Our Thanksgiving Weekend

Our family does celebrate Thanksgiving here, despite the fact that the 4th Thursday in November is a regular school and work day on the Australian calendar. Rick takes the day off from work, and we pick up the kids from school early so that they can participate in some of the pre-meal hubbub. We have to homeschool them in the history and traditions of the day, as they aren’t giving reports on Miles Standish at school or making little white caps and black hats with buckles in art class! Thank goodness for the World Wide Web, where I can find turkey craft ideas from the other side of the globe-- a turkey centerpiece and turkey napkin holders graced our table. In addition, a girl and boy pilgrim, adorned with appropriate paper headgear, along with their Native American counterpart in her headdress (decorated with a cockatoo feather, of course), welcomed our guests to the First Thanksgiving.

(Sorry, no pics of the greeting committee; the photographers were busy in the kitchen!)

Although some Americans find other expats to share the day, we chose to invite two couples that we relate to like family to share our meal. It gave the gathering the intergenerational feel of the extended family coming together. Marg and Wes, who live next door to us, really have become a third set of grandparents to the kids, and Wes’ sister Dorothy and her husband John have helped to look after us since we first came here in 2004. We truly feel blessed to be able to welcome them into our home.

The weather in the Southern Hemisphere at this time of year does not lend one to desire a hot roast meal. However, in this case, tradition must prevail, so we are fortunate that the turkeys show up in the grocery stores about mid-November in preparation for Christmas meals (many Australians still insist on a roast dinner for Christmas, despite usually sweltering temperatures). Sadly, the poor bird that made its way to our table was overcooked by about two hours-- for the first time ever, I did not have a mother or mother-in-law to consult in the kitchen. However, the rest of the meal turned out well, so I was able to redeem myself.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard we try, there is just no substitute for the company of family at times like this, and that grief always hangs heavy for me. It is disconcerting to call home when we are in the midst of our Thanksgiving Day celebration to find our families heading off to bed on the night before Thanksgiving. And then, once we are ready to head off into a new day on Friday morning, we call to find them just stumbling away from the excesses of their Thursday afternoon meal. However, we did have great fun reconnecting with my family via Skype, trying to get my one-year old nephew to wave to his cousins and viewing 4D sonograms of my newest nephew who is due in March! This is the Kinney’s 2008 Thanksgiving family photo:

Given that it is not a 4-day holiday weekend here, the Friday after Thanksgiving was full-on, with school, work and Claire’s first dance recital. On Saturday, we attended the first wedding that Rick has formally officiated at here- a ceremony which includes a formal signing of the register, as I’ve seen done in British weddings. On Saturday evening, Rick and I had a lovely time at the wedding reception in the city.

By Sunday, we were quite ready for some low-key downtime. Fortunately, Rick had scheduled one of the four family Sundays he is entitled to each year, so we packed a picnic lunch (I had a lovely dry turkey sandwich, thank you) and took the whole family biking in Sydney Olympic Park along the Parramatta River. It was a glorious sunny day in the mid-70’s (I still cannot think in Celsius), and we explored the Newington Amory, where the Royal Australian Navy used to store explosives. I am sure that the men who used to work there never envisioned young families touring their facilities on weekend bike excursions! Along the way, we found wildflowers and wildlife, and just enjoyed being together. A great way to end our “holiday” weekend.

Love, Anne

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from Little Bo Peep, her lost sheep,

and her ever-loyal, but long-forgotten, sheepdog!

Rick Turns 40

First, I apologise for the remarkable delay in posting this entry. Two weeks of the time between the event date and this post date were incredibly busy with a wonderful visit with our good friend Betsy Adams from Connecticut, our first non-relative to brave the long journey from the States (and it was well worth it, right Betsy?). And we did take off for a few days during the girls’ two-week October school holidays for a little family R&R. But the remaining time? Just the nitty-gritty of everyday life, I guess.

