The 11 Year Tradition...

As I reflect on 2017 and the title of our Christmas "letter" one thing jumped out at me - we are officially an old married couple. This year marked a pretty massive milestone, ten years of marriage. But it's safe to say that this year did a good job to stay relevant among a history of fairly eventful years. We are thankful though despite all the changes and new adventures that a few important things remain the same, our love for one another, our family's love and support for us, and God's constant presence in our lives.

It's safe to say that one area we fell short on was blogging in the second half of the year (we won't name any names). As a result, this year's adventures aren't as well documented as in the past (not yet at least), so here's a look at them.

The year began with a big celebration as we rang in the new year (well the 9 pm new year that is) from Chiang Mai, Thailand in the most memorable way with thousands upon thousands of massive paper lanterns, ours included, being released into the sky. It was a bucket list moment that we honestly didn't think we would ever experience, but are so thankful we did. While it could have easily been the highlight of a nearly three week southeast Asia trip over Christmas and New Years there were simply too many memorable moments from eating lunch in the sky over Singapore, breakfast with monkeys, visiting massive temples including Angkor Wat in Cambodia, spending a day taking care of elephants, to a day touring the stunning limestone islands near Phuket. The trip as a family of four was a massive adventure in so many (mostly good) ways.

Upon return to Australia we didn't stop to rest as we immediately moved house (as in that day) just down the road to a place where we have been so grateful for more space than we know what to do. Emma also got to fulfill one of her Christmas gifts with a daddy daughter date to the Opera House. We then finished out an eventful January with a short trip to Melbourne and to spend a few days driving the amazingly scenic Great Ocean Road. And while in Melbourne we made another bucket list check as we made a men's quarterfinal match at the Australian Open to watch Rafael Nadal advance and we completed our own personal "spectator grand slam."Don't worry I don't think any of our other months were quite as busy as January or we would have never made it through the year.

In February Morgan celebrated the big #1 with a party with a few friends and shortly thereafter learning to walk and really cause trouble. The rest of the Australian summer and early autumn were left enjoying Sydney beaches and getting Emma back into a preschool routine three days of the week this year. At Easter we made the trip back across the Pacific to visit family in both South Carolina and Minnesota for two weeks.

We found ourselves slightly better prepared for the "house cold" Australian winter by the time June rolled around and we celebrated both Steve and Emma's birthdays. Steve's was celebrated with a fancy lunch, literally in the middle of the harbour at the picturesque Fort Denison. Emma's birthday celebration was in no less scenic of a location at her favorite harbourside park with all of her closest friends at a pretty cute superhero themed party (we were thankful to break the two year running princess party tradition).

The beginning of July brought a long weekend trip to the Gold Coast (which is about a one hour flight north of Sydney) and allowed Abby to check off her marathon for the year and Emma's completed her first 2k race. While expectations had been kept somewhat low of the Surfers Paradise area, which is known for its skyscrapers along the beach and theme parks, we had a wonderful trip. Not only were the races successful, but we had a great time touring the area including Emma and Morgan's first experience at Sea World. I know as a parent one of my favorite moments was simply watching the two of them interact and embrace these new experiences together. July also marked the big 10th anniversary and we stole a night out to enjoy each other's company for more courses of food than I could count. There's still talk of another special outing to mark the occasion, but life is busy and maybe we'll fit it in before we celebrate the next one!

August was still a little cold, so we introduced American chili to some of our Australian and South African friends with a little friendly competition, and well the Australians beat out the Americans in cooking... We'll blame it on the other Aussie votes, they don't know what good chili tastes like.

Shortly thereafter we found out some pretty exciting news, that baby #3 was on the way. And when the time was right Emma and Morgan found out via scavenger hunt that resulted with Emma saying "but that's not treasure." Don't worry, she's still excited about becoming a double big sister and we are thrilled and terrified at her upgraded job responsibility. And just because we never like to make things dull Abby started a new part time job with a small local children's cancer charity within a few weeks of finding out she was expecting. It has brought a new routine to our house, but is all in all a pretty good balance in our life. It also brought us a new babysitter/nanny for the girls for those days and it didn't take long for us all to see it is one of their new favorite people. September finished with a trip to tropical north Queensland with friends for a fun getaway that included an adult only day snorkeling the great barrier reef and Emma holding a baby crocodile.

Since then the year has flown and sadly we experienced the loss of Steve's dad. We are forever grateful that Steve and Emma were able to make it back to the states to be with family and are comforted for the gift of God's grace and knowledge of his dad's love and trust in it. We look forward to our "see you soon" day.

There aren't many days left on the calendar this year so we are hurriedly filling them and Emma is counting down her last weeks at preschool. She will start Kindy here next February and she couldn't be more ready. Although we are thankful for the beautiful preschool she has embraced and thrived in over the past 1.5 years and will miss it and the friends dearly next year as well. However, in between school ending and starting, we eagerly await Abby's parents arrival for a visit and trip for all of us together to New Zealand over Christmas.

