Scenes of Christmas 2016

Tree at Kathy's home

Here's a small selection of scenes from Christmas celebrations on our family "tree."

We hope to collect more in the coming days. Please share yours!

Birch Street HQ on Christmas Eve

Andy & Christine ready to dive in

Cathy's been baking

Hugh & Dolores' tree

Nanette visiting Courtney

Heirloom Nativity scene at Brien's

Nolan on Gerrit & Angela's card

Bea - Christmas Joy

We wish all our family and friends a Merry Christmas!

May we all be blessed with a joyous Christmas and a safe and happy New Year.

Xander & parents visit the wizarding world

"Butterbeer" for breakfast

Marie, Brian and Xander paid a visit to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios in Orlando this month.

They'd planned to make the trip around Xander's 10th birthday in early October, but postponed it due to Hurricane Matthew.

Visiting in December meant getting to see Christmas decorations, such as the tree in the lobby of the Hard Rock Hotel.

By the magic of greenscreen, Xander appears in a series of Potterverse vignettes in a souvenir video. Click here to watch.

Of course, in one more year Xander will be old enough to be admitted to Hogwarts!

Dolores at Oakland gallery opening

Earlier this month, Dolores and Hugh attended the reception and ribbon-cutting marking the opening of the Garrett County Arts Council's new gallery in Oakland, Md.

Hugh writes: "The new gallery is on Second Street in the heart of the Oakland business district. It replaces the gallery around the corner on Alder Street that the Council was forced to leave 18 months ago after a burst pipe flooded the building. The new gallery is a wonderful space that will display the fine art and craft works of the artisans of Garrett County."

Five paintings by Dolores in pastel and watercolor are currently exhibited in the gallery. This photo shows her standing by her pastel, “February Snow.”

Among the crowd at the opening were the mayor of Oakland and members of the Board of Commissioners of Garret County along with the Arts Council's executive director and members of its board of directors.

Christmas music from Stephanie & her schoolmates

Stephanie took part in the Darby High School "Celebration Concert" last week, and her mom, Cathy, has sent us several videos. "Hope this holiday music puts everyone in a festive mood," Cathy writes.

Stephanie performed in four pieces - two with the Wind Ensemble and two with the full Orchestra. "In the first two you can easily see her as the 2nd chair clarinet on the left side of the stage. For the Orchestra pieces however, she was way in the back so you can't see her at all."

(Click on the titles to see the videos)

The wind ensemble pieces were:

• "Festive Christmas" by Kenny Bierschenk 
• "Rest" by Frank Ticheli 
• "Sleigh Ride" by Leroy Anderson 
• "Longfellow's Christmas" arranged by Mark Wilberg (narration by Cabot Rea, a retired Columbus TV anchorman and former music teacher.)

And one more: The show's closing piece, "Hallelujah Chorus." Cathy says: "Steph didn't perform in this number, however it is a Darby tradition. They always end the concert with this and invite any Darby alumni to join them onstage to sing along."

Holiday season begins with family festivities

Because Christmas falls on a weekend this year, the annual Yonkers gathering took place a little early - on Sunday the 18th at Kathy's home.

The party included a visit by Santa Claus especially for Beatrice - who reacted warily at first...



...but gradually came around...



...as Santa gradually transformed into Rick.

Winter makes its presence felt early

The pine tree in the backyard of Cathy's house in Ohio makes a very wintry, even Christmas-y, scene after three inches of snow fell on Tuesday, Dec. 13.

"It snowed steadily all day," Cathy writes. "Sure makes it feel like Christmas!"

Our family members in Rochester were probably the first to see snow this season, when a storm on the weekend before Thanksgiving blew in a few inches worth of "lake effect" snow. And today saw snow and ice sweep across most of the Northeast.

In memory of Jean

The family is saddened by the passing of Jean, beloved mother of Kathy, mother-in-law of Kevin and grandmother of Shanna and Kevin.

Jean died on Dec. 4 at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, surrounded by family. She is also survived by her daughter Patricia and grandchildren Jacklyn, Gina and Catherine. She will be deeply missed by her family and all who knew her.

Visitation will take place Wednesday, Dec. 7, from 4-8 p.m. at Flynn Memorial Home in Yonkers, and a funeral Mass will be celebrated Thursday, Dec. 8, at 10 a.m. at St. Eugene's Church in Yonkers. There is more information on the funeral home's website.

Jean at granddaughter Shanna's wedding.
L to R Kevin, Kathy, Rick, Shanna, Jean, Kevin.

Happy birthday to Brennan & Brooklyn Rae

Brooklyn Rae, seen here at Halloween, turned five years old yesterday!

Dec. 1 is that special day when both Brooklyn Rae and her dad, Brennan, celebrate their birthdays. Best wishes to both!