IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD

There is very little that Hillary Clinton ever did or said

that I admired... Except the one statement

she alway quoted:

IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD

If there was ever one of us that was

raised by this motto more than another it was Minta.

Now Minta and I are here to prove to all of you

a spoiled rotten child will not always grow up to 

be a irresponsible adult.

Minnie came into our family when Mone was

40 and Joe was 48.

I was 16 and was so excited to have another niece.

She was connected at all of our hips.

I often compare her to those stuffed monkeys with the

long arms and legs that velcro around your neck and waist.

You didn't have to hold her, she just hung on.

It didn't matter who you were as long as you were family

and willing to hold her, she clung to you.

If you put her down she cried until the next person picked her up.

She was so tiny we all loved wearing her around.

Joe could not tell this girl no, I don't think she heard the word

until her Dad died when she was 9.

I can't speak for anyone else but I remember when Joe died 

I felt so sorry for Minnie and made a conscious decision

to be special in her life and to help Mone in any way I could.

I think many of us did.

Was that a good thing? At the time we weren't sure but

just a year later when Mone found out she had cancer,

Minnie was already used to being with all of us.

So the Collins "village" all came up to the plate

to make sure that this girl of ours would be okay.

We took her everywhere, made sure she ate, went to school,

Mom mostly took care of Mone while we took turns taking 

care of Minta. Oh, and sometimes the girl could drive you crazy.

Many days after school she would come to my house and

many days she had conduct slips for talking or not 

staying in her desk, when I would question her about it 

she'd be saying she didn't know what was wrong with her teacher.

The girl HATED, HATED school,

how ironic she would be a teacher.

Once Mone was better, Minnie still expected us all to do for her

and I didn't mind... well sometimes I did mind.

Like when Mone would call to see if I could go pick her

up at South Lafourche, sometimes to myself I would

think, why doesn't that girl take the bus?

So I would stop what I was doing to drive to school 

and the minute I would see her with that big smile 

I would take back all the negative thoughts I had.

You see, that is how she won us all over, she was just so darn cute!!!

Then when she became a teenager, she loved hanging out at my

house. She and Roddie were 6 years apart and they both

loved horror movies. She would come over for one night to 

watch scary movies with Roddie and wouldn't leave.

I remember one summer I had to ask her if she was going to 

go home or should we go pack so she could move in.

At that time, however, I had grown to love her company.

It was a break from staying home with two rug rats all day.

She helped entertain my kids and many nights, I would go to 

bed and listen to she and Roddie talking about all kinds of things.

She was a good influence on him, he loved it when she would come sleep.

So, once again, time has played that trick on us and

the little spoiled girl is now about to have her own baby.

Because of our village, she has grown into this beautiful young

wife who is going to be a wonderful mother.

She asked me at Christmas time if she could name her 

baby daughter, Lillian,

"What? Are you Kidding me?"

What an honor that she and Duane would love my 

name enough to honor me with naming their

first born Lillian.

Yes, this child will be born into this village we call family

and with her wonderful parents, we will be

there to support them on their journey with

this baby girl.

It takes a village to raise a child 

I am so glad that I have been a part of this village.

THE OLD SWIMMING HOLE

Okay family, time to reminisce about 

the old swimming hole....

Weren't we so lucky to have this pool in our backyard?

So there is me in my pj's probably still 

recovering from chemo. or radiation.

Then there is mom holding Tiffy and

Aunt Lee-Lee in the black suit.

I think I don't know the two boys

One looks like it may be Reggie

or maybe Aunt Ella's kids.

Who is the man sitting in the back shielding his eyes

and the little boy sitting on

the box?

NOW, LET YOUR IMAGINATION GO BACK....

Back to your favorite memories of the pool.

I have so many...

Remember Dad would never swim but every

year on July 3rd, he and Uncle Luke would

come back from the Tarpon Rodeo 

and he would entertain us by jumping in usually 

with all his clothes on.

Every year he'd tell us he wouldn't do it then

he'd just dive in!

Oh how I loved that!

I remember eating watermelon so many times on the patio.

I remember the psychodelic patterned paint 

we had on that patio.

I remember staying in that thing from morning until night.

I remember Todd hanging out by the fence just

waiting for Dad to invite him in and I loved it 

when Daddy would make him suffer sometimes 

because he had everything and bragged about everything

but he didn't have a pool.

I remember Uncle Luke not knowing Tie didn't know how to swim

and he threw her in.... I think she is still afraid of water because of that.

