Once again, I skipped 2010 cause I never wrote one.
Welcome to the 2011 Murcray Christmas Letter!
Brought to you by that quirky guy, Joshua W. Murcray!
Edited by his beautiful wife, Keri M. Murcray!
January saw Pajama Day make its debut in our house when Keri and I had a Fast & Furious movie marathon and watched the first 4 movies in the series all in one day! I personally think that Pajama Day should be a National Holiday. But, on the 4th of January, Keri tweaked her back and developed sciatica pain. She went to Urgent Care on the 5th and had a doctor’s appointment on the 7th. She was prescribed physical therapy which continued on into...
February, the 4th to be exact, Keri got a massage in the hopes that it would help lessen the pain of the sciatica and it seemed to work. One week later she had her last of 9 physical therapy sessions and it looked like the pain wasn’t coming back! Every February 25th Keri and I celebrate the day we first met online and this year, to celebrate, we had an Ultimate Movie Date! Off to the theater we went and were there for 4 movies!!
March is one of two of my favorite months! Why? Cause the 1st of March is my BIRTHDAY!!! And do you know what made this month even better? My brother came out for a visit!!
In April, Keri had done some research and found that the Greeks celebrate Easter in a big way. So - we went Greek! Our niece, Katelyn, helped Keri bake Greek cookies and dye eggs. The night before Easter, Keri, her sister Kelly, and I attended the local Greek Orthodox Church for their midnight service. Very ceremonial and hard to understand but still a memory I will have forever. You might want to look into going next year. Easter dinner was a huge success as family and friends came over to enjoy all the yummy Greek food we had prepared. Later in the month, we sped off to Las Vegas, staying at the lovely MGM Signature resort, for the wedding of my cousin Cassie Murcray and Eric Milmont. It was a wonderful wedding and a playful and fun reception that we enjoyed thoroughly!
May kept us busy. We attended two weddings – both for friends from church! First was Kim McCarty and Mac Oxford and then a week later was Morganne Parsons and Alex Shorts. Both had beautiful weddings! Sad/happy news struck when some dear cousins (David & Kim Palmer) got a job that would mean financial freedom for them, but the catch was it was in Virginia. So off they went, leaving California behind and family who miss them terribly. May ended with a quick surprise visit from my brother’s wife and one nephew and niece! It was a nice visit while eating Casey’s Cupcakes.
June started off with another wedding! This time for two really good friends, Danielle Ivey and Andy Kelly - lots of candy, yummy food and once again our love of weddings was renewed. Our niece, Katelyn, graduated kindergarten and surprised many of us by reciting scripture verses for each letter of the alphabet and doing it all from memory!! The end of June became a Disney Dream Vacation when my sister, Becky Mitchell, her husband, Jim, and my nephew, Kyle all came out to Disneyland to celebrate Kyle graduating from high school. You know I remember holding him when he was a baby! Are they supposed to grow up this quickly? Keri entered into the California Avocado Week Guacamole-Making Contest in Downtown Disney and swept the competition!! The judges said it was no contest on which of the guacamoles they loved most and I was SO proud of my wife for this achievement! After the traditional picture of Kyle on the Dumbo ride, Kyle was able to meet and get a picture with Robin Trocki, who is an actress who played the part of Sue Sylvester’s sister in the show GLEE. Two days later we were still at Disneyland but this time with Keri’s uncle, David Pofahl and his wife’s family (who had travelled all the way from Lithuania!).
The heat of July seemed to be a forewarning of things to come, but not until after the gorgeous wedding of Maygan Olson (who had been a junior bridesmaid in our wedding) and Robert Malone. The wedding was held at a place called Enchanted Forest and is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen! If you are on Facebook you can see for yourself by checking out my photos. But then things went wrong. On Saturday the 9th I had a bad headache and took some of Keri’s prescription medicine in order to stop the pain. On Monday the 11th I was injured at work and sent to the doctors. The prescription medicine showed up in the drug test. So…on Thursday the 14th my boss was forced, against her wishes, to fire me. After 5 years and 4 months of working there, a headache took away my job. The only good news was that I was still getting paid while I attended physical therapy and had medical appointments for my injured shoulder.
August, dear sweet August. What a month you turned out to be! First, a co-worker of Keri’s and a good friend of ours, Matthew Goddard, took us to an Angels vs. Mariners game at Angel Stadium. Poor Matthew, the Mariners lost the game. The loss of the game was followed by Keri losing a friend. After 18 years of friendship, one of Keri’s best friends decided to end the relationship. It was a terrible shock to Keri and it has been difficult to accept. Keri’s birthday soon approached and I took her to the Melting Pot in Brea for a fabulous dinner for two. But this dinner was out-done by Keri’s sister, Kelly, who, with her husband David’s assistance, created a gourmet French feast that would rival any 9-star French restaurant! This dinner party was fantastic and the time with friends will always be remembered as a happy one! On her actual birthday, Keri, and her friend Danielle, were off to a Taylor Swift concert thanks to Keri’s parents, Byron & Maribeth Myers.
September was a relatively quiet month that turned out to have wonderful news for us. Keri and I had been wondering if I was ever going to find a job. It had been tough to not have that income and things were getting tight until a friend from church, Jessica Cowee, mentioned Olive Garden. So I applied and got two interviews in one week. Then on the 14th I received a phone call and was told that I would be a server at the Olive Garden in Moreno Valley!! Next time you are in the area, stop by and ask for me!
October had its share of twists and turns. While attending a Homeowners Appreciation BBQ, Keri tweaked her back again, this time causing the Sacroiliac Joint (it’s the joint that connects your spine to your pelvis) to become inflamed. She had major pain until we finally went to Urgent Care and got some pain medicine pumped into her. To this day, Keri is still in some pain and has been visiting the chiropractor and doing stretches in the hopes of building up strength in her lower back. On the plus side, I was able to fly out to Tennessee for one week to see my brother and his family and my Mom!! This was the first time in nearly 2 years I was able to see them all. It was a wonderful trip and I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with my nieces and nephews!
Now we are caught up to November. This month is still going and already it looks like it’s going to be a quiet one. On the 15th we will be surprising our friend, Andy Kelly, with a birthday dinner at Medieval Times, all planned by his loving wife, Danielle. It’s been hard keeping this secret from him, but 2 months of planning will be fulfilled and I’m as excited about it as if it was my own birthday! On the 16th will be the 2nd anniversary of my Dad’s death. Still not over that. Don’t think I ever will be. This Thanksgiving will be a quiet one as Keri’s family all heads out to visit other family. Right now it looks like another Pajama Day (which, I think, should be a monthly holiday).
As for December, the 21st Keri and I will celebrate 9 years of wedded bliss by heading back out to Cayucos (which is our FAVORITE vacation spot) where we will stay for 4 days at the Shoreline Inn…on the beach. We’re really looking forward to our hotel room which has an unobstructed view of the beach and ocean! Christmas will be spent with Keri’s family, with a weeklong visit from her grandparents as well. Provided my schedule allows, we hope to once again have our Annual New Year’s Eve Party, but we’ll have to wait and see. But just in case, you might want to save the date and pray hard that we can once again host this spectacular night!
That’s it. That’s all I’ve got. It has been a year of ups and downs, but through it all we’ve continued to realize that God is in control…that we are truly blessed…and that we are grateful for wonderful family & friends like you who help make our life so much more meaningful. We hope this letter finds you well and happy and we look forward to hearing from you!
Be well and God Bless
Love,
Joshua & Keri Murcray
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