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.

Home Again

Hey ya'll. Colin and I just spent a week traveling around the state of Victoria, and arrived home this evening. I'll probably put together a little video of our trip and I'll definitely write a blog about it, but here is a picture for you to enjoy if you're even remotely considering coming to visit us.

Oh, and we also saw an albino kangaroo.

Danish

I haven't been baking much lately but last week I felt motivated to try something new: The Danish. I hadn't ever thought of making them before and it turns out they're a surprising butt load of work. I started them Wednesday but the weather was too hot to actually roll them out. Thursday nights are our new yoga night so I didn't get a chance to try. Friday evening was rainy and gross which made it a perfect recipe for danish making. In hindsight I wish we had put a little more effort into the filling, but we wanted to eat them so badly we just threw some fruit in the middle. They were pretty fantastic. I ate 3 as soon as they came out of the oven. This is what they looked like:

We made blueberry, apricot and raspberry. Colin had made a blueberry sauce as well. We mixed icing sugar & water together and drizzled it on top. It was great.

Thursday is Australia day (public holiday, woo!) and tonight we're going down south to Gerringong so Colin can surf with our friends in the morning. We have to be back for work Friday so it won't be an extended long weekend.

Colin is at a job interview right now, fingers crossed!

E.

NYE

Colin and I rang in the new year last night, Australia style. I never imagined myself doing this but we got up early, took the train to Circular Quay, and waited in line outside of botanical gardens so we could nab a spot to watch the fireworks. They only let 6,000 people into this specific section of the gardens and you have to be there when they open it to the public, at 10am, to get a premium viewing location of the harbor bridge and opera house. Jenna & Willy got there right before 10 and Colin and I didn't arrive until almost 11 due to trains and last minute food prep. They had saved ample room for us. In the area we were in there were no trees close enough to shade us so we roasted in the sun like idiots until it went behind a building at 6pm, then it got super cold. We weren't really prepared for either of the 2 extremes which made for a fairly uncomfortable day.

At 9pm the first fireworks go off for the Family Show and last for about 10 minutes. Sydney does an incredible display. We felt dumb at 8:50pm when our sweet area was trampled by all the smart people who had spent the day under trees, who came rushing up through the carefully blanketed area us foolish people had "reserved" for the previous 11 hours. I didn't enjoy those fireworks as much because I felt indignant about my zone being intruded on and strangers standing in front of me.

At 11:30pm we packed up all our stuff and just stood up to wait for the fireworks. We learned our lesson the first time. Our friend Willy had broken his wrist and toe the day before and we got a bit antsy when the pushing started. It was hard after such a long day and much anticipation not to get angry with everyone rushing in to get a closer look. Fortunately we weren't trampled and Willy escaped with his broken limbs still in tact. heh.

The midnight fireworks were amazing but it was a once in a lifetime experience for this girl. No fireworks display is worth a 14 hour wait exposed to the elements and trying to train it home with a million other spectators. I made a little video of our day but if you're interested in seeing the full scale of Sydney's fireworks, I'll throw in the link for the midnight fireworks they show on tv. It's spectacular.

My Video

Full Midnight Fireworks

E.