Christmas Day : 25 December 2006

Following a superb Christmas carol service at 11.00pm last night, we had a nice lazy lie in this morning and then Mundy and I had brekkie together on the balcony ... around 1.00pm, we were joined for a festive international Christmas lunch by the boys ... Slava (Moldova), Bevan (NZ), Mark (UK) and Eduardo (Brazil) ... and later we had a whole lot of friends dropping in for some festive time together ... my friend Josie sent me a great txt msg reminding me of what Christmas is all about ...

"Your life in Christ is an exchange: your weakness for His strength, your emptyness for His fullness, your burdens for His rest, your defeat for His victory. Wishing you a Blessed Christmas and a Wonderful New Year 2007!!"

My Mum made me a beautiful Christmas apron and 2 oven gloves so everyone had to have a christmas photo ... here are some of the fun memories from the day ...


Me (SA)



Mark (UK)



Bevan (NZ)



Slava (Moldova)



Eduardo (Brazil)



Amanda (Token Aussie), adored flat mate and fantastic cook!



Christmas Lunch ... hmmm ...



Nicholas (Germany/USA) is a friend of Slava's from work and was going for his first surf in Manly ... but dropped in to join us for desert!



Charl (SA) ... came alone as his wife Kerrie is due with their first baby tomorrow (Boxing Day) and needed to rest ... we pray all goes well!



Regina (Bavaria - Germany) is a friend of our sweet Bavarian Angel, Andrea. Regina and her boyfriend Andy (below) are in Oz for a 3 week holiday.



Andy (Bavaria - Germany) - Regina's boyfriend who arrived 2 days ago ...



Rebecca (Bavaria - Germany) is Andrea's cousin ...



Sabina (Switzerland) is a friend of Regina's from language school ... they met here a few weeks ago ...



Andrea (Bavaria - Germany) ... our sweet friend who comes to visit us every year ...



Jared (Another Token Aussie) ... going to leave us for a while to explore life in Bundaberg ... a good friend sorely missed!



Ricky (Philippines) ... our flying friend ... now you see him, now you don't !



Caroline (Germany) ... flatmate to Bel joined us too along with her boyfriend Martin ... we're very excited that they have achieved their permanent residency in order to stay with us longer!! YAY!!



Martin (Germany) ... or maybe it's "Super Man"?



Home shots to set you in the Christmas zone ...

Princess Agnes Pearl : Christmas Eve Fun - 24 Dec 06

Princess Agnes Pearl is growing fast ... and is too cute for words ... she loves being in water ... here are some special bath time moments with Mummy, Aunty Mandy and Aunty Noo Noo ...

Josie's Farewell Dinner : Monday, 18 Dec 06

On Monday, 18 December 2006, we joined Josie and her home group for one last farewell dinner before she left to go back to SA to live ... it was a lovely evening ... tainted with sadness at our impending goodbye moment ... we ate her gingerbread house for desert ... made a kids mess everywhere much to the horror of the Ashes Table staff ... I, along with many at St Matts, will miss Josie terribly! She is such a beautiful sister in Christ who has grown so much and has inspired and challenged me personally in many areas of my life for which I am very grateful! I know that she will be a success in everything that she does back in South Africa and I'm sure that her family will be delighted to have her close at hand from now on and that God will bless her richly in her walk of faith as she trusts in Him for guidance and direction.

Here are some wonderful lasting memories of our last night together ... farewell beautiful friend ... Josie ...

Josie and Kaz



Me, Josie, Jo & Amanda



Ing, Jono, Me, Jo & Josie



Kaz, Cath & Jim



Ing ... tucking into the gingerbread house ...

Vanoosh's Farewell Lunch : 18 Dec 06

With only a 12 more working days left, I had a farewell lunch at Rosie's Tavern in the city with some friends from work ... most people will still be enjoying their Christmas and New Year holidays when I leave on 5 Jan 07 so we decided to celebrate early! Later on in the week on Thursday, 21 Dec, I had a morning tea where I was presented with a beautiful gift of a Corban & Blair Red Leather Journal and a gorgeous aqua blue Parker Pen to write down all my adventures and experiences which was a gift from so many people ... and as if that was not enough, I was also given a stunning Peace Plant from my little team which has taken pride of place in my bathroom! I will be sad to leave but very happy with my decision ... in fact ... very excited that my new adventure is only a few more sleeps away ...

(Left side of table) Long, Steve, Maree, Monica, Cassy & Christi and (Right side of table) Meaghan, Kay, Denise, Trish, Mel, Marie-Claire



Cassy and Christi



Marie-Claire, Me and Mel



My beautiful farewell card, my Peace Plant and my Corban & Blair Journal and Parker Pen

Anna's Farewell : Sunday, 17 Dec 06

Our Anna Banana Baby is going back to the UK for a while but we know that she will be back in no time at all ... we'll miss her while she is gone but time will fly and our prayer is that her permanent residency will be processed and completed in record time so that she can come back and live in Manly with all of us God willing!

Here are some of our farewell memories to a beautiful woman of God who brightens up the lives of all she meets ... she is a true gem!!

Henke's Baby Shower : Saturday, 16 December 06

On Saturday, we joined a small group of girlfriends and enjoyed the pleasures of High Tea at the Gunner's Barracks in Mosman overlooking the harbour which was a spectacular venue for Henke's baby shower ... it was a lovely day!

Here are some memories ...

Henke & Sozon



Mel, Michelle and Uer

Harbour Boat Cruise : Thursday, 14 December 06

On Thursday night, Munds and I spent the evening soaking up the sun set on a beautiful speedboat with Andrew, Edwina, Steve, Marty, Debbie and Tanya! We zoomed up the middle harbour under the Spit Bridge and then moored next to a quiet, serene beach ... went for a dip in the harbour and then had a relaxing picnic meal ... it was a fantastic night and we had such fun ...