One Month

I can't believe it, as of yesterday (Monday) I have been in Australia for a fully month. Wow, time flies...

So a little bit more has happened since the last time I updated this blog. Benjamin and the basketball team he played on made it to the finals, we had a surprise 16 birthday party for our friend Kenny, spent the night at Dixon's Creek before the working bee the following day, went to see the ordination and installation of Brandon Fisher as a ruling elder for the Mckinnon RPC, I've volunteered at a nursing home by playing games and my flute with some ladies from church, and today I spent a fun afternoon walking the beach with Rose and Louise Blakston and then joined the rest of what is left of their family (that isn't away at a church camp presently) for dinner.

Now most of that has happened just within this weekend and today so it's been busy but a lot of fun. I need to start writing a bit sooner after these things happen so I can give you some more detail. I'll aim for that on my next blog posting. But here are some pictures that I have from a few of these events.

Benjamin with his basketball team.

Doing some small clean up the night before the Working Bee at Dixon's Creek.

Rose found a starfish!

And she found a jellyfish!

The ocean!

Where's Wally (aka Waldo, aka Rose)?!

Rose and her beautiful sand castle.

Dandenong Market

Not too much to say today, except for yesterday I went with Benjamin, Maria, and Tamara to the Dandenong Market which was a lot of fun. There was shopping for just about anything and the section where the fresh produce was looked like it went on forever. Here are a couple pictures from our day.

Hot donuts with a jelly center that were very yummy! We each had one and that was definitely enough!

We thought having salt being a Kooka brand was funny.

The chocolate carmel bar that I was told would change my life.

Heading Home. 

Adjusting

Hello Everyone, I'm now going on my third week here in Australia and I'll have to say I feel like I am adjusting quickly and well. The thing right now is just finding a part time job that is near by is beginning to be the problem, and hoping that is a job I can make a schedule out of and not just something that I may get a day here or there. So everyone can keep praying that I might find something.

Let's see, then Friday we had Family Fun Night and we watched the movie 'Courageous.' I had never seen it before, but I really enjoyed it. I would definitely encourage anyone who hasn't seen it to watch it, it really digs deep into Christian families and the struggles we can face, and how important the father's role is in leading a God fearing home.

This past Saturday I went with the Blackwood's to the Blakston's to watch a game of footy (aka Australian rules football). I loved it! It made American football look like a girls game, plus there is always something going on and you don't stop till the half time. Woo, so a lot of fun watching and just spending time with the two families.

O and before I forget, I also went to the the pharmacy with Nancy and she let me drive, it was a very funny experience to say the least. I took a couple curbs, BUT I stayed in the left lane and parked successfully in the parking lot and in the garage when we got back home. The round about was rather strange, it had multiple lanes and of course I had to go to the left and watch to the right. Ahh! lol

I'm still continuing to hang around and assist Nancy and Maria with the homeschool choir which is always a lot of fun and we've been learning some new lines to 'Row Row Row Your Boat' that the children have been teaching us. Here are the three verses:

Verse 1: 'Row Row Row your boat, gently down the stream
               Merrily Merrily Merrily Merrily, life is but a dream!'

Verse 2: 'Row Row Row your boat, gently down the stream
               If you see a crocodile, don't forget to scream! Ahh!'

Verse 3: 'Row Row Row your boat, underneath the stream
               Ha Ha fooled you, I'm a submarine!'

So as you can very well imagine time with this group of young ones is always a blast!

It has been so nice getting to slowly know more of the people from church and their gifts. Uncle Ralph an older gentleman of the church is the biggest giver I have ever met. He'd only known me a week and now a have a book of a poem called 'The Man From Snowy River.' He has told me that I'll also need to see the movie before I leave.

Thinking about adjusting, my little spots in the room are beginning to look a little bit more homey. Some borrowed books that I've finished reading sit on my space on the bookshelf as well as a book that I have borrowed from Maria. Then Maria was so sweet and took the picture that we took of all the girls from the Frankston Church and printed it out and put it on my side of the wardrobe. You'll have to understand that the room is covered in pictures (love it!) and I don't have any, so now I have one!

The book from Uncle Ralph.

The photo of us girls after church being blinded by the sun while trying to take a picture!

Week 1

I successfully have made it through week 1 of my time in Australia. I made the time change pretty easily and am slowly getting used to the fact that I am going to be in layers for most of the time that I'm here until the hottest point in summer and then back into the layers once we hit autumn.

Thank goodness my eye is beginning to feel better. I can't recall exactly whether or not I mentioned in my last post that from being in airplanes for so long that my left I dried out and got a small crack in it and it's in the process of healing it's self and it feels pretty awful. I have to put eye drops in 4-5 times a day and then these gel eye drops at night which is super weird.

So far I have really enjoyed Australia, the plant life is so beautiful and the exotic birds being everywhere is pretty cool, even if they are a bit loud. This week and weekend I was able to meet more of the people from the Frankston Church which has been wonderful, everyone is so welcoming and kind and I'm excited to get to know them all much more.

I also had my first Tim Tam last night and it was very good! Harry Blakston wasn't going to let me eat anything else for dessert without trying one right away. But next time I have one I'll try the whole nibbling off the edges of one and sucking coffee up through it, if I remember right they called it a 'Tim Tam Slam.'

So, maybe I can end with maybe a more serious thought. Something that I've learned just in the week that I've been here living with the Blackwood's is just how much better the day feels when you start it out with family worship together after breakfast. It's just so neat how their schedules work out to be able to even have breakfast together and then the worship. Hopefully when I have my own family someday we'll make time for family worship even if it has be after dinner.

Well, no new pictures to share today, maybe next time I post, with just working on getting to know people and getting situated there hasn't been much to take pictures of.  :)