FRIENDS

Sunday, November 7, 2010

APRONS...Who knew?

Who knew that aprons would be such a trend in 2010? But my granddaughter Erika wanted one so bad that I just had to whip up a little flowered number for her 30th birthday. She sure makes them look good.









Thanks for not scolding me for posting so much about my girls and granddaughters, but as I said almost everyone has a birthday during these fall and winter months and I am trying so hard to get up to my 400th post so I can draw a name out and send you my Basket of Blessings! So please bear with me.........a couple of more birthday celebrations and we'll be there .......wink wink!

Saturday, November 6, 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIKA

Love you Erika!



Yep another birthday in our family. Most all our birthdays come between Halloween and the first part of January, so it is a busy time for us and getting harder and harder for this ole gal to remember each and every one of them. Sshh don't tell but I do get them confused. Sometimes I'm off on the months and have been known to completely overlook one and that makes me feel very very bad!

But tomorrow we Celebrate Erika's 30th birthday. Erika is a beautiful woman, inside and out and is Lori's (my oldest) daughter. She is a busy wife and mom to two little girls; Nayda and Ellie.



She lives in the Dallas area and they are up here at her Mom's for the weekend to do a little celebrating.

Oh gee....say it ain't so that I have grandchildren in their 30's. WOW.



I love this picture of three generations. My daughter Lori, Erika and Erika's oldest daughter, Nayda.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

STILL MY LITTLE BROTHER


Freddie...(second from right)

CONGRATULATIONS to my little brother who recently was promoted to Lt. on the Bossier City Police Department. He's devoted many years to helping keep our streets safe and worked tirelesly as an advocate for children's rights and safety.

I'm so glad he is getting the recognition he deserves. I'm proud of my little brother who is a wonderful husband to my sis-in-law, Mary and father to six children and too many grandchildren to name.

He has gone almost as far as he can in the Masons and Shriners and spends a great deal of time volunteering with the Shriners Hospital and CASA and other organizations.

I was 2 1/2 years old when I first laid eyes on my little brother. I can vaguely remember Momma placing a tiny pale yellow fuzzy blanket on my lap and recall the feelings of awe as I glanced in the tiny red face with blue eyes gazing intently in mine. I remember loving him at first sight, so I guess he was my "first love" behind that of course of Momma and Daddy.

He was my only playmate growing up.

We don't make the time to see one another often but I believe we are still strong in our mutual love from another day and another time.

He helped carry my boy to his final resting place and for that alone he is dear to me like none other.



He ain't heavy. He's my brother.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHARI



Help me wish my Baby Girl Happy Birthday today as she turns 46!

Seems only yesterday at age 10 that she was fussing at me for giving her those home permanents. Why oh why did I do that? She has the most beautiful hair of anyone in our family but I always thought she should have curls! Oh gosh are we ever satisfied?



We celebrated early on Sunday her birthday along with Joe (her oldest son) as she is a nurse who works nights and has to work tonight so her hubby had a little family party for her Sunday and we will get together again on the 8th when she's off for another celebration. I tell you the birthdays in our family tend to go on and on and on. This was taken on Halloween as she was about to cut her cake.



So many many sweet memories of Shari but as a child I also have many bittersweet memories as she was such a humble child that she didn't want anyone to fuss over her or spend money on her. At the time when we'd begin our school shopping, she always reminded me that she could wear big sister Lori's old dresses. Imagine that. I tell you I don't know where she got that virtue but she never wanted!

And the most recent of things I like to share about my little gal is how my life was changed as she gave me the Bible Study by Beth Moore on Mother's Day two years ago of the study of Esther and since then we have had a bible study going constantly just the two of us and it has brought us closer to each other and so much closer to the Lord.

Shari is amazing as she juggles her time between being a wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, friend and nurse. She has such great compassion for her patients and truly comes to life around children. She always thinks of others first and self last. Well..............almost last. But then again there is her bright red Mustang with the loud pipes and the tinted windows. I said ALMOST... You go girl!



Happy Birthday Shari....... I love you so much.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

AMERICA'S LARGEST HALLOWEEN PARTY

SAINTS VS. STEELERS............TONIGHT



Oh gosh it's gonna be so sad for all the little trick or treaters here in Louisiana who can't get anyone to come to the door. Cha-ching...dat's da way it is here




Game Time Halloween Night ... sorry little kids...just a few less cavities for ya!



And I leave you with a little 4th of July foolishness from da girls...who dat!

GEAUX SAINTS!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOE...(Post #376)

Our Halloween Baby

My grandson Joe turns 29 tomorrow! Happy Birthday Honey



This is the face of grief. Taken at Jake's funeral as Joe honored his uncle as pallbearer. He and his Uncle Jake were almost 12 years apart but very close; living together the first four years as Joe grew up and Jake grew into adolescence and his teen years. Later as "grown ups" they became running buds. The pain of losing his uncle was so hard and Joe's face says it all.

