Holidays

Our holiday vacation is coming to a close. Christmas came and went with Sean and I being surrounded by family and friends. Here are some photos from our gatherings.

Christmas 2010

Letter

Festive

It's that time of the year again! The festive time, when everyone is jolly and joyful. I love this time of year. I, of course, jump into the season much faster than Sean. He takes a little time after Thanksgiving to get into the Christmas spirit. But he does humor me and let me drag him along to the tree farm to get our tree. He's a good sport about cutting it down and hauling it to our car and helping me set it up in the stand. After that, he's hands off and I do the decorating. Well, he does put the lights in the outside bushes , for which I'm thankful. Winter even got into the decorating spirit yesterday. At least I think that was what she was doing when I caught her carrying an ornament in her mouth! The house is mostly decorated, the air is brisk, and now I'm going to revel in the celebrations, parties and excitement around me.

Happy festive time to you all!

Christmas in California

This year Christmas was in California for the Steele family. Sean and I flew in late on Christmas Eve and we all met up at Glen and Amy's house in San Jose on Christmas Day. After enjoying some restful family time, Glen, Amy, Sean and I went on a little excursion to Napa Valley. Nana and Grandpa stayed behind with B. We toured and sampled at several wineries, had dinner at Mustard's Grill and stayed over a night at a lovely hotel. The next day, the 7 of us headed into San Francisco to poke around The Presidio, walk along the beach, and eating lunch at the Warming Hut near the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. And we did need to get warm. It was brisk and chilly along the water. On our last day, Sean, Glen and I headed down 17 Mile Drive to end with lunch and a bit of sight-seeing at Carmel-by-the-Sea (where Clint Eastwood was once mayor . . . I found that to be interesting). Of course all vacations must come to an end, so Sean and I headed back to PA on New Year's Eve. At least we got to enjoy a little luxury by upgrading to first class. Now we are home and reunited with Winter, who apparently "had a blast" at the kennel while we were having a great time in California. We are slowly easing into the new year and trying to get our bodies onto eastern standard time. Enjoy these photos of our trip . . . Link

Happy New Year!

Letter

Tree Time

It's that time of the year again. Christmas tree and decorating time! I love this part of Christmas. The tradition of getting a tree. When Sean and I first were married, my sister-in-law and I made the men go with us to pick out and cut down a tree. While it was fun for us to do it together, I don't think Sean fully got into the spirit of it all. Having come from South Africa where Christmas is during their summer time and they don't have a Thanksgiving that marks the beginning of the holiday season, he didn't quite understand the importance or tradition of it. For the past several years, we just chose a pre-cut tree from the local nursery. This year I was determined to have the "experience" of going out and cutting our own tree. This was something my family had done many times and I loved it. Instead of braving the shopping foolishness on Black Friday, Sean (a little reluctantly) and I ventured out to Elizabeth Farms, north of Lititz. It was windy and cold, but I think that added some excitement. The farm is fantastic, very old and historic. Sean and I spoke with the owner himself and learned that it had been in his family since the 1750s. There are 3 or 4 farm houses throughout the farm and a huge manor house. For the past few years it has been run as a Christmas tree farm. So, we sipped hot chocolate in the basement of the old barn to brace ourselves against the elements. Next, we hopped onto a large wagon pulled by two very docile mules. We were taken out among the thousands of trees and left to our own devices. Grabbing a saw, we traipsed here and there over the hills and muddy ruts in search of the perfect tree. Not too wide but fairly tall with fragrant branches but not too many dead spots in the center and few holes among the branches. Finally we found it, our 7 foot tall Fraser fur. Lovely. It had a few imperfections, but don't we all!


Then we loaded it back onto the wagon to return to the barn where the tree farm workers would shake off the loose needles and bale it for us. We wandered through the gift shop and Santa's workshop while we waited for our tree. It was much warmer inside. Finally, we carried the tree (it was a bit heavy) and shoved it into the back of the Subaru (which, by the way, is great for hauling Christmas trees) and headed home for some decorating. On the way home, Sean commented that I was right, getting the Christmas tree was fun! I think the pungent smell of pine was going to his head! Or maybe he truly was getting into the spirit of it all.

