Southern Delights

Sure trak

2010-01-28T23:20:00.001-08:00

Have questions about Patent law?

2010-01-28T23:08:00.001-08:00

Allan Niemerg, of Niemerg Patent Law (http://www.niemergpatentlaw.com), is answering questions about patent law. I have a question for him:

When is it advisable to secure a trademark as well as a patent?

2009-12-06T17:00:00.000-08:00

On the twelth game of the season Coach Peyton gave to me 12 Romped Redskins, 11 Punked Patriots, 10 Battered Bucs, 9 Ragged Rams, 8 Pounced Panthers, 7 Dirty Birds, 6 Dunked Dolphins, 5 Shrunk-en Giants, 4 Wrecked Jets, 3 Beat up Bills, 2 Tame Eagles, and a Lion Sauce Picante!

That time again!

2009-11-14T20:46:00.000-08:00

It is that time of year once again. The house is filled with the sounds of power tools whirring and the sewing machine humming. Smells fill the house as the hot glue gun heats up, "stuff" bubbles on the stove, and the paint cans spray. Ok so to be perfectly 100 percent honest, some of the activity is on the patio, but the smells and sounds still make their way into the kitchen!

About 2 years ago, our oldest daughter sent out emails requesting our family go to a Buy Nothing Christmas. She was thinking about what she wanted to instill into our granddaughter about Christmas and what it is really all about. In theory, I applauded her sentiments. In reality, I groaned because I feel my creativity is just not up to snuff with the rest of the family's. Since that time though, it has been my great joy to participate.

So here we are at it again!

May this season be one of thanks, reflection, praise, and joy for you and your family!

Welcome Skyler!

2009-07-27T16:37:00.000-07:00

Skyler Wilson Assevedo was born a little after 6 pm on 07/08/09. Mom had a few complications and had to stay in the hospital a long 6 days, but both are doing fine now. I am still running on limited sleep from taking care of mama and baby, but my new grandson is indeed a joy! Vivian and Andrea came in for a few days and were a great help!

His Marvelous Grace

2009-06-02T12:05:00.000-07:00

I cannot stop meditating upon His grace. I cannot express in words how humbling this situation with my youngest daughter has been.

You see, I realize I have been a spoiled brat in my relationship with God. I thanked Him for His blessings and praised Him in the trials. But in my heart of hearts, which the Lord knows and searches,there was always this feeling that I somehow deserved the blessings for being His faithful child. There was always this bit of "why me?" in the trials and losses. The enemy always waiting to whisper in my ear how God had let these things happen to me when I had done everything He had ever asked of me.

I confess I have always been a goody two shoes. Never smoked. Drank very little. Never did drugs. Always went to church, prayed, read my Bible. From a child, I loved God and church. I was supposed to have been born dead, but God spared me, and though my father did not live right at the time, he asked God to spare me and he would give me to Him. That story has always had a profound impact on my entire life.

I cannot tell you now how much I see that my righteousness is indeed as filthy rags. That there are no big sins and no little sins. There is just sin. And the marvelous grace of God.

If I got what I deserved, I would have nothing. Grace: UNMERITED/UNDESERVED favor!

I truly know deep inside now that I deserved death and punishment. His grace gives me life and blessings. Praise Him for his marvelous grace!

Heart Overflowing with Praise

2009-06-01T13:35:00.000-07:00

My heart is overflowing with praise today toward our Heavenly Father. I have been in an attitude of praise and worship all day.

My youngest daughter is unmarried and expecting a baby boy July 1st. Her fiance put her through a lot before calling off the engagement. First off, let me say that I recognize the sin in what she did. However, I also forgive her freely and refuse to make an innocent baby suffer any more than he will have to because of this situation. I also recognize that her sin is no blacker or more evil than the ones I find myself having to repent of every day.

Our Father has been reminding me today of this is how He loves us. I sin daily and make so many mistakes, yet He never stops loving me and He never stops blessing me. I am in awe of the profound depth of His love. Once again I rejoice that I do not have to be perfect for Him to love me. There is nothing I can do to make Him love me any more than He does right now. There is nothing I can do to make Him love me any less than He does right now. His love is constant, perfect, and unconditional. I pray for a heart to love others as He does and for His eyes of compassion and mercy.

Grace is unmerited favor. With this baby, I am learning a lesson in grace in such a powerful way. My daughter has been looking at baby items and furniture that she would love to have for Skyler. She never asks us to buy it for her, but she just shares what she thinks is adorable with me in mother/daughter way of sharing. I look at the prices and just commit it to the Father. Every item she has selected in the exact pattern she has admired has been provided to us through the grace of God!

For example, on a particular Monday she admired a $200 stroller system in Toys R Us. On Wednesday, I was out picking up my medicine, when I felt a whisper to go by the Thrift Store. I obeyed, and there was the exact stroller she had admired in excellent condition for $19.95 When I took it to the register, they informed me it was Sr. Citizen's Day and 55+ get everything in the store for half price! What a blessing!!

The blessings have not stopped there either! The convertible bassinet she admired that was $100 was provided for $30. The lady had only used it to take photos with her real baby baby dolls. That $1000 round crib with a canopy and mattress was provided for $350, and when UPS broke it in transit, they paid the damages for the replacement part, which is now on the way! The $159 high chair that went on sale at Target for $99 plus shipping? No problem for our great God! Here it is for $60, brand new because it is a floor sample! The $99 walker? Here you go for $40!

I was a bit reticent about posting this as I did not want people to think I was glorifying sin. I am not! I am glorifying our Great and Loving and Merciful God! He has provided more abundantly than I could even ask or think in this time of need. Was it deserved? Nope. But that is why it is called Grace!

Little over 1/3 of me is gone!

2009-06-01T13:30:00.000-07:00

Although it is not as fast as I would like, and I have to keep reminding myself that it took a long time to put this weight on so it will take a while of living a healthy lifestyle change to take it off, I have lost 64 of the 174 pounds I want to lose. I still look and am obese, which is why it is hard to notice the loss.

I have to celebrate the victories as I find them, though. My dresses drag the ground now there is not as much width of me me spreading them out. My seat belt fits with ease and comfort now in my car, and is no longer a fight to get it buckled. I also was able to go down to a Large instead of an Extra Large in a product I use for health reasons!

I am so glad I do not have to be perfect!

2009-05-07T14:49:00.000-07:00

Boy! Am I ever! Because then I would have a long, long, long, long....you get the idea...way to go!!

Over Easter, while visiting with Steven, Andrea, and Vivian, I had brought a kit to make an Easter bunny house out of cookies, candies, and icing. I forgot my icing bag and tips, so when Vivi and I went to make it, my lines came out crooked and thick in some places. My darling granddaughter patted my arm and said,"It's ok, Nanny! We do not have to be perfect! Jesus loves us just like we are! This is OUR bunny house! We can make it how we want. Just do our best! It does not have to look just like the picture on the box!"

Then she happily proceeded to decorate the house the way she wanted. Every time I would make an oops, she would laugh and say it was ok! It was our house and we did not have to be all "perfecty perfecty!"

Such wisdom from a 4 year old. I am so glad her mother does not require perfection from her but just requires her best effort. And she judges her best effort by 4 year old standards not adult ones.

We have extended our "buy nothing Christmas" to include birthdays and other occasions. For Andrea's birthday, I decided to give her the gift of a shiny sink. Of course, Vivi had to help! She was so cute with an old toothbrush scrubbing around the edges and scrubbing the faucet. What a joy this little one is as she grows up knowing she does not have to be perfect, that Jesus loves her just as she is, that all she has to do is her best, and it is not money or stuff that brings happiness but time and love!

Happy Birthday to an American Hero!

2009-05-04T07:07:00.000-07:00

Happy 28th Birthday, James Douglas Wilson! Each year on his birthday I light a candle, say a prayer, and wish him lots of love and happiness.

Against tremendous odds, this young man made it to adulthood, joined the Army, served this country in the first tours in Afghanistan, and on 2 tours of Iraq, being injured in Afghanistan and in the last tour of Iraq. He now has a Traumatic Brain Injury from that last injury and fights daily not just to survive but to get the treatment he needs from the government.

