Hello all and happy December!  What a funny thought- December with no snow and frost!  Just down the street- across from the ocean- there is a house with a huge snowman on the front lawn!  All I can say is "where are the sunglasses for the poor guy?"   Christmas here is low key compared to home.  Kind of nice really!  The most beautiful thing around here are the POHUTUKAWA trees ( poe- who- too- cow- ah)- good luck saying that one!  These trees are blossoming right now- with huge red flowers!  Some of the hill sides by the ocean are all red and green- COOL!  

As we get more familiar with life down here I have finally been brave enough to drive!  Poor Keith had been the chauffeur for long enough and I had Christmas shopping to do.  I like to drive with one child, not in traffic, no radio and I sing a little diddi to myself to remember that "I'm on the wrong side of the road...."  So far I've done fine- but I still prefer gasping at Keith as we negotiate these roads!  I am a professional back seat driver!

Keith had the amazing privilege of going on a day trip to White Island- an active volcano!  He was thrilled!  A neighbour's visiting brother had an extra ticket and invited Keith!  He saw and smelled all the sights there!  Hard to describe- google it!  As a huge bonus he saw Orca Whales on the way home- a whole pod with two young calves!  Keith did his best to take photos!

The kids all loved the Christmas play at the church!  The performance went well and after they finished they all ran around in bare feet outside!  

Last week we travelled around the east cape of the north island to Gisborne and area.  The ocean views with all the pohutukawa trees in full bloom was stunning!  I took so many pictures as we stopped many times along the way.  We stayed at a B&B in Anaura Bay- very quiet and secluded.  The kids had fun looking for paua shells and dead crabs.  By the time we got to Gisborne it was HOT!  We stayed long enough for lunch and a quick look around.  The drive home to Ohope was through a huge gorge and some amazing sheep covered farm land.  NZ is so green and lush in this area.

The weather has turned rainy again this week, but not very cold.  It is nice to have God water the garden for a few days!  We have one month left in Ohope and we plan to enjoy as much as possible.  The friends here are wonderful and like family!  BUT that's not to say that we don't miss all at home!  Poor Luke couldn't say hi his to Grandma Ruth the other day on Skype- just too sad for the lad!  On Monday when he was out on his scooter for a schooling break, our neighbour called to him- she had a package from Canada for him.  While she was looking through her mail box she found another one!  Two grandma care packages in one day!  So COOL!  We opened one full of wrapped gifts!  Keith just happened to still be on the volcano tour so the kids and I brought in a "tree" that I had saved from the garden (I had it in a bucket) and we decorated our Christmas tree!  We played festive tunes on the computer and made our decorations.  Ellie even set out to make us an angel!  It was a fun way to celebrate and the kids certainly were proud of their "tree."  I was amazed at how relaxed I could be about the decorating- usually we have to anchor the tree to the wall and get on all the lights before we let a person under the age of 20 near it!   Maybe we need to try this in Canada- less stress is always a good thing.

I have booked several places for our trip down to the south island and we are looking forward to seeing the rest of NZ in January.   Hugs and love to all at home!  Enjoy all those Christmas lights for us!