This month has been a colorful whirlwind of soaking up time with friends, and finding wet relief from the heat. I am capturing the month before it is over, but while it is fresh, because Sydney will be a new chapter that we are very excited about!
December 1st
Chris runs Parkrun by himself. I take the boys to the market to get vegetables to bring to Kashelle’s Garden Birthday Party. After we find her house, via bus and foot, I get the whole story, that it is actually Kashelle’s birthday, not one of her children, and she has asked for yard work for a birthday gift. I am in HEAVEN! Chris describes it as cathartic. We help weed and clear trees so she can put up a chicken coop. The kids enjoy trampolines, toys, pet rats, and finally a hose down the slide. Back home we have a small breather before walking down to South Bank for a quick dip in the beach. Rony and Tania bring us a picnic of authentic Indian food on the green beside the river. Much better than any restaurant! As we walk back home Stewart is pretty loopy tired. I tell the kids that we’ve been banking years of really boring days at home to help days like this one go so well.
December 6th
Twill and I take a meal to Fatemah and Mohammed, who just had a baby, Liam. We are surprised and delighted to see Helen, Thomas, and Tania there when we arrive! I hold the sleeping Liam, while Fatemah naps for a couple hours, after only getting a couple hours sleep the night before. I can understand her challenge, as Liam is an exceptionally lively and alert newborn! Tania tells us about her volunteer work at the hospital, massaging patient’s feet. Helen tells us of her catering work pre Thomas. It is a treat to get to know them better, to see Fatemah get some rest, and to see Twill warm up to them so well.
December 7th
Lan and Rich and their boys join us and the Coffey’s down at the Boundary Street Markets before the guys have a Friday night game night. The young boys and Rich enjoy ping pong, and the adults enjoy Hugo’s stories.
December 8th
Chris reaches his Parkrun goal, breaking 20 minutes! We celebrate with the usual, or unusual, Spanish market drinks, and he says I can run the remaining weeks of Parkrun with Lewis and Stewart.
December 9th
After church there is a picnic in Orleigh Park to send off Naomi and Sam, and their baby Jonathan, who are moving to Bundaberg, several hours north. Afterwards, Clayton comes over for his last programming lesson with Chris.
December 10th
Wesley has his swim carnival at school. He makes it through their demonstrations without getting very wet by jumping on top of the year 5 volunteers who are there to aid him.
December 11th
Lewis and Stewart have their swim carnival. Twill and I only stay for the first race, because the carnival runs all day and the few hours we spent at Wesley’s the day before wore Twill down. There is an incredible amount of noise and cheering coming from the kids, and I am thankful to not be immersed in athletics. Our family doesn’t have the noise tolerance. I am sorry to have missed their other races at the end of the day, however. They come home with ribbons and smiles on their faces, after much anxiety about it for days beforehand.
December 12th
We say good-bye to Naomi and baby Jonathan with one last afternoon discipleship group meeting. Becky, Paola, Naomi, and I end with a lively Bible discussion. Afterwards I feel like an awkward challenger, as usual, and wish I could just pipe down.
December 13th
The last day of school takes me of guard in the midst of all the excitement. I cry as Wesley’s class sings “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” because we’ll miss all the friends we’ve made here. Welsey is one of five Santas in his program, and one parent says he looks like ZZ Top with that beard. When school is out, Lewis’ best friend, Sonny, shows up at his side, wanting to have Lewis over. Instead, Sonny walks home with us and stays through dinner. He loves the spring rolls we have. They play handball and chase bubbles on the driveway, and start a new game Chris found, Snakebird.
December 15th
Lewis and I run Parkrun, taking a minute and a half off our first time. We start a bit further up, in front of some walkers, and he runs hard the whole time. It is Meg’s 50th Parkrun, so we celebrate her milestone with a crowd from Sojourn afterwards in the pool and over pancakes. At the markets, Chris challenges us all to try something completely different, because our chances here are dwindling. Chris and I split a Japanese okonomiyaki. I find Christmas spirit in the red and green vegetables that I am loving every week: red capsicums, zucchini, and onions, all only $2 a bag! Later that day Twill hits an Australian “kilometerstone,” laughing through his whole shower instead of crying. First time for me, anyway. I credit all the pool time. He literally “runs through the sprinkler,” dangerous, but fun.
December 16th
Sojourn’s Christmas Dinner is in the evening. It is raining cats and dogs when it’s time to catch the bus. Javed and Shagufta were going to catch the bus with us, but miss it because of the rain. I hop off the bus at Boundary and Vulture and run back for them. We take the train to church for the first time, but arrive in time, and have a wonderful evening. I am so thankful for how loving everyone is to our friends. And so thankful for the Christmas carols that we sing. It finally feels like Christmas singing them.
December 18th
Lewis and Stewart and I walk down to Sonny’s house to jump on his trampoline for the morning. I enjoy talking with Sonny’s mum, Alex, who is from England and has four kids as well. In the afternoon I take all four boys over to Lan’s house for a playdate. Hugo has been missing Wesley a lot, but they spend most of the time on screens. Twill and I help weed. They are waiting on Rich to finish out the week of work before they begin moving to their new house over Christmas.
