A Love Thursday Post

I love taking pictures of my girls at the park. It's such a beautiful setting and there's so many shots you can get.

Our school had their spring pictures this past week and I know exactly how my little one here smiled.....a fake painful smile. She'll be all grins and smiles until someone tells her how to pose. Then it becomes fake. A friend of mine who helps when they take the pictures was talking to the photographer and asked how they came out and he said good, why? Then she said, "My friend's a photographer" and he's like, "Oh". Yea, he knew. He knew the shot that she did. And then it hit me. My friend called me a photographer! Wow, what a compliment to me! I LOVE taking photos of my girls and I loved photography classes in high school. Hubby and I have always wanted to have a darkroom so that we can develop our own pictures (black and white), but now with the digital age, Photoshop will have to do. (Plus we don't have the space for a darkroom). So bear with me as I show off my youngest today and her many faces.......


Yea, this one? I think she picked up from her older sister. I should make a mental note to show this to her when she becomes a teenager because I know she's going to do it then too. She's going to look at me like I'm a fucking idiot (pardon my french). They all do, all the teenagers. I know I gave that look when I was a teenager.....

My happy-go-lucky little one. Enjoying life and all the fun that comes with it.

Hmmm....is she contemplating life? Is she wondering what amazing things life has to offer out there? Or is she thinking of devious ways to bug her sister..............you make the call.....

This is my silly girl who LOVES, LOVES being rambunctious and crazy and goofy. (She gets the crazy and goofy part from me....yes, I admit it, I love being a dork when I want to......)

The look of....."I love you mom, thanks for letting me play at the park"

Her gorgeous piercing blue eyes. She gets those from Daddy.

I just LOVE the look of happiness on her face in this shot.

Another favorite of mine.....

This is her. Disheveled hair. She doesn't care. She loves life.

And a "behind the scenes" shot of her just laying in the grass, enjoying herself. Because she does. She does enjoy herself. I love listening to her pretend play. She has a wonderful imagination.

And that's our day in the park. Now see? There's no way I could just pick one shot. Could you???

Happy Valentine's Day

Yes, I know I'm a few hours early when I posted this, but where hubby is, it's Valentine's Day now. :)

Oh, and by the way, I didn't make this. My eldest did. She made it for her friends tomorrow. How stinkin' cute is this???!!! That girl has got some talent!

Happy Valentine's Day to you all and may it be a true Love Thursday!!

Love Thursday - Being A Navy Wife

picture taken by the Navy

This picture was taken yesterday, as our United States Navy entered the Persian Gulf.

I love this picture.

My hubby is on one of those ships.

One of the bigger ones, one of the aircraft carriers.

Seeing pictures like this make me DAMN proud to be a Navy Wife.

When hubby and I got married, he was already in the Navy, but I did know him before he joined the Navy (that story will be for another time).

We will have our 15th wedding anniversary this year.

However, hubby will not be home for it, he will be on one of those ships.

Of course it makes me sad that he's not here.

But I swell up with pride when I see pictures like this, because I know he's out there, doing his job to help protect our county. Even if it is halfway around the world.

Do I get scared? Of course, all the time.

He was over there 4 years ago when the Iraq War started.

And I'm hoping that this deployment will be part of it ending as well.

When it started 4 years ago and I knew that he was over there, I cried when the war first started. I was scared. I mean, come on, a war was starting and my hubby was over there.

Now granted he was on an aircraft carrier, which makes him a lot safer than being on the ground.

But I was still scared.

After 9/11 happened and I saw the show of support that our United States had for it's country and it's service members, I got all choked up with emotion. When I saw that every house on a street had their American Flag flying, it made me so glad to see that our people came together and supported our troops and rallied for our country. All the stories of people clapping their hands when service members came around, or offered their seat on a plane for them, etc. made my heart fill with pride.

Today, the Iraq war certainly isn't favorable among the majority of the Americans.

But they still support the troops and that makes me so happy. So happy that America has learned from Vietnam, that even though they may not support the war or the reason why we're over there, they still support the troops and are thankful to them for going over there and risking their lives.

I am a Navy wife.

Do I like war? Ummm....no........of course not.

Do I wish that there would be alternate ways to handle things? Oh yes, definitely.

But there are people out there in the world who refuse to compromise. People who want to kill people just because of their skin color. Or their religion.

Is this the only reason a war starts? Of course not.

While I certainly don't like being separated from my husband, I love him tremendously and I love him for serving our country. And so I deal with the hardship of being separated from him.

Love Thursday - Birthday Card

My youngest made this for me on Wednesday when we were at my work in the afternoon. I will cherish this always.

Love Thursday - Just Watching

I SO much enjoy just watching my youngest. She is so full of life! She loves to just chatter away when she's playing by herself, she's so enthusiastic when she talks about things she likes, and even things she doesn't like.

Even though I miss my eldest, I am enjoying my one-on-one time with my youngest.

Love Thursday - Bedtime

Love is cuddling with your youngest at bedtime, giving her butterfly kisses and making her giggle.

Love Thursday - Sisters

Love is getting to spend an afternoon with your youngest sister, sharing how you each have Mom's hand gestures, having people notice you have the same profile, and just enjoying each other's company.

Love Thursday - Silly

Love is letting your sister dress you up silly and take pictures of you.

