There’s an old joke that always makes me smile. You’ve probably heard it, too. A man goes to his doctor and says, “Doc, it hurts when I poke right here. What should I do?” To which the doctor says, all together now: “Then don’t poke right there!” Thank you. It was fun sharing that together. And, now that I have your attention, I’ll tell you

My sweet farmer got me a two-seater kayak for my birthday and I’m totally loving my early morning trips down the lake, just me and Jesus. Mind you, there’s room for Dixie but other than that one time when I pushed, I mean, when I helped her into the kayak, she’s chosen not to participate. I didn’t mean any harm. I really thought Scaredy Dog

The birds around here are in full out nest building mode. Dixie and I have been watching them during our morning prayer-times on the back porch. We’re both intrigued by their activity, albeit for different reasons. I think Dixie’s hoping someone will accidentally hop near enough to let her snag a meal without exerting herself too much or giving up her place in the shade.

My oldest two grands are Keggie Hogs. Keggie, you may remember, is my grand name and, gain, it has nothing to do with a beer keg and everything to do with nieces and nephews saying Aunt Keggie when they tried to pronounce Aunt Shellie. Recently, my son-in-law Patrick, unveiled his grand idea for my birthday party. The plan: load a keg with Diet Coke and

I opened up a text message Jessica had sent our immediate family and literally laughed out loud at the picture of my oldest grandson Grant Thomas. It was adorable, in that “When he gets older and finds out his mother shared this picture she’s going to need witness protection” type of way. I noticed his mama had tagged on a pointed little remark. “This is

My parents brought a stray dog home. As of this writing her name is either Lucy or Lady. Until that is officially settled, I’ve decided to call her Lady Lucy. Easter Sunday was Lady Lucy’s first family holiday. She enjoyed herself immensely. Had her tail wagged any faster she might have levitated. It became increasingly clear to all of us that Lady Lucy was doing

Beloved Hubby got a surprise in the mail a while back. Neither of us remembered intentionally running a red light on our last togetherness trip to Houston but there it was, a clear picture of our car going under a traffic light while it was red. “Smile, you’re on Candid Camera” and here’s a little fine to remember us by. Thanks, Texas. Photographic evidence

I have two reasons for sharing that adorable video I just posted at All Things Southern. A) I have access to the media player and B) I couldn’t help myself. That’s my adorable three-year-old granddaughter, Emerson Ann, reciting one of her Bible verses. Yes, I do realize how partial I sound but I double dog dare you to watch it and not smile. Go ahead,

I have not found it easy living on opposite ends of the earth from my only daughter. Okay, so I live in northeast Louisiana and she’s in Houston, Texas. Let’s try to avoid getting bogged down in the details. The stretches between our face to face visits can get hard but Jessica and I have developed our own ways of being a part of each other’s

My twenty-something niece left a nice paying job—albeit a boring one, to work for a funeral home in Dallas, Texas. She transports the dead. It sounded odd to me, too. But when I took time to ask her about it, her choice became much clearer. Life’s like that. Questions will get you everywhere. Still, Blair was quick to acknowledge that her job has its own