Nana's Nest

Has it really been this long?

2012-01-22T07:15:00.000-08:00

Me, with Ginny and Liam on their visit "down south".

Alright, I know I have been a blogger slacker or a slacker blogger. I have not posted since September 17, 2011. Wow! I did change the title of my blog....Nana's Nest.

Since I posted last, I turned 50 years old. Sweet, dear friends from church came over with pizza and cupcakes to help me celebrate. I had calls from all my children. Sarah and Greg gave me a gift certificate for a massage at Scarborough's. I went and had it during Thanksgiving break. It was heavenly. Turning 50 was not a big deal, just a number. I would not be who I am without being 50 years old, so it is all good.

Sarah and babies came down in October/November. Some highlights of that visit: We had a family BBQ here at the house. There was good food, family, laughter, lots of Liam and Ginny kissing, and visiting. The next day my sister has a Halloween party. I dressed as a Hyatt High School cheerleader. Ginny and Liam were adorable as a gingerbread man and a gingerbread girl. Bonus: My oldest son Jacob and family came in that day just in time to go to the party. Sarah was here a week, then spent a week in Gonzales with her in-laws. I went down the following weekend for Ginny's baptism. It was a great day, and I enjoyed the ceremony and time spent with Greg and is family. I am so grateful to them for their love of my Sarah.

Speaking of Jacob and family. They are my temporary boarders. I have enjoyed their presence and company. Alia kisses everyday is a great thing. They had moved to Missouri for about a month, but did not find it to their liking. Jacob is now working for the electrical union. He is presently at Conoco, and there appears to be lots of work in the future. I am glad for them, but will hate to see them go when they fly this nest to live in their own.

Christmas came and was spent with family. It was great having Alia in the house for Christmas so that Santa could come. We spent a great Christmas Eve. It was a Mexican Christmas Eve spent with Jacob, Alesha, Alia, Daniel, and Randy.........yes Randy. I missed my Sarah and family. We shared Christmas by Skyping. Christmas Day was spent at my parents, again enjoying the company of my family. We play "dirty Santa". I left with a Fleur de Lis watch and candles. Buffalo Wild Wings gift cards were very popular this year and the fight was on for those. Tim Tebow's book was also popular. (I bought two of those as Christmas presents, but have not read it. I also bought the same people the Drew Brees book).

A new year has come. I have learned to count my many blessings every day. Some days, I count them by the hour. I still yearn for a life I use to have. I am grateful that anger is not a part of my life. I am hopeful for the future. I am grateful for all the people placed in my life that help me to cope with life. I truly feel they are all heaven sent. I am grateful for the awesome people I work with. We have a professional and spiritual bond that I know can not be found every where. We never start a grade level meeting without prayer. We truly ask God to lead us in our interactions with the children every day. I am grateful to my family who has acknowledged my desire to deal with the changes in my life in my way. I am grateful to my children who offer love and support from both near and far, and respect the decisions I have made about personal feelings. I am grateful to church family who happen to just "come by" invite me to join them, or call. You do not know what an impact you have made in my life by reminding me I am loved. I am grateful to my therapist...yes a therapist. She is my "paid" friend that has helped me cope with my life changes. She has helped to keep me "in the game". Although I know I have to do all the work, she has been sincere in her efforts to guide me in my latest life journey. Some times it is not pleasant, but she jolts me into thinking about what would be best for me or at least accepting the decisons that I have made or were "made for me".

I am grateful for my life and all of those in it. I am grateful to God for the life He has given me for I know it was chosen for me. I hope that I am worthy of the jouney.

Another reason to go to Tennessee

2011-09-17T18:54:00.000-07:00

Although I had a great time exploring the mountains, I had
another reason for going up to Tennessee. My step daughter,
Jade and family live in Athens,Tennessee. I got to spend a
few days with them. In fact, I got to spend time with the kids
while Jade hosted a Mary Kay party. We went to a jumping
house place, we ate at Arby's, and then did a little shopping at
Walmart. At Walmart, we bought giant marshmallows, ice cream,
root beer, some movies, and a game. We spent the rest of the
evening snacking, watching movies, and playing the game.

One evening, Morgan and I made supper. We decided to use
what ever was in the house, no trips to the store. We had
spaghetti, squash, and cake. I had a fun time with Morgan in
the kitchen. Morgan is Jade's oldest. She is 11. Miami is 6 1/2,
and Daniel is 2 1/2. There was lots of snuggle time that went on
with all three kids. They are sweet, sweet, sweet.

I took a few pictures at the jumping place, but decided to just post
the above picture of all three. I miss you Jade and Phillip, Morgan,
Miami, and Daniel. I hope to see you soon.

The Journey Continues

2011-09-16T19:59:00.000-07:00

After I did not get to go on the one way road, I went to the
Cherokee Entrance to Smoky Mountain Nation Park. They
have a great living museum there. There are old buildings
and even some farm animals. I walked around the grounds,
visited the center and gift shop inside. I love to read local
stories, so I bought a book called, Tall Woman. It is a tale
of life there in the mountains. I enjoyed it.

When I left the park center, I traveled back to Maggie Valley,
where I was staying. I did a little shopping, mainly just looking.
I did buy a dress at one of those glorious "junk" shops. I will
post pictures later. I also had a Bluebell coconut shake at an
ice cream store.

Those straight rows would drive me nuts. I have my
classroom set up in groups.

I love to visit old school houses. I already been to one there
in Smoky Mountain National Park when I was up there
last November. I found out about this one in my research
of the park. It is in Chatalooche Valley. This area is where
they have re introduced elk. That is another reason I went
there. It was raining when I got to the valley where the
elk were. I have seen elk in Colorado, so I did not feel
impressed to sit in the rain and look at elk. There were plenty,
and the drive to that valley was gorgeous. After I left the
elk, I stopped by the Beech Grove school. As you can see
by the sign, it was built in 1903.

It was raining, so I put a garbage bag over me, took off my
shoes, and plodded through the soggy grass to the school.

The teacher's desk at the front of the room. As messy as
I keep my desk, this would not have worked for me.

This a church just up the road from the school.
I believe it was built around the same time as
the school.

This stream runs right outside the front door of the church.
I know they must have done their baptisms there.

This was one of the last scenes I saw that evening. It is so
beautiful and peaceful.

And There was Peace in the Mountains........

2011-09-04T06:13:00.000-07:00

A few years ago I bought a wall hanging that says,"You are
closer to heaven in the mountains." I also have a picture
frame that says,"And There Was Peace in the Mountains."
Since the first time I saw the green mountains of
Arkansas to the first time I breathed in the splendor of the
majestic Rockies, I have loved the mountains. There is
such a peace there, and you really are closer to heaven
in ALL sense of the words. The Smoky Mountains also
hold that peace, and that is what I sought on a beautiful
day in July this summer.

I stopped at each over look, got out, and just breathed in
that sweet, clean air. The view gives me a sense of
eternity that can not help fill me with peace. The day
before I had stood at the bottom of those falls, and felt thunder
rumble through the mountains and through my body and soul.
I felt as though God met me at the bottom of those falls. As
I gazed at the mountains...HE WAS EVERYWHERE! All of my
senses were heightened and each breath seem to cleanse my
soul. There was peace on the mountain.

Now, my goal for the day was to travel this one way unpaved
mountain road. The speed limit is 10, and I had nothing but
time. In fact this road was my prize of this trip. Even more
than Chimney Rock, I desired to travel this mountain road. I
once again loaded up my trusty ice chest and set out for
my adventure of the day. There would not be much hiking
done today for my boots still were soaked!

Ahh... isn't that inviting? What? What does that sign say
at the beginning of the road. Closed? Closed? Closed with
a gate blocking the road? Now this was not part of the plan.
I found out later from rangers that the road was closed due
to bridge damage from the torrential rains of the day before.

I decided to walk down the road for a little while. Oh gosh,
it was so beautiful, so lush, so green, .......so looking like a
bear could jump out at any minute.! I wanted the comfort
and safety of my little Toyota. I did not mind seeing a bear, in
fact I wanted to. I just wanted to see it from the inside
of my car. I decided that this road would have to be
traveled another time.

I know. God was on this road too. Look at the Light. It
looked surreal.

On my way up to that road, I passed this creature. Elk were
on my agenda for the evening for they are in another part of
the park. I suppose this one yearned to travel "my road" as well.

Appalachian Journey Continues

2011-08-25T16:49:00.000-07:00

I had done some research about places to visit. I discovered
Chimney Rock a couple of days before I left. I was watching
the movie,"The Last of the Mohicans" and was curious as to
where it was filmed. Imagine my delight when I found out
it was right in the area I was going to be staying. I stayed
in a small town named Maggie Valley, North Carolina. Chimney
Rock State Park was less than an hour away. I got up the
next morning, prepared my little ice chest, and grabbed
my back pack. Remember, I had thrown my
hiking boots into my car.

This is Chimney Rock. It was my goal of the day. There
are 500 steps leading up to it. I just took my time, and
rested frequently at platforms.

After you climb Chimney Rock, you can go on up above. I
had all day, plenty of water, and food.
This is a rock called Devil's Head. If you look closely, you
can see the resemblance.

This is looking across the other direction. It is called The
Opera Box. It was one of the coolest places I have ever
been to.

This young man works for the park system. He said he could
see everywhere up there, it was cool, and his cell phone
worked up there. I told him he had the best job on the
planet!

I could have sat there all day. There was not much room for
sitting, and people were waiting to get in there. I visited it
on the way up and down.

Just another rock shelter.

When I learned that part of The Last of Mohicans was filmed
at Chimney Rock State park. The last 17 minutes in fact.
If you know the movie, one of the most dramatic moments
is when the son of the older Indian is killed and pushed off
a water fall. The younger British sister then jumps off
as well. I wanted to see those falls. The picture above
is the stairs leading down to the trail to the falls. Down is
a key word. My knees did not like going down. Once I got down
the stairs, the trail is rather mild going to the falls. It began
to rain, but I thought it was just a short shower...........
WRONG!!! It was a deluge. I was soaked from head to toes.
I had gotten so hot going up to Chimney Rock and above.
My head was already wet from the sweat. The rain
felt so cooling at first. As it ran into my eyes, it burned.
After a while the rain rinsed my hair clean. I was so wet,
even my shoes were over flowing. When I got to the
falls I sat at a picnic table. That is when I remembered
my phone. I put my pack under the table and took
out the phone. The screen was already clouded up. I
thought it would dry out. WRONG AGAIN!!! I put it in a
ziplock with some cheese I had. My camera was still
working, thus I did get these pictures.

If you look closely, you an see the platform at the falls
was a torrent. The steps leading to that were mini
water falls. I am suprised I made it without falling.

The picture does not do it justice.

Remember the scene with the body sliding down the
mountain side?

My visit to Chimney Rock turned out to be one of my
favorite things I have ever done. I was not done yet,
though. The Great Smokys held much more for me.

Solo Sojourn

2011-08-13T21:54:00.000-07:00

About 3 weeks ago, I decided to take a trip to the Great
Smokey Mountains. I really love mountains, and those
are more approachable than the Rockies. I researched
different places I wanted to see and do. I decided to
make North Carolina my focal point.

I took off on a Monday. I reserved a room in Ringgold,
Georgia. Ringgold is just a few miles from Chattanooga,
Tennessee. I enjoyed the drive there, going through
Mississippi and Alabama to get there. I went through
Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Every time I go through there
I always call it Satan's town because former LSU
coach Nick Saban coaches there. I am sorry that
a tornado tore up their town and killed so many people,
but I still hope Alabama loses.

I got to my motel about 10 that night. It had been a
long drive. I just wanted to go to bed. I opened up
the back of my car and could not find my
suitcase that I had so carefully packed the night
before. I had brought food, water, hiking boots, and
other needed supplies. My suitcase with clothes,
underwear, and toiletries was sitting by the
back door where I had left it. I set the
alarm on the house before I left. It beeps
as you are going out the door for you
only have so long to get out the door or
it will go off. It always puts me in
panic mode. I guess in my panic
I forgot the suitcase.

