Raise, raise the song on high
The virgin sings her lullaby
Joy, joy for Christ is born
The babe, the son of Mary

2005
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Fast Facts

Ryan & Britta

Our New Home

2005 was the year of the house.  After much searching (our friend and Realtor, Dave Hansen can attest to this), we found the right house for us on a quiet cul-de-sac in Wheat Ridge.  The location is convenient to I-70 and the mountains for Ryan, yet only ten minutes from downtown for Britta.  We made the big purchase at the end of January and have enjoyed settling in and spreading out ever since.  We have friendly neighbors and a big yard (about a third of an acre) including a productive grapevine.  Britta is enjoying all of her new lawn toys and Ryan has become a great sprinkler system - complete with zones.  We had a housewarming in May and have a webpage with pictures of our house and many of the friends who visited that day.  Our new contact information is on our homepage.

Last Christmas and Family

Last year we sent out our Christmas greetings a little early as we were traveling to upstate New York to see Ryan’s family.  It was quite an adventure.  Buffalo got socked with a snowstorm and we got stuck in Pittsburgh .  With no rental cars for us and no flights for several days, Ryan’s dad and sister drove and rescued us from Pennsylvania .  It was a very enjoyable Christmas after we got out of that airport.  This was our first visit to Paul & Sue’s new home.  They live in the heart of Amish country and we saw buggies go by every ten minutes.  Paul & Sue also gave us a glimpse of their new business and gave us an Amish tour.  Ryan hadn’t been to New York in about nine years, so this was also a chance to catch up with his extended family.  Britta enjoyed getting to know all of the Fishers and Erhards.  This trip also marked Britta’s first visit to Canada .  While it was a bit cold and icy in December, Niagara Falls from the Canadian side is quite a sight.

Tabitha (Ryan’s sister) has started college back in Minnesota at Oak Hills.  Jared (Ryan's Brother) is also in Minnesota and is living and working in Shakopee.

Britta’s family has grown so big, that in order to give a brief update, it takes a whole page. Go here to see the latest including the news that Britta may soon be the oldest of nine rather than seven.

Britta's Work Travels
- Alamosa, CO
- Breckenridge, CO
- Fort Collins, CO
- Greeley, CO
- Colorado Springs, CO
- Pueblo, CO
- Gunnison, CO
- Grand Junction, CO
- Washington, DC

National Parks Visited
- Rocky Mountain
- Great Sand Dunes
- Badlands

Britta's Favorite TV
- Commander in Chief 
- Clean Sweep
- What Not to Wear
- Survivor: Guatemala
- Veronica Mars
- Numb3rs

I am still enjoying my work as the Fair Housing Program Manager at the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.  Through my work, I get to travel and speak all over the state.  What a beautiful state to travel.  I believe I went over about 15 mountain passes in the last year - all reimbursable.  With scenes like those to the right, I don't mind one bit.

One of the highlights for me professionally was the passage of HB 1331 "Concerning the Home Investment Fund."  I am the spokesperson for the Colorado Housing Investment Fund Coalition, which is seeking to create a dependable source of funding to invest in affordable housing.  38 other states, like Minnesota, have these.  We sought to create the structure for one legislatively this year.  This was my first time taking a concept, massaging the proposal and guiding it as it became a bill.  It was really fun to see our process up close.  I even testified to both a House and Senate committee.  Through the expert tutelage of Annmarie, I even tried my hand at lobbying.  It was very gratifying when the bill passed both the House and Senate by respectable margins.  Ultimately, the Governor vetoed the bill, but we feel we are very close to realizing a Housing Investment Fund in Colorado.  Adding to this amazing experience was being nominated for the Eagle Award, the top award for work in affordable housing in Colorado.  It was an honor to be recognized for my work in this way.

Other highlights include:

• Joining the tech team at church and becoming small group leaders
• The formation of "The Drinking Club with a Book Problem"
• Traveling to Washington D.C. for the Enterprise Conference and visiting my friends, Wendell and Kristi
• Women's discussion group - a diverse group of interesting women
• Participating in "Go Run," a conference put on by The White House Project encouraging women to vote, run for office and lead.
• A gondola ride down Cherry Creek with friends to celebrate my birthday.
• Camping with our small group in Rocky Mountain National Park.
• Walking in the Race for the Cure with friends and Team Hope.
• Becoming a member of Wheat Ridge 2020 - a non-profit organization working to revitalize Wheat Ridge.
• A fun anniversary and a good marriage to celebrate.  Lots of hikes with Ryan.
• Brothers and sisters - oh my!
• Lots of friends having babies and weddings and many more to come in 2006.

Ski Resorts Visited in 2005
- Breckenridge
- Copper Mountain
- Keystone
- Vail
- Winter Park

For More Updates Check out Ryan's Blog.

Enjoying God’s beautiful creation continues to be one of my favorite pastimes. I bought a pass that gives me access to 5 mountains for Snowboarding: Breckenridge, Keystone, A Basin, Vail, and Beaver Creek. In early December I made it up to Vail for one of their biggest powder days, with up to three feet of fresh powder on the mountain.

During the summer I continue to do a bit of hiking. My longest hike this year was about a 10 mile hike into the Vasquez Wilderness Area. I got some new rain gear for my birthday that will be very helpful during the summer storms. This year however I have finally resumed one of my favorite forms of exercise. In June I purchased a new road bike. I have really enjoyed biking in the mountains this year. Since I work in the foothills, I often bring my bike to work and bike Lookout Mountain after work. Other fun rides I did include High Grade Road and Squaw Pass. Using my cycling computer I have clocked myself at 44 miles an hour coming down one of the mountain passes.

This fall Britta and I went back to Sioux Falls, SD for my friend Nic Budde's wedding. Nic was a groomsman in my wedding, and he invited me to be a groomsman in his wedding. On our way back we visited the Badlands.

I still am working at Comprehensive Software Systems. I've been writing tools for Brokers and Stock Traders lately. In August I reached my third year anniversary at CSS.

We continue to worship at Hope Community Church.  Ryan is singing with the praise team and Britta is volunteering in the tech booth.  We became small group leaders this fall and really enjoy laughing with our group.  Our softball team was a lot of fun.  It is good that we had so much fun because we didn't do a whole lot of winning.  We were glad to have so much playing time and to be on a team with such great people.  We did win our last game and the victory was very sweet.

We did a bunch of snowshoeing and hiking this year.  On Memorial Day weekend we went for a hike to Chinn's Lake.  It was warm enough to hike in shorts (Britta and Bobbie Jo did), but there were 8 foot snowdrifts blocking the path in several areas.  It wasn't uncommon to be up to our hips in snow.

In June we took an anniversary trip to Steamboat Springs.  We golfed, hiked, and drove in the beautiful mountains.  Hahn's Peak became one of Britta's favorites in Colorado (made me think of you, Laura).  Steamboat is a fun part of Colorado because it is so green and lush.

We have had a healthy year.  We've enjoyed a lot of the local Denver attractions.  The Broncos have put together an exciting season and we look forward to seeing where it will go.  We've enjoyed having visitors and hope that you stop by the next time you are in the area.

It has been a strange year.  Just about one year ago we watched the images of the terrible tsunami and saw lives and livelihoods washed away.  Since then, there has been an awful hurricane season which ravaged the Gulf Coast and Central America.  Images of people standing on roofs in Louisiana and stories of villages buried by mud slides in Guatemala.  Recent earthquakes have claimed even more lives.  There are many other ongoing struggles and strife.  These events remind us that tomorrow is not guaranteed.  Life is precious.  May the gift of Christmas help remind us all to live each day with hope, peace, joy and love.