I love my country. I just wish we treated our veterans better. A friend of mine who served during Vietnam was so bitter when I told him about my son's enlistment. He said the government would just use him up and throw him away when they were done. Still naive, I believed he was wrong and just old and bitter. Now I have seen it happen not only to my son but to other veterans, I am saddened to my core.

Happy Birthday, son! I love you with all my heart!

The Day the World Changed Forever

2009-03-26T23:08:00.000-07:00

Thirty years ago I became a mother for the first time. I was to make this journey another 5 times; each one special and wonderful except for the one time where my little girl went to heaven instead of into my arms.

Andrea Lynn Wilson was her name and she made her appearance at 6 pounds 14.5 ounces and 19 inches long at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, Georgia, on a Tuesday, March 27, 1979 at about 1 pm. She was 3 weeks early. She was born with a head full of her signature blonde hair and had the fairest skin. So fair that it was translucent and you could see her veins.

From the day she entered this world, she always had her own unique way of doing things. She rolled over early, pushed herself to standing in your lap, or would wiggle her head between your legs to view her world upside down like a bat.

And my world changed forever on that day. I had joined the ranks of the elite society of mothers! Still not sure I belonged in that society, I struggled along and did the best I could, making many mistakes along the way.

Still and all her birth one of the 8 best things that ever happened in my life! Now she is 30 years old, she is still my pride and joy and one of the 7 loves of my life!

Tooth Extraction Owie!

2009-03-23T05:19:00.001-07:00

I find it remarkable that I have had 6 children all through natural childbirth, yet dental work can still turn me into a baby! I had a molar pulled last Monday and it knocked me flat on my keister for a week! It seems out of my several illnesses and diseases, about 3 or 4 make me more prone to tooth abscesses. This time they had to pull the tooth that was abscessed. It has already had a root canal, but there was just no saving the tooth this time.

By the way, Vivian, your mommy's memory is flukey! We did make her brush her teeth! Every night, Poppy would say, "Brush your teeth, and go to bed!" She also had a chart and would get stickers when she brushed her teeth!

Women's Conference in Tioga in April

2009-03-14T13:16:00.001-07:00

I was wondering if any of my blogging buddies will be at Women's Conference in Tioga next month? A couple of the ladies from our church and I are coming up for it and staying with Andrea. We are looking forward to it. For many years when our kids were growing up, we made several trips up that way for Women's Conference. Now we all 3 have adult children and 2 of us are grandmothers.

We are all 3 first generation Pentecostals. In fact, much of our church in Marrero was first generation during our childraising years. Now that generation of first generations have raised up our own 3rd and 4th generations. Vivian Abigail Warren is my little 3rd generation Pentecostal, and Regan Michal is Lauren's. In both our cases, our daughters moved away from home. Kathy's daughter married and moved away from home as well.

In fact at Emily Baudean's wedding, pastor Mike Sartin said he was getting a bit tired of sending his girls off to do "missionary work." He said it was about time some of our boys went off and fetched home some brides.

Oh well! Hope to see some of you next month!

Skylar's Heart is fine

2009-03-10T07:17:00.000-07:00

Skylar Ryan Wilson.

His heart is fine the pediatric cardiologist assured us yesterday afternoon.

It's a Boy!

2009-03-05T16:40:00.000-08:00

My youngest child is now carrying my first grandson. He is about 23 weeks along and weighs about a pound and 4 ounces the doctors told us today. After spending all day at Ochsner, they informed us they wanted to send her across the street to see the pediatric cardiologist. Evidently, they could not get a good enough picture to say with 100% certainty that there is not a hole in his heart. The doctor explained she saw some blood flow between the left and right chambers, which could indicate a hole or it could mean he was squirming around so much it made the image appear to have blood flow.

She was very reassuring that it was probably nothing, however since she could not say with 100% certainty there was nothing, she wanted the specialist to take a look. Please be in prayers for this wee one.

Update on Ann

2009-02-24T16:29:00.000-08:00

She came through the long surgeries just fine. We will know in a week or so if they got all the cancer, but they are hopeful.

And she has 9 grandchildren.

Her daughters plan to take her out of state to a quiet place to recuperate.

Thank you for all the prayers and thoughts for this family.

My Sister In Law's valiant struggle

2009-02-21T21:22:00.000-08:00

My Sister-in-law Ann will be 52 on Feb 28, and I on March 24. On Monday, she is scheduled to have a double mastectomy for her breast cancer. I know this must be very frightening for her as her mother had a mastectomy about the same age, and died at 58 years of age.

Ann and I went to the same elementary school in the 4th grade. We were friends, and I always treasure her sweet ways and kind heart.

My husband has gone to SC to be with his sister at this time as both of their parents have passed on now, and their stepmother is in the end stages of brain cancer. Please keep them all in your prayers. Ann is the mother of 4 children and a grandmother of 3.

Legend of the Refrigerator

2009-02-20T16:26:00.000-08:00

Well, today is Friday, and my fridge is gleaming except for the very bottom of it. I bent down to scrub it and only got one swish in as my knees, hips and back popped loudly and excrutiating pain shot through me. Cleaner is still soaking in there so maybe my husband will scrub that one part out when he comes home.

It took a week, but I am proud of it!

The Power of 15 Minutes

2009-02-17T13:15:00.000-08:00

One thing the Fly Lady system is big on is teaching you the power of 15 minutes. You set a timer for 15 minutes and accomplish what you can in that time on a focused goal. This is really a great concept for me, and one I heard before on my invisible disabilities support list. After 15 minutes or so, my knees or hands or back or something usually give out on me.

The other thing she tries to teach you is the power of baby steps. To break every thing down into baby steps and take one step at a time. This is a hard one for the Perfectionist brat who I am convinced lives inside every woman. We want to start something and finish it all in one fell swoop! Consequently, Perfectionist's sister Procrastinator rears her head and tells us if we cannot finish a task today, then why start it? So we put it off, becoming more and more anxious/depressed and fretful as the undone task keeps growing before our eyes.

When you have little ones, sometimes all you can grab are 15 minutes at any one time!

Today I set my timer for 15 minutes, donned my lovely new gloves that Andrea and Vivian sent me for my birthday and tackled the top shelf and top door compartment of my refrigerator. I have been doing a good job of keeping the outside shiny, but as soon as I opened it, I would be depressed at the sight that greeted me. The thought of cleaning the whole thing at once was enough to tire me out just thinking about it.

I resolved today to do what I could in 15 minutes, and then make myself stop. Consequently, now I smile when I open the refrigerator because I also had time to wipe down the entire outer rim of the inside compartment in addition to cleaning the top shelf, top *ceiling*, and top door compartment. I know another 15 minutes from now very soon I will have 2 more clean shleves and in another 15 minutes, a clean drawer, and in still another 15 a second clean drawer, while also cleaning the shelves in the door one at a time each 15 minutes. So with 45 more minutes of work broken down into 15 minute segments, I will soon have my gleaming refrigerator.

My gloves the girls sent me are so adorable with little pink bows and a ruffled trim! They are almost too pretty to use, but Andrea has been teaching me the power of blessing myself and using my pretty things, not saving them for a day that may never come. How many ladies have you heard of, perhaps your own mothers or grandmothers, who died with entire sets of handkerchiefs, nightgowns, sheets, towels, dishes, decorative soaps, what have you, all stored away brand new and never touched, waiting for that elusive day to be used and enjoyed?

That is a concept my generation got from our mothers and grandmothers because they survived the World Wars and the Great Depression. When decluttering my kitchen, it was hard to throw out the butter bowls and whipped topping bowls. Of course, the greener me should have saved those and stopped buying nice plastic containers with lids. So maybe Granny has something to teach us younger folks after all. :-) I am old enough to remember the junk drawer at home filled to the max with rubber bands from newspapers and bread twist ties.

Of course, now we have zippy bags and it is hard to find bread with twist ties. Now they put those little plastic tabbies on it, which I despise as no one ever puts them back on around here. They either tie a knot in the bag, making it more complicated to open later without ripping it, or they just leave the bag open for the bread to go stale.

