Life with my sister

Outside my window...sunny, hot, hot, hot I am thinking...about the pool! I am thankful for...a breeze From the learning rooms...it's summer, nothing is going on in there From the kitchen...it's find what you can night. It's too hot to cook. I am wearing...a swimsuit I am creating...a tan, except on the underside of my arms, they won't tan. I am going...to take a nap when I get home I am hearing...kids splashing, squealing and having a good time Around the house...not much is going on, just the basics. One of my favorite things...the pool A few plans for the rest of the week...a trip to see my mom. I can't wait to see her face and to see her walk on her own. Julie

My friend Emily captured this photo of our boys splashing their feet in the pool the other night. A fun and simple night swimming as the sun set. Each simple little thing is a blessing, like swimming with a friend on a week night. I tell myself on a daily basis to not forget who gives us these little blessings and to not take them forgranted. The smiles, laughter, "Watch this, Mama" moments and the crocodile tears because it is time to go home and go to bed, are all gifts from above. I adore this Matt Redman song. I think my vehicle must come off the ground when it plays on the radio. Henry and I sing it at the top of our lungs. What a delight to sing praises with my baby boy as we go about our daily routine. Planting a song in his heart early! Turn up your volume and get ready to belt it out. How do people do life without Jesus??!! Abby

Stephen and I have been in New Orleans this week for the Southern Baptist Convention. We've gotten to hear Charles Billingsley sing many times. He is my very favorite right now. He is the soundtrack of my van. I have friends that feel the same way about him and we texted back and forth most of the time. I had a picture of Fred Luter but for some reason I can't get it to load. (I'm so inept!) Anyway, Fred Luter is the first black man to serve as president of the convention. It was a historic vote, I cried. It was quite a moment! 11 years ago I stalked him in the bookstore at the convention and asked him to come to Augusta, AR and do a revival at our little church. He said yes, and came the next year. He is an incredible preacher and a great man. It was our honorto have him in our home. We ate some really great food. These are the beignets from Cafe du Monde. They were good, the atmosphere was better. We had such a great time shopping in the French Market and just ...

I got to spend Father's Day with my daddy. It is rare that I am with him on his special day. I was so glad he and Connie came to stay the night with us and visit for a bit. It is never dull with Daddy in the house, that is for sure! Julie and I had the kids make Daddy this canvas back in the winter during one of our visits. He really liked it. I got him the Bob shirt and Bob ice cube tray. Daddy's name is Bob, in case you didn't know. He LOVED the gifts, as you can only imagine. I am sure the t-shirt has already made its debut in Desoto County. Henry loves his Grandaddy. Those two get so wild and worn out when they are together. it is funny. Daddy always told us Mr. Whisker stories when we were little. It was a made up voice and story line. I loved Mr. Whisker stories before bed when I was little. Henry now also loves Mr. Whiskers and begs for the stories all the time. Oh me... There is a never a dull moment with Daddy around. I love him for teaching me ho...

As much as I try to act like the events of November 13th haven't adversely affected me, they have. I tend to want to put a smiley face and pretty bow on the bad things. God is good, but that doesn't mean that we don't have hard times, and we don't feel bad and have our feelings hurt. God knows that we are human, He knows that we hurt. He knows that I have cried and that I miss my friends. I don't have to tell people about it, He knows. But sometimes I think we need to share our struggles. This is one of those times. For many years I have been identified and defined as the "preacher's wife". Because we've lived in small towns a lot of people knew who I was long before I knew who they were. I didn't have to introduce myself, it seemed that people wanted to know me and be my friend. I thought I was liked for who I was. I've realized over the last few months that that probably wasn't the way things really were. People probably liked ...

Happy Father's Day to Stephen!!! I got the idea for this card from pinterest. It was a bit expensive with all of the candy but so worth it. The kids thought it was a great idea and were so excited about it. They loved buying the candy. Stephen loved it! I mean really loved it. Stephen is a great father and a great man. He has been such an example to the kids of what a christian man should look like. He is a loving disciplinarian, caring father, and excellent husband. And being a good husband is at the heart of being a great father. I'm fortunate that God put us together and even more fortunate that He gave us these four children. Happy Father's Day!!! Julie Happy Father's Day to my daddy. He chose me to be his daughter and my life was made better because of it. Thank you for the sacrifices you made for me and for loving me when you didn't have to. I love you so much!

In preparation for an upcoming trip I took the van for an oil change yesterday. This was the second time I've done this since we moved here and I trust the mechanics at this place. I dropped the kids off at VBS, ran thru the McDonald's drive thru and went to the mechanic. And that's where I stayed for the next 2.5 hours! I sat in the waiting room, read my Kindle and was a happy girl. And then...the mechanic came and asked me to follow him into the garage. I made sure he understood that whatever he showed me I wouldn't understand. I was right. Turns out I needed two new tires, I told him I couldn't make that decision. I called Stephen and he said to get them. Crisis averted, things are going good. I return to my reading. Then the mechanic, let's call him Joel (since that's his name), comes to me again. I have a feeling of dread wash over me. Joel told me one of the other tires had a screw in it and needed to be patched. I agreed and sent him on his way....

 We are having  VBS this week at our church. I heart VBS so much! I have great memories of VBS as a child and then helping as a young adult. Now that I am a mama, I love taking Henry to VBS and passing along the fun memories and great life lessons from such a fun week celebrating Jesus.    Our theme is Amazing Wonders. We are celebrating the wonders of the world and traveling by airplane. Henry's teachers are precious. They made each child their own airplane. This is Henry sitting in his. He cries at night when he leave VBS and begs to go back and see "Thonas and Carrot" (his teachers, Tonya and Karen). Last year he cried all during VBS and this year he cries for VBS. What a difference a year makes! This is my baby looking all red barron like. I like to take all the preschoolers photos and make frames to put them in on the last night. This year we had them lay down and act like they were flying in the air. This is Henry soaring for Jesus!  I have...

