Christening of grandson number 4. Daylon Lane Gonzales on Sunday Oct. 25, 2009. Godmother is Lisa Lombardo and Godfather is Travis Fields. Father was the priest from St. Philomena Church in Labadieville.

Here is my Cajun Football hero. He played in his first game this past Saturday and his team won. I was so proud of him because it was soooooooo hot and soooooooo humid and he played the entire game. He was good and I enjoyed it . It had started at 9:00 a.m. and went into 3 overtimes. Great game.

These wonderful fragrant vinning white flowers are cascading over the briers and bushes along the bayou side , They look like a dusting of snow in the middle of summer. I had to stop and photograph them . The aroma was flowing out into the heat waves and surrounded you in sweetness.

This is the 4th grandson, Daylon Lane Gonzales who will be 1 year old on the 25th of August. He is walking now and like my other grandsons, his favorite bathing place is the kitchen sink. I think they like the idea they can reach the knobs and the faucet. He is like his dad and his brother before him in that he is smiling all the time. He was home this last weekend and is coming back this coming weekend.

AREN'T THESE OLD HOUSES REALLY NEAT. I LOVE THE DETAIL WORK ON EACH AND THE COLORS . THESE WERE HOMES IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE MY GRANDMA LIVED. I USED TO WALK PAST THESE HOUSES ON MY WAY TO HER HOUSE. IT IS WONDERFUL TO SEE THEM SO UPDATED AND BEAUTIFUL. I THINK SOME OF THE NEIGHBORS THOUGHT I WAS "SCOPING OUT THE PLACES".

Look at my future football hero. Tate Fields will be playing football for Chackbay. He loves the sport and his dad is helping coach him. I have to get to one of these practices.

42nd wedding anniversary

It is 42 years on August 5th that Samuel and I are married. The time has flown by. Lot of memories . It has been good.

Now you meet all the grand kids. Daylon Lane is on the lower right (1 yr. old in Aug.) Tate and Taylor on the lower left (7-3) , Upper right in the background is Brody John and on the upper left is Kelse (Tammy's daughter). We were all on Lake Verret this past Saturday on the party barge to spend the day with Samuel for his birthday that was earlier this week. We had a good time but gosh was it hot. The kids rode on the raft behind the boat and were able to be in the water but the rest of us were on the barge. Jr. and his family returned home afterwards and so did we. I think we were all burned out. Hopefulluy we'll see them again next weekend.

4TH OF JULY WEEKEND

I spent the 4th with my son on his new Party Barge. We participated in the poker run on Lake Verrett. We missed the contest by being late to the last stop but the day was still fun. The kids enjoyed the raft and so did some of the adults. I just enjoyed the boat and the breeze. It got awfully hot at one point and I almost wanted a dunking in the bayou. We got back home by 6:oo p.m. and went to the firework display in Thibodaux. It was a busy weekend and dry one. No rain even though we need it desperately.

These are the two little rats that have been sharing my bed for a week. Their mother came home today and they are all hers again. They missed her. Last night Taylor started crying cause his legs hurt and he had cramps in his calfs from bike riding and swiming . I massaged him and thried to get him to sleep. He stated asking for his mom and he was so sad. Then Tate started crying and I told him he was faking it cause of his brother. He said, "No maw maw , I really am crying this time cause I miss my mama too.". Well that did it , I started crying to and there we were sitting in my bed all three crying. I finally got control and wrapped my arms around Taylor and we slept off and on till 5:30 this morning when he really fell into a deep sleep. I had to go to work for 8:00 so I was up at 6:30 A.M. I am bushed and am going to bed right now. The boys are back with their mom and dad.

PROMISES....PROMISES

With these threatening clouds you would think that we would have had a down pour today. Not hardly a drop. There was a slight ....very slight drizzle in the driveway right before dark. Well I have Tate and Taylor here and they are driving us crazy so its bath time. Good night chat later.

