Erica's Baptism

(The Godparents: Kathy Leveille and Luke McGarry)

Erica was finally baptized into the Catholic Church on December 28th and she was baptized with her cousin Joseph. We were disappointed Justin's uncle, Father Andre, was unable to perform the ceremony due to an injury, but it was still a very nice ceremony. And I think the priest, Father Bob, did a wonderful job making sure everyone was included. Hindsight is always 20/20, and we learned it probably wasn't the best time of year to have it, being that it was so close to the holidays. Things got forgotten, people got forgotten, and to top it off, we had gotten quite a few people sick with our flu bug. Some didn't come because they were sick, others didn't come because they didn't want to get sick...so our turnout wasn't the best. Oh well, live and learn, right?

Christmas Day

Erica and Grandpa

Erica and Uncle Ed

Sean and Kathy


Jade and Aunt Pete

Jason, Karen, and Joseph

Grandma and Great-Grandma

Beth and Brett

Santa and "the boys"

Emily, Nathan, Jade and Santa

Joel, Leighann, Tim and Baby Benjamin

"He's ready to come out!"

On Christmas day we went to Justin's parents' house for brunch. Justin was feeling better by then, so he came too. The kids got a big surprise when Grandpa called in a favor from Santa and he paid them a special visit! They were very excited to see him. In addition to the immediate family, Justin's Great Grandma, Aunt Pete, Uncle Ed, and cousins Beth and Brett joined us for brunch. It was great to see everyone, but unfortunately we passed the flu to them as well. Sorry guys! After brunch and gifts, the girls were exhausted and Justin was starting to not feel so well again. So I dropped them off and headed to my Aunt Pat's for a while. In spite of all the illness, the day was a success. My only regret was not having the traditional Christmas dinner I enjoy so much. Oh well, there's always next year.

Christmas Eve

This year we spent Christmas Eve in Penrose with my family. We went to 4:00 mass and then came home for a wonderful dinner prepared by my father. After dinner, we opened presents, played games, and listened to Christmas music. Justin unfortunately had the stomach flu that had gone through the family, so he was not able to attend. We still had a good time though, and didn't get home until around 10:00. (Just in time to leave out the milk and cookies for Santa!)