Happy New Year from the Jochums

Our family would like to extend a Happy New Year and many blessings to all the bloggers who visit. We had a wonderful week, Donnie managed to get a flight to Atlanta with a connection to Pittsburgh, then rented a car and drove back to NYC. His flight was cancelled until next Monday and he was lucky to get what he did. He made the trip home safely and as a mother, I worried about the 8 hour car drive, but he is fine, just a little tired. Chris is still here and we are making candy. She wanted a lesson on making Martha Washington balls, so we made them and now only have to dip them. I can't tell you how great it felt having them all here, but the day after Christmas, things did not go well. Chris's boyfriend planned a getaway on Christmas day and broke up with her the day after. He just walked out with only telling Al bye. How rude is that of a grown man, to leave my daughter at her family home. He waited until all my family left to do this and had it planned by calling some friends in Arkansas to pick him up here. I have no respect for anyone who would do such an awful thing to my daughter. He could have acted like a man and told us something, but chose the cowardly way of breaking up with her. Needless to say, many tears were cried while I consoled my daughter. She is better today and is over him and will get on with her life. He left early so he could move out before she returns on Monday. What a total jerk.
But he will never take the memories away that we shared, so all is good and forgiven as far as I am concerned. She deserves better than that. Below is a picture of my family and the guy on the left is David who walked out. I wish a Happy New Year filled with Blessings to everyone. Hugs, Pat

Merry Christmas

Just stopping in to wish everyone a Blessed and Merry Christmas. I hope that in all the excitement that you remember the Reason for the Season, The Birth of our Lord and Savior who has given us so much to be thankful for. I for one have been blessed so many times this year and even though my health is not as good as I would like it to be, I am thankful for the many times I am not in pain, which are few, but will take whatever the Lord gives me. I am Blessed to have all my children here and Christmas won't be as lonely as in the past. Blessings to all who visit, Love, hugs, and prayers. May the Peace of our Lord be with you always. Pat

gingerbread houses

The children had a great time making these and it was fun to watch them. I cooked while they played. I made an okra, shrimp, and sausage gumbo for everyone to eat last night. All in all it was a wonderful day.

A wonderful day yesterday

My son and gc were here and they had fun decorating the cookies I baked and making a gingerbread village which didn't come out that great, but the laughter that filled my kitchen was well worth the mess. Yes, mom cleaned the mess from every where. My daughter comes in Friday, so she and I will be preparing and cooking what we are bringing to my sons house. It feels so great to know that we will all be together. We are gathering here on Christmas Eve and exchange minor gifts because we all kept it simple this year, so that we could enjoy our visit. Here are the photos from yesterday.

Life is good

Well my baby boy(I still call him that because he is my first born) arrived and we had a wonderful night with my son and his family, so the only one missing is Chris and David, who will be here on Saturday. Al gave them all an early Christmas gift and they were thrilled. He got them a proof set of coins from the year they were born and don't you know, they didn't mint a silver dollar in the year Donnie was born. They all loved the gift. Donnie ran an errand for me and we will be making sausage, shrimp and okra gumbo for supper. Some of mom's good Louisiana cooking. The gc will be going home today, so that we can spend some quality time with Donnie, then when he is gone, we will have a few days of time with Chris. He hasn't changed and we really had a good visit last night. Lots of laughter filled my house and love was every where. I can still come in while he is doing his thing, but we are all taking turns on the computer. He did all his emails and facebook thing, so it's my turn. Wishing you all the kind of day I am having. It's wonderful seeing that big smile of his. Love and hugs, Pat

Today is the big day

Well today is going by slowly and I am so anxious for my son to arrive. He will be here about 6pm and I can hardly wait. We just have to pull out a window in my bedroom to finish off the storage room that will soon be a part of  my bedroom. Sleeping on an air mattress is very uncomfortable but I would move the moon and stars to have my children here, so a few nights of discomfort are worth it.

Last night was a sad night for us. Bingo has shut down and all the friends I have known for years will be missed. Lots of tears and a lot of hard work went into trying to save it but they were losing money and couldn't afford to keep  it going. I did win $37 but it wasn't a very happy moment. All our bingo buddies live in different places and will surely be missed.

