England

So you may or may not know that we were in England for Christmas. We received a kind offer of flights from my dear old Grandad and accepted without much time to plan things. I had lots of wonderful expectations for spending a lovely Christmas with all the people I always miss most at this time of year and as always hoped to cram in much more than reality allowed. I spent a grand total of five minutes at my Mum's house :( and we drove 600 miles to and fro making visits in our rental car in the 12 days we were there. Bare in mind that it was 600 miles in and around the same town! When you live thousands of miles and several time-zones away, going home can be hard work. Add into the equation a couple of jet-lagged kids, a tired and emotional pregnant lady, family members in at least seven different households all vying for our attention, not to mention all the usual craziness of Christmas and it makes for a a bit of a chaotic time. We also experienced some real sadness during our trip, my lovely step-grandfather Tony, who has been in my life since the day I was born passed away from Cancer. He's been battling the disease for many years but took a sudden turn for the worse while we were in Tofino in November. When we were given the opportunity to go to England for Christmas one of my first thoughts was that I would get to see him again but it never crossed my mind that his condition would deteriorate as quickly as it did. Neil and I did get to visit Tony on Christmas day and I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am for that hour or so we spent just chatting and sipping tea like we have done so many times before. He was a rare gem of a human being with a heart of gold and sense of humour to match!  He taught me so much about appreciating the most important things in life and always had kind words of encouragement for me when I needed them most. When I said goodbye on Christmas day I told him we'd see him in a few days with the kids and I gave him a little squeeze and a kiss goodbye. I never did get to see him again. He passed away on New Years day. 

To say the least, our trip back home was emotionally draining but despite all that happened there were some lovely moments and I was so happy to be with my family. I miss them all so much! Christmas morning was about as perfect as can be. Neil and the kids and I stayed at my brother and sister-in-laws home and my Mum, sister and her little family all stayed the night of Christmas Eve. It was mayhem but oh so perfect! My sister came armed with Christmas stockings for each of us and a ton of presents to fill them! We left mince pies and brandy out for Santa and found snowy boot prints and reindeer tracks across the floor on Christmas morning! Oh and have you ever seen a tree with so many presents??! I'm pretty sure I haven't!! The presents literally filled half the room! The kids went nuts and it was just what we all needed.

Seb and Bel loved every minute spent with their adorable wee cousins Molly and Violet and we all loved watching them play together. If it had been up to them, they wouldn't have left each others sides the entire time! 

Our time went by in a blur and there were so many people I didn't get to see. To my lovely friends Caroline and Sharlene... I am so sorry! I hope it won't be too long before we get another chance to get together. We're back now and have had a week of jet lag, colds and irritability to go along with our home-sickness and sadness. The way I see it 2014 can only get better!!