Anyway, love yourself today and use something special you may be saving for that elusive someday. Tackle a big job in 15 minutes, only doing as much as you can during that 15 minutes. Then treat yourself to a cup of a special tea or coffee blend in your prettiest mug or cup. go on! You deserve it!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-13T14:28:00.000-08:00

I guess it is the elementary school teacher in me, but I adore holidays...all of them! When we homeschooled, each child got an age-appropriate monthly booklet of activities. February, for the shortest month, was so jam packed...Groundhog Day, usually Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday, Valentine's Day, President's Day, Black History month, Dental Hygiene Month, Heart Awareness Month, and some others I am sure I am forgetting. I had rented a copy machine that stood in the kitchen. I ran off those booklets and put them together with such joy, using teacher resources I had collected over the years.

One wall held a giant bulletin board from when the church school downsized and had leftovers. I still remember the year Andrea made that bulletin board an undersea world. She made it an aquarium, complete with a taped tour describing the many "creatures" we saw.

I made sure Daddy remembered to stop and get Valentine candy for each of his valentines and bring it home. We made pretty cards for Daddy. We still send the kids Valentine candy. Steven and Andrea were married Feb 1, and their first "fight" was over her Daddy Valentine's Candy. Seems she put it in the refrigerator, and he viewed it as community property, while she was emphatic that it said "TO ANDREA from Daddy."

This year I made sure to send Tiffany a king cake in Alaska. She loves those things for some reason.

To all my Valentines, both near and far, have a good one! And Vivian, I love you more than GREASY GOPHER GRAVY with a side of Grits!!!

Sibling Rivalry

2009-02-07T08:26:00.001-08:00

Over the breakfast table this morning, I shared with my husband the email round robin between Andrea, Tiffany, and me about those Heart Family dolls. I was keeping it quiet that I found 2 sets, but as you can see in the comment section below, Miss Tiffany started claiming the family as hers. She sent me 3 or 4 emails about how she was sure they were hers not Andrea's. So, I started collecting clues to figure out which was whose.

Andrea remembered her family all 4 came in one big box and that she stored them in the box. That solves that. They are still in their original box. Tiffany remembered hers had a hole in her hand because she lost her diamond ring. Check! The bath time set has the mom with a hole in her hand! But Tiffany remembers the clothes on Andrea's so vividly and says that must be hers! This has me thinking she probably "borrowed" those clothes, which knowing how protective Andrea had to be of her things with 4 younger siblings, probably was one of the "fights" that led to their dividing the room in half when they were younger!! Of course my ever enterprising oldest child could have sold her sister those clothes since she did make money selling stuff she no longer wanted in "garage sales" to her siblings! Hrmmm!!!!

Well, Big Mama has decided, ladies! Andrea gets the set in church clothes for Vivi. Tiff gets the bath time dolls with all the extra babies. I am not sure if I will give Tiff the nursery set and Andrea the school set or split both sets between you!

Your dad was laughing over the whole email discussion punctuated with the "That's mine!"s. He says who knows what else belonging to the 2 of you he has hidden in the attic! Hehe for your next "Buy Nothing Christmas" you may get a picture of some childhood treasure long forgotten with clues to find it!!!

The Joys of Raising a Strong Willed Child

2009-02-05T06:42:00.001-08:00

What a marvelous invention the internet is! We can use it to research just about anything; I think google has made it into the dictionary! We can shop online, order our pizzas, medicine, groceries, snapshots, you name it. We can use the telephone through it, instant message friends a world away, renew old friendships, make new friendships, and even video teleconference. There is music, movies, games, virtual cards and flowers, and so much more. Today I shall use it to do something Moms have been doing since the days of Eve: embarrass my oldest child!!

I was thinking of Andrea's struggles the other day as she was growing up with chemical sensitivities. Back then I caught Dr. Lendon Smith on the Donahue Show as he talked about children with a "low stress threshold," and looked at the baby in my arms and knew my first child was such a child. I found the book _Improving Your Child's Behavior Chemistry_ and read every word, adapting things in the household to promote a place of peace for my little one.

Dr. Smith listed some things they found to be common in children with a "low stress threshold," such as (only listing the ones applicable to our situation here):

~Born after a high risk pregnancy (I had severe toxemia)
~Premature birth or birth before 38 weeks (They ruptured my membranes at 37 weeks because I was already in labor and to hasten her birth before complications of pre-eclampsia escalated)
~Cord around neck at birth (It was wrapped so tightly they had to unwrap it after delivery of her head to deliver her shoulders)
~Extremely fair skin, blue eyes,blonde hair: Andrea was born with a "cotton top" of blonde hair (evidently this is unusual and the nurses would ask where I hid the peroxide as most blonde children are born with darker hair that falls out and grows back in blonde. She is still a natural blonde at 30 years old. Her skin was translucent at birth, and she is still very fair. She has our blue eyes.)

According to Dr. Smith, these things are insults to an infant's nervous system, so they are born ill-equipped to deal with the stimuli around them. Most parents in that day had a brightly colored nursery with lots of auditory and visual stimuli, which I did, and these things are painful for such children. It was bizarre in that we could get her to sleep but putting her in her room in her crib, she would immediately begin screaming. We quickly learned the only way she (and us) would get any rest was to allow her to sleep snuggled in her dad's armpit. During the day she would sleep in her carrier because it had sides that were closed in.

At one week of age, you could put her in the center of a bed with head and feet pointed at the floor and somewhow she would find her way to the floor. At 2 weeks she could roll over and over back to front and front to back. And cry? She constantly cried! When she was tiny, a visit to SC to relatives was punctuated with one very unhappy baby. My mother deduced that she was in pain from being held by so many different people and so much "excitement" around her. She took her in a quiet, dark room and rocked her 'til she quieted and finally slept. Visits to the mall or stores, even church, resulted in one screaming infant or toddler. She liked to be held but not tightly and not swaddled. She wanted to know there were close boundaries around her (like the carrier with the sides) and she wanted to smell Mom or Dad, but not be kissed or rubbed.

Andrea was the kid who went to church with the Tupperware cup of apple juice for snack time since she could not have the red koolaid so prevalent in the 80s Sunday School classes. She had homemade whole wheat honey cookies for her snack.

Out of all this, emerged a child with an astonishing strong will. Thinking about it the other day, I realized this is how she coped with the tricks her body was playing on her. She set her mind to survive her environment, to weather the storms inside her body, and to make it.

And she did!

Today, the beautiful, accomplished, talented, graceful, kind young lady is a woman of dignity and integrity and high principles. She sets her mind to something and look out! It will soon be done!

So in thinking more, I can testify if you are blessed with a strong willed child, you have the opportunity to raise this kind of adult. Your little strong willed person with your guidance can grow up to be a mighty arrow in the hand of a mighty God. These children can become the adults who will not waver or wishy washy in their loyalty and commitment to God, to home, to family, to community, to friends.

Further thinking, I decided that God had honored my prayers over the years to send my children enough suffering and trials to make them into pure gold. So my gleaming, golden haired child with the heart of gold, I love you as we approach your 30th birthday.

(Here you have proof I am your mom! I embarrassed you on the internet!!!!)

My Sister's Keeper Finished

2009-02-04T11:58:00.000-08:00

I finally finished this book, and I will not spoil it for those who wish to read it or to see the upcoming move from it. I was pleasantly surprised with the story. It did make me glad I know God in my life on a personal level. I cannot imagine having to face life's situations without Him!

There were a lot of issues raised in the book and most were left open for the reader to form his/her opinion. I was struck by the story of the eldest brother's acting out behaviors I think most of all. I know what it is like in a family to have one child with emergent medical needs and some of the sibling issues that come out of that.

I am still not sure how I feel about having a "designer baby" to save a sibling's life. I have no idea what I would do in that situation and am glad it never arose in my life. I do believe if any of my children could have donated blood or marrow or an organ to have helped my older son, they would have done so.

