Merry Christmas 2022!

Dear Family and Friends,

As we approach Christmas, we have the opportunity to thank God for all of His many blessings throughout the year.

Again, our family has enjoyed wonderful experiences, with pain and error overcome by positives.

Amy married her longtime boyfriend Lukas in a lovely rural ceremony with a few dozen friends. Their year involved uncounted, joyful hours planning for the big event, including wedding dress shopping and searching antique shops to find eclectic dishes on which to serve their wedding dinner at a long table overlooking farm fields where Lukas grew up.

Autumn leaves glowed in the cool October sun to deliver the picture-perfect wedding of their dreams.

Jay and Sasha also had one event dominate much of their time with pleasant plans upon having their offer for a lovely new 3-bedroom home a block from the beach in Santa Monica.  They had no trouble finding buyers for their Brentwood Village condo, with a bidding war helping them feel more comfortable with their decision to move up.  Contractors have kept remodeling interesting for many additional months.  

Gina, Laszlo and Emma have had life-changing news of their own, with Gina being promoted to Associate Dean of Education at the Drexel University's Dornslife School of Public Health, bringing new responsibilities that impact the entire family whose support is essential.  Laszlo continues to provide outstanding tech support at Drexel while moonlighting to help students earn admission to college.

Emma continues to ace all her classes and take on new projects like window vegetable gardening and cooking, often preparing meals for her family.  She has also begun skateboarding.

For Julie and me, it has been their embrace of us living spring and fall in Ardmore, near their Merion Station home, for half the year that has been treasured, from spending time with Emma after school to Gina stopping by for wine on Friday evenings to sharing meals to hiking to breaking out of our comfort zone to visit the nearby big city of Philadelphia.

Amy and Lukas came to stay in Ardmore a few times, which was always special for us.

Jay and Sasha made the trek to New York a few times, allowing for family get-togethers in nearby Jersey City, where Amy and Lukas live.  We also spent some time with Jay and Sasha on a couple of trips to California.

A bit more than half of the year found us enjoying Big Sky, where we experienced other facets of our life like skiing in the winter, then hiking and attending concerts in summer.  Spending loving time with Darlene, Brooks and BG3 provides essential family belonging while there in winter and summer.  We enjoyed a wonderful Big Sky Christmas celebration in 2021, joined by Jay, Sasha, Gina, Laszlo and Emma.

This year, we will spend Christmas at the Giffords' San Diego home rather than what has been our Montana tradition. 

Amy and Lukas came to Big Sky for spring skiing, when flights can be less stressful and temperatures significantly warmer.

We loved having our friends Karen and Randy from Redondo Beach visit Montana this summer, giving us a chance to play tourist.  

With the pandemic finally having been not so much beaten as surrendered as a new factor to contend with, Julie and I returned to world travel, taking our most cruises ever in a single year.  In fact, we traveled so much that I still haven't had time to write about two of the five "trips of a lifetime" that took us to the Mexican Riviera, Bahamas, Provence, Mediterranean and Hawaii.

Of course, while I may intentionally skim over what in the overall scheme of such joyful lives fade from focus, including Amy's painful broken ankle that delayed her wedding and skirmishes with Covid-19 that occasionally disrupted the flow of goodness, I must acknowledge that we suffered the loss of Julie's sister Cheryl this year.

Knowing for a year that she was fighting a terminal disease gave us all the chance to reach closure in our own ways, visiting her and speaking with her lovingly a final time.  It provided the impetus for staying in closer touch with Julie's other siblings and their families, all of whom we love dearly even though our life paths have divided us geographically.

Jay and Sasha spent weeks helping Cheryl's son Jered deal with what felt overwhelming responsibilities cleaning out his mother's home and planning her requested Celebration of Life.

Each brush with death is a reminder that we all eventually transition from what may be the happiest lives we can possibly imagine.  Let us make the most of this time we have together on this garden planet and act in ways that help us face the inevitable with assurance of God's love and forgiveness thanks to the most precious gift of this season, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Merry Christmas,

Wes, Julie and Family