Happy New Year

This year we got a little fancy in our celebration. Our friends invited us to a New Year's Eve party at Stout's Brewery. Dressed up a bit, we started out the evening with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres and followed up that with a delicious lobster and steak dinner. We danced a bit and finally called it a night after counting down to 2009. We had a fun evening and now look forward to what this new year holds for us. Enjoy some silly photos of our evening with friends. Link

Holiday Fun

The day after Christmas . . . My belly is full of good food, I love all of the goodies I received (especially the beautiful ring Sean bought for me), and a good nap is in order. This year Sean and I didn't have to go anywhere. The party came to us. We enjoyed a gathering of friends and neighbors on Saturday. Then my parents came to stay on Christmas Eve. Christmas day was spent with Sean's family. I don't think I stepped foot outside in two whole days. Merry Christmas!

Enjoy these photos taken with Sean Christmas present (the lens for his digital camera which he bought for himself a month ago . . . It made Christmas shopping a lot easier for me). Link

Annual Christmas Letter

Here's the annual Steele family Christmas letter. We don't do cards and since we've become tech geeks, an e-version is the only way to go. Merry Christmas!



Dear Family and Friends,

It’s that time of the year again. You know, Christmas cards and annual family Christmas letters. So here goes ours . . .

In March, Sean marked 2 years with Cummins Power Systems and had the opportunity to travel to Las Vegas with work. Unfortunately, I made the stupid decision not to join him and stayed home and worked while he had all of the fun.

April kept us really busy. We visited friends in Virginia, and Sean experienced some of Marci’s childhood friends during their annual get-together at Cove Valley Camp in Mercersburg, PA. He now can explain the ins and outs of the game Corn Hole.

We traveled to South Africa in June to spend time with Sean’s Grandparents, Auntie and Uncle and cousins. While we were there we attended his cousin’s wedding and had the privilege of touring and sightseeing around Cape Town and Stellenbosch.

In July we spend a weekend in the Poconos with Marci’s parents and some extended family. It’s always so relaxing and restful.

August was a year of home ownership. Even with a new home, we are realizing how much work goes into the constant upkeep and making it ours. It doesn’t help that Sean continually comes up with new decorating ideas and home improvement projects.

This fall Marci started her 9th year teaching 2nd grade in Manheim Township School District. No longer the new kid on the block.

In November we took a short trip out to Phoenix to visit Marci’s sister, brother-in-law and nephews. 80 degrees in November is quite nice!

Marci attended her 15th year high school reunion. We actually all looked similar to our old high school selves. Okay, so our hair isn’t quite as big and we’ve gained an inch here or there, but really not so bad.

Now we look forward to a new holiday season of fun, friends and family. May God bless you this season and in the coming year.

Love,
Sean and Marci

Christmas

Our Christmas tree is up. Marci did a wonderful job of decorating it with all manner of glorious lights, ornaments and shiny things. My job was simply to get it into the car, and then into it's assigned place in our home. It's not that I don't like Christmas, for some reason I am just not that into decorating the tree. So I completed my secondary task which was to hang the lights on the trees in our front yard. I am proud to say that we are the first home on our street to complete the decorations on our house. Perhaps we provided some inspiration to our fellow neighbors, as I have since seen a few more homes get all light up.

The past few days this week have reminded me of a few things I am thankful for during this holiday season. So here they are - in no particular order:
1. A warm, heated home
2. A warm jacket and scarf - especially during the 15 deg wind chill today
3. A great marriage to a wonderful wife.
4. A close family - both on my side and my in-laws.
5. A great job.
6. American citizenship.
7. Opportunity
8. Freedom
9. A great church

Just to name a few.

Merry Xmas.

Sean.

Shopping

We need to go shopping for Christmas. This is a task that I am not looking forward to. Not because I don't love giving people presents, truthfully, I loathe the traffic I have to get through to purchase all the presents. I went to the mall to day for a haircut (at the instruction of my wife) and if the parking lot was any indication of the state of our economy, we are going to be just fine.

