Christine & Jamie complete move from LA to new home in NYS

Christine and Jamie have moved back across the country and into a lovely house in Schenectady, N.Y. They closed the sale and got the keys on June 25. 

Parents were on hand to congratulate the new homeowners and help with their move-in. Here next to Jamie and Christine are Jamie's dad, Paul; Christine's parents, Dan and Julie; Jamie's mom, Bonnie, and her husband, Jay. 

The house is a 1960-vintage split-level that's been very well maintained and updated through the years. Its large back yard has a swimming pool and plenty of room for entertaining.

And there's a finished basement that is destined to host many board- and video-game gatherings.

By the time they had been in the house for a couple of hours, the couple's two Bengal cats seemed to be adjusting well to their latest move. They were certainly enjoying their new surroundings more than they did the cross-country plane trip.

C&J spent a couple of nights on an air mattress before their furniture and belongings from their Los Angeles apartment arrived on Friday. By Saturday they were making good progress on unpacking.

More photos coming soon

Previous coverage: Christine and Jamie prepare to move back east

Stephanie receives Masters from Towson University

Stephanie received her Masters degree from the College of Liberal Arts at Towson University at a commencement ceremony last week.

Her undergraduate ceremony was canceled due to the Covid pandemic, so "it was rewarding for her to be able to attend this ceremony in person," says her mom, Cathy. 

"Her MS degree is in Professional Writing with a concentration on writing for the non-profit sector. With this degree, along with her work and internship experience, she should be well prepared to obtain a grant-writing position."

Stephanie with brother, Chris, and mom, Cathy, before the ceremony.

Xander graduates high school, heads to university

Xander graduated from Courtland High School in Spotsylvania Courthouse, Va., on May 17. 

Entering to "Pomp and Circumstance"

Nearly 400 graduating seniors walked across the stage during the commencement ceremony on the high school's football field. 

Xander was among the Distinguished Honor Graduates wearing gold cords over their graduation gowns, signifying that they achieved a 4.00 or higher cumulative grade-point average.  

Xander's parents, Marie and Brian, and grandparents Dan and Julie; Anne Marie and Os; and Barbara and Steve were among the crowd of family and friends that jammed the bleachers on either side of the field.

After the ceremony, Marie and Brian hosted a lunch at their home, and later a dinner at a nearby restaurant, giving the grandparents ample opportunity for conversation - and for quizzing Xander on his plans.

Xander is joining the Class of 2029 at University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg. He'll commute to the campus, about a 15-minute drive, and initially plans to major in philosophy.

MORE PHOTOS - CLICK HERE

Shanna, Rick, Lucy welcome baby Daisy

Shanna and Rick are happy to share that they brought their newborn daughter, Daisy, home on August 1.

Shanna writes: "After a long a complicated journey, we are now a family of four! Daisy Samantha was born on May 31st, weighing 2 pounds 14 ounces. She was born 12 weeks early due to pregnancy complications, which caused me to be in the hospital for six weeks prior to her birth.

"Daisy spent the first 62 days of her life in the NICU, and is finally home with us now. She is doing well, currently weighing nearly 7 pounds, and will be weaning off of her oxygen over the next month. Her team of doctors are very pleased with her progress, especially considering she wasn't due until late August.

"Big sister Lucy adores her new role, and we are all thrilled to finally be away from the hospital and getting used to our new normal."

Daisy just after her birth May 31

Big sister Lucy visits Daisy, July 17

Daisy 'graduates' from NICU, Aug, 1

Oliver receives the sacrament of Baptism

Oliver Theodore, son of Vivien and CJ, was baptized on Saturday, Aug. 3, at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Scarsdale, N.Y. Brother-in-law John and CJ's sister Grace are the godparents.

Three-month-old Oliver was calm, cool and collected through the service, never crying or fussing. He remained in good spirits through the lovely reception his parents hosted at the nearby Moscato Restaurant.

Pictured here along with Vivien, CJ and Oliver are Vivien's mother, Kathy; sister Genevieve with her husband, John, and daughter Beatrice; and brother Patrick with his wife, Kelsey, holding G&J's son Liam. The gathering also included Oliver's great-grandmother Celestine, grandfather Ted, grandparents Corey and Ellen, and other aunts, uncles, cousins and family friends. 

