After more than 13 months we made it back to England for Christmas and New Year. We visited nearly all of our family and close friends many of whom are also the children's Godparents. Sadly it was not possible to visit everyone and we missed not seeing my Dad, my friend and Elijah's Godmother Sharon and many of the children's school friends. However if we do return to England sometime this year you'll be high on our priority list for an early visit!
As you can see below we packed in a lot and are very grateful to all the people who so generously offered us accommodation and hospitality. It made the trip more relaxing and much more personal than of might otherwise have been.
We left Bubenreuth as soon as Jemima and Elijah finished school at lunch time on 23rd December. We got a taxi to Nuremburg airport and we flew to Frankfurt and then took a second flight to East Midlands Airport, which is very close to where Pete's parents live. We spent our first few days over the Christmas period with them.
Catching up on reading in English!
We celebrated our 13th wedding Anniversary.
Told Jokes, played games,(including the inevitable football) and performed party tricks!
Shared time with cousins.....
...including one who'd been born since we'd been away.
On Boxing day the boys went to see Nottingham Forrest play against Peterborough. Shame about the score, but Elijah enjoyed watching his first professional football match.
We then started our travels beginning at my Mums.
Jemima made a shoe purchase!
Next we visited friends in High Wycombe (who are also Elijah's Godparents)
On our way to see friends in Woodstock, Oxfordshire,we called into Sainbury's Cafe in Kidlington to briefly catch up with a school friend.
We then had lunch with a family who have also lived abroad and whose children like ours are 'Third Culture Kids'. (TCKs are children who have spent the whole or part of their childhood living in a country/culture that is not the same as that of theirs or their parents'.)
The following day we joined the morning service of our old church in Oxford, where we were greeted by one of Jemima's Godmothers. Then our friends in Long Hanborough hosted a lunch with their family, and some others. It was good for the children to catch up with each other as well as the adults. Despite it being wet and windy we ventured to the park...
Jemima and one of her Godmothers
Our friends, (Jemima's Godparents and two of Jonah's)
and some of the children...
We stayed the night in Oxford with the other family we had had lunch with.
In the morning we went for a walk, past CS Lewis' house...
to the nature reserve..
..and the horses....
Then on to Bristol!!!
One of Pete's sisters and her family live in Bristol...
....and so does my brother and his family!
We then returned to Pete's parents until we had to fly back.
We wish all our family and friends a (belated) happy and blessed 2012!
