Kinney/Murphy Annual Holiday Message
It’s Christmas Eve and we’re hanging out at home waiting for Santa. It’s been a busy year for our family. This was our first full year in our new house and Plymouth is now starting to feel like home. We love our neighborhood. Sam has other little boys nearby to play with and Lisa and I love our neighbors. We were able to take a family vacation to Disney World this year and Lisa and I went to NYC in June. We were thinking that our first year in our new house would be our last as my employer, Dow Jones, was asking me to relocate to Princeton, NJ. However, the relocation was canceled and it looks like we’ll be staying in Minneapolis for the time being. It’s going to be a white Christmas, 36 inches of snow already this year. I don’t need to go to the gym, I get all the exercise I need shoveling tons of snow out of the driveway.
Sam
This has been a big year for Sam. He learned to swim and got a green belt in Karate. Last year, Santa brought Sam an Australian Shepherd puppy named Pete. We all liked Pete so much we got him a little pal, another Aussie pup named Gus. It’s pretty chaotic around our house with two Aussie pups and an energetic six year old running around. Samuel started Chinese Immersion School in Excelsior this year. He loves school and is doing great. We love the school too. We’d heard a lot in the media about how bad public schools are so we were concerned when Sam was ready to start school but Mrs. Tao and the Excelsior school is amazing. We get email status updates on a regular basis and are able to dialog with the teacher whenever it is needed. Sam is learning so much. I observed his class one day last month and the whole class was conducted in Chinese. We don’t want Sam to get behind in his English curricula so we work hard at home to help Sam with reading and arithmetic. Sam says 圣诞节快乐 to everyone.
Audrey
Audrey enjoys posting humiliating pictures of me on Facebook. Luckily for her, I won’t stoop to the same behavior on my blog, it wouldn’t be…. Christmas like. Audrey has had a lot of great opportunities and experiences this year. She recently started a new job at CF Moto where she is moving into marketing. She also shot a PSA commercial in Los Angelos and will be on a TV show that has something to with hair salons. She also has taken to attending Ruby Users of Minnesota (RUM) with me. I don’t know why. Audrey says ‘because it’s awesome’ but I think she likes to walk around in heels and distract the rest of the geeks there.
Hannah
Hannah is living in Ames. She’s been gaining experience as a waitress this year and hoping to find a better job. She and Lisa made a trip to Conifer Colorado to pick up the newest member of our family, Gus the dog.
Lisa
Lisa finally admitted that she likes it here. She has been taking advantage of many of the wonderful shopping and educational opportunities that we enjoy here in the Twin Cities, learning how to make stained glass and currently learning how to knit. Lisa brought her job with Principal with us, and has been working from home. This has provided welcome income for us, but unfortunately Principal is getting out of the health care business and Lisa will be losing her job along with 1500 others. She will be done second quarter 2011. On the bright side, getting a few months severance just as the weather starts to warm up around here could make for a nice summer.
John
It’s been a great year for me. As always, I’m grateful for fabulous Lisa and my new family. It’s never a dull moment around here. Sam keeps me busy and Audrey is always an entertaining companion. I’ve been able to see a lot more of my family this year and it’s great to spend more time with my brothers and sisters. I love you all.