Parking lots are a source of human weirdness for sure. I am amazed at how some people just switch off their brain when entering a mall parking lot. From the old guy in the Buick LeSabre who is driving at 1.7 mph, to the visually impaired person who manages to consume 2 parking spaces for a Honda civic.

Anyway, so now my hair is cut and I am sitting here blogging because there are 4 ladies in our living room who are laughing out loud, and opening presents at the same time. This means I have no access to my beautiful tv. Marci's gal pals are over here for their annual Christmas gift giving. This is a tradition that has been going on for years. It always amazes me how much fun, and words women can have at these events. It's kinda cool. Most guys would never call each other and say "Hey man lets all get together, just us guys and watch each other open our presents, Hooray!!" Could you possibly even imagine this? Now if the call that went out went like this "Hey, you jacka$$'s come over to my place for Xmas so that we can insult each other, tell dirty jokes, drink beer, fart out loud and laugh about it" you can bet that all of my guy friends would be here.

That's the difference between guys and girls. Marci still has problems understanding this. Part of being a man, is knowing how to insult your fellow man in a way that actually says - "hey I like you well enough to make fun of you." Women just don't communicate this way. Guys like to insult each other, we think its funny, ladies don't. You would never see a girl pointing at another woman's belly saying, "what happened here?, maybe you should cut back on the beer - HAHAHA" That would not go down well. A guy can say that to another guy, and both have a good laugh. Hey, in our world a beer belly is a medal of honor.

Anyway, I digress. I am going to go into the living room now, into the fray of words and laughter.
On the other hand, it's kinda nice to come home to a house full of 4 lovely ladies!


Sean.

Fall is here

I love the fall.

The cool crisp air in the morning, the leaves changing on the trees, the days of sweltering heat finally behind us.

Soon it will be time to put the mower away, and watch the grass go back to sleep.

This is the best time of the year to be out on the road, visiting customers. I can drive with the windows down, I don' have to get back into a steaming hot car, and for some reason people just seem more relaxed. I like to take my camera out with me, the air is nice and clear and I never know when I can quickly snap a picture of the leaves turning.

I drove past this little tree a few days ago, and it looked like it was on fire, so I pulled over, grabbed my SLR and took a few shots. (Click Here)

What is your favorite part about the fall? Carving pumpkins? Pulling on your favorite sweater?

Warm cookies from the oven, with a nice cup of hot chocolate on standby?

Sean.

Belated

Sean's 33rd birthday was on Tuesday, June 3. I'm a few days late with these wishes. I had wonderful intentions of blogging that day, but, well it just didn't happen. So, here's how we celebrated and my wishes for Sean . . .

I have a philosophy that birthdays are meant to be special. Maybe because my parents always made the effort to make my sister's and my birthday a day set apart from every other day. That could mean something as simple as a special dinner. (By the way, thanks, Mom and Dad). So, since Sean had already purchased his new camera for his birthday, I set about trying to make his day a little different than the rest. I made him breakfast in bed, which simply consisted of an English muffin and tea (I don't cook.). I think he was awake enough to enjoy it. He's so not a morning person! Then I gave him 2 T-shirts so he'd have something to open on the actual birthday. Finally after a day of work for the both of us, we went to dinner at Annie Bailey's, one of Sean favorite restaurants, so he could drink a Guinness and have some good ole' Irish fish and chips. Ahh! When he said it was one of his most enjoyable days, I knew my simple little efforts had paid off.


So, happy birthday, Sean. I love you for so many reasons. Here are a few that I'll share with our devoted blog readers.

• I love Sean's ability to be completely his own person and not care what others think.
• I love his creativity . . . in visual art and musically.
• I love his sense of humor and ability to make others laugh.
  
• I love his ambition, work ethic and integrity.
• I love Sean's South African heritage.
• I love that he comes with a great family.
• I love his patience with me and his sensitivity.
• I love his "it is what it is" attitude and his positive outlook on life.
• I love Sean!

