Christmas brings family members together

After two missed years due to the pandemic, the annual family Christmas party in Yonkers took place on Monday, hosted by Kathy at her home. It was wonderful to be able to get together in person to celebrate the holiday.

The guests included Kathy's daughter Vivien with her husband, CJ, and their boys, Charlie and Austin - all currently living in London but on holiday stateside. Kathy's son, Patrick, and his fiance, Kelsey, joined the party, but left before this photo was taken. Robert arrived in time for the photo and is seen in back by the Christmas tree. Kathy's daughter Genevieve, her husband, John, and their children, Bea, Jack and Liam, were unable to attend because of illness, and were sorely missed. 

Kathy's three brothers were there. Dan and his wife, Julie, drove in from New Jersey with their son, Andy, and his fiance, Wren, who were visiting from upstate New York. Brien and Kevin arrived along with Kevin's wife, Kathy; their son, Kevin; and their daughter, Shanna, her husband, Rick, and daughter, Lucy, who is front-and-center in the photo. There also was one virtual attendee: Christine, who circulated through the crowd via a Zoom call on Julie's phone.

Hugh and Dolores invited family to a Christmas meal at one of the restaurants at Oak Crest in Maryland. The red-and-green-bedecked couple are seen here with their son, Doug, and (standing l to r) granddaughters Liz and Stephanie, grandson Christopher, daughter-in-law Lisa, daughter Cathy and granddaughter Rebecca.

Dolores writes that they had a private area in the restaurant, "and a good thing, because everyone was still sharing Scotland stories and experiences, sometimes all at once!" She particularly enjoyed hearing Chris and Steph's reactions to their "their First Trip Abroad. It was a great opportunity for them."

Snow scenes from mid-December storm

The first significant snowstorm of the season hit the Northeastern U.S. on Dec. 16-17. Among our family members, Andy and Wren seem to have had the heaviest snowfall: About 28 inches, as measured on their deck the morning of the 17th.

While they've had snow on their northern-Catskills property before, this was the deepest since they moved in at the end of January.

Most of their chickens took one look at the piled-up snow and opted to stay in their coop. This one ventured out, hopped atop the snow and tried to plow its way into the yard before retreating.

At Birch Street headquarters in New Jersey, there was far less snow than forecast: maybe 6 inches instead of a foot-plus.

With no need to go anywhere, Dan and Julie were able to just enjoy the view. (And paid a couple of enterprising young men with shovels to clear their driveway.)

The Philadelphia area was about as far south as the snow reached.

The city received 6-7 inches in what the Philadelphia Inquirer called the region's first major winter storm in 1,000 days.

Cathy took these photos of the pretty scene as the snow fell in her suburban neighborhood.

Stephanie on field with Towson U. Marching Band

The Towson University Marching Band performed in the annual Collegiate Marching Band Festival at J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown, Pa., on Sept. 29.

Stephanie is now in her second year playing clarinet in the band. Her mom, Cathy, as well as her Aunt Julie and Uncle Dan were among the crowd in the stands. (Dan and Julie had been to the stadium many times before to watch Christine and Andy in high school band competitions.)

The Towson band's 2019 show, "Driven," ends with band members running in from the field to dance in front of the crowd.

Back on East Coast, Cathy has new job

After a little over a decade in Ohio, Cathy has moved back east and is now living and working in the Philadelphia area.

With daughter Stephanie attending Towson University, and son Christopher in Delaware, Cathy began planning to relocate closer to them and to her parents and siblings. She sold her house in Hilliard, Ohio, in the spring and moved temporarily to Riderwood, Md.

In July, Cathy accepted a position as a Compliance Specialist at Lincoln Financial Group in downtown Philadelphia, and moved to suburban Prospect Park, Pa. The job is similar to the work she had been doing at Nationwide Insurance in Columbus, Ohio - making sure the policies and products sold by the company's agents are suitable for the individual customers.

Cathy is now living in Prospect Park, Pa., within an hour-and-a-half's drive of Stephanie at Towson and even closer to Christopher in Newark, Del. She's already started doing some volunteer work in the community - and, of course, attending Towson University Marching Band performances whenever she can.

A summer day in Longwood Gardens

Cathy, Christopher and Stephanie spent part of the the first weekend in July visiting Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pa.

"It was a hot, humid day," Cathy writes, "however we still enjoyed the flowers and fountains."

See more of Cathy's photos here.