Life with my sister

Happy Thanksgiving!  I'm a couple of days late, but we've been out of town having fun so I'm sure you'll forgive me.  Thursday morning we left early and drove to Branson for the weekend. We met Stephen's parents at the world's largest Golden Corral for Thanksgiving dinner. This has become our typical Thanksgiving destination, and we don't mind it a bit. Most of us had steak, Anna had pizza, and all of us ate turkey. It isn't traditional but it's what works for us! After lunch we headed to Silver Dollar City, but stopped first to pose in front of Ronald Reagan. Abby had sent a picture of Henry in front of this statue and we knew Stephen had to see it! This is Samuel and Lauren in front of our favorite president. (Lauren spent the weekend with us. This is her first Thanksgiving without her mom. We were grateful for the time she was able to spend with us. She is so sweet, and funny, mature, and beautiful.) Stephen took quite a few pictures at Silver Dol...

I know these aren't the most fun posts, but they're fun for me to look back on. Thanks for indulging me! In the great outdoors...It is so cold!! It was 30 degrees outside this morning and has snowed a bit in Little Rock overnight. Tomorrow nights football game is going to be brutal! With thanksgiving,,lIts warm inside. Last week our heater was out and it was a little nippy inside. So, we're very thankful for our heater in these really cold temperatures! Within our walls...We have been so busy the last couple of weeks. It seems like I've hardly been at home during the day. Hopefully things will slow down next week. A heart of prayer...As you probably know, Samuel is dating a sweet girl who lost her mother in February.  It breaks my heart to think of her being 18 and a senior in high school without her mother. I pray for her a lot. I cry for her a lot also. Random observations... I'm going heavy on the random on this one. I really dislike washing my hands in a public ...

Three years ago today our family was shell-shocked. We were scared, confused, abandoned, hurt. We felt fearful, heart-broken and lost.  Today, Stephen preached at a friend's church and during the service, they called all of us to the front and prayed over us. People left their pews, circled around us, laid their hands on us, and prayed. I couldn't help but think how far we've come.  Three years ago we received so many sweet words, prayers, notes, gifts, visits, and even offers to beat up a few Baptist deacons and their wives! Those things got us through some rocky months. But more than anything, the comfort we received from the Lord reassured us that we were loved and cared for by Him. He saw our pain, He knew our pain, and He loved us.  Jesus redeemed our lostness, our pain, our worry, and our sadness. One of Samuel's favorite songs when we was a toddler said, "I'm trading my sorrow, I'm trading my shame, I'm trading them all for the joy of the Lord....

Halloween week was festive around here. We went to a pumpkin patch with some friends from church. Henry loved the hayride and corn maze.  We make a cute ghostly looking pair! It was so hot that night it was unbearable, really. Mosquitoes drove us out of there quickly. Memphis Zoo Boo was the best halloween fun we've had in years. The lady working the Panda exhibit said "we have candy and dancing inside" and I replied loudly, "yeah, you do!" And my crew almost died from laughing in embarrassment. Randall took these of us dancing it up with the pandas!  We meet our friends there and enjoyed being with them and making new memories with our kiddos.  This is us with Mandy and Charlie about 10 years ago and now. We have such fun times together. I'm so glad they moved back to the midsouth.   Elvis made his grand appearance at trunk or treat and was a hit! He would take off his wig all the time because he was so afraid everyone would really think it was Elvis and no...