24/12/12-31/12/12

And this concludes my 365 reasons to smile for 2012! I love to look back through the year and read about what made me smile. I am grateful for my blessings. It is always good to focus on the positive moments of your life, rather than the negative. I will definitely be continuing this project in 2013. The positive impact it has on my life is immeasurable.

Here’s a photo of Monte and I with our trio of happiness (on 31/12/12). We are grateful for these perfect gifts.

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31/12/12: Happy birthday Monte! We love you. Monte had a great birthday, which started with a cooked breakfast of ham and eggs, with coffee and juice, made by my mum and dad. Then Monte and I went to see The Hobbit in 3D and then we went out to lunch at the Edinborough Hotel. We spent the evening with Ben and Brooke and the children, seeing in the new year with some good food and good wine and great company, noisy neighbours and noisy koalas as well! Awesome! Happy new year!!

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30/12/12: we moved from staying at the Goulding’s house to the Turner’s house and Monte and I sat on the front balcony drinking our tea and enjoying this beautiful sunset.

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29/12/12: we tackled the wind and surf down at semaphor with Monte’s brother Chris and his wife Lori. We had a good meal of fish and chips to top off the summer vibe of the day. I didn’t take any photos at the beach because last time I did that I broke a camera, but this is me chilling out at the end of the day, with all the children finally asleep. It has been an exhausting holiday.

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28/12/12: a night on the town with my sisters and my cousins. It was a great night, filled with wonderful chatter and laughter and food and wine! Definitely one of the highlights of the trip, especially when we met the boys at the pub and then partied on at my brother’s house until the wee hours of the morning. It was our last goodbye before Sophie and her family returned to LA, so that was a bit sad.

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27/12/12: cousins catch ups for both my mother’s and father’s families. Then to see Les Miserables with my bestie, Brooke and my beautiful sister in law, Cassie. It is a marvellous film!

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26/12/12: Boxing Day with one of my besties, Amanda and her gorgeous children Frances and Henry. Monte and Wayne went fishing.

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25/12/12: Christmas Day!

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24/12/12: Georgia was Mary in the Christmas Eve service at church. Matthew was a shepherd and Elora was a sheep. Before church we had spent the day at Cleland Wildlife Park with my brother Alex and my sister Sophie and their families.