Christmas greetings from the Korkowskis

Cliff and Bev (Roers) Korkowski’s Christmas letter
"I’m dreaming of a white Christmas"…..and it’s snowing, how perfect a day to bring you up to date on our family’s activities for 2005!
Every year, we pack in as much as we can, and this year was no exception, some expected, some not. The unexpected came in the form of a tornado that hit our neighborhood on Sept. 21, a time when you certainly think more of raking leaves than of severe weather. When Cliff went out to check things after the storm and came back to tell me the side of the house was virtually gone, I could not believe it. You could see from one end of the rafters all the way thru to the other end. The miracle of it all was that we never had a drop of water damage inside; all the damage was on the exterior. So, for the past 2+ months, we’ve had some type of repair work going almost constantly….all new roof, siding and insulation (now, the latter was a really fun time since they had to blow that in thru a couple of openings inside!). Now we’re waiting for the eaves and all new windows to be put on. Then, maybe we can start cleaning up inside. The deck is probably going to be torn down and replaced, but that part is still up in the air. Our neighborhood looks much like a war zone as almost everyone had damage so the hammers and noise start at 7 every morning, weekends included. Thankfully, no one was hurt physically which is nothing short of a miracle.

Greece and Turkey
The fun and expected came in the form of a trip (right in the middle of house repairs) to Greece and Turkey for 16 days with a group from our church. We had a great time……weather was near perfect, our guides were extremely knowledgeable, and we learned and saw so much. We were all a bit tired of cucumbers, tomatoes, olives and feta cheese for every breakfast, but that didn’t keep us all from gaining a bit of weight!! (Our enclosed picture was taken on a mountaintop in Greece.) You really appreciate the USA when you see how other people have to live every day.

The kids are all doing well. Paul, Sue, Alex, Anna, and Adam are doing great. Alex and Anna love school, while Adam entertains and tries to keep up with the older kids. They would love to find a bigger house and have spent time this past year looking for that "perfect" house; maybe soon.
Jen, Joe, Joseph and Ellie are in the middle of a major construction project for their "perfect" house, adding twice as much space as they currently have. It’s been months of living out of a suitcase, and it will be a couple months yet before they can move back home, but the wait will surely be worth it. No more going outside to the garage to do laundry!!
Amy, Shawn, Evan and Isaac aren’t adding onto their house, but adding into the house. Baby #3 (and it’s a GIRL!) will arrive sometime in mid April. Sometimes miracles happen when you least expect it, and this is no exception. We are all thrilled to be adding a little girl (and grandma is gearing up for shopping).

Lake Osakis
To add to all the excitement of this year, Cliff and I finally found the "perfect" place on the lake and purchased a home on Lake Osakis, just 10 miles from Alexandria. We moved things in the end of April so were able to enjoy a wonderful summer "at the lake". Pretty much every weekend found us enjoying the quieter side of life, maybe working on a project, but enjoying every minute of it. It’s been a time of re-connecting with our long-time friends in the Alex area, and we’ve had so much fun reminiscing. We expect to enjoy many good times in our little slice of heaven!
We plan to be at Arrowwood from Dec. 23 until Dec. 26 with the entire family, so if you’ve got a few minutes, come on out for a bit of holiday cheer and visiting. We’d love to see you all! And, if we don’t, enjoy your family and friends over the holidays; we wish you the happiest of times and the best in the year to come.