Christmas Letter 2024 from Margaret and Stephen

We now have four great-grandchildren! The first child was Mia Lester the daughter of Hayley and Richard. The second was Austin Creasey, Joshua and Lizzie’s son. We told you about them in the last letter; two more have been born this year. Chase, Cameron and Kaitlyn’s son and Joshua and Lizzie’s second child, a daughter, Isabella who was born a few days ago.

Hayley and Mia

Richard and Mia

Mark Austin and Chase	Kaitlyn abd Chase
Beth Mark and Isabella	Isabella

We have continued our travelling this year. The highlight was a trip to New Zealand with Catherine and her son Spencer. We are Lord of the Rings (LOTR) fans so we visited some LOTR sites including the Hobbiton outdoor movie set.

A drink in the Green Dragon Inn

Margaret and Stephen and a Hobbit Hole

We also went on a fantastic night walk.

No trip to New Zealand would be conmplete without a visit to Rototua geothermal

Philip and Bev continue to live in Preston in the UK. Philip continues to work in the Aerospace industry and Bev in hospice care. Living in the UK means that there are many nearby holiday destinations, in Europe and the UK.

Phil and Bev visiting Totnes in Devon

Bike riding in Germany

In last year’s letter we reported that Mark, Beth’s husband had a very serious medical diagnosis – multiple myeloma. He has had some aggressive treatment. Mark continues to battle this very serious disease. Beth changed jobs from HR in the police to a similar position at the Austin Hospital. She is enjoying this new challenging position.

They found time though for some travelling.

The Truck

Driving in the Flinders Ranges

Michelle and David have retired and are doing a lot of travelling with their caravan. They are also renovating their kitchen and bathroom, which has become a very large project.

Lunch in the Bush

Paradise Falls

Catherine continues to work in Salvation Army social services. She and Spencer live very close to Lygon St with all its restaurants and shops, which is an ideal location for them. Catherine continues with her artistic pursuits.

We continue to live in our retirement village. Margaret is very active with the craft group and Stephen has taken up a role serving at the village bar. We are both enjoying our life here. One of the fun events for the year was the Halloween party where we won prizes for our costumes.

Wishing you a great Christmas, and all the best for 2025, from Margaret and Stephen