I'M A COCKER SPANIEL MOM.....

My first "dog" memories as a child, were of our black Cocker Spaniel, Smokey.  It was also my first introduction to the tragedy of losing a pet.  As a little girl, I still remember the day that my dad had to sit with me and tell me that Smokey had been hit by a car.  Many years later, our 8 year old daughter begged us for a dog.  As I searched various adoption days and shelters looking for the perfect family dog, I came across an 11 month old, purebred Cocker Spaniel.  Forty-eight hours later, Eleanor Rigby came to live with a big family on Sandybrook Drive - where he would spend the next fifteen years.  Yes, fifteen years.  By now, all the kids were gone and Bob and I were left to deal with a very old, very deaf dog.  Our hearts broke in late October when we sent Rigby across the Rainbow Bridge.  I told myself that our "dog days" were over.  Our kids were gone.  We traveled a lot.  We didn't need another dog.  And then I made a very big mistake.  I stopped at the Pet Shop at the Mall and I looked at Cocker Spaniel puppies.  I came home and I started looking online, for adoptions or local breeders.  I didn't really want a puppy, but I also didn't want a "senior" dog.  Couldn't face that heartbreak again in the near future.  In my searches, I came across a Cocker Spaniel breeder a couple hours south of us.  I called about a 6 month old - crate trained and housebroke.  Unfortunately, someone had already spoken for this little guy.  But the breeder told me, "I have another - a two year old - crate trained and housebroke - a brown roan".  I asked what a "roan" was and she said, "let me send you a picture."  She did.  And I responded with ONE word.  "SOLD".   A few days later, I drove to Delphi, Indiana and met this beautiful AKC Registered Cocker Spaniel, with a name that was so long I couldn't even write it all out.   And I brought Sgt. Pepper home to South Bend.  Every now and then, I look at Pepper and think of Rigby and I smile.  They would have been good buddies. 

EVERY KID NEEDS AN UNCLE KEVIN....My twelve grandchildren may not realize it yet, but their Uncle Kevin is a really good guy.  He's proud of them and he loves them with all his heart.  He cheers the older ones from the stands of their baseball games, and he carries the younger ones on long walks around the Notre Dame campus.  As a mom, he makes me proud.  Happy Birthday Kevin. 

WHEN FAMILY COMES TO TOWN....

My event season has started and that always starts cutting into my family time.  BUT, when your nephew and his family plan an impromptu stop in South Bend for the day, you gather as many of your kids as you can find and you meet up for an afternoon at Notre Dame and dinner at O'Rourke's.  Walking the campus always gives me so many photo opportunities.   My grandson Cal and great-niece Rory were hopping from one side of the Golden Dome to another.  We finally got them to sit long enough for these.....

A SIMPLER TIME, A SIMPLER PLACE....

What is it about an old window and peeling paint?  It's almost like it has a story to tell, if we just had the time to listen.  Take a walk.  Enjoy the simple blessings that the world has to offer.  How often do you just rush right on past?  The beauty is there.

PHOTO EDITING IS NEVER ENDING.....

Your camera takes a clean, sharp photo.  You put it in a frame and display it on your fireplace mantel.  And then you discover photo editing software, and the fun begins.  Now trust me.  This isn't a photo I'd put in a frame and display.  At least not yet.  But it's so much fun to take a photo and let the software and your computer make it into something else.  A teenage boy.  (My oldest grandson).  A baseball bat.  And that look of concentration you get, right before you step up to the plate.  I sent this photo to his dad's high school coach the other day.  He had contacted me on Facebook and wondered how the kids were all doing.  When I sent him this photo of Nolan, he responded that Joe (Nolan's dad), used to look at his bat EXACTLY the same way.  Kind of made me smile. 

A DAY IN THE LIFE.....

Our life as we know it, changed on June 2, 2015.  For Gabe, hospitals, needles, chemo - is all part of his daily and weekly routine.  The positive aspect of being diagnosed at 22 months?  It will someday be a vague memory.  For the rest of his family, it will never be forgotten.  Today was spinal tap and chemo day.  I love it when he comes out from his spinal tap.  He's just waking from the anesthesia, he's wrapped in warm blankets, and he's in full cuddle mode.  That's Grandma's favorite time.  Today, his numbers weren't good, so some adjustments to his chemo will be made and we move forward.  Setbacks are inevitable.  It makes us even more thankful for the good days.  But as for today, August 8, 2016 - he's two weeks away from his 3rd birthday, his leukemia is in remission, and this kid continues to fight the fight. 

SHE MAY BE LITTLE, BUT SHE IS FIERCE....

This girl.  My second granddaughter, Anna.  She may look like her daddy, but she is her mother's daughter.  Thoughtful, caring and fierce!!   We sat at their house last weekend, and she came out to the pool.  I heard Grandpa Bob say, "just look how beautiful she is".  Thankfully, we've raised our five daughters, and this one will definitely give her own father (our son) some gray hairs. 

HE'S A SHY ONE.....

What is it about a little boy, in a ratty baseball cap?  This is Henry.  He's almost 5.  His only cares in the world are baseball and dirt bikes.  The last thing on his mind is posing for pictures for Grandma Patty, so I have to catch him on the sly.  Maybe some day, he'll look me in the eye and smile. 

YOU HAVE TO FIGHT THROUGH SOME BAD DAYS.....

Fourteen months ago, he was diagnosed with Leukemia and our world hasn't been the same since.  By January, chemo was taking it's toll.  He had lost all of his hair and wasn't talking.  And then Spring came and with it, the changes we were hoping for.  His hair was growing back and he found real words and eventually sentences.  This summer, he's a different child.  Running and playing and chattering away, pausing long enough for his daily dose of oral chemo.   We thank God every day, for the blessing that this child is to our family.  #gabestrong

ALMOST HEAVEN.....

Meet Nevaeh (Heaven spelled backwards).  And yes, she was "heaven" to work with.  It was a hot, muggy evening and after an hour, this kid was still going strong.  "There's a good spot" - pointing to another bridge or flower garden.  Hang on kiddo.  We'll do it again in October. 

BUTTERFLY KISSES....

I watched.  I waited.  His wings were beating a hundred miles an hour.  Finally he relaxed and posed for me.

RED FIRE HYDRANT....What is it about a red fire hydrant?  Is it the red?  The pink?  Not sure, but I'm loving this color explosion!!

ANGELS AMONG US....

Another favorite place for gorgeous photos is the campus of St. Mary's College - just across the highway from Notre Dame.  It doesn't get the hype, but the campus access and the photographic sites are some of my favorite. 

LIVING IN THE BACK YARD OF THE GOLDEN DOME.....

I live in South Bend, Indiana and thanks to a pretty well known university, our little town stands out on the map.  That university also gives me some amazing photo ops at any given time of the year.  Summer evenings are the perfect, quiet time to visit.  Because in just a few short weeks, football season begins and the "quiet" is no more.  Whether its the Golden Dome, the simplicity of the rocking chairs on the porch of Corby Hall, or the serenity of the Grotto, Notre Dame fills a photographer's plate.