Christmas Letter 2007

Now this was one wild year! It was filled with weddings, cross-country road trip, new jobs, very long runs, lots of drama, and new family members.

As 2013 ends, I remember 2007 - the last year we celebrated New Year's Eve before children came along. In fact, I became pregnant for the first time within weeks of writing this letter.

Christmas Letter 2007

Merry Christmas Friends and Family!

It really feels like Christmas right now. The lights on our tree our glowing while I work on Christmas cards with the snow falling outside. How lovely!

Love

This year has brought many exciting new things into our lives, as well as our friends. Love was all around at the six weddings we attended this year. Two of which were those of the wonderful women who moved in with us shortly after we finished construction on our home in the summer of 2006. Beth married Ken Yoder in April, and Ruth married Doug Kauffman in September. Though we miss them, we know they enjoy being a Mrs. to their men!

 

Family

Adrian is now a licensed officiant, and he actually performed three of the six wedding ceremonies. (He’s great at it and really loves doing it) A very special experience for him was officiating his sister Leona’s wedding in October. We gladly welcome her new husband, Gary Gerhardt, and his two children, Jordan and Abby, into our family and as neighbors down the road.

Adrian officiating Brad and Amanda's wedding in June.

 

My sister Lillian is due to give birth to her second child this week! She and Keith are expecting a little girl this time and will have their hands full, since little Gabriel just turned one in October. Adrian’s older brother Jeremy and his wife Jessica also have two precious daughters, Alexis and Madison Kate. So, now we’ll have six adorable nieces and nephews! We love being aunt and uncle J

Aunt Jul-Jul with my sister's little ones.

 

Travel

We were blessed to have the opportunity to visit Jeremy and his family in British Columbia, Canada this summer. In June, we took advantage of a few weeks off between jobs and hopped in the car for a spontaneous road trip across the country. We drove from Delaware to Washington state in four days and experienced the beauty of America. From there we entered Canada and stayed with Jeremy’s family for a week, then drove back through a gorgeous, mountain route in Alberta. We agree that this trip was one of the best experiences of our lives, and we highly recommend you consider a cross country road trip sometime in your life.
(We have amazing photos of this trip, but they are all in an album that you'll have to see in person!)

Another amazing experience I had this year was traveling to San Francisco, California to run my first marathon. I completed the race as part of a program to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. In addition to the months of rigorous training, I had to raise $4,200 for LLS to use in helping families battling blood cancers. Thanks again to everyone who supported me in this effort! There were over 20,000 participants, mostly women, who ran either a full (26.2 miles) or ½ (13.1 miles) marathon with me on October 21. It was more physically straining than anything I’ve ever done, but the joy of finishing made it all worthwhile. It’s actually kind of addictive, so I just ran a ½ marathon in Virginia on December 1, but with only 100 others this time.

My friends Kristen and Lori finished the Marathon in San Francisco with me!

Work

Adrian and I have both embarked on new careers this year – entering the world of sales. In July, he became the commercial sales representative for Atlantic Aluminum Products, a successful Greenwood based company that installs sunrooms and custom railing. I joined Ryan Homes, a residential home builder with communities throughout the East Coast, as a sales associate in August. In spite of the crazy housing market, the job is going great, and I was recently promoted to a sales and marketing representative. I’m currently managing home sales for two new developments in Easton, MD. 

Now that you have read about the life and travels of Adrian and Julles, we want to wish you a great year ahead and pray God’s blessing on you this Christmas season.

                                                                                                                                Many Blessings to You this Year!

New Years Eve 2007, Ade and I were enjoying Rehoboth Beach, Del. with these lovely ladies!