Sydney, Australia
WOW, what a year. We blink our eyes and the Xmas catalogues appear!!
Once again, we have had a very busy, full and exciting year so far. Needless to say it has not been
without its challenges as the girls are a serious handful at their current ages, not to mention the fact
that we drag them all over the world on our travels and this causes all sorts of mayhem.... but we
guess that's the way we like it!!
We've had Elma come and stay with us which was awesome, as well as Nic and Ansgar who came to
visit which seemed to be a fruitful trip as they are moving out to Sydney in Jan and we are over the
moon to know that we have such wonderful times ahead with them in Aus.
Unfortunately Tasja and Jacques' plans to arrive in Syd in July have been put on hold due to the
Aus government's inability to make a decision on a certain visa class which has left thousands of
people (including Tasja and Jacques) in limbo. Hopefully common sense will prevail and they should
be here next year. We wish you guys all the best with the upcoming birth.
Taylor and Safara have been busy, busy, busy. Taylor started ballet earlier this year and is
teaching Safara all the moves on top of the dining table every evening - what a show!!
Safara is such an incredibly loving baby. She needs to cuddle every 2nd person wherever we go
which is great, but she's certainly not the first pick when going anywhere that demands being
strapped into her pushchair!! She has got the toddler tantrum back-arch down to a fine art!!
Taylor and Safara turned 4 and 2 respectively last weekend when we returned from our trip to
South Africa.
We had such an amazing time in South Africa and it was just so nice to see all the kids and cousins
play together... something which unfortunately is rare for us with our family and friends split all over
the world. It was really good to get some quality time with friends, once again made possible by
Werner's Mom and Dad who helped us out with the kids at every given opportunity.
A HUGE thank you to Schmidt and Nicci who always go the extra mile to make us feel at home in
Pretoria.
A HUGE thank you to Mal and Celia for their kind generosity and hospitality in Madikwe, you guys
made us feel so welcome and we feel honoured to have experienced such an amazing adventure.
Thank you also to all our friends who made time to see us in Pretoria and to those who came to Sun
City... we really appreciated it and treasured every moment - even if we were taken out by the
deadly tonsillitis - yes - can u believe it - only us!!
We were also lucky enough to share part of the holiday with Rob and Eli, Safara's Godparents, and
once again you guys were just great.
Congratulations to Ian and Yolande on the birth of baby Calem and we wish you all the best with the
amazing times ahead. Congrats also to Mel, Karl and Daisy on the birth of little Evie.
Just before our departure to SA, Elise completed a massive commissioning project with 11 art
pieces for a client in Hong Kong. Her previous commission received a full spread in the Australian
'Luxury Home Design' magazine which was great. Elise is currently updating her webpage
(www.theackermannfamily.com/eliseackermanndesigns) but feel free to pass it on to family and
friends as she is in a position to take on some additional commissioning work.
Check the latest pics from our Holiday in South Africa and more:- Please click here
Wishing you all a wonderful Spring/Autumn as we look forward to the upcoming festive season.
Love
Werner, Elise, Taylor and Safara
