News

Hello to our dear family and friends!

I hope we have done a decent job staying in touch with you guys (at least individually?) throughout our time here in Aussieland. As you can see, I am not a very good blogger. :) Perhaps it's my lack of time? Ah, I won't give excuses for myself... I would rather sit and do calculus than write a paper. Math is more my thing. :)

Anyways, we still seem to be standing despite the gravitational pull being a lot stronger down here... hahaha j/k. Nah, but we are doing pretty well. Josh is continuing to rock it with his studies. Greek seems to be the class he has to put most of his time to... everywhere (literally) we go he seems to be carrying Greek flashcards in his plastic baggie-- church, the grocery store, long car rides, friends houses... He has a pretty busy schedule at the moment: working Monday, Friday, Saturday and classes Tuesday-Thursday. We have also gotten involved in serving at a Hillsong extension service 30 minutes from our house. We have enjoyed the community at that church and the different experience.
I am still working at the cafe, working Monday through Friday, yet still working over 40 hours a week. I joined the gym a few doors down from work and found a trainer that seems to thoroughly enjoy working me to the ground each session. The gym has some great classes that I have enjoyed as well, just to change up from my usual running. I am really enjoying the cycling class and the boxing class (which is run by this crazy nazi-police woman who I am TOTALLY intimidated by... she literally almost made me cry the first class.). It seems I have found my own little community at the gym now and some of the regulars that come to the cafe always are friendly to me when they see me.... I am actually doing the cycling class with a few of the 50-70yr old ladies that come into the cafe regularly. :) LOVE IT. I have also become quite close to a lot of the regulars that come into the cafe and it has been so fun to get to know them beyond their "Large cappuccino, two sugars" order.
Josh and I have made some additional great friends through our connect group through church. It's awesome to have friends that are from all over the world.
Australia life has seemed to fit more comfortable for us (well, really me because Josh could honestly live anywhere and be fine..). Our routine seems to be a bit more set.

On that note, we do have some news for you all.  With much prayer and thought, we have decided to return home for GOOD when we come home for Josh's brother's wedding in June. This is for a few reasons-- finances and my health. Don't get me wrong, my stomach pains and severe bloating that I had earlier have gone... but now my hormone levels aren't right and my "body processing" is still out of wack. I have seen the doctor several times now and they cannot seem to figure out what is up so Josh and I have decided that I seems much safer for my health if we return back. Hormone levels are definitely not something we want to mess with, especially if we would like to have kids in the future. Our prayer and hope is that everything will balance out once we are on American soil... this seems to be what SEVERAL American girls have experienced for some weird reason. One girl I chatted to the other weekend seemed to think that it was the water here...perhaps? Who knows!
Financially, we save a couple thousand dollars by having Josh finish his courses online from the States. I have NO idea how this works.. doesn't make sense to me. Josh will still finish by February, as we had planned... and he will only be taking three courses online that he would have actually done in a classroom setting.. so he is not missing out on as much as would be expected.

With all this being said, please keep us in your prayers-- we are trying to establish a living situation, purchase another car, and both find jobs. Josh will be looking for part-time work and an internship (counting as class credit). I will be looking for a full time job, either doing admin work, HR, or something of the sort. Any ideas or thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Also, if you see any great car deals, we would love to hear about that too!

We are SO looking forward to seeing you all so soon! We miss you guys HEAPS!

Lots of lovin',

J & L

So not doing a good job...

Oh I am soooo not doing a good job at this. My apologies once again.

Well, family and friends, I would say a lot has happened since I blogged last! Let  me TRY and give you a BRIEF update. 

Josh finished off the semester at the end of November and did QUITE well! I am so proud of him! He starts his next semester in a few weeks with a pretty intense load including Greek 1! Yikes!

Josh also has started a new job which was a total blessing from God. Literally. He somehow got connected up with guy that was praying for someone that he could hire to manage his tire and small mechanics shop that he just opened up near the Blue Mountains. This job is better pay, a way better work environment, and he gets compensated for gas to and from work… not to mention that he is able to use all his past years of experience in managing the shop. He is pretty pumped about this.

