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! :)