Gosh, but it\u2019s been a long time since I\u2019ve sat down to write. So much has happened in the past two months and it\u2019s left me turning in circles and unable to focus for a while.<\/p>\n

December found us spending more time in church for funerals of family members, than not. I lost my dad at the beginning of December, a very close friend the day after Christmas and my husband\u2019s niece lost her baby only days before her due date before New Year\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Losing a parent is rough and going through a funeral with family members at each other\u2019s throats is not a pleasant situation. Losing someone who has been an integral part of your life for the better part of 17 years isn\u2019t easy. Especially when that person sees you as part of their family and that is how it was. This man was as close to a saint on earth as I have ever met. He touched so many lives in a spiritual way and his legacy will live on forever. He was that kind of man, truly special.<\/p>\n

Our niece\u2019s baby did so many somersaults that she managed to twist her umbilical cord to the point it cut off her life-line to her mother. She was a beautiful little baby, pink as could be as she had just passed before delivery. It was heartbreaking for everyone. Her passing marked the third death in my husband’s\u00a0family in five months.<\/p>\n

As I look back and try to absorb all the emotions that have been floating around, I told my husband that I didn\u2019t know what was the hardest \u2013 grieving a parent you\u2019ve known your entire life, watching the burial of a beloved man, or watching two twenty-eight year olds standing with their arms around each other when they finally make the decision to allow the casket to be closed on a baby they will never get to raise.<\/p>\n

Life is strange and definitely not for us mere mortals to understand. At the baby\u2019s funeral, our priest said that the week before we had buried one of our finest (our friend) and that day, we were burying one of our purist. On New Year\u2019s Day<\/a> when our priest visited at the hospital, he spoke about the baby being a true angel, that she wasn\u2019t tainted by this world. She had never taken a breath of this life. I thought of the Blessed Mother<\/a> carrying a Savoir, and I thought what an honor, to be chosen by God, to carry an angel. That is special.<\/p>\n

This past week I had the chance to play with the penguins at the Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans<\/a>. A friend of mine has a child with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome<\/a>, and he was eligible to be part of the Easter Seals<\/a> program that sponsors the event. My friend invited me to go along. She is too funny and sweet. The aquarium is closed on Mondays and she knows that I am an introvert and suffer from social anxiety. When the person told her we would be the only ones there (besides the other four families) she immediately thought of me \u2013 so off we went on a field trip, the two of us and two of her children. Did I mention how great it is to have such wonderful friends who love you and take your quirks in stride? I was not always so lucky, so I know that I am truly blessed.<\/p>\n

We had so much fun, but the day wasn\u2019t without incident! \u201cLucy\u201d just had to do something! After learning about the penguins and their habitat, we were invited to enter the habitat and play with them. Of course, the habitat includes a huge swimming hole! I think I prayed the entire time that I would not fall in, because if that was going to happen to anyone it would have been me!<\/p>\n

Most of the penguins are quite friendly and we were able to hold them. We were allowed to stay and play for a long time, which was nice. We weren\u2019t rushed at all and the penguins seem to enjoy the visit as much as we did. The person in charge was as eager to answer all of our questions, as we were to ask them.<\/p>\n

The only thing I feel bad about is that I am in most of the pictures because Mom was busy taking pictures of the kids and I was helping them hold and play with penguins! I felt she should have been in the photos instead of me, but at least the camera was safe in her hands. At the end of the visit, we were squired away to a room where two penguins with paint on their feet walked all over paper taped to the floor. Each child went home with a stuffed penguin and a picture \u201cpainted\u201d by the penguins. We had so much fun!<\/p>\n

Okay “Lucy” did have one incident that could definitely have been disastrous, but wasn’t. When we entered the door to go to the penguin’s habitat, don’t ask me what I expected to see. A staircase perhaps? What I saw was a ladder, much like those used in boats to climb down into the engine rooms. I had to laugh at myself and even said, “Oh! A ladder.” We climbed up the ladder with no problem and I forgot all about it – that is, until it was time to leave.<\/p>\n

Having spent a little time climbing up and down such ladders, I knew as I watched everyone climbing down as though it were a staircase, that it wasn’t. Soon, it was our turn to follow Jude’s mom and sister down the ladder. They laughed when they turned around and saw Jude and I descending the ladder the same way we had climbed up. A ladder is a ladder is a ladder, I don’t care how you call it. She thought I was little nuts when I described how I climbed down, but Jude and I made it safely to the bottom with him climbing down by himself (like a big boy) surrounded by my arms.<\/p>\n

That was the safe part, because as I turned around and started out the door, I didn’t see the raised lip and almost went flying. I still can’t tell you how and where I caught myself, but fortunately an accident was avoided.<\/p>\n

If you would like to read about the program and see a few pictures, please click on the link. http:\/\/www.nola.com\/family\/index.ssf\/2015\/01\/easter_seals_louisiana_and_aud.html<\/a><\/p>\n

And, what do you do on the way home with kids? You stop for chicken tenders! We had a great day and it was nice to be light-hearted for a while.<\/p>\n

Tuesday, I had an appointment at Ochsner for a MRI<\/a> on my hand. The diagnosis was erosive arthritis and if you follow me on Instagram<\/a>, (@SouthernCharmPlanner) I am documenting my progress with a medication that was prescribed. My doctor told me Erosive Arthritis is a cousin of Rheumatoid Arthritis<\/a>. Not a lot is known about it and there is no cure or known treatment \u2013 rare was what she called it. That didn\u2019t surprise me as I already have two \u201crare\u201d blood disorders. I am an INTJ<\/a> and have a \u201crare\u201d personality \u2013 4% of the population share this personality. Rare is quickly becoming part of my vocabulary.<\/p>\n

Since Hubby was off at the duck camp, a friend went with me to the hospital. On the way home \u2013 laughing here \u2013 we stopped at iHop. It\u2019s not only children who like chicken tenders! We ended up sitting and talking until almost dark!<\/p>\n

I escaped two incidents this week unscathed – which still has me shaking my head. The second was Friday evening when I went to the dog’s kennel to check to make sure their blankets had not been drug out of their houses. Their kennel is the white picket fenced yard surrounding my Garden House (the pic is above). Their houses are located under an overhang to the side and on a wooden platform. As I walked onto the wooden platform, my foot slipped on the slime (it’s been raining) and down I went. My arm went down on top of the fence between two pickets and I hit my knees. My thought as I was going down was this is going to be a bad one. By the Grace of God<\/a>, I was kneeling down and wondering what I broke when I realized I hadn’t hurt myself, not even my knees! I am still shaking my head because I’ve done more damage with less traumatic falls. My favorite jacket was even spared.<\/p>\n

Other than catching up on Etsy orders and book reviews, that has been my week. Hope you enjoyed visiting!<\/p>\n

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  Gosh, but it\u2019s been a long time since I\u2019ve sat down to write. So much has happened in the past …<\/p>\n

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