HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLDEST BABYBOY!!!

....hmph...who cares about New Years Eve???  It's my oldest son's 37th Birthday!!!!

I don't care how many birthdays they have or how high the numbers get....they are still my babies!!!

Not only is he the best dad to his son Austin....

But he also has a little girl,  Josephine, who has him wrapped around all of her fingers....that he is an awesome dad to!!

See the pattern here?? She always seems to be in his arms!!

He also is a husband that is adored by his sweet bride!

As I sit here pulling up pictures for this post, I smile.  Knowing that all of the times we taught, guided and loved him has paid off.  What more can a parent ask for than to see the successes of his life so far??  Happy wife. Happy children. And smiles on his face!!!!

37 years seems like a sparkly ripple on the water...bright and shining but goes past your sight so quickly.....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHAD!!!

So......This Is Christmas! 2016

We had so much fun during the Christmas weekend.  

Everyone started gathering on Friday and the cousin's fun began ... they were busy until the last car pulled out after the big day!

This year took on a new meaning of 'family' ... it was 3 weeks after my son's heart surgery.  All of a sudden, the most important thing to me was BEING WITH my family.  And watching them talk to each other and listening to them laugh.  I made many a mental image in my head of our time together.

Which lead to a very fun activity that I shared with my recovering son!

HEN-DUCKEN TIME!!

Matt isn't able to hunt right now but his dad and brother did their magic and brought some back for him.

Kids gathered round to watch him clean them in preparation for the next step.

Like a professional butcher, he de-boned a mallard duck and stuffed it with boudin!

and then sewed it back together

 then stuffed the duck into a big ol' hen that he once again de-boned like a pro!

and sewed it up again.  By now, a crowd had gathered to watch....ok, it was just dad and brother, but they were totally amazed too!

TA-DAAAA!!!

The bird was delicious but even more delicious was the time I had with my boy....time that I used to take for granted.  No more.

It was a very merry Christmas Eve!

If I thought "I" had fun on xmas eve, just wait till you see how much fun those grandkids had.....

A little PEACE amongst the CRAZY!!

sigh....I'm so far behind on my blog...

I still have pics and stories from Thanksgiving to share ...

and all the lil Christmas elves who dress up like my grandchildren, have had lots of pics of their fun to include in this yrs edition of our diary.

But things have been a little topsy turvy (are those even words?!) this season and I haven't done all the decorating I usually do....and have realized it doesn't really matter.  I do want to have all our stories told, tho, before the end of the year - so I will get to it.

and not to worry.....my CRAZY isn't gone.  I've still gotten my sweet elves out that my daughter in law calls creepy and even found an elf from the shelf to stick on one of their arms!!!

Hope you're having a blast during your holiday season!!!

Hearts to Warm the Christmas Tree!

I'm kind of racing the clock here to make the magic come alive.  I have 6 lil grandchildren (and their mom and dads!) coming to my house a week from tonight for a Christmas dinner.  Nothing makes me happier than to see their faces light up when they see the lights and decorations.....I dunno, maybe it's the "over the bridge and thru the woods to YaYa's house we go" mentality......but I just want to create magic for those grandbabies of mine!
Because I've been at the hospital with my son for the past two weeks, time has gotten away from me.
And because of the realization that healthy hearts are much more important than pulling every single ornament for the tree out, I just put a few of the important ones on and then cut hearts from tissue paper to hang on the tree.  Even got matt's daughters to help make some for me!

It will be very symbolic to all of us this year!

And look who is home?!!!!

This was his victory sign the morning of his "break out"!!!

Truly feeling the spirit of family at Christmas this year!!!

A Christmas Story...and Miracle

Or a story for any day of the year that will warm your heart!

This morning, while standing in line at Starbucks at the hospital, I asked the woman in front of me (who had scrubs on) if she worked here. She said yes so I asked her if there was any kind of brunch or special meal on Sundays in the cafeteria....cuz my daughter in law and I are jonesing for some real food.  The cafeteria here looks really cool but um....not so much.  She looked at me like "Giiiiiirl you have got to be kidding".  We laughed and I told her I just needed something spicy...that these Texans don't even know what Tony Chachere or hot sauce is!!  She said tell me about it. I'm from Baton Rouge!!  she asked me what floor we were on and she'd come find me. Didn't think about it again.

About 11:30 she knocks on the door!!!!  She brings me a menu to BB's Café and says to pick out what we want and she will bring it when she gets off.  I do the usual, NO YOU WON'T!  But she wasn't having it. Hour later, she has me waiting downstairs for her to drop off food for me that she went to get when she got off of her shift.

OMG ya'll.  The BEST chicken and sausage gumbo of all time (cept for Cap'ns)

and a huge container of red beans and rice with a bottle of Crystal hot sauce!!!!!

