Happy New Year

Wishing you all a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year. I have many resolutions this year that I believe that I can keep and the main one is to be a better person and friend to those in need. I am exhausted and one of the things I need to do is take care of myself, so I am taking a little break, but will still visit your blogs and do emails. I don't want to miss things I need to know.

Pop's oldest son Sandy came in for the funeral and I was happy to see him. It has been 15 years since I last saw him and he looks very good. We are hoping to keep in touch and I am going to send him a disk with all the pictures I have of his dad.
A paper was read that one of his grandsons wrote about who inspired him the most and there was not a dry eye. It was beautiful written about a hero who earned a Bronze Star and Purple Heart, a Sargent of a tank command in Germany and Africa during WWII. The only thing that was forgotten was that Garland also served in the military.
I hope that you and your families have a safe and Happy New Year and that you are blessed this year with good health, strong finances and lots of love. It's going to be a rough year for some as I have read on some blogs, so I pray for those who are losing their homes and jobs.
Well I am going back to bed---I really am exhausted beyond words. See you soon. I do hope to be able to stay up tonight and watch the ball drop in Times Square, then quickly retreat for some R&R. Prayers, Love, and Hugs, Pat

Very Sad Day yesterday

Mr. Benoit has been taken home to be with his loving wife and Garland.

December 26th is not a good day for my friends or me. Pop, Mr. Benoit, died yesterday afternoon, one year apart from my dad. I am doing what I can to help Bryan and the rest of the family and I for one will surely miss this wonderful and generous man. He was is loving father, husband, grandfather, etc. He was also a great soldier in WWII and earned a Bronze Star. After having a few bad days, yesterday, he went peacefully. Another part of my heart is missing and you can't imagine the love I had for this man who could have been my fil and was always treated like family. One of the daughter told me yesterday that he called "My Pat". I cooked Christmas dinner for them and now am going to make a large pot of shrimp, okra, and sausage gumbo. I'm sure there will be lots of food.

Words cannot express how I felt about him. He was a kind man and had no enemies and was always willing to help others out. He was also one of the first entrepneurs in a small town and succeeded with the theather and his service station and auto parts store.

Here is a picture taken at 1:pm on December 26th of last year and that night my dad left us to go home to be with our mother.

I hope you keep all of the family in your prayers. Brenda, Sandy, Netta, Joshlyn, Beth, Bryan, and Monica and all the rest of their family. I was humbled that they allowed me to stay for the blessings after he passed on. I have been blessed knowing this loving family and I too need some prayers for strenght to get by. We are all exhausted, but they have so much to do tomorrow, so I won't be going until later in the day, so that I can cook and order flowers. I do pray they all get some rest, because they were taking 2 hour shifts to stay up with him. Thank you all in advance for all the prayers for a peaceful passing and that is what he got. Love and Hugs, Pat

Happy Birthday Jesus

Happy Birthday Jesus! Merry Christmas to everyone and I hope you have many blessings.

Although I do not want to bring to your Christmas bad news, I do need prayers for Pop, Mr. Benoit. We went to see him earlier on Christmas Eve and it isn't good. He quit breathing twice and I told Bryan, that I had to leave. He did open his eyes and looked at us with a blank stare. Please pray that God brings him home and doesn't make him suffer longer than need be. I held his hand for a long time, and kissed him goodbye, told him I loved him and then left in tears. My heart is already hurting and for Pop to die on the same day as my day would hurt even more. I pray that God gives him Peace tonight, because he said he was ready to go home. I know the angels are waiting for him at Heaven's Gates. They gave him 2 days at the most. Thank you all for your kindness and prayers. Love and Hugs, Pat

The Real Me

Well this is the most recent picture of me. As you can see my hair has grown a lot in the last year and is almost ready for Locks of Love. The white is showing and I have never colored my hair in almost 7 years and it was only a high light to brighten it after all the meds I took for the Staph infection. The sweater makes me look fat---but I went from 144 to 129 in a year and hope to lose 5 more lbs. Aren't those the hardest to lose and baking cookies does not help. Sorry about the glare from my glasses, but this is the real me----no make up unless it's a wedding or special event.

I hope that everyone is having a joyous Christmas Season. Love and Hugs, Pat

I have finished this year's tour of Santa's House, so I hope you drop by for a visit. I enjoy setting it up and it gives me great joy to share it with others.

Sorry I didn't have my giveaway, but with 3 men I love dearly, things just slipped by. I neglected my own health and now I am paying dearly for it, but now I have learned that sometimes, you Have to put yourself first, but that will take some learning for me. Any tips! Even virtual cards will have to do this year.

Please stop by for a visit. Love and Hugs, Pat
http://urbanchicchristmas.blogspot.com/

Beautiful Egg

I went thrifting before going to visit my cousin in ICU, and by the way, he is doing very well. Thanks for the many prayers. Well anyway, I found this at Goodwill and it's a real Emu egg or goose egg and whom ever did it, did a great job and I forked up the $3.99 for it because it also has a music box that plays Silent Night. Hubby bought me a Fabrege Egg years ago and will probably never get another one, so I just look for very unusual eggs now. I also went to this place called Caring Hands and I will post those later---some very old Mercury glass ornaments. I will posting the last pictures of my snow entry way today, so please stop by for a tour of my addiction. Love and Hugs, Pat

Prayers for my cousin

Well today did not start out as planned. I had everything laid out to make my cousin's LSU squash book for Christmas and then bake cookies, but his mom called and Brian had a major heart attack last night and is on life support. He is 39 years old and was born with juvenile diabetes, but it wasn't the diabetes that caused the heart attack. Betty was crying and my heart hurts for her. He is immature for his age, but has a heart of gold. Please keep Brian and his mom and dad in your prayers and spread the word---he really needs them. This is such a hard time for many of us right now and it will be a year on the 26th that I had to give my dad CPR and then tell him I loved him before he died. My other friend Brian's dad is not doing well either and he only has a few weeks to live. He doesn't know any of us and it's heart breaking, but he keeps smiling as though he sees angels and he knows he is going home to be with Mrs. Ethel and Garland. God Bless all of you who are sick, have family or friends that are sick.

