Who dat?!

It's the little fan in his sister's hat, wearing his Reggie bush jersey under his Saints sweatshirt, getting all pumped up for Saturday. They are allowed to take a break from their school uniform and wear Saints' apparel today in anticipation of the playoff game tomorrow. Geaux Saints!

Top Ten

Thanks for the memories! For over six years, my home on the web was LifetimeMoments.com. Getting to know the wonderful owners of the scrapbook superstore, being invited to be a part of their design team, and working with the other very talented members of the team was was an awesome opportunity. With the sad news that the Lifetime Moments store, message board and gallery would be closing, I spent many hours perusing the site, revisiting my favorites gallery (filled with inspiration from other members of the DT and board), and transferring work of mine (scrapbook layouts, cards, and other paper art projects) back to my computer. I could hardly believe all the pages that I've done throughout the years! I picked out 10 of my favorite projects for 2009 to share once more:

The Monster In The Closet

On one of the coldest nights of the year, it decided to scare us. With four feet of smoke hanging from the ceiling in the den and the smoke alarm blaring, we shut off the heater, dialed 911, hurriedly dressed in warm clothes and opened all the doors. After welcoming a half dozen firemen into the house to check things out, we determined that nothing was (still) on fire but there were some serious malfunctions and we shouldn't run it until having the serviceman out...again. So we hit Target and WalMart to stock up on space heaters. Brrr!

Looking Back

Kevin, the last of five, came into this world on a frigid January morning in 2000. Boy was that life changing...again. The diapers, the colic, the middle of the night feedings!

Julie graduated from Mount Carmel Academy, spent a semester at Ole Miss, and returned home to finish her education. Home sweet home.

We took the kids to Disney World where all 7 of us crammed into a Wilderness cabin! The Murphy bed, waiting at the rope, Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear again...and again...and again, Rockin' Roller Coaster with my eyes shut, Laura winning at Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Good times.

Kevin and I attended I to I (Infancy to Independence), a moms and baby/toddler play group. He loved their marble maze, snack time, and swinging and sliding outside. Field trips included the zoo and Sesame Street Live.

We discovered Christian Brothers School, and their motto, "Your sons into young men, young men into Christian gentlemen." We couldn't have chosen a better middle school for Christopher. Go Falcons!

I discovered scrapbooking, and had many of my pages published in various books and magazines. For over 6 years, I designed for Lifetime Moments scrapbook store, while my supply stash grew and grew. :)

Elmwood Fitness Center. Spinning class. Cafe Zucchini. Swim lessons for Kevin.

Tommy discerned and was accepted into the Diaconate formation program for the Archdiocese of New Orleans. He attended classes twice a week.

Kevin attended preschool at St. Ann. He returned for his first two days of Kindergarten and then...

Hurricane K atrina devastated New Orleans. We couldn't go home for 3 weeks. 5 kids at 5 schools...all affected. Luckily, we got Kevin into St. Rita's kindergarten class. Christopher attended Christian Brothers' afternoon program (noon-6) held on the Rummel campus until they went back to their City Park campus in November 2005. Brendan was registered for Rummel's morning platoon (6-noon) until Brother Martin returned to New Orleans in January 2006. Laura and Julie signed up for the University of New Orleans internet classes...and liked them so much that they continued to schedule online classes for most of their studies!

I volunteered with Habitat for Humanity. I filed, wrote thank-you's, processed applications, and solicited donations of materials for the Construction Manager.

Award trip travels: a Caribbean cruise, Puerto Rico, a Mediterranean cruise, an Alaskan cruise, and the Bahamas! Such luxury at a great price...FREE!

The kids enjoyed vacationing at the beach with their cousins. Riding the waves, kayaking, surfing, sunning, eating, playing Chicken Foot and Balderdash. Poker tournaments late into the night. Uncle Chris' beach hikes.

Two university diplomas showed up in our mailbox during this decade. Neither Laura nor Julie were interested in attending their graduation ceremonies. No matter...they did it!

I emailed and called my congresspersons. I wrote letters to the editor and had a couple published in The Times Picayune. I co-facilitated a social justice "formation class" and the "graduates" formed a Social Justice Committee in our parish. Our first venture was a Fair Trade Fair.

Christopher, while at Jesuit High School, joined the Cross Country team and spent most fall afternoons at practice, Saturdays at meets. He took the PSAT as a sophomore and college mail filled a shopping bag. He took it again as a junior and we're waiting to hear...

Tommy was ordained to the Permanent Diaconate and was assigned to our parish of St. Ann, and to Holy Cross High School as a co-chaplain.

Brendan graduated from Brother Martin High School. He volunteered and trained with the Third District Fire Department and now hopes to get into an upcoming NOFD recruit class. WTG!

Kevin tested for Christian Brothers School in December of 2009. Crossing fingers...

And that's the decade in a nutshell.

Here's to a healthy and prosperous new decade for our family and friends!

Cousins

My parents have fourteen grandkids (five of them mine), and THIS was the first time I can remember having them all together in the same place at the same time! Mark was home from college. Olivia was visiting for Christmas. And no one was working or made other plans.


Smile! Out of a dozen photos, there wasn't a single one with everyone smiling and/or looking at the camera, so I took the best picture, merged it with part of another, and you can't tell one bit. We REALLY need to find a better spot next time, but we knew the light was nice under the tree and there was no time to search out another location. The natives were getting restless as it was. :)

Cemeteries...Again

My youngest sister came to visit during the Christmas holidays and, like last year, we ended up at a cemetery. Or three. But this year it was less of a sight-seeing adventure and more of a recconnaissance mission to locate my grandparents' plot at Greenwood Cemetery. Found it:



Our next mission would be to find a restaurant without an hour long wait. One that served gumbo. Mandina's-X. Liuzza's-Check! We were squished between the bar, the video poker booth and some unfortunate family with a table by the door, while we waited almost 30 minutes to be seated. Why did everyone in the world want to eat out on this random Tuesday, I'll never know. Thankfully, a party of 9 were a no show and we happily took their place, with the addition of an extra chair. Frosty mug sodas. Fried green tomatoes appetizer. Cream of shrimp and artichoke soup. Boiled shrimp po-boy. Yum!


Next stop-Fulton St., downtown New Orleans, where it snows every hour on the hour. (If you squint and use your imagination, those tiny soap bubble clusters can look as much like snow as anything else in this semi-tropical locale.)

Walking Through a Winter Wonderland!

Christmas Eve Rainbow

Towards the end of a dreary, rainy afternoon, this is what appeared, a beautiful double rainbow. It began over a neighbors house and ended over our garage. I wonder if we'll find a pot of gold inside!