Are you wondering what is going on with our church? Well wonder no more, I'm here with an update! Delta Baptist Church is now funded by one church and two organizations. We have one church that is voting Wednesday night to fund us. These churches and org's have committed to support us financially and prayerfully, some with mission teams for three years. We are so thankful and excited about the support of these people. The best thing about it is that we didn't ask for the money from the churches. They heard about our vision, shared it and wanted to be part of it. God is so good. We had a mission team come in two Saturdays in May and do survey work. They walked, knocked on doors and found out if the people were interested in what we are doing. And people are!!! Yes, we're a bit excited!!! There are two other mission teams coming this summer for sure, and hopefully a couple more will be able to come and help out. The work these people do is priceless and so important...

Randall Wayne built this for Henry. It is the biggest, best swing set ever! He even put astra turf in his house.  It will be called Fort Henry. I got this shot of Henry as he went up the steps for the first time. We are so excited to have it in our backyard. We need to find the swings for it and he will be finished. He also put up the chain link fence in the backyard...all within a week...and he went to Minnesota for 4 days this past week. The man is a machine and I love him. These are my blonde buddies, Sarah and Emily. I go to church with Emily (A State shirt) and she is great friends with Sarah (white shirt). Sarah and I send our children to the same daycare so our boys are friends. Small world. Anyway, we have been having fun getting to know each other this spring/summer. They make me laugh and I love to laugh. The best part about these girls is that our husbands get along and have things in common. That is sometimes a miracle, you know. James and David are funny an...

If you are a follower of our blog, you know Paige. She is my precious friend from college. We worked together at Conway Regional Fitness Center, were in the same major and had lots of fun times laughing together. She played the piano and sang at our wedding, and she and I have experienced a lot of life together in the past decade. This girl, is a trooper and I am so glad she is my friend. She now lives in Little Rock her little girl Charlie Kate (CK). Henry and Charlie Kate celebrate every birthday together. They love each other. It is so sweet. They are both so busy these days, it is hard to get a photo of them sitting still. CK is 6 months older than Henry. She turned 3 this past week. Hard to believe!  Her party was in Little Rock at The Little Gym. We are dedicated to each other's babies to drive 2+ hours each year for these parties, I tell ya! I wouldn't have it any other way. Henry is no gymnast. He proved he is all boy in his smocked shortall ...

Today we sent Samuel to church camp. He drove off in a church van that had two other youth-age boys and six children in it. Samuel didn't look happy at all. At. All. Before he left I reminded him to focus on Jesus this week and not girls. He gave me the "Ah, mom" that I expected but what kind of mother would I have been if I didn't say it?! I got a text from one of the two adults in the van telling me what Samuel was up to in the van. Turns out he was sitting beside a foreign exchange student who doesn't have a relationship with Jesus. Samuel began to witness to him on the van ride. Can I tell you how much I love that child? I don't know what will come of the seed that Samuel planted in that boys heart today. I pray he makes a decision this week to accept and live for Christ. We parents never know what our children are learning and what they will become. Samuel has seen and heard about Stephen sharing the good news of Jesus to people, I know that has h...

As I get older I am realizing it is really the simple things that make me most happy. Like the 50 cent "Winne AND The Pooh" (I love how Henry adds an "and" in there) at our Walmart. It is the lamest ride EVER! It does nothing but move just a hair and plays muffled elevator music. It makes the baby boy feel like he has ridden in a "brown and red" airplane with "Winne AND The Pooh" and makes him giddy with excitement the whole ride home from Walmart. It is worth the 50 cents and the time for me to see him smile over something so simple. Repurposing is the new word for "using the same old crap you have in a new way!" This is what I did on my dining room table. It was looking so boring after Easter and I was at a loss on what to do. I wanted to make it look a little more "alive". Instead of buying anything I started going though my things and came up with this fun decor. The napkins came from Daddy and Connie one year for ...

"Between you and me, buddy...I think I might like this preschool business after all!" Hesitantly, Henry started in the preschool class at his school this week. It was a huge transition for him and us. He cried and fought the idea of it. He was a big toddler 2 fan. Thankfully, most all of his classmates from toddler 2 moved up with him.  It made the move so much easier. His new teachers are going to be fun and sweet. He has come home happy, tired and dirty from a hard day's play each day this week. We are blessed to have him in such a wonderful school and have him adjust so well. He knows he is loved, safe and spoiled rotten at his school. I know this also, and it makes leaving him there so much easier!  Preschool is a hard word to swallow for this mama. My baby is getting so big! Abby

We decided to go to the beach and 5 days later we were in route to the beach. You just never know about us, I tell ya! We stopped in Saraland (Mobile) to stay the night on our way to Orange Beach. Henry had a ball getting reintroduced to the water after not swimming since Thanksgiving in our hotel in Longview. He convinced his daddy to get in with him and they splashed until dark. It was fun to see him get excited about the water again. He loved it so much last summer and little did we know he would love it even more this summer. Henry may just be part fish! We arrived at the Caribe in Orange Beach the next day and put our most precious cargo on the cart and headed up to get settled in our condo and head out to the water. This was our view. It was beautiful and our condo was incredible. Henry stepped out on the beach hesitantly but quickly remembered the fun he had last time. Henry shoveled and splashed forever. When the waves got big from the boats soring by...