For the Love of Reading

This is the sight I walked into tonight, as I went to tuck girls in bed.  As one who LOVES to read and wanting so badly to impart the same love in my children, I about cried right there in their stinkin' doorway!  I got a grip on my swelling heart & just smiled at both of my babies reading away.  

Heck, I even gave them 20 extra minutes to read.

Love it!

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! 



Work Ethic & Funny Conversations

Chores, they are a given around this Abshire home. This not a new concept. The girls have been putting their dishes away since they were little. Cleaning up dog poop…..who wanted the dogs?! Ya’ll agreed to the terms in – article 2B of the “Contractual Agreement of Children Caring for Live Animals”, prior to Mama agreeing to have animals!! I try not to remind them that in Mama’s perfect world they would be on a ranch with a TON of chores; so really, don’t complain. Well, we are doing chores yesterday and Hopie wasn’t happy about things. Here is a peek at life around here:
• Mama: Hope, this is the third time I have had to ask you to clean up the poop.
• Hope: I did.
• Mama: Really Hope? Then why can I count three piles from where I am standing?
Note: We have three dogs now, but we won’t go there!!!
• Hope: SIGH
• Mama: Hope, when you have a job to do, you need to do it all the way & well. This is about work ethic, honey. Your boss isn’t gonna tell you three times. He’ll just fire you.
Note: I bite my tongue that I wouldn’t mind being fired some days!
• Hope: Well, I am not getting a job.
• Mama: Hope, how do you plan to pay for your home some day?
• Hope: I am gonna live here forever!!!
Hoping my face doesn’t look as torqued as it feels!!! Yikes! As for now, we will be working on work ethic in a BIG way!!!!!

They're Back!!!

The girls returned from Wagon Train today. Luke & I missed them something fierce! Luke walked around the first few days asking where they were & when they would return. So he does really love them, even though he spends his days picking on them. That is just life & I wouldn’t want it any other way! When the cars turned the corner I got so excited. I couldn’t wait to get a hold of my babies. Yes, they will always be my babies!! I had a big mason jar of tea in my hands when Hopie leaped out of the car & came at me with all her might. I planted myself & gripped that jar of tea! Woo dawg can that girl hug!! She makes me proud! I lost all my tea but held on to that glass jar. Luke was so happy to see his sisters. He hugged all over them. Abbie wouldn’t put him down for the longest time. My girls were so excited to be home. I have heard the stories & cheers, seen the scars, smelt the hair (yikes), unpacked the clothes, read the notes, & know that I will be hearing camp stories for the next week as things come to their mind. I am so thankful they have these summer camp memories. Hume Lake holds a special place our hearts.
Unloading the truck!

Luke playing dinosaurs with Abbie.

They missed each other!

I actually love this sight!

My babies all back together!

Finishing Strong

We are finishing our swim season tonight & have had a great season. The girls branched out and competed in new strokes this year. They practiced very hard this summer. We are so proud of those two critters, or should I say fish! Here are some shots of our last swim meet at Garces:
Hopie's Self Portrait - Mad Dog Face

Abbie headed into the water

Ab's freestyle

Abbie getting ready for her backstroke

Hope's freestyle

One funny thing after our season of swim meets; when Luke races he goes like this:
"Take your mark, set, beeeep"
That cracked us up. That is a boy who has sat through his fair share of swim meets at the age of 4.

Hillbilly Grotto

I suggest you put this idea in your boredom busters bottles!  The children were looking for ways to stay cool & wet.  They failed to mention that they were feeling like they wanted spa treatments!  People pay big bucks for this sort of thing!  Hey, I say just add water & watch what happens! :)

Off To School They Go

Our morning is filled with cinnamon rolls, hair that needs to be styled, lunches to be packed, and full backpacks. Mama is always thankful that Papa stays home with her on the first day of school. Besides Mama always being emotional that first day of school, his help is always great. As Mama is cleaning up breakfast & finishing lunches, Papa is measuring girls on the wall in the laundry room. Our Kayanna has really grown in the last year.

