Merry Christmas!

It’s been an active time for the growing Hildenbrand family. Marc & Serena began the year with a quick kid-free trip to Paris (Marc's parents very kindly looked after Owen). We had a delightful break, and Paris in January seems downright warm next to Boston. We were amused by how solicitous the French were of the rather pregnant Serena – several times she was waved around security machines, and a flight attendant tucked a cushion onto her lap so the baby wouldn’t be hurt by the seatbelt! Very sweet. Of course, some of the joys of Paris (wine, raw cheese) can’t be enjoyed by pregnant ladies, but we still had lots of fun.

We followed that trip by settling the discussion we’ve been having for some time, and deciding to move to Australia at the end of 2007. It felt like the time was right to try this out and see how it works for our family. We’re planning to be there for a couple of years, and then we’ll re-evaluate.

You can imagine how much paperwork that decision has generated – we’ve proclaimed 2007 the Year of Bureaucracy. But we’d barely started working on our “To Do” lists when baby Georgia Margaret arrived on March 27, a little over two weeks early. She’s been a total charmer from the beginning – generally happy and mellow, and altogether an easy girl to be around. Owen adores her, and the feeling is mutual (though the days of tussling over toys have just begun). Marc’s parents were able to spend time with us soon after Georgia’s birth, and Serena’s mum came for an extended stay a few weeks later. It was great to have all the help, especially as Owen inconsiderately ran a fever of 103 just two days after Georgia came home from the hospital.

We soon returned to our piles of paperwork. Many many forms later, Serena now has dual Australian-US citizenship, and enjoyed her US citizenship ceremony in June. Both Owen and Georgia have dual citizenship also, and Marc’s Australian work visa came through fairly promptly. Marc began searching for a job, and we feel so fortunate that he received a job offer from a games company in Melbourne, and they’re relocating us. He’ll start work with them in February 2008.

Serena returned to work in May to clean up loose ends, and stopped for good in July. Working with InterVarsity the past 6 years has been a wonderful experience, but two kids and an international move are mighty time-consuming.

On the domestic front, we faced another challenge – it was time for Owen to relinquish the diapers. And he wasn’t impressed at all. After the first weekend of trying, he positively begged to go back to the status quo. We’ll remember it as the summer of fighting with our strong-willed son, but are glad to be able to broadcast his eventual success….

In September, Owen started preschool, and has had a wonderful time attending Little Folks Fellowship three mornings a week. He’s made friends and been thoroughly comfortable there from the start – we’ve been so grateful for this caring school.

Georgie began crawling a couple of weeks ago, and can now move around the house with distressing speed. Nowhere is safe from the reach of the inquisitive baby! She’s still quite small (though headed towards extreme height, like her brother), so it’s amusing to see her little crawling face poke round the door, just 3 inches off the ground.

We’re now only a month away from our move, with many things still to do. We’re going to miss our family, friends, church and preschool here a lot, but are excited for new opportunities in Melbourne. We’ll keep this page updated with contact information, so please continue to keep in touch. And have a wonderful Christmas.

Blessings – Marc, Serena, Owen & Georgia H