:: we're here to stay ::

Exactly a week ago we were just stepping off the plane onto New Zealand ground after a smooth but very long trip from Switzerland. The trip on a whole was covered with a sense of blessing, from the beginning when we discovered we only had to pay a third of what we had expected for excess luggage (logically it doesn't make any sense!), a friend of a friend putting 'Priority' tags on all of those cases, the lovely mums and families with other almost-two year olds on both big flights, being able to take the short routes to skip long queues, right through to the friendly NZ airport staff who said "Welcome home!" and also helped us wheel three full trolleys through to our waiting family. Exhausted but very thankful. And now, a week later, we're feeling more adjusted. The girls slept the whole night through for the first time lastnight. I'm thankful to have a mum who heard them in the middle of the night wake-ups while we were oblivious in our jet-lagged deep sleeps. 

In many ways it's surreal to realise we have no return ticket and we're here to stay. And that our future is wide-open. We're excited and just a little nervous with this blank canvas ahead of us! We don't know what's next but we're starting to look at the options. Will Eti go into an electrician job first or pursue his dream of being a helicopter pilot? In the meantime we've enjoyed family time with one baby shower for our sister last weekend and another to come this Saturday for my sister, who is expecting her first baby in two weeks! Eti is out kayaking along the coastline right now and we've been for a few walks along the coast visiting the "toboggans" (slides) for the girls. 

Here are some photos from our first week here...

Helping papa put our kitchen together. We managed to bring the girls' IKEA kitchen and that dollshouse I couldn't let go of, thanks to some 'strategic' packing skills :o) 

Lovely salads for dinner. I'm still trying to get my head around the fact that we're heading into summer and not into winter...

Celebrating a precious little family member who is going to make his/her appearance in February

Enjoying stories with 'Megapop' and 'Superma'

Visiting some of the local playgrounds...

...and enjoying the change of scenery from European mountain alpine to Pacific Island sub-tropical...

So, please know that we're well and enjoying adjusting to our new home and looking forward to catching up with you either on Skype or in real life!!!

:: our last days in suisse ::

In less than 48 hours we'll be on our way, about to step onto a 13 or so hour flight to Hong Kong followed back to back by a 12 or so hour flight to Auckland. Time has gone by so quickly this last week and I had intentions to write on a few different topics before leaving Switzerland, but wanting to at least record some memories from our last days this post will be a patchwork of thoughts and experiences that have covered the last couple of weeks. We can barely realise that we're on the threshold of stepping out into a big family adventure, moving to my home country and starting something new together. We're really excited, but it is also true that this last week of sickness and lack of sleep has knocked us back and hoping for a full night of good sleep tonight tends to occupy our thoughts first and foremost before we launch out on our marathon trip across the world. 

At this time of year those of us who live up in the mountains realise that, despite having to deal with the windy roads up to our villages, we are blessed when the brouillard arrives. It's a phenomenon common in this area during autumn and winter and occurs for up to weeks at a time due to the combination of the humidity of the lake (Léman/Geneva) and valley below which is surrounded by mountain ranges on either side. Otherwise known as fog in English, the brouillard blankets the valley in a thick cloud while (most of the time, to be fair) us mountain folk enjoy the beautiful, sunny, blue-skied days above the cloud line. Last week the first brouillard arrived and I took advantage of the beautiful light filtering through the autumn-coloured trees and swirling strands of mist through the forest behind our home to go for a little adventure walk with the girls.

We were treated with just one day like this, as the following days we, too, were surrounded by the thick, almost-suffocating blanket of cloud. That lucky mountain-folk thing doesn't always work ;o)

Sometimes the cloud would fall and the sun would pierce through, reminding me that, as hard as it was to realise at the time, the sun was just meters above us as well as one of those beautiful blue-skied days, so we went looking for it. And sure enough it was right there...

I couldn't help but make comparisons to the presence of God. There are times when circumstances feel like they are smothering life and it's hard to see very far ahead, find anything to be thankful about, or believe that He even exists. But He is always there, as hard as it is to imagine on those cloudy days. Simultaneously He is there, in brilliant sunshine beckoning us to step up just a little higher and enjoy the views and the refreshing life-filling warmth and energy that comes with the presence of the sun...

Well, after the days of fog came the snow. Cold, cold, cold! And with the snow our beloved 'Tin-tin' car went off to live with someone else. We had (not so) secretly hoped we might be able to leave her with Eti's dad, a fellow Citroën 2CV lover. But someone else heard she was for sale and was more than happy to take her away. So she left us with wonderful memories of fun adventures, including some engagement snaps that were taken exactly four years earlier.

