Life with my sister

 This is the way we are doing school today. Thank heavens for recliners! Relaxed, and inside! Because Isaac decided to pay Pine Bluff a visit. It started raining about 22 hours ago and hasn't quit yet. The streets are flooded around town and sandbags are out. Our house is just fine, but I do worry about our storage unit. Why must storage units be in low lying areas of town? Stephen left for work this morning and called just a couple of minutes down the road telling me to not get out in this mess. No problem here! I'm making yummy homemade fried rice for lunch, we have plenty of movies to curl up on the couch and watch, we will be just fine inside! Isaac. The only Isaac I know is the bartender on The Love Boat. So, I guess that means I don't really know any Isaac's. Do you? Julie

We like music at our house. We are not real musically inclined, but we love it none the less. Henry loves playing music on his little instruments and singing at the top of his lungs all the time. I hope he continues to take an interest in it as he gets older. He always has a song in his heart. I love that about my sweet boy. It is my mission to only play uplifting music in the car because he is such a musical sponge. Here are some of our favorites this week. It changes weekly at our house...we have short attention spans.  I am loving jamming out to this song while driving around town. What truth it speaks and it has such a catchy tune. What a great reminder that we may feel like we will bust in two sometimes, but He won't let us. How does anyone live this roller coaster ride of life without Jesus?!  Have fun listening to my musical picks for Thursday!  Abby

 Somebody has been watching his daddy! Henry saw his daddy washing my truck and decided his car needed a scrubbing. Randall ran in the house to get me and my camera. It was priceless.  Randall said Henry just took it upon himself to scrub high and low. He looked just like Randall out there. It was precious. I can't wait to use these photos on his 16th birthday! Sunday was our last time to wear this cute little Ragsland madras patchwork outfit. I have loved seeing him in it all summer and realized I had no photos of it. I made him pose for several for me. He was a fairly good sport. He looks so big, and he really is. Henry Patton is becoming a little boy overnight. Summer is almost over and it feels like it just started in a lot of ways. We are so ready for the fun that comes with fall, yet I will miss the simplicity of summer. I just today in the mail had invitations to 3 things in September....bring on the booked calendar. That is one thing I have a real love...

"Preschool is cool" is what Henry  is sporting on his shirt at breakfast Monday morning. He was wanting to wear his sunglasses too. I thought it was most fitting. His future is so bright he has to wear shades - ha! Henry started in the preschool class at the end of May, but in honor of the first day of school in our area, I had him wear this to school Monday. His teacher loved it!  He is learning so much. He knows about outer space and how to cut with scissors...all this was learned just last week. It is amazing how much he knows. You can see the little scabs on his cheek in this photo. That is from being scratched at school...by a girl. With all this learning, comes life lessons. It can make me so mad at times, but it is life  and he has to learn at some point. As of right now Henry doesn't retaliate. I hope he remains calm, stands up for himself nicely and knows to use his "soft hands". Preschool is an interesting age and a precious one at that. We are bl...

Daniel (6th), David (6th), Anna (3rd), Samuel (9th) We started school last week, but I got sucked into the first day of school pictures and had to take one of my kids. David wanted to know if he should put his backpack on, which I thought was funny since he didn't bother to put shoes on. Samuel didn't have shoes on either, and Anna was wearing Stephen's shoes. This looks as if it will be a good school year. We're doing things a little differently than we have before, but it seems to be working out. In this house we don't have a school room, so we are doing school in the living rom. I feel a little like Laura Ingalls in her one room school house. Except for the long dress, and having to walk to school, and Manly. I loved Manly. Anyway!!! Happy school year to you!!! Julie

Samuel studied and passed his written driver's test at the first of the summer. He had 30 days to practice driving and then take the driving part of the test. Well, we waited longer than 30 days but he finally got to take the test. The first picture is of him waiting in the van to take the test. All the drivers had to sit in their cars and wait for the instructor. I'm glad it wasn't a hot day! He waited patiently by reading his Bible and chatting with David and me from a distance. There were 5 students ahead of him and 3 of them failed. It was a bit nerve-wracking!!  We had to go that day to get his official permit. Standing beside him at the revenue office brought many laughs, and a few poignant moments. Isn't he just the cutest thing? Up until now he has just had a paper permit, so this is the real deal! When the lady told him that this one was only good until Oct. of 2013 when he turned 16, I had a moment of confusion. How could this child be 16 next year??? ...

I apologize in advance. This won't be a fun post. I just need a place to vent. Not in such a public place as Facebook of Twitter, but here. We're an intimate little group. You stop here to see how Abby and I are doing, to see pictures of Henry and to see what we're up to. I feel like you won't mind what I have to say and odds are you won't comment. It will be great! Today I was reading a book at the pool, just a Christian fiction book, nothing inspirational or challenging. The character was telling God that he didn't like the way He was ruling the world. I broke out into tears. AT. THE. POOL! I related so much to what the character said. I sat at the pool and railed against God and what was happening in my life. I got home and share with Stephen and railed a bit more against God and what was happening in my life. And you know what happened next? Our neighbors came and brought us a cake. You see I was griping and complaining about church people. Why do they...

Happy Anniversary to us!!!! 19 years ago today we said "I do" and walked up the church aisle to trumpets playing. It was a beautiful moment and a beautiful beginning to out life together. Stephen has challenged me to be a better person, wife, mother and friend. We've been through some "down" times but our "up" times have more than made up for them. We have great memories of fun times. We have had the opportunity to live in a few different places and met some really great people who became really good friends. I often say that I'm so glad God chose Stephen for me to do life with. When I was 16 I would have never dreamed that I would be spending my life with him, and definetly not when I was 12 and he rode up on his bike and asked me to go out with him!!! God had it all planned out and I might have gotten in His way a few times, but I'm so glad I finally stopped long enough to listen to His still, quiet voice. Happy Anniversary to us!!!...

