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...

Several months ago Randall saw a $99 NASCAR experience deal online at the old Memphis International Speedway. He had me purchase it for any Saturday in September. Today was finally the day. Henry was so excited and he was convinced that he was going to be his daddy's 1 man pit crew. He was hoping he might get to change a tire. Oh, to be a 5 year old boy. Just precious.  The speedway used to have several large races but now it simply houses the Rusty Wallace Racing Experience for guys and gals looking for speed. Driving up to it sort of reminded me of present day Dogpatch USA. That's not a good thing. We found where we needed to be and felt better about the situation, thankfully.  Others were already on the track driving. We stopped and observed them for a while. We were sizing up the cars hoping Randall wouldn't get a "root beer" car (what Henry calls beer bc he has no idea what it is. He is really quite sheltered and I'm really quite ok with that). Henry want...

The new school year is in full swing and the Fab Five are having a fantastic start.  Henry Patton started Kindergarten this year at Valley View. He is enjoying it so far. He has lots of old and new friends with him. His teacher is a great fit for him too. We are so proud of how brave he is becoming.  (Julie, we really need a school picture of our best girl! This is the most recent one I had of her up close from July) Anna Kathryn started the 6th grade at Beavers Academy. She is so bright and sweet. We are loving watching her bloom into the beautiful woman God has created her to be.  Samuel Charles started his senior year at Watson Chapel as a full time student. He is playing football and baseball. Watching him develop into a Godly young man who puts his convictions first is very inspiring. This year is going to be full of cheers and tears watching it all unfold for our first born love.  David Robert and Daniel Stephen started 9th grade at Beavers Academy and Watson C...

It so hard to believe Henry's pre k year is over because it feels like it just started. He loved going to the blue roof school, as he called it. All last summer we would drive by it and it was like driving by the promised land. He was so excited to get there. The last month of school was Henry's month to be named Student of the Month. It was so cool to end the year with the sign in our yard. Our little street has about 9 houses and I think everyone expressed excitement for him throughout the month. We waited all year for it! I cried when I heard he was awarded the honor. I'm such a mom!  We adored his teachers. Mrs. Julie was his main teacher and was exactly what I prayed for. I loved her. Mrs. Heather joined us after Christmas and was a great addition. We were old Bible Study Fellowship groupies so she knew my boy. Henry was loved well and grew so much under their watch. I'll be forever grateful for their care and love for my precious boy.  On awards night when they an...

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...