family – Oven Love https://www.ovenloveblog.com from scratch, with love...and a little sass Tue, 21 Apr 2015 20:19:12 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.7.29 Gloria. https://www.ovenloveblog.com/gloria/ https://www.ovenloveblog.com/gloria/#comments Wed, 23 Jul 2014 18:51:16 +0000 http://www.ovenloveblog.com/?p=3129 View More: http://mereditheileen.pass.us/glorianewborn

This girl!

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Gloria Katherine (after her grandma) came on the scene at 1:37PM on May 30. Easiest labor yet for me- after a morning chiropractor visit and a quick stop for a cheeseburger, we got to the birth center and she was born within the hour. We have been soaking up all the baby sweetness ever since! She has been pretty easy so far- milk/sleep/repeat, please.

Our friend Meredith of Meredith Eileen Photography came to take a few lifestyle shots of us at home when Gloria was just about two weeks old. I love all of her captures! There are tons of great ones, but these are some of my favorites.

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I would like to say “I’m back, new post coming any day now!” but you guys know me better than that. I’m not sure when I’ll get back in my groove. Maybe soon, maybe never.. I’m still trying to figure out where the blog falls on my list of priorities now that we’re a family of five.

If you made it to the end of this post, thanks for reading and keeping up during this unpredictable season of life. We are in a constant state of flux with three small ones. Rest assured, I am spending plenty of time in the kitchen and daydreaming about blog-posting (among other things) while nursing the baby. I have so many grand ideas for Oven Love- they may never see the light of day, but know that I still cherish this space and everyone who finds their way here.

 

]]> https://www.ovenloveblog.com/gloria/feed/ 4 93 Good Years https://www.ovenloveblog.com/93-good-years-2/ https://www.ovenloveblog.com/93-good-years-2/#comments Mon, 09 May 2011 23:37:00 +0000 http://www.ovenloveblog.com/93-good-years-2/ There is no recipe in this post.
I hope you’ll read it anyway.
On Wednesday of last week, my sweet grandmother of 93 years went to be with Jesus.  Her name was Ethel, and she was a gem of a woman.  She was so much of what all of us women long to be.. she had a giant heart and room for everyone inside it.  No one within a hundred mile radius of Gram was left unloved.
 Gram and I, July 2009
My gram lived so much life, it’s hard to know where to start when you talk about her.  She grew up in a small town outside of Pittsburgh.  She was born here in America, but her parents were both born in (what was then) Czechoslovakia.  She was a great cook and I have so many memories of her Slovak cuisine.  She was also world famous (at least in our world) for her waffle cookies (similar to pizzelles).  I loved watching her in the kitchen and remember telling her as a kid that I wanted to be a chef someday.
a young shot of Gram (maybe high school)
She was a natural beauty and a very classy gal.  She believed in always looking your best, and was pretty particular about her hair and makeup.  I loved going through all of her jewelry as a young girl and misting myself with her Chanel No. 5.
 Gram as a girl/ stealing a sweet moment with my grandpa on their wedding day
She was also known for her skills on the piano.  As a girl, she performed in traveling music shows with my great uncle.  She had a full music scholarship to college and probably played for almost 90 years of her life.  You could tell by her long, weathered fingers that she was a piano player.  My favorite memories of her playing are at Christmastime- she loved getting all of us around the piano for our family singalong.  It brought her such joy to have us all together.
Gram with my cousin Cait, early 90’s
My gram was full of sweetness, but she was also one tough cookie.  I don’t know how she managed to raise five boys (wild and crazy boys, from all the stories I’ve heard).  She took so much pride in her role as a mom, loved being a grandma and was always keeping up to date on all of our lives. That’s five sons and their wives, eight grandchildren and their families, including four great grandchildren, plus all of her friends and ours.. but she was sharp as a tack and could remember it all.  She could talk about anything- never lost a bit of her memory over all those years.
Her death was a peaceful one; she couldn’t have planned it better herself.  She was surrounded by her sons and her sisters and simply breathed her last.  She fought back through a lot of illness over the years, but this time she was ready and willing to go.
Grammy, our hearts are full of so much love for you.  We can never repay you for all of the sacrifices you made for us and the love and wisdom you poured into our lives.  We are so pleased to have had you for as long as we did- how lucky we are!  We’re rejoicing now that you’re in Heaven with Jesus,  and reuniting with Poppy and Richie and Joe.  I can’t wait to see you again some day!
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