Life with my sister

This week has been a seasoning packet kind of week at our house. We are trying to eat a little healthier and we are exploring new dishes because we are a bit bored with the same ole ones. So, I picked up some seasoning packets, something I never think of doing. I bought this one, added chicken breasts, omited the oil, added a drained can of corn, drained can of diced tomatoes and the can of white beans. It reminded us of taco soup with chicken instead of ground beef/turkey. We added some sour cream and avocado on top. It was good and something I can freeze and eat later when Randall is gone planting this spring. I bought this one and added it to whole wheat noodles. I did not use the full ammount of olive oil and it still turned out fine. I should have used more noodles because it was a bit "pesto-y", as my dear Randall described it. It was something different, but probably not something I will continue to serve on a regular basis. We really like a potato more than a noodle.

Ok , I'm going to confess. I'm on twitter. I don't have a business, I don't run an organization . I don't sell anything or have great words of wisdom. But other people do. And they tweet. Stephen has been on twitter for quite some time and he would get breaking news and tidbits of information that I wanted to know about too. But no one was sharing those on facebook . So, I succumbed to twitter. It was a couple of weeks before Stephen found out. I currently have 17 people that read my tweets. Poor people. But I follow amazing people. Al Mohler , Johnny Hunt, Mike the Hot Dog Guy(I plan on visiting him in Little Rock tomorrow to get a hot dog. I'll let you know how they are and if he is amazing!), and friends that tweet instead of facebook . I don't follow reality show people, or pop culture stuff. My mind is cluttered enough without adding to the clutter. I just follow those people that are encouraging and uplifting to me. Well, that and just funny! So, if yo

I had a hard time as a mom last week. I was hearing and see things happen in the lives of my children that hurt my heart. It seemed that each child would come to me with a story of what was said or done to them. It seemed that they only remembered these things at bedtime. So after they spoke of it and were tucked in they went to sleep. I on the other hand, was awake thinking about their feelings and their thoughts. After prayer God spoke to my heart, urged me to follow up on what they had told me and what had led up to the events that happened. It turns out that the events really weren't as bad as they seemed. In a couple of instances they had provoked the behavior. OH MY GOODNESS!! So today I am offering a bit of advice. Before you spend a night awake and hurting for your child because a friend has done something wrong to them. Ask for the whole story. If I had asked for the whole story my Thursday morning would have been much better. Now, some things happened that were wrong. The

I love a trifle. They are so fun and usually always super yummy. I want to make this recipe for my next little shindig. Doesn't it look scrumptious?! Seriously, my mouth is watering. This was our Valentine's Day dessert. It made me smile. I asked Randall what he wanted and he said "a mousse and a graham cracker". He didn't think I would really serve it to him, but I did! Be careful what you ask for. It was yummy, simple and a crowd pleaser. I made a box of instant butterscotch pudding. I then added whip cream and cracker crumbs. I found pretty glasses and added the garnish. My boys soaked this up! It reminded me of my childhood and I wished I had made cook and serve instead of instant. My mama would put chocolate pudding in these pretty little glasses that had a real big silver rim. She would not let us eat it until they cooled all the way. I can remember standing in front of the fridge with the door open, just waiting! I love this little foodie of mine. He w

I told you about one of my boys last week. I told you of his drive to be perfect and have order all around him. Someone said he seemed a little OCD . He really isn't OCD , just a bit uptight. And the more I say "chill out" the more he is the same! HA! One of my other boys isn't uptight at all! He is laid-back and easy going. Watching him play basketball Tuesday night, Stephen said that he had never seen anyone more so much without going anywhere. I agreed and he isn't just that way with his movement, but also with his mouth. He loves to talk, sometimes with meaning, sometimes just nonsense. He loves to cuddle though. And he always has. A lady at church calls him my side-kick. I hadn't really noticed, but he always sits beside me at church. The other three kids may sit with me or may sit with a friend or in the pew in front of me. But not this one, he sits with me. His love for me is evident. He wants to make people happy. He doesn't want to hurt anyone'

Henry "sings" Jesus Loves Me. It makes my heart happy to hear my baby boy make a joyful noise to the Lord...even if he has no idea. He will soon enough. Abby

