Where is Bavaria?

Bavaria is in the south eastern portion of Germany, right above the Alps. Until 1918 it was a sovereign kingdom. Most people from Bavaria still consider themselves to be Bavarians. When our ancestor left, it was not part of Germany, so we can add Bavarian to our long, long list!
Just so ya know!! :) This is what insomniacs do for fun! Hey Rick and Donna, you were there weren't you?

civil war veteran

Hey you guys - let's get back to the blog!!
I was working on our family history again and I found another civil war vet Henry Buhler was a vet and Poppy had his discharge papers. Well, Gustav Reeb who was born in Baveria/Bayern and who was married to Mary, served in the NY79th Regiment, company D from 13 May 1861 to 14 July 1865. His name was incorrectly entered as Ribe and Rebe. You can google the regiment to find out where they went etc. He was not even wounded.
Now to tell you who he is in our line, he and Mary were the parents of Catherine Reeb who married Johanne Frederich Christian Helmuth who was the Father of "Fred Helmuth" who was the father of Mildred Evelyn Helmuth and Florence Helmuth. We all knew Mildred as Nanny. She was married to Poppy, James Walter Laverty, the father of James Helmuth Laverty and Clifford C. Laverty, who was the father of ..... need I go on? I'm sure we have MANY ancestors on James Laverty's line also who served but I haven't had time to really look yet. Too many names and so little time hint, hint.
Anyway, I thought the grandkids and great-grandkids would like to know.

Happy Father's Day!

Well guys, happy Father's Day to you all - that's a lot of men in this family! Happy Father's Day to Poppy and Dad! My kisses and hugs to heaven from Bub with love!

Happy Birthday Sandy!!!!!!!!

Ouch you are getting oooold. Yet I remain so young. It is phenomenal how that all works.
Have a great birthday!

Pam Too!

OOPS! Thanks to Jim and Pam! Thanks for all the tips on where to go and what to see. We added to our Alewine pottery collection. Beautiful stuff!

Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Thanks to Jim, we were able to sneak in 4 days at Gatlinburg, Tennessee. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, so here goes:

Little Maria

Barry and I just finished watching real-time video of our 5month in the womb granddaughter, Maria. It is so amazing being able to watch a little one try to suck her thumb, grab her toes, and get into the lotus position before she is even due to be born! She already has LONG eyelashes, lots of hair, and long slender legs. Of course right now there is no chub at all lol We could hear Lara and Al and the tech. It was so incredible to be able to "be there" even though we were 400+ miles away!!!! It was a wonderful present for our 21st wedding anniversary! Kyle sat watching with us and suddenly said, "I can see Papa in there!" It was Barry's reflection on the screen. Maria was very active and of course, we all end up wondering what she is thinking about. I asked Kyle what he was thinking about when he was in his Mommy's tummy. He said, "The WII". I don't know why I even asked!!
So congratulations to Lara and Al and little Maria!
Eileen, I hope you get to do the same with your newest little one!