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Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from Kurt and Teresa in Texas!
2016 was an Event-Full year indeed. The Murphy Clan grew by 4 personsthree new little
ones and one through marriage.
We welcomed: twins Cecilia and Dominic, born to Courtney and Nick, in Florida on
September 22Vivi is big sister; and Owen James, born to Emily and Berto on September 29.
On October 22, we celebrated the marriage of niece Katie and Israel in a lovely outdoor
wedding ceremony and reception in the woodland park here on the property. One more little
boy will join us by the end of January. We anxiously await his arrival, along with his parents,
nephew Doug and Amelia.
In October, Kurt and I visited with friends and family in Marion, Illinois, Kurts hometown. We enjoyed a couple of MHS
reunions and the Annual Parker Pig Roast hosted by brother/sister team Ron Parker and Pat Parker Tank at their family retreat
in the Shawnee National Forest. We enjoyed visiting with Kurts cousin Marilyn and with his music teacher, Yolonde
Peterson and her husband Pete.
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This year I continued to enjoy yoga classes two-three times a week and research for composing a Murphy-Ray family history
book. The latter included a trip to Corsicana, Texas and the Genealogical Library there and several cemeteries in north
central Texas; a side trip to Leesburg, Georgia after visiting with our great friend Bobbie and cousins Donna and Phil in
Marietta; and logging many hours on ancestry.com. New discoveries included finding the birthplace and
parentage of great grandfather Murphy to be from Maury County, Tennessee, not far from Nashville. A trip to
Maury County is now on my 'bucket list.
I also was delighted to rejoin the Chancel Choir at University Christian Church, Ft. Worth, in September. Its
been a privilege to sing again with longtime and new music friends under the exceptionally talented
leadership of Organist Kyla Rosenberger and Choirmaster Dr. Todd Prickett.
In 2016, we were saddened to say goodbye to our sweet orange tabby cat, Miss Ethel. She was a great pet
companion for over 17 years.