News from Judy Gration

    

Christmas Letter 2010

It’s the time of year to wish Merry Christmas, to spend time with family and friends, and to send out annual updates.  Here is ours.  Like the rest of you, our lives have been in flux and very busy.  

Scott has been commuting between our home in New Jersey, his place in northern Virginia, and numerous hotels and guesthouses in and around Sudan for over two years.  He has been leading US diplomatic efforts in Sudan as the President’s Special Envoy.

Judy has been living up in New Jersey trying to sell our home.  She has been involved in church activities and started an Alpha ministry there last year.  Judy continues to mentor young wives and recently began to write her memoir.  This summer, she spent three weeks in Kenya with our son, Jonathan, and his wife, Julie, painting an orphanage in Nakuru where Scott’s sister, Barb, and her husband are missionaries.  It was fun travelling to Kijabe where we spent our youth and reconnecting with friends from many years.  To cap their “safari,” Judy, Jonathan, and Julie stayed at a tented camp on the plains near the base of Mount Kenya for a few days.  It was a delight to wake up in the morning and see giraffe at the watering hole with the magnificent mountain outlined in the morning light.

Jonathan and Julie are living up in Alaska where Jonathan flies the F-22 and Julie works as a legislative liaison officer for Alaska Command.  This summer, Jonathan raised over $4000 to buy solar cookers for the women of Darfur and traveled with Scott to Sudan to present these much appreciated cookers.  We made a quick trip to Anchorage to see them over the July 4th weekend and they treated us well with king crab legs, delicious salmon, and yummy halibut meals.  We had to do a lot of hiking to walk off all the calories.

Grandchildren

Jennifer and Brian are now living in Colorado Springs.  Brian graduated from Penn State with a degree in history and is now an Armor officer in the Army.  Jen is an amazing Mom and worked as a Pampered Chef consultant last year.  She also volunteered as a leader in MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers).  Brian and Jen recently bought a home in Colorado and are expecting their fourth baby in February.  We plan to spend Christmas with them and can’t wait to see our grandchildren—Natalie (5), Blake (3), and Evan (1).

David is still working in Orlando with Applied Industrial Technologies.  He travels all over the central Florida area and has become quite a successful salesman.  An avid sports fan, David doesn’t miss many opportunities to attend a college or professional basketball game or gridiron competition.

Katherine is living in the basement of our Springfield house and has started a full-time job as a nanny taking care of two little babies.  She loves it and is thankful to have a job in this tough economy.  She has many friends in the Virginia area, including her loveable cat, Edmond.

We keep hearing rumors of a possible overseas assignment that we’d enjoy, but we can’t talk about it until Scott’s current assignment comes to a logical conclusion.   As another year draws to a close, we are so thankful to God for good health, family, and friends.  We wish you a Happy New Year and a very blessed 2011.

                                                 Scott and Judy Gration

                                                      

                                                                                               8 Stanley Avenue

                                                                                               Nutley, NJ   07110

                                                                                               973-320-2917