Handsome!

As I was getting Luke ready for Bible study today, I told Luke we had to do his hair.  He had slept well on his hair! ;)   Upon his disapproval of me doing his hair, I showed him in the mirror how crazy it was!  He conceded to me fixing that crazy hair!  I showed him the finished product to which he replied, "Someone gonna say I am handsome!"  Insert one cute grin & you got warm fuzzies that melt my stinkin' heart!

Goin' Back

Luke Measuring Up!

Goin' back pretty much encompassed our day, here at the Abshires. It was our first day goin' back to school, which starts our fall routine. Summers seem to get shorter and shorter as the children get older. I know this time is coming about a week before it is actually here. A somber cloud sits right over our home, okay, actually just over me, the week before my babies head back to school. I even add salt to the wound by visiting the Pioneer Woman's website on homeschooling. Papa just shakes his head at my melancholy mood. He has just learned to live through this "week before". So the day is here when they are goin' back to school. Papa likes to stay home on this day to take them to school. I have a funny suspicion that he likes to keep an eye on his attachment-disordered wife. Whatever the reasoning is, we all love that he is here and part of our morning. We both have our jobs on this "goin' back" morning. I get breakfast together, pack the lunches, do hair....he measures the children, makes sure they have backpacks and lunches, and herds them out the door. Off to school we go!

Kayanna is getting so tall.



Abbie had a big growth spurt this year.

The girls are so excited to return to school. To see their friends they don't get to see over the summer, meet their new teachers, and to get back to a routine. They could hardly sleep last night. Needless to say, they don't have attachment-disorders! I am glad they enjoy their little school. It makes this transition so much easier on the Mama.

Kayanna with Mrs. Knox - 3rd Grade

Kayanna can’t wait to see her classroom and hug on her new teacher. That’s my girl! She meets her teacher, barely lets Mama snap my traditional photo, and dashes to the playground to see her friends. Oh, okay baby, don’t worry about your Mama’s heart that is breaking! You just run off like you have been freed from prison!!!

Abbie with Mr. Cranfill - 6th Grade

All righty then…..off to Abbie’s class. It is weird to see how quiet my spirited Abbie can be on her first day. She quietly finds her desk and checks out who is in her group. There are 20 boys to 10 girls in this class; so finding that female close to you brings an extra measure of comfort, in this classroom of testosterone. It is crazy to think that she is going to be in junior high next year. Okay, we will stop there! **Deep breath…..exhale**





Abbie & Ellie



In all the chaos of going to the different classrooms and chatting with teachers and classmates, we lose track of Luke. We know where he is.....playing in the kindergarten playground, like he does every year. The other parents probably think he is a classmate of their child; riding the bikes, going down the slide, and talking with the other kids. Not a stinkin’ chance! He is hangin’ out with Mama another couple years. Yes, we have already noted the attachment disorder in this post. We need not visit the issue again. I have two years to prepare for his departure to school. That should be plenty of time to deal with things! Yeah, right!!!!

A boy about his toys!

So with girls off to school and Papa off with locksmith jobs, Luke and Mama head home to our routine. Luke has no problem with the girls goin' back to school. He has so much to do, explore, and play with, without anyone getting in his way. Mama has plenty to do as well. This first day always goes so quickly. I manage to squeeze in lunch with my two favorite men before picking the girls up. I love hearing all about their day. It is a battle for air time for the next hour.

So begins our goin’ back season!

Goin’ back to school.

Goin’ back to friends.

Goin’ back to homework.

Goin’ back to a much needed exercise routine for Mama!

Goin’ back to Bible study & the ladies I love studying His Word with.

Goin’ back to more structure, which I thrive on.

As the day ends, I sit in my rocking chair on the front porch watching a dozen neighborhood kids play in the yard. My heart is warmed by the laughter and carefree spirit that surrounds me. There is no goin’ back to these days once they are gone, so I sit & soak it up! Life is precious! 



Sista & Cuzin' Time

This is the week that Luke & Mama played house.  By that I mean, the girls are gone to Wagon Train this week.  Papa is with the girls for half the week & then in Arizona for the rest of the week ~ busy man!  That left Luke & Mama home to wonder what in the world do we do with ourselves!!!  We missed everyone but we sure had a good time ourselves.  Mama didn't cook, due to the fact of eating leftovers all week.  There were TWO loads of laundry the entire week & that included sheets!!  We ran the dishwasher 2X.  Mama was scared it would break down due to lack of use!  It was a very odd week.  We did have some visitors. Auntie Angie & Nicholas came to stay for a couple of days.  We had a blast!

