A new member of the family

This is little Stella...She is the newest member of our family. I'm sorry about the dark and grainy pictures, but i was in a rush to introduce her to you all, and she seems to be a bit camera shy. She actually ducks and turns away when she sees me with the camera pointed at her. So these are the best pictures i have of her so far. She was a much loved member of my cousin's family, but when her four legged friends passed away (she is 7 years old) she became a bit depressed and her loving humans thought that maybe she would be happier in a place where she could be with other dogs.At first i wondered if this place would be TOO much for Stella. That blur in the picture is Zinnia and Little Honey playing with each other... And we have an Open Door Policy here at the house, so we have folks dropping in all the time, day and night. It is a lot for a body to get used to if that is not your normal way you know.

I was especially worried about Thanksgiving Day. We were having everyone here for dinner and there were at one time about 16 to 18 people of all ages, shapes and sizes in this little house. But you know, those people are all dog lovers, and very loving people in general. And little Stella, who i call Stella Bella, found plenty of laps and arms to be sheltered in, and she did just fine. I have a feeling she will be a special friend to my Mom and Dad, who make a big fuss over her for sure.

As the days go on and Stella becomes part of the pack here, she also becomes a part of my heart. Thank you Mand and Celie. We love her very much. And i promise better pictures soon!(IF she co-operates! ;)

Happy Halloween!

Today we had a date at GG and Bepa's house(my Parents and the kids Great Grandparents) for a noontime Halloween Party!
(There was a cute little Giraffe there too!)

All of the Great Grandchildren came by and posed for this great group picture

There was a Native American

And 2 Luigi's and a Mario
and there is that little Giraffe again!

We had delicious pizza

but it was pretty hard to eat with those big moustaches!

Lola and i made special cookies for everyone.

And GG and Bepa got a special cake for the party and the Elmo face in the center of each cupcake was a ring!

Even Uncle Bob got into the spirit! A good time was had by all. I am wishing You and Yours a Happy Halloween!

Prayers are welcome....

My son in law, and Seth and Lola's daddy, Jeremie, is in the local hospital, and has been for over a week now. He has had a lifelong battle with asthma, and has been in and out of hospitals all his life with this problem. Two weeks ago he caught a cold or flu that was going thru the family, and last Sunday my daughter brought him to the ER with shortness of breath. He has developed a very strong bacterial pneumonia that has so far been very resistant to antibiotics. He is now in ICU, on a respirator, in a medically induced deep sleep.... Jeremie is a very private person so i have resisted posting about this. But as we enter into the second week in ICU with no improvements so far, i am hopeful that extra prayers and positive thoughts might just help him out. I am a lifelong believer in the Power of Prayer and Love, and i thank you all in advance for sending a little Love and Light our way....

Best Birthday Ever! Mom's 80th Birthday Party!

I haven't been posting much lately. We went right from leaving the hospital to getting ready for my Mom's big 80th Birthday Party! I have spent every last minute this past week cleaning and getting our house ready to host the Big Event! Thank Goodness for my nice big cool garage. The sun and heat was oppressive yesterday.

Mom's birthday fell on a Saturday this year so we were able to celebrate right on her special day too. This was her delicious cake. Butter cream frosting on yellow cake layered with custard and fresh blueberries. YUM!

Everyone made dips and snacks to start with, and then we had a huge delivery of pizza and wings. I am SO glad we didn't have to cook or fire up the grill in that heat yesterday!

Everybody just sat and talked and visited with each other...The kids played in the gardens, catching bugs and running up and down Bill's ramps.

We all sang Happy Birthday and then Mom cut her cake.

Here's Seth modeling a snake like moustache he fashioned out of some found wire .

Lola, sweaty but not letting the heat get to her!

Here she is dancing in the garage.

getting hugs and kisses from "GG" which stands for Great Grandmother.

and singing Happy Birthday with Aunt Kate to GG. Later, after all our guests left and we did some major cleanup, we all went out and sat on the cool deck and played a trivia game my daughter Katie put together (i flunked) and listened to music and enjoyed the cool night air and each other's company. My Mother told us just before she left for home, that this was her best birthday ever. And looking at her beautiful face and hearing the emotion in her voice, i knew she really meant it. And that meant the world to us all...

Happy Birthday Mom!

Pics from the Picnic!

Our 4th of July picnic took place on the 5th this year. It was a beautiful sunny day, and it was so great to get together with our Loved Ones!