On September 9, Rick turned 40. I must admit that I struggled with how we should celebrate this milestone. Should I throw a big party for him at the house? Perhaps a large dinner with friends at a restaurant? I thought about a party where everyone would be asked to bring a dish. I thought about getting a caterer and having a grown-up party. I even considered inviting friends with young children, and serving just cake and ice cream and playing silly party games. But honestly, being an introvert, and not a particularly eager creative planner, I find planning and executing parties to be excruciating. Just ask Rick, who has watched me conceptualize and plan what we will do for the girls’ simple children's birthday parties- I get way too anxious to find it rewarding. And Rick has never really wanted a big fuss made about his birthday, anyhow, so I wasn’t even sure how much he would appreciate the gesture.

So, after struggling with this question for months, I basically bailed out and decided that I would simply convince him to take the day off, as his birthday was a weekday. We would do something fun during the day, and then have a nice family dinner out and have cake at home. And that is what we did- while the girls were in school, we went bike riding in Sydney Olympic Park, which has miles of bike trails, with Lachlan on the back of my bike, and then we had a nice family dinner at a local Thai restaurant, and an extraordinarily rich homemade chocolate chocolate chip cake at home. It was a wonderful day and Rick felt properly celebrated.

Apparently, however, when church members caught wind of my faltering party planning, they were a bit concerned that such a significant birthday might pass so quietly. When I was first asked whether Rick would enjoy a party at the church, I thought that perhaps they would have a cake and a festive morning tea after church. “Yes, he’d appreciate that.” Oh boy, little did I realize what I got him into….

Immediately after Rick had walked to the back of the sanctuary and said the benediction for the 9:30am service on September 14, he was approached by six men (all members of the congregation) in black suits, ear pieces and shades. One of the men came to the front of the church and announced that they were from the FBI and that it was understood that the congregation was harbouring a minister whose visa had expired. Rick was handcuffed and spirited off to a waiting car. He was driven to a local park down the street, where they kept him wondering about his fate for about half an hour.

Rick realized immediately that it was a practical joke, but said he was a bit concerned not knowing where exactly the joke was headed, as the ring leader of the “FBI” is well known for his epicly creative bachelor party pranks that involve no alcohol, but plenty of rotten fruit and general "mickey taking". To take the mickey means to tease, and Australians have elevated it to an art form. Especially for Aussie men, this humourous teasing has a leveling effect among mates, reflecting the Australian spirit of egalitarianism. As a general rule, if Australians treat you with great courtesy and deference, they probably regard you as an outsider. If they take the mickey outta you, you belong.

I think Rick now belongs. After his wait in the park, he was seated in a chair in the back of a black ute (a very popular type of Aussie vehicle: sort of a half-car/half-pickup with a cab up front and a tray in the back to haul stuff, like the old El Camino), still bound and gagged. Accompanied by the “FBI” agents on foot, motorcade-style, he was slowly driven down the streets back to the church, attracting many curious onlookers throughout the neighbourhood. The congregation was gathered outside the church to greet him, and what a sight it was to see that motorcade processing down the street towards us, Rick helplessly sitting in the back!

Upon their arrival, he was greeted by women from the Ladies' Fellowship dressed as Aussie lifesavers (the iconic Aussie lifeguards that patrol the surf in their red and yellow beanies) holding both American and Australian flags, as well as children with noisemakers and lots of clapping and cheering from the crowd. I must admit that he bore the whole ordeal with more grace and good humour than I ever could have managed--as I told the congregation later on, this was most appropriate payback for the many practical jokes that he pulled in his younger years before he took on the more serious responsibilities of pastoral leadership!

After his arrival, we enjoyed the obligatory presentation of gag gifts, a sausage sizzle lunch, desserts and cake, and then went to the sanctuary, where our family was seated up front during a slide show “roast” of sorts using pictures that Rick’s mom and I had provided. There were some wonderfully hilarious moments.

The whole experience was a great illustration of some of the basic threads that we've seen woven through Australian culture. Australians have a wonderful way of taking what they do seriously, but not taking themselves too seriously. There is a profound good-naturedness and laid back attitude.

