Dear Friends,
Merry Christmas and fabulous holiday wishes to all of you. It's been another blessed year for the Strinmoens. Warning - one of those obnoxious, Christmas card brags ahead. For the third year in a row, I am sending this email card (
2010 &
2009). Again,a small effort to be green. But probably more likely a lack of time & ability to track down addresses! The greeting is just as large....and you Christmas-card displayers of the world can just hit "print."
We're back in action with the top 10 of 2011.
10. We moved! We had long talked about moving back to Spring Grove.....eventually. But for some reason (or maybe a bunch of reasons), the stars seemed to align for that to work out in 2011. It was a bit unexpected, and not really planned. We left behind some great friends in Kasson and did enjoy our time there. Since we had a house for sale, we embarked on a bit of an adventure, temporarily living in the 1971 trailer house on Chris's family farm for 4 months.
9. Jaxon turned 5.He started kindergarten at Spring Grove Public Schools with Mrs. Betty Johnson as his teacher. He is one of 18 kids in his entire grade. He also has his own iPad for using in school (all of the elementary students do@ SG). He is our little engineer-child, constantly building, constructing, operating, questioning and investigating how things work. Jaxon got to spend lots of time on the combine and in the tractor this fall with his grandpa - one of his all time favorite things to do.
8. Jada turned 3. She is spunky and sassy, and quite possibly has the most facial expressions you have ever seen on a child. We love the way she constantly sings wherever she goes and that she can tackle her brother when he's least expecting it. She spends her days at Amy's daycare, attends ECFE classes on Monday nights and Sunday School and has enjoyed meeting her new friends in Spring Grove.
7. Koskie, our wonderful -- yet slightly neurotic -- yellow lab is now nine, and unfortunately starting to show his age. He has had somehip problems and is pretty lazy when he's home alone during the day. He still operates at 100 MPH when he's outside and playing with the kids, but the rest and recovery is getting a little tougher. But despite his getting-older, he still holds a pretty special place in our home. And he's still terrified of wood floors.
6. We sold our house in Kasson! Yipee, this was a big deal for the Strinmoens. We listed it beginning in July and it sold in October. So, all in all, it wasn't too bad -- but still a bit stressful having an unoccupied house for sale in a town that we didn't live in any longer.
5. Chris started a new job at Spring Grove High School. He's teaching in a much different environment, being one of only two math teachers in the entire school. He also is teaching alongside many of the teachers we had when we attended SGHS -- all of whom have been extremely welcoming.
4. I'm still plugging away at the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation. I lead the Chamber's Leadership Greater Rochester 10-month leadership development course for emerging community leaders, coordinate events such as the STEM Summit for 1800+ youth and Educators in the Workplace Institute professional development training for educators. I am blessed in that I am able to work from home 2 days/week and commute to Rochester only part time. Though I spend more time in my Camry than I want, it's a pretty good compromise.
3. We gained our first nephew! Camden Lee Strinmoen (Corey & Amber) was born on April 12. He is an absolute doll and Jaxon and Jada really enjoy the cousin gig. In other Strinmoen news, Chris's parents & grandparents seem to be enjoying having two of their grandkids just down the road, and Chris has been able to help with a bit of the farming this fall.
2. We gained our second nephew! Paxton Ray Hunzeker (TJ & Stef) was born on October 31. We traveled to Sioux Falls to meet him just before Thanksgiving and are absolutely in love. In other Hunzeker news, it's great to be able to see my other two brothers and yet another couple of sets of grandparents a little more often now that we're in Spring Grove.
1. We moved....again! As much as we loved life in the trailerhood, we were glad to be able to find a place to rent in Spring Grove. We miss life on the farm, but are glad to be mouse-free, boxelder bug-free, avocado green appliances-free and just have a bit more space. We're not sure when our next phase will kick in, but we hope to soon build on Chris's family farm -some day.
Merry Christmas!
Love, the Strinmoens
