Seasons Greetings to you from the clan.
We hope you are well and ready for the big day. We will be hosting Christmas in our new home this year. For those of you who don’t know let us go back a bit and fill in the blanks for you.
What a huge year it has been! Jack and I decided to become a permanent team selling both our houses and buying a fabulous old home in July. The house had been renovated and is full of character and charm. It is five minutes walk from the shopping centre, cafes, take away and video stores; it has a bungalow which is occupies by the twins – a haven for two “larger than life” 15 year olds. We began with ten people in the house but that has dropped back to nine with Mary (Audra’s) eldest moving into her own unit in October. Along with two Labradors it is a rather full house. Shortly after this we celebrated our engagement commemorated by a chauffeur driven ride in a Jag and intimate dinner just for two. The wedding, a quiet affair, will take place on the beach at Lake Tyers on January 31st followed by a cruise to the reception at a cosy winery a few minutes from Lakes Entrance. We are looking forward to a fabulous day, great weather and lots of laughs.
News on the children –Mary completed her VCE with great results and has begun a Traineeship with a financial advisory company. Mary and Cam (boyfriend) and their little pup Shelby live two doors away from her Dad and only a few minutes from us
Twins Chris and James have enjoyed another successful year of football and completed year 10. While both boys were in pre season training, Chris has broken his leg and is now spending long hours playing play station or watching TV. Another big year awaits them in football in 2009 so Chris will have to work hard to recover. Between their very active social lives and training we only see them when they are hungry or in need of transportation.
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Lee completed year 8 with excellent results. He has started working as a catcher at the greyhound track on Friday nights and is enjoying earning his own money. Lee played baseball over winter. He is now dabbling in golf, playing guitar and drawing but his favourite pastime is the play station.
Elyse also completed Year 8 but is off to a new school next year. She has been a busy bee doing lots of craft and scrapbooking and making gorgeous Christmas gifts. She is our chief dog walker and they appreciate her very much!
Anthony graduated from Grade 6 and is finally moving on to the secondary. He and Max were in the same class this year and are each others shadows at home. He has taken on a paper round, which Max helps with when he is with us, and this is proving to be a very good little money spinner, not to mention great exercise. While nervous about starting Year 7 he is looking forward to meeting some new friends.
Anthony played baseball over winter but is not sure if he will play again this year. Max begins Year 7 at the same school as his primary school so the transition will be minimal. All the kids have had good growth spurts but Max’s has been most noticeable. When we kick them off the play station both Anthony and Max are happy to scoot around on their bikes or take the dogs for a walk. Max had a very successful season with football winning most Improved Player. He will pull on his jumper again this season.
Finally Jade will begin next year at her new school in grade 3. This is a very exciting new adventure for her and she can’t wait. Jade is a charming bundle of energy and plays the younger sister to the hilt! She also played baseball and is keen to play more sports now she is 8
As all parents we are flat out meeting needs of our brood, this in itself could be a full time occupation but thankfully we both have jobs to fund our enormous food bill! Jack will continue on at Australian Paper in 2009 and enjoy the benefits of shift work (with lots of days off) After a three month legal battle with her former employer Audra has left there and will begin a new job at as a Training Officer four days a week. This is a great relief and will be a welcome challenge.
Legal battle, you ask? Nothing terrible, just a disagreement between our family and the hierarchy on the appropriateness of how Audra choose to live her personal life.
Well 2009 is shaping up to be a great year, one of new beginnings and lots of excitement. We hope to do a family holiday up north later in the year amongst a few other activities (endless football runs, netball in the rain and grocery shopping!!!)
So this ends our Christmas letter and we wish you a wonderful Christmas Season and a very safe New Year.
