See our Christmas greeting here.

As the silly season is thrust upon us once again, and all too soon, we would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your family a safe and happy Christmas and New Year.

This has been a good year for our family and we are happy. We kicked off into the new year with some lovely friends staying with us all the way from Adelaide, and we had a big New Year’s Eve party with friends, which was a fantastic and fun occasion. From our house we look over the valley and on New Year’s Eve we can watch fireworks and bonfires in the distance.

We had a lovely holiday in Strahan over Easter. Strahan, on the west coast, is a very touristy town but it is a very interesting one. Monte and I ventured there for our honeymoon nearly 14 years ago. In Strahan we went walking through forests and we watched beautiful waterfalls. We went tobogganing on sand dunes, which has got to be one of the highlights of our year! We walked along beaches and went moon watching. We had a great time!

In August we visited the lovely Bruny Island for a short holiday. There is so much to see on this lovely little island, like beautiful beaches and a historical light tower. We saw masses of wild rabbits and giant crabs, all of which fascinated the children. Monte went diving and we had mussels for our dinner. We look forward to visiting Bruny Island again.

We have enjoyed visits to Cockle Creek, in the very south of Tasmania, for picnics and so Monte can go diving. We recently bought a kayak so we can venture out into the bay during these visits, and we look forward to camping trips over the summer.

I went to Adelaide with Elora in April to attend my beloved grandmother’s funeral. She lived to 91 and she touched the lives of so many people. She is very loved. I miss her dearly and I think of her daily.

Monte is a busy man, with his business thriving. It is great for us that he works at home; he takes the children to school and picks them up and he is always there for his family. Working at home can’t be easy with all the distractions! Monte also does a lot of work around the property, such as fencing and mowing the lawns; he recently bought a ride-on lawn mower to make his job here easier! Keeping the stock of wood for our wood stove is yet another thing that keeps Monte busy, but he really likes to go mountain bike riding, diving and hiking with his mates, and he enjoys running whenever he gets the chance too.

I have been teaching at Huonville Primary School this year, starting out as full time and then changing to part-time in November, after I got my full permanency in September. I enjoy teaching but being a working mother has many challenges and I am so grateful for all the support Monte gives me so I can continue my career. I have been enjoying writing my blog this year and I am glad that I kept up with my photo-a-day project. I wrote over 50000 words in November, winning NaNoWriMo for the second time.

Georgia is so tall for a 9 year old. She has had a fun year, doing dance and Girl Guides. She went in her first triathlon in November and she has been working on her swimming technique recently. Georgia danced with her school in the DanceFever competition recently. Georgia loves reading. It is her favourite thing, and at present she is reading ‘The Secret Garden.’ She loves the animals on the farm, particularly the chickens.

Matthew is 6 and he loves reading too! He lost is two front teeth at the same time this year and he looked so cute. Matty loves being outdoors and he spends a lot of time running around with the dogs, building things and playing in the sand pit. This year he learned how to follow the instructions for Lego construction, which is pretty good, although Monte actually enjoyed building Matty’s new Lego kits!

Elora has grown up so much this year. At the beginning of the year she was a baby still, and now she is a toddler! She is speaking a lot, learning new words and expressions daily. She has been going to Childcare three days a week and she seems to enjoy it there and she has a lot of friends. She is a very happy, confident child. She loves cuddles and her favourite toy is a giraffe called Rafie. Her favourite colour is pink and she likes wearing things with flowers on them.

Our animals are fun and interesting. Our kelpie, d’Art is now 13 and although she is old she acts like a puppy at times and still wants to play fetch often. We have 2 dogs and one cat and the children adore the pets. Pets are so good for children. This year we bought 4 coopworth sheep and a Dexter cross heifer called Bella. The birth of Bessie on our farm in April was a highlight of the year but the death of her mother, Nina, was upsetting. Our steer, Mr T is set for the freezer. We also have 6 chickens, and Chelsea, the mother hen, is currently sitting on 4 eggs, which are due to hatch around Christmas time!

So it has been a good year, filled with blessings and challenges and we are very grateful. Next year Monte and I will be celebrating 20 years of being together with an overseas trip to London, Paris and Edinburgh!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!