Life with my sister

Daddy's pneumonia is improving, yet now his heart is out of rhythm. This was most likely caused by the stress on his lungs. They have been treating it with medication but it is not helping. They are going to have to shock it back into rhythm. His spirits are good. He is pretty weak and tired. Please continue to pray for Bob. Our daddy is a special man and loved by his girls a whole, whole bunch.

 Please pray for our little Daddy. He is now in the hospital with double pneumonia.Julie and I have to laugh to keep from crying. We are so ready to see May on the calendar. April has been a month of all months! Our Daddy is full of life and quite the character. I trust that his spunk will help him get well soon.  He lives in the Memphis area and is in good hands with his wife, our Aunt Babs and our cousin Hollye (who is a nurse) watching over him. My wonderful friend/ Byhalia neighbor is also the case management director at his hospital and she is watching him for me. We are so blessed to have such great friends and family to love us and our parents at times like these, when we again, don't live in the same town and not able to see to them like we desire. Please lift Bob up in your prayers if you will. He is a pretty sick little Daddy right now. Abby

This past weekend we headed to northeast Arkansas. We've been there twice in the last couple of months and we enjoy getting to see Abby, Randall and Henry. I think now Henry realizes he isn't going anywhere with me and is beginning to like me. Finally!! Poor thing doesn't know that in a couple of months he gets to stay with me for a week. After that he'll dislike me again. But that's ok, a week with Henry will be worth it. We made the trip so that Stephen could preach at First Baptist Church in Leachville and share the vision of Delta Baptist Church. FBC Leachville is going to be one of our supporters and we couldn't be happier! Leachville was our first church to serve in, ( I use the term us lightly. He got paid, I just spent it) We have great memories of our years there. Our first married friends are there, we brought three of our children home there, and Stephen and I figured out how to be married there. Oh, the memories. Not all of the memories ar...

 This little fella is moving to the preschool hall at his school next week. I find myself in complete disbelief. He has gotten so big, so quick. Yet, he is still my sweet baby who likes me to rock and sing to him at night. I plan to rock him until he is a grown man, if he will still fit in my lap. I think this is why he is moving up much sooner than expected. He loves to tell us his shapes, colors, numbers and sing all of his songs.The video is super dark because my den is super dark. You can still see the shapes and hear his sweet little voice though.  I love his zest for life. he is non-stop, all day. Mama says he comes by that honest...I am afraid she is right on the money! I love this photo above. He has learned how to lower his picnic table umbrella and he was showing out for Anna and Daniel in our backyard. I can hear the laughter when I look at this photo and it makes my mama and aunt heart happy. I have learned to let some stuff go for this short season ...

David and Daniel are 11 today! I have been reliving 11 years ago all day today. So much so that I realized the shoes I wore today were the same ones I wore 11 years ago. Time for new shoes! 11 years ago was a hectic day full of dropping off, picking up, shopping and waiting and giving birth. I remember seeing their faces for the first time. Little bodies, 5lb 4oz, and 5lb 6oz, that were so cute, sweet and healthy. They were a month early and had no problems. We were in the hospital less than 48 hours. Such sweet faces, such sweet cries. I remember the doctor didn't send me to recovery ( I had a c-section) because I had company that wanted to visit with me. It was strange I thought, but I loved having people to come see me and love on my little family. My little family that had just grown by 2 in the span of 4 minutes! These two boys make me smile, laugh and thank the Lord daily. Their personalities are so much the same and so much different. They look so much alike ...

This little girl is 8 years old today! She is such a princess. I remember when she was born Abby wrote on the blog that Anna added a softness to our home. And she has. She is sweet, spirited, girly, and a tomboy rolled up into one beautiful package. The boys think she is spoiled, Stephen and I laugh and tell them girls are supposed to be spoiled and then we look at each other and smile, both knowing that what they are saying is so very true. She is an absolute blessing. She is motivated, loves to help, enjoys school, reads all the time, acts like shes 13, and is loving and kind. God blessed us with a real treasure eight years ago this morning. I will be forever grateful for His gift. Julie

This past weekend we went fishing to begin our April birthday celebrations. If you are new around here, Anna will be 8 on the 20 th and David and Daniel will be 11 on the 24 th . We celebrate birthdays for days!!! Samuel was at a D-Now weekend, so Stephen and I took Daniel, David and Anna to Heber Springs to trout fish. I have never been fishing before. I actually got my first fishing license right before we headed out of town. I wasn't real excited about going, but the kids could hardly wait! Daniel caught the first fish and Anna soon followed. By the end of the day the 5 of us had caught 23 rainbow trout. I was so excited. Everyone got their limit but me, but I didn't mind. The kids had such a great time. Our feet were covered in mud, many of us had fallen down because of it but it didn't dampen our spirits one bit. We had a great time! Now to celebrate with cake, ice cream and presents for the rest of the month! Julie

Isn't she lovely?! Here she is at home in her recliner. God loves this woman, that is for sure...and so do we. Our mama is now back in her place recovering by herself, with visits each day from loving family and sweet friends who live near by. Praise Jesus for this smile on my mama's beautiful face. She did it!! She has had a rough month but the bad is over and only good is to come from here. Her strength is better with each passing day due to her determination to get well and do for herself. We never anticipated her to be at home without help at this point. What a praise this is. Mama told me she is doing so well because she is loved. She needed to be reminded how precious she is to so many, and that has been accomplished through this for sure. I spent the weekend getting her comfortable and secure at home. It was fun to spend quiet, quality time with my mama. I worked hard, rested well and loved watching her prove to herself she could do this on her own. I am the one who pu...

