The McDonnells at Christmas

There is a picture of most of the participants at my sister and brother-in-law's Christmas dinner at http://kendalmarie.blogspot.com/ . Read the second comment from the December 31 post for all the details on who's who. For those who weren't there, guess who took the picture based on my previous post. By the way, comments are no longer restricted to Google members, but they are moderated to avoid spam. I will be notified if someone comments. Since I don't have any comments yet, maybe I will make a comment so I can learn the process of acceptance. I hope that it is just like accepting members into one of my Yahoo groups which I moderate. (My Moderator Status is a total mystery to me.) Tune in to find out.

I also promised to reveal the results of the Family Gift Exchange. I hope that you enjoy it. Who's who may be found throughout my blog and within my comment on Kendal's Blog, but you can make a comment if you have any questions (Non-Family Members, Please!)

Giver Receiver

Kathleen: Maggie

Patty: Mike Schabel

Tim: Mike Schmidt

Maggie: Marnie

Joe: Bob

Bob: Lois

Bill: Kathleen

Dan Sweeney Sr.: Patrick

Mike Schabel: Dan Sweeney Sr.

Lois: Mandy

Dan Sweeney Jr.: Bill

Patrick: Laura

Mandy: Dan Sweeney Jr.

Marnie: Amy

Amy: Tim

Laura: Patty

Mike Schmidt: Joe

Kendal and Amy Marie were not participants in the Gift Exchange.

This exercise taught me that " u" allows for underlining, but the old posts will stay the same to illustrate this lesson.

Christmas Review

I had a nice Christmas. Dinner was at Mike and Maggie's house in Parma, OH. Kathleen, Joe, Bob, Mandy, Marnie and her husband Mike , Kendal, and I were in attendance. Tim was working. Lois (Tim's Companion) was probably with her family. Patty and Dan Sr. were at home in Massachusetts. Dan Jr., Laura, and Amy Marie were probably with Laura's family. Patrick was probably in Los Angeles. Amy was in Long Island with her boyfriend and his family. We all had a nice time and enjoyed our presents. I received a Circuit City Gift Card from my nephew, Dan. It came in an envelope addressed to Bob and me. Thinking that it was just a Christmas card, I had Bob open it. Of course, Dan and Laura killed two birds with one stone. I walked into the room just in time to see the gift card. This was on December 22. If it happens again, I'll wait until Christmas. In any event, the gift is greatly appreciated.

Two days later, we celebrated Maggie's birthday at her house. Kathleen, Joe, and I were the only ones at dinner (besides the hosts). Marnie, Mike, and Kendal were there earlier, (before I arrived) but they left to go back to Howell, MI. The people who weren't there at Christmas weren't at this gathering either. Bob and Mandy were both working. It was a nice occasion. Maggie appreciated her presents. We did well working without a net (There was no list.). The next party should be Bob's birthday in February (Marnie's Mike's birthday is in January, but the celebration will probably be in Michigan.).

Maybe tomorrow, I will provide the Gift Exchange assignments.

Questions Answered

I now know the answer about who filled in for Patrick on the trip to Puerto Rico. It was nobody. His parents were able to attain a voucher for a future trip. Speaking of them, they will have an "Empty Nest" Christmas this year. Dan Jr. and Patrick will be staying home. Amy is heading for Long Island to be with her boyfriend's family. It would have been nice to have them here in the Cleveland area to be with their first grandchild. There's always next year.

The gift exchange is going fine. I haven't started shopping yet, but I hope to get started this week. I don't anticipate any problems.

There will be a new report soon. Go to Kendal's blog at http://kendalmarie.blogspot.com for more details on my other great niece. Amy Marie does not have a blog "yet", but anything is possible.

Thanksgiving

I had a very nice Thanksgiving at my sister and brother in law's house. It was just my brothers Joe and Bob, my sisters, Kathleen and Maggie (The Host), my brother-in-law(The co-host), and my niece Mandy (Kendal's Aunt). My brother Tim was working. My sister Patty, her husband Dan, their son Patrick, and ? (Patrick and his previous girlfriend broke up.) are in Puerto Rico on a belated 30th Birthday (Patrick) present trip. (They used to live in Puerto Rico.) Normally, Dan and Patty reside in Lancaster, MA (Central MA), and Patrick lives in Los Angeles. My brother Dan died in June 2006, just two days before Kendal was born. Speaking of Kendal, her parents Marnie and her husband, Mike were at their home in Howell, MI. My nephew Dan, his wife Laura, and their daughter Amy Marie were celebrating somewhere else. They live in Chardon, OH. My niece Amy may be the ? in the Puerto Rico tale. She lives in Boston.

We had the traditional items at the dinner table. It was all delicious. During the course of the evening, we picked names for the Christmas gift exchange. I am in the process of revealing assignments, so don't worry if you haven't received your assignments yet.

Have fun shopping!

Kendal's Future Sibling! (Part 2)

Kendal is expected to have a sister in April. With three girls, I guess we will be going in reverse as I started off with two nephews before I gained three nieces. This scoop came from my sister, but I chose to wait until it reached Kendal's blog. I hope that the two cats and the dog will cooperate. I can't imagine what will happen if a new baby would join my house. I have three cats who climb on anyone and anything but me. I guess avoiding me is not all that bad as cats as obstructions are not on my list of amusements. See the early entries for some of my hobbies.

Tune in later for more observations.