2024 Christmas Letter

Congratulations! You've navigated correctly to our private blog! Merry Christmas,  Happy Holidays & Happy New Year to you and your loved ones. You may have already seen previous posts, if not, please have a look if you have both the time and interest to see what's been going on in our lives. I won't try to summarize too much except to say that 2024 was an excellent first full year for us in our "new-to-us" condo built back in 2006. We've been blessed again with good health, good communities & connections, mobility & even financial security. 

The biggest blessing though, is one that we tend to lose track of through the hustle & bustle of third millennium life. A couple of Sundays ago, enroute from visiting Lily & Wes in the Baltimore area, we got to stop and visit with Mike & Jen, our nephew & niece who live outside of Richmond. They have the most beautiful private Christmas decorations we have ever seen. Being in their home really puts you into this joyous season. After stopping there, the four of us went out for brunch, as apparently everyone else was doing, too! When we eventually got to our table, we were seated next to a small table with just a new dad and his baby, seated in a stroller, present at first. Later Mom arrived and they lingered as we did, enjoying our meals. I greeted the father and when I saw the infant I was just awestruck. I congratulated Dad, and learned that this first born was named Bruno! I sort of fell in love with Bruno. He was so calm, he was so alert. His dark eyes, his creamy brown skin, his faint smiles just blew me away. I was like the Grinch whose heart expanded 3X that day. But I also had this anxiety for Bruno, his coloring wasn't "mainstream" white. His future might be a bit fraught as he grows into a boy and then a young man. And looking back, I think of another baby born and beloved at first. And then, as a man two millennia ago, he was brought to trial and condemned when all he preached was that we were to love one another. That's a big ask, right? But maybe it's worth the risk? Let us remember the blessings of undeserved love...whichever way it happens to be flowing. Merry Christmas and may we all be blessed in 2025! Love,

Wendy & Chris

Which tree is ours? Here are three trees we got to see this Christmas season, only one of them is ours. 

                        A                                        B                                    C

Which tree is our tree and which belongs to Jen and Mike or Kip and Vinod? 

Make your guess in the comments. The answer will be revealed after the New Year, or as we like to call it: Chris' birthday. 

The first tree (A) is Mike and Jen's/ they do so many beautiful trees every year and we were so lucky to get to see them. 

The second tree (B) is Kip and Vinod's. Kip picks his tree out special each year and makes sure there is room to hang his multiple ornaments. It was so fun for us to be there, help pick out the tree and do some of the decorating. 

The third tree (C) is ours. Someone pointed out the books in the background on the floor, yes, my bookshelves are free and I have begun piling books on the floor. Yikes!

Although this is a Christmas post, we want to thank Kip and Vinod for a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration. In addition to visiting with these two great guys, we got to see our former pastor, Tom Harris and his family, Sasha and Marin and Chris' sister, Diane and her family. It was a great visit and led us easily into the December holidays!

New grand-niece, daughter of Sara and Dan. 

We also got to see our nephew Danny and his wife, Nikki. It was a beautiful time in San Francisco and Sacramento. Lucky us!