The Closest thing to a Christmas letter

I have never been one to send out Christmas cards or letters.  I figure if I've gone this long why start now?  It's a poor excuse, I know, but I'll stick with it.  I haven't been very good this year at blogging so I thought I would give an update on what the Murdock's have been up to.  So, this will be the closest thing to a Christmas letter you will ever see from me.

Our family is doing well!  We have had a lot of changes in the past year but the transitions have been so seamless that it hasn't been dramatic.  One of the biggest changes is that we had a new Grandma join our family in July.  She is a sweetheart and has made Dad so happy!  The kids love their new Grandma Janet.  She is so full of life and has a huge heart!  We are looking forward to getting to know her better.

Matty has been super busy this past year!  I am so proud of him in so many ways.  In October he started with a new company.  It has proved to be a very good move.  He is excited to go to work and learn new things.  The bonus of this is he gets every other Friday off which will be very exciting during the summer months.  He also received a new calling.  He is apart of the High Council and has had the opportunity in speaking in different wards.  He has always been an amazing teacher so he is in his element.  He has been able to get out for a few fishing trips.  I'm hoping that he can get out more to fish next year!

Maryn started the 4th grade this year!  She is bigger than life sometimes.  She decided during the summer that she was going to run a snow cone stand.  It was a success!  She made all her syrups and had Macey as her ice girl.  She called her shop "The Cookie Jar".  She obviously wants to expand next year with ice cream and cookies.  Maryn is still taking piano and dance.  She has also been learning how to cook and cooks us breakfast quite often in the morning.

Macey started Kindergarten this past year and loves school!  She was very nervous because she is very shy at first.  She started taking piano lessons and is still dancing.  She loves to help and has been my go to girl to get things done.  She had a huge accomplishment this year in passing her swim lessons.  Another huge milestone is she has begun to read!  It's exciting to watch her figure out what the letters on the page mean.

Mason started pre-school this year and has been learning so much!  He loves school!!  He has such a funny wit about him and is very aware of everything that goes on around him even when you think he is aloof.  He is still attending speech school and doing so well!  He has come such a long way!  He is actually my biggest talker in the family.  He loves to ride his bike and loves Maya the dog even more!

I have been busy with being a mommy and taking care of my kiddos.  I have put in more time this year with creating new songs and in September decided to enter a contest for the Taylorsville's Got Talent.  I won the adult category and get to look forward to performing next year for the city festival!  I love to write and not sure anything will come about it but will enjoy it while I'm doing it.  Just in the last year I've had more confidence to share this part of me that I've been hiding for so long. I'm also so grateful to have the use of my knee back and to be able to run and exercise again.  Slowly I'm frankensteining myself back together.  I spent most of the beginning of the year in physical therapy from surgery but it was worth it!

We have been so blessed to be surrounded by wonderful friends that love us unconditionally and support us in our endeavors.  We always enjoy when we get to see family but it's never enough.  We are thankful for this past year.  There has been a lot of growth in each of us as individuals and look forward to the possibilities of a new year.  Merry Christmas everyone and so thankful for those that are apart of our lives.