Now, our most important task is to actually get that visa renewed by its expiration date, November 3, before we get real immigration officials carting off the entire family! We truly are looking forward to experiencing Australian culture for a bit longer!

The capture

The motorcade

The arrival

The rescue and welcome

Anne

Olympic Fever

Like much of the world, the Dacey family has been having great fun watching the Olympics for the past two weeks. We have been asked whom we are barracking (cheering) for in these games, the USA or Australia. Rick’s response has been, “yes.” The fact is, it is a bit of a challenge when the commentators are speaking in Australian accents and focusing on the Australian competitions and competitors, not to barrack for Australia. But we have certainly celebrated the victories of the USA as well. We have been proud to say that we come from the country of Michael Phelps, whom we saw a lot of, given Australia’s keen interest in all sports involving water!

We couldn’t help but notice some differences in the way that the Olympics is broadcast here. First, it was on free-to-air TV, every day, from 9 or 10am to 6pm, and then from 8pm onwards (to be fair, we have heard that another network has the contract for the 2012 Olympics, and there may not be as much free-to-air coverage). And it was all competition- none of the personal profiles and human interest stories that have become so all-consuming in the American coverage. Australia is definitely a country that loves its sport. Rick, the only one in the household that managed to stay awake for the late-night opening ceremony was also impressed that, for the first time in his memory, he watched the entire parade of nations without any commercial interruptions.

The girls really got into the competitions, and felt torn when Australia and the USA were competing against one another. They relished being able to come home from school and turn on the TV every afternoon, and spend Saturdays and Sundays glued to the TV. I know that they are going to suffer a bit of withdrawal (as will I!) when they get home this afternoon from school and it is back to the “mean-mommy” rules of no TV on school days! But I think that Lachlan will be relieved, as he has clearly been disturbed that his sisters have been tuning into the TV rather than playing with him after school. He has done his best to make this clear by catapulting himself around the living room, jumping all over the girls, mischievously pushing the TV’s power button to “off”, and generally making a pesky nuisance of himself during viewing time.

Feeling a bit of the Olympic fever myself, I decided to run a road race in Sydney two days after the start of the games. The race, City2Surf, is 14K (about 8 miles), starting in the central business district and heading east along the Harbour, ending up at the famous Bondi Beach, a gorgeous stretch of sand. The course was hilly and incredibly scenic. The stunning view of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge made it so rewarding to face Sydney’s own “Heartbreak Hill” in the middle of the race.

It was great fun and a really enjoyable event, although I could have done with a little less of a crowd- reportedly about 70,000 entrants! I was glad to be out in the race world again, as my last race was back in 2003. And I have to give a grateful shout-out to our neighbours, Marg and Wes, who took the kids at 7am on a Sunday morning (even one with a fever!), and to my dear friend Anna, who inspired me to give it a go in the first place, and who even packed me a lunch for our train trip back home.

If you’d like to check out a video of my finish, check this link: http://city2surf.sunherald.com.au/results08video.php?intbib=26999 . I start coming in the upper right hand corner with a purple shirt, black shorts and a white hat, and come down towards the middle of the screen. London, 2012- here I come!

The Sheep Farm

Yesterday and today, we had a stay at a sheep farm outside of Bathurst about 2½ hours from our home in Sydney. We were graciously hosted by the Robards family- Mark, Jane, Naomi and Kieran- members of our church. Mark’s dad owns the farm. He was a professor in wool and animal science, and when he retired, he decided to put into practice what he had taught in theory. He purchased one of the cottages that housed the media at Sydney’s 2000 Olympics and had it transported out to the farm so that the family could have a place to visit.

Although winter is a pretty chilly time to be out there, it is the time that the lambs are born, and a roaring fire in the woodstove kept us toasty inside. (To those of you who are wondering about the chill factor here, they had some dustings of snow last week out there in the country.) The kids (and the adults, too!) enjoyed braving the cold winds and walking out to the pasture to feed the sheep. The highlight was being able to cuddle one of the two smallest lambs. She became quite relaxed, to the point where I didn’t need to keep her still. But she got wise to Mark on the second day and would not allow herself to be caught again!

