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...

We love counting down the days to Christmas in this house. We have advent two ways. A Chocolate advent calendar is one of then. We always had one growing up. One year mama couldn't find chocolate so we had tiny little toys in each window. It was very odd and we were ready to rush through that one! Julie and I took turns opening the days each year. One had even days and one had odd days. I was so glad when she married and moved away because it was all mine then!  Julie and I carry on the tradition with our kiddos. It's loved by them as much as it was with us. It's so fun to keep that tradition going. How many calendars have we hoarded up in our deep freezers over the years thinking we would never find any again?! We are serious about the chocolate advent calendar.  I don't do the Elf on the Shelf. I love admiring those that do. It's really cute. I just can't get a peace about it for us. What we do works and Henry loves it like it is...and we do too.  At our house...

Tomorrow is my birthday and I've been reflecting on all my other 36 Birthdays.  I grew up in a house where birthdays were celebrated big. Not big in today's standards, but big in the children of the 80's / early 90's standards. It was all about me from sun up to sun down. I woke up to singing by all 3 in my nuclear family. They all sang it different but they always blended.   Opening presents before school at the kitchen table, maybe my dad would come eat with me for school lunch some years, if not, mama put a note in my strawberry shortcake or rainbow brite lunchbox (with thermos) and the evening meant presents from grandparents and aunts that came by mail. I got to pick my supper and on the monumental years I could invite a friend to go out with us.  I remember getting a 10 speed for my 10th bday and riding it out of the Walmart in the Quarry shopcenter ( when it was THE Walmart.) The patentals had put it on lay away so I got to release it from hostage and ride it ...

Henry learned how to ride a bike this summer while he stayed the night with just Papa. Nana was on a trip and we had gone to the Tim McGraw concert for the night. We were so excited to get back to Papa's house to see it! Henry lost his first tooth and learned to swim without any floaties this summer too. He is so big.  We had another fun trip to the Caribe in Orange Beach. It's our place. We try to go somewhere different but when it's time to book something we just can't break away from it. Henry loves it too much. I love the carefree days we have together without many distractions. With our work, there is never total distraction unless we get on a cruise ship or go to a remote island somewhere. And that isn't happening any time soon!    I love taking this boy on adventures. He is my favorite.  We had fun at the "Blue Angels Museum" as we refer to it. We visited it before we checked into our condo. We always try to do an outing before check in because we n...