communion for a carmona!

Dig this: it was at the same church where I'd attended his mom's First Communion.

That must have been 25 years ago... wow!

When I walked into Saint James Catholic Church, it felt like I'd been there much more recently than that.

I was a little late, so I took a seat by the door, but not for long.

Tony's son, now 37, saw me and fetched me to the row where the family was seated; many thanks, Damon!

He was seated between his girlfriend, Dana, and his younger nephew, Gilberto, who is a fan of making funny faces.

The platinum-haired woman is Dianne, mother of Damon and of Hope, who is the mother of the two boys. 

Here's the one we were celebrating on this occasion: Carlos Sebastian Carmona, Jr.

He's opening a silver cross pendant, given to him by his Uncle Damon, who made sure it had the same verse that was on his.

How very nice!

Sebi really liked that, and he liked the baseball bat on the reverse of the cross.

I liked all of it - after all, I do love pomp and circumstance!

Mostly, though, I loved seeing Sebi and Bert in person.

I've only seen Sebi on fb since his first birthday party, which was down at Tybee in 2014... and he's 8 now.

That may have been the last time I saw Hope, too.

Shortly after that, her husband's job transferred him to Tennessee.

Then, they went to Mexico to visit his mom... and he could not return to the United States.

So, the family stayed down there for a couple of years, then my niece and her sons returned to Savannah.

I'm just glad to know they're ready to make contact again!

I look forward to getting to know this little 5-year-old monkey better.

Thanks, Dianne, for inviting me!

Good to see your sisters and meet their husbands, too!

Such a lovely Saturday morning with y'all!