Life with my sister

1. Jodi 2. Susan 3. Terri 4. Emily 5. Michael 6. Trish If you are on this list...consider yourself tagged.

Tonight I am to speak at a fashion show and dinner that a Sunday School class at church is putting on. They have sold 100 tickets. So there will be 100 women there, plus 20 models and 10 members of the class. I'm getting a little nervous. I've known about it for quite some time and have everything ready, but as the time approaches (6:00) my stomach is feeling a little funny and I am not so sure of myself. So, say a prayer for me if you think about it. Thanks Julie

Green Acres has tagged the Sisters. Here it is. We are to refer to 6 of the blogs we read, while telling a random thing about ourselves in each one. Make sense? You are to guess the 6 blogs. We will post the answers later in the week. 1. There is nothing like a cow patty. When we were young, our grandfather's church in west Tennessee had a scavenger hunt for the young people. One of the things we had to collect was a cow patty! Our group only took a picture of it though. It was our first real exposure to country life and we wanted no part of it again...now look at us! 2. Being the mom of a teenager is not easy. Samuel is beginning to show signs of adolescence. I am scared! I had to convince him that humans are mammals today...can I just tell you how uncool that was for him and for me! 3. A short German visit is always fun. We had a German exchange student live with us for 3 weeks one time. We learned so much and taught her a lot too. Mama taught her how to wear deodorant! 4. Ado

Anna just informed me that when we go to the Children's Theater on Thursday she will not dance on the chair. She gave this reason: "Because I don't dance on chairs." Well, I feel better that she has some morals. But I have seen her dance on tables and church pews. So, please don't stop praying! Julie

What a comfort: "There's a bigger picture you can't see. You don't have to change the world, just trust in me. I am your creator I am working out my plan and through you I will show them I Am." If you have read our blog from the first post until now, you know I love Ginny Owens. Her songs speak my heart. I love it. I started singing (belting it out, actually. Poor Rand.) this song in the shower tonight. I have no idea where it came from...it was totally out of the blue. I love that about my God and this quirky personality He blessed me with. It makes me laugh. Our family is going through a challenge right now (I will post about it more in the days to come) and this song hit my heart's cry tonight and gave me assurance that it is not up to me to make it better. I just need to simply be . Through me He will show them who HE is... I love that! Seriously, how do people go through trials without Jesus? Amazing. Abby

We love you the BIGGEST Much! Julie & Abby

I don't know about you, but I have been busy today. We have cleaned out our garage, and attended a wedding, all without changing clothes! Sound fun? You betcha!!! This morning I looked out my bedroom window and saw that one of our neighbors had decorated her backyard for a wedding. I was so excited! I love a wedding! There were chairs, floral arrangements on the trees and little bows on the chain link fence that separates her yard from ours. Stephen and I got a little nervous when we realized that we should have mowed the yard and moved the trampoline and swingset to make the view from the folding chairs prettier. But we didn't know about the wedding and decided not to make a big scene trying to get our yard pretty for it. After all, they hadn't mowed their yard recently either. As the wedding drew near, I would sneak a peak from around our garage (which we were cleaning out). To the decor in the wedding yard, they added 2 candelabras with alternating mint green and royal

Today is my Meemaw's birthday (Julie's Grandmother. We had our own little names for the g-parents) She died six years ago. She would have been 86 today. She was the epitome of a southern belle. She was prissy to the very end. She was the perfect example of a preachers wife and she was our god-fearing, loving and respected grandmother. She and I had a special bond. She was my girl. We were a crazy pair. She LOVED to shop...and mostly for and with me. I was the baby and spoiled rotten. Her excuse for spoiling me, "Hollye and Julie have husbands to take care of them, you have me!" When I was younger the excuse was always, "Y'all know Abby's the baby" (Oh, how I loved it and miss it so much). There for a long time after she died, I would not go in the Oak Court Mall in Memfrica because it would make me cry. In retrospect, it is actually pretty funny that the mall caused me great grief. I was sort of glad Macy's bought Goldsmith's so I could lay

"what a relief it is to see your friendly smile. It is like seeing the smile of God!" Genesis 33:10 Last week I was desperate for familiarity. I like it here and I am meeting nice people, yet their is something to be said for comfort and familiarity. With a new job, remodeling a home and learning a new town, new faces, routines, etc...I was in BIG need of some of my "homies". Melissa's visit wet my appetite for familiar faces. I just loved being with her. It felt so comfy. Jules, Stephen and Anna called me last Friday morning and surprised us with a visit. Then, Diana and her crew surprised us with a visit on Saturday. I was on cloud nine when I started this new week. God hears the cry of his children, I know that is fo' sho! Well, it just gets better.....Mama and Aunt Suzy are going to be in Memfrica on Friday night to fly to Canada on Saturday. I decided to trot on over there after work tomorrow night to spend the night with them and visit. It is Mama'

