2008 Reflections for the Garons and Frenches

Mary Harrell French - Aug. 24, 1930 - Jan. 14, 2008

The Mary French Scholarships established
for pastor's wives
* Southwestern Theological Seminary
* New Orleans Theological Seminary

Daddy - Tommy French
* received his honorary Doctorate degree
from Louisiana College
* retired from Jefferson Baptist after 50 years

Jefferson Baptist Church -
* 50th Anniversary
* Daddy Retired
* New Pastor - Dr. David Goza

Katie graduated from LSU - Dec. 19th

Chad got his first job at University Club

Brandt -
* PBS Golf team won State and Regionals
* Individually won 4 Arrowhead Jr. Golf Tour tournaments
******The Links at Pelican Point Jr. Classic
******Beau Chene Junior Classic
******Tchefuncta Junior Classic
******AJGT Tournament of Champions
* Runner up in the Coca-Cola Championship on AJGT
* Runner up in the Baton Rouge Open for Golf
* Traveled to Australia and Hawaii to golf for ISSI
* Won The Island's Club Championship

WOW!!! WHAT A YEAR!!!

Another Christmas Come and Gone

We made it and it was nice. My family came to the house Christmas Eve for Seafood Gumbo and to open presents. Christmas Day we went to Daddy's for lunch and then Danny's niece and nephew came over that night. We don't get to see them very often so it was nice visiting with them.

Things have been kinda quiet since Christmas. It's been great! I only left the house Saturday to go to the grocery store. For some unknown reason my family thought we needed food????...and Yes, I cooked. I know, I know...hard to believe.

Too much time makes you think too much though. It hit me that Brandt only has a little more than 4 months left in high school. That's not a long time. As busy as we will be with golf and school, it is going to fly by. I'm going to try to remember to stop and enjoy it all.

Hey, if you haven't seen my "sites I visit", go check out The Gosselins 10. This is Jon and Kate plus 8. They have a reality show on TV. I have always loved their show, but for Christmas, Katie and Ryan gave me their book "Mulitple Bles8ings". It is so good. It is a story of faith and they share their daily walk with Christ and how they trust him to get them through each day. What an awesome witness they are to our world. I pray that their book will touch the lives of many who are lost.

I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year! I pray that the Lord will bless you and your family in 2009.

Golf at The Peninsula

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LSU Graduation...Golf...YIKES!!!!!! Christmas is WHEN????????

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Yes!!! I am now in full panic mode!!!!

Great weekend though! Katie graduated from LSU, Friday morning. I am so proud of her. Why God chose to give me such a great daughter I don't know, but I'm thankful. It was so cool to see her walk across that stage and receive her diploma she has worked so hard for. The speaker asked for all of the parents of the graduates to stand up and when I stood, I kinda caught my breath and thought, "I'm the parent of a college graduate". REALITY CHECK!!!!! Yes, I'm getting old.
On the other hand, when I was her age I had been married almost 5 years and had a 1 1/2 year old. Imagine how my parents felt. Hmmmm!

After graduation, we took off to Gulf Shores for Brandt's golf tournament. We tried to get there early enough for Brandt to hit some balls on the range, but little did we know, it gets dark by 4:45pm in Gulf Shores and we were still traveling at that point. When we got there we found a lit driving range, so I dropped off Danny and the boys at about 6:55 and went to get food. When I got back they were standing in the dark. Apparently the lights were on a timer and they go off at 7:00 pm. They couldn't see where the ball was going, but they could see it to hit it, so they finished off their buckets. LOL!!!

Saturday, Brandt had a 8:24am tee time. It was cool, but nice. Daddy and I got a cart and Danny walked following Brandt. Chad was on Brandt's bag this weekend. At the end of the 1st round, Brandt was tied for 1st with 2 other golfers. He shot a 73...1 over par. Brandt was so excited that PaPa was there to watch him. This was the 1st tournament Daddy has been able to attend.
Sunday was a 8:26 tee time and by then it was cold and RAINING!!!!!!! Yes!!!! There was a siting of that homeless looking woman again. I had 3 layers, my ear wrap, gloves, towel, 2 blankets...just say anything I could get my hands on that might keep me warm. I told Brandt, if he wouldn't have been tied for the lead, I just may have had to sit this one out.
Brandt played like it was 75 degrees and the sun was shining. His best golf of the day was during the cold rain. In the end, he shot a 74...2 over par, giving him a total of 147 for both days. He won the tournament by 6 strokes. When we were walking out of the clubhouse, he turned to me and said, "I'm so glad I could win the one PaPa came to". Mr. Paul, the director of Arrowhead Jr. Golf Tour, is going to interview Brandt this week for an article for the newspaper so I'll keep you posted.

That leads me to my panic. Yes! I started shopping for Christmas today! I have waves of panic. One minute I'm fine, the next I feel like I'll never make it. Oh well!!!! It always turns out fine and I wouldn't trade these last few days for the world.

Merry Christmas to everyone! and HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!!!!!!

SNOW DAY!!!!!!!!!!

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Baton Rouge actually got a Snow Day!!!! How crazy is this???
It is so beautiful. I don't remember ever seeing it this thick
in Baton Rouge. The electricity and excitement in the air is
so refreshing and fun!!!!!

Brandt wins at Tchefuncta!

This weekend we were at Oak Harbor Golf Club in Slidell on Saturday then finished up the tournament at Tchefuncta Country Club in Covington, Sunday. Yes!!! I froze!!! Brandt told me I looked like a bum, wrapped up in all of my blankets and cold gear. LOL!!! Do you think I really cared what I looked like??? It was everyman for themselves. I think I had a least 3 layers on before I even wrapped up in the blankets.

Brandt shot even par 72 on Saturday. He had 5 birdies and 5 bogeys. The weather was COLD, windy, and water everywhere...and if you've followed Brandt you know him and water usually find each other, but he didn't find the water at all Saturday. He went into Sunday's round with a 9 stroke lead.
Because this tournament was split between two courses, he had to make a decision as to which course to play his practice round. It gets dark so soon now and he can't miss school for practice rounds ( momma says so) there was no way he could play a practice round at both courses, so he chose Oak Harbor in Slidell. Saying that, he played Sunday's round totally blind, never seeing the course before. When we got there we thought we would get him a copy of the course layout, NOT!!!!! They had just re-done the course, adding 3 new holes so they didn't have the new ones printed yet. Well, he ended up with a 74, 3 over par. This course has a par of 71 (most are 72). 2 birdies and 5 bogeys.

There is a great article on the homepage of Arrowhead Jr. Golf Tours website about this weekends tournament. If you want to read it you can go to www.arrowheadjgt.com.

Friday, Dec. 19th, after LSU graduation, we are headed to Gulf Shores to play in Arrowhead Jr. Golf Tournament of Champions at the Peninsula Golf Club. This will conclude the Arrowhead Tour for 2008. WOW! What a year on Arrowhead. We're so proud of him.

Graduation Countdown

Yep! We are down to days before Katie graduates from LSU. Finals start next week and graduation is Dec. 19th. She'll graduate in Criminal Justice and after graduation she's going to take some time off to study for the LSAT and then go on to Law School. It seems like yesterday she was graduating from Parkview (probably not to her).

Congratulations Katie! We love you!!!!

JBC 50 Years

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