Life with my sister

In the great outdoors...Saturday David, Daniel and I went walking on a couple of trails in town. It was hot, I sweated way more than I wanted to, but it was a really nice time to be together. Today is warm. Ok, it's hot! Not! Within our walls...The second week of school is finished. Yay!! I'm in a toss everything kind of mood, so there are quite a few trashbags heading for the trash. A heart of thanksgiving... A heart of prayer...The closest family friends we had growing up were the Walkers. We spent so much time at their house, I considered it part mine. Aynn and Ron treated me like one of their own, and I loved it. Ron is in his final days and I'm praying for his family and friends. I know if I'm as saddened by this as I am, those so much closer to him are too.  Random observations...It's that time of year again. Acorns are falling! I get so excited when I get to step on them and hear them crack. It's weird, right? From the kitchen...Tonight we're having c...

It was a Football Tuesday night last night. Well, not a real football night, more like a scrimmage against two other teams.  Daddy came over to watch Samuel play. It was so fun to sit beside him in the stands watching him play. There's no way I could count the hours I've spent listening, talking, and watching football with my dad. But there was something special about getting to watch my son play with my dad beside me.  Samuel didn't disappoint. He was 3 for 3 on extra points and punted too many times for me to remember. (Our team may not be as good as we wish they were.) The field is turf, which means no dirt, but Samuel walked out on the field to play dirty.  The boy always has the dirtiest uniform of anyone on his team. This picture was taken before the kickoff. Before he kicked a ball. And when the game ended, he was still the dirtiest one, and he hadn't even been tackled. I have no explanation. We lost both of our games/scrimmages, I'm hoping we gets the kinks ...

In the great outdoors...Man, it was HOT today!! I had errands to run and was outside quite a bit and I was sweating. Poor Samuel had baseball and football practice and was dripping wet when he came home....at 6:40! Within our walls...School has started! Woo-Hoo! A heart of thanksgiving...I'm thankful to the Lord for all He has done for us. We aren't living in the grandest way, but we are living a pretty grand life. A heart of prayer...Everyday we're making decisions, some life altering, some not. We're just praying the decisions we make are the ones that are God honoring. Random observations...The kids are sleeping later than normal lately. Samuel has to leave for school by 7:30 so he doesn't get to sleep in, but the other three do. It used to be that they were up by the time the sun came up and I had to make a rule to keep them in their rooms until 7:00. My kids are growing up! Thoughts from the kitchen...It was beef and broccoli tonight. I failed to make enough, s...

I'm so excited about school days...can you tell?! We made the decision to place Henry in the pre k program at our public school. It was a prayerful, fact seeking decision this past winter. We visited the private school in town and interviewed the administrator,  weighed our options of staying where we were, or going to the public pre k. We really never dreamed we would pick what we picked, but God knew! I have never been so at peace with the decision as I am today. We are public school kids ourselves. It is not the same as it was, yet I still trust it enough for Henry, for now. We are blessed to live in an area with wonderful schools...and Randall always kindly reminds me what we pay in taxes to the school! We of course still pay out of pocket for the pre-k program at our school.  We pulled Henry out of the preschool he was attending at the end of July. I felt he needed time to unwind and decompress before we started new. It was a tough move to make. He has missed his friends ...

Football season is upon us. Finally!! I totally enjoy football season. The crowds, the weather, the food, he cheerleaders, the sport. I love it all. And now that Samuel is playing, well my love for football has increased multiple times.  Today was a team scrimmage. They just played against each other, but it was the first time they played in front of a crowd. The first time Samuel had ever kicked in a game situation, we were excited. I wanted to put a video so you could see him kick, but I can't, and this picture doesn't show much either. But he did Sooo good! I was so proud of him. He kicked made 6 out of 7 extra points and a field goal. I had told him I wasn't going to brag on him until he proved himself, and he did. So I'm bragging!  He won't kick that much in a regular game, if at all. (I'm a bit worried about the offense, he might just be doing a lot of punting!)  He has another scrimmage, this time against another team, on the 26th, and his first game is S...

Cousins camp 2014 went down in the books of all time family fun! Hollye (our cousin) had the idea To get us and our kids together this summer. Julie got to work planning a little 2 day trip for us. We ended up renting a house in what Henry calls, "Turkey Village".  This photo will be planted in our memory banks forever....it was a miracle we got it! When I'm old in the home these children will come visit (I hope!) and say "Aunt Abby, remember that time at Cousins Camp when we were all saying 'cheese' and that car....." and we will share a laugh. (You had to be there to know the rest of that story!)    Samuel was at football practice and could not attend. Julie brought a Flat Sam to take part in the festivities...and that it did!  We met at Down Home Kitchen in Hardy and planned out our camp, laughed and chowed down.  We played in the lake for a while. It was fun but we all realized we are really pool people. The boys are so cute. Dave and Dan are so incl...

In the great outdoors...This has been the best summer. I love sitting outside and I've been able to do a lot of it this summer. This morning we woke up to rain, thinder, and lightening, but then it cleared off to be a beautiful day. Within our walls...Today I worked on our school schedule and my work schedule for the next few weeks. I think we're ready to get back into a routine. A heart of thanksgiving.... There was an incident at cousins camp that was much more serious than we knew at the time, and we are all very thankful that no one was hurt. While playing in the lake the kids all felt a tingling feeling in their hands, and later in their feet and legs. We thought it was weird at first and then got worried, so we got them out. Turns out, there was an electrical current in the lake where we were. It could have been a tragic situation, thankful that no one was injured. A heart of prayer...School is starting soon, teachers are already in their rooms preparing for another year....

Today is this pretty girl's 44th birthday. We were able to celebrate her this week while at Cousins Camp in Cherokee Village at a rented house on the lake. It was great fun throwing this little surprise for my sweet sister.  Henry made a princess sticker card for his Juju. She was so excited to get it. We love celebrating our favorite sister and aunt! This collage of pics make me laugh. We love laughing. Jules and I always give each other wallets and put pics of ourselves in them. It's special. Julie was reading the longest card in American Greetings history to Claire and she was over it after the first line. I love her face. Claire is hysterical. Boo on me for buying the competition. Julie is the Hallmark lady in her area, you know. We threw this Dollar Tree party together while she showered and Henry went in the bathroom and gave her the hat. But of course he did. I think she had an idea after that! I wish we had the party set up on video. Daniel lit the candles and the fire ...

What a week we had last week! So many things were going on.  These two boys were in Ft. Smith visiting their grandparents. The tall girl with the pony tail went to church camp. This boy was home alone with his mom and dad. It was a weird week! Our washing machine that we've had for two years, stopped spinning. That's a problem! I asked my Facebook friends who I should use as a repairman, and the next day a friend said she got a new one, and we could have her old one. Praise The Lord! Honestly! It's a great washer, no frills. I'm in love! And then we found a yard sale around the corner and got a new microwave!  We had our old one since 1999, it was time for a new one. The old one was beyond cleaning! It was a good week!