I am still working at the café but have some potential new jobs in the works… will update you as things come to pass! As far as my health, I am totally blessed to say that after six months of the worst stomach issues in the world, I am completely healed! Not kidding! I had done several tests—full blood, parasite, ultrasounds, celiac, etc—and was ready to head to a gastro- specialist to see what he could do as nothing seemed to be showing up on the tests. I just so happened to get connected with a girl (the wife of one of Josh’s friends when he lived here before) who has been living here for 7 years with the same EXACT issue as I was having… she had the same symptoms and the doctors couldn’t seem to figure out what it was… they ended up diagnosing her with celiac but she knew that wasn’t it as basically everything she ate would bother her. However, as soon as she would go back to the states to visit family, she would be fine! She told me that on her 3+ week holiday in California she ate EVERYTHING and had NO issues and even lost weight! After chatting to her on the phone I was comforted by the fact that there was someone else out there with the same issue but I also knew that only God could solve this… no doctors…

So, as we have entered 2013, the vision of Hillsong Church for this year has challenged both Joshua and me: believing with faith and expectation for God’s blessing upon all of our lives. This has been so hard for the both of us in the past as we have felt so undeserving of God’s blessing… like we have had to earn it… In this mind-shift, we have been both praying and believing for God to do GREAT things in His Church, His people, and us. So, I began praying and believing fervently for God’s miraculous healing upon my body…a complete wholeness to my system.  It was as if a switch had by hit in my body after this mindset change… It was about the second week or so of January when my bloating was disappearing and my stomach pain was going away. I slowly started adding foods back into my system that I hadn’t been eating… my body wasn’t reacting to them! I am now eating any and every kind of food without a bit of reaction! I know that this is only by God’s healing touch. There is NO other explanation for it as I have done nothing else differently. I am so excited and blessed to see the power of God upon my life!

On another note, Josh and I have had the opportunity to do a bit more traveling and sightseeing, which I am so excited about! We were invited to our first Australian wedding at the end of November in Hunter Valley, wine country. My work Christmas party was an outing to the Sydney Aquarium (I got to see where Nemo had settled. Hehe). I got to experience my first New Years’ Eve in the city, watching the AMAZING fireworks from the balcony of our friends’ house! Lastly, my sister, Sarah, came to visit for two weeks! We explored a bit more of the city together and traveled up to the Gold Coast and got to see Surfer’s Paradise and Brisbane. We had an absolute blast!

Josh and I are looking forward to an AWESOME and eventful 2013 filled with God’s grace and blessing! We hope this post finds you all well! We honestly think of you all quite often and look forward to seeing many of you on our visit back home in June for Jordan’s wedding!  

Much love,

Team Therrien 

At the Graduation Dinner with our new friends, Eli and Lena

The famous Shark Tank at the Sydney Aquarium (this tank was used in the Amazing Race!)

My apologies for my silly coworker, Alyce. :) 

I got the privilege of watching one of Josh's Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes 

and seeing him fight. :) 

Christmastime at Hillsong Church 

They did a beautiful job decorating the entire campus with Christmas decorations 

for the whole neighborhood to enjoy! 

Dinner in the city

New Years Eve in the city with our good friends, Cam and Sus

The giant duck in Darling Harbour! 

Apparently this duck travels all over the world! 

 Photo taken from our Harbour Cruise with my sister, Sarah 

The view from the Eye Tower-- you get to see the entire city from the top of this building! 

Top of the Tower with my sister 

I got to do some more exploring of the Blue Mountains with my sister. 

To the left of me is the famous "Three Sisters"

Surfer's Paradise in the Gold Coast! 

This is the view from Josh's friends' (Graham and Leah) house in the Gold Coast. 

You literally can see this from their living room! 

Visiting the Botanic Gardens in the city of Brisbane 

Brisbane skyline 

Much needed update, hey?

First off, my apologies... It has been a VERY long time. Our life in the past month+ has been a mix of ups and downs. Let me see if I can give you a good, brief update....



Josh and I have done a few trips outside our little Bella Vista shire. I
have the opportunity to plan a little  birthday scavenger hunt for two of my housemates in the wonderful city of Sydney. We spent the afternoon exploring, taking lots of photos, and hanging out with some great people. We then had dinner at a fabulous and fairly inexpensive Thai restaurant right on the water near Harbour Bridge. Here are a few pictures that sums up the day....

We also spent a day exploring three to four beaches with our dear friends, Cam and Sus, as well as some new friends. Cam offered up one of his short boards for Josh to try out the waves. The surf was a bit too intense for Josh but he did put in some effort. I, myself, just enjoyed the sun and napping on the beach. :) Here are a few pics from that adventure.... 

