Looking back...

WARNING...PHOTO OVERLOAD...

What a year 2011 has been for the Lucas family. We have done so much - we have laughed, we have cried (way too much), we have had good times and bad times. It has been year when we realised just who our friends and our support were and exactly how much we cherished each and every one of them.

We spent as much time outdoors as we could - nowhere near as much as we wanted to but at least we got there. We spent time with friends and family.

The first half of this year was spent between Nowra and Berry looking after Mum and I am extremely grateful to my friends and family not just for the many words of encouragement, the drop off of food, the hugs and the help but mainly for your understanding when I didn't feel I could be stretched any further.
We watched our little puppy grow from a tiny ball of fluff we were given at last Christmas by Mum who knew we would need someone to cuddle when she was gone to a large ball of fluff who is now so much a part of our family it is hard to imagine life without him.
Tasha started high school (yikes) and Kyle went into year 9. We spent as much time with Mum as we could as a family storing up memories and looking after her as the confusion and pain became stronger and stronger. We also spent time with the rest of our family and loved their acceptance of us on good days and bad.

I changed jobs and am so thankful that this opportunity came up. Going back there has been kind of like coming home.

We got away for a weekend as a family to Sydney as we didn't want to travel too far. We went to the zoo and we saw Mary Poppins... Tasha loved watching Matt Lee dance.
We spent time at the beach - even taking Mum back to the beach for one last trip which was the one thing she really wanted to do. We all love the beach and being outdoors.

Kyles smile and hugs warm my heart each day. He greets me often during the day arms outstretched with hug ready to go.
On the 13th of May we said goodbye to Mum and once again were just surrounded by love and amazing friends. Can I say again how thankful we are for your support.

I spent time with my friends and had some great times with them as well as enjoying their understanding in the bad times.
Once again Tony bundled our family in the car for a drive down to Melbourne for a weekend when I was feeling so useless being so far away from friends who were having a horrid year to equal ours. Their 2012 should be much better for them as a family and I hope to spend time with them again this year.

We have enjoyed time outdoors. I have spent numerous hours watching dance lessons/ soccer games.

We entered trivia competitions (and won - go us!) with our wonderful friends and have had numerous catch ups, cups of coffee, drinks etc with these special people


What can I say about 2011. I hope we never have another like it. However the blessings that have come out of this time show me that God knew exactly what help was needed and placed it right where it would be most beneficial. The friends that have always been special to us have become even more so - simply for the care and understanding shown to us when... quite honestly... putting one foot in front of the other even seems too hard some days. My kids are my lifeline - without them I really don't think I would get out of bed each morning.

These last two pics are from my facebook page. I sometimes forget that some of my closest friends miss the entire part of my life that is shared my facebook ... although miss it is the wrong phrase as they are a part of my life every day and hear most of it first hand from me.

Below is photos that I think I have shown above... it is a random selection of pics from my facebook page
And this one is a random collection of my status updates over the past twelve months. It is good to look back and remember the past twelve months and to remind myself that we have laughed as well as cried and that we can go on.
Bring on 2012........

Our Christmas

Christmas was a quiet one this year!

We drove up to Sydney on Christmas Eve to spend a few days with Mark, Mel and Declan... oh and Ben the dog! We had a scrumptious traditional Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. The weather was beautiful and so we sat outside in the cool of the evening with a couple of bottles of Moet (thanks Mel) and had a great time.
Mel went to great lengths to organise a special Christmas - not only was the food amazing but the house was decked out in Christmas everywhere. She even had a gorgeous little Christmas village which I forgot to get a photo of :(

Christmas Day was nice and relaxed. We opened pressies and our menu for the day consisted of seafood, fresh fruit, cold ham and pork from the night before, salads and chocolate..... lots of chocolate. It was a time I was dreading and I did find it difficult... but when I found myself struggling I just took myself off for a few minutes until I felt I could join in again. Tash has really been struggling with losing Mum and is very aware that of my family the oldest person left is my brother and she really misses that older generation in her life so it was great to have a nice relaxed Christmas that she could enjoy
Then from the sublime to the ridiculous - we went from my small family gathering to driving home ... after calling into Miranda for a catch up with Heidi which always puts a smile on my face. Heidi was one of our "strays" and we have been friends for years - in fact when we were teenagers we just about lived at each others house and I still call her mother "other Mum".

Anyway from there we drove home... slowly.... very slowly.... yuck I hate holiday traffic to be greeted at the Combers by the Lucas family en masse. The scary thing..... this isn't all of them! We only got to spend an hour or so with them as we spent so much time in traffic but it was still great to see them. We got to meet the latest addition Violet (Jeneen's granddaughter) and also to see Mark (Davina's son) who was a surprise attendee.

Pre Christmas

As many people have mentioned December seemed to fly by in a vague mist. Our December is always slightly mad but this one seemed even more manic than usual.

We spent time doing our annual Christmas tree decorating - each year we get our Christmas hats and shirts on and put on the carols to decorate the tree. It was kind of bittersweet this year as most of our decorations have memories/thoughts of people attached to them. Each year the kids make a new decoration with their name and the year on it and this is also done for those sharing the dressing of the tree with us so when we unpack the box we have not only memories of our kids but also of those who have shared the time with us previously. So we have decorations from nieces/nephews/friends/past housemates/mum etc etc
Also in December I finally got to see Spicks and Specks. I had tickets to see a live showing last year but couldn't make it to the studio so had to miss it - when I heard they were touring I knew I just had to go. It was a really fun night with John, Haylee and Gail and I am so glad I was able to see it. Lots of singing and dancing as well as all of my favourite games from the show.
Tasha had her end of year dance concert for Le Pointe Dance Academy. Once again it was an amazing show - very professionally done. The theme this year was a triple tribute - Elvis Presley, Judy Garland and Michael Jackson. Tasha's dance for hip hop was Beat it and for Jazz was jailhouse rock. She put in so much time and effort in practising over and over and danced beautifully - well done Tasha
As I had the week before Christmas off work and the kids were both on school holidays we headed off on a road trip! Tasha has been asking me for some time to spend some time with my cousins (the only family left on my side) as the last time she saw them was at Mum's funeral and she wanted to replace those memories with happy ones. Tony and I had seen them since but the kids weren't with us. Unfortunately Tony had to work so it was just the kids and I.

We drove out to Cowra and spent time with Dave, Tanya and her boys Lachie and Thomas. It is always wonderful spending time with them and so much fun.

The next day we had planned to go into Canberra for some shopping before heading to Goulburn to see Mick and the kids. As normally happens with Mick there was a last minute change of plans when his kids decided they wanted to do some shopping so we all met up at Belconnen Mall. Then we spent the next morning with Mick in Goulburn before heading home.

.

Then two days before Christmas we bundled in the car (Haylee, Kyle, Tasha, Tegan and myself) and went out on our annual Christmas light pilgrimage. We had the carols playing and the festive mood flowing...... I do wonder whether Haylee will join us again after not only did Tash and I sing..... loudly.... but Tash also yelled out "Merry Christmas" to EVERYONE we drove past.

Oh and in the middle of all this

* I turned 39 .... scary!

* Work continued to be manic organising building and the lead up to Christmas

* Tony had to travel to Sydney to see the specialist for his shoulder

* I spent a lot of time thinking of Mum as I wrote Christmas cards to her friends

* The kids and I went to carols at the church