Happy Christmas from Oz!

Merry, merry, merry Christmas! All my lovely friends and family in the USA and UK are just now waking up but our day is almost over. We have had a nice relaxing time with our family from across the pond. Chloe was overwhelmed by her visit from Santa. It was so wonderful being with our girl today. The spirit of Christmas shines bright in her eyes and makes Marc and I give thanks for all we have!

Merry Christmas!

The Five Year Plan

Ten months ago we moved to Perth, Australia....

Twenty months ago our darling daughter was born...Three and a half years ago we moved into and renovated our house in Houston.

FIve years ago I married my best friend. My hubby loves him some spreadsheet! Yep...he's always whippin one up to prepare for a trip, a new budget, an invitation list...any excuse will do. When we were dating, Marc was ready and willing to pop the question after about 5 minutes of knowing each other. Okay, that's a lie. Three months was all he really needed. Meanwhile, being the practical and not very spontaneous gal that I am..I was hesitant. I knew I wanted to marry Marc with all my heart, I just needed to know him a bit longer.

That's when Marc introduced me to his "five year plan." He asked me where I wanted to be in five years. "Married, with a child of course."

"Then it's time to get moving, Kimberly!"

And five years ago today that's just what we did! I am so glad I decided to follow Marc's five year plan. I wonder what the next five years will have in store.

I love you, Marc!

Baby...It's HOT Outside!

I'm trying...REALLY trying to get into the Christmas mood but it is very difficult with temperatures in the high 30's (that's Celsius, people!) We've gone to see Santa, decorated a tree, wrapped presents, and all that jazz but I'm still not feeling it.

What I am doing is missing...missing Lights in the Heights, Our annual Glue Wine party, the Christmas Eve cul-de-sac breakfast, ornament exchange with Laura and Hollie, and our crazy decked out neighborhood Christmas lights. I miss my family. I miss my friends. Just kinda hits you this time of year. It doesn't help that Marc has somehow found Houston's Sunny 99.1 Christmas channel on the computer and we play it 24/7. Hearing Houston news, weather, and traffic in Oz is really weird.

I am working on starting some new traditions here, though. We bought a beautiful wooden Advent Calendar and Chloe gets to open a door and add a piece to the nativity scene each night. The first three nights she cried and threw a semi-tantrum when we only let her open one door. Now she saws "bye bye" after she adds her little piece. It's cute.

We are going to a couple candlelight carols in the parks this week. We will go to the beach and drink Champagne and eat strawberries on Christmas day..cause that's what you do here...apparently!

It's not BAD... just different.

But mainly, I have been singing a little ditty in my head that I think I picked up in church somewhere along the way. It seems very appropriate right about now:

Christmas isn't Christmas

Till it happens in your heart...

Somewhere deep inside you

is where Christmas really starts

So give your heat to Jesus

You'll discover when you do

That it's Christmas

Really Christmas

In you.....

Hand Update

Here am I with my next door neighbor and broken hand twin. He thinks my cast is really cool because it is waterproof and I can take it off...which I do too much!
I had a CT scan and went back to the hand doctor last week and luckily I don't have to have any kind of surgery! I am just supposed to wear this brace for the next two weeks and then go back to have him look at it on the 23rd. After that, I will probably only have to wear it if I am lifting Chloe or something like that...for another couple weeks. Thanks for all the well wishes!!

HO HO HO!!!

The BEST thing about going to see Santa in the upside-down land of Oz is........

NO LINES!

That's right! 4:00pm on a Saturday in December at a major department store and we walked right in. How about that?! I am used to a 45 minute wait at the Galleria and a rushed and probably teary-eyed toddler visit to see the Big Man. We all went into Santa's private room and had a nice long chat before I sat Chloe next to him (all the while still holding her hand). We had talked about Santa, read books, looked at pictures, watched videos and practiced "Ho Ho Hoing" enough that I think she was pretty into actually seeing him. Luckily they had some Sesame Street dolls sitting around and Marc grabbed one and waved it behind the camera so we got a good smile out of her. Pretty impressive for a 19 month old I have to admit!

I will post the Santa pics when we upload them from the disk that we bought but in the meantime...here are pictures of the train ride that she took after her visit. Yes, as an added surprise the kiddos got to go into a special area with a "choo choo", Christmas videos, giant tree, slide and play area. Chloe was just tall enough to go on the train by herself and I felt like I was sending her off to kindergarten as I watched it pull away. I would run around to different points to wave and call to her so she wouldn't be scared but she did so great. She only started to cry when it was over! Oh my little girl is growing up and I just want to freeze time! Someone please remind me that it really does keep getting better and better... cause it's pretty darn good right now!

Bunker Bay: Part 4

To end our trip Down South we had decided to splash out for 4 nights at our favorite spot...Quay West Bunker Bay. It is a resort right on the Indian Ocean with adorable villas, a nice pool, restaurant and fruity drinks. Yummy. Most of the time in Australia, a four star hotel leaves MUCH to the imagination but this 5 star was right on the mark!

Since we were bruised, sore, and without a car for 2 days we just relaxed, went to the beach, ate a lot, and slept almost as much as Chloe. We managed to check out a few more wineries and meet up with a friend that moved nearby. It was a nice way to end the trip and we love it there so much we booked three more nights for when Marc's family comes at Christmas.

Margaret River: Part 3

Unfortunately, we only had one night in Margaret River due to our accident. Our hotel was just okay so after the big bang we got a taxi up the road 40 minutes to our final accommodation a night early. We had been to Bunker Bay before and knew it was fabulous and just wanted to get there quick and relax.

But...the time that we did have in MR was nice. We got to visit a famous winery called Voyager and explored an underground cave called Mammoth Cave. We didn't get to go to a lot of other wineries that we wanted to but we will next time. Here are some pics from this part of our trip:

The car after the accident. I continue to praise and thank God a thousand times a day that we are all okay. I found out yesterday that a little bone in my right had is fractured so I have to go back to the doctor tomorrow to see what to do about it. It is a miracle.