/sadface

2009-01-28T16:22:00.001-08:00

My sign language class has been cancelled "until further notice." It seems only 2 of us signed up for it. I hope they send my money back. Maybe, I will look into the class at the local community college. I was so looking forward to this class, too!!

The Heart Family

2009-01-28T15:27:00.000-08:00

Back in the 80s Mattel made some 11.5 inch dolls known as the Heart Family.

http://www.kattisdolls.net/faces/heartf.htm

The link will have to do until I get a digi camera.

These dolls had a mommy, daddy, baby boy and girl. There were neighbor children and grandma and grandpa. I really did not want to encourage my girls to play with Barbies, but when this family came out, I thought it was too precious and perfect for my little Andrea. Mommy had long hair and wore those 80s style "Pentecostal Patty" dresses with the high collars and long sleeves. There was also the Heart Family Schoolhouse, which we gave Andrea since we homeschooled, and the Heart Family Nursery.

In our cleaning and downsizing and decluttering, we discovered a box in the attic with Andrea's Heart Family of 4 dolls...Mom, Dad, toddler girl, baby boy, and most of the accessories she had, including the school house. I emailed her to make sure it was hers since we had 3 daughters, and I was concerned maybe Tiffany had a set and it was hers. That maybe Andrea had given hers away, and I had forgotten. She was so excited to inform me that they were hers!

With our "Buy Nothing Family Christmas," this will be my gift to Miss Vivi. I think she will love having her Mommy's dolls to play with. I am looking to sew some more outfits for them, and Uncle Jon Jon is strongly considering building them a house of their own, leaving it for Vivi and Andrea to choose the decor and paint colors.

Inspired by Ashley (Mommy) Fowler

2009-01-25T15:06:00.001-08:00

I was inspired by Ashley's blog on her husband to do one myself the day after my 31st anniversary.

Here are the things I love about my husband:

1) He loves God and serves Him willingly.

2) He always took me and my babies to church.

3) When I was in the hospital with difficult pregnancies, he was taking care of the other babies.

4) I never had to worry if he would go to work on any given day. He always worked hard to provide for us.

5) He supported my efforts to be a stay at home mom and to home school our children.

6) I have never ever had to clean vomit up after any one. He always did it.

7) He took time and effort to take us on vacations that were geared to the kids.

8) When Andrea and Douglas were 3 and 1, Douglas still nursed at night, and I helped out at the church school. We had a conference in Baton Rouge on a Friday and Saturday. My dear husband drove up to Baton Rouge after work and brought the babies so I could nurse my little fellow.

9) He is handsome and always dresses nice. He is also never loud or brash with other people. Manners and class are important to him in that he walk as a child of God with dignity.

10) Many families break up when a child has special health needs. Ours weathered the storms. On our wedding day, our pastor when praying the blessing on us, had a spirit of prophecy come on him. He said strong winds would blow against our marriage and when others would divorce, we would not divorce. That the trials would drive us not further apart but closer together and closer to God. Andrea as a child had a low stress threshold and did not tolerate certain chemicals in the air or her food or clothes well. Noises and colors were painful to her. She cried a lot and hated having clothes next to her skin as it hurt her. Daddy walked the floor after work and school with her singing, "Daddy's girl! daddy's girl! Daddy's little baby girl!" Douglas was diagnosed with childhood onset schizophrenia at 13, but when he was 15, we discovered he had XXY/XY mosaicism (Klinefelter Syndrome) and an atypical mental disorder. There were nights we could not sleep for watching over him, trips an hour away to the hospital to pick him up for Christmas or weekend leave, and the time dad had to have stitches in his head when he slipped and fell into the dresser while trying to stop Doug from hurting himself. Tiffany was born after I spent 6 weeks in the hospital in premature labor away from my family. She had a heart problem and then at 16 months developed a seizure disorder. God miraculously healed her of both when she was 3 and one day when Daddy got her out of the nursery at church and took her to the front for prayer. Pastor Michael Sartin said as they walked down the aisle that God had told him he was going to heal the Wilson baby, and He did! Jonathan had recurring ear infections and had to have tubes put in his ears at 2. Melanie has ADHD. Daddy was a strong and comforting force in all their lives through all the trials.

Now I am old and gray and sick, he is still here. I confess that I find myself looking forward to the empty nest stage of our life together.

31 years ago today

2009-01-24T14:43:00.000-08:00

About this time, 31 years ago today, I stood in front of God, my pastor, my friends, and family and made a vow "til death do us part."

Hard to believe it has been so long. Though there are times I think about what if I had made different choices in my life, like remained single, travelled, gotten my PhD, bought a house in Due West, SC, and taught English at Erskine College, where I got my AB in Elementary and Special Education, I do not think I would change my choices if I could. I cannot imagine a world without my 5 delightful children in it, not to mention one with out my precious Sugar Bean (Vivian).

There are some mistakes I regret making, but in the words of Aaron Neville, "It took who I was, and where I've been to make me what I am." Now, there are those who would say that what I am is no prize, and I would probably agree with you. There is so much I wanted to do with my life that is still undone.

So long as my heavenly Father will one day say, "This is my child in whom I am well pleased. Enter ye into the rest and joys of the Lord" then I shall feel I ran the race and finished at His feet.

Class Postponed a week

2009-01-21T13:53:00.000-08:00

My first sign language class was scheduled for last night. Evidently, the instructor had to go out of town, so it will not start until next week and add a week on to the end.

I was a bit disappointed as I have been looking forward to taking this class. Oh well, there is always next week!

Mom In Chief

2009-01-20T14:19:00.000-08:00

Major Kudos to First Lady Michelle Obama! Here is a woman with a Harvard Law degree who has publicly stated she plans to be Mom in Chief, first of all. Settling her girls and caring for them is her main objective.

Feminists have criticized her as living beneath her possibilities. I think she is living up to them. It takes a lot of dignity, courage, and intelligence to be a mom in this day and age. To make the choice to put your family first may cost something in the short term, but pays great dividends in the long term.

There are those who say it will be easy for her with all the"hired help," but they must have missed the memo where she has stated her girls will continue to clean their rooms and make their own beds. I think Mrs. Obama knows not everyone has the means and opportunity to juggle a professional and home life as well as she has. She has said as difficult as it was for her at times, she thinks how much harder it must be for some others without family, money, support available.

As her husband said, "I believe in the general theory that if Mom is happy, everybody's happy." I hope that translates into good national policy, which will improve the lives of countless Americans.

In a time when America needs strong family role models, Michelle Obama has a chance to lead the way to a stronger nation through stronger families. I wish her well.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/heather-cabot/what-the-mom-in-chief-mea_b_158220.html

Forty Pounds lost and still FLYing

2009-01-19T13:37:00.000-08:00

Yay! I am now down 40 pounds thanks to Nutrisystem. Eating better, my liver is less swollen and painful and my IBS has really cleared up a lot. I can put my own socks and shoes on now without difficulty or pain. I am also braving my first sign language class tomorrow without fear of pain or accidents.

Melanie did my nails over the weekend and they look very nice. She gave me tips(first time ever for me!) She wants to go to Beauty School, but is taking a year off to earn money and get out on her own so she can qualify for a grant. Saturday past she had an interview at the H2) salon and spa in Metairie ( http://www.h2osalon-spa.com/location.html ). They are looking for a receptionist and think it would be a great place for her to get her start. They said they would call her this week to come in for a second interview to spend 30 minutes at each of their 4 "stations" so she and they can get a feel for which would be best for her. A Beauty salon with valet parking, dahlin'!!

On the Home front, we are still Flying! I love the Fly lady system! One baby step at a time, things are changing!!

Sit down and have a cuppa with me

2009-01-16T09:41:00.001-08:00

Bragging on the Cave People

2009-01-12T08:25:00.000-08:00

I am so proud of them!

The other night, Melanie made herself a late dinner. I dreaded walking into the kitchen because I just knew I would find dirty pans with food caked on them on the dirty stove, dirty dishes in the sink, and the dirty George Foreman grill on the dirty countertops. Imagine my delight to discover clean countertops, stove, grill, and sink with clean pots and pans and dishes in the dishwasher ready to be put away!!!! She had even made a gallon of fresh tea and refrigerated it!!

