Newsletter No. 45: August 2007

• Family reunion : Don't forget to keep 11th November free so that you can come to the family reunion in Bundoora
• Father Eddie had a knee reconstruction in June and at this time is still recuperating and doing daily exercises
• Michael and Sonja welcomed their first child a girl into the world on the 1st July, Eliza Belle Wood weighed in at 6lb 12ozs, all are well. Pam & I went over to Perth early in July to meet our new grand daughter.
  
• Unfortunately I am ceasing sending birthday cards, the postmen are having trouble reading my small writing which is getting smaller every month, sorry about this.

BIRTHDAYS

The following is a family update from Terry Lyell, if anyone else has family news I am happy to include it in the newsletter because sometimes I don't have much to report.

Lyell Update

The Lyell's have finally joined the 21st Century and have upgraded to broadband at home yeehaa ... ! Unfortunately this means we have to change our home email addresses but the change in speed is soooo worth it!

We are all well and keeping busy!

The new house is causing us great frustration as we continue to encounter lots of delays that we can't control. To cut a very loooong story short we are still waiting for council approval, and although there are no major issues with our house we are simply caught up in the back log at the council due to the building boom here in WA.

Terry is working hard at BHP Nickel West and finding it difficult to get a lot of traction with his team as staff changes are constant due to the mining boom and good staff being hard to find. Thankfully now that we have made most of the decisions we need to with the house, Terry has a bit more spare time and is back to tinkering with his woodwork and creating furniture. His next big project is to make a dining table made from the jarrah that was the bearers of the flooring in our old house. He has nearly finished making the wine cabinets from the barrels that we got from Southcorp in Adelaide, and they look fantastic.

Jake is just loving school and doing really well. Last Friday his class ran the school assembly and they put on a little play of the Three Billy Goats Gruff. It was so gorgeous and the kids did a fantastic job in front of the whole school. All the Mum's had a tear or two in the eyes....our babies are all grown up! Jake was chosen to speak first and welcome everyone to the assembly and introduce the Deputy Mayor to give out some awards and he did a great job.

Sharna is loving 1.5 days a week at 3 year old kindy and thinks she is so grown up. She is a typical girly girl and loves all things pink, and is very good at drawing and colouring. She loves her weekly dancing class and dressing up in a fairy dress and she looks so cute (not that I am bias of course)! Jake and Sharna play well most of the time but they both have competitive natures and all too often it ends in tears, and that's not always Sharna!

Amy is no longer a baby and is already nearly 17 months old....time flies! She is learning new words everyday and her current favourite is 'ice-cream'. Just like her Dad she can't get enough of it! She is a very confident little monkey and keeps me on my toes as she has no fear and will happily wonder off in any direction that suits her.

I'm still working 2 nights per week at the local supermarket and continue to enjoy the 'kid free' time and also the sense of satisfaction of completing a task that I start. Ridiculous I know, but somehow nothing quite seems to get started and finished without interruption in our crazy house. I've also just got a job at the local Bunnings which will be great as staff get a 20% discount which I'm sure will come in handy for the new house. Terry and I are considering me starting part time day work as there are so many jobs available here at the moment, but I just don't feel I'm ready to leave Amy just yet. I think next year is more likely after Amy turns 2 in January.

Anyway, would love to hear your news, and don't forget to delete any hotmail or myaccess email addresses you may have for us.

Take care and hopefully we'll catch up in person before too long!

Love
Terry, Mandy, Jake, Sharna and Amy

PS Yes, Mandy did write this email, I have been slack and did a copy and paste from the email she sent out ... Terry