Service

Today was the service for my Aunt Etta. Her flowers were the most beautiful flowers I think I have ever seen. The arrangements were made out of fall colors. The weather was perfect for her graveside service. The pastor gave a beautiful message about my aunt. He said that he asked her sons to sum her up in one word. They said it was impossible. The pastor asked them what were the most important lessons she tried to teach her sons. They had responded with, "She told us no matter what, do right." It was absolutely precious. A man I have known for years and who had been my band director in school played a trumpet solo. The pastor spoke on what a good wife and mother she was. He spoke of how much she loved her family. She loved The Lord the most. She was in church every time the door was opened and not because she felt like she had to. It was because she wanted to.

He gave reference to these verses and much more.

Proverbs 31

Contemporary English Version:

In Praise of a Good Wife

¹⁰A truly good wife

is the most precious treasure

a man can find!

¹¹Her husband depends on her,

and she never

lets him down.

King James

⁹Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.

¹⁰Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

¹¹The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.

She would have been so pleased with the service. Thanks so much for your special thoughts and prayers for us this day. I felt them. I am blessed to have had her these +30 years in my life. She taught me so much. I know she is in Heaven with Blake fishing somewhere or dancing.

My AUNT ETTA

Rhonda and My Aunt ETTA this summer

She would not like me posting this picture, but I don't have anything else that is digital.

My favorite Aunt in the world went to be with JESUS this morning. She was always so funny and could make you laugh. She loved to dance. In recent years, she has had colon cancer, a heart attack, stroke, and a broken hip. She lost her husband when she was 49 years old. She never remarried. Two of her grandsons were big into teen roping. They traveled all over doing this. One night several years ago, my cousin Thomas's horse put his head down. For some reason, Thomas went over the top of his horse and hit his head right on top. He had a brain injury. All of this was almost too much for my Aunt Etta to handle. Her heart was broken. It was devastating. I remember going to see him in the hospital and when I looked at him, I fell to the floor. His body was all drawn up in an unnatural position. Doctors didn't know if he would make it or not. The brain injury has affected him. Thomas is in a wheel chair. He can walk a little, but not much. He talks, works with his dad, and lives at home. He was in college before the accident, but didn't return.

Thomas was short and scrawny. Well while he spent so much time in the hospital, he had a growth spurt. He reached well over 6 feet tall.

Aunt Etta was in the same nursing home facility that we had my dad in when he was going through rehabilitation to walk again. She has 2 sons and 5 grand children. She will be missed! She kept me when I was a baby until I went to Kindergarten. She is so special to me!

She was my dad's sister.

Mallory and Papa Murphy Pizza

My niece, Mallory came over this morning. She went on a mission trip to Chicago this summer and showed us wonderful pictures. She has a great eye for photography. I point and click. Ha!

Mallory is a speech major. So she needed to borrow Mary-Kate for a project. Mary-Kate was a little bossy with her. I am not sure why. She did talk and I think Mal got enough for her report.

We loved seeing her! Did not get to see the boyfriend. We did get to see pictures of him.

Very cute!

Yes Mary-Kate is dressed as Cinderella. She wanted to impress Mallory!

We have a Papa Murphy's Pizza in town, now! To get ready for the Razorback game, we bought a couple of pizzas to take home and bake. I love the take and bake concept. We have an apple crisp pizza for dessert! YUM!

GO HOGS!

Utterances

My niece, Mallory is a student at OBU. She called me the other day to tell me she was coming into town for the weekend. She wants to come by and see us. I am so excited about this. She has a boyfriend that she wants us to meet. HMMMM. I haven't been introduced to a boyfriend before. Just sayin. She also asked if she could video tape Mary-Kate for a class. I think Mallory is a English major. She is going to graduate school for speech pathology. For one of her classes she has to interview a young child and document all of their utterances. I think it will be pretty funny to say the least. I hope she is ready for Mary-Kate.

I picked MK up from school and she told me she was "warmed out." One night we had spaghetti and she said, "Mom this is scrumptious." I don't know what Mal is looking for, but I am sure she will get schooled by my MK. Ha!

Mallory also dabs in photography. She takes beautiful photographs. Some friends of hers at OBU have asked her to do bridal portraits for them . She has already done a wedding for one of her high school friends. The pictures were fabulous.