Luke is all about taking pictures now-a-days!



Cousins...tubin'





Playtime




Mama built her log cabin! :)




Coolin' off some hot dudes!



The pictures fail to capture the sistas throwing each other in the pool several times!  We were like drowned rats, in our clothes, walking home.  We cracked ourselves up!  That is not hard for us!

Forgotten Love!

As I perused my blog today, at all the things that get recorded here, I smiled, laughed out loud, shook my head, & even got teary-eyed at some of the adventures that go on around this crazy Abshire home of ours. I realized how much I have missed blogging this stories, conversations, memories, and antics. It is a sort of therapy for this Mama! Not to mention our family loves to stay caught up on the chaos they get to miss! ;-) Blogging slowed down for me last year after we returned from our trip to Ohio. The daunting task of blogging the Ohio trip stopped me in my blogging tracks. But a year later, I am feeling a renewed vigor to catch this blog up! A friend once told me that if he didn’t get it blogged within 48 hours he wouldn’t blog it. Well I am feeling up to the challenge of bringing this blog up to date. Okay, we will not mention the type A personality that battles within me that likes things nice & organized……without holes! :) So hold on to your boot straps and get ready for a wild ride of past year of the Adventures in AbshireLand!

Orange & Black - Tigers Attack

We have loved our new Friday night pastime. Jerry joined the Wasco High Tigers football team. That means local Friday night games at the high school stadium that we can walk to. The children love it so much. They look for friends, yell for Jerry, dance to the band music, and Luke flirts with Tilly the Tiger! We feel like the tv show "Friday Night Lights". Okay, maybe not quiet that glorious or dramatic, but we are will take it. Go Tigers!

Jerry is number 82! Go Jerry!!!

Tilly the mascot!

Luke flirting Tilly! :)

Uh, Tilly flirting back!! Back off Tilly, that is my boy!

Ok, I let him meet her. She scared him! That's my boy, run to Mama! :)

The Price of Happiness

Yes the title of this post & even the picture is a little misleading. If you are sitting back, wagging your finger, and clucking your tongue at me right now, well, just keep it up. There is ample material in this family for you to sit back and shack your head at; trust me on this one, I live here! Luke was having a fussy morning and his communication with me can get him very frustrated. I think he has been talking to his Papa too much about me, but we won’t go there. Anyway, back at the ranch, Luke wants ALL the suckers. I, trying to be a “good” mama won’t let him have all of the suckers. That would make him sick! Turns out, he just wanted to “hold” them. That is just what he did. He ate one, but just had to hold all the others. Gee, I have no idea where he would get this controlling nature from!!!! Let me think…….. :-P

Red vs Blue

Aaron, my baseball-crazed man, got a fabulous opportunity that he wasn't about to pass up. For him that would be a win-win situation when it comes to “the game”. For this native Buckeye, it would be the Reds (Ohio) vs. the Dodgers (California)! The opportunity arose for great seats to watch the Reds vs. the Dodgers, in LA. He snatched them, we jumped into the car, (Note: I was a very good passenger ~ see Wild Rides), and we enjoyed a fabulous, action filled, spirited game this evening. There is NEVER a dull game with my man around.
Check out our view! Wow!!

Dot Dot

I love to laugh at myself. I am glad I do,

because I give myself plenty of opportunities for such laughter!

Today's outburst of laughter was contributed to my

"dot dot" moment.

I was trying to type something up with my girlfriend/better part of my brain, when I suggested we put a "dot dot" there. My sweet & gracious girlfriend never missed a beat, we kept right on working. Then my "dot dot" comment caught up with my brain. There is a lag time, that I wish wasn't present, but work with whatcha got! So the laughter starts....dot dot.....that would be a colon! Oh my!

:

The colon (:) is a punctuation mark consisting of

two equally sized dots (dot dot)

centered on the same vertical line.

I've always thought that a big laugh is a really loud noise

from the soul saying, "Ain't that the truth." ~Quincy Jones

Go have a "dot dot" moment for yourself!

