Life with my sister

I know the Show Us Your Life blog hops are not something we usually participate in. We try so hard to not act "showy" in our posts. Yet, today...I am going to boast, brag and show off my baby boy's room, by gosh...so forgive me in advance!!! Call me proud, but I am when it comes to this room. I worked hard on this room last year and I want to show it off....Seriously, if Randall came home today and said we had to move...I would cry only because the thought of leaving this room behind. CRAZY, I know...but I am serious. Henry's room is unique but it was crafted with love. I knew I did not want an "out of the box" baby room. I spent a few months researching and looking at all sorts of things. I had a girls room folder and a boys room folder. I found out it was a boy and I happily went with the boy idea and never looked back (I secretly wanted a boy the whole time). There were times my husband, mother-in-law, mother and sister looked at me like I had lost my mi...

Abby and I may have some of the same blood flowing through our veins. We may have grown up in the same house with the same parents. We may be sisters, but when it comes to cleaning we couldn't be more different. Kelly is doing Show Us Your Life-Cleaning Tips today and the funny thing is I was going to write something about cleaning soon anyway. Not cleaning TIPS really, but it'll work. I've been married for 16 years. I've been a stay-at-home-mom for 9 years. And nothing makes me feel more like a wife and mom than when I buy cleaning products. Weird, isn't it? I've had children, bought them clothes and shoes, cooked countless dinners and washed an unbelievable amount of clothes, but when I buy cleaning products I feel like a wife and mom? I love buying Lysol 4-in-1 spray. I use this on everything! The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Well, its just the best thing ever! I don't even care that it bleaches the paint on my walls, it gets the grossest stuff off of everyth...

First of all, how precious are those twin nephews of mine for praying for Henry like they do! My aunt heart swells with pride over those fabulous 4 kiddos. I can't imagine my mama heart if my aunt heart stays this full all the time. Wow! His Nana did such a wonderful job on his bedding, pillows and curtains. His Daddy did a fine job on the cling above his bed and his Mama and "Aunt Z" (Lindsey) did an artistic job on his canvases. The toy chest in front of the window is already filling up with fun toys and his drawers are filling up with cute things. The picture frames are waiting on photos of his sweet little face. This is Henry's closet and book shelf. His Daddy still has doorknobs to put on his doors. We painted the letters on his wall and filled his bookshelf up with all kinds of fun gifts, family heirlooms and his Daddy's miniature tractors. We are counting down the days until we get to see our little Henry Patton in this precious room of his. I can't...

We have been so busy since we found out we are having a baby boy! This past weekend Randall "Baby Daddy" worked hard and said "It is all about my boy now!" It was so cute. He gave up weed eating/ edging to work on baby stuff....and if you know Randall you know that is huge! This is an antique high chair my Aunt Babs bought for my cousin to use 8 years ago for her baby girl. The white wood looked good in her bright colored kitchen and Claire looked even cuter in it! My cousin, Hollye is a lot like me. She waited a small forever to have a child and also wanted to try to make her baby things blend with her house. We also did not want a big plastic high chair in the kitchen that we worked so hard on redoing last fall (call us selfish or even snotty..but at least we are honest), so we are using the white antique high chair that Hollye had. We made a few minor changes to it, as you can see! It blends so well in our kitchen and Baby Boy L will look like a little prince e...

I love the weekends that include a little bit of everything. I cleaned the house from top to bottom on Saturday. By 9:00 Saturday morning we had eaten at Cracker Barrel, been to Walmart, Home Depot and on a Sonic drink run. So, I kept up the energy and got tackled the house. I do it about every 2 weeks. I wish I could do it more but my time is stretched so thin. I decorated for Easter, finally. I put out all my bunnies and such. This year I pulled one of my Christmas trees out of the attic and decorated it with Easter eggs. It is much cuter in person, I must say. Randall assured me it did not look old ladish. I am trusting him. I love the joy and happiness Easter brings. We hosted our supper club at our house Saturday night. It was great fun, food and fellowship. I thank God for our new friends and the comfort it brings to have a group to call our own (and a group that LOVES Jesus). We got a wild hair after church today to buy a Wii so we could have Wii Fit. Insane, I know. It is a ...