Can't wait to post pictures of Mal and the boyfriend.

OH, I WENT TO THE ANIMAL FAIR...

My friend, Darla, the one that invited us to the circus back in May, invited us to go to the fair today. She has a daughter, Tori, that is MK's age. She also has a 12 week old baby girl at home. The baby didn't go with us. OK, the fair is another money pit. My daughter loves to ride rides. I am not a thrill seeker. Yet I rode all kinds of rides today with the girls. We rode gigantic slides that you go down in sacks. You walk up so many flights of stairs. I was hoping MK wouldn't like it. It was so fun, she had to ride twice. I got my exercise in. Ha! We rode a kiddie roller coaster. I couldn't believe the girls wanted to ride this. I thought it was a little too big for them. So Darla and I stuffed ourselves in the seats to ride with them. We took a brief intermission and took the girls to see the livestock show. Here are a few pictures to document our time.

MK and Tori on the train

1st Pony Ride

Mary-Kate, Mrs. Darla, and Tori

MK thanked her horse for the ride

The girls drove us in the helicopters

Driving the cars

The Apple Ride That Spins You Around and Around

4- Wheeler Ride

All in all, I am glad that we went. The girls had a lot of fun. Darla and I got to laugh a lot! Darla and I go way back. My mom was her 6th grade teacher. She and I attended the same college and were in the same sorority.

This is a great children's book.

The movie will be out October 16.

My Mary-Kate would love this!

My Wild Thing before dance class this week!

Hope you all are having a great week! It has been so rainy here this week!

Ready for Fall?

I am so ready for fall for many reasons.

1. This is Tusk! I love Razorback Football!

2. Taco Soup


3. Hobby Lobby Fall Decorations


4. Pumpkin Patches


5. Cooler temps.

Why do you like fall?

Another SEPT. Birthday, yesterday!

HOG CAKE

HOG CUPCAKES

Happy Birthday, Thara!

We went out to eat to celebrate. Then we came back to our house for cake and ice cream with the FAM. My husband is a HUGE Razorback fan. Everyone in our family likes to find unique "Hog" things to get him.

To the BEST husband and DADDY in the WHOLE world!

"A latte spurned
is a fortune earned."
- People Magazine


I don't care! Sometimes you need one of these:

Starbucks!

I love coffee! I don't get these all the time, but when I do it is a treat!

They even make them in a skinny.

I hope you all are having a wonderful Wednesday!

A retired teacher came by to see me and asked if I would read the book

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. I am reading it. It is hard to put down. Has anyone read this?

A to Z

On Saturday, my mom and I drove to Alma, Arkansas to go to A to Z. I enjoyed shopping with my mom for treasures.

The best part was eating here:




OH MY WORD! They know how to make hush puppies! It was worth the trip just eating at this place.

We also went to a few fruit stands. It was really nice spending time with my mom. We work together, but it just isn't the same as shopping. She really wanted to go to Lake Village to the Paul Michael store. That would have been fun! That is just far to shop for 1 day. I do see a rode trip in our future!

A Time for Everything

ECCLESIASTES 3

A Time for Everything
1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

These verses bring me a lot of comfort. I am having a rough week with my emotions. I am not sure what has brought it on. I just have to remember "this too shall pass." Blake loved football. He warmed the bench a lot growing up. Yet as an adult he refereed. Tis the football season. One of my students houses burned to the ground. She has lost everything. My heart is heavy. I need this labor day weekend to get it together.


On a brighter note:
The season in my life is to be the best Mommy I can be to Mary-Kate. My husband and I feel so blessed to get to be her parents.

Sweet Thing

Absolutely precious

Chloe, Mary-Kate, and Landry

Chloe and MK took gymnastics together last year. Landry and MK go to preschool together.

Lined up and waiting their turn

I had the best time taking Mary-Kate to her dancing lesson. She thought it was so fun! We didn't know that Landry was taking lessons, too. It was a big surprise!

Can't wait for a recital!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

To the sweetest woman you will ever meet! I love you Mom!

Just to Make You Smile

Mary-Kate drew this picture this afternoon. This is her Dad and Me.