With full bellies, back packs, and excitement for the day, we head off to school.

Kayanna & Mrs. Dobbs - 2nd Grade

Kayanna & her buddies

Abigail & Miss T - 5th Grade...Wow!

Look at those books...someone has a full year of learning!

As the bell rings and classes begin, the school year begins.

As the girls were settling into school, Luke was settling into life with just Mama again. He is lovin' all the attention again. Although the summer must have been hard on him. Today after lunch he asked if he could rest. He happily crawled up in his bed and took his nap.

Thus begins another school year and season.

The Adventures of Indestructible Hope

As promised, here is the story of how our precious Hope was able to run herself over with a golf cart. Are you scratching your head with raised eyebrows???? Yeah, so are her parents! HOW does one run over themselves with a golf cart? There might be several ways to accomplish such a feat, but we will only cover Hopie’s execution of this adventure.
Hopie states that if you are driving along in the golf chart, foot on the gas pedal, and turning the wheel left, that you are able to reach out and touch the front left tire that is moving. We all know that there is an invisible traction field on those front left tires, as they are in motion, causing an irresistible urge in her to touch it. So touch she must! As she touches it, the tire has enough momentum & power behind it to yank her right out of the driver seat and pull her arm under it. As if that weren’t enough. There is the back of the golf cart that we haven’t even addressed yet! Oh yeah! Once out of the golf cart, the back tire runs over her back, hence the tire mark across the back of her white shirt. She is stinkin’ killin’ me!
We are so thankful for her being okay through all this. The crazy thing is that she had her wits about her enough to jump up, chase down the moving golf cart, jump back in & drive it back up to the house! CRAZY! Again, we are thankful she is ok. I do believe I am seeing a pattern of having to learn things the hard way! That is a story I am well acquainted with.
I just wish I could see her guardian angels in heaven as they head to work on protecting her. I get this picture of an angel hugging his dear angel wife as if he will never see her again, knowing he is about to clock in on Hopie’s watch!

She is fabulous!!!!

Back In Saddle

The children took a break from riding, or maybe Mama got pre-occupied with her riding, or life happened….who knows exactly! Needless to say, they had stopped riding and wanted to go back to it. I knew what to do to fix this predicament. Mention to my cowboy buddy Ben that some children wanted to ride Little Bit. Knowing his soft heart for children with a desire to ride a horse, I might have foreseen the outcome. ;-) We got those children in a saddle asap! Ben is wonderful about making sure children get to ride when they have a desire. So the children are thrilled and Little Bit gets some exercise. It is a win win situation!
My cautious, rule abiding Abigail, listening intently to instruction.

Luke enjoying a friendly new colt.

My Hope trying to get Little Bit to lope!

There are reasons we don't give Hope spurs!

Luke finding something to entertain himself with.

Sweet times!

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!

8 years of fun & Hope

Today my baby girl turned 8! She is the one we call "Fabulous" & for good reason! That is the adjective that rolls off my lips in all sorts of circumstances we find ourselves with Hopie. So we are celebrating this girl’s life & that she still has it! She has had some close calls. Living life to the fullest comes at a price! I am so thankful for my Hope! She is my daily dose of lovin’. That girl can hug & kiss on ya like no other! Brace yourself when you see her comin’ at ya with one of those “Abshire” hugs! Yeah, she is her Mama in soooo many ways. My parents have assured me that they survived, as I will! They sure do enjoy the laugh at the pay back I am getting’ for what I did to them. All I can say is I am in for it!!!! So here are some pictures from my FABULOUS Hope’s birthday celebration.
She helped Mama with the cupcakes!

This is the birthday crew getting ready for pizza, of course!

We are girls, we have to do nails!!!

And get our groove on with Juast Dance!

Oh yeah, one handsome little devil was allowed!