hamburger or hot dog?

I would say that this week..... I prefer......

HAMBURGER!!!!

Yes that is right, as of today it seems that our

Eskimo Pie/peefly

is a little bitty, sweet and precious little girl.

(sorry BFOB, I think you were wrong)

Kd and baby boy went in Tuesday night

where her brothers girlfriend, Rachel, works

and they did a non-formal ultrasound.

There baby boy saw it, a hamburger...

three little lines where a hot dog would have been

had the Eskimo pie been a boy.

The phone rang on Tuesday night at 11:30pm

and what I heard was:

"IT'S A GIRRRLLL"

In BB's sing-song voice that I love to hear.

BB was so animated, talking about how

big her head was and how she was doing back flips

inside of KD.

Already I know that my baby boy is in trouble...

already in love, already wrapped...

I mean he is enamored by her little back flips

in the womb, just think what he will be like when

she says "DEDA" for the first time.

Kd, Kd, well she thought she wanted a little boy,

really she said it often, it was known to everyone

who knows her that she wanted a boy.

Until, of course, she viewed the little

gymnast in her womb.

It took all of 5 seconds for her to change her mind

as it happens with all of us.

Talking to her last night I asked her

what were her thoughts and she said

that she thought she wanted a boy but the minute she

heard a girl she thought of dresses, tu-tu's and nail polish.

Hmmmm BB may wish he had a boy since it

would probably have been cheaper.

So Eskimo Pie is growing perfectly and all looks

so darn good and Kd is taking such good care of

herself and BB is trying not to complain at

how long he has to wait at the doctors offices...

All is going well in the baby making business

we have already talked to Tie about a camouflage

tutu since she makes tutu's...

as for this Mumsie?

Absolutely, totally in love with all involved

and remembering the days when I carried

my own hamburger and hot dog inside of me.

what to do, what to do...

Want to blog this now while all I have heard

today from Dr. Marino is fresh in my mind.

I also want to apologize to any blog followers

that may be bored with all this medical mumbo-jumbo.

Yet, when I decided to share all of this it is also

for the reason that one day, someone may need to hear

about these struggles and will gain answers, inspiration

from this journey my life has been.

So If you are bored, I give you permission to move on...

After much study and discussion of all my past surgical

and medical issues, after reviewing my CT scan of the

last partial bowel obstruction I had Dr. Marino decides

that he feels confidant that he and Dr. Donner can

proceed with attempting to fix this Pars defect of

the spine by going through the abdomen.

I share with him all my fears about the bowel issues

I have had and he lays it on the line.

Doesn't tell me anything I don't know already.

There are no guarantees and I could have bowel problems

but he promised that if he makes that initial incision

and it looks as though this will become a major

surgery he will close me up and not proceed with the back surgery.

It is what I wanted to hear. He has my confidence.

He feels encouraged because the back problem is fixed from

the left side and I have no issues from the left side.

However I do have my only kidney and ureter on

the left side and although the kidney will not be

involved, the ureter will have to be moved aside.

Now I have to go and see My pal and family doctor,

Camille Pitre to get her input then back to see Dr. Donner

to ask more questions I have then it seems like I

am going to go ahead with this last chance for

having the quality of life I want.

I am encouraged, I am scared.

They have told me that the initial pain will be bad

but they will help me with that. As most surgeries

there are no guarantees. There is that risk that the surgery will

not be able to be done or that the pain will not be relieved

but I have belief that this surgery will give me a life again.

That I will return to work better than now and be able

to continue to work in a field I have loved from

the very first day I started at the young age

of 18. Pray for me, pray for the doctors,

pray for God's will as I move on into this

scary world of back surgery.

FEMMES NATALES RUNABOUT

This weekend our community once again

saw the outpouring of love and support of

the organization called FEMMES NATALES.

Yes, on Saturday morning many met at Peltier Park

all in the name of Gina B. my dear friend who has

Lou Gehrig's disease.

Although I didn't make the race itself,

my school of TES reached out and campaigned to

make sure this years race was the very best.

The organization gives 100% of their earnings to

the family who has been picked for the year.

I do not know what the total raising was but

I hear it was one of the best years yet.

Why? Probably because Gina B. has meant so much

to so many. This quiet, kind teacher has reached so many lives

that everyone wanted to do their part to help her.

This is one way that she could be helped.

Early in Gina B's journey, before we knew where this road

was going to take her, we prayed for a remission of sorts.

Where the "devil disease" would go into a remission and

slow it's progression. We just knew she would be that one

that had a good 10 years before she had to think of

needing daily help.

It was clear earlyon, that this devil was not going to give her that.

Still, Gina B. at first was having trouble accepting help

from others. She and I spoke about how she didn't feel at the

time that she needed any help from outside, from the

community. I laid it on the table for her and she cried.

I said, " Gina B. this is not fair to us who want to help.

I know that if anyone else in your large circle of friends

had gotten this diagnosis rather than you, you would be

the first to be figuring out what could be done for the person.

You would be using any free minute to help this person yet,

here you are being the one who needs the help and you

are denying us in helping. You are stopping others from

doing God's work, you are stopping us from being the

disciple that God demands from us."

She cried, my Gina B. because sometimes I am a little rough

with my honesty. I believe she cried though because she

knew what I was speaking was the truth.

