Life with my sister

 This boy. Oh, this boy. He has a purpose far greater than we realize and I cannot wait to see what God has mapped out for him. It will be anything but boring. Henry is all boy yet more perceptive than anyone I know and with that comes intense awareness of others feelings. He carries others burdens in a way I wish I could bottle up and pour into my own heart some days. He isn't worried like we worry, he is just concerned and hopeful with sweet innocence. It is a beautiful gift he has. Bath time is a big time of reflection for him. I hear a lot about friends at school and their days during his baths. I am pretty certain these friends have no idea how Henry has grasped onto their day and that he is thinking of them and praying through anything that he picked up as a concern during the day. It makes me laugh sometimes and sometimes it brings me to tears. I wish I could be the type of friend Henry is. He had a foster kid at his school leave and come back and the sadness a...

The White County Fair in Searcy on Moster Truck night is a tradition for we 3 Lee's. It's a 1hour 20 min drive for us. Randall's plane from Iowa landed in Jonesboro around 5:00 and we ran home for him to change his clothes....he picked his best redneck shirt for the occasion to ensure he fit in real good. That's my man! LOL .  We rolled in right as it started, after stopping off at the Bulldog in Bald Knob for supper, of course.  This guy was more into the rides than the monster trucks this year. He was so fun to watch. Everything was exciting to him. I love living life through him sometimes. Oh, to be a child.  Dude would not ride this last year and this year he took the front seat with a smile. So cute!  He smiled the entire ride and put his hands in the air and everything. We got such a joy out of watching him.  When Henry walked up the steps to that slide and went down by himself I shed a tear. Crazy, I know. This boy is blooming right before my eyes in so m...

12 years ago we celebrated my 25th birthday at the lake as newlyweds with our new newlywed friends, Mandy and Charlie. She made me a monkey bread birthday cake full of candles.  She also made me a birhday breakfast feast and I knew I'd be friends with her forever. We had fun that weekend thinking we were on top of the world and big stuff with all four of us finally using our degrees in good jobs. We were so young and carefree. Such simple days.  We rode the jet ski on my birthday and laughed all day. If only I could get those arms back that I thought were fat back then. If only. I've held my baby with those arms since then and done a lot of reaching and digging to get where I am today, so I'll accept what they look like now, I reckon.  By my 26th we were celebrating in our newly built home and had added another couple to our group. Mandy and Charlie had also just purchased their first home. We were growing up a lot that year and super excited about it. I had the best home...

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...

This is my single co-worker and church friend, Shaun. He and I have so much fun bantering back and forth. He takes what I dish out and scoops it right back up and hands it back to me. He is a keeper for that and many other reasons, which I will share on this post. He was kind enough to allow me to highlight him on Kelly’s Korner http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/ for her singles link up. His last words to me about this were, “ This better not be an embarrassment! ” I trust I will do my best to make it not be, but I make no promises! The first thing you need to know about Shaun is that he loves Jesus and the Boston Red Sox . He asked Jesus into his heart at age 8 and is still seeking and serving him today at age 26. Shaun graduated from Arkansas State University with a degree in digital media and design. When he is not busy creating masterpieces for our customers he is hiking, watching the Red Sox , playing basketball, horsing around at the lake or beach, and watching movies. He is fu...

This are my Pine Bluff girls. Well, minus one that left us when she moved to Jonesboro . But since she is allowing us to live in her house I have forgiven her. Rachel, the one in the Ridgway t-shirt is moving away from us, also going to Jonesboro , so this was our good-bye lunch. No tears were shed, but oh my goodness the laughter that was heard! We had such a great time together. We are all pastor's wives and mothers. We love that our husbands are in ministry in local churches, it is what brought us together. But our love for each other is what keeps us friends. These women have been by my side, literally, over the last couple of months. It is a joy to know them and to call them friend! And on a side note, if your pastor has a wife hug her neck the next time you see her. She'll love it! Julie

We all headed "home" for Christmas last week. Riding the train at the park during Christmas is always a fun family outing for us. This year we were so glad it was not as cold as it has been in years past. It was cold enough for it to be festive and that was great. We really are a handsome group. Mama always loves having all of us together at Christmas. Henry loves a choo choo. He had been looking forward to the train all week. He was so excited! Riding the train with family and friends makes Christmas in the Fort so much fun. Anna rode with me. I am so blessed to have a beautiful niece who loves me like crazy. Henry soaked up all the lights with his Daddy. He smiled the whole way around the park. Going "home" for Christmas is extra special because of the times spent with my best friend and her family. She has the cutest boys...even Sam looks pretty swank with his Christmas beard. (My man grew a Christmas beard also...not sure what all that is about) We were so glad ...