christmas greetings 2013

Dear Family, Friends and Blog Readers,


It’s that time of year again! We are amazed at where the time goes--in a few short weeks we will again be celebrating the birth of our Saviour, and ringing in a New Year. With that in mind, we would like to take some time to reflect on the past 12 months. It has been a rather eventful year for us:

After 2.5 years, we now have a completed master bedroom, spare bedroom, and bathroom/laundry room upstairs! We were so relieved to finally complete the enormous task this past spring. This summer, we had a new front entranceway added, and had the front porch completely re-built. Mr. Gryce continues to work at the downstairs foyer/office area, and the downstairs bathroom. He is becoming quite handy at framing, plumbing, electrical work, and all other necessary tasks involved. If all goes as planned, we will gut the kitchen and living room in early spring, and then hire someone to complete the final stage of our downstairs renovations before next Christmas.

Mr. Gryce is definitely ready for a well-deserved vacation this month! Renovating and chopping our winter’s supply of wood have kept him busy all year—in addition to his work as a software developer. He has been at his current job for just over 3 years, and while the work is challenging and time-consuming, the company is doing well and he hopes to be there for a long time. Their new office space provides a beautiful view of the Bay of Quinte! We were able to get away for a weekend in August to Huntsville, Ontario, where Mr. Gryce was a groomsman in his friend Ivan’s wedding.

Mrs. Gryce has not yet found a permanent job. She started offering private tutoring at our home this past summer, and currently works with 5 students here in the evenings. She also launched her own business, The County Cupboard, selling homemade jams, preserves and gift baskets. She also cleaned and organized several people’s homes/garages, selling numerous items on consignment. Mrs. Gryce continues to put her entrepreneurial skills to good use, selling a variety of items online, including her preserves. From time to time, she also gets called to supply teach in some of the local schools. We are thankful that in the past few weeks, she had received numerous calls. In her spare time, Mrs. Gryce has started this blog, and also continues to enjoy scrapbooking.

After two years, we are starting to feel more at-home in our new church. We have a few close friends and are blessed to be led and loved by a wise and humble pastor. Despite being part of such a large church, he has truly taken the time out of his busy schedule to spend time with us and to really get to know us. We are grateful to be part of a church that cares for not just our hearts, but the hearts of so many other broken and hurting people, both in the church and broader community.

We were excited to become Uncle and Aunt again this year. We welcomed our newest niece Evelena Marie on April 26. We enjoy watching her grow and change—and yes, we even babysit sometimes! Our twin nieces Molly and Lola are growing up fast—they celebrated their first birthday in September, while nephew Silas began home school. He enjoys doing many of their Aunt's former Kindergarten activities in their new school room in the basement. We still have our kitty Charlie, and he continues to delight and amuse us with his antics.  

We are hoping and praying that 2014 will be a year of continued personal growth for us—both spiritually and emotionally. We can’t thank you enough for your friendship, love, prayers, and support. May you and your family have a blessed Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year!

With much love,Mr & Mrs Gryce

(To read last year's Christmas greeting, go here.)