Greetings November 2009

Our new address is:
15 Nine Acres Way
Murrays Beach
NSW 2281
AUSTRALIA

Here we are counting down the days to yet another Christmas....... and sending loving greetings from our house to yours.


The famous Aussie song goes… “Give me a home among the gum trees…” and, as you can see from the picture, that is exactly what we have. Yes, they do make a mess on our decks but we love the shade, the birds and looking at green from every window. We have now been moved in for 6 months and are feeling more and more at home. Our gardens are growing well now that the weather is warming up. We even have vegetables growing out the back.

We are so thankful to the Lord for a hassle-free building experience. (Some of our neighbours have not been so fortunate.) Ford Homes (our builder) entered our home into the Housing Industry Assn awards and our house took first place in the Custom Built Home of the year in our category. Our painter also took second prize in the master painters’ awards. If you want to take a tour through most of the rooms in our home and see the lovely lake views from our front decks, go to Ford Homes’ website gallery - http://www.fordhomes.com.au/murrays-beach-simmons-gallery.html . These were professional pictures taken for the HIA awards so everything looks a bit sterile and the light is a bit surreal. It was a nice day though.

Our first celebration in the new home was for Colin’s 50th anniversary since he first started to fly. From Piper Cub to Boeing 747 and many others in between. He flew in the RNZAF, Missionary Aviation Fellowship, Talair PNG, Eastern Australia Airlines, and only one crash (in PNG) in all those years. No doubt there were a few other tense moments!

We have enjoyed having quite a few guests to stay for short times and we have great space for larger groups for BBQs, family gatherings etc. We love to share the peace and tranquility of the lake setting and our desire is that it will be a place of respite for those who need time out.

Col enjoys his work in the Boeing 747 simulator for Qantas. He copes well with the 2 hour drive which can be as short at 1 hr 40 or as long as 3 hrs, depending on the traffic. Average is probably 2 hours to Sydney airport. His shifts are only up to 6 hours so it’s not too long a day.

My sister, Jenny and husband, Brian came to visit for a couple of weeks in March. We had hoped they would be the first guests in our new home but that was not to be so we drove up to Brisbane for some of the time and each of us had time visiting with friends which was great.

We had a holiday in June, a total of 5 nights in Hong Kong where we enjoyed catching up with friends, then on to England to stay with friends for 2 nights and enjoy the English countryside once more, and 1 night in Portsmouth to say a final farewell to my Uncle Pat who passed away 3 days later. Then we went by ferry to beautiful Normandy countryside for a week with our friends Maggie & David and had our final 2 nights in Paris. We had a wonderful time and had only been home a week when I dashed off to NZ to be with my sister while my niece had open heart surgery just 3 weeks after the birth of her baby. I was away for 2 more weeks but glad to say Tracey has made a good recovery.

My days are taken up with housework, gardening and quite a lot of time in the kitchen. One of the things we really enjoy is having family and friends for meals. I have a little Bible study group at home on a Thursday morning with some neighbours and Friday afternoons are taken up with minding Dan and Leah after school when Sandy is at work. I continue to write Daydrops http://daydrops4you.blogspot.com/ (but not regularly enough), and care for some elderly people in our church.

Jess (16) moved back in with Cathy at Easter. It is lovely to have them nearby. They live in Belmont, just 15 minutes from us. We see quite a lot of them, especially as Jess has been learning to drive and our area is a great place for honing her driving skills. She will sit her School Certificate exams November 9-13. She has two more years of high school after this year. She is a great young woman and we enjoy her very much.

One special event this year was that Cathy was able to meet with her daughter Hannah (now 22) who was adopted into a lovely Christian family at birth. She is a vivacious, fun-loving girl and Jess and I enjoyed meeting up with her in Sydney for a concert in August. That’s Cathy, Hannah and Jess above taken at the Olympic Stadium before the concert. Jess and Hannah share a love of music.

Cathy finished another course (with distinction) in community studies mid year and started a diploma course but had to leave due to ill health. She is now waiting for surgery but doing other work in the meantime.

Paul and Sandy continue to lead busy lives. Paul divides his time between instructing for the RAAF on the FA/18 and working with LIFT Youth Development and speaking at various churches, schools and seminars. Sandy keeps busy with 2 days a week work in their church office and keeping house and running Dan and Leah to school, gym and tennis. Dan had his first flying lesson with his Dad earlier in the year. Now there are 3 generations of fly boys! Since September Paul has also been flying the newly restored Sabre (pictured) for the Temora Aviation Museum. Col and I were there to see his first air show in that. Dan began middle school this year. He is a very grown up 11 and Leah will be 9 in January. They are great children and we enjoy special times with them.

Since moving we have cancelled our P O Box so please do not send any mail to that address. The mail redirection finishes 3 December so anything sent to our old address will be returned to you.

We trust that this year has been a good one for you and your family. No doubt there have been challenges but we hope that you know there is a God who loves you and desires to help you through anything and everything life brings. May his blessing be upon you as we celebrate this season of his ultimate gift of love, our Lord Jesus Christ.

With our love to you for a wonderful Christmas season and a blessed 2010.

Colin & Jackie