about your head Sambo :) Abby's 2007 Tablescape Abby & Randall

Hey everyone! It has been a while since I have posted anything. I don't have internet at my house, so I have to rely on Stephen's computer, and he has been keeping it busy when I needed to get on it. Anyway this is what I have to share today! The other morning I was running Anna's bathwater and couldn't find the stopper. I looked in all the cups that seem to live in the bathtub, I looked in the boat that is docked in the Beavers boys bathtub-marina, I looked among all the superheros( that must have been napping because they surely were not acting like superheros and helping me find what I so desperatly needed!) I looked under the washclothes that seem to multiply in the bathtub and all to no avail! It was no where to be found. AND THEN I looked up! There it was! Sitting on the soap dispenser. Not at all where it was supposed to be, but sitting there all be itself, at my eye-level. I immediatly thought " Why didn't I look up?" And then my next thought was ...

Here our Anna's B-Day hats! She is having a duck party on Friday with 8 of her friends. She will be 3. The cake, favors and decor will all be ducks. Since I can't attend I needed to make a contribution so I made the hats. I made her a cute hat for her 1st B-Day party and she still has it in her room on her dresser. I love making these hats because they are super easy and so much fun to wear. (click the picture to enlarge it so you can see it better) Happy Duckie Day, Anna K! Abby

I love a good sale. Today I went and got Easter décor from Kroger & Dollar General on my lunch hour for next to nothing (as if I needed any more!). For those of you that don’t “really” know me….I am my Granny’s child. I love to decorate for the seasons and I go hog wild with it. I even decorate the bathrooms. It is a joke in the family that I decorate with a toilet seat cover at Christmas like Granny. Anyway, my favorite find today was ducks for Anna K’s birthday party. Jules found some on clearance at Wal-Mart yesterday and Mama already bought some last month at Garden Ridge….that child is going to have all kinds of ducks at her little b-day party. Fun times for her! I am BOGOing this weekend for some wedges and may get some Dora sandals for Anna K. as my half off pair. Oh, the sacrifices I make for those loves! You know Anna has to have cheese and crackers every time Dora comes on. Whether it is 9 am, 1 pm, or 7 pm, when she sees Dora she high tails it to the kitchen for her chee...

I have pictures of my kids on Easter in all of their cute duds, but my memory card doesn't fit Stephen's computer so ya'll are out of luck! Just imagine the cutest 3 boys and prettiest little girl you've ever seen and that will come pretty close to them! I forgot to get a bow for Anna's hair. I didn't remember until Sat night when we were sitting in Pizza Hut. We went to Walmart but they didn't have any to match her dress, and since we were in Monitcello there wasn't any other place to go. She looked very pretty anyway. But I will try to find her a bow for the next time she wears the dress. As much as she is like her Aunt Abby, she does have times when she isn't. I told her she was the prettiest one at church, and she said "no, Kinsey was". Abby told everyone that she was the cutest one there, every chance she got! I just love them both!! The boys were quite handsome in their striped shirts and ties. They loved wearing the ties. Thanks to N...

Payless is having a BOGO sale!!!!!! A girl always needs new shoes (at least we do)! Abby & Julie

I haven't bragged about my kids here yet, so let me take this opportunity to do so. My oldest is a 3rd grader and a handsome little thing. He is making all A's in school(except for a B in math that should be an A by now!) and playing hard on the baseball field as both a catcher and a pitcher. Not at the same time, as my Daddy likes to joke about!! He is learning responsibility by taking out the trash and cleaning his room and also by being a good big brother. My next child is 5, very soon to be six. He is in kindergarten and making all S's and has recently had 3 stitches removed from his forehead after he ran into a door at the house. He was quite a trooper, I'm very proud of him. He is learning to read and wants to know what every word is that he can't sound out by himself. My next child is 5, very soon to be six. Does that sound familiar? Oh the life of a twin! He is also in kindergarten and also making all S's. He loves to draw and make houses for his stuffe...

Since I was a child Easter has excited me. I think it is because I was raised to know the REAL meaning of Easter and then also encouraged to believe in the bunny who hops down the bunny trail. Oh, the smell of vinegar and the colors that Mama made appear in the "pudding glasses". The clang of the spoons in those glasses and the magical colors that would appear bring a smile to my heart. We would look forward to lunch at Mawmaw's or Granny's (or later: Aunt J's or our house) so we could hide eggs with Sa - Sa & Zach. I just hated having to eat the eggs afterwards...yuck! I still dye eggs every year even though I have no children. It wouldn't feel like Easter without that Paas box full of color and fun. I loved the bunny and still do. My bunny is of course a different bunny now that I live away from home but he still visits every year...I make him! I am thinking of a picture Mama has of Jules & Me on Easter morning. We are sitting in our new little dr...

Oh, I screamed that on a roller coaster with Sarah when I was a little girl and I feel like screaming it today. I am glad God feels it necessary to test me, but I am getting a little worn out. Job uncertainties, job possibilities , headache management, family planning, indecisive vacation planning, weight loss plateaus, car wrecks, and car purchasing. AHHHHHHH !!!! These are all things I am passionate about and they are all up in the air. I count it all Joy, yet I am a little frazzled by it all. My sister has told me often "He doesn't put more on us that we can bear" and she is so right about that. I found a few letters she has written me over the years last week in a photo box. So many of them recite that statement. For she and I have been through alot , both together and individually. Thank God for my Conan ( my pet name for Jules). My Daddy just texted me and asked me how I feel today after my wreck and I just simply replied, "exhausted". I smiled after I...

Have you seen Facing the Giants? What a movie! A church in Alabama wrote, produced, and acted in this movie. The message of the movie was really good and I watched the directors commentary for it (aren't DVD's great!) (As you can tell I didn't do much on this day!!HA!) too. The directors spoke of many miracles happening during the filming of the movie. It hit me again that God works among those that are working! If I have no expectations and don't work to get anything done, God hardly has anything to work thru. So, I need to ask the question of myself, what work does God want me to be in? Something in the church, something outside the church, a career, volunteer work? At times I can feel so useless, I want to do something, I just don't know what. I've read Proverbs 31 and thought about what it means to me and what I should do about the knowledge I have received from it. Right now, I'm going to focus on being a mother, and a wife, but most importantly a child...

We are back!!!! We came back all intact and our children were intact when we came back. Prayers answered! It was a great trip. Stephen and I shared a condo with one woman and 5 teenage boys. I was a little worried about my roommates before we went, but we all had such a good time, Stephen & I are even thinking about having a little reunion with them sometime soon. I'm so thankful to God that we had a safe trip to Colorado and back. I'm so excited about this blog. Abby and I have so much fun together and I'm glad that we can share some of that fun with you!! I promise to be a better blogger than I have been. Abby will stay on my case so that will be true!!! Julie