Brrrr! We are getting our first real taste of winter this week.  It reminds me of how bitingly cold it seemed when we first arrived in Suttons Bay, 10 years ago.   On the one hand, it seems time has whizzed by- like the blink of an eye.  On the other hand, so many things have happened during those 10 years that it seems like an entire lifetime has passed.  We moved to Suttons Bay to be near family and then BAM! We didn’t have any family again!   We were left reeling from the loss of Greg’s parents.  They passed within a couple of years after we arrived-actually just when our lives had settled into a steady comforting rhythm.  

Then chaos, mind numbing sadness and emptiness.   We dealt with the siblings who stuck around just long enough to settle the estate and then vanished again.  In our grief and sadness we decided to start a second family here in Suttons Bay.  We decided to adopt an 11-year-old girl who was a ward of the state of Michigan.  We dove headlong into the adoption- it gave us a new sense of purpose, something we could do to help just one little person.   We rearranged our work life to accommodate our daughter’s needs.  I drove her to various doctors appointments not less than twice a week.  We met with counselors, teachers, coaches and a whole host of other people, on her behalf.  We even got to know the Sheriffs of Leelanau county whose help was invaluable in managing behavioral issues.  We did our best to give our daughter every opportunity, often to our own detriment.  Sadly, she wasn’t able to adjust to a stable home-life, with us. So we have been working hard to recover and to continue our real estate practice.  I know we have dropped the ball on keeping up with friends, neighbors, and clients past and I have no real excuse.  We have absolutely loved getting to know everyone here and have valued your friendship, your referrals and your business probably more than we ever mentioned to you, for which I feel badly.  

I want to say, “Wee’rre Baack!”  We have gone back to what we know the very best: buying and selling real estate.  Our negotiation skills are still second to very few, as is our creativity in terms of finding viable solutions to help buyers and sellers achieve their goals.  I want to share that we have added some new people- agents and an associate broker named Deirdre.  It is my hope that you are going to be seeing a lot more of all of us next year.  We are planning some very consistent blog postings- timely information that you can use- so check out our Blog posts often.  We will also be sending out items of value from time to time, information you can use, coupons you can use and other good stuff.  If you aren’t on our mailing list you may want to be.  We look forward to hearing from you, seeing you and working with you in the new year.

We hope your holiday season is magical!