Hugh & Dolores celebrate 70 years of marriage

Surrounded by their family, Hugh and Dolores marked their 70th wedding anniversary with a dinner party in a restaurant at their residential complex in Maryland.

The couple's children - Julie, Doug and Cathy - organized the June 15 gathering, and fortunately all the grandchildren and most of the spouses and significant others were able to attend.

Julie and Dan drove down from New Jersey. Their daughter, Christine, and her wife, Jamie, flew in from Los Angeles. J&D's son, Andy, came down from Upstate New York. 

Doug and Lisa's daughter Rebecca also was visiting from NYS, along with her boyfriend, Greg. D&L; their daughter Liz; Cathy and her children, Christopher and Stephanie, all live within driving distance and came for the day. 

H&D's long-time friend and neighbor Gini Patterson also joined in the celebration.

Along with balloons and flowers, the table was decorated with cards relating bits of trivia about H&D's wedding and the date - June 12, 1954. Some examples: The ceremony was held at Christ Episcopal Church in Corning, N.Y. The officiant was Father Roger Alling. Dolores' sister, Noreen, was matron of honor. Hugh's father, Clyde, was best man, as most of Hugh's friends were serving in the Army. 

A reception was held in the church parish hall, organized by the ladies of the church, with non-alcoholic fruit punch. A second reception was held at Dolores’ parents’ house, with a keg of beer in the garage.

Other tidbits about that date: Bill Haley & His Comets released "Rock Around the Clock" and the top-grossing movie was "Three Coins in the Fountain"

"We both want to thank all of you for such a lovely weekend," Dolores wrote to the family afterwards. "The balloons and trivia were a nice touch, plus, 2  delish cakes! And all those cards too!"  

Vivien, CJ welcome baby Oliver!

Breaking news from our correspondent Kathy in London:

"Oliver Theodore arrived on April 23rd at 8 pounds 8 ounces. Both Mom and baby are doing very well. I'm lucky to be here with them." 

Proud parents Vivien and CJ, and big brothers Charlie and Austin, are looking forward to introducing Oliver to all his stateside relatives this summer.

New photos! Andy & Wren's wedding

The digital album of professional photos from Wren and Andy's wedding is now available, and it's a fabulous collection capturing the special moments of the day.

Here is the link to the whole 1,000-photo album:

Wren and Andy Wedding Photos

In addition, we have a selection of "behind the scenes" pictures taken during the wedding weekend by Christine. Here, for example, the official photographer takes romantic shots on the porch of the house where the wedding party spent the weekend.

Here's the link to the album of Christine's pictures: 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ckzM1SZihtvY4jhA7

In addition, more photos - and dancing videos! - have been added to the album of photos taken by Dan and Cathy: 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/R28sSt2yVMLhbMjW6

Congratulations newlyweds Andy and Wren!

Andy and Wren were married in a lovely ceremony on Sept. 23 at the Mountainville Manor in New York's Hudson Valley. 

The couple designed their own ceremony. They sealed their vows with a handfasting, in place of an exchange of rings. One of their attendants wrapped their hands together with a cord - an ancient Celtic tradition symbolizing the joining of lives, and the origin of the expression "tying the knot."

The wedding date coincided with the Autumnal Equinox, and came some 13 years after the two got to know each other as members of the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School Marching Band. 

The bridal party included Christine and Jamie, who flew in from California and visited with Dan and Julie for a few days beforehand. (Afterwards, C&J visited Jamie's mother and other relatives in New England.)

The ceremony was followed by a reception featuring excellent food and plenty of energetic dancing, with some of the youngest guests showing themselves to be stars on the dancefloor.

We're collecting photos and videos of the celebration in this Google Photos album. If you took pictures or video, please add them to the album or email them to birchstreetweb@gmail.com!

Congratulations newlyweds Patrick and Kelsey!

Updated 6/26

Patrick and Kelsey celebrated their marriage in a joyous ceremony on May 26 at Le Chateau in South Salem, New York. 

After exchanging their vows, the couple hosted a fabulous reception for their families and friends, featuring a band that kept the crowd dancing into the night. 