GRANDCHILD NUMBER 4

This is Daylon Lane Gonzales the second child on my son Samuel F. Gonzales Jr. He is now 10 months , old has 4 teeth and is trying his best to walk. He spent the weekend here and was a real delight. He has a smile all the time and is so loverable.

NEW FRIEND-AUTHOR DON STANFORD

I have met another Louisiana author. He is Don Stanford and he wrote "Southern Kingdom". He says there is a sequel to follow and maybe even a third. I have started the book and it seems very good. I'll report again after i fininsh it. I took my photo and have added him to my collection.

Monday News Catch Up

What a weekend. Sam Jr. and his family came for a visit. Daylon Lane is getting so big and that child always has a smile. Just like his older brother used to be. I also went to a book signing on Saturday at Cherry's Book Store. I will post the photo tonight. My daughter left Saturday for Atlanta to attend a school conference and her two boys 7 and 3 are staying with Sam and I. He has them while I am at work . Its going to be an interesting week.

SISTER BONDING WEEKEND #3

These pictures should say it all. We had a great weekend from Thursday June 11 to the 14th at Doc's camp. For those that don't know , my boss loans me his camp for the second weekend in June when he goes to Florida. My sisters (5) and myself use this weekend to camp by ourselves. No men allowed. It is a bonding weekend where we do everything ourselves, fish, clean the fish, cook, or just sit back and have fun. We were to "chicken" to swim in the bayou after we saw the snake and alligators so this year we brought kiddie pools and filled them with water and sat them in a row on the deck and each had a pool to cool off in and chat. We enjoyed watching the boats pass though we are sure they thought us crazy. Who cared. We had such a great time. On Saturday we went on to Gros's place to listen to the band. It seems this was the Mudbugs National's weekend in Morgan CIty and there were Seadoos' from ever state. They were having a great time and were enjoying the boiled crawfish and drinks as we did . It was a great weekend and we are already looking forward to next year's trip.

It was a bit hard to return to work on Monday but I was so relaxed I did not mind. I felt really great. Last night we went to my daughter's to watch the LSU game which of course they won. Then today I went watch Tate play ball at the park. They won this evening 11 to 5 I think. Tomorrow I will bring my bathing suit to work and at noon go to Renee's house to swim with the boys. Its been so warm the pool will feel great.

I have lots of typing to get done this week so I probably won't be writing much. Ok later...its past my bed time.

Well this should show you what I have been doing. My grandson Tate plays baseball at Peltier Park on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and I go right after I get off work. Sat through a rain shower at the last game. This coming week Todd goes to Houston and all prays are going with them. My sisters and I also get together for our bonding weekend from Thursday to Sunday. My boss loans me his camp for that weekend. We have had some of the best times and are truely grateful for this opportunity to get together like this as we get older. We have survived three cancer diagnosis and family problems of one kind or another and we just get to remember that we are family and are there for each other through thick and thin. So friends it past my bedtime and I do work those three days this week. Till next time.

CATCHING UP ON NEWS.

Its been awhile since I had time to sit and write my notes. Before I go any further For those that follow my blog I am asking a special favor. My best friend's son-in-law has received some news on a medical test that has required that he go to M.D. Anderson for further testing and complete diagnosis. I ask that everyone please say a small prayer for Todd that his test results be good news and that the Dr's of M.D. Anderson will have the skills and knowledge to help him and his family.

My nephew Brent and his girl friend are returning to New Orleans from a cruise to the Bahamas. They had a big adventure. On the first day they had to stop the ship to have a passenger removed. A lady had been found passed out in one of the elevators. Then 3 hours out of Key West there was the incident of the young man jumping over board. They had to stop the ship and search for him. The boat got underway after a few hours and the passengers were able to spend a couple of hours in Key West before departing for Nassua. There he says they had a great time , spent lots of money and enjoyed the beach. They were on their way back home when the ship stopped again because they sighted an overturned boat. They sent out a rescue boat but no one was on board and they called the coast guard. Brent says the captain came on the speakers and said this was a very stressful cruise . I am sure they are all glad to be coming home. We should get to see him and Meka tomorrow.

