Visitin' Loosiana

Recently I got to go visit my son and daughter-in-law in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I arrived on Thursday evening, the day they closed on their house. On Friday, the moving truck showed up and unloaded all their stuff. We spent the rest of that day and Saturday unpacking. I helped however I could: taking care of the two-year-old and the baby, unpacking, cooking, cleaning up, etc. On Saturday night, my son and his wife went on a date while I babysat for them.

Sunday we went to church in their new ward and my son blessed their baby. I was really glad to be there for that.

I also enjoyed the Sunday School where I listened to the teacher give the lesson in his very strong Southern accent. He talked about "da po' sol" (poor soil) in "Da Allegor of de Olive Tree". He did a good job.

One of the women was wearing a hat. My daughter-in-law said she went to Sears and saw a bunch of hats for sale like it is a perfectly normal accessory! It's definitely different from what we're used to.

Monday was more unpacking although my son had to go to work that day. That afternoon we went to the zoo and then to Sammy's for dinner where I had some blackened alligator as an appetizer. Then for dessert, my son stopped by a different place to get some beignets which are something between a scone and a doughnut, with a kind-of-unbelievable amount of powdered sugar in the bag.

I took these pictures as I was saying goodbye at the airport. Katie kept telling me she wanted to go with me. I told her she would miss her mommy too much.

Tuesday afternoon I flew back home to help out my husband who was doing the single dad thing while I was gone. I'm really glad I could be there to help them at a fairly stressful time of life. And we look forward to seeing them again this summer!

This is a quilt that I made for Katie and I gave it to her when I arrived. I had wanted to make a blanket for her. Her other grandma had the baby blanket scene well taken care of so I waited until she was a little older to make a bigger quilt for her. Hopefully she can keep it on her bed for a while.

Comments

Visiting Susquehanna: The Priesthood Restoration Site

On our way home from Palmyra, we decided to go a couple of hours out of our way to visit the recently opened Priesthood Restoration Site along the Susquehanna River. This is where we believe that Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood from John the Baptist which gave them the authority to baptize. This site also has the restored Isaac and Elizabeth Hale home where Joseph and Emma lived for a year as well as the home where Joseph and Emma lived on their own. We spent a couple of hours there and I wouldn't have minded a few more minutes but we had a long way to go that night. It's a beautiful setting, very much in rural Pennsylvania. However, on the day we were there, cars at a racetrack nearby were detracting from the peace and quiet. I'm guessing that's not as big of a problem on weekdays. The Hale Family was quite well-off for their day so their home was probably nicely decorated with wallpaper and carpet. ...

Book Review: Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

This is a juvenile fiction book about a young girl named Melody with severe cerebral palsy. Her body doesn't allow her to feed herself, speak, or do much at all. She's very intelligent with a photographic memory but she can't really communicate. Finally, in 5th grade, she gets a "Medi-Talker" which is a computer that speaks what she types in. Finally she has a voice. This book explores what it is like to be severely physically disabled but not mentally disabled. It seems like one of the most frustrating of all scenarios. She is completely aware of all the cruelty (subtle and otherwise) that her classmates inflict on her because they don't really want to include her in their activities. One of the saddest moments in the book comes when she realizes that every one of her special ed classmates is kind, where the "normal" ones are not. Who really has the worse disability? The book was a quick read and fairly enjoyable. Wha...

Do Dots Family System

The original post was written in January of 2015. I wrote an update at the bottom of this post in March 2021. A few months ago, a friend of mine told me about something she was doing in her family to help her family function better. Her teenage autistic son had been struggling a lot so they had been working with behavior therapists to help him and this "Do Dots Family System" had been recommended. As she described it, I was greatly intrigued since it sounded like something I wanted to implement at my own house. I looked into it and decided to purchase it right after Thanksgiving. Here is my review of how it has worked for us over the last six weeks or so. The basic idea of the chart is that children need to take care of their responsibilities before they get any privileges. It strongly reinforces the concept of "Work Before Play" . The chart helps children see in a very visual way that, until they have completed their responsibilities, they are on Le...

Search This Blog