Lola went swimming in her baby pool in her diaper, which caused some problems for her. That darn diaper weighed so much she got her butt stuck in the chair! HELP!!!

Soon after that episode, we just did away with the clothes all together! Here she is exploring the cooler and tasting the ice. Yeow! That's cold !

Here i am hugging my grandson Seth. Last year at the very same celebration i could rest my chin on top of his head!

He's grown so much in 1 year! Time passes so quickly now. I see it in the children and how they grow so fast.

What a great time we had....

A Beautiful Wedding...

After allowing a few days for recovery, i am finally posting some pictures from my daughter Carly and Jeremie's wedding. One thing i have learned for sure...i need a new and better camera. The photos i took were all taken with a flash, but the lighting in the building was set at candlelight for an evening wedding, and my camera just could not deal with such low light appropriately. So here are the shots that came out the best, with better ones to come from the professional photographer...Here is little Miss Lola, the Flower Girl, in the Bridal Salon, all dressed and ready to go. It is a miracle that she did not tear the red flower off her dress, as she loves to pick "shahdies" (Lola's word for flowers) Here is the dress from the back...
The Father of the Bride, walking his daughter down the isle...

Ring Bearer Seth and Best Man Chad, watching the bride approach the altar...

Maid of Honor and sister Katie, with the Flower Girl during the ceremony

The Vows

The First Dance

Good Food!

You can see a bit of Lola's pearl necklace i made for her. She never tried to pull it off and it is still in one piece to this day!

Seth, enjoying the reception from the head table. He did a GREAT job at the ceremony and was ready to party here!

Lola and Mommy...Lo was out of her dress and into her jammies here. I was jealous. My dress looked great, but i was so ready to be done with the control top panty hose!

And last but not least, a slightly blurry picture of Lola and her Great Grandfather Bepa, who is in love with his girl... So that is the best i have to share with you! The ceremony was beautiful, the food was great, and the happy couple are off on their Honeymoon, while the Grammies share the care of the children. Really, Grammie Anne moved right into the house with the kids so i am just back up for my usual two days of babysitting. Time to take a deep breath, relax a bit and enjoy my favorite time of year....

Family Picnics and the Art of Eating a Cupcake

Well, we celebrated Labor day as a family at my daughter Carly and Jeramie's home. The food was great, and as always the way we like it- Pot Luck. Jeramie slaved at the hot grill and produced some great burgers, hot dogs and chicken too. For excitement, Seth was under heavy water balloon attack for most of the afternoon....

but he didn't seem to mind as it was very hot out and everyone welcomed getting splashed with cool water... Lola relaxed in the sun and got to eat a very pink cupcake. Last year at this same time, Lola wasn't born yet and was just a large bump in her Mother's lap. It is amazing to me what a difference a year can make.

Hmmm...this looks interesting....

ummm...i think i like that!

there's nothing like really getting into your food!

and she wears it well

Lola is fascinated with gadgets, and i let her play with some of the buttons on my camera. She took these two photos...

Do we have a budding photographer in the making?

Memory Day

When i was a girl, i used to think of Memorial Day as "Memory Day". To me, it not only meant remembering the people who gave of themselves to keep us and our country safe and free, but it also meant Family sacrifice, and honoring those we love and who love us. Memorial Day is, for our family, the kick off for the Summer picnic season! This year, Mom and Dad had the picnic at their house. It was a beautiful weekend and the weather cooperated with us.

Dad and Don-The Master Grillers

Dad said to me recently..."How many children can say they knew their Great Grandmother and Great Grandfather? " referring to all of the little ones born into the family in the last few years. And it made me realize how very Blessed we are to have my Parents here with us, healthy and active and strong in their 70's. And so i will make sure that my grandchildren, Seth and Lola, will know and love their Great Grandparents, GG (which stands for Great Gram) and Bepa (which is what my daughter Kate, the first born grandchild called her grandfather, and it stuck!) And so i sat in the yard in the sunshine with my Husband, surrounded by my brother and sisters, their children, my children, my grandchildren and my Parents...my Family, feeling so Grateful for all of my Blessings and Memories...I share them with you dear friends...

GG and Lola

Bepa and Lola reading her favorite book

My Sister Kathy holds her grandson Ryan while i steal a kiss. You gotta catch them while you can!

And Seth, doing his best to gross out a few picnic-ers. And i think he succeeded with a few of them too! Happy Memory Day to you all!

(Note*no live spiders were hurt in the shooting of this photo*)