Christmas Letter

Dear Family and Friends,

It's hard to believe that just a year ago we spent the holidays in Northern Ireland with Sean's family and now it's another Christmas season. The year went by so quickly. In March, Sean completed his first full year at Cummins Power Systems. It's very challenging but has wonderful opportunities for him and he enjoys it tremendously. The job has a few perks for which we are thankful. One of them being a trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in May. Ah, the good life! In July we spent about 5 days camping in the Poconos with Marci’s parents, cousins, aunts and uncles. It was so nice to get away and relax for a while. We made a huge decision this year to have a house built in Kissel Hill Commons in Lancaster. At the end of August, we packed up and moved in. We love the space and have enjoyed painting and decorating, making it our own. In October Marci celebrated her 10th year college reunion. It was great to be back on Messiah College's campus and see old friends. She’s now in her eighth year at Brecht Elementary in Manheim Township and still teaching second grade. She’s taken on some roles involving mentoring other teachers in technology projects. Both of us have been busy with our church, Lancaster County Bible Church. Sean has been playing electric guitar two weekends a month and Marci is part of the vocal ensemble for one of those weekends. Recently, Sean was asked to switch one of those weekends to our new Harrisburg satellite campus. It's been a great opportunity to serve. In November, the Steeles (including Mom and Dad) headed out to San Jose, California to visit Glen and Amy. We had our Thanksgiving dinner in their lovely home and enjoyed visiting local tourist spots. Finally, Marci is looking forward to traveling with her mom to see her sister in Phoenix. Lori, Michael and the boys moved there in May and have since gotten married and bought a new home. We miss them terribly, so we're heading out that way on December 26.

That's our year in a nutshell. These and more fun details can be found at our blog http://www.seanandmarci.blogspot.com. There are even pictures for those of you who need them. We wish you a wonderful Christmas and pray God's blessings for you all.

Love,
Sean and Marci

It's Christmas Tree Time of the Year

Because of the freezing cold rain, Sean and I deviated from what I had hoped would be a tradition of going out and cutting our own Christmas tree at a local tree farm. Instead we visited Stauffers and, again because of the bone chilling drizzle, very quickly chose our tree, had the guys wrap that netting stuff around it and load it into our car. This year we were able to get a taller one because we have the space for it. So with the tip of the tree dangling out of trunk and the trunk precariously tied down, we headed home with the heater blowing full force. Once we arrived home, Sean wasn't so interested in putting on the lights, so that became my job. However, he whole-heartedly hung the ornaments. Here is the finished product.

So, the Christmas spirit has inched its way into the Steele house. The decorating is complete. Maybe now we should consider some Christmas shopping!

Thankful

I am so thankful that we were able to go to San Jose for Thanksgiving. Glen and Amy opened Hotel Steele for the 6 Steele's and our friend Steve. Sean and I had a very smooth trip out to California on Wednesday and stayed until Monday morning, when we took a very early flight back home. The days included wandering around Los Gatos, eating a very yummy turkey, a visit to Trader Joes so I could get my favorite chocolate truffles, snacking and drinking tea, a day in San Francisco, a little wine tasting at several local wineries, the Body Worlds exhibit at the San Jose Tech Museum, and dinner at the Cheesecake Factory near Santana Row. Besides all of the tourist-y activities, we enjoyed family (and Steve) time back at house, while the men rocked at Guitar Hero. Amy and I made a valiant attempt, but were booed off by the cyber-fans on the game. As it always is, vacations must come to an end. Sadly, Sean and I made the trek back home with ease. It wasn't until we got our car and started the drive home from the Baltimore airport that we experienced any delays. We hit rush hour traffic on the beltway. Welcome back to reality!

Thanks, Glen and Amy, for a wonderful time.

Click here for some photos of our trip . . . Thanksgiving Vacation

Wedded Bliss

Today is our anniversary. Happy 3rd to us! Here's a photo from the big day . . .


Not much has changed since then. Okay, so maybe a few more pounds on both of us and one or two more gray hairs (we are in our 30s now!). But relatively all else is the same. We still like each other a lot, can make each other laugh (bodily "noises" are still amusing), and continue to be best friends. The past three years have sped by and I can barely remember life before Sean. I know it wasn't as quirky as life with Sean. I'm sure he feels the same about me! Looking forward to many more quirky, noise-filled years.