Happy almost New Year from Barcelona! I’m gonna snag a few minutes of our post-holiday break to say hello on the hostel’s Wi-Fi, minutes after using it to see that Jess has updated her Facebook status from her Italian pilgrimage adventures with Molly.

We had a delightful holiday season in Wexford. Molly took to answering the question of “What’d you guys do on Christmas?” with a delightful “Christmas Eve dinner… mass, mass, mass… hanging out with Ruairi… mass, mass, mass… opening presents, and Christmas dinner at Finbar’s.” This was the conclusion of our Advent of fellowship.

Earlier this month, we got to return the favor of hospitality to our dear new friends, the Fogarty’s. Pat, Mary Frances, and Jonathan came over for some sweets and tea and a rousing evening of conversation. Then during the final week of advent, we hosted an open house in Teach Bhride with a smattering of guests from different parts of our world in Wexford. Stasia and her husband, Dan, enjoyed it so much that they invited us back over to their house!

Then, to cap the Christmas celebrations, we went to the home of Finbar, a great fellow I’ve gotten to know by working with the Clonard conference of the St. Vincent de Paul organization. He and his wife, Mary, hosted all four of us and Jess’ dad as well as their three children, in from Dublin, Manchester (England), and Bath (England) to join Christmas dinner. It was a blast.

We’ve all embarked on our holiday adventures for some relaxation and leisurely fun before we return to a new year of work with our friends back in Wexford. Here’s to hoping that our travels far and wide can recharge us and set us up to have a grand six-month finish to our year.