Life with my sister

Bein' alone at night makes me sad, girl Yeah, it brings me down all right Tossin' and turnin' and freezin' and burnin' And cryin' all through the night Whoa-oh Julie, Julie, Julie, do ya love me? Julie, Julie, Julie, do ya care? Julie, Julie, are ya thinkin' of me? Julie, Julie, will ya still be there? We had so much fun together I was sure that you were mine But leavin' you, baby, is drivin' me crazy It's got me wonderin' all the time Whoa-oh Julie, Julie, Julie, do ya love me? Ah, Julie, Julie, Julie, do ya care? Julie, Julie, are ya thinkin' of me? Julie, Julie, will ya still be there? Honey, you cried the day I left you Even though we knew I couldn't stay But baby, remember, I'll be back September But till then I'll write you every day Whoa-oh Julie, Julie, Julie, do ya love me? Ah, Julie, Julie, Julie, do ya care? Come on, Julie, Julie, are ya thinkin' of me? Julie, Julie, will ya still be there? Oh-oh Julie, Julie, J...

We had a great weekend on the river with Rand's uncle Rick & Aunt Diana. Rand's cousin Micah and his fiancé Tabby joined us. We all went out to eat Friday night then we all got strawberry shortcakes from the Bulldog. As we like to say, "That's on time!"(That means it is really good) We can always count on much laughter when we spend time together. Rick, Micah and Rand feed off each other and they define, "monkey see, monkey do". I love it! Rick got me to shoot a gun for the first time, ever! Too bad the camera wasn't around to capture that moment. He let me pick the gun I wanted to shoot but he didn't have one to match my outfit, so I picked the lightest one he had in his safe. No fear of me becoming a gun girl...it made me scream too loud. We played in the White River all day Saturday and had a fun time. Saturday night we all went to the Mosquitofest street dance but quickly found ourselves heading home without any dancing. We had a fun time...

Can you believe I have not talked to my sister since last Wednesday! Life is so crazy right now, but fun. I believe she is at camp this week. Poor girl. She was hoping to maybe “opt out”. I don’t think it worked out for her so well. Oh well, she will survive. We have exchanged short emails this week, but nothing replaces those daily phone calls with my big sis. This is my last day at the CWS. I may break out in the Hallelujah chorus at quitting time. Seriously. I told Rand I might even squeal my tires when I leave. That wouldn’t be to Christian though, would it? God has truly been right on time with this career transition. I start my new job on Monday and am super excited about it. I get a few days off to catch my breath before I dive into this new adventure. Rand and I are going to the river this weekend with Rick & Diana and Micah &Tabby. (This is Rand’s aunt, uncle, cousin and his fiancé, in case you are like “Who?”) I am looking forward to the getaway on Micah’s ski boat an...

What a fun weekend! Mama came to see Rand & Me last Thursday afternoon and stayed until Sunday morning. We got to visit and do all sorts of fun stuff. I was wanting to attend a crop at my local scrapbook store but dreaded going alone the first time. Well of course, Mama came to escort me to the crop! It was so nice to crop with each other for 7 hours Friday night. She is super talented with her scrapbooking and teaches me so much. I often just give her my page and say "Here!" Nothing like a Mama, huh?! We had fun laughing at our inside jokes and observing the other ladies. We did miss Jules though. She is our fellow scrapper. Actually, we may have gotten kicked out for being so loud if she had been with us. Scrapping at Genia's with my girls is still my favorite place to scrap. Anyway, I love having a hobby that my mother and sister love as much as me. We also shopped on Friday and Saturday. We even began the 2007 Christmas shopping sea...

The other day I was chatting with Melissa on my cellphone while she was driving her van in the Fort and I was driving my sedan in the dirty south. I was ranting about my day and complaining a small bit. She was of course being her compassionate self and reassuring me with her kind words (This is why she is my BFF). Her three year old son, Drew, yells from the back of the van “Tell Abby I will pray for her, Mama!” Be careful little ears what you hear and be careful little mouths what you say, huh?! As funny as it was, it made me think about prayer and how fortunate I am to have a family and a close group of friends who really pray for me. They don’t just say they are going to pray for me, they really do it! It makes me feel blessed and it humbles me. God has been generous enough to give me a new job and I count it all joy because it was bathed in prayer for weeks and months by these faithful prayer partners. Wow, what a testimony to what prayer can do! I am like most people I think an...

Sugar Cookie Chefs Anna, Daniel, David & Claire What a fun weekend our little family has had!! Samuel's All-star team played in the state tourney in Marion on Friday (a 3hr drive). We got to spend time with Dad and Connie. We don't see each other very often, so it was good to see them. Daniel, David, and Anna got to spend Friday night with Aunt Abby and Uncle Randall. Abby is a wonderful aunt, I hope when she has children that I am a good aunt like she is to my children. She had my 3 youngest, and Claire, our cousin Hollye's daughter, who is 6 like the boys, (We count Claire a niece more than a cousin). Can you imagine her house? They ate pizza, made cookies, played Bingo, ate popcorn, had a nature hunt, and who knows what else!!! I am really proud of Randall too. Having 4 kids over for a slumber party was brave and I'm sure quite loud and rowdy! Quite different than what it is normally like at their house. The kids had such a good time, they are ready to go bac...

I've been seeing a commercial for Progressive Insurance on TV for a week or two. The insurance guy comes to the woman's house, she opens the door and inside the house, the kids are yelling and hitting each other with what looks like light sabers. The mom tells the insurance guy how thankful she is that he has made the house call because getting out of the house with 4 kids is difficult. The 1st few times I saw this commercial I didn't think it was that big of a deal, but today I realized that not everyone's house is rowdy and loud. Don't get me wrong, there are many times when my house is full of 4 children and it is a quiet and peaceful place ( and no everyone is not asleep!) Daniel loves to draw, David like to watch TV and just veg-out, Samuel likes to play on the computer and Anna goes from one thing to another. However these quiet times never seem to happen when the phone rings. Somehow the phones' ring is much like the end-of-day school bell- the kids ...

Congrats to my sister!!! She finally has been acknowledged for the talent and ability that we have known for years that she posessess. God has answered our prayers and allowed her to accept a new job at a "fine"(inside joke) Christian school in Memphis. I am so happy for her and can't wait to see what this new chapter in her life will bring! Abby is an enthusiastic, compassionate, loving, kind, funny, beautiful young lady that is a joy to know and it is an honor to be her sister. You go girl! I'm so proud of you!!!!! Love ya - yfosj!!!

I was reading one of my favorite blogs and she was writing about a few of her favorite things. So I decided to share with you some of our favorite things! This is a list compiled by me and the children about what we like most about home. Dora- Anna The feeling of home- Samuel The food- Samuel & David The neighbors- David Everything (even the backyard)!- Daniel Sitting on the couch with mom- Samuel, David, Daniel Cool air- Julie Having company over- Samuel Isn't the list funny? I don't know what I was expecting, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't Dora! I don't know what the "feeling of home" is, but doesn't it sound warm, cozy, homey, and comfy? I think that was the answer I was looking for. That one and food!! ( If you only knew how they complain about some of the things I make them eat.) Home is where the heart is and I'm glad my guys hearts are at my home! It isn't easy making home a fun place to be. I feel like I yell at them all the time, bu...