My friend Shirley left for Alaska on her own this week. She had to cancel her orginial trip when her son-in-law was killed in a boating accident. The tour company was able to arrange for her to meet the rest of the tour group in Anchorage. She has never flown alone and was quite nervous but she did it. I got the first call when she was in Texas and then a text message when she was closer to Anchorage and the last call came in today as she let me listen to the boarding welcome of the ship she was on. She will be on an exciting adventure this week and I will not hear from her till she is on her way back home. I hope she takes plenty of pictures.

My grandson Tate has started his baseball practive at Peltier Park in Thibodaux. I have made two of the practices so far. He is learning to bat from the machine that pitches the ball. Its all new to him. Its the big birthday party tomorrow for him and his younger brother Taylor. Tate was 7 in April and Taylor is 3. It will be an all day affair and thats where I will be.

I managed somehow to get my flower bed cleaned out this week. It looks nice now and I am still replanting some flower in pots instead of just into the ground. This way I can move them to protect them from bad weather. The vegetable garden is doing nicely also. We have tomatoes , bell peppers , egg plant and okra besides cucumbers. Sam planted white egg plants. They sure look funny.

Well thats it for tonight . Tomorrow will be very busy. I should have all the grandkids tomorrow and hopefully most of my sisters and their families . There is a pool to cool off in so the kids will have to be watched. I''ll give details tomorrow if I can.

These flowers were so pretty. They were taken at The Hemingway House in Key West. It has been an exhausting two weeks since the trip. I have not had time to do much catching up. I was back at work the Monday and on the weekend I baby sat for one of the grandchildren and then back to work again for another week. This is a long weekend and I have just been catching up on my rest. My nephew is on a cruise this week. He just called and said the ship is stopped 3 hours from Key West. It seems a young male passenger jumped over board. He apparently had an argument with his father and they said he them jumped . The boat has to stay put while everything is investigated. So sad. He did no know the victim's age but he hasn't been found as yet. My friend Shirley lost a son-in-law this past week . He was one of the victims of the boat crash that left 5 men dead. She will be trying to join her friends that left today for their Alaskan crusie. She had canceled for the wake on Monday. Hopefully she can join them . Well I hope everyone is doing fine. I worked in my yard today and cleaned out the flower bed finally. I have been wanting to do that for months. I have to finish tomorrow.

SPECIAL PERSON AND SPECIAL CAT

The young man on the left was my little hero on snorkling day. The ice cold water took my breath away and I could not breathe. He is the lifeguard that came to the front of the catamaran and pulled me up out of the water. I told him that his mama can be proud of her son as he did what he was suppose to do on the boat. The cat on the right is from Mr. Hemingway's house. Notice the six toes on the feet. I had a wonderful visit in Key West and hope to go back one day.

MY VACATION CRUISE

My vacation started last weekend. We departed on May 2, 2009 for a 7 day cruise to the Bahamas. We had been scheduled to go to Cozomel but because of the Swine Flu we were sent on this cruise. It was wonderful. The skies were clear and we had excursions scheduled at each stop. Hemingway's home in Key West, Shopping in Freeport and snorkling in Nassua. It was non stop fun and excitement and I am exhausted. Work day tomorrow so no long to chat. Happy Mother's day.

VACATION PLANS

It is finally here. My vacation . It was a 5 day cruise to Cozomel and Pregro . Well as everyone knows the Swine Flu made its appearance and the cruises were changedso no ships were going to Mexican ports. I was very upset because I had worked so hard for this trip and really felt it would have been so relaxing. We got the best new ever. Carnival changed our cruise from a 5 day to a 7 day and we are going to Key West, Freeport and Naussa all for the same price. WE are overjoyed and can't wait to leave. We will be leaving on Saturday morning and returning the following Sasturday. I hope to have many beautifulnew pictures to add to my blog.

