Walk a mile in her shoes......

I don't think my sister will mind if I share this on my blog. She posted it on Facebook, her place to vent or air what is going on inside of her. She is an English teacher, so writing is natural for her. I am so proud of her. It was a joyful day and to read that she got her joy back....what a gift!


How I Took Christmas Back from the Grinch......

Share

Today at 7:04pm

Christmas used to be a much hated nuisance to me. Auitsm + Christmas = Stress X 100000. The inside of an autistic person is chaos which is why they have rules and rituals they must follow. It is how they keep the chaos on the inside under control. Nick's day starts with breakfast then meds then whatever is scheduled for the day. Christmas is no different. One of the saddest things I ever saw was a tree full of presents and Nick methodically doing his rituals to start his day not really giving a fig about the gifts. Try explaining to your excited three year old that she has to wait until brother finishes his rituals until she can tear into hers. Then it was off to my mom's and pray Nick doesn't bite anyone because all the noise is driving him nuts. He usually spent most of the day off by himself. So, no, I didn't really care for Christmas. A big fan of Jesus just not his birthday party.

Time passed and we adjsuted. Nick and church really do not mesh well, but we tried to celebrate as best we could. He likes bakimg a birthday cake for Jesus. Nick loves the lights so we always go to Choupique. He loves to sing so we sing Christmas songs. (At the top of our lungs in my car when it is just me and him.) His favorite is O Christmas Tree. Of course, Skylar enjoys everything about Christmas, so that is nice. I really miss Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve and just once I would love for Nick to run up to me and ask for an XBOX 360, but it was tolerable.

But, you know, life is too short for things to be just tolerable. So, this year I somehow convinced my mother that she needed a break and to have Christmas here. You all know how I love to cook and did I ever cook! Rice dressing and oyster dressing. Dips and desserts. Nick and I went to three grocery stores to get it all. The more I cooked the more excited he got. He would tell me, "The kids are coming." He had such a good time celebrating with his family and participated the best he could, and if he got overwhelmed then he went to his room, regrouped, and came back.

I still miss certain things about Christmas that he cannot do or we cannot do as a family with him, but I got my joy back that comes with celebrating the birth of Christ. I wonder what new dish I can find for next year's menu.......

Christmas Reunion

The great great grandchildren

The generation after me.

My first cousins

Uncle Dee Dee, Aunt Nancy, and family

My family. My two boys were not there, nor Sarah's husband Greg.

Aunt "Big Boy"(don't ask) and Uncle Robert and family.

All of my mom's family has nicknames. This is my Aunt "Cooter's" family. One of her son's and his family did not come. Her husband, "Uncle Charlie" several years ago. She had another son, "Bubbie" who died on December 22, 1973. That was his birthday. It is also Sarah's birthday which made the day a more happier occasion again.

My mom and her brother and sisters. My mom is the one on the left.

My mom's family had not all been together for Christmas or any celebration in many, many years. It seems the only time we all got together was for funerals. This past summer it was discussed and finally decided upon to have a family reunion. It was held at my brother's house on December 13. It was priceless. I am so glad that we did it. Not everyone was there, but it was truly a success. Everyone talked of when we would do it again. I feel as though I was given a gift.

ThanksChristmas 09

Randy, his brother Tommy, and his dad.

These are great grandchildren of Randy's mom and dad.

Randy's dad, doesn't he look festive in his red shirt?

Randy's family always celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve at his parent's home. When his mom died over 7 years ago, his dad was not up to having the celebration at his house for a few years. We wanted to keep the tradition going so we have held it at various homes the past 7 years, including one at our house. The past two years it has been back at Randy's dad's house. Last year, Mr. Brooks was ready for it to be back at his house. We had there again this year. We have changed the day we have it. It is now the Saturday after Thanksgiving and we call it ThanksChristmas. This is a few pictures of this year's ThanksChristmas.

Snow at 316 Bruce Hyatt Road

What a thrill it was to have the snow Friday evening and Friday night. I know it was not much, but for southwest Louisiana it was a decent amount of the white stuff. I do know that the anticipation of the snow and the actually falling of it was very uplifting and almost cleansing for me. The anticipation started on Thursday. I arrived at school on Friday as excited as the students. When we were told to start calling parents to tell them that we would be getting out at noon, my excitement grew. By one I had all my kiddos out the door, and I went home. I made sure plants were protected. I made sure there was plenty of wood on the porch for the fireplace. I made a fire, and began heating up the pot of gumbo I made the night before. When Randy got home, the snow was falling and I was outside already taking pictures.

Randy and I brought a mattress into the living room and slept in front of the fireplace Friday night. In fact we kept it there all day Saturday , and spent the night in front of the fire again that night. It was fun. I baked cookies Friday night and I baked muffins Saturday. The cold just seem to put me in a baking mood. I think I must have drank a quart of hot chocolate too!

Saturday morning, we walked around outside right at daylight. Watching the scene change with the rising of the sun was a wonderful experience. I later rode the 4 wheeler on the trail at the back of the property. There was not much snow there except in open places, but I had a wonderful time back there taking pictures of what I dd see. I will post those pictures at a later date.