Hope this next year will be a turning point for Joe and he will find peace, serenity and happiness. I love You Joe.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

A LOAD OFF



The building SOLD ! I am so grateful that we did not have to "eat" this sum of money and that someone was able to buy it that really needed it. She is paying a huge sum of money each month to store her household of furniture until she can get in her own home and now can move her things to the building and save the monthly fee. Then when she moved into her own house she plans to turn the building into a little house for her 18 year old son to have his own space. Yay...Yay...Yay

And another bit of news is that I went to my doctor yesterday and he put me on an anti-depressant called LEXAPRO. I do not have a history of depression and did not know I was depressed and he is not totally sure ( you know I could just be plain NUTS) but he thinks the problems I am having with my memory,confusion, lack of motivation and making decisions that are out of character for me may stem from depression. So he said this drug is quick acting and that I should begin to start seeing a difference in a few days even.

Well Punkin is in the woods again this weekend and all my chicks (yes, I know they are full grown hens) are at the state fair. It's just me, Toby, Lou (the louder than loud Conure) and the new pup, Tootie who cannot hold her pee and is an neurotic as can be are here by our lonesome. Toby had a bad seizure last night and he is sleeping in this morning and I have Tootie out on the back porch so she won't bother him. Also she has my house smelling to high heaven. So I will have to make a Fabreeze run today.

I had lots of activities planned for this weekend, but since I did a very silly thing and went a couple of weeks ago and got my new short haircut cut off even more until I feel like a boy...............Now when it gets time to do what I planned, I back out because I just don't want to get out of the house for anything other than church or the necessary shopping. I just feel almost what feels like "shame". I know that sounds irrational but it is what it is and I likely won't go places until my hair grows more which will be another month at least.

Happy Halloween, Trick or Treating and Happy Fall and Happy Weekend, Happy Saturday and just be HAPPY. Be Safe and you do know don't you that Jesus loves you?

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

POST NUMBER 374

I WILL NOT GIVE IN TO DEFEAT...I WILL NOT GIVE IN TO DEFEAT...I WILL NOT GIVE IN TO DEFEAT...I WILL NOT GIVE IN TO DEFEAT...I WILL NOT GIVE IN TO DEFEAT...I WILL NOT GIVE IN TO DEFEAT...I WILL NOT GIVE IN TO DEFEAT...I WILL NOT GIVE IN TO DEFEAT...I WILL NOT GIVE IN TO DEFEAT...I WILL NOT GIVE IN TO DEFEAT...I WILL NOT GIVE IN TO DEFEAT...I WILL NOT GIVE IN TO DEFEAT...I WILL NOI WILL NOT GIVE IN TO DEFEAT...T GIVE IN TO DEFEAT.I WILL NOT GIVE IN TO DEFEAT...I WILL NOT GIVE IN TO DEFEAT.....



We are STILL trying to re-sell this building we bought for Buddy to live in. You know when he thought he was moving back. And we are having such a hard time as it was built on site and measures 20 feet by 30 feet and the Mobile Home Movers won't touch moving anything wider than 16 feet, and the House Movers want an arm and a leg and people obviously think they can hire a mover for a couple hundred dollars.

But it is what it is and we still have a week or two before it has to be moved so we'll just wait and see.

However the main reason I am even posting today is that I'm trying to run my number of posts up so I can send someone one heck of a snazzy Basket just overflowing with Blessings for that is the way I've gotten through the past four months was due to the blessings my blogger sisters have bestowed on me and my family so I want to give back to someone and she will be after I have posted 26 more times, but I promise it will happen BEFORE Thanksgiving even if I have to post each day and just say Howdy and uh................did you know Jesus loves you? :-)

Sunday, October 24, 2010

SHARING A LITTLE CUTENESS

Happy Sunday Evening Everyone!

Hope today was a good one for you. As someone once said EVERYDAY above ground is a good one! Well I don't really know how funny that was but is just something that popped into my mind.

My Punkin is still in the woods, he called Saturday morning and had gotten one doe (a large one) but he is still there so who knows.............

What I know is it is HOT here cause the AC went out and Louisiana does not know it is Fall. We're still in summer around here at night. Shari gave me a box fan today to bring home so I will sleep better tonite.

I don't have anything clever, inspirational, or super interesting to write about was just feeling a bit disconnected and thought you might like these pictures.


This is a cute picture of Jake and Mike aboard the Belle of Hot Springs during a trip we three took two years ago to visit Lori and Marcus. So glad Lori had taken this and shared with me.


This is Shari (youngest daughter) with her beautiful little niece Hannah who will be a Mommy next week and Shari's daughter, Emily (granddaughter) who will be a Mommy next April with Lori (oldest daughter) next to her.

I know I am bragging a bit but I just think I have beautiful daughters and they are as beautiful on the inside as they are to look at. True inner beauty.........what could possibly ever be better?

You know there are many who are gorgeous to look at but without the inside matching the outside, the outside will fade and rust in time and there is nothing nice to see.