Cut, Color, & Fun

I love getting my hair cut & bleached for so many reasons. I get my full vision back, due to the fact it had been impaired by the bangs I let get too long. I get texture back by bleaching it, not to mention my man loves me blonde ~ yes, he would love me as a brunette, but heck, blondes have more fun (so they say)! Also, when we get together my girls are thrilled because that means the get to see their very good friends. Ok, so returned vision, texture/blonde, buddy time, and last but my absolute favorite reason I love to get cut & colored is time with Debbie. Debbie was a hairdresser for over 30 years and finally stopped doing hair. She has continued to do mine for the sheer fact that I am a “pity” case! She feels sorry for me & can’t stand to look at me with a bad cut. I have NO problem being her “pity” case. We have the sweetest time when we get together. We share coffee, stories, struggles, Jesus, and laughter every time we get together. It is a cherished & precious time for both of us. Not to mention a source of pride for Debbie as she steps back & looks at the masterpiece she pulls off with this hair of mine! I am so thankful she took pity on me.
The girls getting to play with their buddies!

Love these girls.

Luke taking P-Nut for a spin! Yikes~He is so handsome!

Luke takin' Mama for a spin! Yee-haw! Sit down, hold on, & shut up!

I love this time!

Dodger Town & Wild Rides

My man loves the game of baseball. He isn’t just a nonchalant spectator but a serious lover of the game! He will go at any given opportunity. Well tonight was one of those opportunities. He had four tickets in some awesome seats for a Dodger game. We called up our buddies the Cobbs and made a date. Grandma Kay was available to babysit the grandchildren & off we went.
There is just something about being at a ballgame. The crowd, the energy, the Dodger dogs……. We had a blast. The game was excellent and had you on your feet several times. I love games like that! Stand up sit down fight, fight, fight……oops, wrong sport! Take me out to the ball game……that is more like it! :D
So as we head home from LA, I have learned to just hold on, sit back & SHUT UP when my man is driving! He knows what he is doing, so let him drive woman! I just pray I am living right and we get home safe! ;-P
Well, Aaron's driving was not the only exciting part of our trip home. We call to check on the children and find out about another wild ride that happened. Can you guess……….
Yep, Hope! Somehow she managed to run over herself in the golf chart at Mom’s. We will save the “fabulous” (there is that word again) details for another post ~ see Adventures of Indestructible Hope!!! We will tease you with a picture of the shirt she was wearing when the ride took place!

WOW, is all I can say!

Headed to Long Meadow

Long Meadow is one of the highlights of my summer. Out of the city, the smell of pine, Pearl, cowboy buddies, cattle, & lots of stars! The trip this weekend had a little excitement to it. On Sunday morning Ben & I set out to mend the fence around Long Meadow. It took us all morning. I had a blast learning how to mend fences. I think I was looking for places to mend just so I could do it! So it was noon before we headed back to the cabin. Ben wasn't feelin' too hot & needed something to eat. We had been talking about the rattle snakes that were in the area when what do I hear.........Yep, a stinkin' rattle snake! My first encounter I'll have you know! Ben doesn’t hear it right away; I am looking for it, & flippin’ out on the inside. Ben is determined to smack it with his rope! This is the same light-headed, dizzy, can’t hear the snake cowboy, which wants to get close enough to smack it with his rope! Are you stinkin’ serious?! I want out of there. At this time it is only Ben & I at the cabin, so if he gets bit I have no help to run for. I am feelin’ quiet inadequate in my snake bite first aid! So I am yellin’ at Ben to get away, but noooo he is gonna kill that critter. Lo and behold, Ben smacks that rattle snake and breaks its back. He steps on its head and cuts it off before I can yell, “Boy Howdy!”
Ben is my hero!


Long Meadow

Does anyone else see an old indian hot tub in this picture?! :)

Devotions for Luke & Mama

Luke is getting to such a cute age. He just turned 3 and has added so much to his vocabulary. I love to listen to him pray. At bedtime tonight we had the sweetest time. I got him "The Jesus Storybook Bible ~ Every Story Whispers His Name". Can you feel how precious this Bible is just by reading it's name? I LOVE this Bible. Let me just share my absolutely favorite line about God's love, it is:

Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking,

Always and Forever Love!

I love it!

So we are reading a story of how God makes a way. It is the Moses & the Red Sea story. At some point in the story I turned and asked Luke, do you think that sea can stop God? He came at me with such a ferocious "NO", that I was almost startled. When I asked the question I really didn't really expect an answer, but boy, he did not disappoint me! I loved it. We enjoyed our little devotion song and sweet prayers before tucking my little man in. I walked out of his room with my spirit re-energized.

Sweet times with Jesus!