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

Today is one of my favorite days of the year. THE FIRST DAY OF AUTUMN!!!!! I love it. Love it! I love the colors of the changing leaves. Although they are dying, they do it so beautifully and gracefully. I hope to die that way too. Well that was morbid. Anyway. I love Autumn. The crispness of the air. The hint of cooler weather but still the feel of the warm summer air. Believe it or not I even love the smell of Autumn. For some of you Autumn may smell good. For me and the places I have lived the last 15 years the smell of Autumn is defoliant. Defoliant: a chemical that removes leaves from growing plants The first few years of Autumn in the northeast part of the state made me want to gag! Oh, I thought it was the worst smell ever. But over the years it has grown on me. We lived in Camden for one Autumn season and I actually missed the smell of defoliant. I'm sick I know. Friday, when we were in Leachville visiting some friends(but by no means all of our friends!) I walked ou

This sweet little face is on its way to my house and this aunt is most gitty with excitement! Jules, Stephen and Sissy are on their way to Leachville to visit their friend who lost their Nana. She called me at lunch and told me the plan and that they will then come to stay the night with us. What a great ending to an awful week! Abby

Randall bought me a bag at the fair last night. When the toothless Carney handed it to me I immediately thought of Jerry Clower. "Why the heck...", you ask? Well, when I was a little girl I went with my Meemaw & Peepaw to see Jerry Clower in West Tennessee, at a large fairground(not sure where we were). All the way there my Peepaw promised me cotton candy. Me, being the cute little fat kid, I was gitty with excitement in the backseat. My Peepaw was most excited about seeing Jerry Clower and had looked forward to it for a very long time. He missed half the show walking around on his ailing legs trying to find me cotton candy. I remember my Meemaw being so put out with me because I had made Peeps miss the first half of the show because of my sugar addiction. (I loved that lady!) Long story short, there was no cotton candy in the place, so I got ice cream. Peepaw got to see the second half and that made him happy. His baby girl got sugar and he got a laugh...happiness. Last

Today I am taking the boys to spend the weekend with my dad. We are meeting half-way(well, almost half-way.) They are going to go to their first Ole Miss football game EVER! Samuel is so excited. David and Daniel aren't as excited. The are just glad to be going and spending time with Grandaddy and Ms. Connie. I will tell you that David took a book to last weeks Star City High football game-AND READ IT! I have asked him to please not take a book with him to the Ole Miss game, there is no reason to give Grandaddy a heart attack right there in the stands. I will run and pick them up Sunday after church, then run to Little Rock to pick up my Duck Duck Goose consignment sale check, and run back home to go to church for our second revival service. Sounds like fun, except that everytime I said run in that sentence it means an hour and a half. Yes, I will be guzzling some gas Sunday! Wednesday's post was all about me. I wrote about the car accident I had while pregnant with Samuel.

http://www.emilyandnathan.blogspot.com/ Go there for exciting news from our good friends Emily and Nathan!! Congrats!!!

11 years ago today was a day I won't forget. On my way to work while listening to Paul Harvey on the radio (and wearing a borrowed shirt), a pick-up truck with its cab full of teenagers on their way to school turned in front of me. I was traveling at 55-60mph on Highway 412 in Missouri and hit that truck as it turned in front of me. I'm not sure what happened, but I remember a feeling of "landing" and noticed that my Steven Curtis Chapman cassette tape was now playing. Apparently the impact had somehow caused the tape to insert itself in the player and play. Very odd. I remember getting out of the truck, Stephen's first, and to this very day, favorite truck. Seeing pieces of it lying on the ground, the front license plate that said something about loving First Baptist Church Leachville lying on the highway. The accident happened in front of what I call a gas station, Stephen refers to it as a liquor store that sells gas. As I walked from the broken truck across t

