Our Techno Boy!

Luke is growing up in an age of ever advancing technology.  He has only known that you can text, email,  or Skype people.  I know, if I had an iphone it would be Face Time, but that isn't the case.....yet.  He loves his games on Abbey or I's Kindle Fires & plays on any ipod or smart phone that people are silly enough to let him play on.  Boys are definitely different then girls....but is another post.
So, yesterday morning he was so excited to sing his Bible study song to me that he pulls his boom box from his room and brings upstairs so I can listen to him.  I am trying to dry my hair and get ready while he is doing all this.  I see his frustration starting to build while he is trying to start is good old fashion boom box with no success.  Finally he asked me, "Is there no wifi here Mama?"  I can't even correct his poor grammar at this time, I am laughing so hard.  My 5 year old boy thinks his boom box has a wifi problem when it is simply a power problem.  I turn the power button on for him & he proceeds to march around singing the walls of Jericho, Veggie Tale style!

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!

Luke Builds A Bear

Luke was quite helpful this week with the purchase of a couple presents for friends. This Mama that rarely gets to the mall has been there three times this week!! I am done....insert towel throwing in here!!! :) Luke has been a trooper with all these trips. Upon our second trip into Build-A-Bear, in a week, he realized that he didn't have a bear. He stated this fact & his desire to both his Papa & Mama. He said he would love it, sleep with it, and it would go everywhere with us. Both our girls have a couple of animals from this great store. We were delighted when he showed interest in getting his first stuffed animal from us. I love this stuffed animal stage. Why can't we stay here?!?! So off to Build-A-Bear, during Christmas week, for Luke's bear. I am sure this is all part of his spoiled, golden boy, "Luke-gets-everything-he-wants" complex that his sisters complain of. Oh well, let's give them something to talk about....(I started singing that song in my head)....I am back! Here are some pics from Luke's own adventure in getting his very own bear!
Luke picked a camouflage bear. How "boy" is that? I love it!

After a few trips he was well acquainted with the procedure - filling the bear, picking a heart, doing a silly heart dance before inserting the heart, and sewing bear up.  Luke was very clear that he was not going to do a silly heart dance. I clued the bear maker in, who stilled tried to make him do the silly dance. I let the bear maker come to his own conclusions after several non-responsive requests. Upon receiving his heart being sewn up, Bear needs a bath to get the fuzzes off him!

I love this stuff. Third child, umpteenth bear, and it still gets me. I love stuffed animals. Hey, I don't have a Build-A-Bear!! I would choose a monkey, with sound & all! Missy Monkey needs to retire. She has lived a full & exciting life. Okay, back to Luke first bear.  Super clean Bear ready to roll!!!!
One cute boy with his very cute bear!

I look forward to many memories with our new little critter!
Fun times!

Little Handy Man

Luke is very creative in his time home with Mama, while the girls are at school.  This week, while I was wrapping presents and folding laundry, Luke comes in the laundry room and asks for a screw driver.  This in and of  itself is not unusual.  He likes to "fix" things around the house, "Like Papa!"  What was unusual was his third request for batteries.  Yikes!!!  All the "broken" toys that Luke had now work!  The sham is up....Luke has figured out what "broken" means - it needs batteries!!  Snap, it has become very noisy in that little boy's room!
Counting the moments until those toys "break" again.
I am sensing a shortage of batteries coming soon at the Abshire home front.

Simple Things

In this season where I feel the UPS man is almost my best friend & my neighbors watch the endless "smiling" boxes (aka Amazon) coming to my door, it brings me much joy to see the simple things that bring my little man happiness. He makes music with the bubble wrap that comes in those "smiling" boxes.

I love it! He reminds me to look for joy in the simple things.

"If you can find joy in the simple things,

you will really enjoy the extravagant,

but never need it! ~ Eric Simpson

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

We had a blast at Thanksgiving. We headed up the hill to Grandpa & Grandma Cavey's, for dinner. The whole family was there, armed with FOOD, hugs, & enough laughter to make your side hurt! The three siblings are too much together! Throw in some spouses, and crazy kiddos you have a recipe for side-splitting laughter! We have so much to be thankful for. My heart was so touched looking around at my family. There is a sticker I saw once that captures these moments:

"We may not have it all together,

but together we have it all!!"

Nicholas getting brave with his Uncle Aaron

One little 'turkey" in the air!

One "ham" in the air!

One princess in the air!

And they all come tumblin' down!!!

Silly cousins ~ Ashleigh & Abbie

Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Enjoy your turkeys!!!

Home Sweet Home

Luke says some pretty funny stuff, but one thing we don't want to forget is the saying he says as we pull into our driveway:
"Sweet home, sweet home!"
It is a sweet home!  :)

Bump, Set, Spike..

Abbie had her first volleyball game today.  This was a big day for her.  She has been practicing her serves & bumps for weeks.  We got her knee pads to protect those precious knees.  Alright, actually we had to buy new ones because Abbie didn't want some one's sweaty old ones.  I don't blame her.  So she was decked out in her 3 sizes too big school uniform and lookin' way older then I want her to look.  

Remind me, how did we get here so quick????  

Oh yeah, we blinked!!!!  

The team did really good for their first game.  Abbie even scored two points!!!! You go girl!!!!  Papa & Mama were so proud of her.  Luke even cheered the girls on.  

Too stinkin' cute!  Good times!

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!

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.

Play Time



Luke rounding up his animals



Never a dull moment

We Make Dirt Look Good

Luke & his buddy Nathan

I Stink!

We love the library!  These two books have been staples in our book checkouts!  I STINK, is a great book that teaches the alphabet.  I have read it to all of the children's classes when they were in first grade.  I will probably read it to Luke's too.  Everyone giggles when we come to "P" for "puppy poo"! 

Why does potty talk always crack us up?

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! :)