December the first

The hustle and bustle of Christmas really begins the day after

Thanksgiving but steps up a notch when December 1st.

This year, gifts are going to be minimum.

Something to be used for spending time together.

The words of the Grinch come to mind:

"IT CAME WITHOUT RIBBONS, IT CAME WITHOUT TAGS

IT CAME WITHOUT PACKAGES, BOXES OR BOWS."

THEN THE GRINCH THOUGHT OF SOMETHING HE 

HADN'T BEFORE...

"MAYBE CHRISTMAS," HE THOUGHT,

"DOESN'T COME FROM A STORE.

MAYBE CHRISTMAS, PERHAPS MEANS A LITTLE BIT MORE."

That old Grinch, he became a smart lil guy by the last page.

So as we all settle in to the pressures of gift giving and how will

we be able to see everyone we love and want to spend time with,

lets not loose sight of the true meaning of Christmas.

Let forgiveness be one of your gifts to someone who may need it.

Put the pain of a hurt aside for good and move forward.

Gift yourself with a healthier life and putting negative thoughts

away. Give yourself the gift of finding your own true happiness

even if it doesn't come right away,

"fake it till you make it"

A sad day for the Rousse's

I have been incognito for days as the pain of winter 

had me down for a few.

I am feeling better but sad that I am not well enough

to make the 4 hour ride to the funeral of a great man today.

Menton Rousse, my sister C, and brother-in-law Ted's daddy.

MY nephews were blessed in a way that I nor my children never were.

With the knowledge of what a real grandfather was.

When he was well, there was nothing this grandfather would not have

done for any of his children or grandchildren.

It was not unusual for him to babysit a grandchild or two if they 

were sick from school. He loved his family so much.

C commented that he had been her daddy longer than our own father had been.

We lost our daddy at the age of 20 and 22 so our children

never got to know him.

Mr. Menton, that was an example of a true grandfather and father.

He was not my father in law but treated me just as he would treat C.

Always kind and funny with my own children.

I am sad today for them.

For my brother in law, Ted, being the baby who's

daddy always was there for him, who began a plumbing business

many years ago which became Ted's living and now is passed

down to another generation, to Kris.

What an honor Ted and Kris are doing in their father's name

not to mention the gift of giving an established business to his 

son and grandson.

This business is proudly still called Rousse Plumbing and I

don't think that name will ever change, in memory of a terrific man.

Ted was his baby and when we were younger, when he and C

were first married, there was nothing TEd needed or wanted

that this man would not provide for. The epitome of a daddy.

There are also Myron and Meryl, Trudy and Bob.

All the grandchildren who was loved by this man.

A close knit family that should be so proud of all of themselves

for the love and attention Mr. Menton was given in his last 

few years and harder months.

Mrs. Rose, will be lost for some time as they have always

been the type of marriage that did everything together.

Yet, I believe in some ways the whole family has some relief

that his suffering is over.

It's a time for believing in Heaven and knowing

the Big Man has control over the situation.

I am sad that I can't be there, really am because

he was an important man to me also.

His brother died a few years ago and since then 

a piece of Mr. Menton was missing, he spoke of him often

and I do believe he was never really well again after that loss.

That is what the love of a sibling can do to you sometimes.

I know the Rousse family will feel comfort knowing that the brothers

are together once again and that we will all miss him but in Heaven

there is no sense of time so he will be there waiting for the rest when

their time comes. 

Love to all of you, wish so badly I could be there for all of you.

C, Ted, Arthur and Kris,

my love to each of you on this very hard day.

Rest in Peace, Heaven rejoices.

Happy Thanksgiving

Yes, it is that time of year again, 

time when so many say exactly what they are thankful for.

Seems as though this time last year just passed.

I have so much to be thankful for as this year has been

a hard one with many changes and yet, here I am, here we are,

celebrating another Thanksgiving.

Baby boy is offshore so it will be a quiet one

with gypsy baby, myself and HOBL for lunch

and Kd and Bean coming for supper.

Tiffy and Tedi-girl will be coming this afternoon for a few

days of studying for Tif, shopping for Tedi-girl and I.

The next month will be full of hustle and bustle of holiday 

preparations.

Today take a little bit of time to be thankful for all that makes you happy.

