Christmas 2013

When I was a little girl we had this tradition of opening one present the night before Christmas. It was usually a present from one of my Aunties and I would get so excited as I knew that one more sleep Santa was coming and there would be presents galore to open.

So the kids got to open one present to all of them from Simon and I.

It was a three laned waterslide which we thought would be perfect for what will hopefully be a hot summer. I had checked nearly every Target store in Tassie and they had all sold out. Luckily Glenorchy had one left which Collette went and picked up for me. It reminded me of the time I sent her down to Kingston to get some bike jumps. I'm going to have to be more organised now she is moving to Adelaide next month. ;)

After that Simon and the kids read the story of Jesus birth from the Bible and we put out some food for Santa and his reindeers. We knew Santa was coming as thanks to the Kings we looked on the PNP website and discovered that Santa had sent our kids a personalised video message. Jonty was very relieved that Santa had decided Jonty was on the nice list. 

Mum has come to stay with us for a few days and it is so lovely to have some time with her before she heads off to the States in just four short months.

The three older kids got up about 5am to see what Santa had brought. We came out about 6.30 to see the unveiling in full swing.

Yawning already from all the excitement.

The look on Hallie's face as she opened her motor bike boots. We got them off Gumtree second-hand and they had only been worn a few times and came up looking almost new.

Sarra opening her very own phone. She has had one of my old phones all year particularly because school is 30kms away and if something happens like missing the bus, there isn't another one she can just hop on to come out to Westbury so she needs to be able to ring home. My old phone was dying so we got her a cute little Samsung Galaxy Young.

I love my new mixing bowls.

The look on Oliver's face as he walks in the room and discovered a bike for him. His current bike was so small that his knees were up around his ears as he rode.

I had set the table the night before for breakfast.

And yes the tablecloth is wrinkled as I thought the creases would just fall out over night and save me from having to iron it... apparently not.

We were having the sister missionaries come for breakfast so I wrote the menu up on the blackboard for them to choose from.

Simon started cooking the bacon and waffles in the kitchen while listening to his work radio as he was working 8-6pm. For some of the time he was allowed to be home to have some yummy food with the family but at other times of the day he had to go into work.

The sister missionaries came at 8.30am and we tucked into a HUGE yummy breakfast.

The best part of the morning was seeing Sister Adams and Sister Newitt skype home and see how happy their families were to catch up with each of them. They were allowed an hour each and I popped into the room where the computer is to say hi to their families before letting them have some privacy to spend time with their loved ones. They laughed at my Aussie accent, especially when I said "g'day" for them.

They are such lovely girls and their families must be so proud of them.

We got the sister missionaries a present each, which was some chocolate, earrings and a cool small wooden ruler each from the National Geographic shop which said "G'day Mate" on it. (thanks to Lisa Wheeler for the idea). I'm glad I posted off some pressies to my nephews and friends on missions at the beginning of December, hoping they would be there in time for today.

Jonty's favourite present was this wheelbarrow that Santa brought. He put all his other pressies in it and wheeled it around all day. 

The two little 50 cc motorbikes that we used to have for the kids were now too small for the older ones and so we sold them over the course of the year and were able to buy a second-hand bigger 100 cc bike off Gumtree, for just $150 more than what we sold the two little bikes for. Jonty and Flynn can still ride the little quad but the older ones can learn on the bigger one.

Hallie of course was over the moon and has decided that it is hers. Even though she will probably be the one who rides it all the time, we have assured her that it is a family bike.

She has already learned how to change the gears and kick start it by herself and ride it around and around the yard.

Flynn was happy to just have a sit on it.

He preferred his very own new bike better.

The sisters stayed for about 4 hours and it was lovely after breakfast to just sit outside and relax and just chat. This photo cracks me up as it was just before Sister Newitt fell out of the hammock.

As the day wore on, it started to get a little hotter so the kids decided to test out the waterslide. The sister missionaries thought it was so weird having this warm Christmas when their families were in snow back home.

In the afternoon while we were waiting for the Wheelers to come for tea, some of us had a bit of a nap.

We set the table once again for tea to have some yummy meats, salads and desserts. We had already had our Christmas Day celebrations two weeks ago with the Andrews and Bells altogether so today was just a low-key affair.

After tea the kids chilled on the trampoline and then we all went for a walk to walk off some of our Christmas food.

With Flynn wearing his new Giggle and Hoot pyjamas that he didn't want to take off EVER!

I'm laughing at all of us at the top of the pic waiting for the stragglers to catch up.

  

It was a lovely relaxing day, very laid back and not as rushed as other Christmas Days have been. 

During the walk I had a moment to myself to think about our little one and wonder what she is doing on Christmas Day and smile at how at 3 years of age she would have been so excited to see all the presents under the tree. I love this ornament that Lisa got for my tree this year... that touches me so much, that she remembers someone she never got to meet.