Sleigh Bells Ring, Preneta Style!

Ah, yes! That time of year is upon us. The time of year when the Chatham girls (dare I say women) get a hankering for some serious socializing. It is so challenging to gather everyone and their families together for an event these days (proved difficult this year by the absence of Meaney and Marco - Luxembourg calls sometimes) so once someone is brave enough and gracious enough to offer their sacred space and a date is selected, it's an all or nothing happening. And this year, the Prenetas outdid themselves - start to finish. There was much merriment and much gift-giving as the adults got down to business (more nice than naughty this year) in the Yankee Swap and the children enjoyed some pre-planned-by-their-parents gifts as well. The Prenetas home was both warm and inviting and it felt good to be surrounded by really GOOD people regardless of what room you found yourself in. And so, a great big Thank You to our fantastic hosts, Meg, Dave and Matthew - your food was delectable, your home a sanctum, your generosity a thing of beauty and your friendship a treasure. The Happiest of Holidays to our wonderful Stonehill compadres and their families!



The Flowers, trying to make a break for it because they realized they were short one Yankee swap gift...






Chris and Amy pretending to enjoy each other's company




Maeve has just asked for Sophia's shoes, to which Sophia has responded, "beat it."





The activity center...






Becky has just asked Dave for the secret spiral ham family recipe. Meg has just told Dave, "don't even think about it."






Which one of these guys do think has just spiked the punch bowl?






The Sheas: all 4 of them (yes there is a bun a cookin')






Chatham offspring:






Some really hot ladies:




Some really hot ladies and some Chatham offspring:





The kids enjoy their gift opening ceremony...






"My god, why haven't these people left already?"


Lady in Red

Illumination

Here We Come a Wassailing...

Last Thursday Maeve and I trekked out to Holy Cross to deliver good luck and good munchies to our favorite Crusaders, Katie and Sam. They warmly invited us into their dorm room (lair) and very ungrudgingly shared anything and everything they possibly could with Maeve. By the end of our visit, Maeve was wearing a pair of Sam's high heels which is a direct result of Maeve's shoe fettish. Our visit was completed with a private concert by Holy Cross' Chamber Choir, headed up by Sam's man, Mike. They serenaded Maeve with a rousing rendition of Jingle Bells. It would have brought the house down, had we been inside somewhere but instead we enjoyed the singing mid-campus. It was fabulous. Feeling more than a little guilty that it has taken me so long to get out to Holy Cross to visit Katie, I am assured by the ease of last Thursday's trip that Sam and Katie can expect at least one Spring Semester social call....

Deck the Halls with Bling

Here she is ladies and gentlemen...our little Christmas fashion plate!

Go Bruins!

Saturday, November 10th the McNamaras were treated to a very special night by Megan's boyfriend, Jonathan, a life-long Bruins fan and season ticket holder. Our group was joined by Jonathan's family including his daughter, a resident of Buffalo and a load of her good friends who all traveled from Buffalo for the long-awaited match up. We were on the 9th level of the Garden in a spectacular room filled with food and drinks and friendly people. We were even treated to a visit by former pro hockey players, Bob Sweeney and Scott Young. There were free Bruins hats for all who attended although there weren't many Buffalo fans in the room donning them and a few of them were even tossed over the ledge when the Bruins sealed the deal, winning the game 2-1 at the end of the 3rd period. Chris and I are still speechless about the extravagant experience but even more in awe of Jonathan's generosity and kindness. We won't soon forget the good time we had and are so grateful to Jonathan for including us in the fun! Here are some pics:




Erin and her boyfriend, Chris:



Chris, Dad, Brian and Erin:



Chris and Brian with Bob Sweeney and Scott Young:



Megan and Jonathan enjoying the view and each other's company:



Brian, Erin, Megan and Jonathan with Blades, the Bruins' mascot:








The final score:

Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble

2007's Halloween can go down in the books as another good time as friends and family joined us to eat some food and answer the door. True to traditionm our neighborhood was hopping as we greeted well over 75 trick-or-treaters that night. Maeve's Auntie Katie (aka A-ka) joined us and even slept over so we could continue the festivities the following day. Here are a couple of shots of Ak-a the cat and Maeve the elephant. Strange isn't it that they both have the exact same expression in both pictures?




Our favorite trick-or-treaters of the night: The Glynns, Reeds and Murphys:



Just a really trippy experience for me when I saw this at the end of my street:

Walking for Na, Walking for a Cure

On Sunday, October 21st the McNamara family rallied in Warwick, RI as we have done every year for the last 5 or 6 to participate in the ALSA Rhode Island Chapter's annual "Walk to D'Feet ALS." This is the first year that Mom was not with us to spur us on with her physical presence but her memory and spirit were more than enough inspiration to raise some money and lend our support. We made up some special "Mom stickers" to wear close to our hearts (although Maeve wore hers on her back, cleverly placed by me. so that she wouldn't be distracted by it), shed a few tears along the way and found some comfort in the sunshine and smiling faces who showed up with us that day. I fervently pray that the need for this walk will be a thing of the past very soon...

The Long-Faced (get it?) Elephant

As excited as I was to buy Maeve's Halloween costume this year considering her large affection for the magnificent creature, the elephant, could she look more melancholy about wearing the thing? It almost looks like she wants to trample me...