I decided late Friday night to run the Elvis 5K at Graceland. It is the 35th anniversary of his death this week. If you have ever lived in Memphis or if you are a diehard Elvis fan you know that it is big deal and all the crazies come out to weep and celebrate. I ran this race 5 years ago when I was still living there and loved it, so when my daddy called me last night and mentioned it was this morning and he was going, I knew I had to do it! Luckily we had no plans for today and my hunky hubs is used to my spur of the moment ideas. We left the house at 5:30 this morning and headed for Graceland. Poor Henry was not happy to wake up that early and head out, but he perked up pretty quick. I was there and registered by 7. We were able to walk up to the house and around the grave for a little while. We have seen it a gillion times, but it is always fun to see it again and watch people's reactions. People still cry...it shouldn't make me laugh, but it does. I ra...

  A few weeks ago I mentioned here that we were shopping for a new truck and a new house and I was shopping for a new pair of tennis shoes. Well, good news! We shopped until we dropped, but we have so much to show for it! Stephen looked for a couple of weeks for a truck. We debated putting the money towards a house, but in the end we really needed him to have a truck since we would be moving in a short time. We looked at a truck but it was beyond our price range. He finally offered what we could offer and they took it. So now we have a truck. A better one than we had before and for no more money. It was a blessing! I bought a great pair of tennis shoes. They are some cute gray, pink and yellow Asics. I'm so thankful for the money to buy them, they made the moving much more comfortable! And finally, we found a house. Not our forever house, I'm hoping not even a house we're in this time next year. But it is a 4 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath house in a quiet, safe, nice neigh...

 I really do. I have all sorts of chalk tricks to ward off calluses. Pansies wear gloves (ha...truth is. Mine were stolen at the gym and I always forget to buy a new pair). Chalk is my friend.  I am a crossfit woman. Sounds funny, but this image is truth. I posted about it months ago and haven't updated about it (not that anyone cares but my mother). I have actually been doing crossfit since last November. Some months I slacked worse than others, so I am not progressing like I should for the time I have in it.  I also refuse to eat like a caveman. The "real" crossfitters eat a Paleo diet. I tried it. It puts me in a bad mood and since soybeans, corn and pesticides put the good meat on my table...I caved!  I am more aware of what fuels my body now because of crossfit, but I have had my fair share of ice cream and french fries this summer. More than I care to admit.  I am trying to step it up a notch now and work on reshaping my body. It is HARD WORK but the...

 42 years ago my mama welcomed a beautiful baby girl into this world. It was one of the hottest days on record and a record breaking, sweet day day for our family. Julia Kathryn was the first and the only for a long time. She is still my first and my only pick for a sister. I thank God for her beautiful heart, glowing smile and bright eyes. I know it is cliche, but I cannot imagine doing life without my big sissy. Her life is a gift to so many. She was born with great purpose.  I am so thankful she was born to my mama, who was strong enough to have this sweet girl all by herself while her husband was off fighting in a senseless war that filled her precious heart with great uncertainty. I am also so thankful that this baby girl turned into the 3 year old little cutie who stole our daddy's heart in the nursery of Spradling Baptist Church. Sometimes it literally takes my breath away to think of our sister journey and how God meant for us to celebrate life together,...

It is harvest time in the delta! Randall started cutting corn this week in Louisiana and Alabama. He sent me this photo of the combine hard at work. Henry loves to see the combine so the photo made his day. Don't you love the Arkansas magnet on the ole trusty Wintersteiger?! Galatians 6:9 - "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Abby

I am blogging for my sister this week since she has more than she can say grace over getting her home situated. My favorite look-a-likes come home from camp today. This photo was taken Monday before they left. They have done so well this week being away from home and being with a new group of friends. It is so exciting to know they have learned a ton about God's love in such a fun environment. Church camp is the best. They are coming home to a new house. Julie has worked hard to get their bedroom set up and decorated for them. She has been painting and everything. She is such a good mama and wants her babies comfortable and happy. David and Daniel are so tender hearted. I can't wait to hear all about camp and see their reaction to their new room. These freckle faced cuties make Aunt Abby proud. Abby

Anna got to spend the afternoon with her Marmie getting her nails done, eating out and birthday shopping for her mama (Julie's birthday is next week).  Anna is in Fort Smith this week visiting grandparents. She picked out a glittery color but the nail tech decided to give her flowers without telling her. Anna didn't mind! Mama said the tech also proceeded to give Anna a personal little history lesson on the Vietnam war. Our little sis may have nightmares tonight, but at least her nails will look good! Anna is such a pretty girl and such a gentle blessing to our crew of boys. She and her Marmie have a neat little bond. Marmie spoils her rotten. It is true that your parents become mush when they turn into grandparents. Our mother is proof. She would have NEVER taken off work early to take us to get our nails done...just sayin, Kathy! Here are the pretty girls showing off their fancy nails. Mama texted us this photo this afternoon. It made my day and I know...

Yes you are, Henry Patton! He loves this song by the Gaither's and will proclaim it to me just the way the title of this post reads. I love to hear him say "possibility", it is possibly the cutest thing ever.  I am a promise I am a possibility I am a promise with a capital "P" I am a great big bundle of potentiality And I am learnin' to hear God's voice And I am tryin' to make the right choice I am a promise to be anything God wants me to be.  I can go anywhere that He wants me to go I can be anything He wants me to be I can climb the high mountains I can cross the wide sea I'm a great big promise you see! I am a promise I am a possibility I am a promise with a capital "P" I am a great big bundle of potentiality And I am learnin' to hear God's voice And I am tryin' to make the right choice I'm a promise to be anything God wants me to be Anything God wants me to be! Abby