“I always keep the Lord near me, and I will not be afraid with Him at my right side. Because of this, my heart will be glad, my words will be joyful, and I will live in hope.” Acts 2:25-26.
We hope this letter finds you and your loved ones well, joyful, and with the thrill of hope in the birth our Lord.
As Blake and I reviewed our year, we realize how blessed we are and how many wonderful opportunities we’ve had to enjoy time with each other and have some fun adventures. It turns out that over the course of this year – if you count layovers – we’ve visited 16 states (15 for Blake), DC, and Canada. We hit NJ, DE, MD, PA, GA, CA, UT, TX, NC, MA, CT, RI, ME, VT, NH, DC, IL (Tiffanie only), and Quebec. And we will go to WY in January. Wow!
I’m not sure if you heard, but we got some snow last winter. It was affectionately known as Snowmaggedon, Snowpocalypse, Snowverkill, or our favorite: SnowperBowl 2010. Something like a total of 56 inches of snow fell over the course of the winter. If you’re wondering how that compares to other years, in 2007-08, the total was 5 inches. The average is about 13 inches. After the first 12 inches in December, we got a snow shovel. That was helpful. Who knew we’d need it so much more after that?!
In February, we ventured out of our snowy cocoon and went to Atlantic City, NJ for one of Blake’s work trips (this is when we hit MD, DE, PA, and NJ). It was fun take a drive, see all the flashy hotels, and eat some good food.
In March, I was emailing with Stephanie Heerdt who told me of plans for dinner with our college friends that weekend in Chicago. So I conspired with Sarah Broweleit, secretly invited myself to that dinner, and hopped on a plane to Chicago for the weekend (IL for me). It was a very fun surprise. I got out of the car at Linnea’s house to lots of screams of disbelief by her, Steph, and Stephanie Voiland: “aaaaaaaahhhhhh! What?! You’re here!!!” It was lots of fun.
May brought a busy time of thesis reviews and changes at work for Blake, but we were able to celebrate and relax with two fun happenings. Blake walked at graduation at George Mason University with a Master of Science in Educational Psychology and was given an award for being the program’s top student. In late May, we traveled to California for a week of vacation (CA with layovers in GA and UT) and visiting with Blake’s parents and brother (who met us there). We braved the beach, went to a baseball game, and took a short drive through Beverly Hills. We also took a side trip to San Diego and toured the USS Midway.
Early in the year, Blake applied to several doctoral programs. This involved collecting transcripts, letters of recommendation, and admissions essays. He was accepted by George Mason University to the PhD in Education program and began classes this fall. He is taking a full load of courses also working as a research assistant with an academic dean.
This fall was another great cheerleading season! My freshman team joined up with the JV team to compete together and they did such a great job! They worked very hard and their best performance was on the mat – right where it needed to be! We were only able to compete once this season, but we came in 4th out of 15 JV teams. The Varsity cheer team won the district title for the 5th year in a row – half of them were on my freshman team at one point, so I’d like to take a little credit! J Also, in December, I got to be a real cheerleader at the Staff vs. Students basketball game. I joined some West Springfield teachers cheering for the staff basketball team – we won!
Sadly, this year Fairfax County Public Schools cut funding for winter cheerleading (for basketball games). So, we cheered in the fall for football games and at our competitions, and the season ended in November instead of February. Even though it’s nice to have a shorter season over all, it turns out that we coaches and cheerleaders all really miss attending basketball games and all things cheer related!
In August, Blake and I joined my folks and my cousin, DanLee, on a short trip to Texas to attend my brother, Bryan’s, wedding to his longtime girlfriend, Sherry. (This trip included TX and a layover in NC.) It was a fun trip to a pretty little church in the Texas countryside where we met some of their fun friends and family. I got to be the unofficial wedding photographer and I enjoyed the chance to learn how to use my dSLR camera. I’m still learning!
When my folks announced that they were taking a 10-day Caribbean cruise starting on Thanksgiving day, Blake and I decided to plan a trip of our own for that weekend. We searched online for trip ideas and found cheap tickets to Boston. The trip snowballed from there. We loved the idea of going to Canada, in spite of the 6+ hour drive, so we decided to make it a big road trip. We hit the corner of ME, NH, VT (including a tour of the Ben & Jerry's factory - with a sample of "Peppermint Schtick" ice cream - yum!) and on to Montréal. After returning to Boston, we spent another day driving and hit RI and CT. Six states and one province in four days! Whew! What a fun trip!
For Christmas, we plan to stay home and enjoy some much needed rest. We have plans to visit Blake’s parents in Wyoming in January – you know, when the weather is nice there! J We’re excited to see his family and to meet his new “sister,” Alan and Jo’s new puppy, Jaxsyn!
We wish you a restful, peaceful holiday season.
Much love and prayers,
Blake, Tiffanie, and Kitty
“And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them,’ Fear not: for, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord’… And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill towards men.'” Luke 2:8-14.
That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.
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