Life with my sister

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...

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...

We took Henry to see Randall's Grandad last weekend. He has a window unit in his home. It is one of the older homes in their town...in fact I believe it was Randall's great-grandparents home. He has a window unit. As a parent of a toddler I often fail to prepare and plan for new discoveries. They in turn catch me off guard. This was a discovery that resulted in great loud " AHHHHHH's " in the vent, lots of arm waves in front of the vent and lots of me going "NO! Do not touch the buttons, Henry!!". It was really cute how he spotted it, ran toward it and immediately went " AHHHHHH ". It made me laugh and almost cry. It took me back to Spradling Avenue when I was a little girl. At that time my grandparents lived in the home my mother grew up in and they had a window unit. While watching Henry discover the fun of a window unit, I remembered the smell of that air, it is not like any other smell. I remembered the " Ahhhhhh's ", trying ...

It seems like its been forever since I've been on here. I've been busy but not busy enough not to blog. I think I have a case of writer's block! We've been swimming, swimming and swimming. I told Stephen the other day that our next house is going to have to have a pool in the backyard. I love it! My lips, however, not so much. I have had a fever blister (or 9) every week this summer. As much as I like to blame Samuel's leaving for camp on them, I know better. It's the sun. Samuel survived Boy Scout camp. He didn't want to go but did "just for you Mom". Gotta love the teenage years! He ended up having a great time and is even thinking of working there next year for a couple of weeks. His last night at camp he had to hike a couple of miles, fix his supper, find & construct his shelter, and sleep. BY HIMSELF! Oh my! He loved it! The next morning he woke up, hiked back down and swam a mile all before breakfast. I'm thinking of calling home ...

This past week Henry went to B-I-B-L-E school at our church. Henry loves the "B-I-B-L-E" song that we play in the Tahoe over and over and over and over again, so when I would say "Bible School" he would say "B-I-E " (That is how he spells it and he drags the E out for a long time). I was the preschool "craft lady" (as I was quickly named by the preschoolers) and made the BAD mistake of going into Henry's room for crafts on the first night instead of sending one of my helpers. It is a wonder his teachers did not kill me with the craft scissors. He cried ALL NIGHT because he kept seeing me and hearing me. He is such a mess about going to church, I tell ya. He tunes up as soon as we turn into the parking lot. It is actually funny and I laugh at him now. He does not laugh though. Look at that face. He loves his church, he just plays hard to get so he can get special attention (which he has had great success. He is super-duper rotten with the n...

I got to touch her sweet face, look in her pretty hazel eyes and hear her contagious laugh in person. I love my big sister and I am SO glad I got to spend 24 hours with her this week. We were showing off how we looked alike with the same hair-do in this picture. Looking alike is rare for us so we have to own it when we do! Loving on my fab four makes this heart of mine beat a little louder. I love these babies as though they are my very own. They think Aunt Abby is crazy and I am cool with that. Daniel, Samuel, Anna and David are such precious little gifts from God. Samuel is 13 and too cool for school until Henry hits the scene. He lets Henry take over his man cave and I just love that...and so does Henry! Henry is also still trying to figure out if David and Daniel are the same person or if it is really two of them. Bless his little heart! Knowing Henry has the fab four to look after him, teach him and mother/father him make me feel so blessed. I know I can count on him to always...

Oh People! Summer is here! The pool is open. It's hot. My house is a a wreck because I spend too much time at the pool. Summer is here, and I'm loving it! This year, our family worked on getting the pool ready for the season. It was hard work, and you know how I feel about that . But, because of the sweat equity that I put into it, I plan on spending more time IN the pool than normal. I plan on eating healthier at the pool this year. Last year we had a lot of Sonic Happy Hour drinks, and chips. This year we're going to go the water and fruit route. Cold cantalope & watermelon at the pool. Oh, it makes my mouth water just thinking about it. We've only been swimming for a couple of days and I have a couple of sunburned kids. The sunscreen just doesn't seem to be potent enough for the first few days in the sun. What kind of sunscreen do you use? I need to buy something else, & I'm not sure what to buy. Julie

...You never know what you are going to get. What a Summer. I felt every emotion this Summer. I am still a bit raw, but a happy kind of raw. "Raw" is my new word. Not sure why. Maybe because I have felt it so much lately. I need to get a new word, I know. I know many of you have wondered what has been going on with me, but I have not felt it was the right time to share until now. Silence and patience really are a beautiful thing. I am still working on both...a lifelong process, I tell ya! In mid-June I left my job with no plan. No plan. I am Type A....I had no plan. Hello! I did not even go into work that day thinking it was the day I would leave. God will smack his children across the head to get His point across if you ignore Him for too long. That is what happened on that hot, sticky, overcast day in June. I am so glad God loves me like he does...but it hurt! I wish I had some big, grand story to tell you about what happened but I still don't know what happened. it so...

We love to go 4 wheeling at our house. Even little Henry has a non-motorized one that he has already taken an interest in. I had not been on a 4 wheeler much at all until I started dating Randall. I discovered very quickly that I enjoyed riding them a lot. Since then we have bought and sold too many for me to keep count. I love that it is something that we can do together. We don't go for long rides that often because of time, distance, and now we have Henry. we were able to go riding over the weekend and it was so fun! We were gone all day and saw some neat places that we would have never known about otherwise. It is low key, inexpensive, all natural, you can talk out loud , and you are in charge of your own time, distance and speed. It really gets no better, I tell ya! (that is us on the bridge) It is fun to have the time to do the things that we really enjoy. I think it helps motivate, energize, and fill us with joy . (There are also other things that fill me with joy, this w...