I was so tired that I just washed my
teeth with a washcloth and decided to
find a Walmart the next day. I did
have my GPS with me, so I got
to Walmart with no problem. In fact,
it was just 3 miles away. Now, all
I had was the clothes and flip flops I
was wearing. I bought a couple of
T-shirts and a pair of shorts. I got
a pack of underwear, toothbrush and
tooth paste, and a few other necessities.
I decided to just become a mountain
woman for the next several days.

I had scheduled a train ride in Bryson City,
North Carolina. I hit the road to get there
in time to ride the train. It was a 4 hour
round trip. The train goes through the
mountains to Dillsborough, North Carolina.

I have ridden many trains in several different
states. This one was great and I am glad I
did.

This stream went along our route many times.

What is a train ride without a tunnel?

The bad guy wearing a black hat. He robbed the train!

The Lone Ranger after he saved the day!

I found out while I was riding the train that the movie,
"The Fugitive" with Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones
was filmed along the train route. After they finished filming,
they just left the train/bus wreck there. Also, the movie, "My
Fellow Americans" with Jack Lemmon and James Garner
had scenes filmed on board the train I road.

This kind of shows how "real" movies can be.

This is the bus Harrison Ford was riding on when he "escaped".

All along the route there were many farms. It looked like
they were growing tomatoes, peas, and there were even some
that had nothing but flowers. There were acres of Zinnias.

I enjoyed the train and the peacefulness of the ride through
the mountainous woods. I looked forward to the next few
days exploring the area.

Finish My Course With Joy

2011-08-12T03:04:00.000-07:00

Acts 20:24 (King James Version)

24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

Yesterday, Bible Baptist Church, hosted a lunch for all the employees of the schools in DeQuincy. I work at DeQuincy Elementary. Anyway, they prepared a wonderful chicken spaghetti lunch for us. It was waiting for us when we got there. They served all of us in a matter of minutes. This was our third day to sit through meetings, so lunch is the most exciting part of the day!

The food was blessed, and then we enjoyed the meal while some civic leaders of DeQuincy spoke to us. The mayor spoke and our school board member did as well. Both men reminded us that teaching was a calling(a statement I have always believed). Both men expressed the fact that we had the future leaders of the world in our classroom.

Next, the pastor of that church spoke. He talked of the Apostle Paul and then read the scripture I have quoted above. The wonderful thing about God's word is it gives us what we need at that time. What I got from his talk was this: Find the joy at the end of each day. Find the joy in every event in your life. When the day is done, find the joy.

In the past year, this is something that I have had to remind myself of daily, sometimes I had to remind myself of it by the minute. Find the joy. It is hot and dry outside......I don't have to mow as often. I am missing my children and grand children......Skyping is the next best thing to being there. Welcome to the future, with its "Jetson" video phones. I can't sleep or wake up super early......I got to see the day break with its silent beauty and I got to hear that still small voice that fills us with joy and wisdom. Finish my course with joy. At the end of each day, find the joy.

Getting back to the lunch at Bible Baptist yesterday, after the pastor spoke a group of young people performed for us. I guess you could call them a "praise" band. They sang a song that spoke of God's Grace. I think I even heard echoes of U2 in the music. They had us stand and the words to the song were on a screen. The message was pure: God's Grace abounds even during the mysteries of our lives.

After the song, the pastor asked us all to hold hands and join him in prayer. He even took prayer requests and mentioned these names in his prayer You know it is true....whenever 2 or more are gathered in his name.........I have no doubt we were all of one mind and one purpose. The Spirit swept through that baptist church, and I swear that I could not stop smiling on my way to the car. My steps were light. Three other teachers had ridden with me, and they all seem to have received Joy as well.

I am so grateful to that church who honored us as educators. I am grateful that they chose to remind us that we have a wonderful Teacher in our lives everyday. I know that this new school year will not go perfectly, but I am determined to find the joy at the end of the course.

What? They shut the state of Minnesota down?

2011-08-06T17:59:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Minnesota on June 28th after a non eventful,
non stop flight from Houston. Sarah and kids picked me
up at the airport. I was so glad to see all their faces.
Sarah had asked me what I wanted to do while I was up
there. I mainly wanted to just enjoy them. That is a good
thing for the state of Minnesota solved its budget problems
by "shutting down" the state. We had planned to visit a
couple of state parks.

First, let me explain my lack of pictures. I remembered
to bring my camera and extra battery. I did not
remember to bring the battery charger or charge the
battery in the camera. So, I only have pictures I got
with my phone. My phone.....that is another story in
another blog. Here is some of the things we did
while I was there:

There is a free zoo in St. Paul that we visited. It is a great
zoo that has polar bears. We were so close to the polar
bears that they rubbed their butts on the glass. We also
watched a sea lion show. It was great. All free.

Also, part of that park is a place called Como Town. It is
an amusement park for ages 3 to 12. It was so much fun
watching Liam ride the rides. He is a trooper. If you
read Sarah's blog, you have seen the video of him
riding The Frogger. On the way back from there, we
had lunch at Famous Dave's BBQ. It was good stuff!

Sarah took me to several resale shops in Eden Prairie.
I LOVED THEM! Great, quality stuff for cheap, cheap
prices. That is where I picked up all of those AR
books for so cheap.

We went hiking one day. It was pretty hot the first few
days I was there. I enjoyed the scenery on the hike, though.

One night I got to do something I have never done before.
I got to babysit Liam and Ginny while Greg and Sarah
went to a movie. I was one happy Nana!

One of the books I got at the resale shop was for Liam. It
was The Gingerbread Man...the old one where the fox
eats the Gingerbread Man. Liam and I made gingerbread
men, gingerbread bears, gingerbread cars, gingerbread
dinosaurs, and what ever cookie cutter Sarah had. I think
I read The Gingerbread Man at least 6 or 7 times.

Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes. Here is one of them
we viewed on our hike.

At the beginning of the trail was a natural spring. It was
pure, sweet, and cold!

This tree was just begging for a little boy to sit in it.

Sarah took such good care of me while I was there. She
painted my toe nails a beautiful red. She made sure my
plate was half veggies. She let me nap with the kids, and
she fixed me great afternoon snacks that were healthy
too.

I had promised Liam that we would make a "cano" when
I came. We did, and used up 2 bottles of vinegar making
our volcano erupt over and over.

Sarah and family is coming down October 25 for two weeks.
They will not be coming for Christmas. I have already looked
ahead to the Mardi Gras holiday. We get three days this year.
I am going to take two off and see Minnesota in the winter!

The Calendar Says August....We Know What That Means

2011-08-04T19:33:00.000-07:00

Where did the summer go? It was just yesterday that I was looking forward to 10 glorious weeks off from work. I had committed to 7 days of school related stuff, but June 28th I was headed for Minnesota to see Sarah and family. I did go, and I spent 2 weeks. I will blog that later. The whole time I was there the state of Minnesota was shut down!

I took a solo sojourn to North Carolina and Tennessee. It was a very peaceful journey, although there was some adversity I will also blog about later.

The latest thing with me is a physical problem or two. My left shoulder has been bothering me for several years now. One time a couple of years ago, I could not raise my arm to even get dressed. I have a 3 day rule. If I can't fix something in 3 days, I go to a professional. My arm healed itself within the 3 day limit. The past 6 months or so my left shoulder/upper arm/fore arm has had strange aches and pains. I discovered that I had limit motion in that arm. I decided to do something about it because the past 2 weeks I have had trouble getting comfortable to sleep. I was expecting the doctor to say that it was just arthritis or some other "your getting old" diagnosis. I left the doctor's office with a prescription for an anti inflammatory that I am to take twice a day. I also left with orders to go to physical therapy 3 times a week for a month. I feel old. The diagnosis: Rotor Cuff Syndrome and shoulder impingement. In other words, my rotor cuff is being irritated because the tendons and my deltoid muscle is inflamed and irritated. I still think it has something to do with getting older!

So, school starts in less than 2 weeks. My classroom is almost ready(pushing and pulling on desks, bookshelves, and cabinets probably did not help my shoulder). I get my class roster tomorrow. I am sure I will have quite the mixture of students.

Mr. Alfred

2011-06-17T20:57:00.000-07:00

Mr. Alfred and his awards.

Mr. Alfred with some more of his awards. I did not take
these pictures I Googled Mr. Alfred and found him online!

This past Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I was in Pineville, LA at a teaching conference. The conference was on whole brain teaching, but that is not what I want to talk about. We stayed Monday and Tuesday night at the Country Inn Suites in Pineville. I roomed with 2 of my fellow 5th grade teachers. It was a great room with 2 full size beds and a sofa bed. There was a separate sitting area with a TV, frig, and microwave. The motel also serves a wonderful breakfast that includes home made waffles, eggs, bacon, pastries, oatmeal, cereal, fruit, and yogurt. There were several kinds of juices, milk, and coffee.

The first morning we walked in there, one of my co workers decided she wanted a waffle. The batter was right there next to the waffle iron. As she started to get some batter, a voice and a person appeared by her side saying, "You want a waffle, I'll fix you a waffle". He took the cup of batter out of her hand and also asked if my other co worker and I wanted a waffle. We could not refuse. He told us to sit down and he would bring the waffles to us. He did bring the waffles to us, and then came back several times to get our empty plates. As we ate, we watched him and heard him treat each and every guest with the same extreme, good natured kindness.

The next morning he greeted us, and once again we took him up on his offer of a waffle. He brought us waffles with a flower imprinted on it, and said he picked that for us. He was very attentive to us and everyone in there. He asked if it was our last day, and said to be sure and come back and see him when we came again. As we sat there finishing up we began to notice the awards and notations on the wall were all for "Mr. Alfred". The city of Pineville, Country Inn and Suites, softball and baseball teams, LSU basketball team, police department, and military groups all had thanked him. We realized that we had been served by a celebrity! When we gave him his tip, we mentioned all of his certificates on the wall. He said he wanted to show us something else. He reached into the cabinet above the waffle maker, and brought out a magazine. He was on the cover, and had been chosen as National Employee of the Year by Country Inn and Suites. There was also a wonderful article inside.

I love meeting people who do their job well no matter what it is. It is a understatement to say Mr. Alfred did his job well. There was an aura about him. I think he might have been an angel disguised as a breakfast room attendant. I hope I see him again.

What has been going on?

2011-05-13T17:55:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to blog, but just have not made the effort. I see the last time I blogged was in March. Wow! Here are some high points of the last 6 weeks or so.

1. I made it through state testing week. The week before, we reviewed. Some days they seem to act like they had learned nothing all year. Today, I was going over reducing fractions...ONE MORE TIME..and the child that seem to be out in left field most of the time while I was teaching it ...knew the procedure correctly. That is the moments that teachers live for! I told him he made my year. Now this is the same child that I had told earlier in the day that if he disturbed his group and the class one more time with weird noises he could not stay in my class. He would have to go to the office or go home.

2. The week after state testing I had a student pee on the playground. Yes...a 5th grader. He was suspended for the rest of the day and the following day. He has had some medication issues and just ....issues. He makes the day very interesting.

3. The week before spring break I got a new student. He is from Detroit, truly inner city. He has used inappropriate words 3 times all ready. He is not a southern child that has been taught yes mam and no mam. This is one of my pet peeves. I understand he was not taught to do this, but it just grates against everything in me to hear a child say....yeah. I now have 26 angels in my classroom...14 boys and 12 girls.

4. I spent my spring break in Minnesota with Sarah and family. I flew out of Houston Hobby. I had a lay over in Denver each way. I managed to finally read a John Grisham book I had had since October. I love his books, but have just had trouble concentrating enough to read. It is his latest book, called The Confession. It was typical John Grisham. I loved it.

5. I found Minnesota to be pleasant enough. It has rolling hills that probably are beautiful when green. There was snow flurries one day I was there. The trees had not budded out yet as well. It looked like winter time and felt that way several days. I am already planning my summer trip up there. It will coincide with the Laura Ingalls Festival held each year in Walnut Grove. Sarah and I can not wait! It was so good to see Sarah, Greg, and babies. The week flew by. I played tractors and combines. I read dozens of books to Liam. I put Ginny to sleep at least once a day. I was even Woody's horse Bulls Eye. I guess I should say I was Liam's horse, Bulls Eye. I need to get in better shape for my next trip. One tends to spend a lot of time on the floor with a 3 year old. One of the highlights of my time with Liam? I took him to a local park within walking distance of their apartment. While there, Liam went up to a mom and son and said," My name is Liam and this is Nana." Where did our baby go?