I am grateful for our little snowfall. I saw its beauty and was able to thank the One who is in charge of it.







This is what it looked like as it first began to come down.

This is what the barn looked like as it was snowing. This is right at dark.

The road up to our house highlighted with snow.

I was up and outside about 6:30. There was such a peace surrounding the snowy beauty.

So pretty!

This is the site of many camp outs and shoot outs. Doesn't it look much different?

I liked the contrast of colors and the little ice drops hanging off the leaves

First Fire of the Season

I always look forward to a fire in the fireplace, especially that first one. There is something about a fire that warms not only the outside but also the inside. One can stare into those golden flames and reflect on things of importance or things that are not so important. I love to sit close to it with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate...not too many things are better than that.

The first time we built a fire in our fireplace, we also roasted wienies and marshmallows. We do that at least two or three times each winter. We have always said that we were going to fix foil dinners in the coals, but have not done that so far. Perhaps this year we will.

Fire creates both warmth and light. Both things can mend a weary soul. I am grateful for the fireplace in our home and the warmth and light it provides to my soul.

The Pitter Patter of Little Feet

Puppies and little boys always go together.

She is now living the life of Riley.

Those eyes have soul.

Living rural like we do means that everyone else in the world(or so it seems) feels like our place is the perfect place to dump their unwanted animals. We have been adopted by many dogs since we moved here. Some have stayed and become family pets. Some have just passed through. Our latest is a little brown puppy that can not be more than 3 months old. She has a beautiful cocoa colored coat that prompted Sarah to name her Cocoa. She appears to be a lab mix, perhaps collie being a part of her pedigree. Since she is just a baby she has been given a place in the garage. She also makes frequent trips into the house. Sitting in Randy's lap is a favorite activity of hers..........and his.

We have had some sad and pitiful dogs dropped on us. They always come here just skin and bones and scared to death. Those that are allowed to stay eventually fatten up and grow to realize that we are not going to hurt them. Several months back I posted about a dog that showed up here that had the appearance of a coyote. That dog is still here. We named her Dingo because she seems so wild. She has a crippled leg and is still afraid of us, although I have gotten her to eat out of my hand.

This latest addition to our menagerie is the best looking dog that has been left for us. She is very sweet natured, and it appears that she was well taken care of for she has a shiny coat and a fat, round tummy. We have come to the conclusion and question that if this is the puppy that was unwanted, what did her brother and sisters look like? I have the feeling that Cocoa will be with us for a long time.

Weekend Fun

Liam will give others a ride too.

There was a visit from Daniel. Liam calls him "Unkiel".

That looks like a happy boy.

I think he will be driving it before too long.

Two beauties and a "sweetie".

We picked all of those in minutes...there is 10 times that many on the ground now.

Too much 4-wheeling makes a guy tired.

Rocking is always a fun activity.

A few weekends ago, Sarah and Liam came over. We had a great weekend full of 4-wheeler rides and picking pecans. My niece Skylar spent Saturday and Saturday night with us. Daniel even came in for the weekend...and washed a LOT of clothes. Here are some pictures of that beautiful weekend.

It's Paula Deen, Ya'll!

It's Paula Deen! She said her feet hurt and she
took off her shoes.

She brought her husband ,Michael, with her too.

This is some of the pieces to her new furniture line.

This past weekend, my sister, my niece, and myself met my son Jacob and his girlfriend in Houma, LA to see Paula Deen. What was Paula Deen doing in Houma? She was there to promote her new furniture line. She gave a cooking demo with her husband, Michael and a culinary student from the John Fosse school in Nichols State, right down the road.

If you are a fan of Paula Deen, and/or her food, you would have enjoyed the show. She was her "down home" self. My son calls her the "Maw Maw" of The Food Network. She reminds me of Dolly Parton, just down to earth.

We did not pay the $100 to "meet and greet" her. That also got you a seat up front. We had the next best thing, we were up and in the middle. The show was held in the Civic Center there in Houma. It was much smaller than the one in Lake Charles, so it was a semi-intimate setting.

I enjoyed the time with my sister and niece riding down there and back. My sister is always cooking whole Paula Deen meals. We are already talking about making some of the dishes she fixed at the show. They all contained butter! They all looked good, ya'll!

U2 The Concert...continued

Our goal was to be in line by 2 o'clock. We were actually in line closer to three. It was hot. It was humid. We brought chairs and water. We were set for the duration. When we got in line, a Sharpie was passed to us to put our place in line on our arms in case we had to leave the line. I was number 575. Greg, Sarah, and Randy were the three numbers around me. We anxiously waited for 5 o'clock so we would be moving into the stadium. When it finally got here, we were excited to see the first people literally running after their ticket was scanned. It was agreed Greg and Sarah would run on ahead once scanned to start holding a place for the older and slower.

When the first ticket was scanned, the lady said it had been refunded. We were shocked. She did it again and said the same thing. People are waiting behind us to scan theirs and people were getting theirs scanned in other lines and running on in. We were directed to a ticket window outside the gate and around the stadium. There we were told that the tickets had been reported lost. Sarah had purchased the tickets. She explain to the lady that she had not reported them lost or stolen. The lady said the problem was with Ticket Master. After about 20 minutes we go the problem straightened out. In the mean time, many more people had streamed in to the stadium. We were disheartened by this for we knew our front and center position was gone.

