Merry Christmas (part 2) and Happy New Year!

From The Villages, we made our way to Miami with just a couple of days before Christmas.  Part of the fun was hanging with Pop Chauncey.  I was having difficulty getting my flash to work for this photo, otherwise everyone was looking at the camera.

Christmas Eve we loaded up and went to the Chapel of the Venerable Bede (where Catherine and I were married).  Ian got to acolyte and read one of the lessons, Leah was in the choir and also got to read some prayers.  I think they enjoyed taking part in the service.

We met up with my cousin Jon - I got to meet his wife and two kids for the first time.  We met at a park and then we hightailed it to church.  Nancy came ahead of everyone else to help get the kids ready for the service - everyone else was cutting things close, so I grabbed this photo of just us and Nancy.

Christmas came not too early, and Santa was good to everyone.  The kids had a great time for the small gathering (below) and also for the big gathering (30-40 people).  All of the kids received gifts during the big gathering - there were so many presents spread out on the floor, it was hard to walk.

We stayed a couple more days after Christmas, enjoying Rogue 1 with the whole family as a nice getaway.  The last morning I talked everyone into stepping outside for a family photo.  I took four shots, and this was the best of the bunch.

As I write this we are just a couple of hours away from the new year.  This past year has been challenging, to say the least.  Through it all, Catherine, Ian, Leah, and I have been deeply blessed.  We wish you and your family all the best this holiday season, and pray for a healthy, happy, and prosperous New Year!

God Bless -

Marc

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone - sorry for the late blog post, but we just got back late yesterday and had a bunch of errands to run today.

A couple of weeks ago, we loaded up and took the auto train from Virginia to Florida.  It took off about an hour before dark, so we didn't really get to see much aside from random Christmas lights along the way.  We did have our own sleeper car, which was comfortable and the kids really enjoyed.

We arrived early the next morning, and made the short drive from the train station to Dad & Pam's place in The Villages.

We spent one day around The Villages, went to the Universal park to see the Harry Potter World, which was great fun.  Leah was singled out at Olivander's Wand Shop and got to participate in a little show where she was chosen by her wand.

We also took a day to run into Silver Springs and take a glass-bottom boat tour.  I think the coolest part was the anhinga diving under our boat - I wasn't quick enough with the camera to get a shot of that, though.

We finished that off with a short walk around the place, including the lucky palm tree, where both kids cooperated for a photo.

It was a short stay, but we had a great time!

From The Villages, we made the drive to Miami...the next blog post...


Cheers,

Marc

Family visit

Mom and Chuck came for a pre-Christmas visit.  We went to check out some of the monuments and memorials in DC yesterday, but it was cold with a pretty strong breeze, so that didn't last too long.

Today was church to watch Leah sing in the choir.  Tomorrow we will probably head into DC again to check out a museum.  All in all, a whirlwind tour.

Have a great day!

Marc

Leah's Prayer Shawl

Leah received a nice prayer shawl from the Women's Group at our church for her tonsillectomy a week or so ago.

I thought I'd take a couple of photos of her wearing it.  Turns out I love this photo - I think moody portraits are my style (only because I can't get the light and airy ones to turn out).

Enjoy!

Marc