On a recent Sunday, we ended up traveling to the Blue Mountains, about an hour away, with our new friends, Shelby and Brian. (They are from Kentucky.) We hiked a few trails and got to see some awesome waterfalls. After a bit of a hike, we sat down and had some drinks at a mountain-top cafe. The Blue Mountains sort of reminds me of a Grand Canyon but filled with trees. You hike down into the valleys rather than up a mountain. Let me see if I have some pictures to show you... :)  

(hehee. Josh wanted me to show this one as he tried really hard to line this up just right.) 

Last weekend, I got my FIRST Saturday of work off! You have no idea how excited I was to be able to say I had a WHOLE weekend off!! Sleeping in was AH-MAHZING. Anyways, we were invited for that Saturday to our first "American Thanksgiving" in Australia. Josh's friend from school, Matt, invited us to his place along with 50+ other people, mostly all Aussies, to experience an American Thanksgiving. Each family had to bring a dish that was designated for them that represented a piece of an American Thanksgiving. We were in charge of bringing sweet potato casserole (the one with the pecans and marshmallows and brown sugar... Yumm). They are renting (possibly buying) a beautiful house right on the ocean in the Northern Beaches.. just north of Sydney. We had a great time and I was soooo comforted by the tastes of home. :) Smoked turkey (from a homemade smoker), green bean casserole, corn, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cornbread, and pies! I also contributed some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and the kids inhaled them! We kept the fact that they had a "vegetable" in them a secret.. otherwise they wouldn't have eaten them. We have discovered that pumpkin is ONLY considered a vegetable here and would NEVER be used in a dessert. :) Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from this day. :( 

In other exciting news, we have been blessed with not one but TWO cars. They were LITERALLY given to us. This was definitely an answer to prayers. You have no idea. The first one, a '96 Hyundai two-door, was given to us by one of Josh's friends from school. It wasn't working but his friend said that if Josh could get it to work, then we could have it. Josh discovered that it was a leaky hose and so after fixing it, the car turned on right away! This car had no registration so it would cost us about $1300 to put registration/insurance/minor fixings to the car to get it on the road. We were ok with this. 

About a week later, Josh's good friend from when he lived in Australia before phoned him up and offered to us his 1988 Mazda 4-door with seven months registration on it. He and his wife are expecting their first child soon and they just bought a new car. They really wanted to bless us with a car and so we inherited their car! This one we don't have to do anything to it and it is in great condition. We are so excited and blessed beyond belief to be able to go anywhere when we please! :) I will definitely get some pictures of this one and post them for you all to see. The other one, Josh is planning on fixing up, putting rego on it, and selling it to someone else who would need it. We are more trying to just cover any of the costs that we put into the car. 

On another note, I have been having some issues with my health. Since being here, I have been having some stomach/intestinal issues that seem to be getting worse with time. It seems like everything that I eat causes me to really bloat up, get stomach pains, and and feel extremely uncomfortable. I have seen the doctors three times since I have been here about it. Because we have a private insurance for international students, we are having to first pay out of pocket for the doctors and any tests they do and then our insurance will reimburse a certain percentage of it. The doctor I am currently using sent me to get a blood test and everything came back normal... no spike in white blood cells, no allergy to celiac, iron levels were normal, etc. She has deferred on doing additional tests and ultrasounds due to the fact that she knows I have to pay out of pocket for everything first. She wants me to keep a food diary for this month and then if symptoms continue to be as they are, then I am to go get an ultrasound. I have removed dairy completely from my diet because I know that that definitely causes me pain. I took out all meat for a week and a half and noticed no difference. I reintroduced meats and then took out all gluten/wheat from my diet. This seemed to help a bit but I still tend to bloat sometimes after meals and get stomach pains. I am basically just eating fruit, vegetables, and meat. I have pretty much the most basic diet ever. I am trying to stay positive... I have heard for a few Americans that because they process wheat and dairy here so differently that they acquired an intolerance to these things. Perhaps this is what I have? Please keep me in your prayers if you think of me. I am really trying not to get too discouraged. I have never had an issue reacting to food like this before. Not too sure what the next step is. 

Hope you all are well. I think of home often-- there are so many smells that remind me of home. I am missing the Fall and wishing we could be home for the holidays. Our love goes out to all of you. 

Big hugs and kisses, 

Team Therrien 

The Regulars

The Regulars

Did you ever see that movie Harriet the Spy that came out in the mid-nineties where the girl journaled about the funky individuals she came across in life? I found it hilarious the different story-lines she put to each of the characters that she "spied" on. I  figured it'd be fun to give you my insight on some of the regulars that come into the coffee shop. (Note: I have changed their names to protect their personhood as this is a published website.)

