Birthday Surprises

Birthdays are a time of celebration and joy. Here are some of the people who bring me the greatest joy.


Daddy and Liam

Me and Nick. Nick, my sister's son, has autism.
He is a source of joy for us all.

Liam and I. Isn't our hair color quite a contrast?

Definitely a face of joy!


Last Saturday, my children surprised me by all of them coming home. We had not all been together since Christmas. That was a priceless gift to me, and I celebrated my best birthday ever! We all went to Luna's in old down town Lake Charles. It is a fun place with great food. I think we all tasted of each other's food. We had a wonderful time. Sarah made me a carrot cake. It was delicious!

Sunday, I was at my mom and dad's. My mom had made a key lime cake from a recipe out of the newspaper. It was really yummy! Mine and my brother's birthday is 3 days apart, so that was sort of a birthday celebration too.

Monday, the Youngs(old and young) surprised me with a cake and ice cream. We enjoyed the cake and ice cream, but most of all enjoyed their company. They brought me a lovely gift basket full of bath products scented in lavender and a beautiful plant that I forget its name, but it is akin to a camelia. What wonderful friends!

Today,September 23, is my actual birthday. Randy started it off giving me the newest Nicholas Sparks' book. I love Nicholas Sparks and have read all his books. I was going to buy it in Walmart last Friday, but Randy had to admit he had bought it for me. I know what I am doing this weekend. Randy also sent me some flowers at school today. If a man wants to score points...send her some flowers at her work place. They are beautiful. I left them on my desk at school so I can enjoy them the rest of the week.

I have a had the best birthday ever! I know that their is lots of joy in my life.

My Family

I had the privilege of working with a group of people for 15 years. They were not only my coworkers, they were my friends and family. Most of them taught my children and I taught theirs. We did projects together, and Lord knows we were always fund raising. We did skits together, we danced together, and we even dressed in costume for the annual costume contest. I watched their classes and they watched mine. We went on field trips together. We rejoiced and mourned together. When the end finally did come to our little school, we cried together from November to May. We are now scattered over several parishes and one is in Texas. Since last August we have got together every other month to support each other. We have met at various restaurants or at some one's home. We never leave without saying...I miss you. These pictures are of our last get together.

Home Decorating

Part of the joy of owning a home is decorating it with your personal choices. We have been in our house for over 5 years now, and we are still putting those final touches on it. I guess it will be a life long process. Here are some things we have added over the pass year or so.


I love finding things on a trip to put in the house.
Randy and I spent a weekend in Natchitoches(yes we
did the bed and breakfasts thing). I bought the
wall hanging there.


A year ago in April, we went to Utah for church
conference. While the guys were at the men's
session, the gals went to a "girls night out" sale at
a local shop. We had had nothing above our
fireplace until I found this clock. I had been
looking for something with fleur de leis. I would
have never have guessed I would find something
in Utah. The fleur de leis picture in the middle came
the same shop as did the green plates that have the
same design on them. So, we would not have to
deal with the clock in the airport and plane, our
friend Jackie Dull shipped the picture to us.

The first year in our house, we did not have
a dining table in the dining room. After we
got a dining table, we had a blank wall behind
the table until about 2 years ago. Randy and
I both liked this picture. If you look closely, you see
a bowl of gumbo and all the ingredients needed
to make it. The fleur de leis plaques came from
Garden Ridge Pottery near Sarah.



I thought these little curtains were cute. They
are in the laundry room.

We bought this quilted wallhanging in a small
community in Alaska called Talkeetna. A woman
had a shop set up where she made them. We bought
it directly from her. It hangs upstairs.

I bought this stained glass at Nichols in DeQuincy.
They havea great home decor department that
I strongly recommend. They are very well known
for their hunting department too.

I bought this painted to look like stain glass in
Tennessee this summer. The wooden frame has
a strange odor. It smells like mothballs. I did not
notice that when I bought it. I have had it outside
all summer trying to get rid of the smell. I don't
won't it in the house until the smell is gone.

