December, 1997

Merry Christmas and God’s blessings to you:

It’s hard to believe the holiday season is upon us again. The year has flown by and the Gruenbaums have so much to be thankful for.

Andy had an incredibly busy year. He has been at Applied Innovation for over a year and a half. His work took him to Los Angeles in March and to Indianapolis in May. Fearful that life was getting a little complacent, Andy started his MBA at Franklin University in the Fall. Two nights a week are spent in class and much extra time spent on group projects. Judy’s been holding down the fort. The nice part about the program is that just when it becomes intolerable, the term ends. There is a month off between every term. If all goes well, Andy will graduate in August of ’99.

Judy has also been very busy with her job at Bank One. She’s traveled quite a bit this year. For the first 4 months of the year she went to Philadelphia one day (and night) a week. In March, she took the whole family to Phoenix on company business. We got to visit with friends and have our memories refreshed as to what sunshine is like. In April, she ruthlessly deserted her entire family and took a two week sabbatical in Germany. While there, she spent time with her father and, I believe, missed her family. In July, Judy left the Legal Department and joined the business side of Bank One. The job is almost the same, but now it’s referred to as “compliance”. The goal was to try to work fewer hours and have a more flexible work week. That hasn’t happened yet, but we are hoping the first of the year will bring some relief.

At age 2 ½ , Timmy is quite the little man. He can carry on a conversation very well with himself or others. Jeffy is not really chatty yet, so his parental units do most of the talking with him. Timmy has developed into a pretty good eater. Timmy needs to have an incentive or a game to make the utensils fly, but neither of them look like they have missed to many meals. Timmy did provide us the opportunity to make our first trip to the emergency room. He split his head open on the night our neighborhood had trick-or-treat. After the emergency squad scared off the remaining children, Judy endured the trauma of seeing her child put through the things they put kids through when they give them 15 stitches. Timmy wore his stitches proudly. His parents are very grateful that the bridge of his nose will not be scarred to badly. Maybe someday he will even go to sleep before Letterman.

Jeffy is not a baby anymore. At 19 months, he eats more than most kids with twice the teeth. He has probably never met a spoonful of anything he didn’t like. He is a very loving boy. He occasionally has a temper, but he can still cuddle well and share better than his brother. He walked the first day of his mommy’s vacation to Germany, and he hasn’t set down to rest since. Where Timmy is a watcher, Jeffy is a doer. He is in to everything, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

We vacationed the week of July 4^th in Isle of Palms, SC. We had a beautiful condo with a view of the pool and the ocean. It was a very relaxing time that made us wish we had brought a babysitter with us. J Our big news this year is that we decided to buy 2.75 acres of land 5 miles above the Columbus Zoo (North of Columbus). We anticipate starting to build our new house in the Spring of ’98.

Finally, we want you to know that we think of you often and are so thankful that you are a part of our lives, whether you are near or far. We hope that 1998 will bring you good health and happiness. Most of all, however, we hope that you will slow down enough to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas and that your hearts will be filled with the love and peace of Jesus Christ.

The Gruenbaums, (Andy, Judy, Timmy & Jeffy)