We are due to have a warm Christms ---so far anyway---but with our weather here, anything could change over night. So no white Christmas for us.
If I become too busy with my son, I wish you all the Best for Christmas and the coming New Year. There is still a little saddness in not having our parents to join in, but they will be remembered in spirit. Love to all of you and I pray I have some free time to stop by. Pat

Merry Christmas to all my older female friends

Merry Christmas To My Female Friends




If I were ol' Santa, you know what I'd do

I'd dump silly gifts that are given to you

And deliver some things just inside your front door

Things you have lost, but treasured before.



I'd give you back all your maidenly vigor,

And to go along with it, a neat tiny figure.

Then restore the old color that once graced your hair

Before rinses and bleaches took residence there.



I'd bring back the shape with which you were gifted

So things now suspended need not be uplifted.

I'd draw in your tummy and smooth down your back

Till you'd be a dream in those tight fitting slacks.



I'd remove all your wrinkles and leave only one chin

So you wouldn't spend hours rubbing grease on your skin

You'd never have flashes or queer dizzy spells

And you wouldn't hear noises like ringing of bells.



No sore aching feet and no corns on your toes

No searching for spectacles when they're right on your nose

Not a shot would you take in your arm, hip or fanny

From a doctor who thinks you're a nervous old granny.



You'd never have a headache, so no pills would you take.

And no heating pad needed since your muscles won't ache.

Yes, if I were Santa, you'd never look stupid

You'd be a cute little chick with the romance of a cupid.



I 'd give a lift to your heart when those wolves start to whistle

And the joys of your heart would be light as a thistle.

But alas! I'm not Santa. I'm simply just me

The matronest of matrons you ever did see.



I wish I could tell you all the symptoms I've got

But I'm due at my doctor's for an estrogen shot.

Even though we've grown older this wish is sincere

Merry Christmas to you and a Happy New Year.

The anxiety begins

I have been so excited about my children coming for Christmas that anxiety has kicked in. I am so anxious for them to arrive and Donnie will be here on Monday and I have so much to do this weekend, that the time is surely going to pass by fast.
I have always been envious of people who have their families with them at Christmas and this year it will happen for me. Chris lives in Vancouver, Wa. and has a business to run and this is usually her busiest season, next to Halloween, so this year they decided to hire an extra girl to work and Donnie is always off at Christmas, He is in upper management so he is off during Christmas but living alone in West New York can be pricey so he doesn't always get to come.

I wish I could have sent gifts out to everyone who has stopped by even if it was only once, but I decided to be a Secret Santa and picked 4 people who posted and visited me so many times to send gifts to. That's a hint------but I am not begging anyone to visit just to get a gift. I want you to visit because you like stopping by and seeing what I do, which is not much lately, but with my new space to work, I will have plenty of time to make gifts for next year. Thanks to all who have taken the time to visit, even if you didn't leave a comment, but they sure are welcome. I wish for all of you a very Joyous, Peaceful and Loving Christmas and please remember we are celebrating the Birth of Jesus and I bake a cake for Him or buy one, but we always have a Birthday cake to celebrate the Birth of our Lord and Savior. He has brought me so many blessings this year and I am so Thankful to have Jesus in my life. Love, hugs, and prayers, Pat

Beautiful cottage to visit

If you want to see an enchanted cottage of pink, visit this link. Mary would love to have you visit.  http://isabellascloset.blogspot.com/

A cute gift from a friend

Yesterday filled my heart with joy. I got a package from my son's former partner and it guess what it was? Gingerbread things. he is so sweet and I still think of him as another son. Break ups are hard, no matter which side of the fence you are on. They lived together for 18 years and it was harder on me than my son. Here are the cute things he sent me. One is a table runner, dish towels, and a cute mug with saucer to go with it. He is so sweet and I have so many adorable gingerbreads from him. I know him well enough that he collected this the entire year and just didn't go out and buy them on the spur of the moment. I still include him at Christmas and some don't agree with that, but they are friends and he is my friend also and I love him.

