“Happy Holidays! “Season’s Greetings!”

These are the greetings we hear as we go through the final days of the hustle and bustle of preparing for Christmas. Rarely do we hear a clerk or a service person offer the old familiar “Merry Christmas” greeting. It seems we have become so fearful of offending someone and so intuned to being politically correct, we opt for the safer general greetings rather than specifically referring to this special time as “Christmas”.

Our children in college come home for “semester break” and our elementary school grandchildren celebrate with the “Winter Holiday” parties. The high schools enjoy “Winter Break”. Nowhere do you hear that the real reason for vacations, parties and celebration is Christmas…the celebration of the birth of Jesus.

We realize there are people of other faiths who do not share this celebration with Christians, but that should not diminish our enthusiasm for the observance of one of the most significant events in our faith tradition.

With that being said, we at the Snyder household are looking forward to gathering for our traditional ways of celebrating Christmas. Early in December those who live locally get together to help Mom and Dad put up the Christmas tree. We still have a “real” tree decorated mostly with “kid-made” ornaments from the elementary school days. Each one has a few favorites from the past.

Christmas Eve, the family comes to our house for a traditional chili supper and then on to Christmas Eve Mass. Christmas morning is mass confusion as all the grandchildren descend the stairs to see what Santa has brought them. This year there will be eleven grandchildren to share that magical moment together. Following Santa’s visit we have a relaxing morning with brunch in our pj’s.

Early Christmas afternoon is reserved for visits with in-laws or catching up on some sleep. Later in the afternoon we gather around the table for Christmas dinner and open the gifts under the tree following dinner.

Each family has their own special way of celebrating the most joyous occasion. May you and your family treasure this time together. We wish you all a very

“Merry Christmas!”

From our house to yours, have a wonderful Holiday Season. It is time for families; we hope you are connected with your loved ones. We are so thankful for the many gifts of family, friends and faith.

A brief update on our oldest grandson, Michael; The chemo and radiation are complete. The tests show everything clear and regular testing will continue. We are thankful for everyone’s prayers and best wishes. Michael is a wonderful soccer player and his team won the Nebraska State title. Michael and his family received a trip from the Make a Wish Foundation. They leave this week for 7 days in Madrid Spain to meet and attend a “Real Madrid” soccer game. What a thrill for them.

We have our Thanksgiving meal the Sunday before to allow for in-law options on Thanksgiving and to prevent kid “founder”. We used 5 high chairs as one baby grandchild was absent (In New York)

Do we really want to sell our house? Yes! Yes! The great work is done, no more carpenters, window, and flooring or handymen vendors. See our home @ MLS#1704511, www.barbandwayne.com. Special thanks to Jim, our son, for heading this project for the last 3 Months.

Business Only
This is not a bad real estate time. If you recognize the “new normal” it not only is a good time to buy but a time to sell. Think in terms of taking advantage of the market to buy smart; making up for the price adjustment needed to sell your home. Also, ask yourself the question “What happens if interest rates go up?” Buyers miss a window- sellers homes are less affordable. Now is a good time to make a decision.

Again we are thankful for the wonderful referrals – 6 transactions in the last 3 weeks. Three listings sold in that period. We need more listing inventory.

At a recent industry meeting, the data suggested it will take approx. 3 years to come out of this Foreclosure influenced climate. Massive #’s of foreclosures still to come.

We offer to you a customized ‘market snapshot’ of your area, development or any radius/dimension you provide (ex. ½ mile) solds, days on market, avg. price, current listings etc. This is the most complete and up to date data available specific to your home market. Talk to or email Barb or Wayne and we will set you up for a regular distribution of this information.

This time of year our thoughts go out to our Armed Forces men and women away from home. We salute you