In case you missed our Christmas Card this year, here it is:

Dear Family and Friends,

We have had a pretty busy year this year. Through about August, the Real Estate market was still in its prime and Ben was as busy as ever helping people with their home purchases. Somehow we managed to fit in some family time:

For our 10-Year Wedding Anniversary we went on a cruise to Mexico. Spring enjoyed the cruise because it was a welcome break from her busy routine in the PTA; Ben was able to relax because he didn't have to think about how much everything would cost since the cruise was all-inclusive! (If you haven't figured it out yet - Ben likes to be frugal.) We snorkeled in Catalina and participated in so many events that we were named Mr. & Mrs. Royal Caribbean.

We also went to 2 family reunions this year, one in Preston, Idaho and one in San Diego. In Idaho we got to ride horses, swim, play outdoor games (and indoor games), do crafts and sing karaoke. In San Diego we spent time at the beach, Sea World and a water park. We also got to go wakeboarding/water-tubing in Mission Bay. The kids really enjoyed themselves and a few weeks later Emily kept asking us when we were going to go "home" to the family reunions.

Ben served the first year of a two-year term on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents. Because of his specialty in working with Buyers only, Ben was interviewed by two major periodicals this year: TIME Magazine and Money Magazine. The TIME article was dropped, but the Money Magazine story should be seen in the next issue or two. Ben also serves as the Chair of our kids' school's Community Council and continues to serve as an Assistant Scoutmaster for our local Boy Scout Troop. He's been busy this year creating and maintaining a real estate blog (www.activerain.com/eba), gathering subject matter to be used in future marketing materials and getting ready to completely overhaul his websites. In addition to learning the ins and outs of blogging and Search Engine Optimization he is also trying to develop some Photoshop Skills. He likes photography and he stays fit by playing basketball, football and volleyball regularly.

Spring has also had a busy year. After working heavily with the PTA during the last school year, she has cut back her PTA activity substantially in order to spend more time volunteering in the kids' classrooms. She still serves as Vice President of Leadership, trains other volunteers and assists with the various programs and events that the PTA sponsors. This year she also helped the Utah Down Syndrome Foundation with their annual "Buddy Walk" fundraising event and served in the Presidency of our church's women's organization. Last, but certainly not least, she has been an excellent wife and the finest mother this year. Somehow she manages to out-do herself year after year! She is due to have a baby in late February and we are all very excited that we will be adding a bit more testosterone to the family. (No offense to our sweet, beautiful daughters.)

Noah is in the 4^th Grade and is still very dependable and responsible. He gets up every morning and practices his piano and helps with some housework. He is still very much into reading books and is also into technology. They use laptops in his classroom and he participates in an early morning technology class. He won his school's science fair (for the 3^rd Grade level) with a project that examined the breakdown of waste materials in different environments (a dump versus a landfill, etc.). If he is not reading you might see him building models with his legos, teaching and playing games with his sisters, and, of course, teasing them.

Marissa is in 2^nd Grade and loves school. She took piano lessons for the first half of the year and will likely start up again in 2008. She loves anything that involves glitter, stickers, glue sticks, markers, crayons, scissors etc. etc. I don't think there is anyone that knows her who hasn't gotten their own handmade "Thank You" or "I Love You" card. She loves to play games and likes to dress up with her sisters and her friends. She is a good helper around the house and spends a lot of time teaching and mothering Emily. She is also very competitive and likes to see if she can do things as good as, or better than, Noah.

Julia is in 1^st Grade and likes school. She is reading much better and likes to read stories to Emily. She's our left-handed, creative, "just wanna have fun" girl. She really likes to play! She is very sweet and loves to hug, but she's also very physical if you tease her. She loves to make-believe and likes to sing and dance. She just had a speaking part in a school presentation and she just lost her first tooth naturally. (She had one knocked out by a bungee cord a few years ago). She likes to run, ride bikes and scooters, make crafts and play with friends.

Emily is a handful. She is very sweet and is very exuberant. She gets really excited about the simplest things and she loves to laugh. Just today she was just sitting in the car, practicing her laugh. She has different ways to laugh and she thinks some of them are really funny. Unfortunately she also thinks it is really funny to scream really loud. If there is nothing funny to laugh at, she may just scream for no reason and then start laughing. She is very independent and wants to do everything by herself. She likes to run off while we are shopping (or pretty much anywhere we go). She really likes that mom has a baby in her belly. She will hug and kiss mom's belly and talk to the baby as if it were already born. Emily loves to dance. She puts on her dancing clothes and dances, probably for 30 minutes a day or more. Yes, she has to have the dancing clothes on... She also likes to dance at church or, really, anywhere else she hears music.

I want to thank all my family, friends and past clients who have referred family and friends to me. There is nothing better than helping a friend of a friend. As the Salt Lake real estate market slows back to its more normal rate, I would like your help in spreading the news that homebuyers can be represented by an agent who works on their side of the real estate transaction. Exclusive Buyer's Agents don't list properties or practice "dual agency." We work for the homebuyer only. Just as most other agents work to get the highest price and best terms for the Seller; our goal is to negotiate the lowest price and best terms for the Buyers.
 
As you hear people mention that they might be buying a home soon, don't forget to let them know about Exclusive Buyer's Agents and about me!
 
Thank You, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays - and may the New Year be prosperous and joyful for each one of you.

Your Friend and Exclusive Buyer's Agent,

Benjamin D. Clark
Homebuyer Representation, Inc.
Salt Lake City, UT
(801) 969-8989 

p.s. The Money Magazine article did come out! See it here: http://tinyurl.com/yto44f