HAPPY THANKSGIVING

"The Lost Cajun" pecans

          I can't believe it has been so long since my last post. But we have been so busy with the pecans this year. We simply cannot pick them all, so we are letting people pick all they want themselves for a good price. This arrangement is working out very well, when the weather cooperates!. However, I was supposed to meet several people at the farm this afternoon to pick pecans, but it has been raining since yesterday afternoon and is very, very cold. We can't go today. Hopefully, it will stop raining and dry out a bit by Tuesday or so so we can get back there.

 

Me pointing out pecans to Pat and Aiden

     When I first placed our flyers out offering to let people pick their own pecans, one of the first calls I received was from a woman who said she had a special needs son. Well, of course, I identified immediately with her because I have my precious granddaughter Anna, who is also a special needs child. Her son had just had surgery on his brain stem and was having a lot of difficulty controlling his hands enough to pick up the very small pecans that fell from the tree in his yard. She wanted to know if our pecans might be big enough for him to pick up. I said I was sure they were and that they could come pick as many pecans as they wanted (for free, of course). So I met her and him (his name is Pat also) and a friend of theirs (4-year-old Aiden) out there last Sunday afternoon. Pat is actually 20 years old, not a child any more. And I really think he had a ball!

Pat cracking some pecans

     Not only was he able to pick up as many pecans as he wanted, he also petted and fed the horses and just generally walked around the farm pointing out the tractor and the horse trailer and the camper. He used the pecan cracker to crack and eat some of the pecans and used the scale to weigh them.

     Landon and Luke were out there with me and were riding around in the mule. Pat wanted to do that also, so Landon rode him around in the mule several times. After a couple of hours, another woman with a set of special needs twins showed up. I have actually known the mom for years, even before the girls were born. Their mom works in my son's office, so Craig had put a flyer up at work and had mentioned to her that if she wanted to bring her girls out on Sunday, they could pick all the pecans they wanted. So they came also. The girls will be 18 in January; they are about six months older than Anna.

     It was such a  wonderful day. Each family picked over 5 pounds of pecans and are planning to come back again (when the weather is better). The weather was perfect that day, even if a little on the warm side. But we didn't complain because it was such a rewarding day for everyone!! I am looking forward to doing the same thing again with Pat and the twins and anyone else who has a special needs child or grandchild or is involved with a special needs group.I have too many pecans to pick all of them up anyway, and this is such a fun day for the children who participate and for us--it's definitely a win-win situation.

     Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Ours was wonderful. On Thanksgiving day, Sheri's boys, Landon and Luke, were with their Dad. So Sheri, Anna, and I were invited to share Thanksgiving lunch with Craig, Alicia, and their kids. It was so nice! Turkey and all the trimmings--everything was delicious!. I brought wine and, of course, two pecan pies. I have made six pecan pies since last Friday!! Then I went outside with the kids and watched them as they played on their outdoor play equipment. There were so many leaves on the ground, and the kids liked piling up the leaves at the end of the slide and sliding down backwards and burying themselves in the leaves. I took pictures of them (or their legs anyway!) after they slid down. And, of course, here is one picture of Kieran, always the clown!

 

   

      Here is my favorite picture of the day, Megan with her dad on the deck. She is so SHY, poor baby!! Ha! Ha!  

     Then on Saturday after Thanksgiving (yesterday), my family (I have 3 brothers and 1 sister) all got together. Our parents died very young, my dad at 52 (lung cancer) and my mom at 58 (brain tumors). After they were both gone, we all decided to get together every Thanksgiving because we all lived in different cities. We agreed to meet on the week-end, rather than on Thanksgiving day so we could all have Thanksgiving with our respective immediate families. We alternate hosting, and this year was my turn. Only one brother did not come; and some of the extended family members, children and grandchildren, were unable to come. The larger our families get, the harder it is for all of us to get together. But we always try, and we had a wonderful time, again despite the weather that turned to sprinkles so the kids could not play outside as long as they wanted.

Siblings Joey, Barbara, me, and Gene. We three oldest are each a year apart. Then Ron (5 years later) and Gene (3 years later). My mother was always having children!!

     The hosting sibling usually provides the main course and a side dish or two, and everyone else brings side dishes and drinks. We always end up with more food than we ever need and certainly more than we should eat! But it is so good to get together and catch up and reminisce about old times. We ate a lot, laughed a lot, and just enjoyed being together. My sister Barbara and her daughter Monica and family (husband, Ben, and children, Samantha and Beau) came down from Little Rock on Friday afternoon and stayed the weekend. Two of my brothers, Joey (the "patriarch"--oldest of the siblings) and Gene (the youngest of the siblings) came with some of their family members (see pictures below). They both live in West Monroe, Louisiana, about an hour from Vicksburg.

     The day was cut a bit short, again because of the weather. There was a really bad cell of thunderstorms coming in, so the ones from West Monroe and Shreveport left around 3:00 to try to beat out the storm because it got too, too bad. I had also planned to meet some folks at the farm to pick pecans today, but that had to be rescheduled as well! Oh, well! It was still a great week-end.

Anna, Luke, and Landon with mom, Sheri

Craig and Alicia with Ryan, Megan, Kieran, and Elizabeth

Grammy with all 7 precious grandchildren!!

Gene and his wife, Jeanette

Big brother Joey, wife Betty, daughters, Kathy (with hubby Jim) and Beth (hubby Ryan unable to make it), and grandchildren Sydney, Will, Blake, and Wes

Lizzie, Megan, and Sam in grammy's bedroom

The oldest sibling and the youngest

Grammy with her angel, Anna Kate

Barbara's daughter Monica with hubby Ben and children Beau and Sam(antha)

After huge meal, girls visited in dining room; guys watched football!

Two of my nieces, Kathy and Beth, with Mom Betty Carol (Joey's wife)

My youngest child and my youngest grandchild--aren't they adorable!!

      Second cousins (pictures on left
and right) playing a game on xBox.

Lots of good food!!

And some MORE food!!

 

 

   

Megan and Elizabeth on porch - think it had started sprinkling by then.

Megan just LOVES being outside!

    The only thing missing was Russell. And I'm afraid that, for some reason, this holiday season is going to be the hardest since I lost him. I don't know why. But I had a bad day this past week (cried all day), and this past Saturday morning before everybody got here I lost it a couple of times. I'm so thankful, however, to have such a wonderful family, and that includes all of Russell's family. I rely on all of them to help me carry on.

     As we enter into the rest of the holiday season, let's all hold all of our loved ones close; don't take anything or anyone for granted. Tell them all you love them every chance you have. And stay safe!!!