6. I came back from Minnesota with 4 weeks of school left. There are now only 2 weeks left. May is a very busy time at school. We had DARE graduation. We went on a field trip to Heritage Village in Woodville, Texas. It was very enjoyable. Although I have not ridden a school bus for that long in several years. I had forgotten about no air conditioner and blowing hair! The last two weeks at school will prove to be just as busy. We are having Louisiana Days and Field Day next week. The kids can smell summer, and I can too.

7. Plans for summer? I have committed to 7 days of training for work in June. Two days are in Lake Charles. Two days are at my school. Three days are in Alexandria where I learn about whole brain teaching. I guess I have not been teaching for the whole brain or with a whole brain! I plan to spend at least 2 weeks with Sarah again. As I stated earlier, we plan to go to the Laura Ingalls Festival. Other than that, we have not made a lot of plans. I just want to read many books to Liam again and make Ginny smile and chuckle.

Too Long No Blog

2011-03-23T18:58:00.000-07:00

It is funny how your priorities change as you grow older.
My life use to be all about taking Sarah to dance or dance
competitions, doing Cub Scouts, or just keeping up a
household of 3 children. Now, with those three children
out of the nest, I spend a lot of time on Facebook, getting
the yard ready for spring and summer, working full-
time, and now planning visits with grandchildren....I mean
and my children!

Sarah and Greg moved to Minnesota about 2 weeks ago. Before
she left, Sarah and the kids came and stayed about a week. Jacob,
Alesha and Alia came over when Jacob was off which was
a Tuesday and Wednesday. I took off that Wednesday!
I had originally planned to have some of my family come
up to visit the kids, but my parents pretty much
insisted that we come to their house for lunch on that
Wednesday. It was so wonderful being with my parents,
children, and grandchildren. One of my favorite moments
was when I was holding Ginny, Alia and Liam were laying
on the bed, and I told Liam a story. Alia and Ginny
went to sleep and Liam was all ears and eyes for the story.
For those few minutes, I was in heaven.

While just Sarah and babies were here, I still went to work.
We did get to spend the whole weekend together. Sarah
was always glad to see me when I got home from work for
that meant some help with the two kiddos. Liam and I would
always feed the animals, sit on the tractors, sit on the lawn
mower, get in the horse trailer, visit the air conditioner
units, and we even threw rocks into the gully down the road.
I had told him we would have a picnic, but we never did
get around to that. In the evening, I would usually
bath Liam and he and I would go to sleep upstairs. We
would watch a few minutes of a movie and then I would
tell him stories. I would tell him the usual Three Pigs
and Goldilocks, but I also told him "Tractor Man"
stories. I will talk about them in a later blog.
I got to sleep early each night for I would always fall asleep with
Liam. I sure do miss those little pudgy hands twirling
my hair as he fell asleep.

Sarah took this picture of Liam because the light was
really good and she said it just looked like Liam.

When you have two babies under 6 months old in the house,
you have to put them together. Is that not a bundle of
sweetness?

When you have 3 grandchildren at your house, you have
to take pictures like this.

You have to try to take pictures like this.

This one is just too darn cute! I had to share it. Who
wants Alia stew?

Make Me a Channel of Your Peace

2011-02-19T07:22:00.000-08:00

I had never heard this song before until I saw on the news that Bono sang it a Sargent Shriver's funeral. Just saying the words brings me peace.

Make me a channel of your peace.
Where there is hatred let me bring your
love.
Where there is injury, your pardon, Lord
And where there's doubt, true faith in
you.

Chorus:
Oh, Master grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled as to console
To be understood as to understand
To be loved as to love with all my soul.

Make me a channel of your peace
Where there's despair in life, let me bring
hope
Where there is darkness, only light
And where there's sadness, ever joy.

Chorus:

Make me a channel of your peace
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned
In giving to all men that we receive
And in dying that we're born to eternal
life.

February Fun

2011-02-18T18:54:00.000-08:00

Sarah and babies made their first trip over as a family of 2
children last week. We enjoyed a wonderful visit. It was
Ginny's first time to Louisiana. It was still cold, so we enjoyed
a fire several days. We also did what we like to do when it is
cold and there is a fire in the fireplace....roasted wieners! Sunday
was my nephew Nick's birthday, and my sister made his day
really special with home cooked Italian food and a beautiful
birthday cake.

Liam is always on the go. It is rare to find him still like this.
He was pushing a train though. Liam slept with me every
night, and we even napped together sometimes. Oh my
gosh, I miss that little boy!

Sarah took Liam outside, so I played with Ginny and a duck.

We sure love our Ginny girl! It seems like she came here
smiling!

My sister fixed Italian for Nick's birthday party. It was as
good as it looks.

Momma and her 3rd great grand child, Ginny.

Is that not the most awesome birthday cake you have ever
seen? Nick loves Coke and my sister found a place that makes
these neat cakes.

Sunday was my nephew Nick's 16th birthday. The day
before was my sister's birthday. She and the kids got into
a "could have been serious" car wreck. No one was seriously
injured, but Nick was bruised pretty good by the seat belt
and air bag. My sister hit the steering wheel and now has
a Nissan emblem in a "special" place. We are grateful they
were not seriously hurt.

For two days, Liam talked about going to Nick's birthday
party. My sister relit the candles so Liam could blow them
out too.

Me and two of "my girls"

Skylar and Sarah and Liam played some kind of dance game
on their game system. I forget which one it is, but it has
no controllers and is cool!

Snowmen

2011-01-22T05:57:00.001-08:00

As some of you know, I have a thing for sheep and lighthouses.
I think I even did a blog on my sheep collection. I think my
love of sheep and lighthouses are spiritually related, but I
know they are two of my favorite things. My other little quirk
is for snowmen. It might seem odd that a Louisiana native
has a thing for snowmen,but I do. As soon as Christmas is over,
I pull down my snowmen. Although, some of them get to
hang out all year.

Perhaps my love of snowmen comes from the absence of snow
in my life. I have made very few snowmen, and they were
not very big. The few times it has snowed here though, I love
that quiet falling of that beautiful white stuff. It seems to put
an icing on the landscape that only nature can do.

So, to all my "Yankee"(I mean born above above the Mason/Dixon)
friends...yeah I know, it doesn't really snow here. Our snow can
not ever compete with your "real" snow, but ours is magical.
It does not come very often and we get to stop time and enjoy
this magnificent show of nature. It fills me with peace and as long
as the electricity stays on I say: LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW!

My snowmen get to hang out above the fireplace with no
fear of melting.

This year I added cowboy snowmen to my collection. I think
it was their big carrot noses and boots that got me.

Thank you 75% off at Hobby Lobby. I like my snowmen
to be cute, yet cheap!

Even one of the couches becomes a winter wonderland.

This little family hangs out year round. I added them last
fall before we even began to dream that our Saints would
bring home the "big one".

This also stays out all year. I just like what it says.

There are always a variety of throws in the living room. This
one comes out at Christmas and stays through February.

I even like my hot chocolate in a snowman cup. Yes, I did
have cookies with that hot chocolate. I had better watch it
or I will begin looking like my friend on the cup!

Nana Again!

2011-01-09T08:14:00.000-08:00

Miss Ginny is here!

He had not wanted to hold her until we
got the basket out, then he climbed in.

Sweet baby girl...both of them are beautiful.

Proud father....blessed little girl.

Liam and Ginny's other Nana...Becky.

My first time to hold Ginny.

Our newest grand daughter, Ginny-Elizabeth Audrey Mabile was born Thursday, January 6. She weighed 7lbs. 7oz. and is 20.5 inches long. She was born at 12:38 P.M. I thought I was going to miss her birth. Sarah called at a little after 5 that morning to say that the induction was a go. Although I was not packed to go, I knew it would not take me long. Unfortunately, I sat back in the recliner(having been awake since 3:30), and fell asleep. I slept until almost 7. I got up, took a shower, and got ready. I threw some things together in a bag and was out the door at 9. I was thinking I was leaving later than I wanted to, but with plenty of time to get there for a birth I figured was not going to happen until 2 or 3. Was I wrong?! Greg text about 9:20 that the drip was started and the doctor said baby by lunch time. I was not even to Beaumont. I picked up my speed and arrived at the hospital at 11:45. Jenny came at 12:38. I made it, but just barely.

I was, of course, present for the birth of my 3 children, but I have never really witnessed a birth. Sarah and Greg gave me permission to be there for Ginny's birth. It was a wonderful experience to see Ginny take that first breath of life. She responded loudly! I watched Greg cut her cord and the doctor handed her to Sarah. My first thought was,"she looks like Liam." I can truly tell Ginny I have known her since the day she was born.

I have been blessed with 2 grand daughters the past 3 months.....Life's blessings!

Liam visits

2010-12-28T17:04:00.000-08:00

I went and got Liam on Sunday, December 19th. I took him
back on Wednesday, December 22. Rather, I met Sarah and
Greg each time around Winnie. We were busy the whole time
he was here. We climbed on the trailers. We hid in the horse trailer.
We climbed on the horse trailer. We sat on tractors, lawn mowers, and
4 wheelers. We have lost the key to the 4wheeler, so we can only
sit on it. We fed the animals. We rode in the wagon(rather Liam rode,
I pulled. When Randy was here, he rode on the lawnmower(or as he
calls it...the longmower) and went for a ride in Pawpaw's big truck.
We went to the synchronized light show at the railroad museum in
Dequincy. You put your radio on a certain station and the music is
synchronized to the lights on and around the museum. Liam loved
the Polar Express song the best.

Liam had helped put up the big tree the last time he was
here, but he wanted the lights on first thing every morning.

I always put up a second tree in the kitchen that is snowflakes,
lighthouses, and pointsettias. Liam helped with the snowflakes.

One day while Liam was here, we went to the post office to
mail some Christmas packages, went to the park, and then
had lunch at McDonalds. While we were at the park, a train
came through. Liam, who loves trains, was frightened by
the large, close, real train. He jumped into my arms from the
slide. He said, "Choo Choo scare me. Liam cry". If you look
closely, you can see how close the tracks are. We had a good
time at the park. We went home and both of us took a
two hour nap!

This is Liam with Christine and John Profito. Christine was
Sarah's best friend in high school, a room mate in college, and
is Liam's god mother. They were down from D.C. visiting
her parents here in Fields. When they found out Liam was
here, they had to come see him. Liam was glad to see his,
"Nan" and John. They brought books and M&M's which
made their visit even better!

Hooking up the bushhog to the blue tractor. Liam loves
tractors and combines so that is what he got for Christmas
at the Brooks house;

Waiting for Pawpaw to get the combine out of the box. When
he opened this combine, he said,"Oh my gosh!" If you have
a tractor/combine loving boy....go to Tractor Supply.

I forgot that if you get busy doing something that a toddler
will make their own fun. As was brushing my teeth and
washing my face, Liam found something to do. He took
the papason apart and got in the base. This was after
he locked the door to the toilet, then closed it. It took
2 days to finally get it open.

Sarah, Greg, and Liam are moving to Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Greg will go up the end of January. Sarah and babies will go
up sometime in March. I am trying to savor all the time I
can with them. The new baby will be here any day. I will
try to spend as much time as possible with her before they
leave. I wish I could retire and become a professional
Nana...traveling between all the babies all the time.

Sweet Students

2010-12-28T16:48:00.000-08:00

When the 1st bell rang at 3:03 on Friday, December 17, I
was literally pushing students out the door. I was ready
for the Christmas break. As I turned back into my classroom
and surveyed the damage from the class party, I saw that my
desk top was ultimately covered with gifts from my
students. They had all insisted I open them that morning.
I received a variety of gifts ranging from home made goodies
to candles to mugs and socks. One student knowing that
Nicholas Sparks is my favorite author, gave me the
newest book. I already have it, but there was a gift
receipt inside. One student brought me two gifts. One the
day before party day and one the day of. The first gift
was priceless...her own books(her name was in them). Teachers
are always getting gifts that are like that, students personal
items. I have received slightly stained stuffed animals. I
know a teacher who got a partially used tea bag. It comes
from their hearts and it is priceless.

My array of students gifts for 2010. 5th graders still have
enough innocence to give you gifts. I love them....students
and gifts!