And I love this picture of Shari, Emily and Luke (Shari's youngest grandson)and our baby great-grandson.

So that is it cause I'm knee deep in the Brookshire's Contest where you pull off little stickers and find the place to stick them to win big savings at the grocery store. Yay yippee yay.

And to borrow a little phrase my boy Jake was fond of asking people?

"Do you know that Jesus loves you"? "Well he does and I do too"!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

IN MY CORNER OF THE WORLD

Blessings can be found behind every sorrow.

Hey everyone, I have missed you but my absence from visiting your bloggys does not reflect that does it?

I'm not real big on making excuses, but I do have one or two. tee hee

For one thing, my mind is still not working properly. In other words I am still a little "spacey" and easily distracted and not one hundred percent yet, but nonetheless I do think of you and offer you up in my prayers.

Pretty soon I will reach that 400th post and get my Basket of Blessings off to a randomly drawn blogger sister and I'm having fun selecting things to go in the basket, but will wait to get most of the things until I can know where it is going.

I don't know how it is in your families, but in ours............this has been quite a year for unpleasantness...and tragedies...and a whole rash of unexpected sorrows.
And it seems that you can go for years with nothing dramatic in your immediate family then Whoa Nellie...it hits in cycles!

Each of my kids began this year with their individual load of trials, illnesses, heartache and in general stressful situations.

Then Jake died in June.

Then just days after, my daughter Lori's father-in-law had a stroke and was in bad shape for weeks before passing away in July. My daughter was left here for months alone to face many trials including getting over pneumonia. Her husband came back home last night. A blessing.

My youngest daughter Shari's father-in-law went in for heart surgery in July, and it was sucessful. A blessing.

My son Buddy's marriage seemed to be ending and he came home for a visit a few weeks ago and while here interviewed for a very good job and we found a "sweetheart" of a deal on a 20x30 building already finished out and set up as a little "house", so we went immediately and bought it outright for him and he was going to have it moved to land in the country owned by his friends. Well, on his way back to Mobile he learned that his father-in-law had been diagnosed just that day with Multiple Myeloma and is in stage 3. He is still a young man in his fifties and is facing chemo and stem-cell therapy so he needs many prayers.

The good news here is that Buddy and Jessica have decided to give their marriage another try. A blessing.

But therefore he does not need the building. Mike and I have both been so very stressed out because we could not afford to just flush that money down the toilet and to have the building moved such a distance was more than any of us could afford. Another worry. But I heard from the guy last night who we had bought it from that he was going to re-list the building and try to sell it for us so another huge blessing.

On another note, our little dog Toby was becoming fat and lazy and very lonely by himself all day and we decided he needed a playmate, so we found a little Blue Healer mix 5 month old female and named her Tootie and I am in doggie love with her. Toby likes her but she wears him out. It was love at first sight for her and she cannot leave him along. She went to get all "shot up" this morning so he is in the backyard and she is inside being babied today.

Mike has been to the woods only once so far this season because everywhere he looked he was reminded of the times he and Jake were hunting together and he was sad and lonely by himself, but he left yesterday morning to stay all weekend and I hope he can find peace out there and some enjoyment as he dearly loves his hunting.

I deactivated my Facebook as it was causing me some angst and I was spending too much time in front of the computer. I will keep my blog and Jake's Story bloggy too but I will try to get back in the swing of things by setting aside a day or two a week so this weekend I plan to pop in for a visit to all my sisters and say hi.

I love you all and hope your weekend is blessed beyond belief!

Monday, October 18, 2010

FOUR

FOUR..........

I was tagged by Denise of Shortybear's Place to answer 4 questions, then I pick 4 bloggers to answer 4 new questions. Here are the 4 questions:

1)Favorite woman of the Bible? Ruth

2)Favorite season? Spring

3)Favorite cookies? Oatmeal Raisin

4) Do you chew gum? Not since I got my lower partial toofies

I am Tagging...............Shari, Anitra, Deborah, Kim

Here are your questions:

1. Favorite Bible Story:

2. A WOW moment in your life:

3. Something you'd like to do better:

4. Favorite snack food:

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

P.W.C. AND BRING THEM UP!

Pray Without Ceasing and Bring Them Up....It all begins tonight



At ten o'clock our time (I presume) the exodus from the mines will begin with one at a time to be brought up and expecting to take approximately one hour per person.

Oh my God in Heaven. Can you just begin to imagine the stress, worry, concern, and sheer fear the families are feeling? I cannot.

Do you think the miners are feeling similar feelings? I think they have gone beyone the Fear and I think they are feeling Hope and that their fears and anxieties have been replaced by serenity and expectance.

Oh Heavenly Father, please direct the ones in charge of lifting them to safety, please keep the machinery safe and capable of doing the job to bring each and every one of them to the safe return of their loved ones.

Miracles happen every day. Please give us one in Chile tonight Lord. Amen.