Life with my sister

I remember the panic that would overtake my little person when I heard the ice cream van in our neighborhood. It was a race against the sound of the creepy ice cream music to get the dime from Mama and bolt out to the street before the little people passed by our house. Our ice cream van drivers where little people. Until I moved to Memphis and saw an ice cream van, I just assumed they were all little people...I am so naive and such a dork, I know. Anyway, an orange push pop was always my Popsicle of choice from the ice cream van. I found some at Walmart this week and brought them home. It brings back such fun memories and Henry loves to take a few licks. I am finally at that place in life where sharing a Popsicle is actually a joy! It is time for corn on the cob and that makes me so happy. I love finding the happy old man on the side of the highway with the 10 for 1 buck deal, bringing them home, shucking them and putting them in the freezer for later. Grilling them is my favorit...

Today I took the kids to the dentist. This was their 6 month check-up and cleaning and I try to knock this one out in one day. There are both advantages and disadvantages to doing it this way. The advantage is that we have the waiting room to ourselves. We take up the bulk of the hygienist & dentist's time for about three hours. The disadvantage is it takes up to three hours! We came home with 2 cavities among the four children. Unfortunately the 2 cavities were in one child. I'm going to hate to have to brush teeth that aren't mine, but its either that or this child is going to have to start paying for their own cavities!! Now that I think about it, I have taken all of my kids to the doctor/dentist most every time for the last 10 years. Hardly ever do I just take one child to a visit. I think it might be boring. I could be wrong, but I don't think I'll ever know! I'm now trying to find activities for us to do this summer. Cheap ones of course. And activi...

***The devastation and loss in Joplin upsets me greatly. The outpouring of support from the people of Arkansas is heartwarming but the support of those just affected by tornadoes in Alabama just blows me away. (Bad use of words.) ***Our cousin Hollye's husband Matthew was in a car accident this morning. He is very sore and will be for days but thankfully came away from flipping his car, and sliding down the expressway with just soreness. We are so very thankful to God that no one else was hurt and that Matthew was able to walk away from the accident. We love him so much, he is one of us. Poor guy! ***Stephen preached on the return of Jesus Sunday. I am so excited about seeing Jesus's face. Can you imagine? Getting to see Him face to face? It's more than I can fathom really. ***We drive by the pool everyday to see the progress that is being made for our summer of swimming! Yesterday they were power-washing it. Painting is next and then it gets filled with water. My excitemen...

"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord, for his whole life will be given over to the Lord. And he worshiped the Lord there." (I Samuel 1:26-28) Sunday we were blessed to dedicate Henry to the Lord. Henry did really well and enjoyed seeing a picture of himself on the big screen. He kept pointing at it, when his fingers weren't in his mouth, of course. Our pastor shared the spiritual meaning of Henry's name and it fits him perfectly, "Ruler of the house"! It was such a sweet time for our little family. As a Baptist, we dedicate our children to the Lord. It is not baptism or christening. It is a voluntary act in which parents who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ present their child and themselves to the Lord as an outward expression of their gratitude to Him for the child. It is a formal appeal to God, asking for his assistance in rearing the child. It does not impart salvation ...

I think I have shared this recipe for crescent apple dumplings before, but because I have made them for the hubs this week, I thought I would share again. This is sin in a 9 x13, ladies and gents! They are so easy to make and they have no enemies, so you can't help but make them from time to time. These may be at the top of Randall's list of fave eats. 2 medium Granny Smith apples 2 cans crescent rolls 2 sticks butter 1 1/2 c. sugar 1 tsp. vanilla cinnamon (for sprinkling) 12 oz. (1 can) Mountain Dew or Sprite. Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9×13 pan with non-stick cooking spray. Cut apples into 8ths. Open a can of crescent roll dough and carefully separate the dough along the perforations. Place 1/8 of an apple on one segment of dough and then roll/wrap the apple in the dough. Place in the prepared pan and repeat with remaining apples and dough. Set aside. In a medium saucepan, melt butter and add sugar and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour butter/sugar mixture over the apples, th...

Well, its the end of the school year and busyness has hit!! We have been running all over the place the last few weeks and will be for the next couple of weeks. I must brag on my kids. Now, I know they are 13, 10 & 7 so they should be well-behaved but I have put my children in situations lately that have required them to sit quietly with nothing at all to do and they have made me such a proud Mom! I forget that I have really great kids. I also forget to tell them that they're great. This will serve as a reminder to go and tell them. Tell yours too! I've been helping decorate for a wedding & reception this weekend. Those of you that know me and those that have been to my house are laughing loudly right now and feeling so sorry for the bride. It turns out with someone else on my team I'm not so bad! We've had late nights this week with a couple more to go but the reception is going to look beautiful and the ceremony is, well, it will be just right! Last night betw...

Henry has been saying "me-mow" for weeks now and we have had no idea what he is saying. He is so cute when he says it and we just make up ideas for what it means. Well, this morning I figured it out. He is saying "Elmo"! He must watch it as school from time to time because we rarely watch it here. I turned it on this morning and he went crazy. It made me laugh and so proud to figure out what "me-mow" means. I guess we will have to watch Elmo more, much to our dislike. Barney and Elmo drive us nuts! Abby