Christmas Greetings
and
Warm good wishes for
the New Year

Hazel and David

Christmas 2003

Our greetings from Melbourne come with thanksgiving for the blessings we have received in this our first year together. A major highlight has been buying a caravan, taking it to the Sunshine coast on a shakedown trip in May just after Barton and Joanna's daughter Sienna was born and in June-Sept. to the Northern Territory and Western Australia. We delighted in the vivid blues and reds of the Centre, the vast distances and untapped resources of the Kimberley and Pilbara along with its rugged majestic beauty. We found wild flowers in season at different latitudes as we came down the WA coast with magnificent broad fields of colour north of Perth. It was great to catch up with and introduce each other to distant family and friends at several places on both trips.

Robert and Catherine announced their engagement while we were away and their purchase of a house in Elwood. Andrew and Paula's Amelia and Simon and Anita's Hamish have done well in their first full year. The others continue much as before, but it's notable how quickly the older children of Helen and Mark, and of Drew and Gabriella are growing up.

We are planning to spend some months in England next year, and are trying to arrange an exchange of houses in the area near Hazel's original home at Cheltenham, on which there is a web page which will tell you a little about where we live and will link to another with pictures from our trip to the North West, see Pictures from our caravan trip, 2003.

Sturt's Desert Pea Swainsonia formosa near Port Hedland, W.A.

Hazel and Siennna, October 2003