The Christmas Letter

Because not all of you are on the Christmas card list (wife does not like you... don't believe in Jesus...I don't like you... I am too lazy to find your address etc...) I thought I would take the liberty of publishing the Becker family Christmas letter for 07 in all of it's glory. The Davidsons are still not invited over for Christmas Eve.

Christmas Letter 07
Since wrestling this job away from a grateful wife last year I have been struggling with how best to handle this years letter. Nothing has changed. Everything has changed. The family Becker rolls on into 2008. 2007 was, family wise pretty cool. We spent some time at Arcadia with friends, we went on a family trip over Thanksgiving to California, we got together with a couple of nieces one night a week to help fill up the table. We have adjusted to being a smaller family each night (that we actually eat together) and are wondering how next year will go when we have another spot to fill.

Sandy has returned to the paid workforce and regained her CPA license and we are extremely proud of her. She is working at Cummings and Ristow, some old Peat Marwick guys and is working on bank audits and perhaps bank taxation. She has always been the smarter, harder working one so it is with some pleasure and relief that I deliver her back to the U.S. economy. I hope it treats her well. The kids have handled the adjustment as we ask her to do everything she did before and now this too. She continues to have some kind of coordinating job is Community Bible Study and in an act of self destruction has also signed on as Church Treasurer as we try and figure out how to pay for the building we bought. She has also repopulated our second family by finding a sister for our dog Lily named Lola, 2 year old stray with no home, now has one. Lily is still queen of the castle but Lola is bigger and slowly starting to assert herself. Sandy spends an inordinate amount of time and money assuring that the dogs have no needs left unfulfilled. They generally seem happier and more grateful then our children.

This is Pat’s year to be number 1. He is a senior at Lutheran South. He makes great grades. He is filled with anxiety and and concerns about everything and everyone. Although he rarely leaves our basement where he watches Anime on various stations and works in origame he did see daylight enough to occasionally take a part in a Random theatre production. He performed in the Muny this last summer in “Les Miserables”. He is looking forward to a trip to Spain this Spring with his Spanish class and at this point in time is contemplating going to Truman University where he tells me has gotten a scholarship. he is enjoying his Senior year at Lutheran South and it should make for a nice graduation party. Pat continues his roll as the greatest blessing and the greatest challenge. Man plans... God laughs. Pat’s current Facebook status is “single”.

Laura is a Freshman at Lutheran South this year and has transitioned well from grade school to high school. She is on student counsel and played varsity tennis and generally had a good time and made good grades which are always a nice surprise. the majority of her time is spent at home in the basement with Pat (Beckers are all adverse to natural light and exercise of any kind) watching her brother watch TV and communicating with friends on Facebook. She continues to spend most of her communication time planning her next summer at camp, keeping up on camp gossip and inviting friends over to eat pizza in our basement and watch Pat watch TV. She is claiming an interest in ultimate frisbee but since it is in the nature of physical activity and she has a disinclination to run we will call that interest somewhat “sketchy” at this point. At last check on Facebook Laura was currently “single”. Stay tuned.

Jon... now relegated to the the number three spot in the family pecking order since his untimely exodus for college appears to be doing well. I say “appears” because we only see him if we can lure him away with gifts, vacations and occasionally a suitcase full of cash. he spent the summer working at Camp Arcadia in the kitchen and as a server and that combined with his rigorous academic schedule (I laugh even as I type the words) kept him away from home. Against all odds he joined a fraternity (Sigma Phi Epsilon) and is living in the house this year. He has a radio show on WVUR that can be streamed through iTunes, writes a weekly column (Becker’s Banter) for the student newspaper and generally seems to be loving life. We miss having him around, he seems thrilled to be out of town and happy to be missed. As of this writing Jonathon’s Facebook status....”single”.

I continue to muddle along job to job like an errant hobo. Life keeps providing me with opportunities and I continue to squander them. Still, when I look at the squandering it seems to have worked out really well and I am much blessed. I am currently (this week) a partner at the law firm of Hepler Broom and my partners have been very kind in allowing me to stay. I spent the last year and a half on “the never ending call committee” for a new principal at Lutheran South which finally concluded successfully. I did the camp counselor thing again this year and feel pushed to keep doing more in that direction but we will see what the future brings. Despite apparent setbacks, an over all osur disposition and a personality which veers towards lethargy, when I look at my family it is still pretty great to be me.

Outside of our faith our families biggest blessing continues to be our extended family and friends. Without all of you and your love and support being a Becker would truly suck. At every turn, each of us can look around and see all the great people God has thrown in our life to nourish and care for us and for this we are not nearly grateful enough. that having been said, for this one time in a year let us say from our family to you and yours MERRY CHRISTMAS and God’s best Blessings in 2008.
*For those of you who are keeping track my Facebook Status is “in a relationship”. I am trying to keep it that way and I think so is she as we get ready to celebrate 25 years together in 2008. We are richly blessed.