Party Like They're Still Here...Because They Are

This Christmas, I want you all to party and celebrate and lose your little minds as though everyone you've ever lost is still here.

Dance and sing like dad is still playing DJ on the old stereo and smile like he's still in your face with that damn video camera.

Picture yourself having a highball with Grandma Ransonette, some chicken and dumplings with Granny and dancing a Cajun waltz with Grandpa Courville.  Have a third piece of pie in honor of Grandpa Ransonette and Uncle Wayne.

Chase the kids around the room like Uncle Marty, treat yourself to a beer with Alan and Ray and try to learn to speak Bulgarian like Melissa.

Party like they're all still here, like they're all still watching you, like they're all still enjoying the festivities, because they are.  I promise you, they are.

Merry Christmas Week, everyone!

The Sweet Spot

EDIT:  Since I wrote this post, my two sisters have passed away.  Bonnie passed March 20, 2014 from oral cancer and my sister Terry passed away seven years to the day after I wrote this post, November 19, 2018, from pneumonia.


When people are in their early adulthood, they're so wrapped up in the big questions of life that they might not appreciate the little things.  They're so caught up in thoughts of school and work and "Will I ever get married?" and "Will I ever get a job?" and "Will I ever have kids?" that they might not look around and appreciate the right here, right now.

When you get to be an olden person like me, you look back and realize that those years were filled with most (if not all) of your grandparents, all of your siblings, all of your parents, all of your friends' parents, all of your cousins, most of your aunts and uncles and great-aunts and great-uncles and even some of your great-grandparents.  That's the sweet spot.  Part of you knows it won't always be that way, but another part of you takes it all for granted, because you think you have all the time in the world.

Everybody, not just the early adult-ers, needs to look at right here, right now and realize that you are in your own special sweet spot.  Right here, right now you have who you have.  Love them and cherish them, because it can change in a heartbeat.

Thank God, thank Buddha, thank whoever you believe in, thank your lucky stars for everyone you love and for everyone who loves you and God bless us everyone.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving 2010

Stories to follow...

Halloween Recap

The Grand-Fabulous Ava

The Grand-Fabulous Lucas

Bonnie and Laurie

Ava and her cousin Cameron

Mom and Aunt Hazel

Easter 2010

Do my kids know me or what?

These are my presents from Cory and Jamie and Ava...


My sister Terry pulled my name. She gave me this amazing picture of Ava. The picture was taken by our photographer friend Trish at my nephew Elliott's wedding...


Click here for a slideshow of all of my Christmas photos and videos. I'll be posting more of them here soon.

Let's do a "4-Way"

This morning, I was on the phone with my mom and two sisters (that's the "4-way," by the way...nothing kinky) finalizing the Christmas Eve time schedule when Bonnie asked if any of us or our any of our kids need a microwave. It seems she has an extra and wants to get it out of her way.

"Here's what you do, Bonnie," I said. "Put a big bow on it and put it under mom's Christmas tree tonight."

"Why?" asked Bonnie.

"The first person who comes in tonight and says, 'WOW! A microwave? Who's getting a microwave?'" I answered, "You look at them and say, 'YOU!'"

Anybody need a microwave? Get thyself to mom's house tonight. There will also be gumbo.

Merry Christmas, everybody!

Pictures of the Grand-Fabulous-Ava

While babysitting tonight, I found these pictures on Cory and Jamie's computer when I got online after I put Ava to bed.

Ava and her cousin Cameron visit Santa.

Ava and her mom

Ava admiring her Christmas tree.

The Grand-Fabulous Ava

Two Things: one wrong...one right

That's wrong...
Tonight, I got home from work, drove up to my mailbox and found two real life Christmas cards inside. When I got in the house, I sat on the couch and grabbed for my laptop to read e-mails instead of first opening the actual Christmas cards from actual people who took the actual time to mail actual Christmas cards.

That's wrong.

That's right...
I went to mom's tonight and brought her a belated birthday present because she was out of town for her birthday. While I was there, she gave me one of those fabulous Christmas cans of popcorn filled with four different kinds of yummy popcorn.

So, now I'm sitting on the couch eating a supper of every combination of caramel/butter/white cheddar/yellow cheddar popcorn I can create while watching Psychic Kids on A&E. Merry Christmas Eve Eve Eve Eve Eve Eve Eve Eve Eve Eve to me.

That's right.

Videos from Ava's Trip to the Christmas Tree Farm

We went to Beaver's Christmas Tree Farm in Nome. The trees are $4.50 a foot and $5.00 a foot for every foot over 5 feet. I think. I could be wrong about that.

Beaver's Christmas Tree Farm
4382 FM 1009
Nome, TX
(409) 253-2372

Farm Features: Restrooms, Wrapping Service, Shaking Service, Cutting Service, and School Tours
Type of Cutting Available: Pre-Cut and Choose-and-Cut
Choose and Cut Tree Types: Virginia Pine
Pre-Cut Tree Types: Fraser Fir

Ava's Trip to the Christmas Tree Farm

Happy Thanksgiving!

Click here for all the pictures and a few videos.

Pictures! Pictures!

I realize I haven't finished all my postings for Dannielle's skydiving competition and I just uploaded tons of Halloween pictures. For now, here are slideshows with all the pictures. I'll have stories later. The slideshows have some little videos in them, by the way.

Click here for skydiving competition slideshow.

Click here for Halloween slideshow.

Click here for all my uploaded pictures.

Where I'll be Halloween night...

Have a Google-y Happy Mother's Day!

(I thought the Google symbol today was pretty, so I stole it.)

Ava's Valentine's Day

I'm having trouble uploading videos tonight. So, to see all of the pictures plus videos, click here.

Blowing bubbles with paw-paw...















Waiting for mommy and daddy to get back from their Valentine's Day movie date.

(The rocker Ava is sitting in was my rocker when I was her age. My mom and dad reupholstered it and repainted it for the Grand-Fabulous-Ava.)

Videos from Ava's Santa Encounter

The picture story of Ava's Santa Encounter is in the post below. Here are a couple of videos. By the way, Ava's lovely dress was hand-made by her Grand-Fabulous-Mother Lisa. That's "hand-made" as in NO sewing machine. It was adorable.

Watch Ava's eyes in the first video. She's trying to play it cool.

Ava meets Santa...and she is not amused

As you might know, my dad is Jingles the Clown, The Nutty Professor and also, when the season requires, Santa. Last year, Ava found Santa amusing with an interesting white fluffy beard. This year, she clung to me like I was about to throw her to the lions.

"Something doesn't feel right."

"What the heck?!"

"Sorry, Nan. I ain't buyin' it."

"Me and Willie are just fine right here."

"Santa, if you hurt my daddy..."

"Okay, I'm done."

"Is he really leaving?"

"Thank God that's over."

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!

So Much to Show You!

There are so many thing to show you: my nephew's Madrigal performance in Arkansas a couple of weeks ago, my other nephew's birthday party, my mom's birthday party, my office Christmas Party and Mary Beth's work-iversary, our BIG family Christmas party Saturday, our smaller family Christmas party Sunday, mom's church bells performance.

Let's just start with the Grand-Fabulous-Ava, shall we? The first two are videos.









If you just can't wait for the stories, all the pictures are here. (The ones with the little triangles in the bottom corner are videos.)