Christmas Letter 2007

I love writing these Christmas notes because it gives me a chance not only to share with you what Darren and I have been up to this year – but also an opportunity to look back and reflect on all the wonderful things which have happened and been accomplished over the past 12 months.

2007 started out with one of our fantastic trips (since meeting Darren I have taken up downhill skiing - lessons were a gift the first year we were together). This year we went on a package trip to a lovely resort area called Alpes d’Huez. The bonus about this place is that it is higher up than many of the other resorts in the French Alps and therefore was not suffering from the lack of snow many of its lower- lying cousins were. The accommodation was run by late-teen and early twenty-somethings so was heavy on the booze at table each night and had varying success on the food (under and over cooking being the chef’s specialty). We made some friends who we skied with during the day and went to dinner and dancing with at night. The big event however, happened on the first day when on the second run down the hill Darren took a tumble – well let’s be honest - several tumbles, down several hundred feet of the hill and broke his arm. Not to be deterred, however, that was the only day of skiing which he did not complete. My husband is hard!

March through May brought their very own joys – as we found a lovely house in our chosen village of Market Harborough. An Edwardian with period features which include the original claw foot bathtub and four working fireplaces. We made an offer which was accepted almost immediately (scary adult stuff) and started working towards our goal of moving in for late June.
May was also the month that my friend Danielle had her hen weekend in Shrewsbury – and as per request it was exactly what the doctor ordered – not too boozy and with no embarrassing clothing or accessories being forced on the bride. A good time was had by all.

May also brought with it our first Canadian house-guest in the form of a dear friend Alison Milley (my surrogate little sister). She had a wonderful time seeing the sights of London. It was a real pleasure to see our home city through fresh eyes – every night we got a great new episode in the series: “Do you know what happened today!?”. Fabulous!

June saw Darren and I move in to our new home – with our bookshelf and bean bag in tow!

In the United Kingdom – land of excellent sayings – they have an old and useful phrase: “New house, new baby!” and just to keep things true we brought one other thing with us other than our two pieces of furniture listed above.

Delighted with the news we were expecting our first child ‘we’ now had to work on not telling anyone. As you all will know this is not an easy task for anyone – let alone a Marjorie. Darren, in his usual Confucian way managed without any pangs at all. By the time three months rolled around I was fit to burst.

My father scheduled a visit to us for July. It was to his delight that he saw the first pictures (albeit internal belly shots) of his future-grandchild who has been given the sobriquet ‘Peanut’.

He had a lovely visit with us: seeing some of the best of Britain and probably lost a stone in weight because he did a marathon of walking not only in London, but on various forced marches around the country and of his own accord on some side trips to Berlin and Paris. It was one of the highlights of our year to have him staying with us – and allowed me to fuss over him a little (which I miss from home).

August flew by, taken over with Mummy fussing, Daddy planning (sports car traded in on a posh new Volvo sports wagon) and the blessed arrival of the second trimester (ah…not feeling like rubbish and not feeling like a narcoleptic are a wonderful gift)! I still had not developed much of a bump (hence why no bump pictures – despite requests for same – have been forthcoming) and thus was walking around looking a bit like the girl who ate all the pies. I was given the lovely nickname of Beer-belly-Jack in honour of my new ‘look’.

September was brilliant – as we were off to the Western US to visit with Brian and Nola. Outdoor adventure was the name of the game – and we covered not only all the bases but a lot of miles too! Taking in many incredible national parks in Utah and Arizona (Arches, Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, and the Grand Canyon were along our chosen route) – the sights out that way are some of the most unusual and breath-taking to be found in North America and the company made the trip that much more fun. We walked in the dessert on a seven-mile hike during a heat-wave and then were treated to some snow not 10 miles away on a small stretch of forest just up out of the dessert – blessed temperatures to a Canadian girl who likes her walking in the pine woods or in the cool hills of Wales.

Toward the tail end of our trip we fit in a three-day visit to Las Vegas. Baking heat accompanied us there – and it was a relief to get some of the showers from the Bellagio’s famous water feature when we walked along the strip.

Taking a dip in both the pool and our mammoth tub were a welcome change from the more modest accommodation we found at our other road trip destinations. We needed a rest upon our return after all of the excitement and whirlwind of sights and sounds.

These last few months have been quite busy – with work finally realising: “Oh, you’re pregnant - that means we need to find a replacement for you during your mat-leave!” and everyone trying to get projects completed before my departure.

We have also – like all first-time-parents-to-be – been enjoying learning about all the new baby technology…did you know that the Canadian Space Agency makes a model of baby pram? Well let me tell you when they need to give you a two-hour tutorial in how to use the various settings it is obvious times and tastes have changed!

With all of the above to occupy us Christmas has approached so swiftly it is likely you will receive this card in early January!

Sitting here in the house that is looking very full and grown-up (we now own considerably more than a bookcase and a bean bag) and awaiting the arrival of our much-anticipated active and kicking ‘Peanut’ (due February 2nd) I am feeling very blessed.

It is with these sentiments in mind that Darren and I wish you a healthy, happy and rich (in all senses of that word) Christmas and a wonderful 2008.

We are looking forward to sharing news about the new person in our lives and to hearing all of your news.

Please don’t feel you need to wait until Christmas to drop us a line (last year I received a fabulous note for Easter from one of my cousins and it made my day)! We always love to hear the adventures of our nearest and dearest any time of the year!

With much love,


Darren and Marjorie