Life with my sister

Oh people, I cannot begin to tell you what a great day it has been. Mamaw and Uncle David came to Arkansas Friday and came to Little Rock yesterday. Stephen, the kids and I went to see them at Aunt Suzy's today. Mom and Aunt Janet were there and Abby and Henry surprised us and showed up too. What a fabulous day! I hadn't seen Mamaw since last March when mom was in the hospital. And that was just too long of a time to go without seeing her. My kids love Mamaw as much (well almost as much) as I do. I love that she lights up when any of her people come in the room. She hugs me and whispers in my ear, I always feel so special when I'm with her. We love being at Aunt Suzy's house. It is the greatest house, it overlooks the Arkansas River, has a great view and lots of room. I love staying the night there and my kids can't get enough of it. She is so great with the kids and makes them feel special and loved. I know not everyone has a family like mine. I don't ...

Last Monday Anna and I went on a girls shopping trip. Anna's friend Hannah and her mom invited us to go to Little Rock and spend a little money. So we did! We love a shopping trip. Nicole, Hannah's mon, and I had so much fun watching the girls pick out what they thought was cute and what they thought was just awful. Every once and a while they would hold hands while walking in a store. It was so very cute. We of course ate lunch and stopped for a cookie snack. We stopped in at Abercrombie. It was the first Ike I had been in there in years and Anna had never been there. Probably because I always say the devil lives there. As Hannah shopped around, Anna sat on a couch and played with the bear she had just bought at Build A Bear. I loved that moment so much. She hated being there. I pray that feeling lasts for a long time. I mean, that store is just not a place we need to be. It just doesn't get much cuter than that!   Julie

We went to the spring/summer consignment sale in Memphis a few weeks ago and got Henry most of his spring/summer wardrobe. I am so excited about his Easter outfit. I  spent $26 and got a Sir John smocked john-john with Willett saddle oxfords. I love knowing I can resale this for what I paid for it, while having my cute boy dressed like a little Easter Bunny again this year. This is his 4th Easter and 4th time to wear light blue and bunnies. I am sure this is our last year to wear such outfits, so we are soaking it up as much as we can. Almost all potty trained and wearing a 4T means the end is near. Sniff, sniff. I am so thankful for the ability to shop savvy. I have my sweet sister to thank for that! We are embarking on a little journey at our house to cut out some of the processed junk and some of the sugar we eat. We are not going all crazy and cutting it all out, but making wiser choices. We are sneaking veggies in meats and breads we are sneaking in frui...

I am finally posting the last of our Valentine photos. I have been out of "social media sorts" this week doing various things here and there and everywhere. I had fun at Henry's little ice cream party. He is always so proud to have me there. I have not missed a party yet! He makes me sit on the floor next to him the entire time and he just looks at me and grins. I know one day he will not acknowledge me at school functions, so I am basking in the attention now while I have it! Henry made Randall and me thumbprint key chains and the teacher included a little poem. It made my day to get these. Randall and I are afraid to carry them on our key chains because we don't want them to break so I think we have decided I will carry mine and we will save his for a keepsake. So precious. Henry had a fun time playing with all his Valentine goodies from his friends. He really is the best little Valentine, EVER!   On Friday I got him from school early and we played...

Henry is blowing you kisses today....for free! He sure loves sending you kisses and hopes you have a love-filled day! Henry has a busy day planned being the love bandit at school. I know he has stolen my heart already! I made the cards at Shutterfly and made the masks out of felt and elastic. It was a no candy/food Valentine's Day at his school because of the one child with a nut allergy in his class....oh, me. We are banditing it up with a smile and a kiss this year! Abby

O, what can little hands do to please the King of heaven? The little hands some work may try to help the poor in misery; such grace to mine be given! O, what can little lips do to please the King of heaven? The little lips can praise and pray, and gentle words of kindness say: such grace to mine be given! O, what can little eyes do to please the King of Heaven? The little eyes can upward look, and learn to read God's holy book: such grace to mine be given! O, what can little hearts do to please the King of heaven? Our hearts, if God his Spirit send, can love and trust their Saviour friend: such grace to mine be give!   I love a sensory bin. I love giving it a theme. This week we made our bin about love. We are learning God is love in Awanas Puggles and it has been fun relating it to Valentine's Day. As I sat on the kitchen stool watching him work his little growing hands, focusing on the work they were doing and putting great effort into gett...

