Life with my sister

I remember the panic that would overtake my little person when I heard the ice cream van in our neighborhood. It was a race against the sound of the creepy ice cream music to get the dime from Mama and bolt out to the street before the little people passed by our house. Our ice cream van drivers where little people. Until I moved to Memphis and saw an ice cream van, I just assumed they were all little people...I am so naive and such a dork, I know. Anyway, an orange push pop was always my Popsicle of choice from the ice cream van. I found some at Walmart this week and brought them home. It brings back such fun memories and Henry loves to take a few licks. I am finally at that place in life where sharing a Popsicle is actually a joy! It is time for corn on the cob and that makes me so happy. I love finding the happy old man on the side of the highway with the 10 for 1 buck deal, bringing them home, shucking them and putting them in the freezer for later. Grilling them is my favorit...

Today I took the kids to the dentist. This was their 6 month check-up and cleaning and I try to knock this one out in one day. There are both advantages and disadvantages to doing it this way. The advantage is that we have the waiting room to ourselves. We take up the bulk of the hygienist & dentist's time for about three hours. The disadvantage is it takes up to three hours! We came home with 2 cavities among the four children. Unfortunately the 2 cavities were in one child. I'm going to hate to have to brush teeth that aren't mine, but its either that or this child is going to have to start paying for their own cavities!! Now that I think about it, I have taken all of my kids to the doctor/dentist most every time for the last 10 years. Hardly ever do I just take one child to a visit. I think it might be boring. I could be wrong, but I don't think I'll ever know! I'm now trying to find activities for us to do this summer. Cheap ones of course. And activi...

***The devastation and loss in Joplin upsets me greatly. The outpouring of support from the people of Arkansas is heartwarming but the support of those just affected by tornadoes in Alabama just blows me away. (Bad use of words.) ***Our cousin Hollye's husband Matthew was in a car accident this morning. He is very sore and will be for days but thankfully came away from flipping his car, and sliding down the expressway with just soreness. We are so very thankful to God that no one else was hurt and that Matthew was able to walk away from the accident. We love him so much, he is one of us. Poor guy! ***Stephen preached on the return of Jesus Sunday. I am so excited about seeing Jesus's face. Can you imagine? Getting to see Him face to face? It's more than I can fathom really. ***We drive by the pool everyday to see the progress that is being made for our summer of swimming! Yesterday they were power-washing it. Painting is next and then it gets filled with water. My excitemen...

"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord, for his whole life will be given over to the Lord. And he worshiped the Lord there." (I Samuel 1:26-28) Sunday we were blessed to dedicate Henry to the Lord. Henry did really well and enjoyed seeing a picture of himself on the big screen. He kept pointing at it, when his fingers weren't in his mouth, of course. Our pastor shared the spiritual meaning of Henry's name and it fits him perfectly, "Ruler of the house"! It was such a sweet time for our little family. As a Baptist, we dedicate our children to the Lord. It is not baptism or christening. It is a voluntary act in which parents who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ present their child and themselves to the Lord as an outward expression of their gratitude to Him for the child. It is a formal appeal to God, asking for his assistance in rearing the child. It does not impart salvation ...

I think I have shared this recipe for crescent apple dumplings before, but because I have made them for the hubs this week, I thought I would share again. This is sin in a 9 x13, ladies and gents! They are so easy to make and they have no enemies, so you can't help but make them from time to time. These may be at the top of Randall's list of fave eats. 2 medium Granny Smith apples 2 cans crescent rolls 2 sticks butter 1 1/2 c. sugar 1 tsp. vanilla cinnamon (for sprinkling) 12 oz. (1 can) Mountain Dew or Sprite. Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9×13 pan with non-stick cooking spray. Cut apples into 8ths. Open a can of crescent roll dough and carefully separate the dough along the perforations. Place 1/8 of an apple on one segment of dough and then roll/wrap the apple in the dough. Place in the prepared pan and repeat with remaining apples and dough. Set aside. In a medium saucepan, melt butter and add sugar and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour butter/sugar mixture over the apples, th...

Well, its the end of the school year and busyness has hit!! We have been running all over the place the last few weeks and will be for the next couple of weeks. I must brag on my kids. Now, I know they are 13, 10 & 7 so they should be well-behaved but I have put my children in situations lately that have required them to sit quietly with nothing at all to do and they have made me such a proud Mom! I forget that I have really great kids. I also forget to tell them that they're great. This will serve as a reminder to go and tell them. Tell yours too! I've been helping decorate for a wedding & reception this weekend. Those of you that know me and those that have been to my house are laughing loudly right now and feeling so sorry for the bride. It turns out with someone else on my team I'm not so bad! We've had late nights this week with a couple more to go but the reception is going to look beautiful and the ceremony is, well, it will be just right! Last night betw...

