where is this year going?

I know. It's been over a month since I updated this blog. While we were on the ship I was quite good at updating it every week. Now I suddenly find that Christmas and New Year has been and gone, the thick snow that we thought would be hear all winter has disappeared and the end of January is already just around the corner. Woosh - just like that, my favourite time of year has been and gone.



















We had a fantastic Christmas holiday season, in our own home for the first time in 4 years.
Having snow just added to the excitement - I took the kids sledging on Christmas Eve.
My parents came up and joined us for Kara's birthday on the 22nd December, through to 27th. On Christmas Day itself, Heather's parents were here for the day as well. I love cooking the Christmas dinner and tried to make it extra special with a number of different recipes that I had discovered for this year.



















We also had several parties both before and after Christmas, another thing we have missed during our time away.
What a thrill also to have Kara singing solo in the Christmas morning service at church as well as both of them involved in several Christmas plays at school and church. Liam also sang in his school choir at the Edinburgh Usher Hall recently.
Being able to take quality time with the family for 2 whole weeks was a real blessing and after a lot of travelling in the few months up to Christmas, my constant presence was much appreciated by Heather and the kids.
It may have had a negative effect in some ways, because when I went away for a few days on my first full week back at work, Liam got quite upset at me not being there. I continue to try and find the ballance between time at home and time away. Liam is going through a difficult stage of life as he turns 11 and tackles issues such as swearing, anger, friendships and wanting the latest gadgets that his friends have.

So now we are looking ahead to a new year which is already shaping up to be a very busy one for us all. We really do need to book a holiday!