Saturday, after the groceries were in the house, they were all put away into their designated places. The pantry, fridge, and freezer all stayed organized!! I plopped a nice chuck roast into the crock pot with a cup of unsweetened tea and some seasonings for Sunday dinner.

Sunday, after church, the roast was taken from the crock pot;Jonathan made veggies and a macaroni and cheese; Melanie set the table and folded pretty paper napkins in a pretty design around the silverware; I heated my NS chicken breast; and we enjoyed a nice family dinner. Afterward, the trash was carried out, the leftovers stored properly,the dishwasher was humming along cleaning the dishes, the floor and counters all cleaned!

Andrea will understand this one. LoL. When I used to travel a lot for advocacy work, I would come home to the counter with the coffee pot caked in old cofffee spills with spilled creamer and sugar from every day I had been gone. Training the head cave man to use a paper towel and to clean up his morning coffee messes as he makes them has been a stuggle of 30 some years.

I started after I clean the kitchen each night after dinner, to put a fresh paper towel down in front of the coffee maker with a clean spoon and cup, thus taking away his common argument he was in a hurry and did not have the time to clean up his messes before leaving for work. Now, mind you, the paper towel is now dirty and waiting to be thrown away each morning, but it is a lot easier to do that than have to clean up a major mess. I also repurposed an old microwave glass carousel dish to hold the creamers, sugar, splenda, honey, etc. and added some candles for interest. No more morning coffee messes!

Lastly, one of the things about putting dishes away that was tough for me was sorting the silverware. This is because my arthritis makes bending and standing and grasping painful. Standing there sorting silverware was just a painful way to end putting away clean dishes. My dear head cave man unwittingly hit on a solution!! Now that he has to rinse and load his own dishes after use, he said we should put the silverware in the basket in the dishwasher all organized. LIGHTBULB!!! BRILLIANT!!!

I was ready to toss the divider in the silverware drawer so I could just dump the basket in there without sorting! Now everyone puts the forks together, the spoons together, the knives together, the utensils together. What a breeze it is to take the basket out of the dishwasher to the silverware drawer and merely grab 3 or four handfuls of silverware and place in the correct divider.

And, Andrea, remember my utensil drawer by the stover? How it looked like the Tupperware cabinet? No more! I put an extra silverware divider in there and organized that drawer. With the new dishwashing system, every thing quickly gets put away in the proper place.

On yea, by the way, remember that "space age" plastic cereal spoon one of you got out of a cereal box? It is gone now. In my decluttering, I came across it in the utensil drawer along with one of Vivi's baby spoons. I saved the baby spoon, but tossed that cereal spoon. It was kind of hard with that voice yelling "MEMORIES," but I told that voice throwing that junky spoon away was not the same as throwing away the memories...I still have those! :-)

With Flylady, one of the principles is to get dressed each morning, including lace up shoes, and fix your face and hair. Because of health issues, this is not always practical or comfortable for me. I do not even own any lace up shoes. However, instead of excusing myself with why I could not do it, I thought to find a way to do it that suits my situation. Andrea's mother in law gave me a box of "mumus" or "patio dresses" or whatever you want to call them, which were her late mother's. These are comfortable, modest, and attractive. I now get up and put a fresh one on after my shower. I do not sleep in them;they are my house "dresses." Melanie bought me some new house shoes for Christmas, and I make sure I put those on each day.

So it is possible to civilize cave people. really, it is!!!!!!!!!!!

My Meditation for Today

2009-01-12T08:23:00.000-08:00

Today, I rediscovered the following quotation by Helen Keller. I made it my thought to meditate on and "chew" on for today.

I have four things to learn in life: To think clearly without hurry or confusion; To love everybody sincerely; To act in everything with the highest motives; To trust God unhesitatingly. --Helen Keller

I did it!

2009-01-08T11:53:00.000-08:00

I have signed up to take a beginner Sign Language class at the parks and recreation department on Tuesdays, starting Jan. 20. The class will be one hour for 8 Tuesdays. Brave new world to get out there again, but I am determined to do it.

Oh I forgot to mention!

2009-01-08T08:51:00.000-08:00

Another few wonderful side effects:

My son commented last night that it was the first time in a long time when he could reach in the glass cabinet and find a clean glass waiting. Usually it is empty or someone put dirty ones away without checking them. I take the blame for the latter. I would get so frustrated that everyone left all their nasty dishes in the sink for me to do alone that I did them haphazard. That, plus my health issues made standing there so long with hands in hot soapy water, bending and stretching, a total torment of pain. Now that everyone chips in and my standing there is limited, things are a lot more organized and cleaner. I know I have no excuses for my inner brat acting up, but I am happy to have a way to soothe her.

Another bonus I forgot to mention is that we use glass dishes instead of paper plates. Clean up is the same really and we like the feeling of using them. It is true that there is a totally different feel to using dishes over paper goods. Next step is cloth napkins when I tame the laundry dragon so I do not have to iron them.

Baby steps. baby steps. baby steps.

Warnings to all Cave People!

2009-01-08T07:59:00.000-08:00

The yellow sticky notes have "mysteriously" appeared in my kitchen!

"Keep me organized! Love, your Pantry"

"Wipe down inside and out after each use!" (on the new microwave and the stove top)

"Store and refrigerate leftovers properly"

"After using dishes, rinse thoroughly and load in the dishwasher!"

When Flylady said make these type reminders and post them, I was not too keen on it as they just look "cluttery" to me. But then I live with the cave people, so maybe for a while I can leave them up to get them into good habits. Plus, I cannot argue with success. Yellow sticky notes are a small price to pay for a gleaming microwave, stovetop, and sink; a well ordered pantry and fridge; and clean dishes facing me in the morning instead of dirty ones.

So far the family has been very supportive and the cave people are becoming civilized. There is a different "feel" to the kitchen, and I find we are all more at peace in here. True story, Andrea: Your dad sat at the table last night and ate a Daniel meal (church is on the 7 day fast). Melanie asked him to,and since he was late and we had already eaten, we sat here and talked and laughed quietly. It was quite pleasant. Afterward, everone did the proper thing with the left overs and dishes. I did not have to do anything but swish and swipe the counters, run the dishwasher, and set out a fresh kitchen towel for today.

When Melanie and I were evacuated for Hurricane Katrina, we lived in an adorable cottage in the country in Hineston. We both felt such peace there. Even when Jonathan visited at Christmas, he commented on how peaceful it was. I am sure part of it was being away from the tremendous amount of spiritual warfare we have in New Orleans, but that is not the whole of it because the land I live on in New Orleans is Holy Ground, sanctified and covered in prayers and love. I am convinced that a huge part of it was the lack of clutter. We only had necessities with us. We also had our routines to keep things organized and clean.

My secret goal this week was could I change the cave man and achieve that feeling in my own home here and now. I did not have to nag or say a single word to any of the cave people. The peace carried over in the form of good habits. Now my kitchen is a warm, delightful place to be. I force myself to wear my hearing aids so we can all speak quietly and I can play jazz or classical music in the background.

Hearing aids are such a conundrum. After the years of silence, the amplification of every sound to a normal hearing world level is unsettling and hard to adjust to. Yet, I hate missing things that are said. I hate speaking loudly. Ah well, the adjustment is a small price to pay for peace in my home.

Maybe it is true: if Mama is happy, everyone is happy!

Joy! Joy! Joy!

2009-01-07T04:51:00.001-08:00

Joy! Joy! Joy!

Every area of my kitchen, every nook and cranny, every cabinet is now organized and clutter free except the pantry! That's right! Even the "Tupperware cabinet" and "pots and pans" cabinet are both neat as a pin and organized. You can now open them without being attacked by various lids and bowls flying out at you, attacking your feet! Now when you open the cupboards your eyes are no longer assaulted by disorder and haphazard stacking!

That last bastion of disorder in the kitchen now taunts me to tackle it. I have set aside 2 hours this afternoon to put it into "apple pie order." My Nutrisystem food arrives later in the week so it is a good time for me to organize and declutter the pantry. Armed with a few dollars, I plan to venture out to Walmart or Dollar General this morning and purchase a few more organizers. Time to get that NS food out of cardboard boxes and into something a little more attractive and practical.