Although our front and center position was gone, we were still within the inner circle. We were actually closer than I thought we were going to be. I still had to strain and crane my neck at times, and my neck was sore for several days afterward. The concert was great with a mixture of old and new U2 songs. Bono even sang Amazing Grace. It was priceless. I urge all who do not know U2 very well to give them a listen or read their lyrics. I love them! I hope it is not 4 more years before they come around again.

U2...The Concert

Sarah calls Bono her "soul brother". I just know he has been given a gift and seems to carry a burden to share it with the rest of us.

Bono in the midst of the crowd.

A shot of the whole group at the end of the show.
By the end of the concert, Randy's knees were done. I was tired as well, only remembering when I lay my head on the pillow that night when I went to bed.
Sarah and Greg...Greg took all the other pictures. He did a great job in that huge crowd. It doesn't hurt to be 6'2"!
The camera guys had a definite 'bird's eye" view on one of the legs of the 'spaceship".

Last Wednesday, October 14(Randy's birthday) we(Randy, myself, Sarah, and Greg) went to a concert in Houston. We went to see U2. Anyone hwo halfway knows me , knows that I am a huge fan of that Irish group. One might even say I am fascinated, infatuated, or even have a crush on the lead singer who goes by the name, Bono. How did I become such a dedicated fan to Bono and U2? I would not say it was by accident, but it did start out circumstantial.

Randy is the original U2 fan of this family. He has enjoyed them since they began growing in popularity in the early 80's. Sarah has loved them since she was a young teenager. I knew of their music, but did not know much more.

In the spring of 05, Sarah called to tell us they were coming to Houston. Randy gave her permission to purchase 4 tickets. I was not even intersted in going. The plans were for Randy, Sarah, and perhaps our 2 boys. Sarah had not began dating Greg yet. The concert was not until October. When October rolled around, it was understood that Sarah, Randy, and now Greg would be going. Daniel did not want to go(Go figure). Our oldest son, Jacob, was to be in the number 4 spot. It turned out that he could not make it, so I was up. I felt bad that I did not recognize a lot of their songs or know the words. I left there wanting to know more about the group whose songs had lyrics that spoke to me.

As is the norm for me whe I want to know more about anything, I turned to Google. I researched lyrics and Bono. I learned that Bono wrote most of the lyrics to the songs and that he is a great activist and humanitarian. I bought all their CD's, and thus my admiration began to grow.

Now that I have given you the background of my U2 attachment, I will fast forward to last Wednesday's concert. It was scheduled for 7 PM. The opening band would come on then, so we did not look for U2 until 8 or so. I will insert here that although the opening band was good, I could not help but think I just wanted them to get through and get off the stage for U2. The opening group's name was Muse. I had never heard of them. About a month ago, Sarah burnt 3 songs of theirs for me to listen to. I recognized 2 of them at the show. Again, I just wanted them get finished so we could hear U2. We had waited 4 years for this concert, and we were all ready.

I will continue this post later for we did have some drama before getting into the stadium.

Birthday Boy

Today is Randy's birthday! He is 56 years old. I know he doesn't mind me saying that. I have known Randy for a little over 27 years. I have been married to him for a little over 26 years. He is truly my very best friend. Here are a few pictures of the birthday boy!


Randy loves to travel as much as I do.

Randy and the "bike".




Randy can get in some "high" places.


Randy is Liam's best friend too! He sure loves
PawPaw!

Happy Birthday Randy! I am looking forward to
celebrating many more with you!

The Desk

I have always wanted an antique student's school desk. I have looked on Ebay for years and at flea markets. I was never willing to pay what was being asked. Last Wednesday Sarah emailed me at work to tell me she had found one on the local website for used items called Woodlands on line. The people who had it were moving and just wanted to get rid of it. They were asking $35. I told her to get it. I figured it was worth that much even if I had to do some refurbishing. Needless to say, it is beautiful and in great shape. I picked it up Saturday. The craftmanship that went into the desk is hard to believe compared to the way things are massed produced today. It is made of wood and iron, two materials that are long lasting.

The people Sarah got it from bought it at an antique store in Fredricksburg, TX. They did not know anything else about it. I was hoping it had a "story". I am sure it served students very well in its time. I am so happy to give it a new home. I know it will become near and dear to this school teacher's heart. I was not quite sure where to put it. I put it by the front door. Sometimes when you place something, you get that feeling it belonged there. Unfortunately, I do not have that feeling. It will have to grow on me or I will move it. Thanks Sarah for finding this wonderful desk


I placed it by the front door. I am not 100%
happy with that placement.

The seat still folds up.

This is the front. Another desk would have bolted
to it.

This is how it looks with the seat down.

This is a sideview with the seat down. I used
Old English on the wood and cooking oil(Randy's
suggestion) on the iron.

Thinking it looked rather plain. I "falled" it up.
I wonder how long Liam will let it stay like this.