I am not sure if this conversation had anything to do with

her change of heart but not long after this our Gina B.

admitted to many "I HAVE ALS, LOU GEHRIG'S"

and help poured from every crack and crevice of our

community. Femmes Natales was only one of the

miracles that have transpired.

If you are asking "What can I do?"

Well, you can pray, pray for my dear friend Gina B.

who most days has a new struggle to face yet

always, always has a smile on her face.

Is always teaching us how to face a day the way

God is asking us to do.

If you are in a position to donate even one trip

to the McDonald's drive up,

there is an account at every Capitol One Bank.

Simply go there and give her name"

Gina Hebert Bonvillain Blanchard

and donate.

Also, when Gina B. was first diagnosed I started a letter

campaign for all to flood the mail carriers with

cards of well-wishes to our Gina B.

she loves getting these cards and saves each and every one.

Drop a card to Gina B. even if you don't know her personally.

Keep the mail system in business since I hear they are facing cuts

GINA BLANCHARD

306 BAYOU RESERVE

THIBODAUX, LOUISIANA 70301

Have your children do art work and send it to her.

She saves each and every one of them.

Most important of all spoken of?

Well, Gina B. says that would be prayers....

pray for God's will, for one of those miracle we read

about in the Bible, for acceptance for whatever may come.

Thanks for all you may do to help my friend,

Gina B.

IT'S NOT EVERY DAY YOU TURN 92

On October 1st my Uncle Luke turned 92.

Yesterday our family was invited to my cousin, Chris' house

here in Thibodaux to celebrate.

Because the rest of the siblings were all tied up I was

fortunate enough to be the one to take Mumsie to

be with her brother.

It could not have come at a better time since

lately she has been talking a lot about him and

saying she misses him and has been dreaming about him.

My cousins didn't tell Uncle Luke that Mumsie was coming,

she was the surprise and just like each time they are together,

he got teary-eyed when he saw her and they hugged like

they hadn't seen each other in years.

They were so cute together, if he sat in the kitchen, she sat

in the kitchen. If he sat to watch the Saints game, she did also.

Probably just like the little children they were, she was

the baby sister, the tag-a-long.

My second and third cousins, Uncle Luke's grandchildren

and great grandchildren were there to share the day.

This picture shows Celeste dragging little Luke down

the steps because he didn't want to join in the blessings.

He reminds me much of our Owen.

Father Dean came to celebrate and so our blessing

was extra special.

Uncle Luke does 92 really well.

I hope if I got their genetic make up that I carry it as

well as he does.

90 and 92, 182 years between the both of them.

They are so darn cute together.

Uncle Luke asks Mumsie,

"What happened to your hair"

"My hair?" she asks, "What is wrong with my hair?"

"It's all white"

Mumsie in her cute sassy voice,

"Huh, at least I have hair"

My cousin, Chris who is also principal of St. Genevieve

Catholic school also has this awesome house and yard.

A home she and her husband, Jimmy and the daddy's built

to look like an old Cajun home.

I was in love with the scenery.

This is an old storage building that they had moved there.

It would be my dream home if it were on the lake where

I will spend my retirement years.

Her greenhouse is made all of old window panes, lovely,

simply lovely...

I always tease my Uncle Luke that I am his favorite

niece and he always goes along with the joke...

so maybe it's true.

We are never together where he doesn't share

an Uncle Freddie, my daddy, story.

Yesterday the story is

Uncle Freddie he was a special kind of man.

Often he would tell my Uncle Luke,

"Luke, those kids of mine, they drive me crazy,

but I love them, each and every one of those

kids of mine"

What a great day it was.

IT'S NOT EASY BEING A SUPERHERO

Yes, It is not easy being a superhero.

This week I am called to a classroom where a good

teacher holds a little one in her lap.

There on his forehead is a huge lump.

It seems like he ran into play equipment at recess

and now has a hematoma.

I take him with me to my office.

I already know that a bump this large on the head

will call for a parent pick up. He will have

to be watched closer than what we can do here at school.

Nap time is not convenient for a child with a bump on his head.

I call his good mother and she is on her way.

We go upstairs to await his parent.

This is how the conversation goes...

(SH will be his word, super hero)

SH: I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW THIS HAPPENED

ME: IT'S OKAY MY LOVE IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT

SH: NO I WAS A SUPERHERO, SUPERHERO'S DON'T

HAVE ACCIDENTS"

ME: WELL I THINK YOU WERE STILL A SUPERHERO

YOU HAD A SERIOUS BUMP AND YOU DIDN'T CRY

SH: (looking at me as though I know nothing about superheros)

SUPERHERO'S CRY THAT IS NOT WHY I DIDN'T CRY

ME: WOW, YOU ARE PRETTY STRONG, WHY DIDN'T YOU CRY?

SH: WHY I DIDN'T CRY? THAT IS EASY.

I DIDN'T WANT TO GET ANY TEARS ON THIS NEW

NEW UNIFORM PANTS"

Well, that is so simple coming from a superhero, I

should have known that.

So from now on, I am going to try and be a superhero.

Just like I am listening to Joel Olsteen right now,

I am going to see and speak of myself well.

I am going to have the mind of a superhero.

No time for tears, can't stain a uniform with tears.