A Day In The Hills ~ Butch's Branding

Today was a day filled with God's beauty in creation, family, friends, & horses. I always wish I had pictures of the beauty you get to see horse back in the hills but never have a camera. I love to see my Master's handy work as I watch the flowers dance in open meadows. It sets a heart free.

We spent the day with our family & friends branding Butch's cattle. Some of us went out to gather the cattle.

My buddies Benny & Steve joined in on the day.

Here are the three amigos!

We got to sort the cattle.

Benny & Steve were ropers.

I liked this shot.

I got to give shots.

My girls hanging out in Papa Bill's truck watching the action.

Abbie lovin' on Papa Bill.

The girls getting a ride on Joe before we head home.

Hugs from my babies!

Our Clan minus Luke.

He was home safetly with Uncle Rob & Auntie Keri.

'>Here is the whole day of photos if you want to see them all.

Love At First Spur

I had to show off my new pair of spurs. They are gorgeous! Benny brought these back to me from his recent trip to Oklahoma. I was in awe of them as I inspected them and then I turned them to check out the “emblem”. When I discovered it was a cross I was filled with emotion. My buddy went looking for a pair of spurs, for his partner, and made sure that they properly represented her. I love My Savior, Jesus, more than anything else, and my buddy knows this. I was so touched by this incredible gift. I proudly displayed them Sunday at a branding. Benny was tickled I was still wearing them, hours later, as we put our horses away.

Hebrews 10:24
Let us consider how to spur one another to love and good deeds

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Yes that is green spaghetti!
Happy St. Patrick's Day from the Abshire Clan!

Date with her Papa

Papa has made it a point to date his daughters. It has been sweet to see how excited they get as they prepare to go with him. He took Hopie on a date Friday after school. She was surprised and excited as they headed to Color Me Mine. They made Mama a beautiful plate that will be perfect for cookies! I am so thankful for a wonderful man who loves his children.

Principal's Award

The Abshire Clan was so proud of Kayanna Hope today as we received the Principal's Award for the 3rd quarter of school. She has adjusted wonderfully in kindergarten. Here are the very sweet words that Miss Banks, her teacher, had to say about Hopie.

Kayanna has done a great job this quarter. She reads well and is one of my most consistent spellers. She puts forth terrific effort on her assignments. Her handwriting has really improved. Kayanna is a hard worker. She is very motivated in her homework assignments, with the packet usually being returned to school early. Kayanna has made a concerted effort in her behavior to listen, follow directions, and be where she is supposed to be. I am truly proud of Kayanna for all that she has accomplished this quarter and this school year. ~ Miss Banks


Kayanna's Principal - Mrs. Devahl

8 Seconds......well maybe not quite!

Last Sunday my father-in-law, Bill, needed some help gathering some cattle for a friend. My buddy Benny & I were happy to help! If it has to do with horses, cattle, beautiful country, count us in! There were six of us to help so we split into two groups when we went to head out. Bill, Benny, and I headed out together. We hadn’t been out 5-10 minutes when the other group had run into to cattle and we were just going along. I had just turned to my father-in-law and joked about who picked this side of the mountain (he had) ~ no cattle! Just then Baby Girl, my mare, went to hopping a little, as she does when she is scared by something. I turn to see what is upsetting her and see two free horses running our way to play with our horses. Note to self ~ free horses can be VERY dangerous for those of us horseback! Anyway, I turn to check on the others and find my father-in-law lookin’ like Lane Frost on his mare. Dee Dee went to bucking and Bill was hanging on. He tried his best to ride through it but there was no way. After he was on the ground she still was bucking. There were some scary thoughts for a few seconds until the horses settled down. Bill took a good spill but is on the mend. He has takin’ some pretty hard teasing from his buddies. What was probably 4 seconds felt no less than 8 seconds! He is my father-in-law, that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it!

Cooties!!!!

Having two girls in our home makes one Papa very anxious for the day that boys don't have cooties. This is the season that boys are still "yuck"! This season won't last, we know, but for now we will love it! We captured some proof that this season did exist. This sticker is on their bedroom door, where it shall remain until they are 30+, if Papa has his way.

Now Hopie, being our spice, has given us reason to keep an eye on her from a young age. At the wise old age of 4, Hopie lined up a row of boys and asked,

"Who wants to kiss me furst?" I hope you heard the "r" there!

She cracks us up!

"That Woman!"

A few years ago I (Elizabeth) was reading through the book of Proverbs. I ran across a certain woman that bothers me. She is the woman that all women dread. She is the adulteress woman in chapters 5-7. I got to thinking about "this woman" and what I could do to protect my home & marriage from "her". So I asked Aaron a question that caught him off guard. I asked him, "Honey, do I captivate you?" He really didn't know where this was coming from; at least that is what his eyebrows said. Was he thinking, "Is this loaded question?" I explained to him my readings and thoughts regarding "this woman" in Proverbs. I told him, "Honey, if I don't captivate you, she will and wants to!" He assured me that I captivate him and that his favorite view is "from my front porch looking in". It has become a sweet thing at our home, that I have received several spontaneous notes that read "You captivate me" from Aaron. Those sweet words just grow my love for that man.

