December 2016
Merry Christmas from the Gruenbaum household – where the comings and goings never stop.

While most of the year began where it left off, it did bring us another mouth to feed. This fall Dylan Quist joined up with his brother Jackson to star in a reality TV show, “Is Chicken a Vegetable?” It is only available for viewing in South Africa. Dylan “almost” has his driver’s license, and has been working at a place where “my pleasure” is heard starting at 6 AM most days. Jackson is finishing up his freshman year in college and continues to do very well. He is looking for an entry level business job and just bought a car. We are not sure how long both of them will call our place home…

As the girls keep growing, it is hard to avoid the future reality–they will both be high school graduates in 2 ½ years. SATs and college visits are getting underway. The girls have stayed active! Both of them were on the softball team in the spring. This fall they completed another successful cross country season. As a junior, Abby has been very busy with a demanding academic load. When time permits, Abby still likes to exercise her creative juices in the kitchen. Rachel, a sophomore, fits her academics in around her robotics activities. After last year’s appearance at the super regionals, the team is hoping to do at least as well this year. Last year’s manager graduated, so Rachel is responsible for keeping all of her team mates (all males) in line. She also continues in the band on her bassoon.

The boys continue to grow into the young men they are meant to be! Jeff is in his junior year at Oklahoma Christian and was promoted to Assistant Resident Director this year and looks over two freshmen dorms. (He was an RA last year.) Other than having to work over Christmas, he claims the work is less and the benefits are better–he does gets his own apartment. He and Andy snuck off for a Viking River Cruise in Germany before his summer internship started at a church in a suburb of Oklahoma City. Tim works full-time as a manager at the Chick-Fil-a just over a mile from the house. His big news this year was getting his dog, Rowdy. Rowdy is not a pure lineage, but he is a pure dog. Tim and he enjoy their adventures together and most of the rest of the family is pretty fond of him, too.

Judy and Andy celebrated their 25th anniversary in May. After 23 years at Chase, Judy has left. We will spare you the details. She is planning on taking a good amount of time off and then (perhaps) look for something later next year. She is enjoying the break. In January, she will take training to be a volunteer CASA (court appointed special advocate for foster children). Andy had an okay year selling signs, but is not quite sure what the New Year will bring. We know God is at work and we are excited to see how.

The Gruenbaums do like to travel! This year, after attending the wedding of Josh and Marissa Gruenbaum in Ohio in July, we kept driving north. Despite what Ohioans typically say about Michigan, we enjoyed the trip! We took the ferry to Wisconsin where we wound our way west to South Dakota. After a reunion with many of Judy’s distant (and some closer) relatives, we drove south and the one day drive home. Judy stole Andy away for a quick Bahama birthday cruise, and we also went up to Ohio for Thanksgiving and a 75th birthday party for Grandma Jean. Judy and Abby also did their first girls trip with Judy’s sisters and mom during Spring Break in North Carolina. We decided to stay home for Christmas.

God is so good and has so richly blessed us. We strive to become better followers of Him each day. We pray the same for you. Thanks for blessing us with your friendships!

Merry Christmas!

Andy, Judy, Tim, Jeff, Abby, Rachel, Jackson & Dylan