Yes, I am. I am in a new decade of life and enjoying it so far. We celebrated all weekend. Melissa's visit was the best. Being able to actually look her in the eye, see her smile, hear her laugh, look at her "Oh, my...you are so odd" face when I am telling a story or eating something really strange, Laughing so hard at her expressions that I pee my pants, and being able to hug her sweet neck made my weekend extra special! I miss having my good girlfriends within physical distance....oh, how I miss it. Randall was a doll and remembered that I told him that I, "just wanted to be happy on my birthday", so he bought me Happy perfume! He is always thinking. He also promises me some furniture from a new store here in town. We will wait for a sale though...you know us! After tailgating with the workplace and attending the ASU game for 1 quarter, I decided I wanted to end my day with a bang. I wanted a donkey pinata and I wanted to hit it really, really hard and have c

My deodorant expires Jan 10, 2039. Are you kidding me? 2039? I will be 68 years old when it expires. I'm thinking about not using it anymore and just keeping it around until 2039 to see what happens to it. And such an exact date, not just January 2039, but January 10, 2039. So, if any of ya'll are still around then, I'll try to remember to tell you what happened to my deodorant . Will it blow up, will it dry out, will it emit an odor akin to body odor? Lets just pray Jesus comes before my deodorant expires! Julie

Today, Saturday, is Abby's 30 th birthday. Like most of us, she is probably thinking that she hasn't become the person she thought she would be by the age of 30. So, I took it upon myself to make a list of her accomplishments as a little birthday present to her. If you think of others please leave them in the comments for us to see! Asked Jesus Christ to be the Lord and Savior of her life met and fell in love with the perfect man for her married that man (hi Randall!) planned, designed, and delegated her wedding from 5 hours away has lived in 6 cities since graduating from high school attended three colleges is a member of a sorority graduated from UCA paid off her college loans WAY early sang solos in church has completed a marathon has completed two 5K's has more friends than can be counted is a loving, generous sister is a kind, giving, and loving aunt has raised many thousands of dollars for Leukemia research currently holds a job with the responsibility of getting

My Aunt Babs and cousin Hollye , just sent me birthday flowers with a flower of the month punch card...for the whole year! Yes. I get a bouquet of flowers each month for the next year. Plus, it is all from the cute little shop I have been dying to visit. I am so excited, honored, gitty and proud to have fresh flowers on my desk. No one ever sends me flowers. This is HUGE. Thanks, "chick-a- d's ", I miss you so much! Abby

We are in Arkansas State country and learning how to howl! Last week I organized St. Bernards , Paint the Town Red event. The Chamber puts this on and companies can participate and be judged. They show their spirit through decor and skits. We won the Spirit Award! Abby

Oh, yes I am! I would like to say that it felt really good to be in my own bed last night. But, unfortunately my vacation bed was REALLY WONDERFUL and could not be beat by my bed. It was good to be in my own home though. With my reclining furniture. Oh, how I love my new furniture. It is soft, plush, and it reclines! Here is a rundown of what we did on vacation. (I will put it in list form, so as to not make it be such a school project, because that is what my children will be doing tomorrow. The old" What did you do on summer vacation?" paper!) Monday- Drove and drove and drove! Went to see Noah-the Musical. It was SOOOO Good! If you are in Branson , (or Pennsylvania) you must go see it. It lasts almost 3 hours and the kids were never tired, bored, or restless! Ate at Chili's and went to Walmart , pretty typical Monday! Tuesday- Went to Silver Dollar City. The kids love that place and for some reason I do too. I tried to figure out why I like it so much and I can't

My friend, Ashlea was born on September 13th also...just a year later. We met in college and bonded very quickly, especially when we found out we were b-day twins! We even had our 21st & 22nd b-day party together with all our UCA friends in 2001. It was most fun! She and I are alike in all the odd ways. It is pretty cool and weird, I think. She is my birthday sister for life! Happy Birthday Week to you, Ash! Abby

Because it is my birthday week, I can vent and stand on my soapbox. Here goes: Don't volunteer people for non-profit or civic organizations without asking them if it is okay! If you know me well, you know that most of my young career has taken place in non-profit organizations and I have learned that you don't volunteer your time, talents or treasures for things unless you are passionate about the cause. I am an advocate for this belief and know that burning your candle at both ends because you can't say "no" is not how we are suppose to use the 3 T's (listed above). Also, if you can't say "no", don't volunteer someone else for the job and not tell them. There is nothing like getting phone calls and emails from all these places telling you your responsibilities and you are like " Wha, WHAT?!" Don't be tacky. Say "no" with confidence if you don't want to be involved... and NEVER volunteer someone else for a job you

