Beautiful Colorado View

Cami took this picture of Pikes Peak from our back deck.

Christmas update letter 2006

I am currently in the middle of reading “I Love You, Ronnie,” Ronald Reagan’s letters to Nancy. Nevermind the fact that I’ve been ‘in the middle of reading’ it for at least two months, but it makes me long for the art of letter-writing. I think I was born after this romantic era, and somehow typing letters into a keyboard or going to the nearest Hallmark for a card just doesn’t do it. I wonder if letter-writing died when television icon Doogie Howser, MD made a fad of typing his daily journal on a computer. Yet, I am struck by how personal the New Testament letters seem to be. John and Paul especially had a knack for writing to large audiences, and somehow the message was always quite personal. I pray that God will do through me what He did through them, and let each of you know our hearts as you read this year’s letter.

First and foremost, Praise God from whom all blessings flow! After over a year of troubling pain, neurological symptoms and a mini-stroke, I was finally diagnosed with fibromuscular dysplasia. Why praise God? Bluntly put, it could’ve been much worse. Just in the past two weeks, I had two surgeries to open my carotid and renal arteries, both of which were severely damaged by the vascular disease (My left carotid was 90% blocked). The successful surgeries were certainly a blessing in that they led to definitive diagnosis and treatment. I am also thankful that I had some of the best specialists in the country working on me, and they managed to avert what very soon would have been a massive debilitating stroke. Thanks to all of you who diligently prayed for me over the past few months. As my former boss says, I am a ‘walking miracle at Christmas.’ I certainly feel more blessed than ever this Christmas season.

While it does seem that health issues dominated the year, we do have a few other highlights we’d like to share with you. Eli had a great pentathlon season, and seems well on his way to making the 2008 Olympic team—He spent most of the year in second on the World Rankings list! His travels took him to England, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Lithuania, Mexico, Egypt, Italy and Guatemala this year. I was able to see him compete three times this year, once in Acapulco and twice in front of a Colorado Springs hometown crowd (where he won Nationals).

In April, I left my job at the City to serve as Campaign Manager for Eli's dad. The Duncan Bremer for Congress campaign consumed all my spare time from April through August. The six-way primary was intense, and at times pretty nasty. I am proud to say that we were regarded as the classiest campaign, and we ran on integrity as the main issue. When asked in a television interview, each of the other candidates said Duncan would be their first choice if they had not been running. Unfortunately, we didn't fare so well on election day. But I gained a ton of professional and management experience and I wouldn't trade those short 5 months for anything! After the campaign, I went back to the City temporarily until the position I vacated in April could be filled. While I loved my work (and my coworkers), it became apparent that it was time for me to move on. The temporary position lasted just over a month and was a true financial blessing, as I have been able to "take a break" between jobs to give my body time to recover (and not to mention attend at least 3 Dr's appointments a week). I hope to go back to work in January.

On a lighter note, we got two kittens! Their names are Itchy and Scratchy (can you tell Eli named them?) and they are SOOO much fun. I've always been allergic to cats, but my allergies seem to have gone away altogether out here. I'm still pretty cautious with it, meaning the poor cats get baths at least once a week, they get terrorized by the vacuum quite a bit, and they're not allowed in our bed. They are pretty much the highlight of our lives (yes, even Eli's). They're also a bit of trouble right now, especially with the Christmas tree, but they make it so FUN to just be at home relaxing (AND they make it easier on me when Eli’s gone).

The young married’s small group we lead is still going (and growing). We love sharing these exciting years with other young couples as we all learn how to love (and live with!) our spouses in a more godly way. And speaking of sharing, we told you about Vanessa (from Germany) who lived with us last year. She went home in February, and we ‘inherited’ Iryna (from Russia) in June. We also love sharing this home God has provided for us with others.

Eli still enjoys real estate investing and is quite good at it. We will close on our 3rd investment property on December 22. Depending on whether fix-up goes as planned, we may ‘flip’ this one instead of renting it out. Timing is also important, since Colorado Springs will have an influx of military in the spring and the property has quick access to two of the local bases.

We both finished our MBA’s this year, what a relief! It’s amazing how our entire perspectives about business changed with each class. Neither of us had business undergrads, so it really ‘rounded’ us out to have solid business understanding. Our final semester, we took a class on entrepreneurship during which we had to present a business plan to our class, who acted as potential investors. We were encouraged by classmates and the instructor to pursue starting the business. I don’t have many details I can share with you now (you’d have to sign a non-disclosure agreement), but we are assembling the proper players and thinking about launching that this year.

Please know that we miss you all and would love to see you soon. Please give us a call and know you have a place to stay if you’re in Colorado. If coming just to visit isn’t tempting enough, we’re about two hours from the ski slopes. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!



Eli & Cami Bremer
3420 Palmer Hill Ct.
Colorado Springs, CO 80907
(719) 573-1585
cami.bremer@gmail.com
eli.bremer@gmail.com
http://www.camibremer.blogspot.com/