Where has another year gone? I doubt we are the only ones that feel like we just welcomed 2016's arrival. As we prepare to usher out the year we are without a doubt thankful for the year it was. Our first full year in Australia, our first year as a family of four, but far from our first year to thank God for all he has carried us through.The year started out with our settling into the heat that January and February brought Sydney. While we complained about the heat and humidity and life with "air con" as it's called here, we were pleasantly surprised that albeit a few hot nights, summer in Sydney wasn't as bad as we had envisioned it might be. We enjoyed a trip to Batemans Bay and Jervis Bay to start the year, but unfortunately the rain came down in buckets for half of the trip. It did however mean that Emma got to enjoy her first ever trip to a movie theatre, and eventually it did lighten up to allow us several kangaroo in the wild experiences (thankfully none that involved meeting our car after dark) and sunny waves at the world famous Huskisson beach.
From there we got the final things ready for a certain someone's arrival including Abby's parents making the trek down under. Thankfully for all parties involved Morgan made a very timely arrival in mid-February, one day prior to her due date and right in the middle of Mary and George's visit. We were so happy to have extra caring hands to leave Emma with when it was time to go to the hospital (so much that we weren't even sure she noticed we left). And all of big sister's dreams came true when she found out she had a little sister and surely scenes of Frozen played in her head.
The first few weeks adjusting to life as a family of four were as seamless as we could have asked for. Morgan is our stereotypical "easy second baby" and we are still waiting for the day that all goes south. After Abby's parents headed back to the states we were thankful for continued offers of help and extra meals from our amazing church family. It allowed us extra bonding time while Steve had a few weeks off work as well. By the time Easter came around and Morgan was five weeks old we even snuck in a trip a few hours north of Sydney to the coastal region of Newcastle, Port Stephens and Hunter Valley.
We're not quite sure where the months of April and May went. Something about slight sleep deprivation, work for Steve picking up (busy season here is during the Australian winter), and Abby learning what staying at home full time with two little girls meant. Oh yes, but we do remember the part about glorious fall weather in Sydney.
Come June and we welcomed winter in Australia. No, it's far from the Minnesota winters Abby grew up with and even St. Louis winters Steve is more accustomed to, but it did get colder. And just as we complained about no air con in the summer, we learned a little about what no heating feels like and a lot about what poor insulation feels like (talk to most any Australian and you'll learn it's not just our house). That part about Uggs being house slippers? It's true, it's cold inside Australian houses in the winter!
We also graciously celebrated the Queen's birthday in June and took the three day weekend to visit the Snowy Mountains (about a five hour drive from Sydney). It was opening weekend and as we came to find out was more of a norm, there really wasn't any snow on the slopes. There were still tons of fun activities to welcome winter to the Australian "alpine" town of Thredbo we stayed in and it was a fun family getaway. We even made a stop off in Canberra on our drive home, so we could check visiting the capital of Australia off the list too!
Emma celebrated the big number four with plenty of her new Aussie friends at a nearby park at the end of June before kicking off her start to preschool here. It was mid-year (school year runs January - December here), but we were able to find an opening for her to go two days per week. While there was initial hesitation on her part (mostly because it meant she had to give up some other activities) it took her all of about 30 minutes to adjust according to her teachers. Being the socialite of our family she had no trouble making new friends, meanwhile mom and dad just had to adjust to the new Aussie vocabulary she is bringing home. It also meant Abby and Morgan adjusted to a much quieter house on Thursdays and Fridays, but are quickly learning to treasure that time!
We wrapped up the summer by Abby running two full marathons. It had been her longest break in recent time from running one. While it took plenty of effort and commitment on everyone's part, it made for a couple of fun weekends - one in the small town of Mudgee (about 3.5 hours NW from Sydney) and the second right here in Sydney and even included a run across the beautiful Harbour Bridge and a finish in front of the Opera House.
By the end of September we found ourselves already celebrating the one year in Australia mark and another holiday weekend meant a trip to the nearby Blue Mountains with friends. And the end of October brought us back to the US for a two week visit to Missouri, South Carolina and Minnesota. It was a busy couple weeks, but we loved seeing so many of you!
Needless to say we are thankful Morgan has adjusted well to our semi-crazy traveling lifestyle, especially since we still have one last destination left for the year as we prepare to head to southeast Asia to finish out the year. It certainly is a blessing to be able to explore and learn about new cultures (in addition to Australia). There is so much to be gained as we explore the world given to us and we pray that God continues to safely guide us while we do so. It truly is exciting to be able to teach Emma small things here and there as she understands more about where we live and travel to.
We look forward to our return to Sydney to start off 2017 as we know God has many great things in store for us, including a new address about a kilometer down the road from our current house (check out our Christmas card for the new address). In the meantime we will continue to ask for patience and enjoyment while we learn how to parent a very passionate, smart, creative and high energy four year old and to treasure the sweet innocence of another giggling, smiling, madly crawling, put everything in her mouth nearly 10 month old. We know there are many learning curves ahead for all of us. To learn our new norm of two little girls that clearly adore each other and are quickly learning how appropriately or not appropriately "tackle cuddle" each other while they play together. Hopefully 2017 will bring us more moments of laughter than "she took it from me" moments, but we fully expect both.
We pray that all of you are surrounded with love and laughter this Christmas as well. And while we might not be in the same time zone (or even close to it) for many of you, know that we think of you often and wish you a very Merry Christmas!
With love,
Steve, Abby, Emma & Morgan
Christmas card photo from the Santa Fun Run for Australia Variety Children's Charity. No, we don't normally walk around the city wearing Santa suits in the middle of summer!
