Neal family party

                                                      John sporting his new sweater
                                                            Lyn, Mary, Emily and Kati
                                                         Liam is Uncle Jay's new favorite!
                                                       Michael, David and Liam (2 mo.)

Every year we have an adult Christmas party with Michael's family.  It used to be tradition that Terry would give a long winded sermon on the Christmas Story, and would end with Maureen doing what all of us were thinking and say with a long sigh "Terry!!! Enough already!"  We would all break into laughter and the evening would continue with a gift exchange game that we play, good food, singing and long winded stories (a Neal family tradition).  The last couple of years have been a little different with Maureen's passing and Terry's "government paid vacation".  It has taken a few years to get it just right again.  This year was a blast.  We returned to good food, fond memories, and just simply enjoying one another.  We continued our game of exchanging gifts.  Kati brought the spirit of Maureen to the party by wrapping one of her "ugliest" Christmas sweaters as one of her gifts to exchange.  She included a note that said how much Maureen would enjoy that we were all together on Christmas.  To keep her memory alive- whoever received the sweater as their gift would have to 1. wear it the rest of the night 2. bring it next year as a wrapped gift for someone else.  Of course a few tears were shed, but in loving memory of her and not the despair and sadness that we have felt the last few Christmas'.