Baby Rome

Brook and Brett had a baby on Friday!

Corinne Michaela Rome is the newest member of their family!

She is very beautiful and sleeps wonderfully.

Big News!

We just found out that Jenna and Keith are having a baby!

That's right. They are expecting a little one in July 2009!

I can't wait to watch them enjoy this experience!

Congrats you two!

Chewy and the Horses

Jason, Chewy and I went to visit Sue over the weekend.

Chewy got to meet Patchy (Sue's dog), Sundance and Ginger.

Salt was in my hand which the horses thought was deeeelish.

Chewy was very good, but curious.

Big size difference.

Big News

The Obamas will be getting a puppy dog next spring and it might be a Goldendoodle.

Chewy did not get to vote in this election because it is still illegal for dogs to vote, but he is super excited to hear this news. He is hoping it's a girl dog and that he might get to meet him/her some day. He has high hopes and dreams for visiting the white house.

Here's some info from an article I found:

The Obamas appear to being leaning toward a rescue dog in what could be the 44th president's first major appointment. President-elect Barack Obama announced Tuesday that he would fulfill a campaign promise to buy his daughters a puppy.

"Sasha and Malia, I love you both more than you can imagine," Obama said in his Election Night address. "You have earned the puppy that is coming with us.

Throughout the campaign, the Obamas dropped hints about the dog, whose adoption was promised regardless of the campaign's outcome. Malia, 10, expressed a desire for a "goldendoodle," a golden retriever-poodle hybrid that isn't recognized as an official breed by the American Kennel Club. And Michelle Obama told reporters in October that the family would select a rescue dog from a shelter.

Any future pet, however, must be hypoallergenic because of Malia's allergies.
At the PAWS Chicago Adoption Center, officials said they would be able to find a designer puppy to meet both Malia's needs and her mother's prerequisites.

"Anyone who wants a hypoallergenic, designer dog will be able to get one from us," PAWS founder Paula Fasseas said. "If they want a puppy, it will take a little longer."

Here's the article:
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/11/obamas-first-appointment-a-first-dog.html

I hit 100K

A couple weeks ago I hit 100,000 miles while driving to work. Hopefully I can make it to 200K. I think Hondas are usually long lasting cars if you take care of them. I like to think that I do!

Around Town

This Saturday we visited Max and Ralph at my parents' house. Max has grown a lot since when he was a kitten. He's getting neutered and declawed at the end of the month.

The black and white cat is Max.

The gray and white cat is Ralph.

We then went to watch the football game at the Schoeff's house. Chewy got to play with Otto and Honas.

Wonderful Week with Grandma

We just had a wonderful week with Grandma Dodok. She lives in Centerville, but spent a week with us in Delaware. We enjoyed her visit with her and she enjoyed herself as well. She was surprised by the size of Chewy, but by the end of the week she and Chewy were good friends.

At long last - Ireland Pictures

Here are all the pictures from Ireland that I have from me and other. View at your own risk - there are more than 2,000 pictures and some picture are duplicate images but from different cameras.

http://picasaweb.google.com/christineduffy

We survived the wind storm!

It was a crazy night, but Jason Grandma and I survived the wind storm. We lost power Sunday around 4pm and then it came back on for an hour on Monday morning (in time for Jason to get ready) but then it went off again later that morning! Mom and Dad's power is still not on as of this morning. Mom is staying with me and Dad is tending to the fridge and freezer.

The only casualty that we had was the chimney top tried to come off. It's halfway off now. Jason is going to try and fix it tomorrow if the ladder is tall enough.

Jenna and Keith - Wedding pictures

There are pictures up from Jenna and Keith's Wedding.

Duffy / Caldwell Wedding August 2008
http://bellapictures.com/photos

No new pics

No new pics, I just wanted to say that we are home safe and sound. It's great to be back home! Dorothy was right - There's no place like home.

pictures of ireland

here is the view from our cottage

here are the ladies on the cliffs of moher

jason and i in front of our cottage

jami jenna and i all have the same hat

fyi - i bought it first :)

Dad Duffy, jenna, keith, jason, and i played 18 holes of pitch and putt with the cliffs in the background

we are having tons of fun. today we went to galway. we cancelled dublin because it would be a 4 hour train ride. we'll do dublin some other holiday vacation. we visited the aran islands and everyone bought a sweater/hat/scarf

i'll try to post one more time before sat when we catch our flight home. love you all!!!!

We're Irish

Hello,

We are here, but I haven't found an internet cafe. We just bought 7 minutes of internet access so I have to make this fast. We are having a blast. it's more windy than i expected but its beautiful. i'll type more and maybe post pictures later. but for now - love to everyone and the feelings of jealously our totally worth it. we have seen ennis and the cliffs of moher. we plan to go to dublin for two days next week and the aran island on friday. tomorrow we are going to golf - in the rain!

ok - bye for real. sorry about the grammar i'm rushing so jason can get his share of our 7 minutes.

Waiting for Our Flight

We're hanging out at CMH waiting to go to Boston - which will hopefully lead to Ireland :P

Stay tuned for more .. . . .

The Wedding!

There are some pictures on the photographer's blog now! http://www.newagefoto.com/newageblog/

I have good news and bad news.
First, the good news: The wedding was beautiful and tons of fun.
The bad news: I didn't take any pictures.

But here are two website that should have pictures up shortly.
The photographer's website is: http://www.newagefoto.com/
The company's website the photographer is from: www.bellapictures.com/photos

Nothing's up yet, but check back because they should be up in the next week. We'll be in Ireland, so don't rely on me to tell you when they are available :)

Rehearsal Dinner

Here are some pictures from the rehearsal and dinner.

Jenna doesn't look nervous at all!

Sorry I got you with your eyes closed Zach!

What a lovely couple.

Jenna is not very good at spelling, which she got from her dad.

Funny stories were shared:

"Can I erupt?"

"See, my dad is bald!"

Group Hug!

Ireland right around the corner

Ireland is right around the corner - I can't believe it. It has really snuck up on us. My Grandma Theus always said to me that Ireland is truly an Emerald in the sea. This picture really captures that and I hope to be able to get a picture just like this. Let's hope for a not so cloudy arrival.

Only a couple more days!

A couple more days till Jenna and Keith's Wedding!

And then we are off to Ireland - Doolin, Ireland

We love you Grandma!

Grandma Theus passed away, but will always be remembered in our hearts.

Grandma loved being in the kitchen.

Grandma with Frankie. Halloween was close by so Frankie had plastic vampire teeth.

Grandma and Grandpa

Grandma on our Alaskan Cruise August 2006

JOAN "CYNTHIA" THEUS (nee Mattock), passed away July 17, 2008. Beloved wife of the late John R.; dear mother of John W. (Bernadine), William (Sandra) and Joan Montini; loving grandmother of six (Natalie, Christine, Michelle, Olivia, Frankie, Elizabeth).

Here we are after Sunday mass.

William, Christine, Joan, John, Frankie, Bernie, Jason

Near to Far: William, John and JoAnn Onasko, Frankie's friend Owen, Frankie, John, Joan

Near to Far: Natalie and her husband Chris, Christine and her husband Jason, Michelle, Joan
Grandma would have enjoyed this meal - the food and drinks were wonderful.

Natalie and I had Austrailian Sea Bass in honor of Grandma Theus.

She made a wonderful Sea Bass meal during a family gathering in the past.

Jason, Bernie, Christine, Jim Dodok, Grandma Dodok, Natalie, Michelle, Chris.

Jason, Chris, Natalie, Michelle, John, Bernie, and Sherry Dodok.