Penguins, Koalas, Kangaroos, and More

So we went on a road trip for a few days and had a wonderful time. Our first stop was Phillip Island where Aunt Carolyn picked up our tickets for the Penguin Parade that night. I won't get ahead of myself, I'll tell you about that in a bit. After that we went to a Koala Conservation Park. There were walkways that brought you up closer to where you could see the koalas in the trees. It was their nap time so all of them were sleeping. We saw walabees and Steve got really close to them so that Allie could have some pictures. Then it was back in the car to go get some dinner. The penguin parade didn't technically start until the first penguin came ashore. You want to talk about something really cool.....watch over 1000 penguins come out of the water, walk up the beach, and head for their "condos" as Uncle Jim puts it. I never knew that penguins actually made noise. So we watched these penguins come up the beach, waddle to their homes and then we left. We headed back to the Salvos Conference Center, which by the way is beautiful, and crashed in bed for the night.

The next day we headed to the Great Ocean Road. We went to different beaches where surfing is a big thing. We made a few stops along the way to take pictures of the ocean. It's amazing to know that when you look out there, Antartica is on the other side of the ocean. We also saw wild kangaroos on a golf course. Anyway, we went to these formations known as "The Tweleve Apostles" - actually their name was changed to that from "The Sow and the Piglets". They were absolutely gorgeous even though there's only 9 left. They are rock formations in the ocean. After dinner we headed back to the conference center to get some sleep.

Thursday, we got up, and headed back to the people mover (mini-van) to do a bit of shopping. After shopping we had to get home because Steve was leaving to get back to Philly. We got him on the plane and just headed home to relax.

Uncle Jim said that we drove 1000 kilometers during our little road trip. It was amazing to see the coutryside of Australia. We were actually able to see koalas on the side of the road as we were travelling. Not sure what the plans are for the next few days. Michael and I are so enjoying the time with family. We so needed this vacation.

I've been trying to upload pictures to this post, but will try to get them onto Flickr. Hope all is well with each of you. We pray that you had a blessed Christmas. All the best for a Happy New Year.

Merry Christmas!!!

Well, for us it's Christmas afternoon, but for the rest of you it's either Christmas Eve or very early Christmas morning. We landed safely on Saturday morning, but our luggage didn't make it until Sunday afternoon. Uncle Jim took us to the airport after lunch to pick it up and the first thing I did was take a shower with my stuff. Thank God for being able to borrow stuff when we got here. The flights went well. We travelled for about 25 hours. The worse flight was from China to Australia - there was a lot of turbulance. Steve and Allie look great. We were able to do some sightseeing on Saturday afternoon and of course got some STARBUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!! It was delicious.

We went to the Box Hill Corps on Sunday morning. It was a great service. We went to the 930 contemporary service and the 1100 traditional. It was such a blessing to be able to be at an Army corps with a band. Michael and I so needed it. The afternoon we spent relaxing at the house and then went to a program called Carols by Candelight that the city puts on. It rained and was cold but we stayed for about 4 hours. It didn't start until 9pm but it was general admission so we sat on the lawn. We left the program early and was able to watch the rest on tv.

This morning, Uncle Jim and Aunt Carolyn went to church. And when they got home we opened presents. Michael got some great shirts and I got a beautiful blanket, a purse, and some little change purses, among other things. We had steak on the barbie and now we're either napping or watching tv.

The next few days are packed with some travels. We're going away for Tuesday night and staying at a Salvation Army Conference Center with a pool. The weather isn't exactly summer. It's been kinda cold but right now the sun is shining outside and it looks beautiful. Michael and I may go for a walk.

We hope you have a blessed Christmas. Will try to post when we get back on Wednesday with some pics. We're going to see koalas, kangaroos, the Twelve Apostles, and many more things. By the way, the Knaggs's look great!!!!! It's so great to see them. Of course Allie and Steve too!!!!

Off we go!!!

