Life with my sister

We got this email this morning from our cousin Sarah (or "Sa-Sa" as we affectionately call her). Her little Princess Gracie is full of personality and so cute. Enjoy and Happy Halloween! Note to reader: Words in all caps indicate shouting and italics indicate quiet drama. A Pumpkin Halloween Story Once upon a time, long, long ago there was a little bitty pumpkin who was all alone in the forest and couldn't find any of his friends. Then, out of nowhere , POPPED out a WICKED, WICKED WITCH and she GRABBED that little bitty pumkin up and she took him home to her house in the forest. When she got home she TIED that little pumkin to a stick and she COOKED HIM and GOBBLED him up. Well , that little bitty pumkin was soooo sad to be in that witch's yucky tummy so he waited and waited till the wicked witch fell asleep. And when she was sound asleep that little bitty pumkin climbed OUT of that witches mouth and rolled out of her wicked house and lived happily ever after. THE E...

We sisters go from not posting real often to posting all at one time. I love the lack of consistency, really. I think it is a reflection of life. It comes and goes in waves. I am learning a lot about people through my line of work and especially at my new job. One thing I am learning real quick, is that everyone needs to see a smile. Smiling comes easy for me but some days I would rather not force it if I don't have to. But I am learning to force it anyway. It is a reflection of our attitude . Our attitude is all we have control over. Sometimes that is a tough thing to hear, but it is the truth. We can't control the wind, waves or the storms but we can control how we act when they come upon us. My boss used a great analogy with me when referring to one of our co-workers who has not yet learned this attitude lesson. Here is the analogy (From the Covey book, for those of you who are fans): Relationships are like a bank. We make deposits so we can make a withdrawal when we nee...

I read blogs of moms with young kids and hear about their wonderful loving moments together. I even reread mine and remember all the memory-making times we've had together, all the laughs, trips and great stories. But can I just tell you that all of my memory making times aren't always memories I want to have. For instance, in January, I stopped buying diapers for Anna- now 9 1/2 months later she is STILL not potty trained. All of her friends are and most started after I started with Anna. It is the most frustrating experience of my lifetime. I've tried everything I have ever heard of except putting her in day care. I also have one child that is a thumb-sucker. That is such a fight! The poor thing gets in trouble everyday for it. It boggles my mind. I just wanted to let those of you that struggle with being a mom somedays to know that I struggle too. At times I feel beat up and beaten down. I have to remember that Jesus knows all that is going on in my life and has put his ...

Because of my limited computer time and Abby's fall break at the beach (how do those two things go together?) I was unable to post on Samuel's birthday. He turned ten, yes 10!!! Thursday the 11 th . Ten years ago the dream of my lifetime was realized. I became a mom. I always dreamed of becoming a mother but that dream and the reality of the dream were two completely different things. I remember at a baby shower someone asking me what kind of bottles I was going to use. I looked at my mom and said "there are different kinds?" I was clueless. But boy did I ever jump right into it! I had him 10 days early because of my blood pressure (and because of that Stephen still calls me hyper- tensive , when I get a little stressed!), so we were caught quite unprepared. No clothes had been washed, no bottles (I finally picked out a kind) had been washed. Nothing had been done, but putting the bed up. We drove from Leachville to Jonesboro and I remember all of that 30 minute dri...

This is from a Dress Barn ad I saw in a magazine and I love it. I don't just love Dress Barn so much, but I loved this ad and felt as though I needed to share: Let yourself glitter from the inside out. Let yourself celebrate the possibilities. Let yourself glow in your radiance. Let yourself feel the joy. Let yourself jingle all the way. Let yourself shine. We changed the page layout because everyone and their mama had our page. Since I want to glitter and glow, I decided we best change it up a bit. Abby

What a wonderful beach vacation! Rand took me to Cancun for my fall break. We had the best time sunning on the beach with large topless British ladies all around us, bartering with the Mexicans at the market, walking 3 miles from town in our flip-flops so we wouldn’t have to get back on the dreaded city bus, eating the best French fries ever made while sitting on the beach in the afternoons, drinking 3 of the best fruity drinks ever concocted, Losing our beach pouch in the ocean with our safety box key in it and then finding it six hours later,our waiter at Senor Frogs making Rand wear a butterfly balloon get-up while he ate, Rand dressed for pictures on the beach while looking like a RIU maintenance man and someone waving him down for help, Having a Julia Roberts/Pretty Woman moment at the restaurant our first night while entering in my bathing suit cover-up, walking on the beach at night and listening to the waves, sitting on our balcony admiring the blue waters and the beautiful pa...