Family Ties Part III

Well, Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!!!

I guess the joke is on me! After spending countless hours on my mothers present and writing our long family history in my blog she is the one who surprised me. I had to make sure Family Ties Part II was out for her birthday so she could read it in NJ on her special day. Instead I barely finished writing it before she walked through my front door here in CA yelling SURPRISE! I was elated and overjoyed to see her and so was Nadia. Pete of course was the mastermind behind this whole thing. He and my mother have been planning this for months now behind my back and they pulled it off flawlessly. Thanks so much to Barb and Phil for playing a huge role in this as well. They not only kept the secret from me but they picked her up at the airport and brought her to our house for the surprise of a lifetime. WOW! I am so grateful to everyone involved. This is truly an amazing gift and it’s not even my birthday.

Speaking of HER birthday, now that she has seen her special gift I’d like to share it with everyone else. Try to think back at what you have already seen and read in Part I & II. Remember my Great Grandmother’s farmhouse? Remember the 7 generations of fabulous women in my family? Well here we are all standing in front of the old farmhouse.


I need to say a very special thanks to the virtual genius who has made this digital masterpiece come to life. This amazing being would be none other than my best friend, life partner, and love of my life, Pete DiDonato, the patriarch of this proud family. Without him this picture would not have become a reality. I had all these wonderful pictures and a beautiful vision in my head but no skills or tools to put it into a 3D image. All I had to do was provide him with the pics and the vision and he did it. He made it all work. It came out 1,000 times better than I could have dreamed. Thank you so much for being the mastermind behind this magnum opus. I also have to thank him for giving me such a wonderful surprise. After celebrating my very anti-climactic 30th birthday, Pete knew I was way down in the dumps. So he came up with the best remedy possible to cure my birthday blues. What an amazing man I have! I am so blessed. I Love you, Pete!