Until a year ago, Randy and I had no window
coverings on our bedroom windows. It was not
an issue for me. We live to ourselves, so I was
not worried about someone looking in. Randy,
though, said the room needed to be darker, more
sleep conducive. I relented. We put cordless
shades in an oatmeal type color on the windows.
After weeks of trying to decide what kind of curtains
and bed covering to get, I finally decided on the
Battenburg lace curtains, comforter, and shams. I
added a masculine touch with the brown pillows on the
bed and brown rugs and towels in the bathroom. I like
the look. It is cool, clean, and calming. Randy likes it too.
It only took us 4 years to agree on the decorating of our
bedroom.

Our house does not have a lot of walls. I like it open that way, but we still have some places that
need that those special touches.

Garage Sale, Flea Market, and Ebay

Besides becoming addicted to Facebook this summer, I also did some shopping. I love a bargain or just anything cheap.



I bought these shoes on Ebay. The pair on the
left are Clarks. The other two are Born. I paid
$15 a piece including shipping. They are not the
newest of the season, but they are comfortable in
black, brown, and blue.


A friend from high school and her daughters had
a garage sale. I knew one of the daughters had babies,
so I went to look for Liam some clothes or toys
to keep at our house. The blue slides are Born.
The red ones are Dr.Martens. I paid $5 a piece
for them. The tennis shoes are Ralph Lauren and
were given to me by my friend. They had been
left outside the day before the garage sale and a
summer rain soaked them. She told me I could
have them if I wanted them. I do not turn
down any gift, especially free shoes. They
look brand new and I received many
compliments on them the first time I
wore them to school on Friday jean day.


There is a small flea market in DeQuincy. One day
I passed by and saw the papasan frame. I paid $15
for it. I got the cushion on clearance at Pier One for
$50, so I got a whole set for a lot less than a new one.
I think it looks great on the back porch.


I was on the look out for a wagon. I found this
at the same flea market for $20. I have fun
pulling Liam around the yard in it.

I love a bargain. I think I inherited the cheap shopping gene from my mother. She is the queen of bargain shopping.

Baa...............

People collect many things. They have interests in many things. A few years ago, I realized that I liked sheep. I am pretty sure it is the spiritual aspect of this animal that draws me. There are times I feel like the lost sheep, but there are times when I am reminded of the Lamb. Here are some pictures of my herd.


I Ebay'ed this one. It is wooden
and came from Australia. He is
my most expensive one, and with
shipping he was $30 or so.


I collect the Willow Tree Angels
as well. Of course, the one on
right is holding a sheep.

A sheep planter.

I like this one.

Sarah bought me this print.

I bought this picture on Ebay.
It is called Jenny's sheep. My
childhood best friend's name
is Jenny.

Sheep in my kitchen!

More sheep in the kitchen. All
were bought on Ebay.

One of my favorites...a gift
from Randy.

Again, more from Ebay.

Thank you dollar store.

From the Dollar Store too!

This one is so fluffy! I bought
it at Walmart after Easter for
a few dollars. It has a twin that
went home with Liam.

The fluffy one came from
Bath and Body Works.


I love all my little sheep. They make me smile.

The grass is always............needing cutting.

Our property contains 80 acres. It is a job to maintain it. Randy does all the bush hogging. I do some of yard mowing and weed eating. Twice a year, Randy mows the fields that surround our house. There are 3 huge fields that he bush hogs. We sold our cows about a year ago, so the fields get really tough to mow about this time of year.

A part that has not been mowed yet.

Randy makes it look like a park.

A lot to mow!


I did not get a picture of him on the tractor, but here he is relaxing! I so appreciate all that Randy does to keep things going around here.

Another Round

For most of our marriage, Randy and I have played this game....who can get the most out of a tube of toothpaste! Whoever gets the last brushing out is the winner. We usually do not say anything to each other, you will just find a new tube of toothpaste the next time you brush...that means you win! We do not cut the tube open, but we do squeeze and roll and push that last round out. I did win the last round!