holiday newsletter

It's that time of year again... Christmas! And do you know why I love Christmas? Because people send out Christmas cards! I've noticed that more and more people are sending out photo cards.

I can see the allure... minimal effort with the pre-printed greetings, plus you get to show off your adorable family. I'm a fan. But what I like even more are the holiday newsletters that people write. Some people feel strongly against them which I just don't get.

I tend to send out cards instead of a newsletter and this year, with the economy, my card writing isn't what it once was. I started writing down names of people I wanted to send cards to and had to stop myself and say, "Nikki, you are not sending out 78 Christmas cards!"

Sorry.

But, in the spirit of the holidays I have decided to write my own holiday newsletter and post it right here...


Greetings!

What a year it's been! I have to admit that it has been a bit of a rough year in some ways. My mom's health has not been stellar- first she had a heart attack and now her cancer has come back. But she is a trooper and is pulling through. There have actually been a lot of health problems in my family this year, but I think that it is also simply because I have such a huge family. What can I say, it ups the odds that something bad is going to happen to someone in my family. In reality, however, about 95% of my family is healthy and happy. There is much to be thankful for.

Baby Amelia is finally home

Love was definitely in the air this year. Four of my cousins and one of my uncles got married. That's a lot of doing "the chicken dance"! I can't even say whose wedding I enjoyed the most. Each cousin put her own unique twist on her wedding.

My sister Sam and me at Heather's wedding reception

Katie got married in Sonoma, California and my trip out there for her wedding this September was probably one of my favorite vacations of all time. I love traveling with my father and sister, they love to kill time at work by researching the places we are going and always find amazing things for us to do.

Me and the jelly fish at the Monterey Aquarium

Our amazing house in Sonoma, California- can you say "hot tub"?

Washing Butch the Elephant is still one of the highlights of my life!

I spent lots of quality time with my friends and family. We even revived the Becker Family Kegs 'n Carnies party.

Work continues to be slow and unpredictable, yet I love it so much that I'm not sure I can follow through with my plans to quit my job this coming summer to find steady employment. Steady employment is over-rated anyway.

I traveled a lot this year. Way more than normal. Not only did I manage to make it to Atlanta, Pittsburgh, California and St. Louis, but I also made it up to Minnesota (twice!!) The temps may be cold up there but the warm hearts inside some of my favorite Minnesotans more than make up for that!

Despite some of the negative things that have happened, I have to say, it's been a great year. With my amazing friends, clients, family and, of course, blog readers, I feel truly blessed and happy. Thank you all and merry Christmas! Love, Nikki