December 19th
I get a crazy idea at Coles and buy a pack of 50 balloons to blow up for the kids. I hope to fill Lewis and Twill’s bedroom. It’s not exactly filled, and the noise of a few popping scares a couple boys off initially, but they all warm up to the fun and get creative with them eventually. In the afternoon, Lewis has two troublesome baby teeth removed at the dentist across the road. Paola tells us we must check out the art galleries down on the river. The balloons remind her of a kids exhibit they had down there once where they did fill a room with balloons. I take Becky out to Insane Acai as Chris puts the boys to bed.
December 20th
It is unbearably hot, so I plan to take all four boys down to the Gallery of Modern Art, as Paola suggested. But Wesley and Twill are not listening to me, so Chris tells me to just take the older two. We enjoy interactive exhibits where the kids can insert their coloring into an animated story and chase fish into a fish trap as the tide goes out. Chris takes Wesely and Twill to swim at South Bank. They get badly sunburned, even though they wear sunscreen. After dinner, we blow bubbles on the driveway again. As Chris reads The Hobbit to the boys, I leave with Paola for a night out on the town. We walk all the way down to the cultural center, but end up going to a place very close to home. It is a treat to get out and learn more about her.
December 21st
Chris takes the younger two sunburned boys to the Planetarium for some indoor fun. Lewis and Stewart and I meet Lan and her boys at South Bank for a swim, as the temperature reaches 100F. This time we are the ones who get sunburned, even though we are thoroughly covered in sunscreen and shirts. I learn that you have to reapply every two hours in the intense summer sun here. On the walk back home we find an injured rainbow lorikeet on the ground at Muskgrave Park. It can barely hobble along. Stewart convinces me to call the animal ambulance, but when I try I find my SIM card depleted.
December 22nd
Stewart runs his first Parkrun and surprises us all with his stamina and kick at the end. Chris challenges him to run the whole thing and he rises to the challenge incredibly. Afterwards we enjoy the pool and beach. Wesley learns that the water really will hold him up and finds a new passion for back floating. Chris gets Twill to relax on his back, but with a lot more resistance. Afterwards, Twill tells me that it was “hard,” but he is clearly proud that he did it. At the markets, Chris and I both independently tell the baker we buy bread from every week that we wish we could take him with us when we leave.
December 23rd
We are all glad to make it to Sojourn for our second to last time before Andy picks us up in his car to take us to his house for Christmas. It’s my first time in a car since we left our van at the Minneapolis airport. The temperatures have relenquished, so the kids just ride in the boat around Andy’s pool the first night. After dinner, Chris and the older three boys see Christmas lights with Andy, and I go to bed with Twill, at his request.
December 24th
Andy and his son Oliver take us to the district park near their house for the morning. All but Twill enjoy the “flying fox,” which we call a zip-line. Twill finds plenty of other things to enjoy, including Andy. After lunch we play guitar and sing with Andy. Then I swim with the older three while Chris naps with Twill. Wesley decides that he loves the water for the first time in his life. He jumps off the side and swims with and to his noodle dozens of times, getting his face wet every time! Lewis and Stewart dive for paddles and golf balls. In the evening 8 new guests join us for a Christmas feast. This time the older boys are begging to go to bed. I tuck them all in, reading the story I wrote them for Christmas. Afterwards, Chris and I stay up until nearly midnight visiting. I am so thankful for the chance to get to know folks and learn more about the Chinese and Taiwanese cultures.
December 25th
After breakfast and opening gifts, Andy and Ariel take us to a new park near their Bhuddist temple. I am thankful for the gift of nature, that has been harder to find in the city. We see baby ducks and water lilies, then stumble upon another exceptional playground, looking for a bathroom. There is a possum trying to find some peace and quiet up in the rafters of the treehouse, and another flying fox. We pull ourselves away in time to catch the end of the free vegetarian meal served regularly at the Bhuddist temple. Afterwards we get to experience a Chinese tea ceremony, that has the desired calming affect on all the boys but Twill. Until it hits their bladders. We tour the temple, interrupted by several trips to the toilet, and a lot of practice taking shoes off and on again. Near the end we see a wallaby on the lawn, just as we had hoped for. Afterwards, Andy and Ariel deliver us home safely, with one more round of “Lucky Dip” gifts hiding in covered compartments of a box. The kids all go to bed early and Wesley sleeps over 12 hours.
The rest of this week we have been cleaning and packing and enjoying a slower pace before our big trip to Sydney. The kids are doing surprisingly well considering all the excitement, but we are trying to slow down and really connect with them. It was a very different Christmas, and we have all been missing family at Christmas time for sure. I am thankful for these rich experiences, and also have a new appreciation for home and all the traditions there.
Lewis is taking it especially hard that we didn’t get gifts for each other. It doesn’t help that Chris and I are so happy living out of suitcases and saying “no” to everything material that takes up space. It is fascinating how much fun Stewart had making dramas with the robots Andy had 3D printed. There’s always a balance somewhere in giving them materials to work with, but not too many, to foster creativity. Probably if Stewart owned those robots they would sit in a closet untouched. Novelty, novelty is what this whole journey is full of. I get to hold on for the ride!