Life with my sister

The Easter bunny came to our house and left Henry all sorts of fun things. He was a happy boy to wake up and see this bucket sitting in the den with his name on it! After a little play time we got dressed and headed to church to worship our risen Saviour. Henry loves going to his class. His teachers are Ms. Linda and Ms.Tracy. He talks about them all the time and asks, "I go Linda and Tracy's room?". This morning he was ready to go and see if they had Goldfish. He is a sucker for some food and learning about Jesus. Our attempt at a self-family portrait this morning before church. Randall and I both look squatty sitting on this couch in jackets. We laughed at how we looked, but Henry looks cute and really he is all that matters anymore. It is not Easter at our house without the rabbit cake. This year Henry was crazy about it. He is so aware now, it is funny. I had to hide it from him Saturday after I made it because he was on a mission to tear into that bunny! Our Easter m...

I thought I would share some photos of Henry I have taken recently and failed to post. I seem to be so busy lately. I have over-extended myself with obligation this spring. I am participating in Wanna Dance, The Reebok Crossfit Games, and then all my regular stuff...I can't keep up. Randall has reminded me that this is not the season for me to be over-extended since he has to be (it is time to plant!). Oh me...what fun this should be for us! Life with a two year old is so much fun... and exhausting. Most nights Randall and I are dead to the world by 9:00. We fight to stay awake until 10:00 but it is a struggle, I tell ya. Henry Patton wears us out. We get up before the chickens with Henry, then we work all day and when we get home we go in fast forward all evening. We try not to miss a beat with Henry. I hope to remember at least some of this later in life. I worry I will forget because it moves so fast! Henry loves his Nana and Papa. They came to visit him after church last week. ...

Henry was tickled to get behind the wheel of his new Power Wheels truck. We purchased it at a seasonal resale a few weeks ago in Memphis. Randall did an overhaul on it (tricked it out...for those of you who know the lingo!) and finally let him drive it. It was more of an attempt to drive it. Henry only pushes the pedal when he feels like it. He sure looks cute in it, moving or not. It has a radio in it so he likes to sit and listen more than anything. Watch out neighbors, Henry Patton is going to be on the go this spring! The dreaded haircut with Henry. We have been cutting his hair since he was 10 months old. He has some thick and curly hair, just like his mama and daddy. Up to this point I have had to hold him and hold him down, kicking, crying and swatting while the hairdresser cuts his hair. This past weekend he proved what a big boy he is becoming. She set the seat up for him without knowing I hold him. I played dumb and went along with it to see if he would sit down. He did. He t...

Wilma and her girls - our last picture with her. About 6 weeks before she died. 10 years ago this morning my Meemaw (Julie's "Grandmother") met Jesus face to face. What a rejoicing that must have been for she, my Peepaw (Julie's "Granddaddy") and our Healer. We called them different names, but they were the same people to us...loving, Godly grandparents who helped mold us into the women we are today. There are so many things I wish she was here to see. She never met Anna or Henry. She would adore Anna's love for all things girly and Henry's curly hair and knee socks. She loved Samuel, Claire, David and Daniel and bragged on them every week at the beauty shop and at church. Meemaw loved family and because of that we are still the same, strong family she left 10 years ago. As I get older I find myself appreciating my maternal and paternal families so much more. Julie and I were SO fournate to end up in this life together with all these people. This is...

Stephen has a job! Yay!! A prayer answered! The hours are flexible and his boss is a good man. The job came about much like everything has the past few months, in God's great timing and with us in awe. He will also be working at the BCM (Baptist Collegiate Ministry, used to be BSU) at a local college. It will be a great way to meet people and tell them about Jesus. We are excited about what God is doing. Stephen's parents came last weekend. It was their first time here since we moved in. It was good for them to see us settled and happy. And the kids always have fun when they visit. we never take pictures though. I need a personal photographer. Amen?! Thanks for your prayers. God is listening! Julie

S Family Christmas comes every year and every year it is great fun. We head to Daddy's house in Mississippi for a fun-filled day of family, gifts and food. And almost every year Daddy is supporting and sporting a new team's pullover....just kidding. He went from Arkansas to Ole Miss and now back to Memphis. I love it. He looks good in Tiger blue. S Family matriarchs , Babs and Bob. Meemaw and Peepaw did well. From Babs and Bob you have the beautiful brunette S girls. We are quite the trio. Jules and I love our cousin Hollye to pieces. She is like a sister to us. Coming from a small family, we bonded well growing up even though we lived a state away from one another. From the 3 of us you have this handsome group! Thanks to Jules for doing most of the work :) The S family produces such pretty girls. Meemaw would love pampering these two just like she did us. Claire and Anna are " our pretty girls". Meemaw used to say "my pretty girl" all the time. I love...

Santa came and came big. Before he came we had to soak up the real meaning of Christmas. We went to church on Christmas Eve and Nana and Papa came in time to go with us. We got to sing and light glow sticks...Henry loved it! He got to go in the service with us and he did great. Christmas at our new church was such a treat this year. I reflected on things I had never really thought of. I love taking away new little nuggets of truth. I always enjoy a Christmas Eve service. It puts the rest of the night and the next day into perspective. Keeping with our Christmas tradition, we wore matching pajamas for the third year in a row. We wore Sesame Street themed pajamas this year. It was fun times. We love doing Christmas at home now that we have Henry. It is so peaceful and fun. We stayed in our pajamas all of Christmas Day. Nothing like a day in the pajamas. Those are rare for us these days. It was bliss. Christmas with a 2 year old is fun and exhausting. Capturing him on camera is difficul...

Christmas with Mama and Julie is always a huge highlight at Christmas. We do it a little early now that we have Henry and choose to be home on Christmas. Mama and Julie's family still do their exchange to each other on Christmas Day, but the ones to us and from us are ripped opened and enjoyed while we are in town. As you can see in the background of this photo...Randall is almost elbow deep in his Jelly Belly's. He was making all sorts of "recipes" with them and refused to share the good ones with us. My pretty girl with her new red sweater dress. She loved it and wore it to church on Christmas Day with her knee boots. Mama said that Anna is me made over but looks just like her mother. Nothing brings me more pleasure than to know my sister is raising me! Hee Hee . She is a leader and not a follower. She is a wealth of knowledge and shares every bit of it with you! She also has great common sense and sense of style for a 7 year old. She is a lot like me and that is n...