Just because I haven't been writing anything for a whole year, I'll attach our Christmas newsletter as a recap of what's been happening in my life this past year.....here it comes:
Dear Family and Friends,
Merry Christmas to all of you! We really love each one of you and want to let you know that you are in our thoughts and prayers.
This year has been a rather eventful one, and with the Christmas season in full swing, things are not about to slow down for a while…..for quite a while in fact; as you can imagine, life with 4 little kids is always busy, no matter what you do.
It all started with our coming to Australia the beginning of this year. What we thought was only going to be a three month visit turned out to be of a more permanent nature: we had another baby along the way,we’re still here and haven’t set a deadline for leaving yet either…..we’ll see what the new year brings. The idea of returning to the Middle East is still in the back of our heads as well.
Australia is a great country, especially when you’ve got little kids as the opportunities to go out and do fun things are almost unlimited: it has a great climate ( nothing like Iceland…brrrrrrrr), beautiful beaches, the bush with its incredible smell of eucalyptus, lots of really cool animals right at your doorstep, and the list goes on……before I bore you with too many details that sound like they’re out of a travel guide, let me sum it up in a nutshell: we’re having a ball here…..and I’m slowly getting used to the very unique ( in European terms rather ‘crude’ ) Australian sense of humour, ha…….
We’re based out of Sydney’s North Western suburbs where we live in a beautiful old heritage house, right next to a nature reserve. We’re a team of 20, consisting of another large family and several dedicated young people, all of whom are a lot of fun to work with.
Our team runs a charity called ‘ Change the World’ and as such we’ve been involved in a variety of projects this year, including clown shows at hospitals and for underprivileged children, support for farmers affected by the draught, relief work after huge storms on the Central Coast earlier this year and our ongoing teamwork with an organization for the Homeless.
Apart from this, our little family is well and thriving. Our latest addition, Elektra Estelle was born on the 25th of October, and she is such a joy. She’s been smiling at us from about 5 days of age and hardly cries…what a change from the boys…..don’t worry, we love them all the same!
Emma ( 20 months) has graduated from being a cute little baby princess into a big sister with quite a regal attitude. She is starting to talk now and hasn’t stopped telling us about what’s going on in her little universe ever since….
The boys are exploring the world around them: Ethan (5) continues reading lots of books and is learning to swim and ride his bike without training wheels. He will be starting first grade in February. Eliot (3) has developed a passion for gardening and being Daddy’s handyman helper. He loves his preschool workbooks and his favourite videos are animal documentaries.
Both of them had a blast going carolling this Christmas season. They were in their cute matching outfits with straw hats and really let their little light shine.
So, as you can see, lots has been happening this year; I also made a trip to Germany and Nick went up the Gold Coast for a very fruitful and inspiring road trip
If all of this sounds a bit too rosy for you, don’t worry; we do have our trials here and there but life is just too precious to be consumed by worry and stress. That’s my lesson of the year: Relax and savor the moment; it’s love that makes it all worthwhile. Even if the outlook seems a bit dim at times, the uplook is always great !
As always, through the darkness the Christmas star shines its pledge of peace and freedom, so may the spirit of Christmas bring you love, new hope and courage for the coming holidays as well as for the new year. Have a wonderful 2008!
God bless you all!
Lots of love from Nick, Katja, Ethan, Elektra, Eliot and Emma
