The Royal Castle of Caserta Nativity Creche

While living in Napoli, Italy, we would often travel to Caserta where we enjoyed our Sundays at the Royal Castle of Caserta. I loved the creche which is encased in a large glass display and must have take many people many years to finish.

A Wonderful Summer in Galveston, Texas

Laurie Wells just happened to be taking this pic!

On Losing my father.

This Summer I lost my dad. He almost made it to 90 years old. He will be so missed by many and left behind a legacy of love in family. Although I left home at 15 to attend a boarding school half way across the country and never returned for more than short visits, my parents were never very far from my heart.
My parents married quite young and were not prepared to raise a family as my dad was fresh out of WWII and didn't even have a job when they eloped to Reno. He built a life for us in Yuba City, California, the Peach Capitol of the world. Ah well, at least that I always heard growing up. It's a little city right where the Feather River and the Yuba River meet.
 The story of their lives is quite a saga of doing what they had to do to make a life for themselves and their growing family. My parents raised us 5 kids to be quite an adventurous fun loving and hard working lot. My sister was a professor at Butte Community College for most of her life. My brother Bruce pastors an Assembly of God Church in California. My Bother Mike owns a Carpet One Flooring shop. My brother Craig is a creative genius in the world of all types of flooring and works in Georgia. We are all so different but after being able to visit together as adults, I was amazed to see how we are so much alike in many things.
Months after his passing, I can't say that it has gotten easier. I still cry a lot when I am alone but I can remember dear dad doing that so often after  my mom passed. I would be looking for him around the house and find him in an old tattered plastic chair underneath one of his many fruit trees in the garden. He would be crying and missing mom. She passed away from Alzeheimers disease a few short years back.
I keep wanting to pick up a phone a give him a call but not being able to do so, my heart shouts out,
Dad, thank you for everything.