COUNTRY ROADS

Where else do we see these flowers except in the country. I had to stop on the way to work this morning to take a picture of this patch along the raod. It was so pretty.

Sad news today . My neighbor Jean Landry lost her father this morning. He had cancer and this was his second round. He did put up a fight. I feel so sorry for Jean and her family but I know Jean is close to her father and will take this hard.

Shirley lost her pass port but found it last night at 11:oo p.m. We leave this Saturday and its up to the cruise line if we go to Mexico or not. We are suppose to be goinbg to Cozemel and Progresso. We have not heard of any virus there. I am packing a lot of wipes and Lysol just in case and of course our own water.

Haven't heard anything about my pictues I entered in the contest in Houma. Guess I will have to call them and will ask Earline to pick them up for me. Stampin up orders are in also so I will pick up Earline's order for her.

A MOTHER IN WAITING

Look what we have here. We were sittng by the pool at Renee's and I kept hearing what sounded like a hoarse cooooo. We kept searching for the sound. Was it a frog? Was it a sick bird? The sound seemed to come from above where I was sitting so I got up and started searching the palm tree to my right and there she was, sitting on her nest protecting her home and babies. She never flinched and just an occasional blink of the eye let us know she was ok. Now we will be watching for the babies to start polking their heads up for feedings.

SUMMER TIME

What is good about summer. Sitting on that swing under the big oak tree and watching the kids or even joining the kids when they ride their bikes. The grandkids were here and left their bikes standing out in the yard and the swing under the oak is on the highway on the way home. Those are two great summer pass times though. Well I don't guess my photos placed at the Spring 2009 Bonne Terre Garden Fair. I have not heard a thing today, so tomorrow I will go to Southdown and pick up my pictures. We were suppose to be notified today but I never heard anything. The pictures have to be picked up on the 25th. It's the Labadieville Community Fair this weekend. Samuel has been helping and will be working tomorrow morning. Six days left till I leave on my cruise . I am getting excited. I need the down time to relax. I am brain tired. Speaking of tired its time for bed. Oh I forgot that my beloved brother-in-law Danny had a mild heart attack last evening but is doing fine today. In fact he was allowed to go home. Thank the Lord.

SPECIAL OCCASIONS

I have selected two pictures to post. On my way home from work the other night, the sun was lined up with the highway and I was trying to get a photo of the sunset. When I looked at the pictures later all I could see were the crosses in the sunset. It did not matter that they were utility poles. They represented something else to me. He is present everywhere, we just have to see with our heart. The other picture is a card for my daughter for Mother's Day. I had fun making it and I really like the colors. Its another one of those things you "see" but don't see. The light purple paper in the center of the card comes from the bib that the dentist uses when they do work on our teeth. My dentist uses this pretty purple with a cute pattern and right away I thought of a greeting card. It came out great.

NEW MEMBER OF FIELDS FAMILY "ROLLO"

This is the newest addition to the Fields Family. His name is Rollo. He is a Dashhound. Isn't he just to cute. He is so tiny that when he squats to poop his rear end hits the floor. He does have a bark though. He is so sweet. The kids love him and so does Killer Jr. I think he will be a good pet.

Busy day today . I went feed the little rascal with my friend Shirley and accidently locked my keys in Renee's house. Had to text her and ask her to call me when she got in from school. She brought me my keys. Shirley and I had gone to J.C. Penny for her to purchase a luggage set for her two trips coming up. She purchased two sets and gave one to me. I feel quilty accepting but she insisted. SHe says we will be doing a lot of traveling. Sounds great to me. Our cruise is not this weekend but next. Can hardly wait for that to. Oh gosh its late and past time for bed. Nite Nite.

Weekend with the grandkids.

I love having the grandkids over to sleep. They get along really well for the most part. If one is cranky then they may argue or cry but I never have any trouble with them. Friday night Tate would wake and cry because he had a earache and his brother Taylor would reach out for him in his sleep and hug him. Those moments mean the world to me. They love each other so much its beautiful to see. Here Tate is pulling Taylor in the wagon.

