Countdown

One week today we fly home. Our last day of work was yesterday and we had a little pizza party afterwards. I felt so sad saying goodbye to my boss, I know that I'll never have a kinder employer.

Tomorrow morning we're going to visit our friends Danny & Jen down in Orange and spend the next two days with them. We basically haven't sold anything yet with the exception of Colin's surfboard and our desk, and I'm starting to feel panicky about everything else. I don't care about the money as much as just getting rid of it. It'd be nice to make some $$ on the car and the bikes but at this point I just want someone to offer us anything! Hopefully this weekend we'll be able to get rid of it all, and if not then we'll just have to make a trip to the nearest thrift store. Last night we advertised our car on a website that you have to actually pay a fee to do so, so hopefully that'll score us a sell.

I managed to purchase direct flights to Vancouver which I'm incredibly happy about. Every time we've flown Sydney-Vancouver its been a 22 hour flight through LA or San Fran but this time it'll be a meager 14! Its still a crazy amount of time to sit but there will be no complaints from me this time around.

A couple of weekends ago we went up to Brisbane to visit Neil, Anita & Aliza one last time. Its crazy to think that our time has ended here and theirs has just begun. We had a fun visit and were extremely happy that we went. We've been here 2 1/2 years and I still hadn't held a Koala, so we went to a Koala park in Brisbane called Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and Colin and I got a picture. I wanted to make Christmas cards this year and specifically wanted a photo for that purpose. It was a special 60 seconds as Rodney's koala paws gripped onto my shoulders and it went by all too fast with nothing but a smelly shirt and photo to remind me of the beautiful moment we shared.

E.

See you in August

If you haven't heard, we're in the process of moving home! We just couldn't miss out on yet another Penticton summer. Our last day of work will be August 14th, and I'm looking at plane tickets for August 22nd.

When we made the big decision a few weeks ago we had mixed feelings about leaving Australia but as the end draws closer we're feeling more and more excited. There are things about Australia I'll miss. Obviously the Queensland Kroegers, our church, friends, the beach, espresso, cafes, our jobs, my doctor, etc.... But the thought of seeing our family and friends again trumps it all.

There are a few logistics that need to be ironed out in the next month. I still need to purchase the actual flight and we have to sell our copious amounts of stuff. We posted some pictures online Sunday and made our first sale tonight. We met up with a young Danish guy at Strathfield train station and did a sketchy back of the car transaction. He was unfortunately unfamiliar with the town in which my father was born which cost him a Danish discount. I'm most concerned about selling our car and bikes but I'm hoping that 4 weeks will be sufficient. It would also be fantastic to sell our camping equipment because we have a lot of it and its quite nice. Winter just isn't the best time to sell it. That being said, we DID just sell a surf board. Maybe a Danish person will buy all our gear.

Tomorrow is my day off so I'll be cleaning the car and posting pictures of it. Ideally we wouldn't sell it for at least 2 weeks since I'm still using it but we can't wait too last minute on it either.
E.

Dingo dinner

If anyone even still reads this blog despite the fact I haven't written in two months, I'll try and make it a good one.

Several weeks ago Colin's sister, Adelle flew to Australia for a visit, along with a good friend of hers/ours, Tara. We had a fantastic time running around checking out the sites which included a Sufjan Stevens concert (compliments of my inlaws for my bday gift) at the Opera house. We were also lucky enough to spend a weekend at our friends fabulous beach home where the girls got to surf in Australia for the first time. It was such a great weekend. We were 2 1/2 hours south of Sydney and as we drove home that Sunday night the last thing on my mind was our car registration. When we were about 45 minutes from home we got pulled over by the cops and I assumed it was for a random breath test. Apparently our car registration had expired 20 days prior! When we moved last December we had changed our address with our insurers but forgot about registration and we hadn't been around our old house in a while to check the mail thereby disabling any chance of receiving the two reminders that had come in the mail.

The cop, being the ever gracious human being that he is, hit us with every possible fine he could have and then told us that we wouldn't be able to drive our car home. The total cost for the night was $1678 in tickets and then $275 for the tow home. To add even further insult to injury, we discovered early the next morning that if we didn't get our car registered by day 21 post expiration (yes, that very day), then we'd have to get something called a blue slip and endure a several week waiting period which meant we wouldn't be able drive. My amazing boss picked me up for work Monday morning and then helped me organize paying for my green slip and book an appt. with my mechanic. Then Colin took half a day off of work, met with the mechanic who approved our car which gives us a pink slip, then he drove to the RTA and paid our dues. All of that was another $800 dollars. It was the most expensive and unexpected two days ever.

