Mother's Day ~ Four Generation Photos

Once upon a time, in 1949, I was the baby of four living generations on Mom's side of the family...oh so lucky me to have known all of these wonderful women (and my Grandpa Price too...what a character!).

l to r: Velma Price Pogue, Bill Price, Bev Pogue, Mary Ann Bivin Price

l to r: Bernice Wallace Price, Velma Price Pogue, Bev Pogue, Martha Weaver Wallace

Twenty Three years later, my daughter Sandee was the baby in this four generation photo.

l to r: Bernice Wallace Price, Bev Pogue Watt [now Ulaszek] holding Sandee Watt, Velma Price Pogue

In June 2011 the latest of our four generation photos included my precious grandkids.

Velma Price Pogue seated in front of: 

Greg Watt, Dylan Crane, Sandee Watt Crane, Jackson Crane, Bev Ulaszek, Shelby Crane

Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful women in my life today...you know who you are!

Lovin' Life ~~ Thankful For These Special Memories

St. Adelbert's Church

Sunday, October 16, 2011

The first time I saw it, I fell in love with the neighborhood church my husband and his family attended. It is inspiring in its glorious vastness and beauty. On Sunday, we finally had an opportunity to take our grands to Mass there.

This photo of its twin towers was taken from the parking lot at the side of the church. I neglected to take a photo of the front of the church though so it was copied from an online source.

We met Marianne, Helen, Ted Jr., and Marianne's friend, Judy, in front of the church.

St. Adalbert Church is a historic church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago. It is a prime example of the so-called 'Polish Cathedral style' of churches in both its opulence and grand scale. The church is located on 17th Street between Paulina Street and Ashland Ave in the Pilsen area of Chicago. St. Adalbert has served generations of Polish immigrants and their American-born children.

St. Adalbert's parish has seen many changes in the surrounding area since it was founded in 1874 to serve the needs of Chicago's Poles. This mother church of all the later Polish parishes on the West and South sides now serves the many Mexicans of the Pilsen neighborhood and has masses in Polish, English, and Spanish. The church itself is the gift of the Poles not just to the people of the surrounding area but to all of Chicago. It is truly a city treasure. If you are interested in more information, please go to  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Adalbert's_in_Chicago

How could anyone enter a space this magnificent and not be humbled?

A closeup of the altar overseen by the white-marble statue of the church's patron, St. Adelbert.

After explaining to the grands that they could receive a blessing from the priest when others went forward for communion, the two younger ones elected to do so. Watching them solemnly walk down that aisle with their arms crossed and them snuggling up to me when they returned to our pew, left me with tears streaming down my face. The pride and love I have for these three is unlike any other.

Lovin' Life ~~ Wanting for Words

Happy Birthday, Shelby!

We were so thrilled to welcome our third grandchild into the family! These bright eyes foretold a child who catches every detail.

And now our beautiful baby girl is a smart, funny, problem-solving, opinionated, clever, always-loving, and still beautiful seven year old. When she and her big brothers were here this summer, we traveled and shared many new experiences. It's always fascinating to hear her take on each new adventure. Some have expressed how much she is like Grandma...which thrills Grandma to no end!

We love you, Shelby!!!

Happy Birthday, Dylan!

Double the joy...we are grandparents again! Yesterday for this special event in our lives was nine years ago today when our Dylan was born.

And now that beautiful baby boy has grown into a bright, thoughtful, hockey playing, loving, and very thrifty nine year old. He and his siblings returned home yesterday after a seventeen day visit with us. We did so many things, including celebrating his birthday and developing his very own blog...grandma and grandpa are so proud of his interest in computers and do all we can to encourage that! 

We love you, Dylan!!!

THE HAPPIEST WORDS ARE...

And, they will be here for seventeen more days...but who's counting???
Their Grandma & Grandpa, that's who!!!
We couldn't be more excited and have several fun things planned.

We are grandparents! Happy Birthday, Jackson!

I'll bet that got your attention. This is a Yesterday post which means that I am writing about something that happened...well...Yesterday. This particular Yesterday was eleven years ago today and was the day that Rich and I became grandparents for the first time.

Our Jackson was born in California and we wasted little time going to welcome him into our family.

And now that beautiful baby boy has grown into a sweet, smart, athletic, loving, handsome eleven year old. Even though we miss those baby and toddler years, we wouldn't trade a minute of the time we've been fortunate enough to spend with him, watching him grow.

We love you, Jackson!!!

Sports News - Hockey

Dylan, our middle grand, got back into ice hockey last fall. He has always loved it as you can see from this June 2006 photo. Both of the boys were in hockey then.  Dylan is on the left and Jackson on the right in the split photos below taken that summer by their dad. Jackson has left ice hockey behind to focus on his love of football and baseball. Dylan will also play baseball again this year but it seems hockey is his main sport.

Never one to be left out, that year their little sister had her very own hockey stick even though she wasn't taking lessons. Every time they went to the rink, she marched in oh-so-proudly carrying her pink hockey stick.

Recently Dylan started on a team for the first time, rather than simply taking lessons. He has often talked about wanting to be a goalie. Last Tuesday was the first hockey game where he got to be the goalie. They won 4 to 3...pretty great for a first time goalie! That evening he sent us the following e-mail...

GUESS WHAT? GUESS WHAT? I GOT THE GAME PUCK IN HOCKEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I GOT THE ACTUAL GAME PUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JUST WANTED TO TELL YOU BYE!!

Dylan

When I talked to him on the phone, he was also excited about getting "dogpiled" by his team at the end of the game. I did figure out that getting "dogpiled" is a very good thing and, for those who may be wondering, it means that the team all piled on top of him in celebration of his huge role in their win.

More Sports News...

This was the first year that Jackson had actual tryouts for baseball which resulted in him getting moved up to AAA ball and Shelby has a new pink batting helmet so expect more sports news about all the grands as baseball season gets underway!