Getting Ready for Christmas

2010-12-27T18:27:00.000-08:00

A few weekends ago, Sarah and Liam came over for her last
visit before the baby is born. We had a full weekend of
activities that included going to Sha Sha's with my sister
Carla, nephew Nick, and niece Skylar.

We also went to a Christmas parade in my home town
of Starks. Liam enjoyed it very much, leaving with a
sack full of candy.

The last thing we did was to go to the Christmas train in
Dequincy. It was wonderful and I highly recommend this
activity that is free of charge.

A visit to Sha Sha's was part of the fun.

Waiting on the parade to start

Volunteer fire department of Starks.

Nothing like a small, home town parade.

First stop on the Christmas train..Santa! Although he looks scared
in this picture, Liam was more in awe of the big guy.

On board the Christmas train...there was lots of Christmas
and lots of trains!

The Kansas City Southern Christmas Train

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-29T15:44:00.000-08:00

Sarah and Greg won the sauce contest. Don't
you love the crown?

Liam loves all machines, but tractors are one of his favorites.

My sweet bundles of joy.

Cousins.

Barefoot, pregnant, and roasting wieners.

Is that just not the sweetest thing?

All my children were home for Thanksgiving. We had not all been together in our home since Easter, I think. Then, we did not have Alia who was born in September. By Thursday evening, everyone was here. Friday we roasted hot dogs in the fireplace for lunch. Sarah fixed roasted tomato soup for supper. I made bread in the bread maker. Saturday, we took Liam to the Christmas tree farm in Grant. Feeding goats and riding in a hay wagon behind a tractor were Liam's favorite activities. I found the trees to be a little pricey and the wait in line to pay for one and pick it up was very long so we did not get a tree. Saturday evening, my sister hosted a "Paula Deen" party. Most of the recipes were Paula's. My sister did most of the cooking. The rest of of us provided desserts and sauces. The sauces were for the chicken strips and there was a prize for the best sauce. I know I have eaten a lot of junk in the past week, but the sweetest part of the week was my children and grandchildren.

Nicholas Sparks

2010-11-14T04:36:00.000-08:00

Yes, he is that handsome, but I could see the gentleness
of his soul. No wonder he writes such wonderful stories.

My Nicholas Sparks collection

This is the book I brought to be signed.

Handsome man, gentle soul, and great handwriting!

While I was standing in line, someone offered me the bag.

If you did not know, I am a hopeless romantic. I mean, Gone With the Wind is my favorite book and movie of all time. I know, Scarlett married her sister's man and she pined for another man while married to 3 other men. Scarlett was also a survivor. You have to admire that, and who has not dreamed of wearing a hoop skirt?

Anyway, I say all this to say that my favorite modern day author is Nicholas Sparks. You know, he wrote The Notebook, Message in a Bottle, Dear John, and The Last Song just to name few. I have been reading his books since The Notebook came out about 14 years ago. This man seems to be able to write the way a woman feels. He has a new book out every September which also is the month of my birthday. I have been celebrating my birthday with him for many years. His books make me cry and smile. There is always tragedy, but there is always triump with love and romance winning every time...well most of the time. Sometimes the tragedy wins, but isn't that how real life goes?

My wonderful daughter found out that he was going to be speaking at a fund raiser for The John Cooper School in The Woodlands. There would be a luncheon and then his talk. It was going to be at The Marriott in The Woodlands which is where my son-in-law, Greg, works. Sarah gave ths information to her dad, and made it happen for me. The way I found out was not really romantic, but I appreciate the effort. I got an email saying that,"Sarah thought I would like this". Attached was the receipt for the ticket to the event. I appreciate the thought.

Friday, November 12, was the date of the event. I was off for Veteran's Day on Thursday and took off that Friday. I got to spend some time with Sarah and Liam before and after the event. On a hopeful whim, I grabbed one of my books in case there would be opportunity for me to get it signed. My very favorite book of his is The Notebook, but someone in my family lent it to a friend and they never gave it back. I would have liked for him to signed that one. I mean I had a hardback copy, not the movie version paper back. Anyway, I chose The Bend in the Road. The main female character in it is a school teacher, so I relate to her in some way.

My hopeful whim turned into reality for he agreed to sign books until he had to leave to catch a plane at 3:30. I did not even have to wait in line that long, maybe 30 minutes. Not only did he sign my book, but we had a brief conversation. He told the woman in front of me that he like to support any young athletic team. and said, "so go _________, some team name. I could not help myself and said, "Go LSU Tigers. He thought I said FSU and tigers, and said that he knew Clemson was playiing FSU this weekend. There was not time to explain the confusion, and I could not bear to correct Nicholas Sparks. His eyes were sparkling and full of life. I had just heard him speak about where the ideas for his books came from and about his learning disabled child. I had never heard his voice before, but it was every bit as kind and gentle as the characters in his books. He is a warm, gentle soul with a talent for expressing what we all(especially women) feel inside.

There was even someone there to take your picture. All I had was my phone camera, but it did a pretty good job. I was too busy talking saying Go Tigers, and did not turn toward the camera. The picture of him is great though, and that is my book he is signing. I am grateful for the opportunity to meet one of my favorite authors and hear him speak. I am grateful to my family for giving me this opportunity. The lunch was fabulous, his talk intriguing, and I now have Nicholas Sparks' signature in one of his books. It was a good day.

Alia Comes to Fields

2010-11-03T18:58:00.000-07:00

Jacob and Alesha came home and of course, brought Alia
with them. She is so sweet.

Paw Paw met her.

Maw Maw met her 2nd great grand child.

Nothing is more healing to me right now than holding that
little girl.

That boy does love a tractor!

2010-10-23T16:26:00.000-07:00

Liam stayed his first weekend here without his mom and dad.
He sat on every tractor. We played chase around every
tractor. He actually rode tractors and PawPaw's "big
truck". We fed the animals and watered flowers. It was a
great weekend, and he was fine. The first thing he said when
he saw his mom was....NO! I love you little man. I can't
wait for you to come back.

A guy gets really thirsty and has to drink his water out of
a "mater" bottle.

Heaven Sent

2010-09-30T18:41:00.000-07:00

Is there anything more pure than a new born? The picture
above is of my son Jacob and our newest grand daughter, Alia.
I have loved her since I found out she was coming, but to
finally lay eyes on her...well, that sealed the deal.

In the picture above, she had been in this world about 4 hours.
I noticed she had her eyes open so I took the picture. I wish
I would have captured the look on Jacob's face too. She just
seems to be thinking...so you're my daddy.

When I held her for the first time, I thought to myself I was
holding the cleanest, purest thing on Earth. I somehow felt
unworthy to do so. As I was thinking that, she opened up
her eyes and I felt like I was looking into the eyes of a
heavenly being....such innocence, so clean and pure. I am
so grateful for this new little life and the purity she brings.
I hope I can live up to her expectations.

Satellite Farm

2010-09-05T05:12:00.000-07:00

A view of all three members of our farm.

My Internet savior...it looks like a spy device or laser gun.

The new dish that allows us to have local channels.

Living rurally, as we do, there are advantages and disadvantages. One disadvantage is not having decent Internet service. We had dial up. That reached the point where you could barely check your email. We then got a Sprint air card. That seemed so much better than the dial up that we were happy for a while. When we heard that the newest tower out this way was ATT, we decided to switch our phone/Internet service to them. It was great for while, much better than Sprint. I mean, watching Youtube was an exercise in patience. You would have to wait 10 minutes or more to watch a 3 minute clip. Having 3 bars of service was cause for celebration.

If you are friend of mine on Facebook, you are acquainted with my Internet troubles this summer trying to take a class. Not having taken a college class in about 16 years, I was introduced to Blackboard. Everything is done through Blackboard: assignments, messages, grades, and anything related to the class such as articles to be read, discussed, and wrote about. I knew this through my children, but I was personally introduced to the this modern concept this summer. On about my second day of class, ATT decided to go nuts on me. It first started out with spotty service, and then went to no service what so ever. I spent a total of at least 10 hours on the phone trying to find out the problem. I was told anything from they were integrating towers to they did not know what the problem was. I was reduced to stopping at my local McDonalds to use the free Wifi. After several weeks of that craziness, we decided to just bite the bullet and take a step toward 2010. We got Hughesnet! For $10 less per month than we were paying for the ATT aircard, we now have wireless Internet service via Hughesnet satellite. I can blog, Google, Facebook, read the newspaper, and watch grandchildren videos from anywhere in the house. Up to six computers can take advantage of this modern technology. I am happy with Hughesnet.

We started out with the least package you can get. When I told the guy what we use the Internet for, he told me that package would work for us. It does, except when Daniel comes home and tries to download a movie(this aint Baton Rouge). Through the fair usage act, you are only allotted so much usage per day. If you go over, the service slows down to a crawl. Daniel was unaware of this and tried to download a movie. I called the automated service number and learned that you get one free service restore a month. Within minutes we were back in business and I did not talk to a human being, just a series of me punching phone button and hearing weird beeps and noises on the other end. Modern technology never ceases to amaze me.

To continue our voyage into the modern world of technology, Randy decided to take advantage of Dishnetwork's many offers of free HD for life and free local channels. This is a complicated story in itself. We did not have local channels through Dishnetwork. Randy's brother told us to tell them we used the satellite at a camp up at Toledo and we could get local channels there. I mean we paid for the service. We had local channels...out of Shreveport! We could watch LSU football though and we were happy. Although our TV is HD capable, we did not have the box for that because they wanted to bring it to the camp. When Dish offered local channels a couple of months ago, we took them up on the offer. We no longer have service " at the camp". We do have local channels here though. It is so great to watch Channel 7 news! As far as the HD, I honestly do not see a big difference, except now we have a new satellite receiver and remote.

Now the reason for my devoting a blog entry to this subject. We now look like a satellite farm here at 316 Bruce Hyatt Road. The Hughesnet is a much bigger dish than the TV dish. It is also pole mounted, as it would not be hurricane friendly. The new TV Dishnetwork dish had to be pointed at the southeast sky rather than the southwest sky, so it was pole mounted as well. Our old Dishnetwork dish is mounted on the side of the house. We were told to leave the old dish on the house to make sure the new one was going to work properly. We do not have any problems, so hopefully we will get the old one down before long......Randy?

So, if you drive up to our house and feel like you have just stepped onto a military installation, feel at ease you are welcome here. We can search the Internet, watch John Bridges on Channel 7, and watch anything in HD. Our next moves into modern technology is possibly dropping our land line and I am also thinking about Skyping....too many grand babies to keep up with!

Take me there.......................

2010-08-26T19:37:00.001-07:00

When Randy and I went to Alaska two years ago, he took the above picture of me. When we first talked of going on a cruise, I pictured myself doing just that. We were in Glacier Bay. It was cold. I am wearing my coat, gloves, a blanket, and if you look closely there is a cup of hot chocolate next to me. I had several cups a day. I would lay back and just watch the scenery go by. It was like looking at a painting or a jig saw puzzle. I really felt at peace.

Reality check....I am back at work. I have 30 students. I am on my feet all day and wearing shoes(comfortable shoes, but still shoes). The first couple of week are exhausting. I come home and collapse every day. There are evenings that I imagine myself back on that boat with my cup of hot chocolate.

Good news....a fifth 5th grade teacher was hired today. I will only have 24 students on Monday. We have not had enough books for the current number of students so it has been a week of trying to make a routine out of no routine. Also, we were 99% sure we were getting the new teacher, so we did not want to move too far ahead. The extra books arrived today, so Monday we will hit them hard. The next obstacle is stopping all the chattering these 5th graders want to do.

Still I know there will be days when I wish I were back on the Coral Princess floating my cares away.

Baby Quilts and Baby Blankets

2010-08-09T18:28:00.000-07:00

When I was pregnant with my oldest child, Jacob, I embroidered
blocks and made a quilt. It took most of the pregnancy. I really
just slept and sewed through that pregnancy. As I was making
that quilt I told myself that one day that baby would give the
quilt to its baby. The circle of life has turned and that baby will
have a baby girl in October. Yesterday, I went to the shower
and brought the precious quilt. Jacob seemed to be very pleased
when he realized it was his. I brought him home from the
hospital in that quilt.

