The Grimes' Special Merry Christmas Wish to you

Hello to our friends & family (on every side of the globe), 14 December 2011


It is with mixed emotions that I write this year's Christmas Letter.  Most of you will have heard that Peter and I were planning on visiting Canada this Christmas and had booked our trip in July and had arranged to see the Miracle of Christmas with Mom and Dad in Pennsylvania and we were all very excited.  But alas, Dear Dad went home to be with the Lord at the end of August and we moved our trip up for obvious reasons.


Whilst it was a very bitter sweet trip, we were also able to catch-up with a lot of family and friends and at times the trip seems so surreal, but we captured some great pictures and below are a few collages I have created.  There were so many highlights of the trip; for Peter – the Blue Jays Baseball Game and for me – the lovely afternoon at Niagara-On-The-Lake with Mom and Peter, not to mention all of the wonderful visits with family and friends.  I have also included an awesome picture that was taken of Mom and Dad just the week before he took his final flight home.

So, we will be spending Christmas at home in Springfield Lakes this year but a lovely bonus will be seeing Chase on Christmas Day.

Our year started with the devastating floods in January and Peter and I had the opportunity of helping a couple John and Gael from the Centenary Suburbs and we have since caught up with them over a lovely dinner and heard the story of their house being rebuilt.  Even now as I have started writing our letter, I am sitting along Brisbane Terrace in Goodna that was completely under water and it seems so surreal to imagine that it even happened, but I only have to look across the street and I can see the evidence as some houses are still bare, waiting for reconstruction of their walls and residents waiting for insurance settlements.  They are predicting another wet summer again but they are keeping a close eye on the levels of the dam this year.  I still remember our drive back to Brisbane from Gladstone after spending Christmas with Beth (Peter's mum) and how the road was closed because it was flooded, and even when it was finally clear for us to pass, the level of water was so high to the bridge, it was incredible and scary all at the same time.  I have included a picture which might help you appreciate it a tiny bit.



So, I have now completed a year in my current role as Human Resources Officer with Simtars with the Queensland Public Service and it continues to challenge me, but there is never a day the same and I enjoy it.  I had to take a bit of leave from work earlier this year to recover from a hernia surgery which ended up being a bit bigger than we thought, but I am well and truly on the road back to getting in shape.  Santa Claus brought me my present early - a lovely new exercise bike which I have already started to work hard at getting into a routine with.  I will even share it with Peter if he would like to have a go!  Earlier this year I was asked to babysit a piano and as a friend reminded me, “God really does give us the desires of our heart.” It is so beautiful!  Also, as our weather is a bit cooler in July, it seemed only appropriate to organise Christmas in July at work-decorations and a festive morning tea. I have continued to enjoy writing and photography and although my posts to my blog have not been as regular, I have enjoyed it immensely.  If you have not already checked it out, please go to: http://cutecanadianprincess.blogspot.com 

Peter has now finished his second year as Information Technology Officer at Simtars (yep, we work at the same place - nice commute for us, too - about 20 minutes against the traffic - only thing he does not like is having to wait for me at the end of the day when I get my second wind).  He has had a big year with IT as the government department transferred all the users over to a new server network and it was pretty full on back in May and June for him.  The joke is that we will have it all sorted in time for the next election when they change the government departments all over again!  He continues to read a lot and develop himself personally and is keeping our dream alive to be able to live in both hemispheres of the world.  He has incredible drive!  He was asked by our church to host a life group this year, so we have been blessed to have some wonderful friends join us every fortnight in our home and I have made a cute Christmassy Collage of them - we love them all so much.

Chase has had an awesome year, too.  She has been busy with her studies in her second year of Physiotherapy and working two jobs, but her highlight would probably be her trip overseas to England/Europe during the winter holiday break with her friend Steph from Uni.

Oh, and I should not forget Jake and Jessie – our gorgeous puppies.  They are both doing well, although Jake pined for us a bit while we were away and kept digging his way out of the yard to try to find us.  Peter is the faithful walker of the slups every morning.  Goodonya love.

This year we started a few new traditions.  One was the last Saturday of every month Peter and I travelled to the Gold Coast for the day and this included enjoying the sights and sounds of the beach, breakfast in the mountains with friends, fish and chips, sometimes a look through shops and sometimes a surf (swim).  The other function is the monthly Grimes’ family dinner with Peter’s brother John and his family.  We have enjoyed a variety of restaurants and cuisine and it has been great to visit with them throughout the year.

Other fun outings have included a couple of great musical theatre productions - My Fair Lady in Wynnum with Chase, and Oklahoma with Rod and Dec.  Back in May we embarked on a drive to Queen Mary Falls for the day and what a lovely winter’s day it was, both at the Falls and the beautiful landscape on the trip there and back.

So there you have it.  A snapshot into what 2011 was for the Grimes’ – a bit of a mixed bag this year.  We are sad in some ways to farewell the year, but in more ways we are very happy to be welcoming in a new year to see what God has in store for us.  We take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Safe and Blessed 2012.

Peter, Brenda, Chase, Jessie and Jake