It seems as much as we attempt it this letter gets longer every year. It is probably safe to say next year won't be any different. We are excited and nervous for the changes ahead in 2018, but we look forward to kicking off the year by finding out whether we will be adding one more girl or a boy to our family. We are so grateful for the chance to watch Emma and Morgan's love grow this year - they simply adore one another. No doubt, their ability to comfort one another is truly a gift. We pray that gift multiples next year and pray that you too find that source of joy in your lives in the coming year.

Merry Christmas!

Steve, Abby, Emma, Morgan & baby coming April

Our annual Christmas letter (if such thing still exists)...

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!

Rejoice! A look back at our year in our annual Christmas letter...

While 2014 held many changes and adventures for us, it did not quite hold up and compare to what 2015 had in store for us. As the year closes out we rejoice for all that God has blessed us with this year and cannot wait to find out the blessings to come in 2016. If you have read any of our latest blogs than you know a great deal about our changes in 2015, but if not, here is a quick look back at it.

The first half was one of our most "uneventful" in recent years. As is par for the course of a household of an auditor, Steve was extremely busy with work at Ernst & Young for the first few months. When Steve's work finally started to come back down to a reasonable pace in late March it was just in time for Abby's work to pick up at SSM Health Care Foundations. She enjoyed close involvement with several major fundraising events again - especially one at Ballpark Village in St. Louis that included a large majority of the Cardinals lineup donating their time to raise money for Cardinal Glennon. We were fortunate during this time that Emma loved her preschool teachers and school friends so much and were surprised when she was already moving up to the three year old room in March. It was certainly a moment that caused us all to pause and reflect at just how far she has come in such a short time! While there was about 3 minutes of hesitation on Emma's part when we discussed the change, any sense of nervousness was quickly gone. In the months to come we found ourselves hit with many more birthday party invitations than we could have anticipated, and with it many stories of budding friendships at school.

With work consuming much of our time, weekends included, our travels were limited to start the year but didn't remain that way for long. Despite Easter coming at a busy time we were thankful for a weekend trip to meet Abby's parents and sister's family in the Amana Colonies and celebrate Easter together. Then, at the end of April, Abby snuck in a very quick trip across the pond to visit a good friend from our time in Zurich and her family, who have since relocated to Dusseldorf, Germany. It was a much needed break, time to catch up with friends, and see the beauty of a new part of Germany as well as Bruges and Antwerp, Belgium. Steve held down the fort and while Emma was sad asking mommy via skype why she didn't get to go with to visit her friends too, they both seemed to manage just fine for a few days at home without mom.

Not long after that we all enjoyed a great trip together to Central America in early June. It was fun to see Emma's anticipation build as she truly seemed to understand the concept of vacation for the first time. We spent the first few days exploring the unique mix of old world meets cosmopolitan in Panama City, with the highlight of seeing the impact of the Panama Canal on the city and country. From there we spent a week driving around many areas in Costa Rica. Steve was the dedicated travel planner as he spent a summer there in college. We loved having so much time together in a beautiful country where we could enjoy a volcano, rainforest, time at the beach and unique wildlife. It was difficult to pick out just one favorite area.

Shortly after returning back to St. Louis, Steve and Emma were also able to join his parents and both of his brother's families on a trip to the Smoky Mountains, while Abby had a few work commitments to tend to. It was a great meeting spot for all to make the trip and watch all the little ones play together. From there we were fortunate to have both sets of grandparents and many of Emma's friends join us for her third birthday party at our house. It was her first real birthday party with her own guest list. I think it is safe to say that the princess bounce house, tutus and wands were the hit of the morning.

We were sad to see her birthday party at our south city house come to an end as we suspected it might be the last big celebration there. Just a little bit later in July it was confirmed when Steve was offered a new job opportunity, still with Ernst & Young, but this time in Sydney, Australia. It was not an easy decision to make, especially as there were a few other options and factors to consider, but in the end we thought why not? We loved our time in Zurich and didn't want it to end, so why not have another adventure abroad or really two new adventures as we had recently found out that we were expecting as well!

So needless to say the rest of our July, August and September were spent packing, selling most all of our furniture, living in a temporary apartment after the house was sold, filling out countless applications and paperwork (Steve gets most of the credit here), a short weekend in Chicago with good friends from Zurich, saying goodbye to family, friends, and our beloved dog and cats who all had to find good new homes this time around, wrapping up very busy jobs (for Abby this meant one more of her favorite benefit events - a polo match), a quick trip to Minnesota for Abby and Emma, waiting for our visas to be approved, and the one we rejoice for the most - completing a healthy first trimester of pregnancy. A big thank you to so many of YOU who helped us out in every way imaginable during this time.

