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.

Pearl of Great Price

Looking beyond the rough and unlovely surface of a sea shell. can be rewarding. Look beyond the rough exterior or circumstances and discover the beauty beneath the surface.

Two of my favorite pictures.

Off to University.....

Sending your last child off the college is never an easy task. That day just creeps up too quickly. It has happened to me and it is one of the hardest things I have done in  a while.
 My youngest daughter, Teresa, was born in a small village in Italy. We were living in the Apennines Mountains at the time in a wonderful little village called Campo Latarro. I hope I did the Italian language justice and spelled it right. Our home was very old and to get to our dining room and kitchen area, we had to go down a little ladder through a hole in the floor. The downstairs had been the stable area at one time and had been redone into a artsy dining room/kitchen complete with a real cobblestone floor. The arrangement was not easy for a pregnant mom to live with but I somehow managed.
When I was nearing the day when the baby was due to arrive, we were 3 hours away from Bari and 3 hours away from Napoli. Our hospital was in Puteoli, which was on the west coast near Napoli. The journey was historical and picturesque and we traveled most of the way on cobblestone roads ( I felt every bump) , under Roman aqueducts, past vineyards and tobacco barns. It's a good thing we enjoyed it as we had out share of false alarms and lots of travel time. We made the journey 3 times in 4 days. The last trip, we decided to just stay in town and visit an archaeological site and wait. The Roman Arena we found was closed because of earthquake damage but we were invited in anyway, We walked around for quite a while, pausing between contractions, marveling at the sights. As we were the only ones there, it was so quiet except for my panting.
Although smaller than the Colosseum in Rome, it was better preserved by far and my mind was kept busy imagining sea battles, gladiators and wild beasts. They say the Christian persecution was worse there than in Rome. I found wonderful places to rest in the stone elevators used to liftt people and animals up to the arena floor during the days when the arena was the central entertainment in the city.
We later returned to the hospital where they finally allowed us to enter and get ready for our baby's arrival.
What I was not prepared for, was the way babies were welcomed into the world in Italy-at least in that particular hospital. My request for a natural childbirth were snickered at by the doctors and behind my back a large nurse was called upon to come and lay  across my middle and  then proceed to push the baby out. Happening so quickly, I was caught totally by surprise, not able to breathe and felt as if I was being cut in half by a 400 lb. gorilla. I was dumb struck but thankfully, the baby arrived safe and sound. Teresa was fine but I was in shock for hours.

Some years earlier ,a young couple we knew had their baby kidnapped from an Italian hospital and never found. We determined never to let our baby out of our sight during our stay and successfully did this, much to the dismay and upsetting of the hospital staff. We were just eccentric Americans to them and they tolerated us.

And so began our wonderful years with our youngest child. They passed too quickly and now she is studying Computer Science in Nacogdoches at Stephen F. Austin University. It's only 3 hours away but too far.
I admire my fellow moms as I realize I am the latest in a long line of parents that have had to say goodbye to a child going off to college. They are ours to treasure forever but the stage changes and the play goes on.
My family is now scattered. My son, Titus and his family in Japan, a grandaughter lives in Romania, and my daughter Maya and her family in Missouri. My dad and brothers and sister in California. My son Tim was off to war in Iraq  for 2 tours and is back and now due to finish University this year. My son Jason lives near by. Perla Renee came back from Albania and Russia and settled nearby with her Russian husband. My eldest, Nadia, lives with us with her family. Or is it more accurate to say we live with her. and her family? In reality, all is well for now and I feel lonely for the ones far away, but blessed to have had them close for as long as I did.

The Rose Breast Clinic

There are so many things to fill our lives. From the time we wake up, til' the time our heads hit the pillow, we have constant input. It seems there are not enough hours in the day and then there is the reaction of  frustration. I have my endless TO DO lists.
New factors arrived on my door step this spring. During a doctor visit, I was told I needed to start medicine for Diabetes. A few weeks later, I was told there was a possibility I had breast cancer. I was able to delay the diabetes medicine by a promise of weight loss and a better diet. I was given 3 months to work on that. I was also scheduled for a breast biopsy at The Rose Clinic in 1 month.
A few weeks later, I was out shopping for a gift for my mom for Mother's Day when my brother called me about my mom. The doctor had always warned us that if my mom had a bad fall, it would kill her. She had been suffering from Alzheimers for the last few years. She had been under hospice care for about 8 months and care had been taken to make her life as happy and safe as possible.
My brother Bruce called that Saturday to say that my mom had just fallen twice and was not expected to live long.
I quickly rescheduled my medical appointments and left for California. I arrived there just 10 hours after my mother passed away. It all went so quickly. It was a sad time for all of us and we felt the loss of my mom so profoundly.
I experienced the loss of my mom and the potential challenge of serious health care troubles  all at once. I began to take a closer look at all that mattered in my life and it wasn't all that easy to slow down and do just that.
With  the passing of my mom and the trip to California, I had to postpone my breast biopsy for another month. It was a worry and on my mind. When the date finally arrived, we had pulled  up to the clinic all ready to check in, when they called me on my cell phone to say their machines weren't working. They wanted to reschedule me once again. Since we were already there, they agreed to let us wait to see if they could get it fixed.
The waiting room filled up and I was surprised to see I was the oldest person there. There was such a  strong atmosphere of fear and apprehension in the room. Everyone was facing what I was facing and all in their own stages of uncertainty.
I sat there and while looking over each person and praying for their peace, health, and their families, it was impossible to keep from tearing up. I didn't have  much time to wallow in my  own concern.

When the time came to get my biopsy, I have to say that the staff there were the kindest people I have ever met in the Medical profession.  Their concern and kindness made me tear up all over again. We were all in not just good hands, but loving hands.

A week later, I was one of the blessed ones to find out that my test results showed that my condition was benign. Thank God!
 I did want to write this post in appreciation for The Rose Clinic, the women that founded it, and all the staff. When I heard that they never turn anyone in need away, my esteem for them grew even more. In these uncertain days of health care scares and insurance scares, a place like this one, is a God send for women. It is a bad enough scare to find out you may have a serious problem but an even worse scare to not know what to do about it and where to turn.
I am thankful it is behind me for now but with a new concern for the women of this world and a respect and love for those that truly care. May we all grow in love and compassion and give what we can to make the lives of those in need, easier.