Well, I was going to gripe and whine about Valentine's Day this year. It started out good. Stephen gave me two books for my Kindle, actually he watched while I downloaded them. I gave him a filter for his Keurig . We laughed and smiled at each other. No kissing, because there had been no teeth brushing. I don't care what they do in the movies, but kissing before brushing is just gross! Stephen then told me that he had to go to a senior adult revival, lunch and meetings. UGH! I didn't like it at all. I had a bit of an attitude. And when I say bit of an attitude I mean it, it wasn't that big of a deal. So, no lunch together we still had dinner. And then he called to say hi and mentioned that he had something to do at church for the evening. This is where I had more than a bit of an attitude. I didn't fuss or yell. I just said ok and was short the rest of the conversation. Girls, you know how we can be. He then texted me and asked me out. It was so very sweet. I told

Can you believe it has been a year?! He was just becoming the little heartbreaker that he is. This year I had this fun shirt made and matching cookies. I know you must laugh at me. I can't hear you, but I know you do it. I had cookies made for his Valentines. It was way cute, and I realize that none of his little friends know they match his shirt, but his mama knows and that is her little Valentine gift to herself! And here is my sweet little 2011 Valentine. Look how he has grown. Love is in the air, for sure! He decided to taste test his Valentines, wrapper and all. Henry wants to give you one of his yummy Valentine treats and tell you he loves you the BIG much! Happy Love Day! Abby

As you know, we celebrated 8 great years of marriage this week. We were able to head over the bridge to where we fell in love and dine at our favorite place for our anniversary dinner. Hollye, Claire and Thew (our cousins) kept our love child for us, and for that we are most grateful. Meals without precious Henry have become a mini vacation! I thought I would review our favorite spot, because I did not cook anything worth bragging about this week. If you have followed our blog over the past 3+ years you know Randall and I love Bonefish Grill. It is a chain, and we do not usually favor a chain, but this one has us hooked. We loved living down the road from one and went a couple of times a month before we moved to Arkansas. Now it is more of an occasion to eat there! I love the atmosphere of a Bonefish and the extra large booths are my favorite. I love that the hostess will seat two people in a spot for 6. My feet don't touch the floor in these booths, but I still love them! Rand

All four of our children are so different. A couple of them look alike but other than that, they are completely different. Two of the boys are playing basketball this year. It has been interesting to watch their personalities in action. One is easy-going, playful, and unconcerned about being perfect. The other one is none of those things. He has been that way since he was a toddler. This boy would always carry a bag with all of favorite little toys with him wherever he went. Even if it was just a trip from his bedroom to the kitchen. He loved having all of his "things" together. Now, that he is years older and his toys have changed, he doesn't carry a bag anymore. He is very concerned about his belongings though. As he plays with his various toys, he is very rigid, and structured. I love watching him put all his toys in neat rows, clean lines, and knowing where everything is supposed to be. He wants everything to be perfect. Not just his toys, but his schoolwork and his

Oh, how she would love this little crew of ours! Nine years ago today Jesus welcomed home my Meemaw "Meep", Julie's Grandmother and Hollye's Gran. We hated to see her go, but Peepaw "Peep" and Jesus needed her more than we did. We all three called her by a different name, yet loved her the same. She was a prissy, reserved, tender- hearted, hilarious, southern belle who loved her three brown headed grandaughters. We have posted about her several times. You may remember the Charlie Pride post . That is one of many funny memories of her. She was a hoot. My Meemaw made me laugh a lot and most of the time she didn't mean to! As a young lady in my thirties, I still feel nervous when chewing gum in church because I remember the glares from the choir loft because little Abby had some Trident in her mouth. When I put my son in knee socks and "funny little outfits" (as my Daddy calls them), I smile and think of her. When I make a casserole or a pecan pi

"I have found the one whom my soul loves" Song of Solomon 3:4 Eight years ago today I married the only man I have ever given my heart to (besides Jesus, of course). I feel incredibly blessed to have only loved one man. There were many years I waited impatiently on my man, and thought the wise women in my life were full of bologna when they told me God was sparing my heart for one wonderful catch. Indeed, they were right. The best part about the whole deal is that I am also the only woman he has ever loved. So, I'm extra incredibly blessed to have this sweet man's whole heart without any missing pieces. I laugh at how things have changed in our eight years. From our tiny little one bedroom apartment in East Memphis, to our first house in Byhalia, to our current home in Jonesboro where we have started our family, love has been the theme in all these special places over the past eight years. In these eight years we have been through many career moves, vehicles, magazine