I just finished the gumbo (down in lobby cuz the smell would have made matt queasy)  It's cold and rainy here and that gumbo tasted like what I imagine the pot at the end of the rainbow would taste like!

She wouldn't give me her name because she said she didn't want me to have to write a letter or anything.  Human kindness - it DOES still exist!   She was the sweetest person with a huge heart.  She just told me to pay it forward.....

I told her just when your world turns upside down and you think the world is at its worst.....I meet her.  And because of her kindness, she has put happiness in my heart that hasn't been there in a while.  That is until my boy got HIS heart fixed..

And she is going to check on us tomorrow when she gets back.

WHAT a wonderful, crazy experience!!  WHAT a sweet person she is!!

And while I'm sitting in the waiting room this morning, because I just had to leave my boy's room - he was having a bad morning... who walks up and sits down beside me???  My new friend!  She appeared out of nowhere.  And how easy it was to just let it all out, cry on her shoulder and she completely understood. And yet no one who I was trying to be strong for, even knew that I lost it. Soon, she had me laughing and we talked and talked....and she went back to her floor to do her work and I went back to my boy's room.  Feeling SO much better!

Of all the Hallmark Christmas movies I've watched and all of the miracles I've read about, I truly believe I have just lived thru and witnessed a real miracle...............

I BELIEVE!!

It's Over!!

Matt's surgery is over and it was successful!!!  There is still a lot of recovery to be done and this hospital is still home for a while, but he is getting stronger everyday.  Another small procedure to be done tomorrow but we are on the downhill slope.

He is so strong and has endured so much..I am so proud to be his mom!  That wife of his is pretty strong too.  Just as proud to be her mother in law!!

Soon.....very soon, all of this group will be surrounding him with love and strength!!

God has shed His light on us.  We are SO blessed.

The Healing Garden

I've spent a few hours here in The Healing Garden this afternoon between ICU visits.  It's at the hospital and it's quiet and it's outside.  A body can only stay within the confines of a hospital for just so long. 

But it's over!!!!  Surgery went well and it was a curative procedure so hopefully we are D-O-N-E.
It's been tough watching my child suffer but he is so strong and such a sweetheart that it makes me so proud to be his mom.  We've got a road to recovery but he will be surrounded by all the family and lots of friends when we get home.  We are just so blessed to have found this problem, to have found the best doctors and to get it taken care of while matt has his whole life in front of him.
                                                                      GOD IS GOOD!
But no matter how strong I wanna be for that boy and his wife.........this still gives me heeby jeebies!

May not be alot of Christmas decorations in my house or presents under my tree this year, but my son has a healthy heart.  BEST GIFT EVER!!!

                                                           

My Baby Boy. Actually, my Middle Boy...

But hey!  Aren't all of our children our "babies" no matter where they fall into the birth order??!

I am writing this as an entry into our family diary which is what this blog becomes as soon as I publish it each year.  I want to mark this time in writing as a time in our lives where we all REALLY learn to appreciate family.  As I sit in a huge medical center area, we await a heart catheterization this morning......then admittance into hospital....then an open heart procedure done tomorrow.  We do know that my son will be getting the best care and that He will take care of him throughout.  As I've told my daughter in law one million times the last few days.....He will never give us more than we can handle.  Still hard.
And as all of you moms out there know, we would rather give ourselves up for anything than have our children have to go thru any type of suffering.  I crave the day when he is bitching about feeling so good and getting way too much rest!!!!  It will happen soon.  Very Soon.

I have so many pics to share and stories to tell and will have plenty of time in the next few weeks to do so.  Got new computer which, of course, has totally screwed my blog posting up......because I'm SUCH a techie that it takes me forever to figure the new one out.  And I can't wait to catch up with everyone else too.
Our Thanksgiving was awesome and I was gifted with another of my all time favorite pics that my Matthew takes for me every yr.  All of my lil boys in the duck blind, hunting with their father, and enjoying nature.  And each other.  Bonding at its finest!

 

 

The Small, Yet Very Important Things...

As the season of  family Good Times and being "thankful" is upon us, I reflect and appreciate.

Next week will be crazy and the days after Thanksgiving will be a blur, for my son is having heart surgery in a place far from home, and our only focus will be there. 

But when things go askew and the usual celebrations on the calendar become MUCH more important, it makes me stop....and be oh so thankful for the small things.

Like my husband, my boys, their wives and my grandchildren. And the dog, of course!

This pic was from '14 and missing a couple of babies that we didn't have yet back in '14 but I love it everso.  And THIS is what I will be thanking God for this year....

(and she says to herself.....MY GOSH, what a beautiful family!!)

