Annual Family Letter

Happy New Year!

2010 was a year of some pretty big changes with the Kreutzkamps. And in the midst of these changes we’ve been most thankful for God’s firm foundation of love and care.

After 19 years at the same school Terry decided that a transfer was necessary, so he put together a new resume and went through the interview process. It all worked out wonderfully as he is now teaching across the street at the school our children attended (many years ago now!). Beth can’t believe that he is now actually closer to work than her.

This spring we also decided that we needed to move on from the church we’ve been attending for over 22 years. Of course, this was something we’d been wrestling with for quite a while and was not an easy decision. We’ve settled in nicely at a nearby Brethren in Christ church and have gotten to know some good people there by being involved with a couple of small groups.

The final big change came in the fall when we decided to finally repair the living room ceiling (it had a large crack in it - for about 14 years!). This involved clearing the room, taking down the old ceiling, and hiring workers to install a new one. But the adventure didn’t end there as we decided to redecorate, pulling up the rug and taking off wallpaper. Through that process we discovered that there was active old knob and tube wiring in the front section of our house. So we ended up ripping out the walls in the living room. Then we had insulators, drywallers and electricians in and out of the house for over a month (it was a good thing Terry worked just across the road so he could run home and check in on the workers) . Many coats of paint later it looks wonderful, but it took until Christmas Eve day before if was completed (just in time to pick up a tree - half-price, maybe we’ll wait that long next year too!).

Holidays this year included:

February: Beth and Terry spent Family Day weekend cross-country skiing in Midland

March Break: our first cruise (Western Caribbean) with David, Rachel and 4 friends - we loved it!

July: a week at our favourite cottage near Huntsville (actually looked at some for sale)

August: a quick drive to Nashville for a music/writing conference

       a repeat of our 10 day missions trip to Colombia

December: an overnight with the whole family in Collingwood (all kids snowboarded)

Beth continued to enjoy her role as charge nurse, especially the Monday to Friday straight days schedule (she actually gets long weekends too!) but she will soon be sharing this position with another nurse.

David and Rachel are excited about moving into their first home at the end of January. Rachel is working at a local printing company and David still enjoys his job at the Waterloo Wellington  International Airport.

Josh was laid off from his computer job in April but found work a couple of months later with a company in Oakville. He appreciates his coworkers and is thankful for the income, but is finding the drive each day pretty tedious.

Alison is working hard to finish up her Sociology degree this year, along with putting in a lot of hours at the pool (head lifeguarding now). She did some travelling this year -  a missions trip to Haiti in May and a brief trip out west this summer to visit a friend. She plans to take next year off  of school (delaying teacher’s college) to work and travel.

Joel continues to work full time hours at a high-end Indonesian restaurant in Waterloo, building up his chef apprenticeship hours. He’ll take Level 2 Culinary courses at George Brown college in Toronto in the fall of 2011. 

Wishing you and yours all the best for the new year!