A few days later Adelle and Tara rented a vehicle to tour up the coast to meet up with Neil and Anita. 3 days after that Colin's grandma came to visit for a week. We had one nice day of weather and then rain rain rain. Grandma Houle was a champ though and made the best of a damp week. 5 days after Grandma's arrival we flew to Brisbane to meet up with Neil, Anita, Aliza, Adelle and Tara. Neil was writing his last exam the next morning and we were all going to go on a holiday together. We rented two cute little cars then drove up to Hervey Bay where we rented a huge 8 person 4x4 that probably should have only fit 5 people with luggage and then took the ferry across to Fraser Island where we stayed at the beautiful Kingfisher resort. Early the next morning we took off to start exploring the island. Neil and Colin were designated the drivers of the beast which meant they had to undergo brief training before we were even allowed to take truck. The terrain is indescribable. I had only seen pictures of the beaches at Fraser Island, not the insane roads you have to drive on to get to the beaches. We developed a system where the two people in the front would yell out how big the next bump would be based on a 1-5 scale so everyone could brace themselves accordingly.  There were so many adventures on Fraser Island but I will pick my favorite memory.
Dingo Dinner:
The only consolation to seeing that such a beautiful sea creature had beached itself and died, was that it gave me the opportunity to watch a dingo eating a humpback WHALE!

After spending Friday night, all day Saturday, and Sunday morning there, we took the ferry back over to Hervey Bay, exchanged the beast for our cute little rentals, and continued our drive up the coast. Our

next stop was a place near Rockhamptom called Yeppoon. We stayed there Sunday evening, then woke up early the next morning to check out the sites. Colin & Adelle ran into town and the rest of us drove there to meet up for bunch. We spent the day at the beach and rented a couple of stand up paddle boards. I was absolutely terrible at it but everyone else seemed to manage quite well. The girls even got to see dolphins when they went out. 

Late that afternoon Anita asked if we could spell her brothers name 'Thomas' in the sand for a birthday message she wanted to send him. After it was all set up Neil asked a young twenty-something girl who was sitting nearby to take our picture. Afterwards, Neil raced back up the rocks to see how it turned out. They ended up talking for a while and then Neil yelled that she was coming down and we were going to help her spell a message too. Turns out she was meeting her boyfriend at the beach and her message was "Will you Marry Me Josh?" and she had a ring!!! Neil took lots of amazing photos. We had an hour before he got off of work so we spelt it in a huge heart of shells. Obviously Josh agreed to the matrimonial offer based on our sand handiwork. It was a great afternoon. 

We left Tuesday morning super early because we had to drive a massive distance that day and get to Airlie beach by 3pm to check in for our 3 day Whitsunday/Great Barrier Reef sailing trip. We were almost an hour late which really wasn't a big deal (in our opinions) because the boat didn't leave until after 7pm but I guess they like to get paperwork done. pfff.

We had an amazing three days snorkeling our way around the Whitsunday islands and getting to experience the outer great barrier reef. When my parents came out Christmas 2010 we went to the inner reef and it was so cool to also experience the deeper end of things as well. Colin opted to do some scuba diving and enjoyed the opportunity to experience that on the trip too.

It would take me another hour to write about those three days so we'll have to say it with pictures. It'll be a few weeks until someone from our group has gathered up the time to make a video but we'll post something on here eventually. Neil has everyone's pictures and video on his computer so I nominate you and Anita :)

Colin and I left the rest of our group Sunday evening and flew back which included a lame 3 1/2 hour layover in brisbane where Colin slept on a couch in the airport and I read a book called "My Steve" by Terri Irwin. It was actually incredibly emotional and I struggled to get through the last chapter while keeping my airport dignity. 

When I arrived at work this morning I discovered that one of my coworkers quit while I was away and the office was in chaos. Welcome home.  

E.

    

My pet spider

Colin recently started working another job on the side as a physio for an AFL team. He's only had 1 practice and 2 games so far but he already loves it. Saturday was his first game and it was down in Wollongong which is a little over an hour south of Sydney. I went with him and read a book while occasionally looking up to watch, and was even asked to look at a players tooth. After dinner we began the long journey home and discovered that somehow during our travels we had accumulated an unwanted passenger running around the hood and front window of our car. If you're not familiar with the Australian huntsman, here is what you're missing out on:

I thought that once we got home it would relocate to a nice tree somewhere or perhaps a neighbors apartment, but while I was driving Colin to gymnastics tonight it decided to make another appearance. Fortunately its still on the outside of our car. Colin saw it before me and said, "I want you to consider the safety of the other passenger in the vehicle. " I managed to safely get to our destination but Colin couldn't find it once we got there. I've been living in fear for the past 3 days waiting for him to figure out how to get inside our car, and I don't think we'll be able to get rid of him without force. Whenever I need to get in or out of the car I get everything ready in my arms then make a mad bolt so he doesn't have time to get inside. Though I doubt he's lingering around waiting for me.

We've had a fun couple of weeks lately. Neil, Anita & Aliza came down for a visit and we went on two camping trips with them. I'd really like to put together a little video of it since its a convenient visual aid of our fun. Plus I like making videos. We had such a great time with them and we wished that we could live closer together. 

I have to pick Colin up in an hour and I'm actually scared to drive. I've psyched myself out looking for spider pictures to post. 

E.

Grad 2012

Colin's grad video

Victoria

Made a little video of our trip the other day.

