Happy Holidays 2019

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Hello and Happy Holidays!



As we said in  the postcard, 2019 was a tough year.  If I were to sugar coat it, I’d say it was the
“Bud Light Lime” of years:  It wasn’t the best. 
In mid-January, Jed’s mom was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. She spent the next 4 months in
Charlottesville, and passed away on May 4th.  
Now, I know that Holiday letters are supposed to be like Christian Radio:  positive, uplifting and
encouraging. But it wouldn’t be a #castrochristmasletter if it were normal.
The first part of 2019 was undoubtedly some of the most difficult months of our married lives.  But in
the last few months of my mom's life, we did get to spend a lot of time with her. We did some talking,
some cooking, and even a little traveling with her. We took her to see the Cherry Blossoms in the
Nation's capital, something she’d always wanted to do; and also got a chance to take one more family
vacation as a family (Thanks, Legeroses).

Mom would talk about going to see the Cherry Blossoms EVERY year
The whole Castro Gang at Virginia Beach in April
Some of our friends used to compare my mom to Carmen Sandiego.  They would always ask
“where is she traveling to now?” She was the OG #CastroTraveler, and we definitely inherited the travel
bug.
We did some of that in 2019. Our big trip this year was to South America in June to visit Rio,
Iguazu Falls, and Buenos Aires. It was a fantastic trip filled with nature, wildlife, culture, people,
dancing, soccer, paddle-boarding, fantastic food and even some sociological lessons.
#thatsariobigjesus

Stacie overlooks the sunset over Buenos Aires.  We LOVED the vibe, food, and the people of this town
One of the things that stood out the most to both of us during our last months with my mom was watching
how she treated people.  She had a way of bringing a smile to people’s faces and making them feel
special and important. She valued everyone whether they were family, nurses, hospice workers, or
people at Wal-Mart, Popeyes chicken, or serving soup at the Chinese restaurant. 
Certainly, she set a standard that we could never live up to, but we tried to remember her by valuing
the time we spent with friends, and treating strangers the way she did.  
This would be a great album cover. If we only had a band.
We got to go back to Vegas with friends to laugh, watch hologram Michael Jackson and create our first "album cover".
We spent a day in Charlotte with a friend and watched The 1975.
We made it out to LA for our niece's high school graduation. 
Congrats on graduating, Ava. You're all growsed up now.

In the fall were able to have not just one football
weekend but two! One with a friend to Auburn and Atlanta where we were met with the best hospitality
ever! (Jeff & Amber, you guys are the best!) And in October we went to Kentucky and Tennessee where
we were able to pack in 4 football games! 
Because of how our year went, we didn’t get the time to see everyone we wanted to, and we had to bail
on seeing many of you.  Please know that it’s not because we don’t value you, and we hope to be able
to get out to see you in the coming year. 

This year we were reminded to value "everybody, always" (Thanks Nolan) by taking time to make
everyone you interact with feel loved and special. Because they are. We were reminded to take
advantage of every moment. We are not promised tomorrow. So this holiday season, take the time to tell
friends and family how much they mean to you and hug your loved ones tightly.  We hope to see you in
the new year and wish you a Happy Holiday!
Don't forget to check out our 2019 Pictures here Oh yeah.. one more thing... the paint by number doesn't really work. It was just a fun idea. 

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