Dear Friends and Family
Wow, what a year! We know that’s probably a common way to start the annual “Christmas Letter,” but it’s really true for us, we promise! As those of you who received our 2008 Christmas letter know, the last couple years have been in pretty stark contrast with one another. Our 2007 letter was all about our graduations and promotions and marriage and house buying—all very positive things and we were feeling extremely blessed. When we sent our 2008 letters, though, we were in the midst of moving to Texas; we had lost jobs, were selling our house, Sena was job searching, and the immediate future was really uncertain. Life has continued to be a bit unpredictable, but God is in all things, and we have faith that our married life journey has been and will continue to be at His hand and nothing else.
After moving to Texas on Christmas Eve 2008, we lived with Seth’s parents for four months. Living with Kim and David was really quite fun. It was almost like being in college again—there was almost always someone home to hang out with and dinners were ‘fuller.’ Sena grew particularly attached to their cat, Tilly, and almost took her home when we moved out. But, reason won out, and her allergies convinced her that it was a bad idea.
We were house hunting all over DFW almost every weekend, and it took 4 months and one bailed attempt at a house before we finally settled on our current house in Northwest Dallas which is about 15 minutes from Seth’s work. It’s less than 100 yards from a park which is something Sena had really hoped for and has some of the fun, 50s charm that Seth likes so well. It wasn’t exactly move-in ready like our last house, but we’ve spent the last 7 months updating, remodeling, and making it our own, and we’re proud to call it home.
Seth has been with Michaels Arts & Crafts for over a year now and is pleased with his role there. Sena is glad to have him home more--he’s traveling less with this position, and Seth enjoys working to make Michaels a favorite place to shop. Oh, and they are both happy to have the employee discount as it has been one of Sena’s favorite stores for years! Sena searched for a job for 4 months, and after tons of submitted resumes, and several interviews, she landed a job at El Centro Community College in downtown Dallas. Over the past 7 months, she has coordinated a grant-funded program helping under-served high school graduates as well as serving as Adjunct Faculty. She teaches what they call Human Development 1310, but it would more accurately described as Ways to Be a Mature Adult 100 and Sena loves it! Starting in January 2010, though, she’ll be making a switch to sole Adjunct Faculty status which will mean fewer hours on campus, and getting to do exclusively the piece of her job that she loves to do.
In March 2009, the immediate Spofford family (David/Kim, Seth/Sena, and Spencer/Cheryl and three kids) travelled to San Antonio together for a long weekend. It was a great time! Sena was most excited about Sea World as she’d never been to one before, and Seth always enjoys the opportunity to get out of town, and this was with his entire immediate family! One of the most exciting things of 2009 for us, though, has definitely been our 9-day trip to Ireland. We flew through Atlanta which allowed us a wonderful dinner with friends we hadn’t seen in quite some time--it was the perfect way to start our trip. The vacation was amazing in and of itself too—Seth enjoyed seeing all of Sena’s old stomping grounds as well as getting to explore new places together. Both vacations were a blast!
In the midst of all of this, we have found a great new church in Irving near Seth’s work. We are involved in a young marrieds class called Crossroads and have connected with old and new friends there. This, combined with nearby family, as well as getting involved in our new neighborhood (Sena recently planned their community’s Fall Festival) has kept us busy and helped us to connect socially in our new place. Life is pretty much back to ‘normal.’
The most recent update to the Seth & Sena household is the addition of our Labradoodle puppy, Georgia Mae. She was born September 15, 2009, and we brought her home the day before Thanksgiving. She’s a spunky, yet sweet cuddle muffin that melts the hearts of everyone who meets her. We named her Georgia because even though we’re enjoying our new life in Texas, we will always miss the state where we were engaged, married, and were first-time home owners. And this way, we can keep Georgia on our minds and in our hearts for years to come.
Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!