I know not everyone is on the official, unedited Becker Christmas Card list. I don't know why. Here it is:Dear Friends and Family,
If you were wondering where the annual Becker Christmas letter was, in keeping with a tradition we began last year, and in hopes of extending your holiday “cheer” and lessening our holiday stress, we have once again opted for an Epiphany letter.
So – for a Becker year in review…..
Sandy turned 50. I must admit that the family did not consider this to be quite the noteworthy event that she did. Based on the other women that she is related to, it is likely that she has another 50 in her. Let’s call it half time. Our primary celebration, in a long line of seemingly unending celebrations, was a family cruise. Among other things, we swam with the stingrays in the Caymans and zip lined in the jungles of Belize. She continues in public accounting, loving what she does and thankful for the flexibility her bosses are willing to give her, allowing her to spend much of her summer in Michigan.
Jonathon graduated this year from Valparaiso University. He spent the next 5 months (until late October when camp closed for the winter) up in Michigan working as program director at Camp Arcadia. He has joined one of his fraternity brothers from Valparaiso in a company called Boom. Reactive. They specialize in social media, videography and web production. You can check it out at boomreactive.com. You can also get a glimpse into the creative mind of Jon Becker by checking out the latest locavore trend at bathtubtuna.com. He has now moved back into our house. After a period of more than four year, where he was not ever at home for more than two weeks, let’s just say that he is “readjusting”. He continues to be madly in love with one Lydia Schaftenaar of Holland, Michigan. Jon's family could not be more pleased. Lydia is finishing her senior year at Valparaiso and we all hope to see a lot more of her in the future.
Patrick is a Junior at Truman State University. He continues to study psychology in what appears to be a Becker trend of cultivating unemployability. School seems to agree with him and his studies are going very well. Pat is focusing his non-studying hours on hanging out with friends, children’s television, the internet and general uselessness. He moved into an apartment this year and seems to have adjusted well. Who would have thought? He continues in his relationship with Kyle McComas – despite rumors that Kyle is no longer an accounting major - something Sandy cannot quite come to terms with. Pat turned 21 on Christmas day. It appears we may have started a new Becker family Christmas tradition of going to bars on Christmas night. Seems rather fitting for us.
Laura, a senior at Lutheran South, is biding her time until graduation and trying not to make any serious mistakes. She believes that she will turn 21 this year, when, in fact, she will only be turning 18. She had an awesome summer up in Arcadia this past year, and is looking forward to doing the same next summer. Additionally, she will be going on a two week trip to Europe with a group from Lutheran South. Despite living what appears to us to be a charmed life, much time is still spent grumbling because her parents will not pay to send her to Mexico for spring break. Life is hard. She has elected to attend Valparaiso University and received a nice scholarship to go there. The family (including her brothers) is very proud.
Mike has changed jobs – yet again - and is now Of Counsel (whatever that means) at the law firm of Waltrip & Schmidt. This has been another “string of transitions” year for Mike. He continues to thrash around with what he wants to do in the next chapter of his life, but for now, this seems like a good fit. 2010 was a year of travel, including, Hot Springs, Arkansas (horse races), Northern Wisconsin (wedding), Michigan (vacations with family and friends, Teen counseling, wedding), Austin (Austin City Limits), Cancun (wedding), Philadelphia (visit to see our nephew at Penn), the Caribbean (cruise), Instanbul, Turkey (work) and other points of call too dramatic to recount. The end of the year finds him in good health and spirits.
All in all it has been a great year to be a Becker. We are much blessed by one another, by our Lord and by our friends who provide an almost unending stream of love and support. Everyone in our family would like you to know that if you receive this letter you are very special to our family and we consider you a great blessing in our lives.
God's richest Blessings to you and your in 2011.
The Beckers
Mike, Sandy, Jon, Pat and Laura
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