Another year and one more chapter of life is closing, and what better way to end 2017 than with a brief update, and to take the opportunity to wish you the joy of the season and happy new year!
So what happened in 2017 that is worth sharing?
Europe Spring Break 2017
Chris and I traveled to Europe in March to reconnect with our exchange student, Emile and his family in the lovely country of Belgium. We had a few days in Bruges, and quickly fell in love with this cobblestone street filled city with history in every direction. We then met Trey and Andrea in Madrid for a week long trip through Spain. Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona were our three visited cities, with a brief stop at the Castillo de Peñíscola. The highlights of our trip were the Fallas Celebration in Valencia, the tapas in Barcelona and the opportunity to experience this trip with two of our favorite people. After saying goodbye to Trey and Andrea in Barcelona, we headed to Munich for a few days, including the day we drove through four countries looking for lunch.
Career Moves
After starting the year with Starbucks, I was fortunate to be asked to join the new team at Frontgate at Legacy West. This transition into retail has been a surprising one, and a rewarding one. After opening the store, I transitioned in a store leadership position, and then transitioned again into the Concierge role which focuses on the guest experience, a role which I am naturally good at.
The biggest news of 2017 was Chris starting his own company – Compass Risk Services LLC – in October 2017. This was probably the best thing that happened for Chris’s career to date.
Friends and Family
Both of our parents have had some health challenges through 2017, and 2018 is a year where we are hopeful that these will continue to be overcome and improve.
Our “little brother” Trey, continues to mature into an amazing young man. He is in his second year at UT Austin, and transferred into the McCombs Business School in the Fall, where he is moving forward on his Finance degree. He continues to make us proud in everything he does, and Chris and I enjoy the “Trey times” we have throughout the year.
Through 2017 we have continued to build our relationships with our friends, connect with some new friends, and say goodbye to others. We appreciate all our friends, and while we haven’t spent as much time with many as we would like, we have a stated goal in 2018 to change that.
No holiday letter is complete without giving you the option to check out some pictures from our year. You can do that right here!
Looking forward to 2018!
As the new year begins, we will continue to face challenges head-on, and spend more time with our family and friends. Travel will once again be a heavily featured focus through the year, with trips already being planned.
Most of all, we both look forward to finding the opportunities to connect with the people that we care about more regularly, and exploring new friendships throughout the year. We wish much happiness, peace and love to all our friends and family.
With love,
James & Chris