Dackel Princess

Friday Five

And here we are again. Another week has come and gone and Friday is upon us. It’s mid-May, and in two weeks my little love, Savannah will turn four years old! Here are 5 recollections of the last four years.

The day Savannah arrived I held her, tears in my eyes and felt the deepest surge of love imaginable.

She was the most beautiful baby girl and my heart swelled with love.
As she grew I started to see her very distinctive personality. She was bright, alert, and imaginative. She also knew from an early age what she liked.

In fact we took her shopping for a bouncy seat and she tried several before settling down in one and picking it out as her own.
By her first birthday she was walking, and starting to talk. As she grew older her talking increased.

Happy from Dackel Princess Maribeth on Vimeo.

She began to express her wants and desires, but in words.
She has always been so cuddly and loving.

And to this day, she will see me, run into my arms crying “Oma” in her happy little voice!
I love sitting and talking with her now.

She will tell me all her little stories, her feelings, and I am enthralled.

What a true blessing it is to be an Oma to this amazing little girl!!!

TBT: Baby Fritzie

We were traveling in our motor-coach with Shubi and Fritz to a dog show, where baby Fritz debuted. He did pretty well, getting first place in his puppy category, as well as Best Puppy in Show! He loved riding in the motor-coach and one time we came in and found him sitting in the drivers seat, looking as though he belonged there!

His glory days didn’t last too long, as his beautiful, perfect, black nose grew into what is referred to as “snow-nose”, which basically means it turned a pinkish color.

Fritz was the very best and sweetest White German Shepherd that we ever had. We still miss him a great deal. I think his memory with be with us for the rest of our days.

The Spring & The Plums

Tuesday was just beautiful. The skies were clear, bright blue, the sun was shining, and there was not a single cloud. As I walked through our yard, I passed the plum tree and the bees were busy working the blossoms. We may not have any peaches this year, but apparently there will be plums, and hopefully apples.

The Bee and the Plum Blossom.

I went with Hubby to the tractor shop to get a new battery for our tractor/mower. He was upset that the battery had died, but the clerk assured him that he had actually gotten his money’s worth on that one.

We drove the back roads home and I enjoyed the beauty all around us. It seems that Spring has finally arrived!

Grandchildren & Love

Last week I drove down and spent the day with my daughter and grandson. It was a nice day, and I enjoyed the ride down and back.

Mandy and I hit the Outlet shops, and in the early afternoon we stopped to have lunch. We both felt like something different, and decided to go to a Thai Restaurant and try them. Oh my goodness, it was fabulous!

Sweet Quinn was really good while we shopped. If we were outside walking, he fell right to sleep. But as soon as we would go into a store, he would wake up! He didn’t cry, but he was wide awake and taking it all in. At the end of lunch, Mandy and I went to get Savannah at school and that was such a wonderful surprise. She came home and we got to play and joke and fool around, before I had to leave to drive home.

I’ll be going back this week to spend some more time with them. You know, the time you spend with your children or grandchildren, is the best!

Mother’s Day

When I think about Mother’s Day, I do think of my own Mom. Ours was a very complicated relationship, but in the end, there is love and for that, I am grateful.

But Mother’s Day also reminds me to thank God for the blessings in my life that made me a Mom and an Oma (grandmother).

I have been blessed, I tell you! I gave birth to two beautiful, intelligent, fun, and adventurous daughters. Amanda came first on December 20th, and the feeling of profound joy that I felt with her birth is something I can never fully explain. Looking into her tiny face, knowing that she was made from our love, was amazing!

Next came our Katie, on November 8th. What a surprise she was with her red hair and green eyes! She was a sweet, loving, child, and her loss is something we will never get over.

Time passed, Mandy grew up, and then on the 31st of May in 2012, my first granddaughter, Savannah Rose came into our world! A beautiful, loving, talented, imaginative, girlie girl! I look into her eyes and I see pure love and my heart swells with love. Every day, I thank God for this blessing.

And just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, on the 7th of March, this year grandson, Quinn Wallace arrived! What a handsome little dude he is! Since I had never had a son, this whole boy thing is new to me, and I am just loving it.

Thank you Lord for all the blessings in this life. For my Children and for my Grandchildren. Life is, so very good!

TBT: Baby MB

Not exactly sure how old I was, perhaps 4 or 5 months. Mel, what do you think? Anyway, I saw this and thought I would make this my TBT.

Happy Birthday Jack!

Another year has come and gone, and here it is Hubby’s 78th Birthday! Jack, I hope you know, that every year that goes by, finds me more and more in love with you. In so many ways, you gave me back the love and happiness I had lost and together we have made a beautiful life together with our family.

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!

Happy Birthday Hubby from Dackel Princess Maribeth on Vimeo.

Hubby’s Birthday

Happy Birthday Dickie

Today would have been my brother’s 65th birthday. Richard “Dickie” was seven years older than me, which when you are a child seemed like a million, billion, years.

Melodie was just two years younger, and she and Dickie were really close. When I was small, they took pretty good care of their little sister.

Melodie, Dickie and me.

My brother was born prematurely and was very small. His birth was a tough one, and he had life long after effects from it.

My brother, was well loved by many. The one thing I can say is that he tried hard, always and he loved deeply.

He married a woman with four kids, and I know he loved each and every one of them. Together they had two sons. They will unfortunately never really know how proud and happy he was the days they were born. You see, when he was in his early twenties he became ill with cancer.

He loved to cook and he loved his music. Although he never could learn to read music, all he had to do was hear something once and he could play it either on the guitar or the piano.

He learned he had cancer at the age of 26. On April 1st, April Fools Day. And he fought long and hard to win his battle against that dreaded disease. Unfortunately, back in 1977, cancer treatment was brutally hard, and seldom worked on Lymphoma and Leukemia.

Dickie passed from this life to the next on April 2nd 1978. We miss you, Dickie and hope you are happy and celebrating with all of the family up there in Heaven.

Weekend Wrap-Up

This was a great weekend. Mandy hosted the party for Hubby and we got to spend time with the kids. Mandy and Matt and the grands, Savi and Quinn.

Bonus, of course was seeing my sister, Melodie and her husband, Ron, and my cousin, Janet, who is like a sister to me. It was time we don’t often get, and it was time well spent.

Anyway, this family time got me thinking about how fortunate we are to have this wonderful family. It may be a small family, but it is an awesome one!

So many people have no one, or perhaps they do, but take them for granted. I am so blessed. I know the wonderful family I have, and I thank God every day for each and every one of them.

Surprise!

Yesterday I was able to surprise Hubby with a mini birthday party. We had just the immediate family and it was wonderful!

Mandy got the best marinated chicken and beef tips, and I made my potato salad and Janet brought her mango black bean salad (drool!) and my sister, Mel made the Angel cake with strawberries. The weather was wonderful, sunny and warm, and we sat outside, while Matt cooked on the grill, and then ate our lunch. It was perfect!

Savannah sang two songs for us, and she was wonderful! I could feel myself getting all teary eyed. I just love her so much.

And Quinn has grown so much! I did my share of holding, burping and picture taking. I’m amazed at how quickly he is growing!

So, thank you to all of my family, Mandy, Matt, Mel, Ron, Janet and the two children, Savi and Quinn for making today so special for Papa. He loved it!