Before lunch, Mark took Rick and me out to see the full property in his car, as it was too cold for all of us to walk. As we were returning to the cottage, bouncing along in the pasture, the sheep grazed to our left. On our right, we spotted two grey kangaroos, which we had been eager to see, as we had not seen any out in the bush since our visit here in 2004. And then we realized that Waltzing Matilda, Australia’s unofficial national anthem, was playing in the car.

Sheep, kangaroos, and Waltzing Matilda. Does it get anymore Australian than that?

Love, Anne

To enjoy Australian country music legend Slim Dusty performing Waltzing Matilda, follow this link:
http://www.last.fm/music/Slim+Dusty/+videos/+1-CwvazMc5EfE

The Little Aussies

Today at Lachlan’s playgroup, another mother asked me whether my children speak in Australian accents. Actually, Erin was speaking Aussie with her classmates within a few weeks of arriving here. However, at home, she would speak in an American accent. Towards the end of the year, though, she would often slip into some Aussie with us if she were particularly excited about something.

Claire, on the other hand, didn’t really pick up the Aussie accent until she entered kindergarten this year. We attributed that to the fact that there was not as much language interaction in preschool, both amongst peers and with teachers, and because she was still at home for 4 days out of 7. But now that she has started full-day kindergarten, she has got the same Aussie accent at school.

It is interesting to listen when they are playing with peers but in our presence- they switch back and forth between accents so deftly, but there are always slip-ups. Now they speak in Aussie for so much of their day that even the whining comes at me in Aussie! I assured them the other day that if there was one thing more annoying than hearing my children whine, it was listening to them whine in Australian accents. I have to admit that, although I am thrilled that my children have the opportunity to be a part of every aspect of Australian life, I often find it very unnerving when they speak to me directly with the accent. It can be a surreal experience- as if it is not my child speaking to me, although my child is physically present.

As Lachlan is at home, he does not yet have the accent. But he has started pronouncing certain words the way Australians do, most likely because he has seen it that way on children’s tv. Zebra is said with a short “e”, helicopter is said “hel-E-copter” and airplane is “aer-O-plane”.

Last night, Claire tip-toed into our room at 3AM. Mommy-radar alerted, I asked her what she needed. She proceeded to whisper that she was awake and couldn’t get back to sleep- all in Aussie.

So, this has led me to contemplate- What accent do my children dream in?

Anne

Never Say Never

For the past few weeks we have enjoyed a visit with my parents. We always love to have Oma and Opa with us- they enjoy the kids so much, and are great company and help to the grownups as well! We reflected several times about how this was their third trip to Australia- when they came here in 2004 to visit us while Rick was engaged in his 8-week ministry exchange, the trip was billed as the "once in a lifetime opportunity." And now, going to pick them up at the Sydney Airport almost feels like picking them up at the local bus station! Never say never!


For the first 6 days of their visit, Erin and Claire were on school holidays. We let Mom and Dad have a few days to recover from jetlag, and then we took a two-night, three-day trip to Canberra, the capitol of Australia. It had a Washington D.C. feel to it, with the government buildings and museums, although it has a lot more planned green space. Unlike Sydney, Canberra experiences 4 distinct changes of seasons, with lots of leaves falling in autumn (they don't call it fall here). Mom and Dad remarked on how strange it was to see the colored leaves when all of the trees and flowers are just beginning to bloom in the northeastern U.S.! We enjoyed visiting a good number of places in Canberra, including Questacon, a fabulous science and technology museum that we could have spent two whole days exploring, the Old Bus Depot Markets (two huge warehouses of local food and craft), the Canberra Glassworks, where we saw a gorgeous bowl blown from start to finish, and the National Museum of Australia, where the adults wish they could have spent more time visiting amazing exhibits on Aboriginal culture and Australian life and history.

