Happy Boxing Day!

Okay, so I know people don't really say that here, or anywhere for that matter. It's just that I want to celebrate my own traditions, as well as embracing traditions here. So I look forward to Boxing Day, along with The Cricket Boxing Day Test Match (Australia v. India this year), leftover Christmas dinner, and family. Christmas was a low-key affair, with just Mum, Dad, Lachlan, Charlotte and me. My sister-in-law and her family (all 7 of them!) are coming for the day tomorrow, so that will be quite special. Well, it's almost time for the cricket to start, so I'll close here and write again when we get back to Ballina.

Not a good afternoon...

Really. Charlotte was just asleep for the afternoon, and guess who shows up? The landscaping guys with, you guessed it, the riding lawnmower - otherwise known as Scary Instrument of Fear and Torture. So now she's awake and screaming, and I do mean screaming, so I try lying down with her for a few minutes, singing softly, stroking her hair, but one can only take so many kicks to the stomach and punches to the face (me, not her) so we try again, as the lawnmower noise is somewhat distant. So she just stops screaming, and the phone rings (the one outside her bedroom door, the one WITHOUT AN OFF SWITCH FOR THE RINGER! So now she's screaming again. Do I give up on the whole concept of a nap, or do I just let her lie there freaking out? Anyone???

I love Christmas

Seriously. I love everything about it. If ever there were a poster child for holiday cheer, it would be me. When I was a kid, I wanted to be an elf at the North Pole (no short jokes, please). If you've ever seen that movie, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation ,

just call me Clark Griswold. One of my lesser goals in life is to amass a collection of Christmas movies and music, so that from November 19th (which we have decided will be our Australian Thanksgiving Day) until January 1st, we can have Christmas coming out our ears. I think my love of all things Christmas comes from my own childhood. While most of my memories of my mother are upsetting, one thing that I remember about her is that she always "did" Christmas. She might have been inconsistent in a lot of ways, but she always made Christmas a big deal for us. It's probably the only legacy from her that I actually want to pass on to my children. We have also decided that we while we want to continue traditions from each of our families, we also want to create some traditions of our own, for our children. One of the things that I miss about living in America is my home church, where they have a special Advent wreath candle ceremony , as well as a Christmas Eve candlelight service, which both serve to bring us back to the heart of Christmas, which is of course the birth of Christ. They aren't super-flash-bang events, just simple, real, and honest moments to reflect on the incredible gift that came so humbly into the world so long ago. Next year (because of the trip to America it's a bit late for this Christmas) we're going to have our own Advent wreath here at home, and our own version of a candlelight service, which is yet to be designed/planned, as Charlotte and Thomas/Olivia may not cooperate with our plans. In addition to all that, I've started a Christmas notebook to hand down to my children, where I am writing all this stuff down, along with special recipes, and different inspirations taken from various sources. One of the ideas I've come across on this site is for a DIY advent calendar that I really like. Oh, and if Santa is reading my blog, this would be an ideal present for me - either as a whole, or as individual pieces to be collected over the years, or as my next million Christmas presents in one go. :-)

 

In other non-Christmas related news, I'm 16 weeks, 5 days pregnant, my eczema is back; most likely due to the stress of travelling across the ocean and back, Charlotte has started repeating the word "no" (complete with head shake), as well as walking (with the aid of this ,which isn't quite the toy she has, but it's similar. She also climbed (with me right behind her) all 14 steps. Videos to be posted later.

 

That's about all I've got for now, because I've got to go eat some bread and bake some cookies for Christmas!

 

Lots of love,

Sarah

Home again

We arrived in Brisbane, Queensland Wednesday morning, waited for what seemed like hours to get our bags, made a pit stop for some lunch (which was some of the most revolting Chinese fried rice I've ever eaten from a shop called Wok Me), and then went to my mother and father-in-law's place for a rest. In the afternoon, they took Charlotte and I to meet Lachlan in Coolangatta.
Being home again is very strange. It's almost like living in someone else's house. I'm also dealing with food issues again, much like I did when I moved here for the first time. I ate about a bazillion potato chips (Man, do I miss them) while I was home, and discovered a penchant for spicy fiery foods. I managed to bring back some hot sauce, but it's almost half gone already! What I wouldn't do for some jalapeno peppers...
Charlotte has changed a great deal - she's not a 'baby' anymore, but rapidly turning into a very active toddler. She's not yet walking, but cruises around the living room furniture like she was born to it. I think she's adjusted to the time change quite well, and slipping back into our routine easily.
Lachlan and I are enjoying a second honeymoon, of sorts. It seems that my absence made both of our hearts grow a LOT fonder.
Well, I'm off to fold some laundry and find something else to put hot sauce on!

I don't want to leave

But I do want to go home. It is the same conflict I felt when we moved to Australia 18 months ago. I have had a wonderful visit with everyone, and even with illness and tension, I have enjoyed myself immensely. How is it possible to feel two such opposing emotions equally? It reminds me of being pregnant - I love being pregnant, and can't wait for the baby to be born, but when labour starts, I want the baby to stay put. I've got some errands to run today, which hopefully will go smoothly and quickly. I also need to start packing, so I'm not running around at the last minute forgetting this and that.