Henry has been saying "me-mow" for weeks now and we have had no idea what he is saying. He is so cute when he says it and we just make up ideas for what it means. Well, this morning I figured it out. He is saying "Elmo"! He must watch it as school from time to time because we rarely watch it here. I turned it on this morning and he went crazy. It made me laugh and so proud to figure out what "me-mow" means. I guess we will have to watch Elmo more, much to our dislike. Barney and Elmo drive us nuts! Abby

We had a fun-filled weekend at home. It was much needed for our little daddy. I was so shocked that his phone did not ring concerning corn or beans at all on Saturday. I know Henry loved it. He needed a few days of rest, that is for sure. He works so hard to provide for us and does it very well. Saturday was the National Letter Carriers Food Drive. I serve on the development committee at The Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas and took great delight in helping with this event. Our committee members have servant hearts and it is such a joy to serve the community along side them. We brought in over 20,000 pounds of food on Saturday. One day of people giving at their mailboxes...amazing! We have great leaders at our food bank who help share the mission and need in our community. I am so glad to have this resource right down the road from my house. I may not ever need it, but it is there if I am ever in need. What a fun and heartwarming way to spend a Saturday afternoon! The oldest expirati...

I love an oyster. I wish this tray of goodness was in front of me instead of this keyboard! Last weekend Randall intended to take me to eat them, but we ended up in the play area of McDonald's eating chicken. The things we do to please our children and get the wiggles out after a long car ride. It was a memory, that is for sure! Randall WILL be taking me back over the flooded Mighty Mississippi to eat them again really soon... and Henry will be visiting his Grandaddy or his favorite M'Town cousins while Mama gets her eat on! King Ranch Chicken is so yummy. Mama made this alot when we were growing up and it was always a favorite in our family. I made this for our neighbors this week. It was tough taking it out of the house all warm and ready without eating any of it! For those of you who don't have a recipe for this yummy dish, here it is: 1 cooked chicken - deboned and diced 1 can Rotel 1 can cream of mushroom soup 1 can gumbo soup tortilla chips shredded cheese Mix soups...

These two give me purpose and I am so thankful for that! Henry and his Daddy wear me out, but make me laugh most of the time. They are two peas in a pod, that is for sure. Henry loves going on truck rides with his Daddy to his plots. This one was ready to plant, so Daddy's crew is actually there right now planting beans and corn. The great flood of 2011 had been so sad and stressful for those around us. The flood may be sad, but this picture of 3 generations of Rives boys makes me smile. Randall's Grandad's house butts up to the White River and it is now in his backyard. They were checking it out. His house is not in danger, in case you are wondering. No worries...it is just a sight to see! Thankfully it is going down now. I love looking out my kitchen window and seeing this. Randall tried to dig this flower bed up last year because he wanted a deck, but I saved it from ruin and I am so glad! He sort of likes it now too, but he won't admit it. I planted bulbs a few w...

Henry and I had a mother/son date night on Friday night in honor of Mother's Day. His Daddy took our picture on the back patio before we left the house. Randall gave him all kinds of pointers as he put him in the car and waved us down the driveway. It was cute. We went to Chick fil A because they were having a mother/son date night. They had red carpet rolled out for us, they seated us and took our order at a nicely decorated table. They had live music, flowers and balloons for us. They had little handouts on the tables to teach boys manners and printed menus so you could order from the table. I loved it! Henry loved it because he got his chicken and ketchup...he is such a simple date. It was the first date I have ever had where I had to feed my date, clean his snotty nose and change his diaper. I enjoyed it a lot though! They had a convertible you could take a ride in. I had no intentions of partaking in this activity and if you know me well, you must know how it took biting al...

The 19th annual Stamp Out Hunger National Food Drive will be held again on the second Saturday in May—this year, on May 14—local letter carriers in 10,000 cities will help stock community food banks, pantries and shelters for the summer months. To help paint a picture of what’s at stake for this year’s drive, NALC President Fredric V. Rolando pointed to recent Department of Agriculture statistics measuring hunger in the United States. “Those figures show that the number of Americans living in homes lacking sufficient food topped 50 million in 2009,” Rolando said, “with one in three of those—17.2 million—a child. Sadly, Arkansas is the hungriest state in our nation. Please join me in donating a large, sturdy bag of non-perishable food items at your mailbox on May 14th. Note: Please check the expiration dates...if your family won't eat it because it is expired, neither will those you are helping. Food banks throw away expired food just like you do. You would be amazed at what I have...

This last week has been a tough on one my heart. The tornadoes that ripped through Alabama were terrible. And just knowing that hundreds of people lost their lives is heartbreaking. But one of the towns hit badly by those tornadoes was Ider , AL, where my friend Lisa lives. She, her husband and their four children hunkered (she'll love that I used the word hunkered!) down in their brand new house. The house they just built, and just moved into a few short weeks ago. The neighbors on either side of them lost their houses, one even losing its concrete slab! Lisa's house sustained quite a bit of damage, so much that they can't live in it right now. My heart hurts for her. She is a preacher's wife to the core, she is wanting to serve and minister to those in her community that are suffering and struggling. She is also a wife and mother to the core, wanting to see her family restored with a feeling of security again. Pray for Lisa and her community! Yesterday we first hea...

This little booger bear is 17 months old today. He has had a busy month. He no longer sucks on a pacifier, nor has he replaced it with his thumb or a finger...yay! We took it away one day and we, nor he, have looked back. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. He says lots of words and will repeat like the Rain Man a lot...so cute! I love that he now says "mama" with a sweet little smile. Henry also gives wet kisses now and will also blow kisses. Henry is all boy. He plays really hard and has the scratches and bruises to prove it! What a big boy he is now and what a blessing he is to his Mama! Abby P .S. I like this blog post about taking no pleasure in the death of the wicked. ..a good, quick read and great reminder for us this week!