Erin pull her weight at Questacon

Claire at the entrance to Questacon's "Eaten Alive" exhibit!

Alien creatures Lachlan and Opa in Australia's future at the National Museum of Australia

When the girls returned to school, we stayed local, enjoying some day trips confined between the hours of 9 and 3, including trips to the mountains and the coast. Mom and Dad also struck out on their own, taking a Sydney Harbour cruise and attending a ballet at the Opera House (a performance at the Opera House is always a must see for them!) Mom and Dad enjoyed getting into the daily routines, taking them to school and picking them up (even getting to know a few other parents), watching a netball game, practicing the piano with Erin, helping with homework and having tea and dinner with our neighbors!

Claire and Oma plant pansies on the front veranda (since Oma and Opa have left, Claire has reported that she wants to be a gardener when she grows up)

Sadly, they left yesterday, but save for the house being a little quieter, and me being a bit morose about the loss of all of my household and childcare help, that's ok. We will see them in 6 1/2 weeks when we return to the States for our northern summer visit!


Before they left, they gave me and Rick the ultimate gift- they took charge of the kids for 2 days, one night, so that we could celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary with a short trip to the Southern Highlands, an area that is about one and a 1/2 hours southwest of Sydney. We stayed in a restored settler's hut that was built in the 1830s in Berrima, a small town that retained its historic character when the railroad bypassed it and basically cut it off from much modern development. It was the perfect romantic hideaway, with the not-so-historic kitchen and indoor toilet added for modern comfort!

We relished the opportunity to be completely free from the responsibilities of small children and church life. We enjoyed a spectacular bushwalk at Fitzroy Falls, poked through antique and specialty shops and ate grownup food at grownup times! It was truly amazing to consider how far we have journeyed in the past 10 years- the date of our spring wedding in New Hampshire has become an autumn celebration, the Pacific Ocean now lies between us and Camp Calumet, and we have children who speak with Australian accents. Had anyone suggested on the day of our wedding that this might be the case, we would never have believed it. Never say never!

10 years- we made it!

Love, Anne

Happy Easter!

Wishing our friends and family far and wide a blessed Easter!
With love from all of the Daceys

The angel said to the women,
"Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.
He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.
Then go quickly and tell his disciples:
'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.'
Now I have told you."
-Matthew 28: 5-7

Girl Guides

This week, Erin joined the North Epping Girl Guides Unit as a Brownie. North Epping has a small, extremely well run unit, which has a substantial waiting list of girls- we were fortunate to get Erin on the waiting list last year when we arrived, so that she was at the top of the list for enrollments this year. She is beyond excited, and is loving all of the activities. We are feeling a bit daunted but excited for her options for earning her badges- there are so many exciting things that she can do, and there is no doubt that they will all help her development as a responsible, respectful and caring child.

She chose a promise which respected her status as a US citizen. In the Australian Guide Promise, a guide promises to serve "the Queen and my country." Erin chose an alternative in which she promised to serve "my country and this country." We were very proud of her for claiming her US ties!

Anne

The blue is much nicer than the US brown colors, don't you think?
(Note the Queen in the upper part of the picture!)

Where in the World?

On Sunday, we headed into Sydney on the train for the afternoon to attend Sydney's St. Patrick's Day festivities. When Rick and I were first dating, and in the beginning years of our marriage, Ireland was a place of important focus for us. Rick, in particular, has strong Irish roots, and we both enjoyed celebrating our Celtic heritage. Our CD collection (which, I must admit, in briefly perusing it, does not seem to have been much updated since those early years) is stocked with Celtic music. We honeymooned on Ireland's Dingle Peninsula and had a wonderful time, and vowed to travel the whole island some day. We even named our first child Erin after the Emerald Isle.

But something happened in 2004. Rick found the opportunity to spend part of his sabbatical here in Australia doing a ministry exchange (Ireland was kind of out of the running for that, given that the Catholic church frowns upon us wives for their clergy). Ireland fell into our romatic past, and Australia became our real present and future. And now that Australia is our adopted home, we thought, well, time to give the kids a little taste of Ireland. St. Patrick's Day is not as widely celebrated here as it is in the US, so traveling into the center of Sydney seemed our best option, particularly because the lovely stretch of weather that I mentioned in the previous entry is continuing.