Jacob's quilt. I worked many hours on it.

Close up of one of the blocks

Two years later, I was expecting another child. With a two
year old to take care of, I just did not have the time to make
as elaborate of a quilt for the new baby. We did not know
what the baby was going to be. A friend had given my some
Pooh curtains and bedding. I used some of the curtains to make
a small little quilt for baby number 2. It ended up being smaller
than I planned and was used as a tummy quilt most of the time.
Sorry Sarah!

Baby number 3, Daniel was a summer baby(July). Not only
did I not have enough time to make a nicer quilt, the thought
of a quilt seem so hot. I made him a seersucker receiving
blanket. I did take him from the hospital in that blanket, and
he looked quite cute in it!

Ten years ago my sister was pregnant with my niece, Skylar.
We were all excited about the coming little girl. I decided to
make her a quilt. Well, I was working and chauffeuring children
night and day. I had good intentions, but just did not finish
the quilt top. I was very close. Randy's daughter Jade, had
Morgan a month later so I thought I would finish it for her...
I did not. I just have had it stored away. I took it out the other
day and realized that only the border needs finishing before
attaching he back and quilting it. I am not sure if Sarah's
new baby(we found out today it is a girl) will get this quilt
or if I will make her a more specific one. The clock is ticking
on that decision.

Close up of the unfinished quilt

When we found out Sarah was pregnant with Liam, I went
to work on a quilt. I began cross stitching within weeks. I
worked all through the fall and winter on that thing. I can
remember watching American Idol and stitching. I also remember
Sarah calling and saying,"what are you doing?" and I would say
"nothing". I surprised her with the quilt just a couple of weeks
before Liam was born. She has it hung on his bedroom wall.

I like doing handwork like that. It is soothing in a way.

Old Time Religion

2010-08-03T20:33:00.001-07:00

My Aunt Edna died this pass weekend. She was 78, and had been sick for a while. She is my Daddy's brother Weldon's wife. Uncle Weldon died 3 years ago. Monday was the wake. Like most wakes(ones I go to anyway) it was full of laughter, hugs, talk of memories, and seeing friends and relatives you have not seen in a while and probably will not see until the next death. That is sad, but true. The funeral was today. I smiled through most of the funeral. I must explain myself at this point.

Most of my mom and dad's family are Pentecostal. I was raised going to Sunday School at a Pentecostal Church. I was even dedicated in that church. That means that as a baby I was "given" to the Lord. I never was baptized in that church, but my early childhood, teenage years, and young adulthood was spent in Sunday school at that church. My basic biblical knowledge was learned in classes taught by the sweetest Pentecostal ladies and men you could imagine. Randy and I attended a Pentecostal church in Lake Charles sometimes when we dated and when we lived there the first year of our marriage. His family is also full of many Pentecostals. In fact I was sitting in a Pentecostal church when I decided to name my first child Jacob. The lesson was on Jacob and Esau. I was trying to decide between Jacob and Jared.

The funeral today was very Pentecostal, complete with old time gospel music, people praying out loud, clapping, and shouting. It had been so long since I was around that. It brought back memories of wonderful people, relatives and non relatives. First of all some grandchildren sang a song. In fact 3 grand daughters sang, 1 played the piano and sang, and a great grand son played the drums on the number. They all have rich, full Pentecostal voices that are you can tell are use to singing, shouting, and praying regularly. I did not inherit any of this musical talent!

Then some ladies of the church sang a song that they said Aunt Edna had requested..."Good Bye World Good Bye". It was rocking! Note to my family: When I leave this world, send me out at one point to a song like that. It was truly a home-going service. I think Aunt Edna's spirit was there clapping and singing with everyone else. The preacher asked everyone to grab a hymnal and sing , "Heaven's Jubilee". I did not have my glasses, so I could not see the words but when they got to the chorus I remembered the words from my childhood. Maybe that was part of the reason for my smiling. It is also a thumping, southern gospel song.

I have been thinking of all my Pentecostal relatives and two great aunts came to mind...Daddy's Aunt Ethel and Aunt Carmel. They would try to out do each other at church. If one stood up to testify, then the other soon followed with a louder and longer testimony. If one spoke in tongues, the other soon followed. I witnessed this many times. My aunt was saying last night that Aunt Ethel, Aunt Carmel, and my grandma use to try to out do each other at funerals. They would faint and fall out. Aunt Billie Faye told me she finally told my grandma that if she did that again, she would not help her up off the floor. She said she never did it again!

I really believe the Spirit was in that Pentecostal church today. I told my cousins that I really enjoyed the service, and felt like I had been to church. God is alive. He dwells everywhere, especially where so many gather with one purpose. I know some will argue that it is wrong to be so loud in a house of worship, but I think God smiled today. I think Jesus smiled today. I think Aunt Edna, my grandparents, and all those sweet Pentecostal Sunday school teachers who fed me cookies and bible verses smiled today. I know I smiled today with pure joy.

I dug through some photos I had scanned(we have hundreds
of slides I am scanning) looking for a picture of Aunt Edna.
The best I could come up with is the one above. It was taken
at my grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary. My mom is
the one in the navy blue suit. Aunt Edna is the one whose
face is partially hidden by my mom. That is Uncle Weldon
next to her. My grandparents sit in the chairs. My aunts
and uncles and my dad are behind them. I think the
little ones are various great grand children. I chose this picture
for it shows my Pentecostal aunts. There are 11 adults in this
picture, 6 have since passed on.

I found this picture of my grandpa and I. Was I young or what?

I found the lyrics to the two songs I mentioned above. I pasted them below. Go to Youtube and find them. Be sure and pick one that is southern gospel with a banging piano and thumping drums.

Good Bye World Good Bye

I've told all my troubles goodbye,
Goodbye to each tear and each sigh.
This world where I roam cannot be my home,
I'm bound for that home in the sky.
I walk and I talk with my Lord,
I feast every day on His word,
Heaven is near and I can't stay here
Goodbye world, goodbye.

I won't have the blues anymore
When I step across to that shore.
And I'll never pine for I'll leave behind
My heartaches and cares ever more.
A day maybe two then goodbye,
Goodbye to each sorrow and sigh.
Heaven is near and I can't stay here,
Goodbye world, goodbye.

Now don't you weep for me when I'm gone
For I won't have to leave here alone.
And when I hear that last trumpet sound
My feet won't stay on the ground.
I'm gonna rise with a shout, gonna fly,
Gonna rise with my Lord in the sky.
Heaven is near and I can't stay here,
Goodbye world, goodbye

Some glad morning we shall see, Jesus in the air
Coming after you and me, joy is ours to share
What rejoicing there will be, when the saints shall rise
Headed for that jubilee, yonder in the skies
Chorus
Oh what singing, oh what shouting
On that happy morning when we all shall rise
Oh what glory, Hallelujah
When we meet our blessed Savior in the skies

Seems that now I almost see, all the sainted dead
Rising for that jubilee, that is just ahead
In the twinkling of an eye, changed with them to be
All the living saints to fly, to that jubilee.

Chorus
Oh what singing, oh what shouting
On that happy morning when we all shall rise

Please excuse the long post. I just had so many memories stirred today.

Watermelons

2010-07-31T18:53:00.000-07:00

I tried my hand at growing watermelons this summer. My
dad gave me 6 plants. I lost 2 of them, but 4 survived. I was
not really familiar with how they grow. I kept having to hoe
and prepare a bigger space. I was hoping to get at least one
melon. I have picked one and have 3 more on the way. I had
14 going at one time, but I think they got too much water
at one time and they sort of rotted.

Here is one before it was ready. Daddy told me it would
be ready 30 days after it was touching the ground or when
the stem(piggy tail) was brown.

Another view of the melon waiting to get ripe.

My first melon. Randy estimated it to weight about 25 pounds.

Although I followed Daddy's rule about when to pick, I was
still apprehensive about it being ready. When we cut into
it we could see it was nice and red and it smelled great!

Nice, sweet melon

I have to say it was one of the bests melons I have ever had!

I am thinking of growing some pumpkins for fall, but I better
get on it!

Last Dollar Road

2010-07-30T21:18:00.000-07:00

There is a road in west central Colorado named Last Dollar
Road. It is west of the town of Ridgeway if you know some
Colorado geography. A guy Randy works with had told him
about it. We had looked it up online, and saw that it was
gorgeous...especially in the fall. We were given one line of
advice...Don't try it after it rains. Well, we did try it after the
rain....and we should not have. I will just say...too slick to go
up, backed down, got stuck, people from Missouri pulled us
out, they had a jeep. If you want to know more, ask me!
We were determined to see Last Dollar Road, so the next
day Randy and I drove up to Telluride...the other end of
the road. We decided to just go exploring for a little ways.
Although there were a few rough spots and I held my breath
a time or two, we made it all he way through(past the spot
where we had got stuck the day before). It was worth it.
I want to see it in the fall.

If you know me just a little bit, you know that one of my
favorite things is sheep. I was thrilled to see this flock...
while passing on Last Dollar Road.

Ahh...that fair maiden(ok,not fair, but slightly dark) is me
in field of beautiful wild flowers. Last Dollar Road was
full of beauty.

We even saw a deer. It was not afraid at all.

One of the beautiful views we saw on Last Dollar Road.

There were so many aspen groves along the way.

In the fall, the Aspen leaves are golden.

With there trunks so white, there was sort of a celestial feel
to the road...at least I thought so.

I do not know why it is named Last Dollar Road. It was
free to drive on the road, but it was so beautiful I would
think seriously about giving my last dollar to see it in
the fall. I feel so blessed to have been able to see all of
the beauty of Colorado. When I have doubts that God
is always around, I only have to remember the wonders
I saw on that road.

Rocky Mountain Flowers

2010-07-29T19:49:00.000-07:00

While on my hike around Spud Lake, I was blessed to see
many different flowers. The sky was blue, the sun was
shining brightly, and the flowers looked so fresh and
colorful.

I think this is a columbine...state flower of Colorado.

Various wild flowers

White ones, yellow ones......................

More wild flowers

I think these are Indian paintbrushes.

Hike, Hike, Hike

2010-07-27T19:39:00.001-07:00

One can not go to the Rocky Mountains without getting in
them. We decided to hike to Spud Lake. It was a relatively
easy hike...one mile each way and not a big change in
elevation. Getting to the trail head was a rough ride in
Sarah and Greg's car. We were beginning to wonder if
we were going to get there.

Liam in his "pack pack". ready to go.

Spud Lake. It was beautiful. I walked all the way around
it. I found some gorgeous flowers.

Everyone waiting for me to get through with my lap
around the lake.

Liam found the perfect rock for sitting and sunning!

New Background

2010-07-23T14:43:00.000-07:00

As you can see, I got my background back. I got tired of waiting on Cutest Little Blog, so I switched to this one. There are several out there on the Internet. Anyway, I am glad to have a background back.

More Colorado.......Mesa Verde

2010-07-23T14:03:00.001-07:00

To those of you who are not as historically inclined as I, then
bear with me as I share our trip to Mesa Verde. I love history
of any kind, so this place was a delight to me. I also teach
about this in 5th grade social studies, so I took lots of pictures
to make a power point for the students. We only went to
one of the cliff dwellings. There are several. This one did
not need a ranger guide. It is a little bit of a climb getting to
them,but well worth the effort. This one is called
Spruce House.

Mesa Verde is home to ancient Indian cliff dwellings. These
are located near Cortez, Colorado(southwest corner). I have
been here twice before(with my parents and with my kids).
What a treat to go with Liam, although he will not remember
it...all the more reason to go again.

A kiva...ceremonial room

All of this built on the side of a cliff with no modern
equipment.

When I called my parents during the trip, Daddy said,"Did
you see that old corn?"

The old corn...astounding, isn't it?

We all went inside of one of the kivas, including Liam. I
got this picture of Sarah coming out.

Sarah, Greg, and Liam...he loved to ride in the "pack pack".

Liam also liked to explore too. Remember this is a cliff
dwelling..notice the death grip Greg has on Liam.

I asked Randy to take my picture so my students could see
I was really there. If you have never heard of the cliff dwellings
or want to know more I could tell you or.....just Google.

