What a couple of months we’ve had! It’s been a hugely busy time full of family, friends and fun and lots of comings and goings and making up of beds and it’s been wonderful. We are so grateful that they all still want to come and stay with us and enjoy our Crazy Cameron Christmas!

Tom arrived from London on the evening of 12th December and went straight to Bondi Beach where he had previously lived for many years, to stay with his friend. He woke up to a beautiful sunny weekend and enjoyed breakfast overlooking the beach at North Bondi before having a swim in the ocean (which was the thing he has missed the most living in London) and all seemed well with the world. All that changed 24 hours later on December 14th when a deranged Father and Son opened fire on a family friendly Jewish gathering killing 15 people in the very same spot that he had enjoyed a swim. It all seemed so unreal, so un-Australian and so very sad and was a sharp reminder that anything can happen anywhere in these times of distorted religious doctrines and unstemmed hatred. It all unfolded a mere 10 days before Christmas and suddenly all the gifts and decorations and merriment seemed so very shallow and meaningless. Over the next week we saw a huge outpouring of support for the Jewish community who lost so much and an equal outpouring of love for Bondi Beach, a place where so many come to relax and enjoy our Australian way of life. In the only way we knew how, various communities came to express their sorrow and to refuse to be scared by terrorists. Running clubs came and ran the beach, surfers gathered and paddled out in their hundreds to honour the dead and our surf lifesavers who were so very present and involved during the attack that took place right outside their surf club, linked arms and silently looked out to sea remembering the people that had lost their lives in a 3 minute silent chain that stretched the entire beach. Simple heartfelt gestures of grief and resilience as the community unites after an attack on our way of life. Australia’s most iconic stretch of sand refused to surrender its spirit to tragedy and you can almost hear it saying “you can’t stop us, you can’t beat us”. Life has to continue though and having the children around us would make sure we kept things fun and magical for them…

Loz and the girls arrived from Tassie on the 17th which was lovely as we could enjoy the build up to the big day with them, decorating the tree, wrapping gifts and baking Xmas cookies. The nice weather meant the pool was getting a big workout and the choice of which ice-cream to eat was the biggest decision of the day! Home Alone and Die Hard were compulsory viewing for the adults and The Christmas Postman and The Night Before Christmas compulsory reading for the kids. Tom arrived to be reunited with Bailey and the family (in that order) followed by Berry from Hobart and on Christmas Eve Sam and the boys arrived to fill the last bedroom! Carols and Christmas songs around the tree, carrots on the lawn for the reindeer, a cookie and some milk for Santa followed by the putting out of their stockings and trying to sleep despite the excitement of the man in red’s imminent arrival and finally the adults could enjoy our Big Xmas Dinner in the dining room – decorated and with candles glowing it is always a lovely pre cursor to the BIG DAY which basically belongs to the kids!

Christmas day dawned amid much excitement at the full stockings at the end of their beds and lots of squealing as packages were opened. A champagne breakfast for the adults and then the annual ritual of glazing the ham (thanks Tommy) and prepping the lunch. Berry rounded us all up for our two yearly photo shoot with all the cousins – thank goodness he organises this as we would have NO pics of all of us together otherwise!

The MOTH prepared the cricket pitch, the stumps were in place and the cooler weather was perfect for some rather competitive play, It’s a miracle there were no injuries to be honest as Bailey is by far the best fielder and the others were performing way above their ability with some rather gymnastic attempts at catches and overly showy bowling! Lots of fun though and after lunch the kids set up their disco inside for an impromptu dance off (Loz and Tom couldn’t resist joining in of course!) A relaxing afternoon around the firepit with music and drinks rounded out the day

As part of their Christmas presents I had arranged for them to have a pony ride at a local riding school. None of them had ever even sat on a horse so it was with a mix of trepidation and excitement that we set off for what I was hoping would be a positive experience. I couldn’t have been any happier as the riding school was terrific with the kids and encouraged them to try different things as they walked them around the menage. They taught them how to move the horses with their legs and reins and they wove in and out of witches hats, had a go at jogging and the litle girls got to groom the horses at the end. No meltdowns by any of them and hopefully a good memory for them….

Our last night together as a family for another two years was for me The Meadow at it’s best. A simple bbq under the trees around the fire pit with the kids playing on the swing and some good tunes ringing out. Chatting around the fire as the stars came out, family together, a brilliant memory to see us through to the next time…..