Happy New Year!

I can't believe it is already 12 days into the new year! 2012. Just before the New year of 2011, we celebrated with some special visitors from Russia, who gave us these charming little Gzhel Ceramic figurines to mark the year ahead , the one that was, 2011 ~ the Year of the Rabbit;

I love it how the little bunny on the left looks like he is waving!

Twelve days ago, we waved goodbye to 2011....

It was a good year, but one with many trials. It was the year my husband travelled far too much (for my liking!) for work (although that meant I did get to do A LOT of sewing!), I worked as a Census Collector (never again!), we made the decision to take a very unhappy Elly out of Preschool (however this may have been the best thing we did all year), we feared my Dad had a stroke (it turned out to be Bells Palsy)... then he was later also diagnosed with Diabetes, I had my wisdom teeth out in hospital and missed Halloween (boo!), My grandmother continued to decline with Dementia, Nick was in a car accident and hurt his back. I also experienced the heartache of losing a baby through miscarriage. And if I am to be honest, it is the writing of that last sentence that has taken me 12 whole days to finish this post. It hits hard in times of reflection and sometimes, just out of the blue...

However, we also had so many wonderful experiences last year; Nick and I celebrated 6 beautiful years of marriage, we joined the festivities for my grandfather's 90th birthday, my Dad's 65th, Nick's Sister's 40th, my brother Greg married The Lovely Emma, we enjoyed little trips away to Queensland, the Blue Mountains and the Southern Highlands, I found a job I loved as a Teacher's Aide and lost 5 kilos after joining WeightWatchers, Nick smashed his yearly target at the bank six months in advance (including the biggest deal ever in his group, go Nick!), Livvie completed Preschool, Elly had her first haircut, suddenly grew tall and mastered the art of writing her name. Huge milestones! But really, the best part of the year was making beautiful memories together, as a family, every single day.

Now we welcome 2012. It will be Livvie's first year of school, Elly will return to {a new} Preschool, my husband will begin studying for his Masters and I will be here for them all, doing what I love most, being a wife and Mum and enjoying all that it entails.

On New Years Eve, we held a little dinner party with our closest friends and their 3 young children. I am very happy to say that Nick and I were asked to be Godparents to their new baby and just as it was with their other two children, we were honoured to accept!

...What a lovely way to start the new year!

We have so much to look forward to in 2012. I should also mention that I am also in the process of starting my own small business ~ I just ordered my business cards yesterday! I am so excited about it and I look forward to sharing more with you soon! Thank you for reading along and for your encouraging and supportive comments and emails. Happy New Year indeed!