A Summer Christmas

It was our second summer Christmas in New Zealand. The day was sunny and over cast, as most days here have been lately. We had a week of rain before Christmas so it was a relief to have some sun. Christmas eve was busy. We were invited to a Catholic Mass with our close friends, Fran and Jerome. They invited the kids to be Shepherds in their play and as all kids love to dress up, we went along. It was such a great way to emphasize the best Christmas gift of all, the Lord Jesus. So the service was held on the Marae which is the Maori land in their meeting house, shown in the photo above. That is me in the red dress and my shepherds beside me. There were over a hundred people there, mostly Maori, and the service was spoken/sung in Maori and English. Even the Priest spoke in Maori and he is Pakeha. (The Maori word for caucasian people is widely used here.) It was very casual and fun, full of laughter and very relaxed. I really enjoyed being with our friends and sharing Christmas eve with them.

The next service was at 9pm at our church, a Baptist church. What a contrast. It was dark, candlelit, solemn and only about 35-40 people. I organized the food and was told to prepare for 70 people! You can imagine how much I fussed, given that we were expecting guests from the community. I pulled out the silver tea set and the china and brought pointsettias, made punch and brought baking. I had a lot of fun doing it. We sang carols and watched a short clip of a movie depicting the time of Jesus birth. It was good but didn't have the same warm family joy that the Catholic service held.

Christmas Day - We were up at 7am opening stockings. The usual excitement with opening presents. I really loved that the gifts weren't pouring out from under the tree. The kids appreciated every single one of their small gifts that we gave them. A few things came from Canada but it was a pleasure to see the boys giving gifts to each other (and us) that they bought and paid for themselves. They are growing up so fast.

Fran and Jerome had invited us to lunch on Christmas day, so we had a wonderful time with them. A BBQ of steak and chicken kebabs. We also had salad and new potatoes from our garden. What a special Christmas, spending it with friends. We also had decided not to exchange gifts, which was very hard to do. Fran even text messaged me to confirm that we weren't going to exchange gifts. I had to laugh, because I was tempted to break our agreement. I did have a gift for her daughter but I'm saving it for her birthday now! We phoned everyone on Christmas day and had such a good time talking to the family. I did miss being there, but I'm sure all the stress of going from house to house would have been more than I could take. I always preferred to have everyone come to us than trapse all over the Lower Mainland to see everyone.

We actually stayed home from Saturday to Tuesday which was amazing for us. We didn't go anywhere for 4 days!! No Boxing Day frenzy, as it is Rick's birthday on Boxing Day. He got a new Parrot for his birthday but I'll save that for another day.

Kia Ora!

It is actually Sunday here. We are 21 hours ahead of British Columbia. Unfortunately, I haven't figured out how to change the date and time to New Zealand time.

Aren't Sundays wonderful?! I love the peaceful rest that comes on the Lord's Day. I needed to rest and catch up on some much needed school work. I have been in a "lull" lately with regards to homeschooling. Could it have anything to do with the year coming to an end? Christmas? Summer? All of these have contributed to these feelings but I'm also afraid we haven't accomplished enough this year! Having moved to NZ only a year ago, we have struggled to change over to the NZ school timeline. That means starting a fresh new year at the beginning of February and taking 2 weeks off between 4 equal terms. It's hard to tell your children that they have to work while everyone is on holidays because we are still on the Canadian calendar. It doesn't really matter to me but their math books tell me that they aren't finished "Grade 3 and 4" yet and won't be finished until June!

Anyway, I'm glad I took the time today to prepare for the week because the days slip by and no one knows where they go?!

Being in New Zealand has been a wonderful Social Studies lesson. However, the boys are using terms like "lou" instead of "bathroom" and in this country you must ask to use the "toilet" not the "bathroom." Ben just asked me where the "plasters" are? He means "bandaid." Funny how quickly they pick up new words!

Not only has wordbuilding enriched their schooling, but map reading, Maori education, wildlife, and farming have also been important to their lessons. The bird life is especially exciting. We have acquired an Australian parrot, a NZ born Gala, 7 chickens, and two budgies. My husband is rather taken with these feathered friends and was hoping to buy some NZ birds. He was looking for a breeding pair and came across some Kakarikis (sp?) but when he went to buy them he was told that he would require a permit to own them. They are NZ native birds and like the Kiwi bird, one must house them in very high standard homes. The Kiwi bird must have a one hundred thousand dollar building! Ha! I guess because they are becoming endangered, they have to protect them. More about that next time...

Kia Ora! means Hello in Maori.

Summer's here!

It was a warm and beautiful day in Tauranga (NZ) today. I think it was in the high 20's. It's time to start lathering the sunscreen on. We had a few trips to the beach this week and with my dad visiting from Canada, my two boys had some special Grandpa time at the hot pools too! We are in wind down mode with school events like Orchestra. The boys each played an instrument in the orchestra concert. Ben plays the violin and Nick plays the recorder. They are enjoying music and looking forward to playing Christmas music, which is a good sign that school is nearly out! We can hardly keep our attention on our school books but other parents say that their children aren't doing much at school these days either. Forever comparing myself to the others! When will I learn??

The highlight of our day today was picking beans, zucchini, silver beet, and potatoes from my garden. It's amazing how fast things grow here! I don't know what happened to me since my childhood, but I actually love to weed now!! The kids are happy pulling weeds too - for the nourishment of our rabbits and chickens. Our little hobby farm is so much fun!

The photo above, is of my son, Benjamin, standing at the top of Mt. Maunganui. The beach below is a favorite with the surfers and with my kids! We spend a lot of time at "the Mount"; we go to the Music school on Wednesdays and Action Class on Fridays, not to mention the mall any other day we happen to be nearby! There's only one mall for miles around, and it's not that big! The Mount is a favorite tourist spot and has great cafes and little shops along the beach.

Being December and sunny, we are not into the spirit of Christmas at all!! Although we have a Christmas tree up, it is pointless putting up outside lights as it is too bright out to see them! It is not the time of year to go into crafting mode either, so handmade presents are hard to get finished! (Sorry, mom!) We are planning to spend Christmas day with friends and will have a BBQ instead of a turkey. Well, enjoy your snow and Christmas shopping all those in Canada! We do miss the snow, slush and rain!

Blurb from a first time blogger

This is it! I'm blogging! I have to say that I'm a little nervous about sharing my thoughts with the world but hopefully I'll enjoy it as much as you, Jan!

Have just enjoyed a month of vacation in Springtime, here in New Zealand. Touring the countryside with the in-laws made it feel new and exciting again. We've been in New Zealand for one year and tend to stay in the locale of the Bay of Plenty. We live in a country town just outside of Tauranga where we are surrounded by kiwi fruit and avocado orchards. The climate is dry and relatively frost free which is ideal for growing kiwi fruit, olives, and avocados. Tauranga is also the fastest growing larger city in all of New Zealand. Apparently, developers are clearing the way for a 2,000 home subdivision to be built just 15 minutes away from us. We have two local wineries nearby - Morton's and Mills Reef, as well as Pahoia Estate Olive Grove. I went to the olive grove recently and purchased oil direct from the grower!

A couple of weeks ago we went to the Coromandel which is a peninsula just north of the Bay of Plenty. The sights were breathtaking. I hope to put the photos on this site. The roads are narrow and windy but well worth the drive when you pull into the little town called Cathedral Cove. I can't wait to go back. The cliffs have beautiful views and the beaches are gorgeous! I am constantly in awe of God's creation. New Zealand is still so pristine. It feels like there are still parts of the earth that man hasn't touched since God created it!