Hi All from wayyyy DownUnder – Yahoooo! Hot weather, swimming, family and friends to boot with Christmas bearing down hard on us, Paul arriving this week and get togethers all around! Life is great!

 

I know the last installment on our website has been in August/September so I will pick up the story from there for this years Christmas letter for the Murphy’s….

 

ICELAND – Paul, Keian, Izabella and I all headed off to Iceland a week after we went to London. What an amazing place. First day was spent walking around orientating ourselves and finding a nice place for dinner. Hotel was super and location was spot on.

Next morning Paul and I had breakfast with Keian and Izabella before being picked up by our guide and whisked away on a four wheel driving tour through a part of Iceland and volcanic remains to the second largest glacier in the world. It was a rough old ride through the 4WD section especially since I was suffering morning sickness to boot. However once kitted up and on the snow mobiles on the glacier it was magic. We scooted along with ease and had a ball for an hour with our tour guide and group. Unfortunately the batteries on the camera suffered in the cold and the photos are in our minds eye only….bummer. But it really was a spectacular sight and as Paul described it, it was like scooting along the clouds….

 

Once this tour was over we met back with our precious little man and Izabella for some play time before dinner. Next day the morning was with Keian before we headed out to the Blue Lagoon Hot springs. Here we treated ourselves to a 2hr massage in the hot springs whilst it was freezing and raining – but they do this year around and kept us warm and cozy in the water. We had mud wraps which were suppose to make us look 10yrs younger but……time will tell. We were then wrapped in a plastic bag full body and floated around the hot water until the massage started. Ahhhhh!

Then it was back to Kiean and Izabella again for dinner before an early flight out the next morning. The scenery was spectacular and there is soooo much to do there. It is well worth the effort to go there and is only a 3hr flight to get there from Germany. Definitely a must see for those people who love to experience new and different places.

 

Unbeknownst to us this was pretty much our last holiday travels whilst living in Europe….as before we knew it it became time to pack up the house.

 

We did manage to have an early 1^st Birthday in October for Keian. We had lots of his little friends and we headed off to Tolliwood which is an indoor soft play centre. All the bubs had a ball, parents got to meet and greet inbetween chasing the 1yr olds around the place. Oh and Keian was spoilt rotten with lots of little special gifts to remember his friends by and play with on the plane on the way home.

 

We also packed in October and moved into the Red House (for those that have seen our street in Königstein) as they had a self contained apartment underneath with spectacular views and easy living for us. We had a wonderful 10 days there with dinners and coffees, laughs and fun. Ursula and Alex were perfect hosts and we were able to maintain some sort of familiar routine for Keian being only across the road from our house.

We spent our last night at Juri and Alla’s which Keian and their daughter of 14mths Sophia just loved. They had become very good friends, so enjoyed having each other around from morning to night. We also had a lovely time with dinner and red wine and plenty of laughs with our hosts whose hospitality was flawless.

 

The next day was quite a blur with Paul working the morning, Keian out of sorts, packing waaayyyy too much luggage, getting the car ready for return, booking taxi’s and finalizing DB.

In between all this was an oasis. My mothers group had arranged our lunch at Alla’s place so I was able to see the girls and the bubs who had become my dear friends, sounding boards and sanity team in Germany in the previous year!

The lunch ended way too quickly and the people in the street then also came to say farewells. This was a gut wrenching exercise and truly broke my heart to think I would not be seeing them for some years to come. Paul and I and of course Kiean, really do thank you dearly for sharing your individual journeys with us and for so freely, opening your homes to us and providing your valuable friendship. We are happy though that we now have our global network of friends to stay in touch with and visit in the years to come, so there is an upside….

 

Our next chapter was then done in stages. First stage was relocating ourselves to the Manor in Sunningdale. Darren and Mark had graciously opened their home to us again this time for a little longer. The flight over was ok despite the €1000 of excess luggage Ha!!! But Keian was a good boy on the flight with Paul and I, our lift arrived with a huge car to get all our things into and we arrived on time. Darren and Mark had made our room up and even printed gorgeous photos of Keian and us to put in the room to make it feel like home. Very thoughtful, not to mention the stocked freezer and fridge…..

They were actually away for the first week and instead we had Sam come and join us on the Saturday lunch time (we arrived Friday night). Paul picked her up with her wee man Lachlan who had come to spend 4 days with us. Keian was a bit crook on Saturday but soldiered on and we put it down to the change of location. We then headed off to Windsor for some late lunch and a walk around before coming home for the night. Sam and I sat up that night catching up on past times and reminiscing. This in hindsight was a good and bad thing as Keian did not have a good night and then I started to be sick at 5am the next morning. This actually turned out to be a vicious virus which saw me in hospital for the day to control it as I was then 3.5mths pregnant. On top of that Paul got it by lunchtime and still had to manage Keian as I was in the hospital and then Sam got it the next day. What a terrible start to our trip…..On the Sunday I wished I could be hit by a bus and Monday I felt like I had been hit by a bus and Paul was much the same….Ahhhhhh!

 

The last two days Sam and I were revived and spent our days walking to the park and playing with the kids. It was a nice time despite the illness and the weather….unfortunately the days went too quickly and she was gone as fast as she came.

On the day she left our hosts returned from New York where they had been celebrating Darren’s 40^th. They had had a ball and arrived with much more luggage than when they left and had a burning desire to go back to NY again.