As I prepare to turn 30 this week, I want to share 30 valuable lessons/truths I have learned about life: 1. I am fearfully and wonderfully made 2. Laugh & the world laughs with you - snort, and you're on your own! 3. Couple skating is overrated 4. Being an old soul is cool 5. Sweet & Salty are better together, than apart 6. Crossing the finish line is the best part of the journey 7. Imaginary friends always fall out of the car 8. I AM a princess because my Father is the King of Kings 9. The chase is always more fun than the catch, though the catch is worth the chase 10. I'm loud, proud and country by the grace of God 11. Junior high may be Hell, or at least a close second 12. Hating is not nice, but I hate cats 13. Silver is better than gold 14. There's no place like the Fort 15. Mayonnaise is positively nasty 16. When you start to fall, take someone down with you so you don't have to go alone 17. Santa Claus is real 18. Saturday nights aren't the same with

Talking about toilets is most unromantic and a little off color, but I must. We are in renovation mode in both of our bathrooms. We were not replacing either toilet until we were ready to do the floor and the walls behind the toilet. Randall saw no need to keep uninstalling and reinstalling toilets. So, bleach became my friend....my good friend, while wearing a face mask and gloves up to my elbows. You see, this house was not lived in for about a year and the water had sat stagnant for all that time. I also believe they were left "unkept" when the previous owners vacated the house. You can only imagine my horror. Ms. Clean Jeans here, dealing with unruly commodes...ghastly! Well, the hall bathroom is near completion (Hallelujah! I will post pics later this week once it is all jazzed up) and we were able to put in a new toilet. (I never thought putting in a toilet would call for such a celebration). We realized we needed a bone colored toilet after we got the new toilet home.

Does anyone read our blog? We never get comments anymore. We miss hearing from our readers and wish you sweet lurkers would let us know who you are! We think people read it because the number gauge at the bottom of the screen keeps going up. Hmm ? Don't be intimidated by the comment screen. You can do it, we are rooting for you!

Julie called me last night to tell me that they went to the Dixie Stampede (they are in Branson this week) and that she and Stephen were part of the show! They rode stick horses in a barrel race. Here is the kicker...they were both riding the same stick horse at the same time. I am a little embarrassed to be her sister this morning. They were on the South team and their team did win. That helps level out the embarrassment a tad bit. I loved David's response when Julie asked if he was proud of them or embarrassed and he said "both!". Aunt Abby is with you, little Dave! Abby

This week our grandfather (aka: Uncle David, UD , and Uncle Mama) turned the great age of 80! We are thrilled to have such a wise one in our group. UD became our grandfather about 25 years ago and we were so thrilled to get him as our own. He is a true Texan who is very sharp, funny, sporty and loving. Here's to many more happy years with you, Uncle! We love you! Julie & Abby

"East bound and down, loaded up and truckin' a'we gonna do what they say can't be done We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there I'm east ..." As I am sure you know, Jerry Reed went on to Glory this week. My husband loved the man and knew most of the words to all his songs. It makes me want to watch Smokey and the Bandit REAL bad! Abby

Yes, we have made it to Branson. A sweet couple from our church have provided us a place to stay for the week here in Branson. It is really wonderful. The mountains and trees and fresh air are just what we needed. The rain form 3 days is NOT what we needed but we are making the best of it. It seems Gustav has paid us a visit. Today the kids are swimming in the indoor pool and are loving it. We are trying to come up with as many indoor activities here as we can find. I won't be able to post much because it seems I'm in a bit of an internet wasteland. Is it just me or does this always happen to me? I just wanted to check in with ya'll and say hi! So HI!!!!! Julie

Melissa Jane Lee S. is coming for my 30th birthday, next weekend!!! I am gitty with excitement to see the BFF in the flesh, at my house! Wow. It is my lucky day. We may have to get a pinata, pin the ole tail on the donkey, eat some cake and have an old fashion part-a! Abby

Here is the hallway floor - unfinished and finished. Randall did this all by himself and has the wound to prove it. Bless his heart, but it sure is a pretty floor! And for the record, I am every woman! I lifted the deep freezer and the couch like a pro, after complaining about it on Friday. Randall was amazed at my new and improved strength. I was proud, I must admit! Thanks, Sue, for the offer to help on Friday. It was so sweet of you! Because Rand worked until after 7:00 on Friday night, we had to wait and move out of the apt. on Saturday. It was crazy, but we got it done. This week we will gear up for the guest bathroom remodel, taking place next weekend. It is going to be quite the tedious chore. I look forward to the day that my house is a home. I think it will be a while though. Pray for my sanity. I couldn't find my shoes this morning and Rand could not find his t-shirts. Our new neighbor, Norenda, brought us homemade cinnamon rolls on Sunday. We were so excited to meet a