Bonus of Clutter Purging!

2009-01-06T05:24:00.000-08:00

YAY! I discovered a great bonus to purging clutter yesterday! Especially now that our extended family does Buy Nothing Christmas!

There it was, in a nice little box, some 20 years old, just waiting to be found!!!

I so want to say what it is but I can't! I have to wait until Christmas some 11 months from now. The hard part is deciding who will get it between 2 people. Hrmmmm......

Oh well gives me time to clean and spruce it up a bit...maybe add some things to it.

FlyLady Resolution

2009-01-03T20:27:00.000-08:00

This year I have resolved to begin to rid myself of clutter. (yes, I can hear Tiffany laughing in Alaska and Andrea in Alexandria!!) But, no, girls, I mean it! I did make a great start after Katrina. Ok so that was 3 years ago...and your point??

I am going to start with the Flylady system

http://www.flylady.net/

So right now my sink is shining! /beams proudly Day 1 accomplished!

My first problem will come with wearing lace up shoes since I no longer own any of those.

Dare to Dream in 2009 and have the courage to make your dreams come true!!!

2008-12-30T22:25:00.001-08:00

Packing it Away

2008-12-26T11:03:00.000-08:00

It is the day after Christmas, and as I am packing my Christmas dishes and serving pieces and putting them away, I am feeling convicted. I have been reading blogs and editorials on how we have too much "stuff" in America. How ridiculous it is to have a set of dishes we only eat from one day a year, or maybe even a week of the year!

I have 2 shelves in my pantry and 2 kitchen cabinets designated for seasonal "Stuff" for the kitchen: dishes, serving pieces, centerpieces, candles, napkin rings, placemats, napkins, tablecloths for Birthdays, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas. It is a lifetime of collecting. Some of it is 2 or 3 lifetimes old.

I have items that belonged to my parents or my grandparents (although most of that I have already divided up among my grown children,keeping only an item or 2.) Then the rest I have garnered over the years. Much of the items were gifts. A few items I picked up at a thrift store or garage sale.

See that sounds like I am trying to justify my owning it. Which, right away, runs up a red flag. If I have to think and work so hard to rationalize it or excuse it, then maybe it is wrong to begin with? Is the Lord calling for *me* to purge myself of "Stuff"? Even more importantly, am I trying to argue with Him over it?

With my sanguine personality, I have to be careful. I tend to go overboard on everything...impulsively! I have given my wedding ring set and my great grandmother's antique gold wedding band to the church in years past. I know God honored my sacrifices, but I am not sure He was the One asking for them. For a sacrifice, I have burned a manuscript for a book I wrote.

I live in the deep south where some traditions are ingrained in us from childhood. I studied Home Economics in college, and we were taught the importance of a "well appointed" home and kitchen. I attended a Ladies Leadership seminar in Alexandria, LA, some years ago and one of the courses was on gracious living. The lady teaching it spoke of paper plates and napkins and cups being for picnics, not family meals, reminding me of much of my training.

However, when you are raising 5 children, much of that gets left by the wayside, except for holidays. Hence the holiday collections I own. Before Christmas dinner yesterday as Melanie removed the centerpiece from the table to make room for food, I was telling Jonathan how in Home Ec we were always taught to have a nice centerpiece, usually fresh and homemade, using whatever was in the yard. Andrea and Tiffany used to make lovely centerpieces from stuff in the yard. It never seemed to matter though, as I explained to Jonathan, because we always removed them from the table to make room for food or to be able to see each other.

At Thanksgiving, at Andrea's house, Vivian, Melanie, and I made little paper place cards for everyone. We laid a fresh tablecloth and even created a centerpiece from stuff around the house that Andrea had used in decorating. It was quite lovely, but continuing in tradition, I noticed Andrea removed it to a side table for the meal.

As we were packing the stuff away, I was sharing some of my quandary with Melanie. She responded that I have not gone overboard with stuff. I do not own 2 or 4 or 10 sets of Christmas dishes.

I know of folks who have no pictures and no knickknacks and no elements of decor in their homes in honor of God. I respect and admire their sacrifice. For them, it is what they must do to follow their consciences and so long as they do not judge others by that same standard then they are not to be judged.

I have something to think and pray and fast on this year. Is this God calling me to such a sacrifice or is it just my impulsive, over the top nature? Do not get me wrong! I am not saying it is wrong to have pretty things and a well appointed home....unless...God has spoken to you to shed those things or unless you serve those things instead of using them to serve others.

For many years, my stuff was used to serve my family wholesome, nutritious meals, shared around a table of love and laughter. It was used to teach them gracious living because I believe the people of God should be a gracious people of dignity, integrity, and manners. For many years, our home was open to serve the lost, the lonely,the hurting. For many years, on Thanksgiving, we would invite someone who had no family in the area to share our meal with us.

Serving others was a great tradition in our home. At a Women's Conference in Tioga, I once purchased a book on making memories with your children. One idea was to prepare a special meal, get out the guest dishes and linens and tell them someone special was coming to dinner. Then when they came to eat, tell them it was them. What a great idea (I thought)! So I proceeded to put it into play. The kids were all excited and made name cards and helped me cook and clean and decorate.

"Who is coming, Mama??" they would ask excitedly.

"It's a surprise! " I would reply! What I did not realize is they did not hear "surpirse." Bishop Sarin's sister is a lovely, gracious lady named Sis. Price. They heard me say,"It's Sis. Price!"

They were so thrilled and honored to be able to serve Sis. Price. They even went to change clothes before dinner into their Sunday best. I will never ever for as long as I live forget the disappointment on those 4 little faces when they came into the living room, and we told them it was them, that they were our special guests! They actually cried, and went in Andrea's room, bawling, refusing to eat their meal they had worked so hard on. We finally got it out of them that they had heard "Sis. Price is coming!"

I am reminded of a seminar I attended in Baton Rouge with Bishop and Sis. Sartin and people from the church. Several of us sat at dinner, and spoke of how proud we were of our pastor and his wife and their beautiful, gracious manners. I am reminded of a young lady who told me she visited a church that was considering hiring her. Afterward when she went to lunch with the leadership, she said she wanted to slip quietly away because of people being rude to the waitstaff or evidencing poor manners at the table. During that lunch, she made her decision to not be a part of that ministry.

My health of late has negated my serving much these days. My children are all grown now and do not need me to serve them. Perhaps the conviction I am feeling is not over having the stuff but over how I have not used it much of late to serve others in His name. Jesus never condemned Martha for serving others and for toiling to have a well appointed household. The virtuous woman in Proverbs is honored for doing such things.

In years past, we did not have much, but what we had we shared; we tried to make it as gracious as we could. Now I have so much more than I had then, I want to be careful not to shut the doors of compassion and mercy.

Merry Christmas from the Wilson Homestead

2008-12-25T10:03:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all! I hope it is a joyous one for everyone!!!

This year, we decided to go to Andrea's the weekend before Christmas for our family Christmas gift exchange, and each have Christmas in our own homes. Vivian is older, and I sensed they would want to have their own celebration privately this year. Then, I am such a homebody, I wanted to be home on Christmas this year. I missed my Christmas traditions of a table loaded with Christmas punch and "snicky snacks" that were pushed to the side to play games.

I missed not being able to bring out my "Christmas dishes" and use them. I had wanted Christmas dinnerware for ages. One year when Andrea was a teenager, my father-in-law and his wife sent our family each a Kmart gift certificate for Christmas. After Christmas, I took the kids to Kmart to shop. Dean gave me his certificate and told me to buy my Christmas dishes with mine and his. I was elated to find a sale and bought a service for 8. Andrea remembered helping me pick them out.