 

On Keian’s and my last weekend we had a great lunch out with the Patchings, Aunty Ann and Uncle Ray as well as Darren and Mark. We had a feast which then rolled into drinks at Darren and Mark’s with dinner.

 

The rest of the week was spent with the boys working by day and Keian and I just hanging out and playing house Frau. Then dinners and cards at home by night. The weekend was a nice time before the dreaded day where Keian and I had to leave Paul and do a 7hr flight alone – heart breaking for Keian and I to say goodbye to Dad and there were many tears. The flight was not a particularly fun time and I was very pleased to arrive in Abu Dubai to my Brothers place where we were able to get some sleep and recharge the batteries in the sunshine with the family for 5days.

 

They were also gracious hosts with shopping, dinners, morning teas and a great day out at the beach and in the boat which Keian absolutely adored. The weather was magnificent and we really enjoyed our time. Steve and Wendy have a cat which was interesting and very funny. Keian was fascinated but terrified all at the same time. As a result he crawled along behind the cat crying….and if the cat turned and came near him he screamed and shook with fear but if the cat disappeared he was also not happy. It was a comedy scene to watch and by the time we left the cat took a wide birth around Keian having lost a few handfuls of fur to him.

The finale was a trip to a local Camel farm who was a friend of Stephen’s from work. A very traditional family where Wendy, Keian and I were hosted by the ladies on arrival and Stephen with the men. We firstly were given loads of traditional foods for morning tea which was “interesting”, plus juice, water, coffee to accompany it. The ladies were all the sisters of the host and luckily for us spoke enough English to communicate. They were fascinated with our blond hair blue eyed little man but unfortunately the fascination of the veils and face guards for nose and mouth were not so appealing to him and he clung to me tightly and cried when they approached him. Eventually he became braver and enjoyed playing with the many children where they also got photos with our hosts.

Next we were reunited with Steve and we headed out to the camel farm – there Keian saw camels, cows, calves, chooks and goats so his eyes were like saucers and full of wonder….

Then we went back to the house to say goodbye, more drinks etc then we headed off to the racing camel farm. The red scarves which you see in the photos are to stop them eating anything on the ground as they are fed a special diet.

Stephen and Wendy then had a ride on a camel (pregnant women are not allowed) which was hilarious before we had a display of racing riding by one of the host’s cousins.

It was a great day out with much culture injected into it and some very generous hosts…..

 

The next morning we were repacked, up and in the car to the airport for the dreaded 14hr trip. Thanks to my gorgeous husband we did this in first class which made it the best it could be with a 1yr old boy who is very active. He slept 4hrs of the 14hr trip which was good but the rest of the time was busy busy busy…I would not recommend travel with a 1yr old but if you must then take plenty of things which you can constantly rotate through his attention span and your husband.

We were greeted at the plane with a lady and gentleman who assisted me with a buggy, through customs and luggage collection right out into the arrivals hall where Neil and Doreen were waiting……ahhhh here at last! They drove us to our next home which was in North Turramurra and CHILD FRIENDLY. Angela and Paul generously offered us their home whilst they are in Japan which has turned out to be a God-send. THANKYOU! Keian has settled in and I have managed to also adjust with the help of Mum and Dad the first week, Sandra the third week and Neil/Doreen inbetween to share the load with me. This just reaffirmed for me the decision to come home at this point to the love and support of family and friends.

The help and support has not stopped with all the friends and family staying in touch and offering help where and when ever they can.

Narelle in true Relsie style took over my house hunt and secured us a four bedroom home in East Ryde with a pool, signed and sealed in 5 days. This again was fantastic to have someone help and solve the To Dos I had. Kylie found me an Obstetrician and Hospital which is no mean feet at 4mths let me tell you. Jenn kept me sane with daily contact and support from Melbourne…..Kaz with great lazy afternoons while the kids played, Neil and Doreen arranging food and watering, Skype sessions with Paul, Kim and Michael offering their house and time to share Keian’s birthday bash with us in their home and the list goes on and on.

 

So from Paul, Keian and myself THANKYOU so much for the efforts and love you have provided us on our return.

Of course there is one major piece of the puzzle left – Paul and his work! He is currently in discussions with firming up his role in Australia but it is none too soon with Keian and I missing him desperately and anxious to have him back by our side where he and we are most happy. So keep all your fingers crossed this all falls into place sooner rather than later.

 

For now though we have our eyes firmly focused on Friday morning when Paul arrives to spend 3 weeks with us. We are counting the days and I cannot wait to see Keian and his daddy reunited, this I know will be a precious sight. Then we can truly focus on fun, Christmas and time with friends and family in fantastic Summer weather.

 

We send our thoughts and love to those of you in Europe spending your “white or cold” Christmas and reinterate our invitation to come and have a hot Christmas with us any time in the future.

We plan to spend our Christmas day at Shelley beach for lunch at the Kiosk with Sandra and John before heading for dinner out to Kieren’s place. Following Christmas we are off up the coast for a week to sit by the beach with our Whoaphuck friends who are also up their with the tribes of children – which Keian absolutely thrives on.

 

So we have much to be thankful for in this year of changes and new beginnings. We wish you all a fantastic, safe and happy Christmas period with an exciting New Year coming your way…..and certainly look forward to updates from afar and plenty of recreation with our friends and family down here.

 

All Our Love

Paul, Corrine, Keian and “Bump No. 2”

xoxoxox