Colorado 2010....Towns

2010-07-21T06:00:00.001-07:00

Recently, we were blessed to be able to spend a week in southwest
Colorado. Sarah, Greg, and Liam joined Randy and I there for a
week of relaxation and sigh seeing. I took many pictures of our
activities. I decided to start with the various towns we passed through.

This is Telluride, a very beautiful little town tucked in the
mountains. Like many towns in Colorado, it is a former
mining town turned tourist town. Telluride is ski resort
in the winter. It is also home to Tom Cruise and Oprah, to
name a couple of celebrities who have homes there. We have
passed through a couple of times, but never stayed. It is
also a very expensive and exclusive little town.

Ouray. It is also called "America's Switzerland" It is also
literally tucked in the mountains. It is a neat place to visit
for the day, and the drive from Silverton to there is
spectacular. Randy and I did it on the motorcycle last
year...memorable!

Silverton. I think this is my favorite little Colorado town
Again, tucked in the mountains, it is a very small town that
is the other end of the Durango/Silverton train ride. It is
full of little shops and restaurants. We have eaten at the
Brown Bear Cafe and the Handlebar Saloon. Both of these
eateries were built in the 1880's and are fun to just be
in. The food was pretty good too! For the second year
in a row, Randy and I watched 4th of July fireworks in this
little mountain town....glorious!

Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings....ancient city near Cortez.

I can not remember what little town this is. It was in
southeast Colorado. It was the first of 3 towns we went
through where we just missed their 4th of July parade. Just
like here at home, people were gathering up on the sidewalks
waiting for the parade. You can see the flags lining the
little town.

Raton, New Mexico....We stopped and got gas here the
second morning of our trip. They were having a hot air
balloon rally. When I decided to take pictures, I realized I
was not in the best spot, but I did manage to get some of the
balloons. If you look closely,you can spot 4 or 5.

What Happened?

2010-07-18T06:59:00.000-07:00

Ok, I changed my background. I did not like it, so I changed it again........I got nothing! What happened? Any idea what happened?

Once again....NOLA

2010-07-17T04:55:00.000-07:00

If you have ever gone to New Orleans, you might have noticed
that on opposite ends of Jackson Square are two red brick buildings.
They have beautiful wrought iron work, and for me have always
symbolized New Orleans and Jackson Square. These buildings are
called the Pontabla Buildings. They are touted as being the oldest
apartments in America, but they are really row houses not
apartments....I just sounded like a tour guide. My picture does
not do them justice.

These buildings were built by a woman and she and the
buildings have a story. One of the books I had to read for
the class I took was called Louisiana Women. One of the essays
in the book was about the Baroness Pontabla.

The Baroness married young, it was an arranged marriage.
The Baroness came from a very wealthy French family, the
Alamonsters. Her husband's family, the Pontablas were also
very wealthy. Her father-in-law was greedy and immediately
began to try to take her wealth. He was successful at it. After
all she was a woman in the late 1700's, early 1800's. Her
wimpy husband stood by and let it happen. In a nutshell, she did
something that very few women of the time did....she
sued and took her father-in-law to court. It took time,
but she eventually won some of her money and property back.

Now the Baroness was not poor even while her disgusting father-in-law was taking her wealth. Remember, she came from a wealthy family as well that owned property in France and New Orleans. She came back from France and saw the St. Louis Cathedral on Jackson Square and thought that the rental property she had there looked shabby next to the grand cathedral. With the help of an architect, she built the twin, red, brick buildings. If you will look closely(my pictures don't do it justice) at the iron work, you will see the letters A and P intertwined with
each other. It is on both buildings in the middle of each piece. Apparently, although she and
her husband lived apart(remember he wimped out when his father was taking her money), she
still was in love with him. He eventually went back to France. She did too. She took care of him for the next 24 years until he died. He suffered from both physical and mental ailments. She not only took care of him. She took care of his money and property. I bet her father-in-law was rolling in his grave.

I probably do not do the story justice, so google the Baroness Pontabla. She was a very interesting early Louisiana lady.

More NOLA

2010-07-13T20:32:00.001-07:00

I visited several cemeteries while I was taking the class on
Louisiana history. Some were in Lake Charles, but the most
interesting one was in New Orleans....St. Louis Cemetery No. 1
This cemetery was started during French ownership of New Orleans.
All of the graves are written in French. Being in New Orleans the
tombs are above ground. Also, each tomb can contain a couple of
hundred years of the dead. They just keep sliding them in from the
top. Some even use cardboard coffins so that the bodies can
slide on down. The cemetery is segregated by religion. Catholics
on one side and Protestants on the other. They are separated by
wall. We only visited the Catholic side.

The cemetery looks like a miniature city. I was so fascinated
by each tomb. Some are still kept up by family members and some
are still kept up by benevolent societies started over 200 years ago
to take care of burying the dead and survivors. Look at how ominous
the sky was at that time. We could actually see the lightening and
hear the thunder. Luckily it went around us and all we got was
the cooling effects of a Louisiana thunderstorm. I felt somewhat
anxious being in New Orleans with a thunderstorm brewing, knowing
almost 5 years ago 80% of the city was flooded. The cemetery we visited
was not affected by the flood.

I loved all the iron fences with their typical New Orleans
Fleur de leis.

More fencing.

Still more fencing. I am not sure how old it is.

All of the graves are in French. At least the Catholic side is.

This is supposedly the grave of voodoo priestess, Marie LaVeau.
She was a free woman of color who practiced voodoo. Voodoo was
not a religion of strictly sticking pins in dolls. It originated in
Africa and was a religion meant to bring harmony between humans
and the earth. Marie lived with (they were not allowed to marry)
white French man and this is his family tomb.
She was a devout, practicing Catholic as well. There is another grave
that is said to be her grave as well, but is probably her daughter's who
was also named Marie LaVeau.

Right next to Marie LaVeau's grave is the grave of the first
black mayor of New Orleans, Dutch Morial. I like to think
that Marie is keeping an eye on that Louisiana politician.

The cemetery was a very interesting place. I would love to go
back. There is also a St.Louis Cemetery Number 2. There are
also American cemeteries for when the American's moved in after
the Louisiana Purchase. The city is so full of history.

NOLA

2010-07-11T18:35:00.000-07:00

As some of you know I took a class this summer through the
Louisiana Endowment of the Arts. It was called, "Louisiana,
A Multi-Cultural Journey". We learned so much about the
history of our great state. One thing that enticed me to take
the class(and use up a whole month of my summer break) was
a field trip to New Orleans. The other enticement was a $1250
stipend! I also earned 3 hours graduate credit. Below are some
of the sights of NOLA. The city is so full of colorful history and
colorful weirdness. I decided to start with the weirdness.

If you are in Jackson Square, you are going to see a street
musician. Here is one I saw. His repertoire included "How
Great Thou Are", "Amazing Grace", "Itsy Bitsy Spider", and
the Sesame Street theme.

Of course I don't know why,but there was a guy with a pink
pig in Jackson Square.

A New Orleans staple, tap dancing little boys. I gave them
each a dollar.

This is not weird. It is one of the reasons I like New Orleans,
the great Mississippi River. I love to just sit and watch the water
go by and think about all the history that has traveled this river.
I also think of Randy's grandmother who told us that she and his
grandpa lived in New Orleans briefly. She said it was so lonely and the
whistles from the boats made it more so. She also gave a demonstration
of what the boat whistles sounded like. I will never forget her face and
the sound she made....on of my favorite MoMo Burns memories.

Next, I will post some of the history of that weird city on the great river.

What's Going On........

2010-06-16T18:13:00.000-07:00

Well, summer has arrived. It is hot. It is humid, but I am not teaching school. That is good. I am taking a class. It is through The Louisiana Endowment of the Arts and Humanities. I get 3 hours graduate credit. They paid for the class and materials at McNeese. Best of all.....I get a $1250 stipend when the class is completed. Of course I have a couple of papers to write and a weeks worth of lesson plans to turn in too, but we get a field trip to New Orleans too. We are going this Friday. We will have an academic tour given by a professor from Southeaster in Hammond. We will go to St.Louis Cemetery No. 1 where Marie Leveaux is buried, and then spend the rest of the day in the French Quarter going to various sites and museums. It will be hot. It will be humid, but it will be fun! We leave Lake Charles at 7 A.M. and leave NOLA at 7 P.M. to come back. It will be a full day!

At this point I must say that the name of the class is: Louisiana, A Multicultural Journey. So far(I have had 7 days of classes) we have visited cemeteries in Lake Charles, did the geneology of a person in the cemetery, read about Louisiana women, Creoles, blacks, and free people of color. Our state has such a colorful history. So many people are so larger than life.

Today, we went to the Jewish cemetery and the Jewish temple. I had never been to a Jewish temple. The people were super nice, and I learned that the Jewish community of Lake Charles played the vital role in the development of businesses of all sorts and the development of the arts in Lake Charles.

Here is a funny thing that happen when I was leaving the Jewish temple. I was crossing the street when I heard someone call my name. I look up, and there is my Mormon bishop mowing the lot across from the Jewish temple. He said,"What are you doing?". I laughed and told him about the class and assured him I was not converting. It was just a little surreal to come out of there, and the first person I see is my bishop. The Lord is everywhere!

I am having Internet problems at home. I am at a McDonalds now using wi fi to post this. To top it off, our land line is out of commission as well. Technology is great when it works, but the pits when it doesn't.

My watermelon garden is growing like wild fire. I have melons as big as pears right now. I am amazed by the daily growth. I will post pictures when I have more time.

Farming

2010-06-05T05:45:00.000-07:00

I had a farm in Africa........thus begins one of my favorite
movies, Out of Africa. I have a farm in Fields! My dad gave
me 6 watermelon plants. I am determined to have
watermelons. 2 of the plants died, but I still have 4 and
they are flourishing. I have been adamant with watering
since it doesn't rain much lately. My dad tells me that I
should count 30 days after I see a melon sitting on the ground
until I will have a ripe melon. I am just beginning to spot
some less than an acorn size melons. Wish me luck!

This is what they looked like less than 3 weeks ago.

About a week later............

The latest...I can see growth almost daily. I keep having to
hoe out a bigger space for the runners.

Liam's car

2010-06-03T04:37:00.000-07:00

As Liam's 2nd birthday approached, I decided that I wanted
to get him the Little Tikes cozy coupe. He loves anything
with wheels. The decison was final when Sarah told me that
he played with one at a birthday party, and spent the whole
party in it. Little Tikes makes great products that are really
inexpensive. I learned that with my own children

Sarah and I read some reviews of the Cozy Coupe, and many
people complained about how difficult it was to put together.
I assured her that Randy would have no trouble.

Some people warned that putting on the wheels took forever.
I timed Randy, it took 12 minutes.

4 wheels on...getting ready to attach the roof

The finished product! There is nothing that PawPaw can't do!

Babies and more babies

2010-06-01T04:52:00.000-07:00

Saturday, May 29th, was Liam's 2nd birthday. After all his
presents were opened, Sarah said there was one more. She
pulled a T-shirt out of a bag and held it up. Liam is wearing the
shirt in the picture above. It took a second or two for it
to register what it said and what it meant. Liam is going to be
a big brother! Mabile baby number 2 is due on January 7.

Sarah and Greg have unique ways of introducing their pregnancies.
We were sitting around telling Boudreaux and Thibodeaux jokes when
Sarah said, "Have you heard the one about Sarah being pregnant?" Thus,
we learned of Liam's scheduled arrival.

Sarah is not the only one in our family who is adding to our family. Our
son Jacob is going to be a father. It is a little girl due in October. Babies
offer such hope and purity to our lives. I am grateful for that.

Roses, roses, roses

2010-06-01T04:22:00.001-07:00

The first time Randy brought me to see the property we
live on now, there were wild roses everywhere. Across what
is now or front yard was an old fence just covered with
those old timey wild roses. It was beautiful! When we were
preparing to build the house, the old fence was torn down, and
many of the roses were destroyed, much to my dismay. We
did keep one mound of them. For several years now, we have
debated whether to just destroy them too. Randy insisted that
they would take over what looked like just junk. This year
they seem to be doing what Randy had in mind. They were just
beautiful. Although there still needs to be some trimming and cutting
of the "junk", the old roses looked spectacular and seem to be taking
over the junk.

Even with such a great lack of rain they bloomed profusely.

