This year's Christmas Letter (2006)

Alan and I decided not to write a Christmas letter this year, so I’m writing this post instead. 2006 has been ROUGH. Full of all that change we were expecting in 2005 and more.

I’m still loving my job as a family law attorney in Spartanburg, although is extremely stressful at times. The mega commute from Greenwood (65 miles; 1:15) continued until Memorial Day weekend, when we finally moved. Alan joined me on the commute in late February, when he started work at Benteler Automotive, a BMW supplier.

Also in February my Daddy finally slipped away. In my mind the Lord Jesus pushed back the veil of heaven and called Joe from the bench into an eternal basketball game. It’s a beautiful, energetic thought that comforts me often.

We put our house on the market in March, and it sold in 21 days. We struggled to find a place to live in Spartanburg and spent most of May in a PANIC about where to move. Now we are in a cute little rental in the same neighborhood as my office. I can walk to work sometimes.

The highlight of 2006 for us was July 4th - Alan in Colorado and me in Japan. Separate vacations! Yes, absence makes the heart grow fonder. I am looking forward to a trip to Colorado soon and Alan is even talking about going to Japan with me next time.

Unfortunately Alan’s job didn’t work out; too much chaos at a start-up. So, in late August he temporarily retired, to look for something new and better to do. Thankfully we learned well the lessons of Financial Peace from Dave Ramsey; we put them to the test this fall and continue to experience miracles in our finances, communication and relationship.

In my work I see so much pain in relationships, destruction in families and so much financial chaos. I am thankful God has blessed me in those areas and hope that my work can in some way help people experiencing those trials.

The week of Thanksgiving Alan started his new job as Environmental Facilities Head at Nestle in Gaffney. They make Stouffers red box frozen meals and Lean Cuisine meals. So EAT UP.

Even though I'm not a fan of cold weather and dark days, I do love this time of year - being thankful, spending time reconnecting with friends and family, enjoying the lights and decorations. We hope all those we love have a happy Christmas and a blessed New Year.

Last year's Christmas Letter (2005)

Some things change – some things stay the same. The Burketts were ready for 2005 to be a year FULL of change. But here we are on the brink of 2006 and the rate of change has been, uh, a bit slower than expected.

The first two months of 2005 were a complete blur of studying 12-14 hours a day 6 days a week (plus some on Sunday too) and then taking the SC bar exam. Hardest three days of my life, no doubt. I think I spent all of March on the couch watching HGTV, trying to recover. By April I was scrambling to finish my 403s, courtroom observations you must do before you can appear in court as an attorney. April 29th I learned I passed the exam and on May 14th I became an attorney. Finished up those 403s and in June found the perfect job, doing EXACTLY what I went to school to do – Family Court!

In the Spring we took a class at church – Financial Peace University with Dave Ramsey. After thirteen years of marriage (yes, 13 already) we finally learned how to get a grip on our finances and the results have been nothing short of miraculous!

Alan continues to ride mountain bikes, and his big ride of 2005 was on our (almost) annual July 4th camping trip to Colorado. He rode with a Texan who neglected to factor in altitude when planning the length of the route. To recover, Alan had to trout fish three straight days. If only the trout fishing was a good in the Great Smokey mountains.

We have made good use of my graduation gift – the bright orange tandem. 1200 miles so far. Our first big ride was the After the Bridge Run ride in Charleston the first weekend in April. 40mph wind made it less than total fun. But we thoroughly enjoyed our first Georgia Tandem Rally in Madison in May with about 150 other tandem geeks on some cool bikes! In October we rode 60 miles with the Governor of SC and had lunch at his house (see pic).

No surgery for anyone this year, thankfully. Alan is still working at Fuji, although digital is hitting them hard. I am working at Cate & Collins in Spartanburg. Still commuting as far as I did to school, but I am loving it. My firm practices exclusively in Family Court. I have tried three cases so far - and won the third. I told Alan for weeks that you don’t win in court – you “prevail.” But once I prevailed I noticed how much it felt like winning. I’m sure I’ll get over it soon. I do pretty much every type of work you can do in Family Court – guardian ad litem for kids, defense of parents involved in DSS cases, divorce, custody, alimony, child support. Mostly I like my clients, especially the kids. My partners, co-workers and colleagues have all been terrific!

My client in the case I won taught me a new response to “How are you?” “I am blessed and highly favored.” Well, yes, as a matter of fact, we are! And we hope you have been blessed and favored this year too.

Merry Christmas and Happy 2006!

Movie of the Year

No, I don't mean it was the BEST movie. I mean it was the ONLY movie. Alan and I typically go to the theatre about once a year. The last time we went was the first day of the latest Harry Potter movie, I think around Thanksgiving 2005.

So, last night we went to see the new James Bond movie, Casino Royale. We've now see our movie for the year. It was entertaining, elegant, follow-able but not predictable. I enjoyed it.

But I was SHOCKED by the $8.50 ticket price. Since I go so seldom, I didn't realize the price was up that high. Old fogey.

I was also surprised to see a "Coming Soon" poster for the next Harry Potter film. Is July '07 considered soon? I guess so.