Connie

Connie is one of my favorites. She comes in at least three times a day for coffee and a few other snacks Monday through Friday. Every morning she orders her usual coffee, toast, and a glass of water; in turn, we have labeled it "the Connie" for her coffee and "the Connie toast" for her toast. Her toast is SMOTHERED in butter and cinnamon and sugar... yet she is an absolute stick of a lady! When we asked her how she stayed so thin she said, "It's the fibre! I eat tons of fibre every day!" Shocked at this answer, I turned to one of my coworkers who has been at the shop for three years and she responded (after Connie had left), "Ya, she apparently just shits everything out." Oh I just had to laugh because of how frank her response was. I think there's more to it than just the fibre thought... Connie smokes quite a bit... She did, however, come into the cafe the other week and declared she was spending $250 on hypnosis to quit smoking. "They 100% guarantee it to work or your money back!", she declared. So... Connie is living it up with her ciggies until her October 12 appointment with the hypnosis where she will become cigarette-free... Hmmm. At least she wont be spending $20/pack on cigarettes anymore. If it does work out for her, maybe she should go back and get a hypnosis sessions to break her coffee addiction too... she mentioned to me the other day that she spends $80/ week with us just on coffee!

Kent  and Michael

Kent and Michael are two gay guys that come into the shop daily as well. They both work as financial advisors in the floor above us. They are older, flamboyant men who just love to chat it up with us girls in the cafe.... absolute hoots I would label them. One is super spunky and upbeat and keeps the mood up while the other one can get a bit caught with his "nose in his navel", always worrying about his waistline and whether he should eat one of the treats we hold in the display daily. Kent and Michael could talk for hours to me if I let them. Sometimes, if the shop isn't too busy, I will go over and chat with them about meaningless information but they get a kick out of the attention I give them. One day, (this made my day), Michael came in and asked my boss if he could steal three straws from him. He grabbed the three straws, left for about ten minutes, and then came back with Kent and his personal assistant, Jane, holding three flags that he created from printing out three state flags off the computer and taping them to the straws. The three flags represented three of the home states for the three American girls at the shop that he loves: Michigan, Washington, and New Hampshire. He comes in the door flamboyantly waving his homemade flags with pride as Kent comes behind him sighing and rolling his eyes. What a gift! The flags now are stuck into the floral centerpiece behind the cash register for all to see. :) My boss said they have WAY too much time on their hands but I smiled from ear to ear that day.

Ron

Ron makes me laugh for the sheer fact that he is obnoxiously predictable. He comes in everyday, sits in the same spot, orders the same things, and chats to me about the same stuff. He is a very nice guy and I do like him. Without fail, we chat about church and how we thought the preacher did on Sunday and whether I had a good day the previous day.  A very genuine man... just a creature of habit. I love going over to him, handing him a menu, asking him what he would like, and having him ponder a few seconds as to what he wants, and then having him repeat to me the same exact thing that he always gets! Why do you need to think about it? You should know this in your sleep!  The other shocking part is that when he comes to paying, he never can remember the cost of his meal!

Tall man

This guy I actually don't know his name but is another favorite of mine. He is very tall in stature and comes across as very intimidating. When I first met him, he had come in with a few other gentlemen and carrying a cricket bat.  It looked as though he were a part of the mafia, coming in all dressed up and proud like he owned the place. Deep down I think he is quite a bit of a softy though. He too is quite consistent, always sitting in the same spot and ordering his usual items-- a chocolate milkshake and fries with chicken salt... quite funny for the fact that he is a big-shot lawyer. One day, he came in and someone was sitting at his usual table.. He had the look on his face like... WHO MOVED MY CHEESE! I definitely used that opportunity to tease him a bit. Despite his harsh demeanor, I do think he really likes me. He has shared that I am far too smart to be working at a coffee shop and has told me he has "hook-ups in high places" and could get me a really good job working at a school. Unfortunately my visa doesn't work out for that and my credentials for teaching don't work here. Oh well. Deep down, I wouldn't mind working at his firm.I reckon it would be a pretty enjoyable environment to be in. Who knows.

I could go on and on with the characters that come into the cafe.. These should suffice for now though. Perhaps I can keep an ongoing blog about the usuals. We'll see.

Still going strong...