Going to be baking today now that I have all the things I need to get started . It's been a long standing tradition so I have to bake some. If not, it won't feel like Christmas. I hope everyone who visits my Christmas blog enjoys seeing all the frufru or as one friend said "It looks like the Elves threw up in my house" I thought that was funny, and wish I had some Elves to help me, but I only have Al.

My storage room/part bedroom will be finished this weekend, but still not ready to show as we are leaving the painting and wallpapering until after the children have left. No time to get it done before they arrive. I am getting excited about moving back home for good, which won't be too long. Seems our parents left us a money pit of a house and we are so far in debt with it that it's going to take years to get all the money back, so we are going to rent it until a later year or so to sell it. Renting it might be good, but I wish we had sold it as is from day one. The few things that were wrong wouldn't have taken so much to fix for the new owners but now it has increased. It's too big for me to keep up and my siblings don't live close enough except my brother who has COPD and is not doing so well.
Wishing you lots of joy and happiness throught the holidays and blessings to those who are sick or have lost a family member. Christmas is still sad for us without our parents and it's only been 3 years and we still miss  them so much..... Love and hugs, Pat

A beautiful giveaway

Please visit Rebecca at http://rebecca-gatheryeroses.blogspot.com/  for a beautiful giveaway she is having. It's a cross stitched pillow with Merry Christmas on it. You won't be sorry, unless you don't visit.

A Christmas tour

I have finally gotten my pictures posted on my Christmas blog and I hope that you will visit. I enjoy Christmas very much and although it's hard to see, I have little Nativity sets every where. You can visit by going to http://urbanchicchristmas.blogspot.com/
I didn't put up all my decorations this year because of my children coming and we wouldn't want them to take me away in a straight jacket. We have been collecting for over 30 years and if I had a house bigger, there would be more trees and ornaments to see, but I took out my favorites this year and put up a tree for my daughter, because she has only seen 3 of her ornaments and I also put up a pink tree in the bedroom she will be using. Maybe next year when I have my rooms finished, I can do it, because I have moving ornaments that are so cute, but no room this year. A friend just asked me if I put them up and I said no. He used to come by to see all the trees, but he has a shop now and has been really busy doing his shop up. He has a "Reindeer" tree that I fell in love with and it's half price right now, but still too high for me to explain paying $150 for it. It's all decorated and it's the cutest tree I have ever seen. I do hope you will stop by and visit. here is a peak of what you might see.

Feeling great today

I am feeling so good after the epidural but I can't lift anything or strain, but it feels so good to be pain free, even if for only 6 months. I am addressing cards and sending out packages before it's too late.

I went to see my internist and I have to have some heart test done again. I pray the blockage hasn't gotten worse. I will have to have the stress test done first and then we go from there. I had to take nitro the other day and that is not a good sign, so he is making sure there are no more problems with my heart.

My son is coming in a day earlier and I am getting so excited. We are going to buy a gingerbread house already baked and decorate it for Christmas. I have done this for many years and don't want to stop. My gd will be here also to help and she is just the sweetest and most polite child if I do say so myself. Her parents have done a great job with them and they are doing well in school. My gs marched in the Christmas parade in Lafayette, but we couldn't make it. They told us too late and plans couldn't be changed, but there is always next year.

Going to try and get my Christmas trees posted on my blog---there is a link on the right side of my blog and it will take you there. Hope to have them up soon. Love and hugs, Pat

Down with pain

Sorry, I haven't been posting, but my back is hurting really bad and I pulled a muscle in my arm. Went to the doctor yesterday and I have to do some arm exercises with little bar bells and I am also having an epidural done on Wednesday. I got an injection of 'Depokote yesterday and that has helped so much. I need to get my body muscles back in shape before my kiddies get here.

I haven't been doing much except watching Christmas movies and making my own cards which need to go out soon. I also have a few packages that I need to get into the mail before it's too late, so that is what my life has been like lately. I have to have help to get my bra on, but hopefully the injection will help and I can do it on my own-lol.
I will try and finish posting my Christmas pictures on my blog next week, so hope you stop by and visit. Love,hugs, and prayers to all of you. Pat