This will be my last hospital post. I promise. Lesson 1: Mom was freezing us out in her first room. We were dressing warm just to sit in her room with her. The first night I stayed the night, I was free-zing! A nurse came in, saw me shivering and brought me, get this, a heated blanket. I was warm the rest of the night. It blessed my soul (it really warmed my soul too) to have a heated blanket. If you have to stay the night at the hospital, ask for a heated blanket. Lesson 2: The nurses have access to popsicles . They don't always tell the patient they can have them, and most patients, even with the strictest dietary concerns can. The best thing is patients family members can have them too. They also will give you a coke. This is great for those of you that can eat and drink in hospitals. I, however, didn't partake of free popsicles or cokes. I can't seem to eat or drink where sick people have been. I tried. I spent quite a few dollars on Sonic drinks before I realized t...

Mom was discharged from the hospital last Friday afternoon. She is staying at Aunt Janet's house this week so that someone will be close by at night and so she won't be alone too awful much. She is glad to be there and Aunt Janet is glad to be taking care of her. She has friends coming to stay with her and keep her company throughout the day. I am so thankful for them. Mom was in the hospital 16 days. The first 12 days were terribly tough, but the last 4 were pretty great. I went home for a couple of days while she was there because my kids were having their school testing and I needed to be there for a bit of support. I am known to not like hospitals. I dislike them VERY much. I don't like the smell, the tools, the paper towels, the food, or the plastic cups. It is just too much for me to take. I am a gagger and I gag the most at hospitals. (On Soapbox) I remember being told from several church members that I needed to visit the hospital and nursing homes more, that it wou...

Henry Patton running into school this morning with his Razorback t-shirt on and ready to shout a little "Woo Pig Sooie" with all his little friends. Abby

The kids enjoy dyeing Easter Eggs every year. Since I am far from being OCD or a type A personality, the kids get to dye the eggs anyway they want. They can use every color for one egg or just one color. It doesn't matter to me. Their creativity gets to shine! We were at Aunt Janet and Uncle Mike's house this Easter weekend and Aunt Janet was so sweet to let us use her kitchen to dye our 3 dozen eggs. And to let us use her refrigerator to store them in. her frig may never smell the same again! I spent Easter morning with Mom at Aunt Janet's. The kids and Stephen went to church and then joined us for lunch. I missed being at church (It makes 2 years in a row. Last year Daniel was sick.) but enjoyed being with Mom for the last time for a while. We had Whole Hog BBQ for lunch. It was Mom's choice, but it is our favorite BBQ restaurant. I made a cake and the kids had a couple of Easter egg hunts. We spent the rest of the day in front of the tv watching The Masters. I hav...

The Easter bunny came to our house and left Henry all sorts of fun things. He was a happy boy to wake up and see this bucket sitting in the den with his name on it! After a little play time we got dressed and headed to church to worship our risen Saviour. Henry loves going to his class. His teachers are Ms. Linda and Ms.Tracy. He talks about them all the time and asks, "I go Linda and Tracy's room?". This morning he was ready to go and see if they had Goldfish. He is a sucker for some food and learning about Jesus. Our attempt at a self-family portrait this morning before church. Randall and I both look squatty sitting on this couch in jackets. We laughed at how we looked, but Henry looks cute and really he is all that matters anymore. It is not Easter at our house without the rabbit cake. This year Henry was crazy about it. He is so aware now, it is funny. I had to hide it from him Saturday after I made it because he was on a mission to tear into that bunny! Our Easter m...

Our little bunny boy started Good Friday excited about going with mama and daddy to see the Easter Bunny at the mall. He was SO excited and proud to get dressed in his bunny sweater and go. Look at that grin on his sweet little face! And then he saw the bunny. It was terror and horror and huge loud screams. I made him sit there anyway and get his photo taken. I had other mothers in line giving me looks of shame as their kids started to scream and cry in unison with Henry. It was truly a mother moment I will not forget. Randall and I walked away laughing. I am sure the other mothers did not find us amusing. It was like a comic strip moment. Randall insisted we purchase the overpriced photo for a keepsake even though he captured it on his phone. It is so precious, really. Poor little bunny of mine. He got his red sucker and bunny ears and became proud. He told all those we passed in the mall "I saw the Easter Bunny!" with a big proud smile. I am sure they heard him and knew the...

I know Easter is all about Jesus and his sacrifice, yet we also celebrate the bunny at our house. We knew the real meaning of Easter when we were growing up while celebrating the bunny, so we carry on that tradition with our little Henry. This is our third Easter with our little fella. Learning the rules of egg hunting has been difficult for our little guy. He wants to throw them and run away. It is quite comical to watch. We took our little egg hunter to an egg hunt with some friends. He was unsure about the group hunt, but was willing to line up with the kiddos and take a stab at it. Wearing the bucket on his head. What a little clown. He is my child and I love it. And finally he realized the eggs had candy in them and he was off to the races! He now wants candy in the eggs we play with at home...but of course! Our cookie lady, Amy shipped us these cookies for Henry's school Easter party. Aren't they adorable?! She really does a great job and we can always count on her to co...