It's funny how life seems to keep going despite whether you are moving with it or taking a breather on a local bus stop bench. Somehow this now seems to be more real than ever.
So, as I have kicked myself in the past for not jumping on the "life bus" for a ride, I have decided to hop on and, what the heck, throw my hands out the windows too.
I really want to make the most of this experience rather than counting the days until we are back home with loved ones. I am working hard to adapt to the local quirks of Australia (what I am sure Aussies call the norms) and learn to call this place home.
At this point, the frustrations rest with the fact that food is soooo expensive! I have such a hard time spending $9 a kilo on toMAtos or $10 a kilo on peppers! I spent over $6 for just one red pepper the other day! The cheapest I have seen chicken breasts is $8/kilo (roughly $4/lb). I remember buying chicken breasts in bulk for $1.99/lb all the time!
Every time Josh and I go out to eat, it's averaging about $25/person easy. We are nowhere near big spenders when it comes to eating out.  We usually never went to a place unless we had a gift card or a coupon. We loved going to Dos Amigos at home because we could get two burritos for $8. Here, you cannot even touch one burrito for $10.
I am also having a hard time getting used to lack of food variety in the grocery stores. People say we are just spoiled as Americans to have so many options always at our finger tips. Don't get me wrong.. the grocery stores here are great... I just miss the fact that there is an entire isle in our stores designated just for ice cream. :) Can you believe that they don't sell chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream here?!? They have obviously not lived! In turn, I have adapted a bit and started buying pre-made cookie dough and adding it in. Hehe. They also do not sell Crisco, the vegetable shortening that a baker cannot live without. I have no clue what they use instead.
Another annoyance comes with the silly roundabouts. I get that they are trying to help with keeping the flow of traffic continuous but they are super intimidating for me as I am still learning how to drive on the opposite side of the road. I kid you not.. you cannot go ANYWHERE without hitting a roundabout... even if it is just to your next-door neighbor's. Seriously. Walking around one of these things is miserable too. I never know when I can cross the street.  I feel like I am in a constant game of frogger!
One of the hardest things for me to get used to is drying my clothes outside. The cost of electricity is really high so it is the norm for people to let their laundry air-dry. In the summer, it usually takes about 15 minutes so the timing isn't the terrible terrible part; It's the feel of the clothes after you wash it that's a bit hard to get used to. Who doesn't love when your clothes come out of the dryer all nice and fitting like new again! Here, you take your clean towels off the line and they are stiff like cardboard when you go to use them. I suppose it will be like Christmas when we go back home to our washer and dyer. :) Can't wait for that day!
All in all, I cannot complain too much. God has been so good to us; He continually provides for our every need and He has made it so clear that this is where He wants us right now. As long as we are in the middle of where He wants us, we are happy and can live with all these weird Aussie-isms. :)

Love to all of you! BIG hugs and kisses!  

Update!

Update!

Hey friends and family! It has been a while since we have given you an update. We truly miss you all immensely and think of you often (at least I do).

But… life has been grand and I can honestly say that we are in a great chapter of our lives. J

Josh has found a job! Hurray! He is working at a tire shop about five miles from our house in a city called Parramatta. He likes the job a lot but is not super keen on the pay. He is hoping after a few months of proving himself that his boss will give him a bit more. Currently he is biking to work and finding it a bit of a struggle. So far, he has gotten attacked by magpies (really NASTY birds), almost gotten hit by a car (the road is EXTREMELY busy), and, not to mention, his ride home is all uphill. We just found out too that he needs to find a bike helmet asap not only for safety but also he could get a $450 fine for not wearing one. Yikes! The bike he ended up getting from his buddy, Dylan, who is such an amazing friend.  For right now, while he is in school, he will be working two to three days a week.

Josh and I are now doing a bootcamp that his friend, Nathan, is putting on at the park down the street from our house. We are doing this on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights and are getting our butts kicked. It is great to have someone come up with the workouts though and all we have to do is show up.

I am also finding new and fun running routes around where we live and found a fabulous one that goes through a pretty neighborhood by a pond.

Josh also took me to Parklea Market on Sunday. This was an absolute adventure! It is an arena filled with all sorts of stands including food, meat, toys, clothing, shoes, movies, etc. We ended up going there for fresh fruits and vegetables as we heard they had cheaper prices. The experience was once in a lifetime and the produce was not bad. I am sure we will go back but probably not anytime soon. I felt like we were in an enclosed fair… filled with people, loud kids, funny smells, and craziness. I definitely would take out of town guests there so if you plan on coming to visit, get ready!

