Merry Christmas!

It’s wonderful to be able to share this year’s news with you as a married man! Life could not be better and I praise the Lord for all that we have. It is truly a joy to celebrate Christmas in the warmth of our homes with family and friends surrounding us! I encourage you to spread the love, hope and joy of this wonderful season with everyone:

“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you;
he is Christ the Lord.” - Luke 2:11

We’ve had an incredible year filled with even more amazing events. In early January Anja & I spent a week in Switzerland visiting with friends and family as well as preparing our wedding ceremony and festivities. It was an exciting and hectic week and at the end we were convinced that we had forgotten to do at least a million things. Back in the US we made it a habit of working out together on Friday’s – me badly needing the exercise while Anja tagging/(dragging me) along out of solidarity.

Anja is continuing her work as a professional dancer with the Ballet of the Dolls and also has had the privilege to perform works as and independent Artist with various companies in the Twin Cities. In the mean time things at work were ramping in my new position as a Data Modeler/ Architect with Navitaire. In March we both enjoyed a quiet get-away at a 19th century Bed & Breakfast in the cute town of Stillwater. Anja engaged in some shall we say “interesting” Antique (Anti-Q) shopping while I sipped coffee in a nearby shop reading

May brought a warm Labor Day weekend with Anja visiting me in Austin, Texas and sightseeing in nearby San Antonio. Later on, thinking we were going to spend a weekend camping, Maggie and helpers surprised Anja with a wonderful wedding shower at one of the St. Paul City Parks. June flew by with Anja teaching various summer intensives, the highlight being able to serve as a summer faculty member at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan with her friend Maggie. We celebrated Anja’s 30th Birthday on July 4th in the Cherry Capital of the World, Traverse City, MI.

As the wedding date drew closer we both scrambled to prepare for the 4 weeklong trip back home! In Switzerland, it was one last mad dash to get everything in place for the big day. Did I mention a couple of days climbing in with my brother? The wedding was all that we expected and more. W e are both very grateful to have such wonderful families and friends that were able to celebrate this special day with us.

After the wedding, we spend a couple days with friends from the US hiking and enjoying the southern part of Switzerland. Both of our families celebrated August 1st (Swiss independence Day) together in Ticino. Our honeymoon took us to gorgeous Tuscany, Italy – be

sure to reserve a trip to this romantic part of the world if you get a chance! It was hard to believe that the four weeks went by so fast and heavy-hearted we boarded the plane back to St. Paul.

It didn’t take long before both of us were back in the everyday groove. Anja started teaching new classes in three studios in the Twin Cities area and I was fortunate enough to trade my Austin, TX project with two new projects starting up here in Minneapolis. Our treasured moments include spending time with friends and family and as you can see below ... dressing up for Halloween parties :)

In October Anja performed and choreographed numerous pieces for student shows around the Twin Cities. We were invited to celebrate Thanksgiving with my aunt’s family and it was great to spend time with relatives, some we hadn’t seen in many years. After dancing the role of the Nutcracker for Lakeville City Ballet, Anja is currently performing in Cinderella with Ballet of the Dolls until December 31st. Both of us are excited for Anja’s parents to visit us and are looking forward to a quiet couple of days at home celebrating Christmas.

We hope all is well with you and wish you a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Love,

Markus, Anja & Sidi