Virginia A. Brennan

We lost Joe's mom on Thursday January 21 and we greatly miss her.

Visitation Sunday 3-7pm at Neidhard-Minges Funeral Home 3155 Harrison Ave., Westwood. Mass of Christian Burial 11am Monday at St. Martin of Tours Church, Cheviot. Burial St. Joseph Cemetery. Memorials may be made to Catholic Relief Services 228 W. Lexington St., Baltimore, MD 21201 or to Carmel Manor Nursing Home 100 Carmel Manor Rd., Ft. Thomas, KY 41075

Christmas

We had a great Christmas! Grandma Scott, Aunt Patty, John and us,
celebrated on Christmas Eve with church and dinner. We started the
night with a service in which Lillian played 'Away in a Manger' and
'Jingle Bells' on the piano for the children's service. She did a
great job in front of all of those people. Then we came home to a
lovely steak dinner that Joe and John prepared. Off to bed so that
Santa would come:) The next morning wasn't too early, 7ish, and
Lillian was up to check if Santa ate his cookies. Yeah, Santa did come
even though Joe had been giving out warnings of coal in a stocking:)
Margaret was along for the ride when it came to opening presents but
still seemed to have fun. She won't smile for that camera even though
Patty tries her hardest. The rest of Christmas day was quiet with
people playing with their new toys. On the 26th we had the big Brennan
get together. That is always a good time with lots of commotion and
excitement. Here are some pictures from the events.

Yard

Wow! Does this look good or what? Joe worked his hiney off before
Thanksgiving and T-day as well, laying all of the sod. I keep looking
out the back windows and wondering whose yard it is:) Back to work
today, the girls didn't see me cry but Lillian's teacher did:( It's so
hard to leave them especially when Margaret doesn't understand what is
happening and Lillian does! I still enjoy the job even though 911 and
the company do their best to ruin it. And in this economy, who can
complain about going to work. Think about Joe, he's going to need all
the good thoughts his way!

Thanksgiving

We had a big holiday and weekend. It was Margaret's first Thanksgiving
and she jumped right in there with her big Irish/German/English/Native
American and Chinese family! Had no problem running around with
cousins she's never met, eating all the goodies and shutting the doors
in Aunt Bernadette's house. All of the little ones at some point love
to play with the French doors:) We had a nice little party that Aunt
Patty put on in Columbus, thanks to all that made it. We did nicely on
the drive up and the drive home(same day), so we hope that's a good
indicator of the drive to the Lake. Here are some pics of both
parties. Some cousins, sisters, new additions and Grandma Brennan!

Moving along

Matt, Mike, and Jon started the the retaining wall in the backyard. It
will be so nice to have access to the 'back 40' when it's all
finished. We plan to start the garage next spring so we can clean out
the basement/garage and redo the first floor bathroom, before it
crashes into the garage! These old homes(1924) are beautiful but lots
of work. The girls are managing nicely but we are still in adjustment
mode, it's a big adjustment for us all! Have a great T-day, all.

Lillian's 6th birthday

We had a big birthday on Sunday, the sixth! We hadn't planned to have
friends but with Margaret new to our family, a little extra special
attention was needed:) These are girls that she is in school with and
we have known them for a few years. We had perfect weather so the
party was outside, YEAH!

Halloween

We had a good night trick or treating. Margaret picked up the idea
after about three houses and the bag opened on cue. She also picked up
fast that you try to eat all of it in one sitting:) We are still
feeling the effects of the trip but it's getting better. I think we
are moving into just regular kid issues, you know, I want what I want,
now! The sibling rivalry is at full force, WOW! It's amazing how many
different topics I can favor Margaret. I must of driven my mom crazy
if I was anything like Lillian(which I think I am). Lillian turns 6
this weekend and we are having a Hannah Montana party. Guess