It was kind of funny. I borrowed 4 gold chargers from Andrea since she was not having a Christmas dinner at her home this year for the 2 extended families and did not need all of her 12 that I had given her last year. I set my table with candles and my Christmas dishes and my napkin holders I had picked up at a sale after Christmas the year Vivian was born but was never home to use until now. Jonathan walked in and admired my handiwork, asking me if I had bought the Christmas dishes that day. I laughed and told him they were so old they came from the Kmart that no longer is but once was! He had forgotten ever seeing them so it was like having something new again. :-)

Anyway, last night after we played some cards (games are just not as fun without my entire hilarious family and Steven to tease us about "Wilson rules"), we watched some home movies since we were still sorting out some to put on DVD and to copy for Andrea. Melanie pulled out all the VHS tapes from the armoire that houses the entertainment center. She was so excited when she found one labeled "Christmas, 1990," thinking it was a home movie of her first Christmas.

First off the tape did not work, so Jonathan took it to his "workshop," and came back an hour or so later having repaired it. Proudly he popped it in and lo and behold! What to our wondering eyes should appear! Some family none of us have any clue who they are having Christmas in 1990. We laughed so hard! I told Jon he needed to look those people up because they had some nice looking teen daughters. He said,"Yea! Eighteen years ago! Get real, Mom!"

Tiffany and Andrea will never believe this, though: Dad let us open gifts last night for Christmas Eve!!!! Your dad finally bought be a lovely rocking chair with an ottoman. I have been wanting one for ages but always needed some new computer part or a whole new computer every year before now so had to wait.

Today I have a roast in the oven. Green beans have been simmering in the crock pot for about 24 hours. The 2 "kids" I have left at home wanted a traditional Wilson Sunday dinner of Roast, Macaroni and cheese, salad, vegetable, and rolls. I bought a sugar free pecan pie, and some sugar free carb smart vanilla ice cream for dessert. My weight loss has slowed down over the holidays, but I am proud to say it at least is continuing.

I told Vivian that next Christmas I planned to be as little as her mama. She was asking my why I was eating special food and had to know what each item I had brought was. She looked at me incredulously and said, "No way! You're too fat! " then giggled and ran off before I could kiss that little Sugar Bean.

I hope you all enjoy your families and make beautiful memories!

From the old Wilson Homestead, with love to all my offspring scattered far and wide!

What a Lovely time

2008-12-22T18:32:00.000-08:00

We just returned home from Alexandria from our Buy Nothing Christmas celebration with Andrea, Steven, and Vivian. What a wonderful time of love and sharing we had. Of course family holidays are never complete without the prickly times and bit of arguing so we had a touch of that as well this morning. However, I have to say, there was a tranquil spirit of love and harmony that prevailed throughout most of the visit.

I LOVED MY GIFTS. Andrea and Vivian made me some lovely pot holders and a decorated tin to put my Chinese fortune in from our dinner out on Sunday. Tiffany sent me a key holder from Alaska with a picture of Vivian and I on Andrea's front porch swing, taken last Easter. I also received my Family Calendar with family pictures sprinkled throughout. Andrea never should have made me one in 2005, if she did not want to make them for me until the day I die! They are my favorites!

Miss Tiffany was the super creative one of the bunch though! Andrea, Melanie, and I "oohed" and "aahed" over her brown bag wrapping paper upon which she had drawn whimsical pictures and her creative items she used to make bows. Steven observed that when you live in the wilds of Alaska that if you do not get paper and ribbon on your yearly trip to Walmart, you do without. When Tiff called from Alaska, we complimented her, and she laughed and said "Being poor is the mother of invention!" and let us know Steven was right.

What a great tradition that I look forward to for many years to come! Thanks, Andrea! My head is already spinning with ideas for next year!

Pralines

2008-12-19T10:18:00.000-08:00

So to titillate Andrea, this is what I made today. I cannot taste them to see if they are good, and I fear the humidity messed me up.

Recipe:	Microwave Pralines
Author:	Carol Wilson
Source:	Val Blanchard
Ingredients:	In a large microwave bowl mix: 2 cups sugar 3/4 cup buttermilk 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans 1/8 tsp salt 1 Tbsp butter.
Directions	Microwave on high 12 minutes, stirring every 4 minutes. Remove and add: 1 tsp baking soda Stir until foamy then microwave 1 minute longer. Remove and stir in: 1 tsp. vanilla extract Stir until mixture is thick and tacky. Spoon out onto aluminum foil to cool.

See you in a few hours, girly!

In for a dime, in for a pound!

2008-12-18T21:41:00.000-08:00

http://www.pfpchallenge.com/AboutPFP.aspx

Biggest Loser and General Mills are sponsoring a challenge. For ever pound you lose between now and April, GM will donate 10 cents (which will purchase a pound of food) to a food bank. Since I am on a quest to lose weight any way, I signed up. More motivation!

Set of Nativity Figures...10 cents. Lifetime of Memories...Priceless!!

2008-12-18T20:02:00.000-08:00

I read in a magazine the other week about a mom who bought these cardboard nativity figures at a dime store for her daughters years and years ago and how they became a priceless treasure. It is amazing how the things that cost so little in money create the most priceless memories.

I was reminded of a Nativity set that I had, and the plastic figurines had all been broken except the cow. I still had the wooden stable in great condition. One day I was in Woolworth's after Christmas to look for Christmas deals because they were going out of business as well. Everything in the store was 90% off. I found some unbreakable plastic Nativity figures that had been reduced to 10 for a dollar. I selected a Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus in the manger, 1 shepherds, an angel, 3 wisemen, a donkey, and a cow....10 pieces in all and I only had to pay a penny each for them, so with tax 11 cents.

Some 2o years later, the year after Katrina had hit our area, we were cleaning and purging. I had finally bought myself a lovely porcelain Nativity set since all the kids were grown. I asked Andrea and Tiffany if they were interested in any of the homegrown family ornaments because I had also been able to finally color coordinate a themed tree with breakable ornaments. I was amazed that they both wanted that old plastic nativity set.

It seems that old thing was one of the favorite Christmas memories. It always sat on the table in the foyer, and it seems my crew each had different ideas about how it was supposed to be set up. Every time one of them passed by, they rearranged the figures. Once one of them even put the cows on the roof because they had read something about cows in other countries grazing on thatched roofs.

After some discussion, we decided it is with Andrea now because she is the oldest and has a child and also is settled in her own home. But we never know when she will pass it on to one of the other siblings, until it makes its rounds and then starts all over again with her.

It is amazing the jungle gym sets, bikes, computers, radios, nintendos, and whatever else are not in their top Christmas memory. Those things are all gone with time. Yet, 10 cents worth of figurines from a dime store are priceless!

Sugar Bean!

2008-12-18T19:58:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow night I get to see my little Sugar Bean, Vivian!!! I am so excited. I have been sewing and cooking and typing and recording and all kinds of other things for our Christmas weekend with our "younguns."

Melanie is my gift wrapper. She has done an excellent job this year. Everything is all nice and color coordinated.

Sounds about right!

2008-12-17T10:24:00.000-08:00

Your fairy is called Thorn Goblinshimmer

She is a bringer of riches and wealth.

She lives in brambles and blackberry bushes.

She is only seen when the first flowers begin to blossom.

She wears purple and green like berries and leaves. She has gentle green wings like a butterfly.

Get your free fairy name here!

~~

Yup that sounds about right...Thorns and Goblins...that's me! Never ever do I get to be the dainty, gossamer type, even on these games!

Ghost of Christmas Past

2008-12-16T13:46:00.000-08:00

I am quite bad at photshopping. I need my youngest to fix these for me, but she is not here.

Here is Jonathan in his Christmas outfit at Church. Notice how he stepped down from the riser, not wanting to be so close to the 2 girls?

Here is Andrea at 5 in a church Christmas performance. Yes, she was still a prim and proper lady even then. Notice how she is the only one holding her "candle" correctly? I was going through the piano bench the other day and found a copy of her first piano recital piece,"Joy to the World," from when she was about 10.

Four of the 5 kids one Christmas. Look at Andrea's smile, then go to her weblog and look at her picture of Vivian in her Christmas decorating blog. Vivi had an "Andrea smile," which is so unusual for her.

