Below is a recent email from Valerie in Australia.
It is lovely to hear from you and to hear that you are all well.
Matt and I are both well – busy working and the kids are thriving thankfully. Alice is heading off on a 5 day scout camp in a couple of weeks which will be a big adventure for her and James is thoroughly immersed in his sports – AFL, soccer and cricket are his current passions. I’ve attached a few photos of us all.
All going well, we would love to come and visit you again and are thinking that the second half of next year might be possible. In saying that, I thought that I would ask all my family and friends to keep their ears open for any opportunities to house sit or similar. We are not wishing to impose on anyone but if someone knew of someone heading off on holidays for instance we might be able to work out something mutually beneficial. We are totally flexible with dates at this stage and would be open to any suggestions that might arise through social networks. We would like to stay in Ireland for at least a few weeks to catch up with everyone and are just exploring our options to make it work. It may be that nothing does pop up but I thought I would put the call out early just in case someone does hear of something.
I will keep you informed of any updates as we work through all the thinking involved.
Please pass our love to Nora, Netta and all the Hickey family.
Best wishes,
Valerie