Victoria

We took a week off of work to see some sights in Victoria at the end of February and had a great time. We spent 3 days in Melbourne checking out the infamous ACMI building which had some fun and free exhibits, the greek festival that was taking place the weekend we were there, as well as enjoying the aquarium and the many cafes and interesting buildings in the CBD. We also spent an evening at Philip island which has a ferry penguin reserve where you can go enjoy sitting near the beach and watching the penguins run into their burrows. They spend several hours before sunset "rafting" near the beach while their numbers increase. Then when it's nice and dark they bolt in their large groups. When I say bolt though, I mean penguin bolt, which is slow and hilarious to watch. As soon as the penguins started coming out of the water it poured on us and the sky gave a great lightening show. We weren't undercover and got drenched. The tiny penguins were worth it though. Unfortunately, cameras weren't allowed because the flash disorientates the penguins (fair enough) and the video footage that we secretly took didn't turn out due to lack of lighting.

The following day we left melbourne and headed towards the Great Ocean Road. We stopped at a place called Torquay which is the surf capital of Victoria and the headquarters for most of the major surf brands (rip curl, quicksilver, etc..) We were told they had excellent retail outlets but we were disappointed with the lack of retail prices. We saw Bells Beach while we were there which is home to some major surf competitions. Only really good surfers surf there because it's dangerous and you'd also look like a moron surrounded by those guys.

We spent the night at Johanna beach campground in Great Otway National Park and woke up early for a spectacular sunset. Truth be told, I actually woke up to use the toilet and Colin capitalized on the unholy hour by making me race the sun up a hill. It was really beautiful though. We then made our way onto see the famous rock formations: 12 apostles, London Bridge, Bay of islands, etc... Loch Ard Gorge was a real highlight. A speedo-bound Colin went swimming in the freezing water while all the people who had unloaded from tour buses took photos. Oh my.

The weather wasn't great the whole time we were in Victoria but it really starting turning on us so we went to a Bunnings for a larger tarp and some rope. The guy who helped us was this super informative middle aged man who told us to go to a place called Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve which is on top of a volcano and is home to wild emus, koalas, and an assortment of fantastic wildlife. It was a highlight of the trip.

We camped that night at Wannon Falls campground and made it there just in time for a spectacular sunset.

The next morning we drove through the southern end of the Grampians and then drove to the other side of Victoria to take the coastal route back to Sydney. We camped at a place called Paradise Beach and it was so brutally windy we skipped making dinner and ate fruit, then packed up as soon as it was morning so our stuff wouldn't blow away.

With the exception of our first 3 nights in Melbourne staying at a hotel, all of the places we camped at were free. The Victorian government apparently doesn't want you to pay when you stay in their fine national parks. But the last night we camped we were in NSW and decided to camp at a place called Pretty Beach, even though it was $22, because I didn't feel great and they had hot showers. After we got set up I ran to the showers only to find that the hot water only worked for the first 20 seconds of my shower and came out as scalding, followed by only cold. I've never used such crass language during a shower before. When I got out I discovered that I wasn't alone in the bathroom but the other lady was very understanding of my situation. Pretty Beach was worth the $22 though, because there were about 50 kangaroos in the park and they weren't scared of you. Everywhere you walked there were kangaroos and kangaroo poo. It was 'pretty'.

When we got home and began unpacking, I realized that our clothes we had been wearing the night we watched the penguins in the rain had been left in a plastic bag (my idea) to rot while I completely forgot all about them for 5 days. I had to wash the contents 3 times before the smell came out.

And that's our trip.

E.

Family

Australia right now feels like a far away place. People surround us and our days go by just the same as they would anywhere else in the world. However, the distance that only an ocean can fill, relentlessly swells up and down between us. No matter how connected we are to the people around us it’s Jesus who is our Rock. As we cling to this rock I sense waves smashing our feet. They attempt to rip us off the rock face so we fall into ourselves. When I finally look around I see all the others clinging and I’m glad to be beside them all on that rock. We have such wonderful friends and family “focused on things above not things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2). “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,” (Matthew 6:33)

I can see where I want to be, I sense that my position in life isn’t a weightless one. My actions and words have the ability to produce fruit. Fruit in a biblical context: “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal 5:22)

I want love not hatred or bitterness, Joy not gloom, peace not turmoil, patience not quick agitation, kindness not cruelty, goodness not indecency or wickedness, faith not constant worry, gentleness not a short temper, and lastly I want to have self-control and not become a victim of my own passions. Only the Lord can help me out with this and only through the blood of Jesus Christ am I made righteous. I can’t do this on my own but God made it possible through Jesus’ death and resurrection. What mercy and compassion I’ll never completely understand but I accept it with tears on my face for the wrongs I do. And tears on my heart for the grace I’ve received. Thank you for this priceless gift.

With this said it’s not an easy thing to commit to. Following Christ takes sacrifice but it’s worth it. Death is in this world and is as real as the chair I’m sitting on. It is not a nice thing; it’s not a pleasant thing. It is a horrible, horrible painful, excruciating reality of our sin. I don’t know how to react to death, I really don’t. I feel joy knowing when someone truly knew Christ, although I am not the judge, I sense in my being pure joy when I’ve heard someone confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and live their life for Him.

Preach the gospel to yourself everyday, and then go out and tell others.

“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (John 15:8)

C.