Sweet As! Have an awesome Christmas.

The weeks have flown by and it's a surprise to realise that we haven't written anything for almost 3 months. We have been very busy and the house build has taken up a lot of our time, which has been both fun and interesting.

After a mild but wet winter and various delays, especially with the windows, completion of the house is about 2 months behind schedule. Today, at long last, the majority of the windows were finally installed and the house has taken on a whole new dimension.

Inside the electrics, plumbing and central heating work is done and the walls are being gibbed. Outside, the stucco work has started and we are trying to find the best colour to paint the house.

Joan arrived from the UK at the beginning of November and had an enjoyable journey via Dubai and Sydney in the expert care of Barbara, our Kiwi friend who had been holidaying in Europe and kindly offered to accommpany her. Joan is enjoying the best that NZ has to offer..........temperatures in the mid-20's, blue skies and the prospect of Christmas Day at the beach. Our sypathies are with those of you who are currently snowed in and freezing in the UK!

Since Joan arrived we have also had visits from Rosemary and Andrew from the UK and Maureen and Stuart from Oz- it was lovely to see them all and we thoroughly enjoyed our time with them. We are both gaining weight as everyone loves the local fish and chips and we have been "forced" to indulge in them more than we usually do!

After almost 2 years in NZ we continue to love being here and are very happy.

The Pohutakawas (NZ Christmas Trees) are flowering, the Jacarandas are in full bloom and we are constantly reminded of what a beautiful country we live in. It's awesome!

Rainbow over Papamoa Hills and Tauranga

We know that 2010 is going to be an exciting and fun year. We will move into our new home very soon, Tom's parents arrive in a few weeks for a 6 week holiday, we have tickets to see more concerts including a huge Motown event (many thanks to the Swiftshore crowd) and Michael McDonald, visits from a number of friends including Pete and Veronica and the Barron Knights, and maybe even some of our families.

Thank you to everyone for keeping in touch with us via email, Skype, letters and phone calls. It's great to hear from you and to hear your news.

HAVE A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS

AND

A WONDERFUL 2010!!

Pohutakawa- New Zealand Xmas Tree

More to follow soon..............don't forget to click on the pictures to see them better..........