Holiday Letter from the Ghelerter’s 2009

Hello family and friends!! As many of you know, I did NOT get a holiday letter out this year! BUT, had I this is what I would’ve said. I hope your and yours, had a wonderful year! As I sit and reflect upon our year, I want to give thanks to all of you for being in our lives. This year we saw many changes, some special and some sad. Hang on as I step you through the past year with the Ghelerter’s! It could be a bumpy ride.

January was a special month for us. The world cheered as we elected our first black President! For me this would mean many things, one of which was having my sister, Val and her family in town to celebrate the inauguration with us! They, unlike some “party crashers” received the gold engraved invitation from Mr. President himself!

Our beautiful Au pair, Mai and her fiancé, Wes, were married in our home, and “daddy” as she fondly calls him, gave her away. As you can imagine, I was a blubbering mess. We were so excited that Wes’s family was able to witness the nuptials, as well as “The Nana”!! The newlyweds will be traveling to Thailand this summer to be married in a traditional Thai wedding, and for Wes to meet her parent’s. I do hope they approve, and hope he has his dowry in order. *snort* …

Due to (so much) time on my hands, I decided to return to school. I won’t kid you; I was so scared I nearly talked myself out of it! I have a hard enough time trying to remember what I did yesterday, yet now I'm trying to memorize dates in history, way before the caveman was born! I am hopeful though, that I will be finished long before the girls start college although, Jeff believes this is just a ploy to follow them to college. Hmmm, I never thought of that…really.

February was a tough month for us. I too, joined the ranks of the 2.8 million(or is it zillion now?!) Americans who were unemployed! Unfortunately, for Jeff I was thrilled beyond, beyond! (Sorry, babe). But sadly, the following day we lost our beloved German Shepherd, Maggie tragically. My heart still aches….R.I.P. my love.
March was a busy month for us. The chick’s started swim class and gymnastics! They are coming along nicely in the water, and their Gymnastic's coach is an Olympic Gold Medalist! Carrie Scruggs, you’ve got nothing on the fearless duo!

Meanwhile,I decided to take up cake decorating. Surprisingly I discovered a stirring for the flour deep within, which prompted me to start baking sweets and goodies for neighbors and friends. That could account for the excess baggage I’m carrying around like a "747"! Note to self: Check into fat farm!! June and July was a wild month for us. We had plotted and planned our trip to Florida for almost a year. We hit the east coast of Florida, from top to bottom and then swung back around and topped it off with a visit to Disney. Jeff and I were able to re-live some of our favorite “haunts” from when we lived in Lauderdale. Alone! Thanks to Nana. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and weren’t able to see some very special friends – but not to worry; we’ll be returning this summer with the “U-Haul”! Run Forrest, run….
Home and barely unpacked from Florida, I was off and running again, this time to south eastern Ohio for one of two high school class reunions. I had such a great time re-connecting with old friends, and was thrilled to see my high school crush (he never knew) was there too. Funny, he married a girl just like me. Well, almost like me…she’s a doctor, (I know medical terms) he is too....and she's blonde (me too) and has beautiful blue eyes (me too - although mine are baggy) yeah....we're so much alike!
The annual "girls" trip this year was spent in southwestern, Virginia at my life long friend, Diane's “Mansion in the Hills”. Her hospitality was so gracious, I reserved the "Presidential Suite" and returned two weeks later with my "klan"! I do hope we get to indulge them with our presence this summer…. What could be better than hanging with the Ghelerter's?!?! lol.

Labor Day weekend I celebrated yet another class reunion in Westerville, Ohio. It was a fancy schmancy affair that required us to wear “grown-up” clothes! Lol. We partied like it was 1979 and we were all sorry when the evening ended. I still think we’re the coolest people I know!
My babies are growing up all too fast!! In September they started school at our Synagogue. I couldn’t believe what an emotional day it was. They each ran into their classrooms excited for me to leave. It was me who cried!

The chick’s and I ended the summer with one last trip to the beach. Unfortunately, Jeff could not get away to join us. With car packed we headed out for four days of fun in the sun in the Outer Banks. Nothing spells “relax” to me, than a beach outing and digging my toes in the sand......

December was a huge month for us. We celebrated Chanukah with much pomp and flair. It was so exciting to watch as the girls helped daddy with the lighting of the candles and reciting the blessings.

Jeff had much anticipated good news to celebrate, as he passed the CPSM exam which he has been studying diligently for, for the past year! It’s.A.Big.Deal. That’s what he tells me…. He then heads to NY for what we believe to be the final test to determine what ails him. Unfortunately, the specialist still does not know what is causing him so much pain. Where is “House” when you need him!?!? We are confident the doctors will solve the mystery. Someday.

New Year’s Eve would not be complete without the help of Uncle Rob and Uncle Dex to help ring in the New Year. We cooked, ate and were far too merry!!

Lastly, I want to give special thanks to my amazing husband, Jeff. If it weren’t for him bringing home the “bacon,” the chicks and I would not be able to do all that we do. We love you, babe.


To all of you, here’s hoping to an awesome 2010! If you get over our way, give us a call. We always have a bottle of red "breathing"......
Love,

Rony, Jeff, Abbey, and Katie