Will finish posting the last of my Christmas house tonight. Love and Hugs, Pat

My Christmas blog and tour

I will be posting my Christmas tour pictures on my Christmas blog and it may take some time, so keep checking back until I am finished. I have over 150 pictures that I had to resize. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Love and Hugs, Pat

http://urbanchicchristmas.blogspot.com/

My Sister's House

Oh I am so jealous about the snow that Brenda got. I could have been still living there and got to see this. They got a lot more than we did and my pictures are ugly, so I thought I would share hers with ya'll.

Now why couldn't we get that much. I'm still waiting for my nephew to send the pictures, they had 8 inches just north of Baton Rouge.

My almost fil had the last rites and I went today and he is so fragil, but was laughing and giggling the entire time. I am going back to spend the day tomorrow as they gave him 2 to 4 weeks and I love this man so much. I cried after leaving and I know the pain they will feel if he dies near Christmas---it's hard enough anytime, but the holidays just seem to make it worse. They put him in his wheelchair and brought him to the door to see it and he smiled. Please keep Mr. Norace and his family in your prayers. The world is a better place because of him. He was always helping people when he could, which was often. Pop will be missed by all who loved him and those who knew him. My heart is so heavy right now and it's hard not to cry. Bryan promised to call me anytime during the night if things got worse.

My wish came true

Well today Al woke me up to a wonderful thing---my wish came true for snow. Even though we don't have as much as up north,

it is still fun to see. My batteries were weak, so the pictures didn't come out too great, so they are charging while it's still snowing. I really want to go out and play in it, but the drugs are still hanging on after yesterday.

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My epeduram went great except I got nauseated before they took me in and was in pain, so they called Al from the lobby and the doctor said it was okay to take it with a very small sip of water. Al thought they had finished already and the injection had made me sick, so he returned to the lobby to wait it out. Since my withdrawals are still kicking, I cried like a baby and they ended up giving me Vestid because I didn't want to feel a lot of the pain while they did the ededuram. It's totally different than the one they give you when you have a baby and ouch, it hurts the entire time. My back feels like a million bucks, but it's still numb and the effects won't kick in for about 2 weeks, so I have to take things easy and no lifting during that time. My blood pressure has dropped from 198/126 to 144/102, but my pulse rate is still high. I still haven't gotten the results of the ultra sound and blood work, so Dr. G said to call his office today---hope the snow doesn't close everything down.

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Well, I am going to decorate our tree with the mom and dad, and grandma and grandpa ornaments, then finish up my nativity tree. I went to Goodwill last week and you would not believe what I got for $.99---a Waterford crystal tree ornament still in it's box. Tia if it were a snowflake, I would send it to you, because I know you collect them.

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I hope all of you have a great day and are enjoying the Christmas Season. My head is spinning so going back to lay down for a little until it passes. Love and hugs to all of you. Pat

computer problems

Well the day did not start out very good. I am seriously thinking of getting a Mac when I get my inheritance. MSN won't let me get on and I think I have been spammed because it says I have some serious things and it won't let me get on. I did a complete scan with McAffie and there are no viruses, etc. Will have to wait until Al gets home and gets on the phone with Dell or Microsoft. I am on Al's for now and won't get on mine until I have the problem fixed. That's what I get for letting my gc on my computer.

I am putting finishing touches, then taking pictures to post on the 15Th. At least after tomorrow, I will be able to sit at the computer for a little while or use the laptop in bed. The doctor hasn't received my results yet, but I guess I will know at the hospital in the morning.

I am trying hard not to do anymore crying, but I never knew withdrawals could be so horrible and the new meds will take 2 weeks to start working. Maybe I should have waited until after Christmas for this, but the doctor said it was time.

I am having a good day, but my friend is calling all the time and yesterday I was so weak, I stayed in the bed and didn't hear the phone ring, so he thought we were ignoring him. He doesn't understand that I am sick also. He is doing so great that I wish I had his blood pressure. He's down to 248, so the weight is not straining his heart and lungs. I want to scream right now---I need help also, but he doesn't listen. Oh well let it go I say and not let him ruin my spirit.

Well going work on the snowman scene, then sit and bead while watching movies. I start baking next week---and the pounds will follow me-lol. Enjoy the rest of the week and please keep me in your prayers for tomorrow morning. Love and Hugs, Pat

Start of my Christmas blog

It will take time, but I am working on my Christmas blog. I should have the entire week to finish up. I hope you will visit on the 15Th when I will have it completed. I want to look for old pictures that are pretty awful decorating, but it was always fun.

This is the link to my new blog. http://urbanchicchristmas.blogspot.com/

My joys today

Christ will soon be born again

My grandchildren visiting this weekend

A craft show we are about to attend

Cool day

Many Blessings and prayers I have received.

Prayers, love, and hugs, Pat

Good afternoon everyone. I am almost finished with tinsel town and will work on my new blog when it's all finished.

I need prayers this week and once we get the results, I will tell you all about it, but for now, I want to stay positive and pray that the new meds will take care of the problems. I will be going back to the hospital next Wednesday for another epeduram, but he is going further up the spine, so I have to hurry and finish decorating because I will be out of commission for a week. Friday I go for some tests which will determine what is wrong and hopefully there will be no surgery involved, but it's not looking good. Well I am off to be with the invisible elves to finish as much as I can. Love and Hugs, Pat