CHRISTMAS 2004

As we approach the end of another year we would like to thank all our friends for their help and support. It has been an amazing year.

Here is a run down of what has happened in our lives this year:

It’s been one of those years that have literally disappeared and I just can’t believe it’s Christmas time again already! The beginning of the year saw us eagerly awaiting the arrival of our third child, Prashan Malik who was born 10 days overdue on 18th April as a natural breech birth. We had him at Selangor Hospital in Nambour so that Gwenda could have a natural birth and ended up having a mini holiday for those 10 days eagerly awaiting his arrival. It was a long week!

That summer was when we experienced those really hot 40ºC days and Gwenda got a lot of comments from people saying ‘poor thing’ when they saw she was pregnant. Needless to say we have now got air conditioning installed downstairs to make those days more bearable. PJ started off the year immersing himself in his newfound passion for Lawn Bowls. He plays with Gwenda’s dad at the local Bowling Club and finds it a great outlet for relaxing. He’s also quite good at the game and would quite happily play every day if Gwenda let him – which she doesn’t (wise woman).

Gwenda also continued to be a part of the singing group for the local Church but gave that up after Prashan was born to concentrate on breastfeeding. She will be returning to the group in January. January saw both Gwenda and PJ eager to establish a Montessori Primary School on Brisbane’s Northside. The year showed much promise with many possible sites located and a large number of parents interested in sending their children to the school. We held various meetings to discuss the how to’s and wrote to many Government departments. However, most of the possible sites belonged to the ‘Church’ and the Parish Council’s were either worried they would have restricted access to their grounds or worried about the legal liability of having children in their grounds all the time. Although the odds have been stacked against us we are both still keen to see a school established and will continue to explore all options even if the school is not up and running for the benefit of our children. So if you have a couple of million dollars you’d like to invest please give us a call!

2004 was also a year of consolidation for where we were going and what we wanted to focus our energies on. This resulted in us getting a Business Coach which also contributed to us deciding to close our horse and carriage business, and organic fruit and vege business. Both managers were happy with this decision too as one was moving back to NSW and the other had developed some health problems which needed attention. The end result is that we are now fully focussed on marketing our accounting software package, Acclique, and have revamped its look and website. You may like to take a look at www.acclique.com . Acclique was already selling well just through word of mouth marketing but now we are taking a more aggressive marketing strategy including advertising and offering a free trial.

PJ and Gwenda attended a Marriage Enrichment course which ran over February – June at our neighbour’s house. We enjoyed this immensely and learnt many great strategies to continue to strengthen our marriage from a biblical point of view. The other couples in the group also watched as each week Gwenda got bigger and bigger until half way through the course she gave birth to Prashan. She was still able to attend most of the rest of the course as Prashan was quite well behaved and managed to sleep at just the right times.

It was a big year for birthdays too. Gwenda celebrated her 30th birthday with a bushdance at the Australian Woolshed. This was a great night with many great memories. It was also a celebration of a milestone that Gwenda had achieved of having had all her children by the age 30. PJ’s brother, Robie, also celebrated his 40th birthday around the same time so we made it a family trip up to Townsville to attend his birthday party at the local children’s maze, Maze Mania, entitled ‘Back to your childhood.

Taruna is now 5years old and enjoying Montessori Preschool. His sister Rasika, 3yrs, is keen to join him there and will get that opportunity next year as we have decided that Taruna will finish off his third year of Montessori Cycle 1 at the Preschool and then progress straight into Year 2 at the local State School. The State School has been very supportive of this approach and we will be ensuring Taruna meets all the criteria that they expect of a child starting Year 2 by the end of 2005. Rasika continued to go to Family Day Care two days a week but with a few changes of Family Day Care mum both Gwenda and her are looking forward to finishing up with the Scheme this year.

Prashan is close to 8 months old now and is an absolute joy. He is certainly living up to his name’s meaning of calm, quiet, contented. We’re still awaiting the arrival of any teeth but he’s certainly keen to learn the dynamics of crawling and would rather bypass the sitting stage. He’s also getting quite vocal and is quite happy to be carried around in his sling for a large part of his waking day which is an absolute godsend as I wouldn’t get anything done otherwise. Even now I am typing this with one hand while he has a feed. The joys of multi-tasking mothers.

About the time of you reading this letter the kids will have gone to their first Wiggles concert and coming up on December 29th is Prashan’s dedication being held at our home. We hope you have a very Holy and Blessed Christmas and look forward to hearing from you over the Festive Season.

With Love

Jayatarras Pty Ltd