Every time I looked at them, I wanted to pin some in my hair.

We transplanted some to this bird feeder. Last summer we
kept training it to go up the pole. Our persistence paid off. I
constantly marvel at natures beauty.

Crawfish...Finally!

2010-05-22T07:41:00.000-07:00

Sarah and I had not had crawfish for two years. We finally had some Mother's Day weekend. The boys were not in. Randy can not eat them, so Sarah and I did our best to eat a sack of crawfish. They were delicious. Randy boiled them for us. A big sacrifice since he can not eat them himself. Thanks Randy!

Liam hung out in his pool while the mudbugs were being repared. He was a little leary of them.

Before...........................

After............... this should do us for another year!

Happiness

2010-05-03T18:58:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I bought a book at Brookshire Bros.(yes,, the grocery store). They had a table full of bargain books for 75% off. I bought 5 books for $7.25. I love a bargain. I did not really recognize any of the books, but they were all under $2, so I thought it was worth the risk. I bought 3 kid's books for Liam. Anyway, one of the books was Home to Holly Springs by Jan Karon. I have heard of her. She is the author of the Mitford Series. I have not read any of those, but I have heard of them. Home to Holly Springs is the first in the " Father Tim" novels. I have not read any of those either. The book is set in Mississippi. I love any book with a setting in the South. The book was a pleasant surprise. I enjoyed it very much even with the main character being a 70 year old man.

I found a quote in the book that struck me. It is a quote from Elizabeth Goudge. I have never heard of her, but I like the quote. I will have to Google her to see if I am familiar with anything she has written. So, here is the quote:

Happiness is like swallows in the spring. It may come and nest under your eaves or it may not. You can not command it. When you expect to be happy, you are not , and when you don't expect to be happy, there is suddenly Easter in your soul though it be midwinter.

Easter in my soul. That is a wonderful thought... a rebirth in my soul when I least expect it. I like that.

Phoenix Rising

2010-05-01T18:00:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago, someone gave Randy some sego palms. I have
to be honest and say that I am not wild about these plants. I just do
not like the way they look. Randy likes them though, and although I
think he thinks I don't water them when he is not around, I do. Winter's
freezing temps were really hard on them this year. I cut off all the dead and
hoped for the best...they are coming out!
The one above has always struggled, but even it is showing signs of a rebirth.

This one is coming out very well.

This is what they look like before the frawns unfurl.

This sego is in the back yard and is the one that seems to
really love where it is planted. I decided to call it a "Phoenix
Rising".

I am always glad to see anything have new life.

Flowers everywhere...I love the flower girl.....

2010-04-25T18:39:00.000-07:00

The evening light was so good in this picture.

God paints with a beautiful brush, doesn't He?

These are Double Delights. There are over a dozen on the
three bushes, and I have already cut about a dozen and have
them in the house.....delightful!

To me, there is nothing more beautiful than a red rose. These
are called Mr. Lincoln. I counted over 2 dozen on the three
bushes. All they ask for is lots of water and something to keep
bugs and diseases off of them.

These red lillies came with the place. They were all wadded
up in one hole. Last year I dug them up, and put them in
several places in the yard, in groups of three. This was some
extras that I did not know what to do with. I have offered
them to my sister.

This is an Amaryllis. I had bought it discounted after Christmas
last year, and just stuck it in the ground. It is beautiful!

I have waited for spring since the middle of December, and it has not disappointed me. I am grateful for God's beauty.

Wedding Anniversary 2010

2010-04-22T20:05:00.000-07:00

Randy and I were married 27 years ago , April 23. It
remains the happiest day of my life. I think my
picture shows that.

Spring....it finally got here!

2010-04-13T17:58:00.000-07:00

Ahhh..........spring..........My favorite time of year. I love the
rebirth, especially after the dismal winter we had. Yes, spring
has sprung at 316 Bruce Hyatt Road. My legs, shoulders, and
arms are sore from the digging, hoeing, and hauling of potting
soil. I even got into fire ants pretty bad this time...over 50 bites
before I could get them off. It was worth it!

Planting flowers...................

and more flowers......................

Birds...I have seen blue birds, red birds, doves, starlings,
wrens, sparrows, mocking birds, blue jays...I fill the feeder
every day right now. Oh, yes, the hummingbirds are back
as well.

The darker azaleas are my favorite.

Randy has such good vision...the dogwood, the azalea, the
bridal wreath................so pretty!

The azaleas are worth the year long wait.

From bud..........................

To blossom...first one of the season.

Birthdays and Easter

2010-04-08T17:59:00.000-07:00

My parent's birthdays are April 11th and 12th. My sister and I got the idea to give them a surprise party. We told them that all the kids would be in Easter weekend and that we were fixing shrimp at my house and that they had to come. We lured them up here. In reality, we had invited their siblings as well. They were surprised. It was a beautiful day full of family, food, and fun!

Moma and Daddy like to play the slot machines, so my sister
got them a casino themed cake. It was cute!

My brother, Randy, fried shrimp and fries. My hubby, Randy,
boiled shrimp, potatoes, and corn. My sister made shrimp
gumbo. It was a shrimp fest!

My niece, Tera...I told her I would post this picture on Facebook,
but decided to just put it on the blog.

Beautiful day to just kick back.

My mom said that the meal reminded her of dinners at her
aunt's house long ago.

It was good to have my parent's siblings at the party.

My favorite picture of the day.

Too much fun!

When my kids were little I use to always make them a bunny
cake for Easter. I could not wait to make Liam one this year.
I think he liked it!

Liam loves anything with wheels. Most of the time he has
a vehicle in his hands. I got him a bubble mower and I think
he must have mowed 20 acres. I forgot to take a picture of
the mowing...maybe next time!

I always miss Liam as soon as he leaves, but I look forward
to the next visit.

Is Spring finally going to get here?

2010-03-29T11:27:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about spring since December. It was such a cold, wet, and dreary winter. Up until last week everything was still so brown and dead. I see and feel the change coming though. I see more and more green grass. I see the beginning of color on the azaleas bushes. The nurseries have lots of bedding plants

Although the mornings and some days can be quite cool, I do believe spring is trying so hard to make its appearance again. Spring is my favorite season. It is a symbol of hope and new beginnings, something we can use all year round.

Cousins

2010-03-17T09:03:00.000-07:00

My cousin Dennis died Sunday. He was diagnosed with cancer last summer. He would have been 58 in May, so about 9 years older than me. His mother is my mom's sister. He is her and my Uncle Robert's only child. He and his wife were married for 38 years. I was in their wedding as a candle lighter. They have 2 children and 3 grandchildren. It is hard to understand why someone and their family have to suffer a disease and lose their life to it.

He left this earth on a blue skied, sun shiny day. According to everyone there when he left here, he left here with a smile on his face. He had not smiled in months. He smiled and took his last breath. I can't help but believe he saw something or someone that made him smile such a joyous smile. Another cousin commented as he died, "what a beautiful smile". I do not know for sure what is on the other side, but I believe we are greeted by someone or something that welcomes us. I told Randy Sunday night that I wanted to believe he saw my grandparents(my mom's parents). My grandfather died before I was born and my grandmother died before I was 3 so I do not remember her. What is weird is that Monday evening I was talking to my mom on the phone and she mentioned how Dennis had smiled before he died. She said she thought he must have seen someone. I told her I thought it was her mom and dad. She was silent a second and told me she had not told anyone but my dad that she felt the same thing.

Did he see my grandparents? Did he see a sight so glorious that it filled him with joy? Was he just glad to be back home? Only he knows. I will see Dennis again some day. Maybe he will greet me. God be with my family today as we celebrate his life. I pray for comfort to his parents, wife, children, and grandchildren.

Nana Comes To Visit

2010-02-25T18:32:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I spent Saturday with Sarah, Greg, and Liam. I had a great time. Sarah fixed some wonderful Rachael Ray hot dogs. I always try to bring Liam something every time I come. He loves anything with wheels and Sarah lets him watch little snippets of the movie, "Cars". I had bought him a box of little construction vehicles. I was looking for a box to put them in, when I got the inspiration to make him a bag. I bought some "Cars" material and made him a little "vehicle transport bag". It is not a purse!

Randy was not with me, so I got all of Liam's attention. He shared his fruit snacks with me. He shared crackers with me. He let me ride or insisted that I ride his "Bikey". I got kisses too. It was a wonderful visit. The worse part was having to go home.

Fruit

2010-02-21T19:16:00.000-08:00

I got up this morning, and decided I needed to take a walk. As I passed by my rose bushes I remembered that I had plan to prune them. There is a lady in DeQuincy who has beautiful roses. I noticed this past week that she had cut hers back, so I knew it was time for me to do the same. I always hate cutting any plant back...all that growth! I know that it is necessary for the new growth to happen. It has been such a wet winter, all the plants should really grow this spring. Anyway, I grabbed the pruners and whacked away. No cane on the bushes is over 2 feet tall now! I continued on my way for my walk. As I walked I begin thinking about what I had just done, and scriptures came into my mind. I love any of the New Testament where Christ is speaking, but what came to mind was(as I found out later) in the 15th chapter of John. Christ speaks of the vineyard and the fruit. John 15:2 says Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. In the verse before the one above He had said that He was the vine and his Father was the husbandman. A husbandman is the keeper of the vine. As I walked I was pondering a burden that I am caring. I have felt of late as though I have really been cut back. I have felt really wounded. As I walked I began to see that perhaps I have not been wounded in the cutting back, but perhaps Heavenly Father wants to purge me in order for me to bear more fruit. I felt this really strongly and decided that if I was being purged to bear more fruit, then I was more than willing. Isn't a willing heart, an able heart? I am willing to be cut back if it is going to bring me growth...fruit. I take the fruit to be those of the Spirit.

After, I returned from the walk I went to church, something that I have been remiss in doing for quite a while now......too long a story to post on here. Heavenly Father knows where I am at. Anyway, something was confirmed to me at church this morning. The speaker quoted the exact same scriptures I mention above. Of course the rest of that chapter is about abiding in Christ and His perfect love, but I was struck that he spoke of the vine, the exact thing I had thought of as I walked. I can not ignore that. One of my many prayers is to be willing to be purged. I know that growth will come and perhaps with that growth the burden I carry and those of the future will not seem so heavy.

The picture above is not from my garden. I Googled one, for it was too dark to get one of mine. It does show how far back roses must be cut back.

Mama Mia

2010-02-07T17:18:00.000-08:00

The dough must be tossed in order for the pizza to be good....according to Sarah.

The chef getting the dough ready.

The dough after it had been tossed and tossed.

The end result...it was delicious!

A couple of weekends ago, Sarah and Liam came to visit. We decided to make pizza. Sarah was the chef. The pizza was really good. While Sarah tossed the dough Liam and I sang Italian style...La La La La La La..........................

They are back this weekend for the Saints game. Sarah is going to fix brownies with fleur delis. I will post later.

Moving again

2010-02-06T19:46:00.000-08:00

I have various things tagged, move or don't remove. It has been like teaching at a garage sale.

This is what I have been teaching around the past week.

All but one of the computers were packed. I kept one up because that is how we do math. I was informed yesterday that it will be packed up next Wednesday.

The past two years(actually less than two years) I have changed classrooms twice. One of those changes involved changing schools as well. Next weekend I will once again change classrooms. I will be moving into a new classroom at the new school that has been built in DeQuincy. My stuff was packed up ready to be moved as of last weekend. The moving company finally came yesterday, and took my things to my new classroom. The above pictures are what I have been teaching around the past week. We are scheduled to have the first day of class in the new school on Wednesday the 17th. Next weekend we are scheduled to work right through the weekend and the two day Mardi Gras break. I dread the unpacking and organizing although I have always said that if I ever had a new classroom with a clean slate, I would be much more organized. I guess I am getting my chance. Once I get my classroom set up, I will post pictures and will take suggestions on how to organize this "blank slate".

Spring Will Be Glorious

2010-02-03T17:07:00.000-08:00

The camping hill

Everything looks so dead. I hope no serious damage has been done.

It has been such a cold, wet, dreary winter. Some winters everything doesn't always completely die back, but this year everything seems dead. We had the snow in early December and then the very cold weather right after the new year. I am ready for spring. I know underneath all that winter deadness lies the green and hope of spring. I can't wait to get in the dirt!