Mother of 5 smooth Stones (origin)

2008-12-16T13:13:00.000-08:00

Andrea was about 6 when she came home one night from Children's Church and announced that Goliath had 4 giant brothers. I had never heard of this before and had her show me in the Bible. She was right! She said that is why David chose "5 smooth stones" from the brook when he went against Goliath. It was not because he was afraid he would miss the first time. He knew God would guide his aim sure and true against Goliath. He was preparing in case those 4 brothers came after him, and he would have to slay them, too!

When we told Pastor Mike Sartin that Melanie (our fifth child) was on the way, his immediate response was,"Now you will have your 5 smooth stones to sling at the devil's kingdom!"

My husband and I are first generation UPC. I used to weep because I did not have the godly heritage so many have. One day, the Lord spoke to me and said,"Be the heritage you always wanted!" We now have a little 3rd generation UPC: Vivian Abigail Warren. We could not be prouder!!

Southern Comfort (not the whiskey!)

2008-12-15T13:36:00.000-08:00

He's my comfort when I'm lonely.
He's my shelter from the storm.
He's my manna when I'm hungry.
In the cold, He keeps me warm.

For the past couple days, I have been singing this little tune (under my breath since my family tells me to be quiet if I sing aloud!) I have just been caught up enjoying the amazing "I am-ness" of Jehovah!

He is my Savior, my Provider, my Healer, my Helper, my Friend, my Everything!

What do you need Him to be for you today? Ask Him. His answer is always "I Am!" Wrap yourself up in Him. You are the present He likes to give Himself!

Buy Nothing Christmas

2008-12-14T19:44:00.000-08:00

Last year, we got emails from Andrea about how she was thinking about what she wanted to instill in our granddaughter, Vivian, and was requesting we all agree to Buy Nothing Christmases in our extended family from here on out. She sent us this link:

http://www.buynothingchristmas.org/

So all through this year, we have been giggling and plotting and planning what we are going to make for do for each person on our list. It has been a real joy for me to be a part of this. It gets us all back on the focus of what Christmas truly is about.

May your Christmas be merry and bright and may you remember Jesus is the reason for the season!

Southern Ladies

2008-12-14T16:22:00.000-08:00

There is a song by LaRue called New Orleans Ladies where they sing:

All the way, from Bourbon Street to Esplanade,
They sashay by. Oh! they sashay by!

I think the South is the only place in the US where ladies still "sashay."

I have spent most of my life yearning to be the embodiment of a gracious lady. Miss Melly of _Gone with the Wind_ fame is a standard I dare to hope to achieve in my life. Real life women I admire include Sis. Gloria Sartin, Sis. Sandy Sartin, Sis. Vesta Mangun, Sis. Micky Mangun, the late Sis. Mildred Lewis, and the late Sis. Charlene Savoy. Each of these women remind me of what a lady is admonished to be like in the Bible. Yet, I find myself always more of a Scarlett O'Hara with my temper and my independence.

My daughters are my heroines as well. I see in each of them that perfect blend of graciousness and independence. Ladies of strength and dignity and graciousness. Andrea's quiet graciousness and unwavering integrity reminds me of that saying, Gentleness is a brick, covered in rich velvet. Tiffany is my fairy peacemaker, always wanting everyone to be comfortable and happy, ever eager to forgive, and quick with a smile and laugh to chase the blues away.. Melanie is my compassionate hostess, with a heart bigger than she is, who embraces all she meets and wraps them in her cloak of warmth.

Dragon Princesses

2008-12-13T22:32:00.000-08:00

"We must assume our existence as broadly as we in any way can; everything, even the unheard-of, must be possible in it. That is at bottom the only courage that is demanded of us: to have courage for the most strange, the most singular and the most inexplicable that we may encounter. (...) But fear of the inexplicable has not alone impoverished the existence of the individual (...) But only someone who is ready for everything, who excludes nothing, not even the most enigmatic, will live a relation to another as something alive and will himself draw exhaustively from his own existence. (...) We have no reason to mistrust our world, for it is not against us. Has it terrors, they are our terrors; has it abysses, those abysses belong to us; are dangers at hand, we must try to love them. And if only we arrange our life according to that principle which counsels us that we must always hold to the difficult, then that which now still seems to us the most alien will become what we most trust and find most faithful. How should we be able to forget those ancient myths that are at the beginning of all peoples, the myths about dragons that at the last moment of our lives are princesses; perhaps all the dragons of our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us once act beautiful and brave. Perhaps everything terrible is in its deepest being something helpless that wants help from us."

Rainer Maria Rilk (German poet) : "Letters to a Young Poet."

~~~

When I come across writing (such as the passage above) that moves me, I love to mull over it a few days.

My Sister's Keeper

2008-12-13T19:39:00.001-08:00

I started a new book today: _My Sister's Keeper_ by Jodi Picoult. I am not sure if I am ready emotionally to read it so it might take me longer than how I usually devour books. This is the story of Anna, a 13 year old girl in good health. She has been through repeated surgeries though. It seems Anna was "created" to be a donor to save her sister's life. Her sister has leukemia. Anna seeks to be emancipated from her family and the burden of saving her older sister.

With a Christian world view, my reactions to this are pretty strong. As a parent and as an advocate for children with special health care needs, my reactions are pretty strong. I wonder how this will all play out.

I have seen many siblings of those with special health needs, including those in my own family. The responses to being in such a family are varied. However, I can say the majority of those I have met in and out of the Christian mindset, all would do anything to help their siblings get better or do better. Many have given of themselves. Four of mine made several trips to the National Institutes of Health for brain scans and blood tests, participating in studies to understand brain disorders (mental illness) in children and adolescents. They knew their efforts could not help their brother, but their desire was to help other children and other families so maybe they would not have the sorrows we endured.

I cannot even imagine the pain of the parents in this book, and I will not judge their choices, having never walked in their shoes. I am thankful that cord blood banking makes such decisions less necessary.

I know Anna did not ask to be born or to be her sister's savior. That is a heavy burden for anyone, much less a child. The emotional pain of growing up in that spectre must be traumatic.

I have sat in genetic conferences where the ethics of genetic testing, genetic predesign, etc, have been debated. I have sat with parents who have had a child prediagnosed in utero as having a chromosomal anomaly and have been counseled by geneticists to abort. Being pro-life myself was not a good enough argument for these seeking parents. The best advice I could ever come up with was that having a child was a roll of the dice for anyone. You never know what you are going to have. The best you can do is pray for the strength you need to love them whoever and however they are, unconditionally.

I once told God if children with special needs had to be born, to please give them to me, because I would love them unconditionally no matter what. He must have thought I was nuts when I cried out in prayer years later with my son, "Why me?" He had just answered my prayers.

Though the path has been long and rocky at times, I do not regret it. Bishop Sartin often said suffering will put things in you and get things out of you that nothing else will. I can now say with my whole heart not just an "Amen" but also a "Selah."

Southern Delights

2008-12-12T19:49:00.000-08:00

I need only open my mouth and anyone who can hear me knows I am Southern!

So I decided to make my blog about things which delight me...hence the name Southern Delights.

Yesterday it was the snowfall here in New Orleans...a rare delight for sure! I hate the early onset of night in the winter, but I love the cold weather. I love snuggly things and being able to wear scarves, hats, and gloves. Another treat I love is being able to have a nice roaring fire. The first year we owned our home, it was a warm December where we had to run the air conditioning. I cranked it as high as my husband would let me, just so I could enjoy a nice fire and a pot of hot cocoa. I know he just shook his head at me in disbelief, but I was happy!

Hook Line and Sinker!

2008-12-12T12:42:00.000-08:00

Thanks, Andrea! I needed another hobby! Or so your sister Melanie tells me. I think she is tired of being the focus of my life since all of you grew up and left her here as the "baby" for the last what 7 years?

Anyway! This looks fun. We shall see!
~~

In other news, I am down 28 pounds after 2 months on Nutrisystem! Yay! There was even a lovely Thanksgiving holiday at Andrea's plus a day after feast at her Mother-in-Law's home to survive! I only gained 1 pound that weekend, but quickly lost it and a couple more! Now to survive Christmas. But I am ready with my sugar free goodies and hot cocoa, so bring it on!