They got a new puppy this weekend. Its a small Dashound . It is so cute . I will be checking on it during my lunch out during the week while everyone is away. It slept here also on Friday night and was a good puppy till about 4:30 a.m. For some reason I did not pay attention to his crying and I just reached over the side if the bed and put him in bed with us. He slept there in my neck for awhile and then politely just walked down to my stomach and peeeeed on me! Not a way to endear him to me . That explains my weekend!.

WELCOME HOME CORA AND HENRY. GLAD YOU RETURNED SAFELY.

The scene of Nora Robert's movie "Tribute"

This is the house they used to make the movie of Nora Rob ert's book "TRIBUTE". It is located on the back road in Houma. I remember when they were making the film but did not know what it was about. Of her 3 movies, "ALASKA", the 2nd one was filmed at Oak Alley and ( I can't remember the name of that movie,)The Rouse camp on Lake Verrett. It was neat seeing these places in a movie. I thought all three movies were well done and I enjoyed them. Of course I am a huge fan of Nora Roberts.

MY BABIES

How are these two shots. My third entry for the garden contest. I like both of them

Good Friday celebration. Everyone was there just about with the exception of a few husbands that had to work. We had a beautifil day. Pictured here is Taylor, Callie, one of Dawn's beauties and Denise's daugthter. Can you tell I am getting so old I can't remember names. The weather held out but its changing now. Later

HE GAVE HIS ONLY SON FOR US

How is this photo for the Lenten season. I was passing the grave yard on the way home and just snapped a picture in passing. The shot was great. I'll have a use for that one day.

Busy busy busy with work and transcription at night. I am falling further and further behind and have no idea when I'll catch up. Well work by myself tomorrow , Nikkie in Lafayette for the weekend. Best get my bones to bed.

NEW FRIEND-AUTHOR SHELLIE TOMLINSON

What a wonderful treat today . I met Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, author of "SUCK YOUR STOMACH IN AND PUT SOME COLOR ON!". She signed my book and let me have my picture taken with her. She has a marvelous personality and a gift of making you feel like a friend instead of a stranger. I hope one day to meet her again.

It was visit the dentist day today . Thank goodness his only recommendation is to have a hard night guard made. Whew. I thought I was looking at a major expense of crowns.

Two more days and I have Tate and Taylor come over to spend the night. I can't wait. I miss them. Everyone should be together for Good Friday.

A CUTE VISITOR

Guess what was waiting for me at the back door today. Yep this nice little turtle was sitting on the carport when I walked out to go to work after lunch. I called Sam and he came out and we went closer . He nudged it with his foot but the little guy just spun around and stayed on the porch. I thought he (or she ) was cute. I forgot to ask Gonzo where it went after I left.

We had another busy weekend. On Saturday morning I joined Susan on another trip to Houma to visit Hobby Lobby and Michaels. As usual I had a wonderful time.

Sunday morning Samuel and I went to 8:00 a.m,. mass . The rest of the day we were home. Ray and Mary came by for the afternoon and we enjoyed that. We had not seen them in a long time. My cousin's daughter Leslie did really well in the 1/2 ironman race in New Orleans today . She finished the event in 5 hrs. and 45 minutes. She trained for the past wo years.

JUST CATCH UP

This was movie night with Bev. We went see "Stolen". Whew what a movie. It went so fact with the action that we felt like we had just sat down and it was over.

Note: This Sunday my cousin Rita's daughter Leslie will be doing the 1/2 Iron Man Race in New Orleans. She will have to swim 1.5 miles in Lake Ponchatrain, get out and ride a bike 56 miles from the Lake to Venetian Isle and back to the lake and then run 13.1 miles ending at Jackson Square. Should take between 6 to 8 hours. SHe has trained for 2 years. Good Luck Leslie.

Hair cut day tomorrow . Called the dentist today ugh. ( hate going to dentist). Have a busy schedule for the next month and then our cruise.