All God's Children

2010-01-24T16:44:00.000-08:00

How can you look at the tragedy in Haiti and not feel compassion? How can you not feel compelled to help in some way? I know we all sometimes wonder why such tragedy happens. If God loves us all, why does horrible things happen to some? I don't know that answer. I do know he loves us all and is a perfect ruler of an imperfect world. Right away I have heard and seen criticism of our country's response to the disaster. I have also seen and heard gripes about the Hope for Haiti fund raiser the other night on all the networks. I know there are people in our country in need, but how do you turn your back on your fellow man? How can you look at a poor country with distaste that when we had Hurricane Rita blow through our area, they had 4 hurricanes that same season? These people have much of nothing on a good day. I don't know. I am just trying to make sense of the tragedy and those like it. The scriptures are always a good place to turn when in doubt over anything, but I was curious as to what Bono would have to say about things. He is one of my favorite celebrities and seems to have been given a calling when it comes to describing what we as a world need to do for our fellow man. He, along with some others, wrote a song about the tragedy in Haiti. They performed it the other night on the fund raiser, but I was on the phone with my sister and missed hearing the performance. I looked up the words, and thought some of the words ring with truth for us all. I highlighted my favorite part.

When the sky falls and the Earth quakes
We gon put this back together
We won’t break
[repeat]

Sa Pa Sé, my Port-Au-Princes
my Haitian Gods and all of my Princesses
Our condolences as you fightin’ against this
we’re right by your side as we tryin’ to make sense of this
heavenly father help us see through these problems
and for those thats left accept them into your garden
so here’s my theory, the country’s already starvin’
so we sacrificed many to shed light on all of them
God please pardon, I speak from the heart
its the only way I see this tragedy befall on them
so lets get involved with them, hand to hand with them
arm to arm with them til they get strong again,
When the sky falls…

Can’t wait until tomorrow
Haiti, Mon Amour
Haiti, Mon Amour
Not gonna leave you stranded, alone, alone
oh no

[Chorus]

Learn from the past, New Orleans was flooded
So we know we just can’t rely on the government
We under the rubble again, here we go rumbling when
When we gonna catch a break, my friend lost his mother and then
And then, Carline lost her uncles and them
Buried with no caskets, they just put covers on them
And the tears fall, and we fight back
Story ain’t done, it can’t end like that
Nah not like this, tomorrow’s survivors gonna carry on your name
You live on inside us, your memory’s alive with us
You inspired us, to rebuild this country, you just guide us

It’s not the angels that are on their way
its not the bells of Santa Trinite
the people waiting, position vacant(?)
for hands to help, not just to pr

[French singing]
Haïti va s’élever
Tu vas te relever
Nous nous éléverons
Ensemble ensemble ensemble

(not gonna leave you stranded…)

we gon put this back together we wont break
we gon put this back together we wont break
we gon put this back together we wont break
we gon put this back together we wont break

Cocoa

2010-01-20T06:03:00.000-08:00

A few months back I posted about the puppy that showed up here. She was a beautiful little chocolate lab looking puppy. She was aggravating like most puppies are, trashing the yard and jumping on you when you went outside. Randy spoiled her by bringing her in the house to sit with him. Many times both puppy and Randy would fall asleep in the recliner together. Sarah named her Cocoa. We had accepted her as the newest addition to our pet family.

I am sad to say that on January 3, I ran over Cocoa in the car. She was following me out and somehow got in front of the car. It was horrible and something I am still trying to deal with. I feel like such a puppy killer. She was warm, sweet, and loving. I hope that Cocoa rests in peace.

New Years Resolutions

2010-01-18T05:02:00.000-08:00

I stopped making New Years Resolutions many years ago. They usually involved some form of losing weight,and I have never had much success with that. I have decided that this year I will make a few or set a few goals. They are as follows:

1. I stopped worrying about the numbers of losing weight several years ago. I now go by how my clothes feel and most importantly how I feel. I have found that if I exercise at least 4 or 5 times a week, my clothes feel loose and I feel better. I do have a size I would like to wear or I have some clothes that are snug that I want to be loose again. My fitness resolution is to keep up the 4 or 5 times a week on the elliptical and to be mindful of eating too many sugar laden products. I want to enjoy meals with my family and not feel bad when I splurge on the bad food. After all....tomorrow is another day!

2. I will strive harder to be a better wife, mother, daughter, grandmother, step mother,sister, sister-in-law, aunt, 5th grade teacher, and friend. This is a daunting task for I sometimes feel like a failure at most of the roles I have in this life. I can only try to live life in a peaceful and clean way. I ask forgiveness where I have failed. I so want to be a good example to everyone in my life. I realize that striving to be that good example involves both my physical and spiritual life, and that I must improve things in both these areas. I think that number one takes care of the physical and God and I are working together on the spiritual.

3. During Mardi Gras, I will move into a brand new school. I teach 5th grade at DeQuincy Elementary and a new school has been built(and is very near completion) that will house grades 3rd through 5th. I taught 15 years at a school that was built in the 40's. I inherited two class rooms while I was there. I always said if I could have a clean slate, I would be a more organized teacher. I am getting my wish. The school is beautiful. I have been in my classroom. It will truly be a blank slate. It is modern with the ability to be a technology progressive classroom. I guess my resolution or goal is to organize this classroom into a modern learning environment. I so want to have the joy of teaching back in my life that was taken from me 2 years ago. In all reality I will probably teach for 8 more years. That is a long time to just be going through the motions of a job, especially one where you are on stage everyday in front of children who deserve to be educated in the very best way possible.

4. I would like to be of more service to my fellow human beings. I look at the devastation in Haiti and my heart cries. I know there are just as desperate situations in many other parts of our world. I also know that probably within a 10 mile radius there is a soul in trouble. I don't know what I can do, but I do know my heart not only cries, it hears. I suppose my goal is to listen more carefully and act.

5. I would like to plant a garden. We have had small gardens in the past, but I would like to expand on that. I want to learn how to put things in jars rather than in the freezer. I also like the idea of knowing what has been used to grow the food I put into my body. A garden will provide food for us in much healthier way. A garden needs to be tended to daily, so maybe that will keep me from wasting time on Facebook. My goals: To plant, tend, and harvest a successful garden. To learn how to put up things in jars instead of in the freezer. We do not know what the hurricane season will bring, so having things in jars will relieve some of that worry.

So, there are 5 goals I have. I am sure there are many other things I could improve upon. Life is just one continuous journey of improvement. When we stop trying to improve we become stagnant and do not move forward. We must always try to move forward.

Holiday happenings.............

2010-01-10T12:35:00.000-08:00

Christmas tree 09

This is the 3rd year that Randy and I have smoked turkeys for his family. We did 6 just like the one in the picture. On Christmas Eve, we spent the day visiting his family and delivering their turkeys.

Liam kissed Nemo when he opened it.

Liam loves cars...can you guess what this is?

Liam and Uncle Jake

Daniel got an IPod Touch in a "big" box.

When Liam comes to visit, there are always many tractor and 4wheeler rides. It was cold most days he was here so we had to bundle him up. I do not know who looks the happiest.

Christmas 09

2010-01-08T11:54:00.000-08:00

Christmas dinner was at my sister's house this year. She some how talked my mom into it. It is the first time we have not had Christmas dinner at my parents house since my grandparents died. It was a wonderful day.

Pizza Dip, spinach dip, German Chocolate Cake...thank you Paula Deen, I mean Carla

Green bean bundles

My niece, Skylar, has been giving her cousins "Dollar Store" Christmas gifts for many years. It is always the highlight of the day. In this picture, my nephew Drake, shows off the box of Honey Buns he got from her. Her reasoning: He works at Outback. He could put one in his pocket while waiting tables and have a snack. If you look, my son Jacob, has a sock monkey on his arm. I don't know why she felt that was the best gift for him. Daniel got pens because he is in school. Sarah got cookie cutters. My niece, Tera, got what she has got every year...shampoo. My nephew, Stephen, got a shoulder belt cover that said"Wild Thing".

My niece, Tera, gave Daddy a Christmas card that was very funny!

My parent's grandchildren and great grand child

It was a wonderful day at my sister's house!

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

2009-12-29T21:03:00.000-08:00

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......

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

2009-12-28T07:28:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-26T07:14:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-06T15:47:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-28T17:31:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-25T17:08:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-10T19:12:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-11-03T16:57:00.000-08:00

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

2009-10-22T16:50:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-17T19:19:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-14T06:42:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-04T15:48:00.000-07:00

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.

Birthday Surprises

2009-09-23T18:48:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-13T18:25:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-12T21:03:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-10T20:39:00.000-07:00

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...............

2009-09-08T20:06:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-09-06T15:15:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-02T06:56:00.000-07:00

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!

Dingo!!!

2009-08-31T18:41:00.000-07:00

Living rural , people are always dumping their dogs on our road. We have had quite the menagerie of dogs show up at our place. They usually show up starving and scared. Some stay just long enough to fill their empty stomachs so Randy can catch them. I do not know what happens to them after that....I don't ask. Some have been adopted by us, getting to stay with us as long as they want. Roxie was with us for almost 6 years before she died this past spring. The latest dog(?) to show up is in the pictures above. Randy says it looks very wild, perhaps being half coyote. I am not sure. It does have pointy ears and a pointy face. It is like a phantom around here, only showing up to steal the cat's food. We happen to see it one morning stealing the cat's food and I was able to snap a few pictures. What do you think? Is it just a mutt or part coyote. Although we do not plan for it to stay, we did name it...Dingo....you know...the wild Australian dogs!

Long Time No Blog

2009-08-23T19:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know it has been a while since I posted anything. Number one: I went back to work. Number two: I have become addicted to Facebook! What has been going on with us here at 316 Bruce Hyatt Road?

Like I said, I went back to work. Before I had to be there, I was in my classroom several days getting it ready. I am teaching 5th grade this year. I really meant to take a picture of my bulletin board and classroom, even bringing the camera with me. I forgot to though. I have 24 students, 12 boys and 12 girls. So far I have been calling them my "dream team", at least the first 4 days of school were good ones.

Randy and I sold our first item on Ebay. We sold our camper/hurricane escape pod to an older couple from around the Shreveport area. We just bought the camper(on Ebay) not quite a year ago, but realized that it does not serve us well for we can not bring the motorcycle with us(See older posts with horse trailer). We want a toyhauler. A camper that lets us camp in it and haul the bike. We are on the look out for a good deal, but no rush. Let us hope we don't need a hurricane escape pod, although the older gentleman who bought the camper said we were welcome to stay up there with them.

Last week I was so beat from being on my feet all day, I did not do anything....except check the Facebook. Randy is as addicted to it as I am. Facebook is a great way to keep up with people you do not see very often.

I felt a bit of fall in the air. I am ready for that change. Two weeks until LSU football!

Flashbacks

2009-08-11T04:31:00.000-07:00

Randy's Maw Maw and Jacob.

Randy's mom and dad on their
40th wedding anniversary.

My favorite picture of Jacob and I. Yes, my hair
was that long!

My parent's grandchildren and great grandchild...Christmas 08.

A week ago, I promised to show the family resemblance that I thought was the strongest. The picture I am looking for needs to be scanned. I have been busy with back to school activities, and have not looked for the picture. When Randy and I first married we took slides of everything. I began a project of converting all our slides to digital. I still have a long way to go. The picture I am looking for needs to be scanned. In order to add to the blog, I looked through the slides I have already scanned and found some of my favorites.

More Family Resemblances

2009-08-02T17:05:00.000-07:00

Jacob...3 years old...Sarah...1 year old.

Jacob...18 months old.

Sarah's Liam a couple of weeks ago.

I think that Jacob, Sarah, and Liam look a lot like each other. I am saving the best resemblance for last....stay tuned!

Family Resemblance

2009-08-01T16:18:00.000-07:00

After reading Lynetta's blog where she compared her babies, Aaron, and her. I started thinking about who my children look like. On the left is me at age 4. On the right is Jacob at almost 6, his kindergarten picture. I would have to say there is a strong resemblance there, although when Jacob was a baby he had light colored hair and favored Randy.

I discovered part of my reason why it was taking so long for my pictures to post. They were huge. I had to resize. These pictures had been scanned