Now Let Me Speak....

Now, I know that it's been awhile and as the clock ticks forward, 

 I do not see Rachel making progress with this blog. 

So, I take the reins in hand and write what must not be forgotten. 

I speak of faces, relationships and the creation of beautiful friendships.

We remember and took joy in seeing Rita's sister in law, Nadia.  

Never during our time in Alessandria did we see a frown on her face!  

She is a glowing smile whenever encountered and she takes special care of Chiara
when Rita or parents may be busy. 

Chiara is surrounded by love and influence that I, Sister Wendy, greatly approve of.

Yes, Rita has gotten much "blog time", but look at her beautiful face

and her joy of life--as the French say,

Joie de vivre!

And upstairs neighbor, La Senora (as Rachel calls her), our friend Leda.  She is so full of passion!  She told a wonderful story about how last year she left her apartment and moved away to another town to be closer to her son.
She lasted one night and headed back home to Alessandria.
Who, may I ask, could blame her??
It's Alessandria after all!
She has fierce political stands and beliefs which both Kim and Rachel greatly approve of...
She is not so much for my Holy Father, Il PaPa in Red Shoes,
but I must forgive that...

And then there are Rita and her daughter, Stefania. 

They are a close knit family who are there for each other each and every day. 

And upstairs neighbors, Roberto and Francesca came and spent an evening with us.  They no longer live in our little compound but came over to see us. Robert calls Kim and Rachel, "My sweet girls".  Sometimes they leave each other little Skype message that I over hear.

The gang went out for a traditional Italian pizza dinner.

A little wine too...

Roberto so generously paid the bill!

Here's Alessandro, son-in-law to Rita, husband to Stefania, and father to Chiara.

Here was Rachel's little pizza dinner. 

And lastly, for myself, I met with two of my old dear friends...Mary and

Mary.

This Mary resides in Rita's bedroom and we got to know one another while Rachel and Rita would be cooking and Kim and Chiara would be practicing Kim's Italian.

Often we were like flies on the wall, listening to their chatter, proud of them as they always seemed to manage their language barriers.You wouldn't know it from this picture but Mary has one sense of humor; we giggled together a lot!
Now I must admit that I grow a bit weary with all my keyboard tapping and hopping. My knees are not as flexible as they used to be in my younger years...All these years of kneeling have take their toll (but so worth it).
These were my special memories from a reunion that, quite frankly, I never believed would really occur.
Lucky us!!

My Little Friend, Wendy

My dear friend, Wendy, is traveling the world. She just recently sent me her picture while touring in Egypt. My, how she is expanding her world views!

Coming Together....

Rachel rented a car and we drove from George Bush International Airport in Houston to where her Aunt Nivia (and god mother) lives--Texas City, Texas. Niv is the third eldest daughter. Once we stashed our belongings, Nivia offered to drive us into Galveston, Rachel's birthplace.

In September, 2008, Hurricane Ike smashed into Galveston Bay with winds up to 110 mph.

The 17 foot seawall did little to contain the rising flooding waters.

On the day of our visit, a little over a year later, it was a calm, beautiful day.

Huge boulders have been brought in to rebuild the seawall and beach.

In the warm, balmy weather, workers work 24/7.

The famous Flagship Hotel does stand but must be repaired and renovated.

Empty lots where homes once stood.

Renovated homes are placed up on stilts.

Our trip to Galveston was quick and we returned to Texas City to prepare for the family reunion. Here's another picture of the Murillo Family. Aunt Niv is standing in front of my mom, second from the left.

And here are the surviving siblings and children of Jesus and Jesse Murillo, a few years later.
From the left, Ray, Gilbert, Nivia, Ben and Mike.
Seated are Lu and Evelina.

Here are the first cousins/grand children; Rachel was the 7th born grandchild.

The great grand children.

Great, greats!

And then the "outlaws".

Happy meetings: Cousin Kim and Uncle Benny.

Chat, chat, chat, visit, visit visit. Good thing we have name tags!

These are Longhorn fans, or Aggie fans, or both. I can never keep them straight, but I do know that some of them are just a wee bit rabid about it....I won't say who.

There's always room for one more....Cousins meet.

Hello!

Aunt Niv was peddling necklaces and they were a hit!

Some were totally into themselves...

Others, like Cousin Nathan and Uncle Gil, into family history and connections.

George, Aunt Evelina and Rachel...

A brave new boyfriend...will he be an outlaw some day? Only time will tell.

A family tree captured the entire clan...

So much to say, so many to connect with...

Yummy food--barbecue of course!

Texas champagne.

Uncle Gil shares the family history and (tries to) educate the family .

Uncle Ben listens and is pensive.

Aunt Evelina shares her views...

And Uncle Ray adds his portion.

At sunset, George and Yvonne led a short ceremony to remember and honor all those who have died. Our reunion is less without them but they will always remain in our hears and minds. Four Diaz names were read: Manny, Ofelia, Michael Edward and Angela Carol.

This is 1912 Church Street, Galveston, Texas. The home of Rachel's grand parents. She told me many stories of memories she has of the grand old house...Like sliding down those outside banisters to sneak out at night...Here it is newly renovated with Uncle Gil standing before it--If this house could talk....

All things end. Here we are getting ready to leave. Once again, Rachel refused to let me drive.

Once over my driving huff, to break the ice, I asked Rachel what were the highlights of her visit and trip.

ME: Rachel, dear, what memories will you take with you?
Rachel: Well, there really was so much. I loved seeing Galveston again and staying with Aunt Niv. But if I have to narrow it down I would also say the people connections and avoiding political conversations.
ME: Political conversations?! Why what ever do you mean?
Rachel: Well, before I left I promised myself I wouldn't talk politics. It's easy to do at these Murillo gatherings...I'm not going to change minds and my mind certainly won't be changed. Four times political conversations came up and each time I was able to side step them.
ME: Yes, Dear, I do see what you mean. Well done! It's wise to sometimes plan ahead. The connections of the heart are always better. Can you say more about those connections.
Rachel: Many of the people I saw were people who helped raise me and had such an influence upon me. I could write a chapter on each one of them. Then there are all my cousins, some I was so close to, others I feel close to now because we are all on the same family tree. My aunts and uncles-- I love them all, very much.
ME: Is there anything that you want me to add to my blog?
Rachel: Just that I am so glad I went. I thank Melinda and Tom for opening their home and all their incredible hard work. To all the others who helped, Donna, Aunt Lu, many others, I'm really grateful...I love the cookbook and Uncle Benny's book with Grand Pa's art is so great to have. So many people worked so hard on this. Uncle Ray, Janet, and Anna Mae sprang for the food...
ME: I'll be sure to add that....but for now, please keep your eyes on the road and stop trying to see what I am writing...I don't want you to miss our exit.