This is my first Christmas letter ever... I sent it out just before Christmas and wanted to share it on here as well...
This is our first full holiday season together and I could not be more excited to decorate, cook, and spend time with Charlie, family and friends.
This time last year we were in full wedding mode and I was graduating from Georgia State. My graduation was more than happy to take a back seat to our wedding. I of course had the option to stick around to go to my graduation on Sunday December 16th after our wedding on the 15th. But that would mean waiting one more day to leave for our honeymoon. I desperately desired the break with my new husband so off we went to the Florida Keys for perfect temperatures and 6 days of rest.
Arriving home to Dallas, GA brought the fun and excitement of setting up house and beginning Christmas traditions. The one tradition I wanted to begin last year was making chili on Christmas Eve. I cooked up a wonderful pot and just about the time I was done cooking and ready to serve up my new tradition the water in the house quit on me. There was no warning. It just stopped! My initial thought was that the well we were on went dry. I mean we were in the middle of a GA drought. Charlie quickly informed me that if that were the case it would not have gone from full water power to none in an instant. Feeling silly and waterless we ate dinner, which was yummy for my first chili attempt by myself. To make this long story shorter… The pipe between the well and the house broke and since it was Christmas it took over a week to get it completely fixed.
Frustrated with the water situation we hopped in the car in search for a break and running water. We ended up in Virginia and West Virginia for 4 days. Exploring the countryside and beautiful scenery. We ended up in the small tourist and historical town of Lewisburg, WV. It was beautiful and full of fun surprises.
Once home, Charlie was thriving in his construction business. He continued to have jobs come up and stayed constantly busy despite a declining housing market in Atlanta. He loved what he was doing but continued to look for opportunities for us to move North at some point.
In May Charlie’s Grandpa (Ralph Grady) passed away. Charlie is strongly influenced by his Grandpa’s work ethic and faith in Christ. We are blessed by knowing he is now alive in Christ and a whole and healthy person in heaven. The legacy that Grandpa leaves behind is one of 4 children, 13 grandchildren, and a growing number of great grandchildren. We made the trip to Iowa and enjoyed spending time remembering this wonderful man and the impact he had on so many lives.
Soon after our trip to Iowa we decided to move to Waynesville, NC. Charlie had a wonderful opportunity to close his business in GA and join forces with a construction company out of Franklin NC. Planning and the move came quickly. By the end of July we had a place to live and job prospects for me in the Western NC area. We moved in and I quickly fell in to place in a job at Western Carolina University as an Office Manager. Charlie spent time going between NC and GA finishing a final job in GA and still keeping us together as much as possible. After a few months of back and forth we were finally able to settle into the mountains and begin to enjoy the beautiful colors of the fall season.
We are finding ourselves in love with the mountains and the small community of Jonathan Creek that we live in. Charlie is enjoying weekends of trips to the rivers close by that offer great fly-fishing. His time fishing is the perfect way to relax and truly enjoy living in the mountains.
Thanksgiving brought an opportunity for us to take a trip to San Antonio, TX to see Pop and Doris (My mom’s dad and his wife). They are an adorable and fun couple. We enjoyed the time we were able to spend with them.
We feel so blessed to have had a fun and adventurous first year as a married couple. We hope this letter finds you in good health and surrounded by family and friends for the Christmas season.
Love,
The Bergens!
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