Paul - Age 12

Mom made the shirt.


What puppy-dog brown eyes :)

Dinner Time

Here is a pictures with (clockwise) Al, Joan, Stephen, Dad, Mary and John (back to us).


Isn't Mary cute and Dad extremely skinny?

Stumped

Here's a pic of their Tewksbury lot with Clary and Dad working out a stump using a couple of axes. I've tried to axe out a tree stump and it is one of the hardest things in the world!


More power to ya, Pops!

The "Backyard"

These are pictures labelled The Backyard. Exciting? No. I'm assuming they are from the land in Tewksbury that my parents used to build their first house.

UPDATE: I'm up here with my Mom and she's teling me that this first picture is of the backyard in Tewksbury... they had to cut all of the trees by hand. They built their house by hand, living in a tar paper shack until the basement was completed, then they moved the shack over on top of the basement and they lived in that as they built up their house around them... and I think I have problems!

This is another picture of the backyard that shows a stone wall they were building, a hand made ladder my Dad fashioned and a burn barrel used to dispose of garbage. The boulders and rocks were actually dug out from where the basement was built and on the left hand side you can see a stack of cinder blocks that were to be used for the basement walls.

1964 - Richmond Airport

Here's the family, pre my existence, at the Richmond Airport.

L ro R: Loretta, Steven, Marie, Mary, Paul, Mom, Charles, John

1966 - Me And My Parents

Being the last of eight kids there are less than five pictures of me under the age of 13. Here's one of them.

That's me in the lap of my Mom. My Dad looks SO happy to be there, doesn't he... like, "didn't I do this seven times already?"

Mary And Steve's Wedding

Here's some pics from Mary and Steve's wedding... I wasn't invited. But I'm not bitter. Much.


Okay, so maybe it wasn't that I didn't get invited as much as my parents didn't take us with them. Either way, I'm completely over it. I think...

John Bauer

This is a picture of my older brother John. Amazing how much his daughter Laura takes after him.

1944 - My Parents

Here are two pics of my Mom and Dad from 1944. Eight kids and 21 years later, I came into the picture.

Pin-Up Mom

Here's a picture of my Mom from 1943. I'm sure she's embarrassed right this second for me having posted it.

Curb Appeal

After eight years of redesigning the interior of our house, we decided to invest a little (or more than a little) on the outside of our house. The updates included a new vinyl fence, new landscaping and a lot of pavers. The paver work included adding a front patio and walkway, changing out the pavers around the front oak tree, an extended paver driveway that continues into a walkway to the back of the house, and a new patio in the backyard. They should also help a lot with some previous drainage problems.

Front of the house.

New walkway and front patio.

New pavers around the oak.

New paver driveway.

Driveway pavers extend down the side of the house.

New paver patio in the back yard.

We've wanted to use the exterior of our house for so long, now we'll be able to sit outside and enjoy. After the winter we're going to sod the back yard and then it will be complete.

Me And Noah

For all of those who prayed for Noah after his birth, here is a picture of Noah and me at Thanksgiving. Sorry it's not a more clear picture.

Flatulence Forces Plane To Land

From AP...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- An American Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing Monday morning after a passenger lit a match to disguise the scent of flatulence, authorities said.

You can read the entire article here.

Editors have to love when they get to write headlines for stories such as these!

Aunt Hannah and Uncle Rasimir Reiser

Click on pic for larger image.

Aunt Elizabeth Buckley

Click on pic for larger image.

Albert Buckley & Bill Carmody

Click on pic for larger image.

Father Paul Merrill, Passed Away 11/28/06

My Uncle Paul, a priest and my mother's brother, passed away this Tuesday. He was a passionate man who blessed, literally, everyone he met.

He will be truly missed.

(Here is Father Paul at his Ordination)

Update: Here is the obituary from the funeral home website... you can login there and sign the guestbook if you'd like.

*****

Waltham - Rev. Paul C. Merrill, C.S.S., a member of the Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Stigmatine Fathers and Brothers), died Tuesday November 28, 2006 at the Sancta Maria Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Cambridge. He was 74.

Born in Boston on September 16, 1932, he was the son of the late John C.J., Sr. and Mary A. (Buckley) Merrill. Father Merrill’s home parish was Saint Matthew’s in Dorchester. He attended Saint Matthew’s Grammer School, Dorchester, Cathedral High School, Boston, The Stigmatine Minor and Major Seminary, Waltham and The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.

Fr. Merrill entered the Stigmatine Community in Waltham on September 16, 1951, made his first profession of vows on June 22, 1954, his perpetual profession of vows on June 22, 1957 and was ordained to the Holy Priesthood at Saint Matthew Church, Dorchester on June 6, 1961 by Bishop Thomas J. Riley, Auxiliary Bishop of Boston.

Father Merrill served in the following assignments: Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, Springfield, Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, Milford, Saint Joachim Parish, Ontario, Canada, Saint Joseph Parish, East Longmeadow and Elm Bank Seminary, Wellesley. He also served as chaplain at Maristhill Nursing Center in Waltham. Due to poor health, he retired to Saint Joseph Hall, Waltham, in 1991.

Fr. Merrill was a very devoted Religious and Priest. He served to the very best of his ability, despite many illnesses. Never one to complain, he offered himself to God in his many years of sickness and was a fine witness of identification with the Passion of our Lord. He truly lived the suffering Stigmata of Christ. May God now generously reward Fr. Merrill with peace and joy in his holy kingdom. May he rest in peace.

Fr. Merrill was the brother of the late Louise Westpfal, John D. Merrill, Jr. and Lorenzo D. Merrill.

He leaves two sisters, Mary J. Johnson of Bucksport, Maine and Catherine Bauer of Hayesville, North Carolina.

Visitation will be held on Monday, December 4th, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in the Espousal Center Chapel, 554 Lexington Street, Waltham, followed by a Funeral Mass at 11 a.m. Burial will be in Sacred Heart of Jesus Cemetery, Milford, at 1:30 p.m.

Memorial donations may be made to The Stigmatine Mission Office, 554 Lexington Street, Waltham, MA 02452.

Polar Opposites

Some things just strike me as funny... like popping onto the Fox News website to see one pic of the pope visiting Turkey flanked by another picture of Britney Spears hanging out with Paris Hilton. Nothing screams opposite ends of the moral spectrum than those two pictures side by side...

(click pic for larger image)

In the mean time, Pope Benedict is certainly an impressive figure. In such a volatile time between clashing faiths, the pope is venturing to Turkey, who's 72 million people only contain 32,000 Catholics. So, his mission is far greater than stirring up support from the Catholic masses (as there aren't really enough people to be considered as such), but instead to bridge the gaps creating violence between faiths.

Talk about walking into the lion's den!

I strongly suggest you visit this great special website hosted by the Catholic News Agency about the pope's trip, the history and the reasons behind it all. Great info.

Aunt Kate Fitzsimmons

Some of the pictures I get are REALLY beat up. I do my best to clean them up. The one below has been one of the worst so far...

Before

After

As always, click on the pics for larger images.

Al Reiser, Nana's Cousin

This is a picture of Al Reiser, Mike's brother and my Nana Merrill's cousin.

Click on pic for larger image.