Christmas Wishes for 2009

Dear Family and Friends,


Wow, I can’t believe another year is ending. It seems like as I get older time goes by faster. This year has had its ups and downs, but we are still doing well.

The year started off good. Jake, Terry’s youngest son, came up for his 21st birthday, which was January 1st, and we had a good time celebrating with him. He was able to get a taste of the Pacific Northwest weather as we took him on a snow run with our 4-wheel drive club. All year, Terry and I have continued to be active in our 4-wheel drive club. We go on day or overnight events with them at least monthly and have volunteered our time for trail maintenance and repairs. I am going on my second year as club treasurer and as we are around the group more, we are gaining friendships and becoming more involved with the club and community.

Terry and I are also still active in our church, Renovo. It is a good group of people that really focus on how we can help those around us who are in need. We love the core values of the church and have made some good friends there.

During the summer, my mom, dad, Terry and I all decided to start training for the Seattle Rock ‘n Roll ½ marathon in June 2010. So far, Terry and I really enjoy the training and can feel our bodies getting stronger. We completed our first 5k in October and both did tremendously better than we expected.

We also bought a motorcycle during the summer. We had both started to miss riding and came across an amazing deal that we couldn’t pass up. We got a Honda VTX1300, which is big enough for us to both ride, but still small enough that I can handle it alone (even though I haven’t done that yet). We have taken some trips together and with friends and really enjoy it. I hope that next summer we can plan more trips on the bike as I have always dreamed of camping on a motorcycle.

I guess the biggest news of the year came in June when I was let go from my job. Since then, I have decided to continue my education and am pursuing a career as a social worker. I have to start at the beginning and first get a bachelor’s degree in a social science before I can apply for a Masters of Social Work, which is my goal for the time being. So far, classes are going great and I really feel at home in this field.

Terry is still working for the postal service in Kent, WA. We still have the camper and take trips in it quite often during the summer. This year, we were able to take a quick camp trip with my brother’s family and we had an amazing time building memories with our niece and nephew. We also had some friends from France spend a couple days at our house. We can’t wait until we are able to plan a trip to visit them. Jake and Brittany also came up for a week and liked it so much they plan on moving.

Josh, Terry’s oldest son, is still living in Georgia. He is happily dating Jessica and they are looking for an apartment together. He is working as a security guard at a mall and seems to be really happy. Jake has moved up to Washington. For the time being, he is living with us and got a job working for a beverage distribution company. He is hoping to save some money so Brittany can join him up here in March.

Overall, this has once again been a busy year. The weather is getting colder up here as we prepare for Christmas. I still try to keep up on my blog so check it out when you can (http://crawfordcurse.blogspot.com). I hope everyone that is reading this is doing well and we wish you all happy holidays and a very Merry Christmas!

Love, Terry and Amy Crawford