Dylan took us to Bondai Beach the other night and treated us to this nice pizza restaurant near the water. Bondai is a tourist hotspot located just outside of Sydney and is crazy-crowded during the summer. It was hard to see the beach as it was dark when we arrived but we had an enjoyable time walking the beachfront strip, eating pizza, and getting a little sorbet. (Mango sorbet is my new obsession.)

We are enjoying Hillsong Church very much. Oh how different it is to go to a church of SEVERAL thousand people every Sunday.  We attended a marriage seminar the other week done by Rob and Laura Coke from Texas… not sure if any of you have heard of them. They were quite great. All aspects of church are fabulous, not just the worship, as I’m sure some of you are wondering. The outpouring of love and service within the church and community is amazing. These people are ready and willing to help anyone with whatever they may need. I am blessed beyond belief to see heaps of new people every week encounter God in a way that they have never experienced before. For me, this church is another amazing opportunity to see how we can love the same God in various ways.

Once again, we love and miss you all!

Hugs and kisses

Little snapshot of Bondai at night 

For those of you who were interested,

a quick picture of our house 

One Month

It has been one month since we moved to Australia, a month and a half since we left home, and three and a half months since we moved out of our apartment. I cannot believe how much time has flown by.

I was chatting with a coworker the other day (she moved with her husband to Australia in January) and asked her when she really started to feel homesick. She said right around the one-month mark-- you’re finally feeling like this is no longer an extended vacation but rather your new home. I’m feeling that. It seems like everything I smell reminds me of home and I associate everything I see with past memories. The other day, I told my boss that his smell that day reminded me of home… he was kind of taken aback by this comment and thought I was a little kooky. Oh well. I know it will get better but I am just embracing these feelings while I have them.

I think we are finally getting the knack of things. Josh is right in the midst of school and really liking it. I am so happy he has found his niche. His classes are really challenging his beliefs and he is enjoying wrestling through these things. I am enjoying seeing him be so studious. He is still looking for work; he probably has applied to over 70 different places. (He is such a hard worker!) I think the hardest part is that he is looking for part-time work, his availability is very specific, and we don’t have a car so we have to keep it semi-local. We visited a local K-mart that does minor car repairs and they seemed interested so we are hoping that works out. (K-mart is a bit different here—seems more like a Sears but with not as much variety sold.)

I have been in the midst of working like crazy. I put in 46.5 hours this week. I was pretty much beat by the end of my shift on Saturday. I am happy though and I enjoy everyone I work with. I have connected a lot better with my bosses (the owners) and so that seems to make life there a bit more enjoyable.  I am also in the midst of learning how to make coffees… oh what a skill that seems to be! I hope I get the hang of it! The regular customers are great there too… there is a Frenchman that I get such a kick out of. A coworker and I convince him to try our Mochachino and he now can’t seem to get enough of it. Boss likes that I am making business for him. J

We are starting to make really great friends here as well. We have connected with our housemates very well. We have also grown pretty tight with another couple, Cam and Susannah. They are both Aussies. We seem to do at least one thing every weekend with them. Susannah took me around shopping after I got the job at the café so I could get some clothes and shoes for work. She ended up later surprising me with a beautiful silver plated leaf necklace that I saw at a store and mentioned that I loved. I couldn’t believe it. They are so generous and willing to do anything to help us out. We are definitely blessed to have them in our lives.

Josh and I checked out a connect group up the road from us this past week. The leaders are a couple that Josh knew from his previous time in Australia. He is from Scotland and she is originally from Pennsylvania but moved out of the country when she was young as her parents were missionaries all over the world.

We are also happy to have Dylan, one of Josh’s best buds, here to help us. He continues to connect us with new people and he is also willing to do whatever to help us out. We love him.

The weather is slowly getting warmer. Apparently yesterday was the first day of spring. I am definitely looking forward to days spent at the beach. Some of our housemates started a vegetable garden. I am thinking about doing the same as I think $9/kilo for tomatoes is OUTRAGEOUS. I also cannot wait for our laundry, which we hang out on the line, to be dry in a mere ten minutes rather than it’s current time of several hours.

I am sure there is plenty more I could say but I’ll keep it for another post.

Love to you all! We miss you heaps! 

Here are two photos from a double-date with Cam and Sus to 

Wowcow Frozen Yoghurt. I was stoked to finally get some good ice cream! :)