Before she went we drove her into the forest nearby and took some photos while the girls happily ate some gâteau and we enjoyed our last drive together. Onto new adventures we go...

With toys becoming more scarce by the day I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the local Schilliger Home and Garden store already had their wonderful Christmas displays up, giving us a great idea of something to enjoy doing together. We went last year and the girls loved the big moving animals. This year no less! We had fun walking through the beautiful displays and then going to watch and pet the real animals for sale. It was great fun for all three of us :o) For the girls to squeal with excitement at the sight of the animals and for me to enjoy the squeals with a smile :o)

We had a goodbye party last Sunday with many of our friends and family coming and going throughout the afternoon and evening, as snowflakes fell outside. It touched us a lot to see so many of our friends and to remember again how many people we will miss! But there are many promises of Skype calls to come and even several who are determined to come visit us and explore New Zealand. 

The following day a thin blanket of snow on the ground inspired papa to get out the bob and give the girls a one-off winter experience before we head off to sunnier, warmer places. They took it all very seriously but had a lot of fun with their adventure-loving papa :o)

It was a treat for us to spend the last few months in this beautiful home. This week some major renovation work took place so we scooted next door to Grand-papa and Grand-mamans and have enjoyed playing by the fireplace as we recover from the bugs that were determined to plague us during our last days here...thankfully on the way out now!

During our days we find various ways to occupy ourselves. Amélie's current favourite is to draw 'cargos' (a.k.a. escargots, or snails)! She is an avid little artist and always drawing little squiggles on her paper, explaining what she's drawing with each one.

Grandpapa always has a knack of creating fun out of the bits and pieces to be found in his office or workshop. As a result, when he has work to be done at home, we have to work hard to keep the girls from climbing the stairs in search of him!

Helping Grandpapa make the coffees after lunch has become a daily ritual, taken very seriously by one and playfully by the other. Some people end up with two coffees in one cup due to some buttons being pressed often, and several coffee beans a day are lost to little mouths. But the main incentive is the "choco" that accompanies the coffee :o)

Speaking of "choco" these two love anything that includes chocolate...like icecream, and eating it with fingers :o)

Eating snow "icecream" with Grand-maman also went down a treat...and produced lots of giggles from the observers :o)

So these are some of our days lately. One more full day to go and then we're all go. A lot of goodbyes have been said over the last week or so. And the hardest are to come. But we will enjoy our time together and celebrating a birthday tomorrow, as well as finishing to pack the last of the suitcases that will accompany us all the way to New Zealand. We managed to sell or give all of our 'big' belongings and are now almost empty of everything that won't be coming with us. The rest - eight suitcases and bags full - will help us start our kiwi adventure...

Well...the next post, as promised to our friends here, will come from New Zealand! I'll do my best to include an understable French translation too :o)

Au revoir to our beautiful Suisse and to your people who are dear to us. A bientôt! 

Have a great weekend out there! 

:: the end of a season ::

This afternoon we visited one of my (I think I can also safely say "our"!) favourite places of beauty, not too far away from where we live. It was the third visit this year. The first time, back in January, we discovered a rather wintery landscape, the second was in the lush beauty of the springtime, and today was in that transition time between lush and bare with the kaleidescope of brilliant autumn colours. It is such a peaceful place, hidden in a forest of trees beside a not-so-often-travelled road, with the background music of birdsong, running water and today the gentle sound of falling leaves and crunching footsteps. 

I snapped away as the girls had a great time with papa, finding little stones to through into the lake, watching the rushing water carry leaves down the mountainside, climbing up on tree stumps and splashing in the water...

Throughout our time there, as I 'captured the moments' in photos I had a quiet voice in my thoughts gently reminded me not to remain in that mode, but to also enjoy the moments with my little family. It can be so easy to get carried away taking photos to have a record of something we do, but really what is more important? I find myself challenged from time to time to search my motives for doing things and to remember the priorities like engaging with our girls in these precious years during which we are gifted so much time together. As hard as it is for me to turn off my automatic 'I just want to get this shot' mentality, I made an effort to put the camera away and walk and talk with them. Not 100% successfully I confess, because it was so precious to watch the girls with their beloved papa, but...they did some of their beloved mummy's attention too :o) Something I'm working on...