Life with my sister

Henry was all smiles when I picked him up early on Friday from school and told him we were going to see Juju and the gang. He had his Gigi, juice and his DVD player playing. He was set and ready! His little squinty smile is funny stuff. We traveled to Stuttgart on our way to Pine Bluff to see Samuel and Daniel play basketball. Henry had never been to a basketball game. He ran right onto the court and after the ball. Anna caught him for me. She is such a good little helper. I wish I had her all the time! Aren't they cute in their raccoon and beaver hats?! Daniel is on the far left and Samuel has the ball. I loved that they were both on the court at the same time. They are in a homeschool group that plays other homeschool groups and small private schools. It was fun to watch them play, cheer for them and hopefully not embarrass them. They are at that age and I forget sometimes. They are all still Henry's size in my aunt heart! This little love went to a lock-in with a local ...

I get to spend the weekend with this silly bunch. Julie told me this weekend better meet her expectations! From the high side of the delta (or as us natives like to call it..."the dirty") to the low side, we will roll on down and see them. Pine Bluff better watch out, Henry and Aunt Abby are rolling in for the weekend! I thank God for my precious family and the joy we get over seeing one another. Nothing in this life is more precious than this. P.S. I am taking a little break from Food Friday for a while. I hope you don't mind :) Abby

Christmas means getting in the truck and traveling to see family who live afar. Sharing the season with them is what makes this special season so special. Here is a snapshot of what our travels looked like Christmas weekend. Mama's couch is always a soft place with her girls and their babies on top of it. She loves having us all there with her. It is one of my favorite times. We have been blessed to do it a few times this year. Having the kids all together at Mama's makes memories that will last them a lifetime. Julie's kids are at the age where each time together is marked in their memory bank. I cherish these sweet times so much. I love any excuse to spend time with my sister. Being at Mama's makes that time extra special. We love to laugh at the same things and we have the same outlook on life for the most part. I love sharing history with her. We know each other better than anyone. Doing life with her is the best. We sometimes look nothing alike but I think in this ...

My boys and I loaded up last Wednesday and headed west to the Lone Star state to have Thanksgiving at my grandparents. There were 25 of us. It was great fun. Marmie (my mama) loved having us there. We had not been in 5 years. Here she is stealing some love from H while he was still pacified by his DVD player. He is so rotten. How did we ever live without DVD players in the backseat?! He never cried on the 6 hour trip because of the Veggie Tales on DVD. It was fun for a while until Randall and I started talking in Veggie Tale accents to one another. I love my Betty Jo. We staged the picture with the ham and I threw my arm up on my hip for the shot. She is too cute and fun. I wish she lived next door to me. I really, really do! I am always amazed at how the meal is perfectly displayed, warm and delicious, and there is always enough for our large group. I hope I have her genes. I like to think I do. Thanksgiving with my favorite boys! Can I just say I wish I was half the mom that Randal...

As you read earlier this week, we went to the beach. When you go to the beach you have to eat seafood. It is a given. We LOVE seafood, so we were in heaven. In fact, one of the reasons we went was for the food. We are pathetic, I know. The first night we were there we ate in Mobile at the Original Oyster House. It was the cutest place on the outside and had a fun playground for Henry to play on while we waited a half hour for a table. They had live music and Henry enjoyed dancing, of course. The open air smoking was a bit much for me though. We are not used to cigarette smoking, so that was a little much to take for all 3 of us and we left the play area before our table was ready to find clean air. Once seated we had a very nice waitress. The salad bar was yummy and the kids meal was a good portion and price. The entrees and oysters left a lot to be desired though. I don't eat warm oysters....just sayin! I must say that it looks like a really cool place, but my $50 could have b...

Henry took his first trip to the beach this past week. We visited Orange Beach, on the Alabama Gulf Coast. It was great fun for all 3 of us....yet Henry had the most fun, I think! It was such a joy to watch him get hit by his first wave. I love that I actually captured it. His squeals and laughter will be stored in my heart forever. He is just too funny. I love that child. We had our photos taken on the beach one morning while we were there. I am a social media junkie...though I am trying to cut back some for fear the state may come take my baby if I don't mop the floor more often...but it my social media escapades I found a new friend on the Alabama Gulf Coast who was kind enough to lend her photography talents to my little crew. Henry did not pose for any of his shots. I know some of you who have seen the full online album are in awe at his photos. I am afraid he is a natural...like his Mama! ha. I love how Michelle captured him in true Henry form in all her shots. It ma...

I have walked this path and steps too many times to count these past few days. Isn't it pretty?! We came here last year and found ourselves here again. Randall's company hosts a family retreat each year on the Gull Lake in Minnesota and this resort seems to be a fave of the group. It is nice that he works for a company that not only makes great butter, but values family and rewards spouses for their support during the busy seasons. I had a fabulous spa day provided by his company while he sat in meetings all day. I never splurge on spa type things, so it was super fun to spend someone elses money for a little pampering. We drove over to the Mississippi River outside of Baxter, MN one afternoon. It starts in Minnesota. This is not it, but it is as far as we were willing to drive! It was so different than the Mississippi River we see back home. We parked and walked over the bridge. Randall was actually standing on the concrete wall with 4 lanes of interstate traffic roaring behi...