Father Roberto & His Beautiful Story

Today I had a private meeting and confession with Father Roberto, and I saw this beautiful art piece and asked him if I could take this picture. At one of Father Roberto's first assignments as few Catholic priest, he was in charge of a special hospital for patients dying of AIDS. There, he had a very special patient who was always grumpy and Father Roberto made it a goal to.get him to smile. Well, as this man declined, there was one beautiful day outside and Father Roberto decide to drag him outaide so he could see the pretty day, and this is when this photo was taken. Smile success!

Advent Calendar 2021

Our Christmas Tree 2021 : Going Artificial

Getting a quality artificial tree was the best decision we ever made! No more allergies for daddy! No more mess!

Our Christmas Card 2021 : Dedicated to Laurie McNeil

And Daddy always likes to.get the "touchdown" by mailing them.

Thanksgiving Evening with Oma & Papa

Thanksgiving Afternoon with the Cloers

RIP to My Blue Nissan Leaf

... thanks to a deer down in Pickens.

 It is hard to tell but the entire front is bashed in. It still charged and ran for one more month ( Time enough for me to fix it up with the perfect shade of blue duct tape) until it died right in Shana's yard.

 And my rental vehicle in the interim was a white Mustang convertible! The car I drove to my Last day at work at Amazon. Quite frankly, trying to work 2 warehouse Jobs Wanted Amazon and when it Walmart was too much and I was making mistakes in both places. And starting work at 1 AM was ridiculous!

Annie & Miku

A Beautiful Sunset at Lake Murray

 And on this trip I bought my very favorite Christmas shirt!

The Death of Annie's Godmother : Laurie McNeil

What a precious soul! Laurie was Annie's godmother and raised 3 amazing boys, ... the first of which (Colin), I still hold out hope that he will become a priest. This death was a shock. Not expected at all. In fact, I called her a few days before, leaving a message about wanting to catch up. I did know that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer, but she was always very vague about it, not giving the stage or anything. I assumed (wrongly) that it was stage 1 or 2. It was not. And her stage 4 cancer ended up taking her life. She was one of those people who didn't want a big deal made about her illness, I think. Very few friends really knew what was going on. And I was so sad not to get to say goodbye. I attended the funeral in Chapel Hill on my own, but it was incredibly important for me to be there. Laurie was my greatest friend left from Chapel Hill,  Karin had already died & Laura moved away long before we did. In fact, it was Laurie that supported me through Karin's death. And I am SURE, the trauma Karin's death caused in my life was the REASON she didn't tell me much. For this, Laurie is a kind of savior. First some memories of Annie's baptism and then a later picture with her Godmother at Saint Thomas More parish, the same parish both Annie and Leia were baptised.

On my left shin is a memorial to all my best friends who have died. First, of course, is Jesus represented by the Cross. Christ is no longer here in the flesh, either. (But I thank God for the Eucharist!) Second, is Karin, represented by the Fleur-de-lis due to her love of all things French. Third is Marlene, my Old Order Amish friend (one of my oldest friends, actually ... our friendship began as pen pals at 17). Marlene is represented by the Amish Barn Star, a staple among her community in Ohio. And finally, Laurie who is represented by the dove holding the olive branch (due to her devotion to the Holy Spirit & Catholicism... and, if you look close, the olive branch has a tiny state of Texas at the tip because Laurie was a Texan through and through.

Now, whenever a tragedy like this happens, our Lord always gives me a sign that everything is going ro be okay. Look at this rainbow! ... And clouds that look just like the tattoo in Laurie's honor! 

 And then there is this. Lori gave me this music box in 2006. I cannot tell you how much I hated this thing at the time. I'm not really sure why I actually.  I actually considered breaking it to get the little figure out just for the fun of it. And it stayed in my arts and crafts drawer as a result. But now after her death it has become a very precious possession. And I cannot tell you how much I absolutely adore this item now! And what is the angel holding?  A DOVE!