Leave the bad parts out, look at the negatives as being gone, gone, gone.

I am thankful for HOBL being discharged from his doctor

with his broken back being completely healed.

I am thankful for gypsy baby, who shows me every

day another way to live. Who can always put a smile on my face.

I am thankful for Baby boy and the way he looks after HOBL and I

now that we are living close.

I am thankful for KD who is such a friend to me,

always remembers to thanks me for all I do for Bean even though

it is not necessary. 

I am thankful for my big, big, family. We are all so different

from each other but the one thing we all know is that 

we all love each other so much.

I am thankful for another year with my Mommy,

even though her memory is worse than ever, she still

is cute and funny.

I am thankful for the over abundance of friends I have,

I am blessed with so many. Each one is

special to me in different ways, for different reasons.

Last but not least, so, so thankful for Bean.

There are many times this year that she has been the one to get

me out of a funk, stop focusing on myself and remember what

a gem she is. As she grows and her little personality shows itself 

more and more, I like her more.

She is the very best for us, I love spending any time I can with her.

I can't wait to see her this evening as one day without seeing her

seems like a year. We moved here, to Plaquemine to be closer to her

and I can't even think of what our relation would be like had we still

been in Thibodaux. I want her to know me well, I want that as she gets

older, if she says, "I want to go to Mumsie's" it's not an hour away

but a mere 5 minutes. Without her this year, I am not sure if I would have

gotten through this year as I have.

I miss my job, I miss working but that is getting easier and I am thankful 

for that also. 

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Thoughts of Jade

I don't know why buy for the last months or so

I have been thinking so much of my elementary friend, Jade

who died a few years ago of round two of breast cancer.

I blogged about her when she died in October two years ago.

We had just again made contact with each other via Facebook

when she found she was faced with cancer again.

I still have her private message to me about her cancer

on my Facebook page because I don't have the heart to erase it.

It is like still having a part of her still with me.

It is a strange thing, friendships as for many many years

we had not spoken or probably thought of each other.

Thanksgiving is here and for whatever reason, Jade has been on my mind.

I think of her two children, Holly and Jake and wonder how

they are fairing. Sometimes I still visit her fb page and

there her little daughter will post something or her

husband will place a writing there.

I believe in life after death and I believe that there

is always a reason of why someone who has passed is on our minds.

I don't always know why. I think during this Thanksgiving time

it may be to remind me that although winter is hard on my body,

I am alive and have to be thankful for that as Jade would

love to still be here with her family and her children.

That she would put the pain aside that she may have

and put a smile on her face to make the holidays wonderful 

for her children. Sometimes I need to be reminded

that the very things that cause my issues now are the 

very same things that are the reason for my life.

On hard days, Jade's 4th grade picture comes into my mind.

It comes to remind me that I need to be thankful for all of it,

for the hard times, the good times, all the times.

For her memory, I am thankful.
(Jade is bottom row, 5th from left)
( my two besties are also in here, bottom row number 4 is Ann,
bottom row right near my Aunt Tim, is Laurie, I am
sitting right next to Laurie)

oh yes she did!!!

Baby boy posted something on facebook to the effect,

"Who ever thought you could be so proud because someone pooped in toilet"

Yep, our Bean seems as though she will just be no trouble

to potty train as she basically asked Kd

for the potty and did her business.

When my baby came  out of diapers I remember two 

feelings at the same time.

One, it was like getting a raise as diapers are so expensive.

Then the second thought was,

"Time for another one"

Don't know if the other Riera couple had that thought

but to say we are all so proud of our Bean for pooping 

on the potty is an understatement.

The older she gets the easier she becomes.

Oh and that smile, and the way she looks at you from the corner

of her eyes just melts all of us.

She is growing so fast, continuing to bring us

happiness every day.

 She is very independent but so loving at the same time.

She will greet you with big hugs and kisses always

and she has a way of softly kissing everything her hands

touch that make her happy.

Everything gets kissed, everything from the 

little babies she loves to the ducks her daddy killed.

 She calls me "Musie" right now, hasn't mastered the whole Mumsie name

but when she calls me, "Musie!" I know it's me she is calling.

She continues to amaze us every day.

We are some lucky, lucky people we are.