I'm approaching my 7th month working with the amazing team at Maxwell and Cameron, and this is the first time I've been asked to blog about my world. I have read all of the previous blogs from the other staff members on our website going back to 2014 to get an idea on what to write (clearly, I don't have children and I have a lot of free time on my hands!).

 I was thinking - should I introduce myself and tell you all a little about me? Or should I write about Christmas? Because believe it or not but Christmas is only a few weeks away!! So I decided to do both.

 As most of you already know, my name is Hannah and I am the receptionist at Maxwell and Cameron. I grew up in a small town called Marlborough 100km north of Rockhampton. I went to primary school there where I was the only kid in my grade! (I won all the sports day races for my age group because I would either have no one to race, or I would race younger kids!) Fast forward a few years and I started High School at Glenmore in Rockhampton. I would have to wake up at 6am every morning to get on a school bus to Rockhampton from Marlborough. I have 4 older sisters, 1 younger sister and 2 younger brothers so while my four older sisters were all in high school and leaving at 7am for the bus, I was making school lunches for my younger siblings, doing my younger sisters hair and tying their shoelaces, while my parents worked hard to support their big loving family. When I was 14, I started working for my mum at a petrol station on weekends, after school and all school holidays. I think growing up with such a busy lifestyle even as a child helped me mature a lot faster. 

 I met my partner of nearly 8 years at Marlborough when we were 16, we moved in together a few months later and lived together in Marlborough for around 5 years. After Marlborough we moved to Gracemere together to further our careers and we are now both in great workplaces that we absolutely LOVE!

 I love my massive family and at the age of 24 I have 4 nieces with another one on the way, and 9 nephews!!

 So, I bet you can imagine what Christmas is like in my family! When I was growing up, we used to live in a smallish house where we would all share bedrooms. As the house was quite small, we would have Christmas morning in our giant shed. One of my older sisters would wake me and all my siblings up at 4am every year and we would all sneak to the shed where we would just sit and stare at the presents under the giant Christmas tree. (It had to be giant to fit everyone's presents under there!) I still remember that butterfly feeling in my stomach of excitement, and the joy of being with my family, everyone smiling and laughing. Even though we knew we were not allowed to open presents until my Dad was awake and had his morning coffee which was usually around 8am, we would still wake up at 4am every year and sit around for 4 hours laughing and guessing what was under that wrapping paper.

 Things have changed a little as we grew up and got partners and children. We all have different houses to be at over Christmas and we all have to see the In-Laws for Christmas also. I know that even though we don't see each other every Christmas now, we are all together in one way or the other, and as long as we are all having a good time wherever we may be, that's all that matters!

 I look forward to seeing you in the office or talking on the phone and will do my best to assist you with anything you need from us.

 I'm also looking forward to Christmas again and wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope you all have a relaxing time over the Christmas break with your family.

 Hannah