Love Thursday - Friends Forever

I first met her in the backyard of a neighbor's house.

We were 10 years old and we hit it off immediately.

We lived 9 houses apart, growing up.

She shared her Barbie Dream House with me when I didn't get one.

She went camping with me in the summer with my family, and silly us, we read The Amityville Horror together up there.

We were always spending the night at each other's houses, although I liked spending the night at her house, as she had her own room.

I called her from my Aunt's wedding reception when we were 14 to let her know that John Stamos was there with the band, and I got to meet him.

We both LOVED the movie Times Square and Roller Boogie, two opposite ends of the spectrum, in my opinion.

We went to see Def Leppard together the night before the first day of high school.

We both had other friends that we hung out with, but still stayed friends.

We beat just about all the boys playing pool at her house (well, she was better than I, but then the pool table WAS at her house) when she had parties.

We were roommates for about a year.

She was my maid of honor at my wedding and I flew to a different state to go to her wedding.

We've shared secrets.

She was there for me when my mom died and my panic attacks last year.

I'll always be there for her, whenever she needs me.

Friends for almost 29 years, and even though we don't see each other that often, we still keep in touch, thanks to emails, blogs, and the phone.

One of my best friends, forever and ever.

Love Thursday - A Man and His Dog

Nothing says Love like a Man and His Dog

Love Thursday - Enjoying Nature

Being able to capture the true joy in her face as she's running through the falling leaves.....

Love Thursday - My Grandpa

My Grandpa and Me (when I was 3)

My grandpa was the best. Granted he could be gruff at times, but he always loved to play with the kids!

Case in point:

Here I am, around 3 or 4 years old, and he's letting me put curlers in his hair!

When I got married 14 1/2 years ago, I asked him to walk me down the aisle (Dad MIA, a story for another time), but he was having trouble walking. But he was there at my wedding! And I got the last picture I ever had with just me and him:

(My Grandpa and Me - when I was 24)

Love Thursday - My Sister

Love is seeing the joy on my sister's face when she gets her own "Mrs. Claus". (It made me cry when I watched her open it). I adore my sister so much!!! She is someone that everyone loves. :)

******if you read the post a few posts down, it'll tell you the whole story about "Mrs. Claus"*********

Happy Love Thursday everyone!

Love Thursday - Love In the 1940's

Okay, I'm going back again in time to the 1940's. I can't help it. My grandma has such amazing pictures that just show love, I have to display them.

This one is of my grandma and my grandpa John in 1945 in San Francisco, CA:



You can tell they were just having the time of their lives. And what better way to show how much they love each other than by posing in front of a silly cutout. :)

What a story they had......

My grandma and her little sister went to live with her Aunt Edie after their mom died. (Back then, I guess it wasn't right for a father to raise his daughters without a female presence around). But they got to come back every summer to be with their dad. Well, one summer, upon coming back, after finishing high school, she met John. The next summer after coming to visit with her dad, her and John were deeply in love and eloped because they knew Aunt Edie wouldn't approve.

Shortly after they got married and my grandma got her period, my grandpa John said that he would go to the market to get her the stuff she needed and when the bag boy asked if he wanted a bag, he said no, and proudly displayed it when walking back home so the whole town could see that she had her period and that NO, they didn't elope because she was pregnant. LOL!! I have letters that my grandma wrote to him, that he saved, when he was traveling out to California from South Dakota so that he could find better work so they could have a better life. I would have loved to have met him, but sadly he passed away when my mom was a teenager.

Love Thursday......YUMMY!

Chocolate Chip Cookies.............Yummy!!!!!

Love Thursday of a New Sister

My oldest was SO excited to have a baby sister! When I was delivering her baby sister, she was outside the waiting room and was such a ball of excitement, she could hardly contain herself.

Here they are together and you can see how happy my eldest is to have her sister and how much she loves her.

You can read and see more Love Thursday posts here at Love Is All Around and Chookooloonks

Love Thursday, Back to the 1940's

This picture was taken circa 1940.

That's my great-grandpa Owen on the far left. My grandpa John is right next to him cracking up, and his two brothers are next to him, Ken and Newt.

I love this picture SO MUCH! Even though my grandpa Owen has, what looks like, a solemn look on his face, it's actually a "I'm a proud dad and look at my three handsome sons next to me". He LOVED his children SO incredibly much! And you can tell his three sons are having the time of their lives.

I'm still researching, by talking to family, as to why the picture was taken. Even if I don't find out, I still love it.

And what a better picture to represent the 1940's, eh? Four men in suits, hats and smoking cigars!

Nothing says love better than family being together enjoying themselves.

It's a Love Thursday Again!

This picture was taken when my eldest was almost 4 years old. My mom had come down to visit. They were on the back patio playing and I was inside. I saw them sitting there, leaning against the back patio door and I just had to take this picture.

My mom just LOVED to watch her granddaughters. She loved to sit and talk with them, listen to them and just enjoy them. She didn’t have to take them on special trips, buy them special presents, she was just there.

My mom and my eldest had SUCH a special relationship between them. Even though it’s been almost two years since my mom passed away, it’s still hard on her. And me too……

I framed this picture and gave it to my mom for a present one year. It’s now in my eldest’s bedroom.

Love Thursday

Here is a picture of a man who time and time again makes me realize what a truly lucky woman I am.....