Dan took some cell-phone video and has started posting some highlights. So far: Intro/First Dance; Father-Bride Dance; Mother-Groom Dance; Uptown Funk; and Call Me Maybe! More to come.

Click here to open the video album

Catching up with Mary and her family

Editor's note: At Brien's St. Patrick's Day Parade party last month, Mary shared several pieces of news - and agreed to write them up for The Birch Street Web. Here is her account.

So much has changed, so I’ll just dive right in and start with myself. I decided to sell the townhouse I was living in, that I inherited from my mother, and I bought a house on Sacandaga Lake - 15 minutes from my son’s house, so, closer to the grandkids. I’m directly across the street from the lake and have lakefront rights.

I moved in last spring (2022) and spent a lot of time kayaking and then snowshoeing this past winter. It’s a cozy 3-bedroom, 1½ bath ranch with den and full basement on half an acre, perfect for me and my dog, Luna.

I rescued this little hound last March and she has been amazing so far - loves kayaking and going snowshoeing with me. (I had to put the Big Guy / the great dane down.) Roger and I have parted ways so it was perfect timing buying the house. I have incredible neighbors and the Sacandaga Brewery is less than 3 miles away (nice bike ride LOL).

I am switching positions at my job within my organization, the Boys and Girls Club of the Capital Area, which operates Universal Pre-Kindergarten programs at public schools in the area. I am currently the UPK Director for the Cohoes City School District. I oversee 8 classrooms and have 21 employees. But I will be transitioning to the role of Director of Operations and will be overseeing all 24 of our UPK classrooms in 3 different school districts (Albany, Watervliet, and Cohoes), with a staff of 56. I also will be overseeing the directors that run after-school programming and aquatics -- so, exciting times, venturing a bit outside of the Early Childhood world.

I am also starting a consulting company: WOO Consulting (Wise Old Owl), offering life coaching, spiritual life coaching and holistic healing. During the pandemic I became certified in all three areas. I have been running a free 6-week pilot program with 6 clients to get feedback on their experiences and overall impression of the coaching and goal-setting. So far, the follow up conversations have been incredible and so helpful. I am meeting with a business consultant to file a DBA and set up web-site and social-media platforms -- so more to come on that once I am up and officially running.

Now, updates on my children:

Brienna is still living in Saratoga with her boyfriend, Tommy, and is currently attending art school. She is concentrating on graphic design and seems to be loving it. (Photo: Brienna and Tommy with Barkley, a Christmas gift from Mary.)

Brienna's son, Cash, is turning 12 in August and is in middle school -- crazy how time goes by. He lives in Lexington, Ky., with his dad and stepmother, and has a baby brother who is now 6 months old. Brienna still sees Cash often throughout the year and every day on FaceTime -- thank goodness for social media.

Brennan and Shauna Rae and their kiddos, Brooklyn (11) and Brennan (8), are doing amazing. My son and his wife have both completed their Masters degrees. Brennan is currently a physical education teacher for Fulton/Montgomery Elementary School and Shauna-Rae is teaching special-education high school math in Broadalbin, as well as pursuing her administration degree. The kids are busy playing basketball, soccer, baseball and softball.

The family is thinking about relocating to Tampa, Fla., after the school year ends; their house just went on the market to see if this might be feasible. They might not be 15 minutes around the corner from me for long! But I reassured them that I will just book more frequent-flyer miles -- and the kiddos can still enjoy snow on their winter break, as they can spend it with me in NY!

Shannon and Mary

Shannon is a staff sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. She has been married for 3 years -- and she and her husband, Frederick, are expecting their first baby, a girl, in mid-July. 

The couple met when both were stationed at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. (Their wedding was simple, with no reception; a friend of theirs married them. Young military, haha!) They later transferred to Eglin AFB in the Florida Panhandle, and bought a house in Crestwood, Fla. Frederick, who was a staff sergeant and medic in the Air Force, just separated from the service and is pursuing his degree in medicine through the GI Bill. Shannon works as a pharmaceutical technician at Eglin.

Shannon and Frederick

Brienna and Mary at the Terrapin Brewery in Athens Georgia - a pit stop on the way to see Shannon in Florida