  "Jesus loves the little children. All the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white. They are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world. " "Jesus died for all the children. All the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight. Jesus died for all the children of the world." Henry stayed with Juju (Julie) while we were in Greenville over the weekend. She sent me these photos. It made my heart happy. Henry and Cameron played at the park together and then at Cameron's house. Cameron is the son of one of Julie's friends. He was adopted into their family. He is a cutie and Henry's newest buddy. Randall and I often discuss Henry's need for diversity. He needs to know that this sweet little song we sing to him all the time is real. So, it was fun to see the pics and hear about their playdate. These two boys see each other just the "same-alike" and I hope...

Today I'm feeling helpful. It's not an uncommon feeling, but I thought I would be helpful to ya'll today. Tip 1... I saw on Pinterest last week that liquid foundation could be applied with a brush. I know! I wouldn't have tried it ordinarily but I bought makeup brushes after Christmas so I decided to give it a try. And I love it! It doesn't se near as much foundation as I normally would use, I'd say about 1/4. It goes on evenly and looks much smoother on my face. Love. Tip 2...This tip is an old one for me but I shared it with a friend a couple of days ago, and she loved it. Hydrogen peroxide gets human blood out of clothing. As a mom of boys this has come in quite handy in our house. Although I was told about this when we had taken Anna to e ER for stitches at the age of 2. The first Beaver child to get stitches. Tip 3... Homemade laundry detergent. I've ignored this money saver for years but have now come to love all things cheap. To make it there is...

Randall ran the Mississippi River Half Marathon this weekend in Greenville. It was his first big race. I am so proud of him. I was so excited to see him coming toward the finish line 6 minutes ahead of schedule. His smile let me know he had a good run and that he was pleased with his performance. It was a cold, windy morning. It was fun waiting on him and cheering him in despite the chill. He has been on the waiting, cheering end a lot for me, so it was fun to be the one waiting and cheering this time. Here is my half marathon finisher. He finished just as strong as he started. He trained really well and that smile and strong finish proved it. I rang a cowbell and cheered him on in with a smile. I sure am proud of my running man. It was a fun way to celebrate our 10 years together. We spent the night at the Harlows Casino  in Greenville and ate at Sherman's. We made a fun little memory and shared a few laughs observing the Harlows patrons. I love making memor...

Daddy sporting his toothless game face today as he heads to surgery to get a new knee. I laughed so hard at this sight. It sums up our Daddy's spirit. Always silly and full of life, no matter what! Pray, pray,  pray for his recovery!! We covet your prayers for he and Connie. She will need prayer for sure! He will now have 2 artificial knees and should be ready to walk the Elvis 5K this summer...that is the goal! Abby

10 years ago this week I married Randall Wayne. A decade. 10 years. We have been married for double digits. Wow. No way. I feel old. We are going to celebrate it big this summer with a cruise most likely and we plan to take some pictures this spring to document our decade of bliss. We got married in the ugliest time of year, the coldest time of the year and during the busiest work season for my ag research manager of a man, but it is life and we love it. We do plan to celebrate a little this weekend with a getaway to Greenville, MS so Randall can run a half marathon. I am excited to watch him participate in his first big race and hang out in the ole Dirty Delta. 10 years....unreal. It seems like a lifetime in a lot of ways and then it seems like it was just yesterday. We have lived a lot of life together in this decade. A lot of growing up and changes have taken place, yet we still love each other the same, if not more. I cannot wait to...