December wrap up, some very sad news, and Happy New Year to all.

Well, it has been a long time between posts and much has happened. Some good but some very sad.

Jessica is doing very well. She seems to have grown heaps and is a little more interactive now. Krysti suspects she isn't getting enough milk, so she is being supplemented with a little formula now and then. Magic stuff since it seems to knock her out for hours at a time.

The weekend before Christmas, we received some sad news that my Nana's health had deteriorated further and that she was having severe difficulties eating and swallowing. This is apparently a complication of Parkinsons Disease and unfortunately not something that people generally recover from. Doctors advised that she would probably only have a couple of weeks to live, which was devastating news for all of us. Mum went down to visit her the day after hearing that news.

At the same time I was in bed paralysed by really bad flu or flu-like symptoms. High fevers, cold sweats, headaches and aching all over and all the rest. I got through on a diet of Panadol and spent the best part of 4 days in bed. Things started to clear up by the Thursday before Christmas and it was a few days after that I felt like my normal self again.

The night before Christmas Eve I went to the Mall to buy the last of the Christmas presents. The mall was open for 32 hours straight and I went at 10pm to hopefully miss a lot of the rush. The mall was the busiest I have EVER seen it. During the 32 hour shopathon, they were conducting a free raffle every hour throughout the night and anyone who presented a receipt for over $20 you would get a ticket in the draw. I got a couple of tickets and continued around the mall looking for other stuff. A couple of minutes to 11 I decided to walk back to see the results of the draw and what do you know, my ticket, Orange D40 got pulled out and I won $846 worth of prizes (read 'junk') courtesy of the shops at Westfield and the Canberra Labor club. Prizes included many vouchers and coupons, an el-cheapo DVD player, $300 worth of jewellery (ahem!), socks, bags, a towel, DVD, and lots more. Some of the stuff was OK, but most was junk. Still, winning even rubbish is fun.

Christmas Eve arrived as did Paul from the Gold Coast to join Lani and the kids who had been staying with us since before Jessica's arrival. It was good to catch up with Paul since the last time we saw each other was last Christmas. Christmas Eve lunch we had a 'bring-a-plate' lunch with the all of the Birks clan (sans Chad who is in China currently). We all had a good time and exchanged pressies.

Christmas Day we got up and gave MJ his pressies (he scored a Jumpolene, a cubby house, a train set thingo, a small paddling pool and lots of other good stuff - thanks to all). Lani, Paul and the kids went to Debbi and Brent's for lunch and we headed over to Mum and Dad's for early dinner after MJ's sleep. We had food galore, yummy turkey and beef on the bbq, salads and managed to squeeze in some ham too. The weather was quite pleasant and not too hot. During dinner, mum received a call from the coast to say that Nana had worsened and that she was struggling to hang on. Mum and Dad had planned to go visit on Boxing day anyway so when they received the call they quickly got in the car and headed down. Krys, Brian, Amanda and I cleaned up and headed home.

Boxing day and Mum called early to say that she, Martyn and Ann had spent the night with Nana and that she had been doing well, but sadly at around 8.30 that morning she had passed away. She had suffered for so long and had finally decided to let go. I am relieved for her since her health had made her life difficult to live. When we visited her with MJ a few weeks back It was difficult seeing her in the condition she was in - it was definitely her time.

Lani, Paul and the kids headed back up North on the Wednesday. Lani has been a huge help during her stay esp with MJ and we are very grateful for her help. Thanks Lani. Thanks to James and Jazz for entertaining MJ too. He is constantly asking after you all as he runs around the house - "Bazza where are yooou?"

Friday 30 December Krys, Jessica and I went to the coast for the funeral which was held at Broulee Crematorium and with a 'wake-like' reception at the Coachhouse in Batehaven. Bob and Kim generously looked after MJ for the day as he would have been difficult to contain on a long day trip and more difficult to keep him quiet during a a funeral service so he stayed at home. The service was nice and the location was very peaceful - I was a blubbering mess. We spent a lot of good times together when we were growing up it was good to see some of the photos that various people had. Goodbye Nana, you will be missed!

We were able to meet up with a couple of my cousins and an Aunt who I haven't seen for years, as well as with Mark, Sam and Martyn and others who we don't see as often now. It was good to catch up despite the difficult circumstances.

Back to work next week, which will be tough. I haven't been to work since 2 December. Paternity leave, sick leave, a couple of days rec leave, privileges days and public holidays have all lined up nicely to give me a huge amount of time off.

Having said all that, it seems a little awkward to say - Happy New Year to all...but we hope 2006 is a good (better?) year for everyone. My NY resolution will be to try and keep this thing more up to date.

Don't forget to check out some of the snaps on Flickr too - click the Flickr badge on the right to get to the album.