A Funny Question.....And Oh So True!!!

I've been doing a whole lot of talking to a good buddy of mine lately....you know the one??  The one who calls heaven His home??   Been asking for quite a few favors lately so when a friend of mine sent me this............I laughed and laughed and laughed!!!

It's That Time Again!!!!

All the kiddos will be gathering at the deer camp this weekend..........and I couldn't be happier!!
Kiddos = my boys, their wives and ALL MY GRANDCHILDREN!!!!!  It's been a while since we were all together at the same time so we just plan on chillin' and eatin' and laughin'!!
Oh......and also that little football game on Saturday night called ...  LSU VS ALABAMA!!!

When all the babies gather together, that means this:

dozens and dozens of YaYa's chocolate chip cookies.

Done and Done!!

Reflections...

The stillness of the water.  The brilliance of trees living trunk to trunk, limb to limb together and swaying in unison to each tiny breeze. Cornflower blue sky color turns into Midnight blue color as it hits the water....straight out of the crayon box!

As I drank my coffee this morning on our deck at the lake, I stared at this scene and "reflected" on happy times with my family.  I am so blessed.

And appreciate having quiet times like this to enjoy such beauty.

When you look at this reflection, do you immediately think of the past or do you reflect on possibilities of your future???

Just curious!

SophieJane and I thank YOU!!

You know when one or more of your friends find themselves in a tight spot?? .. when bad times or illness fall upon them and they are out of commission for a while?? ... and without even thinking about it, you just do what you have to do?? ... because they are your friends and and you want to do what you can to help them??  Well...our lake neighbors were in such a pickle and my boyfriend came to their yard rescue!  Middle of a very hot summer and these men take their yards seriously!  Seriously.  Boyfriend went to their house almost every weekend and even some days during the week to take care of our friend's yard - kept it watered and looked after.  It was no big deal....just friends doing what friends do.
Well ~~ all the while our friend was ill, his wife spent the hours and days keeping herself occupied with painting. She's good ya'll.  And she loves it.  So look what we got as a thank you for doing their yard......

My friend took the time to go thru my blog and find a cute pic of my sophiejane and do a painting of her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Ya'll know that she is 16 yrs old and not in good health.  I spend a bit of every single day appreciating how special she is to me and letting her know how loved she is...so this thoughtfulness couldn't have come at a better time for me.  And it's perfect...such a good rendering of the sweetness of this puppydog.  Even down to the little red/pink rose collar she wears!!

So, I'm thanking my friend for her thank you gesture...did that make sense??!!!!

The most important thing is that her husband has turned around and is making a remarkable recovery and my SophieJane and their yellow lab, Gunter are best friends....hopefully for a long time to come!!!

Thank you Judy for this wonderful piece of art of my best friend!!

It really touched my heart...

Quiet Sunday Morning...

Enjoying the brisk cool morning....FINALLY!  Altho, I did read that the high temps will be back next week.  My heater actually kicked on once last night!!!

This was a lil tote bag that I found on the girlfriend trip to Florida....LOVED IT....and decided we all needed one as a momento of our trip together.  I stuffed mine and made it into a lil pillow for my hall bench.  It makes me smile!

Every time I walk around the corner, my sweet Bessie smiles at me. I chuckle!!

Oh....and one more reason that today is sweet?  

LSU -- 38

OLE MISS -- 21

Hope all of you are having a great autumn Sunday!!

Punkins at the Pumpkin Patch!

We made our annual trip to the patch today to get some pics.  I just love having each yrs pics to compare how our lil "punkins" are growing and changing......yet still remaining the same with those sweet sweet smiles!

Sadly, we are missing their other two cousins. They live 4 hrs away and it's been hard to coordinate everyone's days....for I know Austin and Josey would have loved to be in these pics.

Sisters!!

Brothers!!

Even tho our wagon was full of "punkin grandkids"... what they really wanted to do was this..

Cutest kids EVER!!!

I am one lucky YaYa......

Thoughts

                                "The ocean is a central image. It is the symbolism of a great journey."

                                                                                                                                       ~Enya~

I Know it's Pumpkins and Changing Leaf color for Most,,,,

.........but for me today, it was this!!

Waiting for sunrise at the beach outside my bedroom window!

Looking at our chairs and umbrella from balcony..whitest sand in the south!

Dinner!! Cheeseboard with fresh figs drizzled with honey and mozzarella stuffed pastry balls rolled in pesto...Girlfriend Trip!!  We are lying on the beach, finding awesome seashells, napping, reading and well........totally enjoying ourselves.  Sigh...

~FRIENDS ARE LIKE SEASHELLS...THAT YOU COLLECT ALONG THE WAY~