By the end of September we arrived in Sydney and hit the ground running to secure a place to live, buy furniture, open a bank account and do everything imaginable when you relocate to a new country. Since our arrival Steve has quickly become busy with his job here, although a very similar role to the one he left, it is still different with new clients and colleagues. Abby has settled back into a role back at home with Emma for the time being. While everyday life with a three year old is no walk in the park, it is precious time that she knows is fleeting. The immediate plan is for her to stay at home with Emma and the new baby once it arrives (scheduled arrive for mid-February). Although transition to Australian life is no doubt easier than it was to Swiss life, there are still many things to learn and do and it is certainly a blessing that one of us is able to stay at home and help with this transition. Yet, we are also lucky that she was immediately granted a work permit as well, so whenever the time seems right she may or may not also look to join the Australian work force!

While we had hoped to potentially do a bit more traveling upon arrival, everyday life and work seems to have gotten in the way. Yet, we were lucky to find our way to Tasmania for the week leading up to Christmas and it was much welcomed family time. Steve has some nice time off for the holidays, but unfortunately a trip back to the U.S. would be just a bit too far at this point in Abby's pregnancy, so we will continue to fill it with another nearby coastal trip for a few days and enjoy taking in the Sydney's New Year's festivities. Celebrating Christmas during the summer seems a bit strange, but we will survive going to the beach.

It's hard to believe that the year is already gone, but it's safe to say we stayed busy. So busy in fact that it was the first year since perhaps before we were married that Abby did not complete a marathon (don't worry she's already scoping out her 2016 options). It is difficult to be so far away again from our family and friends, but we look forward to treasuring every experience. We pray that all of you found many things in 2015 to rejoice over as well.

Merry Christmas, Happy Boxing Day, Happy New Year & Happy Australia Day!

Love & Blessings,

Abby, Emma, Steve and Baby coming February

It's a Wonderful Life...

While it may be a seemingly outdated and dying tradition I can’t help but love Christmas letters. Last year we received less than a handful so we debated whether or not to continue the tradition ourselves. We decided we had to as it’s one of our favorite ways to look back on the year as well, but this year we at least opted to save a little on paper and printing, so here it is (thanks largely in part to my wonderful husband for writing this year)…

In our first full year back in the U.S. since living abroad, we managed to stay on the move in several different ways (especially the youngest member of the family!) as 2014 was a year with many changes for all of us. While we never knew or know what change or challenge might be in store for us next we know God has truly blessed us with a wonderful life.

Steve continues to work at Ernst & Young, receiving a promotion this year and also changing some of his client assignments, which will result in less travel so Abby will be stuck spending more time with him. In June, Abby began working for SSM Health Care Foundations, where she jumped right in planning several amazing events including a polo match, a Willy Wonka themed gala, and a fundraiser at her old stomping grounds – the Peabody Opera House. She’s really happy to work in such a rewarding environment where she knows she is touching lives through these fundraising events and meeting so many incredible people. Of course, when Abby went back to work, Emma also began a new adventure – pre-school. Although it took a few weeks for her to get used to the idea, she has fallen in love with her school, teachers and classmates (not to mention the deer that live in the woods behind the playground).

Emma grows bigger every day and it’s becoming hard to remember a time when she wasn’t always into mischief, even though it really wasn’t that long ago. In the past year, she’s gone from walking to running, hopping, and dancing. Her vocabulary has grown by leaps and bounds as she uses full sentences, constantly asks questions, and spontaneous springs into singing her ABC’s (or Old MacDonald, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Jingle Bells—you name it).  After she turned two and made a few daring escapes, we turned her crib into a toddler bed…which means nap time is often just—playing quietly so that Mommy and Daddy don’t catch you—time. A few months later we spent a weekend working on potty training, which she thankfully took to pretty quickly.

Although it’s not as easy to travel these days, we still made it to a few amazing places this year. After Steve survived another busy season at work, we took two extended weekend trips for Abby to do some running. First, was a trip to North Carolina in mid-March, where Abby ran the Tobacco Trail Marathon with some extra company for 10+miles from her good friend from college. The second trip in late April was to Louisville, where Abby ran the Kentucky Derby Marathon, which marked her 15^th full marathon! Our next trip was a little more challenging – a two week trip to South America where we spent several days exploring Cusco and Machu Picchu in Peru, took in the most impressive waterfalls we have seen yet at the Iguazu Falls on the border of Brazil and Argentina, and then took in the beautiful sights of Rio de Janeiro including the Sugar Loaf mountain and Christ the Redeemer (although Emma was much more interested in the pools and beaches!). In September, we took our first trip without our little girl, five days in Curacao to truly relax while Grandma and Grandpa Souders came down to spend some quality time with their granddaughter. We ended the year with a few short trips of our own. Abby went to Minneapolis for a weekend of shopping and fun with her parents and Steve went to Brisbane, Australia for a few days of work and a short weekend to see the city, an Australian zoo, and Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast. As we have often found, everywhere we went, people were warm and welcoming and Emma made lots of new friends. You can read more about our adventures on the blog although we apologize for falling (a little?) behind.

Most of all we are thankful to God for being home in the U.S. and able to spend time with our wonderful friends and family here again.  We are truly blessed to have so many supportive people in our lives and pray that this letter finds all of you well.

Merry Christmas!

Abby, Emma & Steve

Dakota, Hope & Faith