Christmas Letter 2010

Minutes to hours, hours to days, days to weeks and weeks to months. We spend our time chasing minutes, as days and weeks fly past. It’s the time of year for us all to sit down and slow down. Enjoy all the wonder that surrounds us. Appreciate all the loved ones that make our lives special. As we enter this Holiday Season my hope is that you are surrounded by family and friends. For that is the true measure of happiness and success.

As I settle in to write this years letter we are in the midst of a full scale winter storm. So far we have 10 inches of fresh white powdery snow with strong winds and near white out conditions. If this doesn’t get us in the Christmas spirit then nothing will! I can’t believe this is our 5th Christmas here in Minnesota. It’s been another memorable year.

Our youngest, Cathryn is now a Sophomore at at Minnetonka High School. After a year at a Charter Dance school she made the very mature decision that as much as she loves dance the school was not her best option to prepare her for College and her future. We are very proud of her. She has quickly made friends and is now also taking up the family legacy of distance running participating on girls Cross-Country team. She is also still very much into Ballroom Dance and is training at a new school in Edina. We’re looking forward to watching her compete again this winter.

Alex is now in his second year at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, studying for a degree in Journalism. He is in his second year working at the campus satirical paper “The Daily’er Nebraskan” where he is the associate editor. He has had many great opportunities to build and manage a creative team, negotiate with University leaders and continue to craft his writing style. This year he moved off campus and is sharing a house with 3 other guys. He is also a huge fan of the Cornhusker football team, attending all their home games. Go Big Red!

Our Oldest Nik had a big year. He turned 21 in January, sharing his first beer with his Dad (a Guinness of course!). In June he graduated from his Transitions Plus post High School program. In early September

he started college at Hennipen County Tech. studying to earn a degree as a Computer Service Technician. Later that month he achieved one of his life long goals by earning his drivers licence. He can now be seen on the streets of the Twin Cities in his little black Ford Focus.

Chris and I are so proud of all our children. It has been such a joy to watch them achieve and accomplish on their life’s journey. We have enjoyed many challenges in our jobs. She as Chef’s assistant at Black Sheep Cafe and me in my nearly life long adventure at Quad/Graphics. Our family had a fun road trip this summer on the south shore of Lake Superior in both Upper Michigan and Wisconsin. I was also blessed by my wife and family with a surprise 50th birthday party the day after Thanksgiving.

It has been a year of blessings. We thank God daily for the blessings of Faith, Family, Friends and work that we continue to receive. Thank you to all the family and friends that have found the time to visit us in our Excelsior home this year. You know who you are and we are so gratefully that you made visiting us a priority.

From all of us, we wish you a blessed Christmas and a healthy and happy New Year.

Jeff, Chris, Nik, Alex and Catie (Cookie and Lola too)