My New Love

This is my new love. Please don't tell my last Kitchen Aid, for he might get his feelings hurt. We had a great season together for 11 wonderful years. As the family has grown, and our pizza adventures have grown, my old Kitchen Aid has had a tough time keeping up with things. I found him a new home, where he will be loved and appreciated for many more years to come. Now on to my new love, OH MY! It has been killin' me to have him on my counter for 3 days and not use him, so I HAD to use him today. I have some girls coming tonight for game night and a branding in a couple weeks. What better way to break this critter in then a DOUBLE batch of Cowboy cookies. This guy did not disappoint me. Mind you, there are 18 cups of ingredients that go into a double batch of Cowboy cookies. He handled it like a pro, hence the title ~ Professional 600. I look forward to many happy years in this new relationship.
Happy cooking!!!!

My Girls & The Word

Tonight's bedtime was precious. Trust me, I can't always say that. But nights like tonight are what I pray for. As Abbie is getting ready for bed, she tells me just as casual as picking out her clothes, "Mama, Jesus died for MY sins. That just hit me again tonight. I love Him Mama." Of course this Mama is melting. I tell her, "Oh, I know what you mean, Baby! Mama realizes it all the time too, and I love Him more & more. You will realize more & more His great love for you, Baby." So we just loved talking about Jesus until she jumped into to bed. I left them to do their devotions for a few minutes and cleaned up in the kitchen. The Spirit was in that sweet room while I was in the kitchen. :) I went back to tuck them in and Abbie was so excited about her devotions for today. She said, "Mama, you have got to hear my devotions today. It is so me." She reads me part of James chapter 3, you know, the whole "taming the tongue part". *Note~there is little that melts me more than my babies reading the Word for themselves(and gettin' it).* So Abbie is asking good questions about the passage and then reads her devo to me. She reads the first three sentences and glances up at me; we both crack up. It begged the question, "Gee, who is that?" Abbie, "It is so me, Mama...it gets better!" She proceeds to read her devo with her attitude thrown in, which has me in stitches. She is getting it. She acknowledged things in her life that she wants to change because she loves Jesus. I can't stop praising Him for working in her life.

All this time precious Hope is listening, because they share a room, and is doing her thing in the Word. Hopie said she wanted to be like Mama one day and started underlining things in her Bible. She didn't really understand what she was doing, she is just copying her Mama. She has sat through sermons and just marked away. She marks all the words she can read. It is precious to me to watch & listen to her read the Word. This Bible will hold a very special place in this Mama's heart.

I love the Word of God!

Cootie Conversation

Abbie: I like ______________. ( a boy she knows)
Mama: Abs, boys have cooties, remember?!
Abbie: Well, I have got to hhhaaavvveee me some of those cooties!!!
OUTBURSTS of laughter from the whole van.

I want to know who took my little pumpkin and what have they done to her!

Valentine's Day

I came across a quote that has just stayed with me regarding men & women. It seemed appropriate to share it for Valentine's Day.

"Sometimes when a woman falls for a guy, she [asks him to change], and he changes so much that she loses her Huck Finn, the rascal in the man she fell in love with. Men are willing to change to make you happy -- but don't completely take the boy out of the man. You're gonna miss him." ~Matthew McConaughey

This is so true. I have seen it.....heck, I have lived it. I married a Huck Finn almost 16 years ago. He would do anything for me. I have grown to love, appreciate, and respect that "Huck Finn" of mine.

I love him so.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Heartstrings

Luke is growing up so fast. We have so much fun hangin' out together. Don't be fooled that he isn't totally two, because he is! Nevertheless, he is quite the helper and very independent. He shows signs of excellent work ethic. We will see about that when it comes time to mow the lawn before hangin' out with his buddies or working on a car. Okay, we are so not going there yet!!!

I will take today and love it!

Today I had one of those "melt my stinkin' heart" moments. I was getting Luke out of his car seat when he grabbed my neck and pulled my ear to his lips. He whispers in my ear, "Yuv you" several times ~ UNPROMPTED! I melted right there in the driveway. I didn't want to put him down or leave that moment, it was priceless. This little man has my stinkin' heart wrapped around his little finger. BUT life needed to be conquered, so down he went to go and pull EVERY dvd out and empty the pots & pans cabinet! Never a dull minute around the Abshire home front.

PS

Being such a big helper, he knows how to

"pick it up ~ put it away".

That makes the messes & memories more enjoyable on Mama!