Well, I must say that our romantic longings for Ireland were not renewed. Unfortunately, what we found was a lot of alcohol, cigarette smoke and crazy drunk people wearing green wigs and orange and green body paint in a very crowded, sunny hot area of Hyde Park. Granted there was music and Irish dancing, but we couldn't see it through the crowds, and the food stalls were disappointing. The lines were too long in the Kids' Fun Area to make it worthwhile.

So, instead, we sought the cool, welcome shade of the giant avenues of gum trees in Hyde Park and rethought our afternoon strategy. First, Rick and the kids thought this would be a good place to enjoy what they call "Tickle, Tackle, Tumble", usually an evening activity, which they haven't had a chance to enjoy for a while:

After the kids brought Daddy down, we decided to walk towards the Harbour and catch the train from Circular Quay (to the uninitiated, like myself until at least 6 weeks into our 2004 stay, "quay" is pronounced "key", not "qway"), and see what we could discover along the way. We wandered over to St. Mary's Cathedral, the seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney. It has impressive architecture and beautiful stained glass. Teenagers were out front making a ruckus to encourage people to attend a World Youth Day Event that was taking place that afternoon. In July, Sydney is hosting World Youth Day, a week-long Catholic youth festival that will include a visit from Pope Benedict XVI (only the 4th Papal visit to Australia).

As we made our way down Macquarie Street on the edge of the Royal Botanic Gardens, we noticed that the street was closed off. As we got closer, we could see the tail end of a parade with at least 3 Greek flags flying at the end- from what I can tell from my quick Google research, it was a Greek Independence Day march.

As we quickened our pace, hoping to find more of the parade, we happened upon, of all people, Jesus, on a donkey, and his disciples and many followers in the dress of Biblical times amongst the tourist crowds at Circular Quay! Turns out, again, from trusty Google, that Wesley Mission, a city mission of the Uniting Church, was re-enacting its annual Palm Sunday procession around the Harbour foreshore.

After recovering from our Jesus sighting, we decided that ice cream was in order (much like, I am sure, the crowd that witnessed the first triumphal entry into Jerusalem).

Just as we were finishing our ice cream, we heard pipers coming, so we rushed to salvage a bit of our St. Patrick's Day celebration. But alas, as we turned the corner, the pipers were disappearing up the street. However, during our mad dash, we did witness a number of Greek Orthodox priests with their long beards and flapping robes run across the road to catch the bus!

A 4-hour trip into Sydney, and we managed to trek around the globe- Dublin, Rome, Athens. We were transported back in time to Jerusalem. We even enjoyed some quality family time. A very surreal excursion!

Anne

The Circle Of Life

So, today is my birthday. Time to celebrate another year of a life journey that is taking me places that I never could have dreamed. Time to give thanks, to spend time just as I want to spend it and reflect on this life that God has given me.

When I first thought about sharing this day on our blog, sometime earlier this afternoon, I figured I would just share the little excursion that Lachlan and I took. One of the things that I really wanted to do on my day was to spend a bit of time on Sydney Harbour. We have had a wonderful stretch of glorious weather for the last week or so, and the Harbour is just stunning at a time like this. I had an image of walking along by the Royal Botanic Gardens, sitting on the grass and watching the boats, enjoying a picnic lunch. Of course, Rick and the girls are busy with work and school during a weekday (for the record, as Rick would ask me to add, he is taking me to lunch on Friday to celebrate my birthday). But having them along would have made it different- less about me and exactly what I imagined, and more about the compromise for the greater family good!

Lachlan, however, on his own, is a great companion for this type of excursion. He happily sits quietly in a stroller and watches the world go by. He adores his mother. He says cute, funny things that make me laugh, and that remind me to connect with that joy inside myself. He has a beautful innoncence that has not yet been tainted by interaction with the "real world", and I love to observe the world from his wonder-filled perspective.