As I read through Proverbs this year, when I came across "that woman" I sent a text to Aaron and wrote him "that woman is back" to which he replied "you captivate me". It is a way we keep those lines of communication open. Today, I received an email from Family Life Today that goes right along with this and thought I'd share it.

March 10
The Power of a Woman
by Barbara Rainey

I have come out to meet you, to seek your presence earnestly, and I have found you. I have spread my couch with coverings, with colored linens of Egypt.Proverbs 7:15-16

Few things are more abhorrent to me than seeing women make sexual advances toward married men, either on television or in real life. We should recoil at this kind of behavior. But just because flirtation is often corrupt doesn't mean there's anything wrong with making sexual advances toward one married man -- the one you're already married to.

I believe we can learn something from the powerful woman described in Proverbs 5–7. Although she is an adulteress and would not typically be seen as a positive role model, perhaps there is a pure use of this power when these tactics are directed toward a woman's own husband. For example:
*Her lips "drip honey" and are "smoother than oil" (Proverbs 5:3). There was a time during the dating season when gentle, soothing speech came easily. But now in marriage, it's all too easy to gripe and complain. Words are powerful. Use yours well, and you'll melt him like butter.
*"She seizes him and kisses him" (Proverbs 7:13). What would be the look on your man's face if, when you first saw him at the end of a day, you grabbed him around the shoulders and really planted one on him? There's not a man alive who wouldn't wonder what you'd had for lunch that day -- and who wouldn't hope you'll have it again tomorrow.
*She captures him "with her eyelids" (Proverbs 6:25). We wives can tend to get sloppy with our appearance around the house. That's understandable. But every once in a while, make sure you look good when he comes home. Really good. Use your eyes to engage him. "Capture" him with your physical attractiveness.

A wife who understands her allure as a woman is protecting her husband from temptation. She's like a magnet, drawing him home from the seductions of his day.
She's got power. And she knows how to use it.

*Discuss: Wives, find out from your man what would really make his day.
*Pray: Pray that God will never let Satan, who knows how to twist it, steal the joy of sexual attraction and romance from you.

Our Hopie

Kayanna Hope can be summed up in a word, "FABULOUS"! She is the spice in our family and is such a blessing to her Mama in so many ways. I needed Kayanna and the Lord knew that. :) I think He has a funny sense of humor sometimes! Anyway, I thought I would share a couple of her adventures as of late. The first is her obsession with pulling her teeth. There are few people that she hasn't asked to work on pulling her teeth. Uncle Rob has probably been the biggest help to her.

She asked him daily to work on this tooth that wasn't quite ready to come out. With enough persistence they, Rob & Hopie, got that tooth out. No sooner was that tooth out that another tooth came up loose. She worked on that tooth until it was nasty to look at. We were begging her to pull that one. Our friend Esther got the honors of pulling that one. The tooth fairy has a good flight plan to our home.

Her second adventures was one that Mama really thought we had escaped. Hopie decided to cut her own hair. The opportunity presented itself and the temptation was too much for Hopie to bare.

(Notice how short the one side is?)

Part of Mama isn't surprised but just thought it would have happened a long time ago. There have never been scissors laying around our home for this very reason. When you have a "Hopie", you start to think like one of them!!! She cut her hair at our friend's home who had scissors in her bathroom. She was in the process of growing her hair out so this was a set back to say the least. We were blessed that Grandma Debbie came to the rescue with damage control!

Unfortunately she had cut several inches off and it was a challenge to fix. We have entered a season of bows in our home now.

We don't think Hopie will do this again, but ya never know!

It is NEVER a dull moment around the Abshire home.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!!!

Monday was Dr. Seuss' birthday but Abbie's class celebrated it today, in the appropriate fashion I might add. She left for school in her pajamas, toting a sleeping bag, and a massive stack of Dr. Seuss books. Her class was spending the entire day reading books. What a fabulous way to encourage children to love reading. The teacher asked for volunteers to come in and read. Well, since this is my FAVORITE 3rd grade class, Mama asked to read! What a fun day!

Walk Through The Years

Joyner Ranch

Today was a beautiful day outside. Spring is around the corner and the rain has brought a lot of green grass and wild flowers. We spent the day out at Joyner Ranch, Papa Bill & Grandma Kay's. The girls got to ride around on the golf cart that Grandma got for the grand kids, while Mama took a walk down to the mail boxes (about two mile round trip). The breeze was great, the birds sang when the girls weren't riding up to scare them off, and the scenery was a piece of beauty done by the Creator! Here is our day caught on a slide show.