2012 The year that
was (for the Duffus family)
For his birthday present, we decided that it was time to
reward ourselves with a trip overseas and the planning began. Anyone that knows Scott, knows that it had to
be as organised as possible for him to feel comfortable. We decided to surprise my family in England
with the news that we were coming over and told them Christmas day in a Skype
conference call. Was very loud but they
were very surprised and extremely happy that we were finally going over to
visit them all. My sister, Debbie, also
turned 50 and decided that she would go to visit and it worked out that we
would be there together for a short period of time. It was a very exciting time for all of us as,
if you haven't read our blog, it was the first time the siblings (from my
family) would be together in 28 years.
Leaving our not very happy boys behind (as they weren't
coming with us) we headed off on an adventure of a lifetime for the next 5 1/2
weeks. The first question I asked when
booking in at the airport was how much would it cost me to bring extra luggage
back home with us. Scott nearly turned
around and came home then lol. During that time we had a family reunion, got to
meet sister-in-laws and nieces and nephews that we had never met and get
reacquainted with my sister and brothers again.
on top of all of this we went to the Beijing and got to walk along the
Great Wall of China, Scott walked down the 1000 or so steps and I tobogganed
down it. Along with this we managed to
visit other iconic places. It was still
snowing in some parts and the weather there was very cold.
After Beijing we flew to England then Rome, Paris and caught
the train back to England for time with family before we headed home. our trip was amazing and we loved every
minute of it, apart from leaving family behind and saying goodbye. Whilst
overseas, life at home didn't stop. The
boys survived and we came home to animals that were still alive.
Nathan has been back home for just on 12 months, after being
away for 3 years, it's an adjustment period for all of us!! We came home from
our trip to find that Nathan had gotten himself a girlfriend. we thought if that's what it takes we are
going to go away more often!! Lauren is
a beautiful young lady that fits right into our mad household. Nathan also decided that he had had enough of
working for the coffee club, as there was nowhere for him to move and applied
for a new job and was successful. He now
works in the city, again, but is enjoying it.
Matt decided that he wanted to further his education and
that he was unable to study at home, I think the conversation went like this:
Matt: you know what I was like in school mum, I didn't study
then so I can't do it now
Mum: Matt you are older, have served a mission and should
have more self discipline nowMatt: no mum it doesn't work that way!!
so he decided that he had to go to Brigham Young University
in Hawaii (yes I know what you are thinking ''studying in Hawaii''). He applied for a scholarship and just before
Scott and I left for our Europe trip he found out that he had been accepted and
would leave a couple of days after we returned.
I wasn't that happy, as you can imagine, he had just come home after a 2
year mission and was now planning on leaving for 3 years study - half way
around the world!!
Him leaving again was very hard, but we knew that he had
thought and prayed about it and that this was the right thing for him to do at
this time. He was strictly forbidden to
get married and remain so far away. He
left with very little savings and thought that he was successful in getting a
scholarship only to find out when he got there that he wasn't successful. To his credit he managed to scrimp and save
to survive the first semester, getting really good marks. I think he has told
all the administrators what's wrong with their application system, as only Matt
would!! however his perseverance paid off and he managed to get not one but two
scholarships for the remainder of his time there. He has just finished for the year and passed
all of his courses. Every time someone
went over to Hawaii, Matt always requested red and green frogs.
Now for Brendan.
Brendan has struggled with finding regular work this year, the forces
trying to stop him from preparing and going on his mission I'm sure, however
his desire to serve a mission won out.
after many doctors appointments and having to have all 4 wisdom teeth
removed, he submitted his papers. Scott
wanted him to be sent to Brisbane as this is where he served, I kept telling
him that it was Perth. Both of us were
wrong and he has been called to serve in the Adelaide mission. this mission takes in not only Adelaide, but
all through central Australia to the Northern Territory and part of the border
of Victoria. He is so excited to be
going and as I write this he leaves in 6 days time. we have set up a blog to upload his weekly
emails too and you can follow it at
www.elderduffusmeetsadelaide.blogspot.com.
The next few days are going to quite hectic with work and getting him
prepared to leave.
Scott and I have had a wonderful year serving as the Young
Single Adults (YSA) advisors for the Stake.
We have enjoyed many a fireside, institute and activities with them. As a Stake we were in charge of the regional
Ball and after many, many, many meetings and with a lot of help, we (our Stake)
managed to put on a fabulous Ball, enjoyed by all. More recently the Prophet announced the age
of serving missions had changed from 19 to 18 years old for males and 21 to 19
for females. the exciting thing is that
there are so many of our YSA's planning, preparing, putting in their papers and
being called to serve as full time missionaries. We have loved every minute of our time spent
with these wonderful young adults and look forward to the new year.
On our work side, it has also been a very busy year for both of us. I am still working in Ashfield, working on projects and Scott has been working in the Blacktown, Penrith and more recently Mt Druitt area, however he went for a new position and was successful and will be joining me travelling to Ashfield in the new year.
We have fabulous family and friends that support us
constantly and love dearly. We look
forward to the new year with new adventures, starting with a 13 night cruise to
New Zealand and back at the end of January, to planning an trip to Hawaii to
visit with Matt. We also are so excited
to start this journey with Brendan as he heads off and spends the next 2 years
serving his Heavenly Father and teaching people about the gospel.
thanks for all your friendship, love and support throughout
2012 and look forward to the new year.
Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year.
Love
Scott and Jene xx
Love you guys xo
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