Jasper joins the family

Kevin and Kathy, Shanna and Kevin have welcomed Jasper to their family. Jasper is a 10-week-old pointer puppy. He was recently rescued from a kill shelter in Kentucky by Tails of Courage, a volunteer pet rescue association in Norwalk, Conn.

"We all took the drive up to Norwalk to meet with him and his brother and sister," writes Kevin the elder. "After a short time the four of us agreed that this one fit best with our family."

"I am so in love!" Shanna posted on Facebook. "We met him and two others and he crawled up in my lap and my parents' and brother's and cuddled up to us."

"Within a few minutes of walking into our house, he curled up in his new bed and was fast asleep," elder Kevin said. "Definitely a friendly little guy."

Rebecca headed to curling nationals

Rebecca's curling team finished the eastern regional junior women's playdowns with a 5-1 record and will go on to compete in USA Curling's Junior Nationals.

"She made a gorgeous cover-the-pin shot to end her last game," Rebecca's mom, Lisa, posted on Facebook. "So proud and happy! Congrats to all four girls and their coach."

The national tournament begins Jan. 29 in Anchorage, Alaska. This week's Grand National Curling Club playdowns were held in Schenectady. (See the results.)

Rebecca is a member of the Rochester Curling Club's "Team Ely." (The teams are listed by the last name of their "skip," or captain.) Rebecca's sister also competed in the playdown as a member of the Schenectady Curling Club's Team Hillis.

Keeping Christmas: Yonkers gathering 2010

Kathy and Ted hosted a Christmastime gathering at their home on Tuesday evening that kept alive many of the family's traditions.

There was good food, there were fun gifts, and there was a great feeling of togetherness. Plus these hand-decorated gingerbread men!

Here's a very brief clip of the gift exchange. Check back later for updated video.

Sisters in Eastern regional curling competition

2006 file photo

Rebecca and Lizzie are on separate teams in the Grand National Curling Club junior play-downs now taking place in Schenectady, N.Y.

Rebecca's team (the Ely team) is seeded first among the six teams in this regional competition. Her team faced Lizzie's (the Hillis team) in the opening round Monday and came out with a 15-1 win. "No surprises and was pleased to see all 8 play well and have fun," said proud mom Lisa.

Two teams will advance from the Schenectady play-downs to the USA Curling 2011 Junior Nationals in Fairbanks, Alaska, starting Jan. 29.

Follow the competition here.

The day after the Boxing Day Blizzard

Shanna writes: "Now this is what I call a snowstorm!!! Snow blocked us in the house. I can't see any walls in my yard. My street is covered. Roughly 20 inches of snow and I love it!!!

Webmaster Dan reports: The measurement on the back patio table at Birch Street Headquarters was 20 inches at about 1 p.m. But by then some of the piled up snow had blown off, so it's possible we got 2 feet. A National Weather Service spotter in Fanwood recorded 26 inches as of 1 a.m.

A shout-out to our neighbor Harry for clearing the end of our driveway with his snow blower!

Snow accumulation reports compiled by the National Weather Service:

Fanwood	26 inches
Yonkers	19.5 inches
Scarsdale	11.5 inches
Central Park NYC	20 inches
North Babylon LI	18.5 inches
Fredericksburg, Va -	1.5 inches

Please send along your holiday & blizzard stories and photos. If you like you can upload your pictures to our site on Picasa: Here's how.

Got snow?

Here's the view out the back door at Birch Street Headquarters in Fanwood on the morning after the Boxing Day Blizzard. Channel 2 News says Fanwood got 26 inches of snow.

From Yonkers, where Ch.2 reported 19 inches, here's an early-morning view from Shanna's window, looking down at buried outdoor furniture.

From last night, Dan & Julie's cars getting thoroughly buried:

Hope everyone made it safely through the storm and manages to dig out today. Please share your stories and photos.

The best Christmas gift of all...

... is togetherness.

Meeting Santa for a sandwich

Chris and Stephanie met Santa and Mrs. Claus when the famous couple stopped by a Chick-fil-a restaurant in the Columbus, Ohio, area.

Cathy has posted some more scenes of Christmas in Columbus in our Picasa album. Click here to see.

Merry Christmas from our house to yours

Holiday spirit at choral concert

Christine and her singing schoolmates presented the winter choral concert at SPFHS on Tuesday.

Below is a brief video clip from a tune called "Way Down in Bethlehem."

California update: Dan completes degree

Dan last week finished his classes and exams, and has now earned the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from San Jose State University. He will likely return to SJSU in the fall of 2011 as a graduate student and teaching assistant, but plans to explore other options in the meantime.

Services held for Daniel

Family and friends gathered Monday at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Yonkers for a Mass of Christian Burial for Daniel, who died Dec. 15.

The family's long-time pastor, now retired, Msgr. John Gallagher, celebrated the Mass. Burial followed at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne.

Daniel's sons and daughter were deeply touched by the outpouring of love and prayers from relatives and friends during their dad's brief illness and in the days since his passing.

Please visit our page dedicated to Daniel

Shanna will be student-teaching close to home

Shanna has received her student-teaching assignment for the coming semester -- and it couldn't be more convenient. She'll be working with a kindergarten teacher at Yonkers P.S. 21, right in her home neighborhood. This student-teaching term is the final requirement for the master's degree she will receive from Mercy College.

Doug & Lisa returning from the West

Doug and Lisa spent one more weekend hiking in the West, visiting Coyote Buttes, Monument Valley, Natural Bridges and Arches on Dec. 3-4-5. They're scheduled to return to Maryland on Dec. 19. Doug has wrapped up his work on a design-build highway project near Las Vegas. His next assignment may be in Florida.

In memory of Daniel (Updated with arrangements)

The family is saddened by the passing of Daniel, devoted husband of Lorraine, loving father of Dan, Kathy, Brien and Kevin, beloved grandfather of Marie, Dan, Genevieve, Vivien, Patrick, Shanna, Kevin, Christine and Andy and great-grandfather of Xander.

After a brief illness, Daniel died peacefully Wednesday at St. John's Riverside Hospital in Yonkers, with his children beside him. Over the previous several days he had received many visits and calls expressing the love of his family members and close friends. He spoke with gratitude of the wonderful life he'd lived, and spoke with joy of his deep love for his wife and family. He will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by all who knew him.

UPDATE: Calling hours will be at Flynn Memorial Home, 1652 Central Park Avenue in Yonkers, on Sunday from 2-4 & 7-9 p.m. (Directions here.) A Mass of Christian Burial will take place Monday, Dec. 20 at 10 a.m., at St. Paul the Apostle Church. Interment will follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery.

Visit our page dedicated to Daniel's memory

Signs of Christmas are appearing

It's coming... And here's an early look: Shanna provides this photo of the Christmas tree at her family's house. Ho ho ho!