So, I did just what I wanted to do. We took the train to Darling Harbour so that I could break my annual Lenten "sweets and desserts" fast, and I got a scrumptious fudge sundae at the Lindt Chocolate Cafe before I even ate my lunch. Then we took the ferry out onto the Harbour and went around to Circular Quay and we had our walk and picnic, just as I had envisioned it would be. The sun sparkling on the water, the world famous view of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, the lush green grass of the gardens, the shade of a grand tree, a delightful son marveling at a beautiful tropical bug that he found on my shirt. God is good. I celebrated how blessed I was to be born to this earth, and to be so blessed in my life.

But then, life comes full circle.

I drove directly from the train station to pick up the girls from school, and discovered that Rick was there at a time when I would expect him to be in the office. Turns out that he had come home late morning to be with me when I received an email from Cheshire, one that we had known would someday come, but that we never wanted to receive. Our dear, dear collie MacAllister, who was a cherished member of our family, and the most gentle, loyal, loving companion for all of us, had died.

We shared our grief at leaving him behind in the US in our January 8, 2007 post. Just last week, Erin's topic for her news presentation in class was MacAllister. We loved getting news of his adventures (such as they were in his advanced age!) in his blog, and we always had the sense that he was still hovering right under the dinner table.


We are so grateful to Alison and Matt for giving him such a wonderful "retirement" home in his last year. He was blessed to stay amongst many people in our Cheshire church who had a special place for him in their hearts. Thank you, Alison and Matt, for loving him and leading him in his final journey.

And so I end this entry that begins with a life celebration, with the memory and images of a life well-lived, and truly, well-loved.

Anne

Sorry Day

The Aboriginal Flag

The Australian Flag

Today, the prime minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, fulfilled an election promise and made a formal apology in Federal Parliament to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders of the Stolen Generations. The Stolen Generations refers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who were removed, under government authority, from their families by Australian government agencies and church missions between approximately 1869 and 1969.

In 1997, the report of an offical inquiry into the Stolen Generations recommended that a national apology be made. However, John Howard, who was Prime Minister when the report was issued, never apologized, and he was defeated by Kevin Rudd this past November.

People all over the country gathered to watch the live broadcast. It was a profoundly moving experience and, certainly, long overdue. The girls' school had a presentation at their morning assembly, and the Aboriginal and Australian flags are hung in the main assembly area for the rest of the week. If you are interested in hearing Kevin Rudd's apology, follow this link: http://www.smh.com.au/multimedia/2008/national/australia-says-sorry/main.html?s_cid=rss_national

The movie Rabbit-Proof Fence, which won worldwide acclaim in 2002, tells a gripping tale based on a true story of three children who ran away from a government settlement to return to their Aboriginal families. We highly recommend it if you are interested in learning more about the Stolen Generations.

Anne

Australia Day 2008

Yesterday, we celebrated Australia Day, Australia's national day. It commemorates the establishment of the first European settlement on the continent of Australia. It is much like the 4th of July in the US, although there seems to be an even greater amount of flag-wearing here (you decide, in light of the picture above, whether it is for better or worse!) As the kids and I had just returned a few days before from our January trip to the US (which, by the way, was great), and this was the first day that we did not feel jet-lagged, we were keen to celebrate our return to our adopted home.

The kids and I headed into the center of Sydney (dad, much to his dismay, was working on a sermon) on a beautiful summer day, where we enjoyed lots of festivities at Hyde Park, including music, food, displays, and, of course, free tatoos and flags! There was so much going on- unfortunately, we had to forego all of the celebrations on the Harbour, which included tall ships, as the little feet could only carry us so far....

Asked to write the best thing about being an Aussie, Erin wrote "Fun in the Sun", and
Claire wrote "The best thing is going swimming."

The kids enjoy a ride in an Australian military vehicle.

I should note, also, that we are now celebrating one year of living in Australia. Wow.

Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi!
Anne