Have you ever had one of those days where you just missed someone? That is today for me. I miss my mom. I know there are missionaries and soldiers and soldiers families that haven't seen their moms in months or even years. I also know that if we win the HGTV dream home in Vermont ( I can dream, right?!), that I will soon be acquiring a Vermont driver's license and that would put me further away from her. But I miss her. I miss my sister. I have seen her cute face three times since I've seen mother but I miss her terribly too. I also miss two men who chose to leave this life without asking me first. I hadn't seen these guys in years before they left, but just knowing they were in this life with me was a comfort. And then today I found out that a dear lady in the faith, a great lady with a beautiful legacy of God's love died. She is dancing in Heaven today. A facebook status of a facebook friend today said to finish the sentence "what I love about Grand Avenue

Ritz Mock Apple Pie I made this for the first time. I am sure I have eaten it before, but I don't recall it. I kept running into the recipe, so I tried it. It was interesting and worth a try, yet I don't think it was any easier than making a real apple pie. Cheaper, yes, but easier, no. 2- 9 inch pie crusts 1 sleeve of Ritz crackers - crushed 2 cups sugar 2 tsp cream of tartar 1.75 cups of water 1 grated lemon peel 2 tbsp lemon juice 2 tbsp butter 1/2 tsp cinnamon Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Roll out 1 pastry sheet and place in pie pan. place cracker crumbs on top. Mix sugar and cream of tartar in saucepan. Gradually stir in the water. Bring to a boil on high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add lemon peel and juice. Cool. Pour syrup over crackers. Dot with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon. place the other crust on top. Trim, seal and flute edges. Place slits in the center of the crust. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool. Tasting Parties I love this idea. Very cle

February is known for a lot of things. Heart Health Month, Black History Month, Groundhog Day, Presidents Day, and Valentine's Day. It is a plethora of celebrations, really. My favorite theme for this month is love. Red is everywhere and all the Valentine junk at "the Walmarts" make me feel the power of love! Some years back, our pastor in Mississippi challenged us to make February an acts of love month. Each week had its own theme or challenge. I loved it! That month is when I really met my sweet neighbors and it was through that German chocolate cake I took over to them on a Tuesday night, that they became like family to us. This year I am all about doing that again, but it my own way. Each day I am challenging myself to show love in a way that is out of my norm. It makes me feel loved to love others. They are small, random acts of love. They don't cost much and don't take too much time. I encourage you to spend the rest of this month showing love in a way that

When I was a little girl we had warm fuzzy programs at school. I remember it fondly. My sister came to my grade school one time to lead a program. I thought I was so cool because she was my teenager and at my school. I was one of the few in grade school who had a sibling in high school. Anyway, the warm fuzzies were cool, and so was my sister! They were made out of yarn (the warm fuzzy, not my sister). I loved the lesson it taught us. Now as an adult I see the lesson a lot better than I did then. On a wet, cold, gray day, I am finding the warm fuzzies around me....here goes: Making bread with my new big rolling pin my mama gave me for Christmas is so fun on a yucky winter day. I was going to through my starter out after Christmas but Randall convinced me to keep it. He likes the cinnamon rolls! Looking at my wooden fish on the side of my fridge while I roll out dough makes my heart so happy. My little David made me this for Christmas. It was honestly my favorite gift. I just melt wh

It is a rainy day here in southeast Arkansas. Sure wish I had some cute rain boots! I should have asked for some for Christmas. Why do I never think of the right things to put on my Christmas list?? Are you like that? My Christmas list is always so generic. Sweater, shirt, necklace, something cute for my house. Cute rain boots should have been on the list! Maybe for my birthday??!! Anyway, enough of Christmas! This is February. Can you believe it? January just flew right by. It didn't seem like it at the time of course. It never does. Its a lot like being a parent. People always tell you that your kids are going to grow up so fast. That one day they'll be babies and the next day they'll be graduating from high school. What they forget to tell you is the day to day struggles can seem like one day lasts 18 years! Go here to see last year's birthday post for our Aunt Janet ( TBEO ). Today is her birthday and we both wish we were with her to celebrate it. I would probably m