After 6 months of living here with no master bathroom, today I moved into it and claimed it as my own! When we moved here I would not step near the bathroom. If you will remember, we bought a foreclosure. The people trashed the house before the bank took over. We had to re haul the whole bathroom in order to make it liveable / useable . Randall has done all the work himself after work and on the weekends. It is finally completed and ready to use! It is a monumental day for us. Julie said it was blogworthy , so here I am writing about it. She, Mama and Molly knew the "wall" I had built up about the bathroom, so it is a HUGE deal that I have set up shop in it and am ready to decorate it a bit. Yay for this place becoming more of a home, room by room! Abby

This is what our yard looked like yesterday morning when we woke up. I have not seen it today because we have chosen to stay with Rick & Diana another night. We still have no power. My work has power, but Randall's does not. We will head back in the morning so I can work and hopefully he can start cleaning up the yard. We plan to visit our old neighbors over the weekend, and hope we can still make the trip. We have been looking forward to it. It makes me sick to my stomach to think about my oak trees being destroyed. I hope they can be saved. We will have to get on a waiting list with a tree service to have them assess the damage. I had dreams of hanging a rope swing from the big oak in front of the house for my children. Randall said that is what I get for having plans for the trees! If you know Randall, that made you laugh. Please continue to pray for those in our area who do not have a warm place to go. Many of the smaller towns/areas will not have power for weeks. The powe...

That is what Abby said when I talked to her just a few moments ago. They have been without power since last evening and when the limbs of their trees would snap and fall she said it sounded like bombs going off. They are safe and sound, playing card games and telling stories. They have been to Walmart to buy batteries (and who knows what else) and said the line at Mickey D's was really long. She said over 80% of the town is without power and all the shelters are full. Please be in prayer for those people who are without power and without a place to go. Pray for warmth and peace. Our cousins Sarah and Brandon, the parents of the beautiful Grace and Molly, are also without power. We here in South Arkansas are doing just fine. There is no ice, no rain, no sunshine, just a little cold. But above freezing. Stephen thinks he will be called out to do disaster relief work somewhere in the state soon. He works on the chainsaw crew and cuts down and moves downed trees. A wonderful service of...

Settling down in Byhalia-2004 We have been on this journey for almost a year now. I have been reflecting a lot lately. I am sure I will post about it more as it comes to the surface a bit more. I get tears in my eyes when I see how much God has blessed us with this move, after I feared it so much. I miss my "old life" and some days I wish we were there because it was so much easier, but it was not near this much fun! One of my best travel memories - Alcatraz As much as we don't do it, we love to travel together. We loved eating the best lobster at Landry's in Branson after a big game of mini golf, falling down in Union Square in San Francisco after touring Alcatraz, shopping at the markets in Mexico because another day on the beach would have turned us into leather, and now we are headed to D.C. Neither of us have ever been. Please let us know if you have suggestions for us, etc. We already have our hotel booked and have an idea of what we will tour, etc. We are wait...

This is what I came home from Hobby Lobby with this afternoon. Randall gave me a gift card as one of my Christmas gifts. This morning I decided the kitchen need a little spice now that the fall and Christmas decor has been removed. It was looking a bit sad. This is what I picked out. I went from section to section and pieced all this together, from one end of the store to the other. It took a small forever, but it was worth it. End result on the "fridge side" End result on the "sink side" I think it has just the right amount of spice now! Abby

I love Fall time! Well, we had a fun weekend in J'boro. Jules, Stephen and Anna K. came Friday night and stayed with us. (The boys had a big time at Ole Miss with Daddy and Ms. Connie. I hear they sat behind the team and Houston talked to each of them.) Saturday night Diana, Rick, Micah and Tabby came and we ate at Fuji. They came to the house and took a grand tour. While Rand gave them the tour, I went to the fair to tear down the hospital booth and didn't get home until the wee hours of the night. I am SO glad the fair is over! Whew. Sunday, Rand got an itch for a new front door, so he went and got one. He is always doing something. I get an itch for shoes or a purse...he gets an itch for a door. Really though. I wouldn't trade him though. I love that he is my big ole handy man and no one elses! I hope your fall time is starting off fun and relaxing! Abby

I am back from my quick trip to Abby's. I saw her office and it is cute and spacious. I met her co-workers and was on my best behavior so as to not make her look bad. I would hate for them to think that her sister was a country bumpkin or something like that! I spent most of my time at her house, which is really pretty (and doesn't smell!). I have pictures and even a video that I will post tomorrow so I will tell more about the house then. Abby and I had such a fun time together. We unpacked most of the kitchen boxes last night and then went to spend the night at the apartment. Randall was sick-SICK- and he stayed at the house. I don't think he even knew or cared when we left. I felt so bad for him. Anyway-enough about Randall. Abby and I stayed up late unpacking and then stayed up even later gabbing like sisters do and should! It was such a fun time! We got up early this morning. Abby had to work for a few hours at something the hospital was putting on for the kids in town...