Last Saturday, because we planned to enjoy Christmas in Pennsylvania, we drove to Birmingham for an early Christmas with Mark and his family. Saturday evening Jenny prepared a nice meal, and after the meal, we exchanged gifts and took family pictures. This was Margaret's very first Christmas, Jackson's seventh, and John Michael's fourth. Margaret looks to be more interested in the Christmas tree than looking at the camera.

On Tuesday we left for Pennsylvania, arriving on Wednesday. Nancy's sister Elaine and her husband Karl drove in from Michigan. On Thursday we sat down with family members for a traditional Polish Christmas Eve dinner, called "Wigilia". The Wigilia is a meatless meal. Items that would normally be included in a traditional Wigilia menu include mushroom soup, boiled potatoes (kartofle), pickled herring (sledzie), fried fish, pierogi, beans and sauerkraut (groch i kapusta), a dried fruit compote, babka, platek, assorted pastries, nuts and candies. Seated around the table below are Nancy, Elaine, Nancy's cousin John, Nancy's Mother Mary, me (standing), Nancy's Aunt Jo, Nancy's Aunt Nina, and Karl. (Continued Below)