I remember how messy our yard was but every year the pool

was cleaned, painted and ready for us kids.

I remember playing the flip game, who could make the most

flips without coming up for air.

I remember playing Marco Polo for hours.

I remember singing songs underwater so others could guess what

the song was.

I remember VOLLEYBALL, OH how much fun was that when

we would all play.

I remember Dad putting fish in there during the winter

and C.J. fishing in there until Dad swore

he had pulled their mouths out from catching them so often.

I remember C putting her alligator in there, what was his name, Pish?

We didn't have a lot of money but

we had a lot of fun in that pool.

Waiting to hear ya'll memories.

This should fill up with comments!!!

We were so lucky!

LOVE IS IN THE AIR

I just had to share this most beautiful picture

taken at Roddie's outdoor party 

by my friend Patty.

The girl cutie is my pal, Stacy's

little miracle of a child

and the handsome little boy is none other

than our own...

OWEN PLAISANCE!!!!

Now you must know that Owen does

not laugh like this for no reason.

He must have really been impressed by 

little Abby.

Owen is growing up so fast as he reminds 

me each time he sees me,

"You know, Aunt Lil, I am now a whole hand"

Which means he is 5 years old.

I guess that means he is now old enough to 

come sleep at my house this summer....

This picture has now became my screen saver,

every time I see it I put a big smile on my face,

it's the way I want to start every day.

Love these two cuties!!!!!

ABBY CLAIRE DUPIERRE

I found out yesterday that Abby won

over-all achiever in 4-H for the year.

This is a big achievement since it was overall of

all the elementary and middle school students

and she is only a 4th grader!!!!!

So I thought now would be a good time

to share on what I know and believe to be true about

Abby Claire...

When Abby was younger, we lived in the same street 

and we spent a lot of time together.

She was the only one out of the little ones

who I could let come in my playroom where

I built dollhouses because she understood

gentle and understood at a very young age

what delicate meant. She'd come up there with 

me and we would talk about all kinds of things

some of it I didn't understand and most of it I did.

After a while, I understood all of Abby language.

Her Daddy, my nephew, Guy has been such a good

Daddy to her and opened her life to all kinds of things.

Like if Abby asked, how does a carrot grow, instead of

telling her, they would clean a row to plant, 

and plant and nurture that carrot until it grew.

He did this with all things. I know many times

this must have driven Lisa crazy because Guy

wasn't the type to clean up after himself, just the teaching

part for Abby.

The good part about Lisa is that she always allowed it

and because of their wonderful parenting, Abby is the

most well-rounded, modest child and it is

why she has achieved this 4-H honor at such a young age.

She is modest, will never brag about herself.

When I saw her at a birthday party yesterday

she gave me big hugs and kisses and moved on

to play and nurture the little kids 

never mentioning her award. Her Mom

had to tell me about it. This she gets from

her Dad.....

She is the one out of all the little ones

who reminds me the most of Jesi as

a younger girl.

They are comfortable in their own skin

and really do not care who likes that skin

or not. They feel if you have a problem

with them then it is you own problem

and they don't have time for you.

What an honor it is to call 

ABBY CLAIRE DUPIERRE

my niece.

TEDI GIRL

TEDI GIRL 

I love my Tedi-girl!!!

She is the cutie in the yellow shirt 

and I don't know what she did or said to

make aunt C choke with laughter

but whatever is was you know it was

funny because that girl is a hoot!

Tedi is my third godchild.

Her, mom, Tiffy and I were raised

more like sisters than aunt and niece.

When I was raising my two little ones

Tiff was trying hard to become a momma

and it just didn't happen and I remember being

so sad for her because she wanted a baby, to be

a mommy so bad. 

Then, just when she believed that part of

her life was over, here came Tedi.

I never saw two women happier than Tiffy and Ronnie.

I was asked to be this beautiful child's godmother

and how lucky I have felt since.

One thing Tiffy has done to the best

of her ability is raising this little girl

who is soon to be a teenager.

Tedi is the sweetest, funniest girl I know.

She has the heart of gold and wears it 

on her sleeve. Even when I go into

the public and people realize she is my godchild

they tell me what a treasure she is and

my heart is so full of love for this girl.

She is the most forgiving child and loves

her life. She is always seeing the good

in everyone, even those who don't always 

deserve it. We all learn from children like

Tedi. I so love it when she comes and

spends time with me, we are more like friends than

old lady vs. young teen.

Her momma is a wonderful momma,

just look at the product of her hard work...

TEDI GIRL