Grandma...

My Beautiful Italian Grandma~1973

My Grandpa and Grandma...before they were my Grandpa and Grandma:o) Taken in 1938--they were married in 1940

After they were my Grandpa and Grandma...this picture turned out kind of fuzzy unfortunately, but I love the relationship you can see we had, even by my first birthday! How I miss them!

Grandma loved babies! Here she is holding Kaiti~ one of her many great grandbabies

And Jensy...these two had a special bond--it was so sweet!

She loved Baby Aliyah-- even though they didn't get to spend much of their lives together, Aliyah has a surprisingly good memory of  her!

My Dad, Grandma, Baby Kaiti and I at Silver Dollar City~ I love the "laugh" on her face!

Celebrating her 90th birthday--she lived to be 95! She was an interesting, energetic, strong, awesome, friendly woman, who liked to bake cookies, and go shopping, and feed people. To me she was my beloved Grandma...One year ago today, my heart broke as I watched her leave~ I don't think I could've made this for her then, it hurt so much! It still hurts and I still miss her so much, but I'm glad I can write this today, a year later.

Once, when I was a little girl, she sent me a rose in the mail and wrote, "I'm sending the first rose that bloomed. I always said the first rose is yours." She was my beautiful red rose! One of the last songs I sang to her that night before she died, which my boys also sang at her funeral was, "Where the Roses Never Fade"~

In my Rose Garden of memories
There's a special place for thee,
for though thou art gone
from this mortal world
In my heart thou wilt always be.

I Love You, Grandma, and hope so much to meet again, where the roses never fade!