Christmas Letter

Dear Friends & Family,

Happy New Year and Holiday Greetings! Hope you are staying warm and dry. Chris and I have a lot to reflect over and a lot to be thankful for this past year. We are celebrating our 11th anniversary this December!! We look around who attended our wedding and realize we are ALL getting a little older...and grayer....yikes!!

Chris' 31st birthday was spent by taking a leasurely trip to Oregon, where we stayed with some friends. We celebrated my 30th birthday in March. Yikes... My friends and family, including my in-laws, graciously rubbed in my old age, by throwing a surprise birthday party in my horror. PS Thanks for the wrinkle cream!! :) Late spring, Chris and I loaded up our little Toyota Tacoma and headed for the hills. We took our first rafting trip this summer, thanks to Don. It was great to get outdoors, see the sun, and pick wild berries.


I took a quick trip to Alaska for some sister time.....to find out.....wait for it...I'm going to be an AUNTIE at the end of January!! What a surprise, not really, but we'll just say it was. On that note, Darren and Maria Siegal passed on the "no-baby-torch" to us last week, leaving us as "The Last Standing Couple Without Kiddies". "Do we get a medal", Chris wants to know? We will be spending Christmas with our friends including Darren and Maria and the Motleys. We are thankful for friends who are like family. Chris has spent countless hours over at Darren's house having his "man time" by playing games like Agricola, Cash Flow and generally solving the worlds problems. :)

Our Neighbors:

We enjoyed Chris' cousins, Bruce and Jessica Myers, who lived about 5 minutes away. We shared them with Devin, Megan, and baby Cole Motley. Jessica and Bruce's baby, Carter, is due one week after my sister's baby. It was.... an experience... hearing and seeing all the changes she and Carter are going through. We received a daily update. Sometimes, I almost felt like I was the one pregnant. I definitely ate like I was!! We played countless games of Farkle, which I am proud to say, Bruce received the certificate labeled: Best Loser ever (sorry Bruce) !! Megan and Devin Motley, are a young couple who also live a jogging distance away, and have graciously let us practice being parents to their little Cole of 4 months. He's a kissable little man doll. Jessica and I practically fought over holding him, whenever we were together which was a lot. Bruce and Jessica are definitely missed by all the young couples around here. They have since moved back to Texas, however, we hope Sacramento will be their address this coming Summer. We are thankful for ALL our close friends. We have a lot of friends to be thankful for!! And WE LOVE having FAMILY near by!!

Chris' Business story:

Many of you probably know, Chris set his Engineering degree aside to focus on UGLY HOUSES. An ugly house, takes your breath away when you step inside. Why would anyone set aside an Engineering degree, you may wonder? Sometimes I do too. We are looking at 5 years of entrepreneurship. If that's even a word. Chris loves everything in regards to investing.... helping with the purchases, talking about houses, return on investments, and the latest: rental income. I've heard him mumble in his sleep about someone's house. Needless to say, it's been a quite a ride filled with lots of interesting turns some more fun than others
In the past, we have focused on "fixing and flipping" these ugly houses, however due to "supply and demand" we are back at this adventure with a new twist. This past year, Chris has done everything from purchasing houses from the Court House to helping me with my Staging Business. Chris also has been managing a few other bussiness such as Pre-Paid Legal, Stock Options and doing some side work for local Banks. Some days he juggles all four in one day. He has no problems getting to sleep.

My business story:

I started my own Staging business in January. I've called it Emilie and Abbie Staging. It's been a great outlet for me in getting those creative juices going. My clients are primarily investors, and real estate agents who work with investors. Many of the bankowned houses here in Sacramento are messy, and dirty. Potential homeowners have a hard time seeing beyond the mess. I'm glad I can help out with creating a visual image for buyers. I am now a proud stager with 5+ sofas and countless chairs, tables, curtains, towels etc. My favorite jobs are vacant houses, such as the house we staged in Tahoe recently. We drove up the night before and made it into a mini get-a-way. It was a huge house with multiple fireplaces and a kitchen to rock any chief's imagination.

This month:

Begining this month, we will be creating new statistics for ourselves. Instead of moving once a year, we will be moving 3-6 times this coming year. Our job discription is: "fixing and flipping" UGLY HOUSES into PRETTY Rentals. We look forward to you visiting us in the near future, you may want to bring your own hammer and hard hat!! In order to keep up with us, we have a PO Box 163051, Sacramento, CA 95816. We look forward to seeing you. If you have an RV, feel free to roll it out and if you dare, stay a while!! ps Don't forget your tool belt.

The End,

Love,
The Richtsmeiers