December 13, 1994

Holiday greetings! It’s hard to believe its that time of year again.

The spring was good to us. It provided us with ample opportunity to break in new ground for our garden. We were surprised at how prolific 70 pepper plants can be, but next year’s garden will give us opportunity to remember. Andy put lots of effort into trying to eat some of the hot peppers; he developed a personal meaning for “hot lips”. We canned close to 200 jars of things from the garden. They included: pickles, peppers, grape juice, tomato juice & sauce, spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, stewed tomatoes, peaches, green beans, and 4 levels of hotness with the salsa. The first frost couldn’t come soon enough to remove the responsibilities of the garden from us. In the spring, we also built a brick patio on the back of the house. We used friends to keep expenses low, and Andy did all the landscaping. He bought a pickup truck so he could haul everything. It really turned out well, except with our huge garden we didn’t have much time to enjoy it. Maybe next summer will be different.

We took a couple of little vacations this year. We went to Kentucky for Memorial Day weekend which included an overnight at Shaker Village. Over the Fourth of July weekend, we visited Judy’s sister’s family in eastern PA. The 8 hour drive was a rewarding one. The early part of November was spent vacationing in the mountains of North Carolina. It was very relaxing, and the elections results insured a happy vacation.

As the year prepares to change, it is time for Andy to switch jobs again. He left the corporate sales dept. at CompUSA and took a new position with one of his customers. The company primarily does computer network consulting. He will be responsible for doing public relations and some telemarketing for a new computer bulletin board the owner is starting.

Judy’s job at Banc One is going pretty well. The management of her department changed several months ago, and the department is going through a down-sizing phase, which is always a little uncomfortable. Her work has shifted from working mainly for Ohio to more of a national focus doing employee benefit trust matters; she’s enjoying the challenge.

On a miscellaneous note – we both turned 30 this year. We both were treated to birthday parties; they eased our passage into adulthood. This fall has been a little difficult due to the passing of both of Andy’s grandmothers. He was a pallbearer at both funerals. For those who don’t know, Judy is in her seventh month of her pregnancy with our son (Ultrasound is for learning these things, okay?). The baby doesn’t have a name yet; we’re sure John Doe is taken. The house is soon to be baby proofed, painted and never clean again, but we are looking forward to the adventure.

God has richly blessed our lives, and we pray he will bring love and hope to you during this holiday season. We look forward to hearing from you. Merry Christmas!!!!

Andy and Judy Gruenbaum