Today was the big day! Daniel got his cast off!!! We have been anticipating this day for 5 long, hot, non-swimming, non-bike riding weeks. I have had to wash his hair, get him in and out of the bath (no, I probably didn't HAVE to get him in and out of the bath, but it just seemed like the right thing to do) and he has been stuck on the bottom bunk at night. He doesn't like the bottom bunk at all. I will say that he has gotten off pretty easy around the house though. He hasn't had to take the trash out, take the clean clothes into my room from the laundry room, scrape his plate into the trash after a meal (we REALLY need a disposal!), or bring in the groceries. I have a feeling his brothers are going to make sure he pays them back for having to do his share of the work for this time. He hasn't had to wear shorts that button or zip. Or wear shoes that tie. He loved that! He lives for sports shorts and crocs ! I was going to post a picture of his new free arm. But it still...

Aren't our kiddos the cutest! B: Daniel, Anna, David - F: Samuel and Henry We are blessed to be a close knit family that shares everything...and we mean everything ! We love that our children are following in our footsteps. It makes us sister-mamas so happy. Our sweet cousin, Sarah , took this photo for us a few weeks ago and we love, love, love it. Abby & Julie

Food Friday is of course not complete without a photo of my little foodie. I thought this was a fitting way to start our post today. This is how we cool off during these dog daze of summer...Sonic Happy Hour. Whoo - hoo . Most everyday you can find my car or Daddy's truck at any local Sonic. We go so much that we know which Sonic has the best ice and drive out of our way to get a drink there if time allows. I love the simple things in life... and a Diet Coke with lime. Too hot to cook! It is oppressive. I love using that word and am using it any chance I can when referring to the heat of 2010. My word...can a sister catch a breeze?! Anyway, the kitchen was closed at our house this week. No cakes, no casseroles, no wonderful stove top dishes. Frozen meals and quick grabs were my friend. Those foods wear on a girls taste buds after a few days though. I am ready for a little something, something from the oven. Lunch with the girls I have been eating lunch out with girlfriends quite...

Henry and I decided to head west on a moments notice. We set out on our journey and half way there our car decided it did not want to continue on that journey with us. It was 107 degrees that day. Thankfully we were in my old college town and we had our sweet Lindsey there to take care of us. She was an angel that day, for sure. I love how something that could have been really stressful, chaotic and scary turned into a fun memory. Thank you to her Uncle Troy for taking us to supper and making fast friends with Henry. Thanks to Mrs. Edna (her mama) for coming to make sure we were okay and making us smile. Lindsey, you are a lifesaver of a pal and I am so glad you love me more than your luggage! hee hee Marmie came to the rescue and picked us up and took us to our final destination...her house. Henry was so happy to see her and give wet kisses. It was a great week to come and a much needed one. The trip here was a bit more than I bargained for but God knew I needed to be here and show...

It is Food Friday! I introduced this a few weeks ago and said it would be a mix of recipes, ramblings about food, and a host of other things related to food. Well, this week is an example of a post with no recipes and instead a little rambling. Above you see the weekly Food Friday photo of Henry...it can't be Friday without a food photo of our little foodie! It is posted first this time, instead of last, because I am a dork and loaded the photos backwards. He is not eating in this picture, as you can see, but he is in a field of soybeans so I thought it would work...a stretch I know! He went with his Daddy to check on his beans and corn last weekend. I love my boys and I treasure our fun times. We grill a lot at our house. Almost too much. We tend to grill the same things too. pork chops, chicken, fish and burgers. We use the same seasonings and really don't think outside of the box. We are getting bored with our meat. If you grill and have some great recipes or ideas to sha...

If you read the post following this one you know that Daniel is sick now. I took him to the doctor this morning and he also has mono. 2 down, 2 to go! Stephen had to be in Pine Bluff for a couple of meetings today, so in between the meetings he was able to take David to the dentist for me while I was at the doctor. David did good at the dentist and I felt better that he wasn't alone. Not that he would have known he was alone. But I would have known and it would have made me a wee bit sad. Thanks for your prayers and sweet comments. I'm hoping that Daniel begins feeling better and can be fever free by Saturday so that he can go to church camp on Monday. Pray with us please. Julie

This boy makes me happy! After 7 months I think I finally realize that being truly happy and focused on Jesus, this sweet boy and his daddy is all I am asked to do in this life. Everything after that is just the cherry on top. We are making a personal commitment in our home to cut out unneeded stress and drama, and focus on the real deal. It is a challenge for me at times, but one that is refreshing and most honorable. I am blessed and it is time I act like it! This is when I want to stress but have to stop and laugh...silly boy! He pushed the sweet potato jar out of my hand and there you have it...all over the floor, cabinet and me. It even made it to the laundry doors behind me in this picture. It was everywhere. He just had that look of wonder and confusion on his face and could not understand why the feeding stopped and he kept barking for more. I must say that it was a cute mess! This clean, happy face is what it is all about. When you look at this face you can tell he knows he...