Christmas at home in Adelaide

Well, after spending a glorious 2 days over Christmas and Boxing Day with our family we have decided we never want to spend that time of the year away from home . Unless of course we had the kids and grandkids with us, and our parents and our family.

Photo : our 6 beautiful grandchildren

It was Charlottes 2nd birthday on Christmas Day. It is and always will be a special day for her we will make sure of that. We actually had quite a cool day , that does happen quite often at this time of the year. Kate came and spent a couple of days with us during the week. We met Kate in Central America and as she was coming to Australia she dropped by to see us. It was great to get to know her a little better away from travelling conditions. She also got to meet our clan and I think she got an insight into our way of life in Australia and particularly a small town like Gawler. Taking her around with me to do my chores made me realize what at great place we live in and how friendly everyone is. As we saw her off to go back to Sydney we realized we will miss her. We went to my sister Julies and our niece Lees home for Christmas. It really was a very relaxing day meeting up with everyone, some we only catch up with a couple of times a year. Our daughters did something very special for us. As most of our readers know our son Adam and his darling wife are away for 2 years and it was the first time we were'nt together as a family. I was feeling a little sad that we wouldn't see them.

As we walked into my sisters living room we were confronted with life sized cardboard cutouts of the two of them dressed in their clothes borrowed from our house as we are storing some of their things... must remember to change our locks... only joking. Well I burst out crying along with my sister ...her son Paul is in N.Z. for sometime as well, it was a good cry fest. They looked so real it was so freaky. They had pride of place near the Xmas tree. It made us feel compassion for those who have lost their kids and are spending this time of the year without them. We must appreciate our time we have with our loved ones and always tell them we love them with an extra hug for them.We love our kids and their adorable children we are so blessed. Happy New Year to all of you. Keep on sharing your smiles.

Back to reality

The transition was very easy. We didn't suffer from jet lag again . Just a bit of tiredness. I can't remember if we told you about the theory that Lenin from Ecuador has. When you leave a country or new culture your soul takes 2 to3 days to catch up with you when you fly.That is what it felt like to us. We have not had much time to reminisce with each other let alone our friends and family. We were extremely busy back at work 2 days after returning. We have managed to have a lot of time with our girls and the grandkids. This time they really did miss us. They have all changed in the 3 months we were away. I can't imagine how Adam and Eva will feel when they return after 2 years. Ella (4 year old) told her mum that she can't remember what they look like even though we have photos it is not the same as in the flesh. We have put up the xmas tree and decorations which has put us into the spirit and nearly finished the shopping. We have been to our local Carols by Candlelight. That reminded me of my childhood being brought up in Terowie and Peterborough(very small towns) not so great choirs and the church organ, along with the town band. it was a good turnout. Gawlers' community spirit is well and truly alive. We love living in a small town. It wasn't the same as the city's carols but certainly made for an earlier night for our angelic grandchildren. We were lucky to be back in time to see Ryan's school concert last week it was top notch. The school that the children go to is also a great community. We caught up with Ella and Charlotte at their swimming classes and Bethany and Hannah's gymnastics. Their mums are certainly busy giving their children extra curricular activities. After Christmas we will catch up with Ryan at his Tae kwando class. He has his yellow belt and he loves going with Raff when Raff is not too busy with work. We are looking forward to seeing the rest of the family at Christmas, particularly my new nephew Jake. Chtistmas will be at my sister Julies this year. It will be a smaller affair than other years with 2 of our boys overseas and along with our daughter in law Eva as well. I am really having a lot of teary times this week as Christmas nears. Ah well that too will pass. We do love being home but our soul is floating around somewhere else in the world. We will be off again soon we are sure of that. Kate is coming to see us for a couple of days this week. It will be great to catch up again. We met our new Irish friend Kate on our travels in Central America. She has been in Oz for a couple of weeks for a 6 week stay. Merry Christmas to all that are reading this. We hope to be reading your blog one day as you are on your journey through life. Nick and Gabrielle hope you have a very Happy and Healthy New Year .

The end is near and so we face the final curtain

Words from the famous crooner. We finished our American experience with a good dose of The Hollywood experience.This meant doing the Universal Studios tour to see the backlots of some of the great movies . It was very interesting, but I must say our Movie World is on par with the attractions on offer, particularly as a few of the rides etc. were closed. We spent a couple of fun days with Niamh and Hin. I t was good to catch up with them and to see what we all had been doing over the last couple of months. They both stayed at the same accomodation which was very inexpensive considering we were 2 mins. from all the action. We embarked on a tour of the homes .... well the gates of the homes of the rich and famous. It actually was very interesting as we were taken places we could have only gone with our own car. We were lucky to have as our guide the guy who was featured with Katrina Rowntree on one of our travel shows we have here in Oz. Our experiences in L.A. have wet our appetite for more as the people were very warm and friendly. It was a fantastic way to end our 13 week journey together. Iwillmiss Nick as we go about our hectic lives .We do travel very easily together without tantrums or hysterics. Iam sad today but never mind we have to return to work to replenish the funds for our next trip. Where-ever that may be. .It was fantastic to come home to 6 very excited grandchildren and to their mums and dads .Boy were we so happy to see them too. Rachel our eldest has done a fantastic job of juggling work, 4 kids and a very busy catering time. Nicole andRachel have supported each other we really appreciate what they did for us while we were away as they are so busy with their lives . Thanks girls. We are very lucky to have a very close family to come home to. Talking about that since we have been home it has hit home that we will not be seeing our youngest Adam and Eva for a while. They are very lucky to have found work in Scotland and are really loving it.Lastly the best news of all Nicole and Raff , Ella and Charlotte are expecting a new addition to their familyat the end of June, congrats guys from nana and papa. Thanks for reading our blog over the last 14 weeks we have really enjoyed logging our thoughts it has helped us all stay in touch and lessened the homesickness for some. Photos will follow