Well, we're heading to the airport in 2 hours. My head is still full of stuff, so the drugs will be popped tonight before the long flight. We are so excited for this vacation. It will be very hard for me to be away from family for Christmas. I've always been with my dad's side on Christmas Eve and then Christmas Day at home opening presents. Michael and I opened our presents from my parents, aunt & uncle, and each other last night. Thanks to mom Michael now has "color" in his wardrobe for Australia.

We hope you all have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I will be trying to blog from the Knaggs's house if possible. Pray for us as we travel. We should land in Australia at 5:30 pm eastern time on Friday (it'll be 7:30 am Saturday in Australia).

Love to you all!!!!

Michael ate too much!!!

We had a great night tonight!!! We had company over for dinner. Our friends Josh & Patty, and Michael's two soldiers Craine and Thomas (last names of course. I think their first names are Justin and James) Anyway, I made lasagna with tukey meat and then a spinich one. Of course Michael ate way too much and now he's uncomfortable. It was alot of fun to have friends over before the holiday. Mom, I now know how to make lasagna and Michael wants it for dinner again!!! Thanks for the help earlier today!!! :)

We're going to see The Santa Clause 3 tomorrow night on post. Of course I need to start packing tomorrow night. Allison made it safely to Australia - she landed on Monday. That's about all the excitement here. I will post before we leave on Thursday, but will probably not post until Saturday night to let everyone know we got there safely.

We're off to bed!!! Hope you all had a great day!!

FULL OF FLUFF!!

So as I'm typing this, my head feels like it's full of fluff. I think I got Michael's Germany germs, which I'm not too happy about. Mom knows how much I hate being sick. I was supposed to make a dozen cookies for Bible Study tomorrow, but I'm having a hard time keeping my head up and lifting my arms. So I'll just go to bed a bit early instead.

By the way, did anyone know that Nicholas Sparks wrote a new book??? I saw it in the post library today and of course I had to get it. I'm already on Chapter 3 and I'm sucked in. It's called "Dear John".

Well that's about it for today. I have Bible Study and an appointment with Occupational Health tomorrow. Before I can start at the Child Development Center, I have to do a bunch of silly tests plus another PPD test. I'm hoping I can start there the first of the year. I'm so looking forward to it.

Until tomorrow friends......

Patiently Waiting

Yes, I can be patient, sometimes. It's almost 10pm and as I type this I am fighting my eyes to stay awake. Michael left Germany around 3 pm this afternoon and they got rid of the trailer attached to the bus so that it wouldn't take them 12 hours to get home. So I'm hoping to hear from him in the next 2 hours to say "COME GET ME AT POST!!!". He has off tomorrow, so we'll catch up on some sleep and spend the day together hopefully at some Christmas markets.

Also, I like to ask for prayer. Allie is starting her long flight to Australia tomorrow. She leaves tomorrow and gets to Melbourne on Monday. I thought we had a long flight, but she has us beat. So keep her in your prayers. And I know she reads this, so Allie I love ya and I can't wait to see you next week!!!!

Love to you all!!!

Answered Prayer

I know most of you, let me rephrase that, all of you have been praying for Michael and I. As those of you know, I have specifically asked for prayer in the sense of getting a job. Well that prayer has been answered. I have been offered a job at the Child Development Center as an Program Assistant. I'm so excited!!! The building is a year old. There are 2 toddler rooms, 1 infant room, and 2 preschool rooms. They have children ages 6 weeks - 6 years. The job is flex time so my hours and days vary week to week, but it's a job. The woman that I interviewed with was wonderful. They are actually going through the process of being accredited, so they are very busy. The center caters to soldier's with children and parents who work on post. I'll be floating between all the rooms which is really a great opportunity so that you don't get bored or tired out working with one specific age group. Thank you all for your prayers with this.

Michael is doing well in Germany. He did not pass his Expert Field Medical Badge, which has bummed him out. He's sort of a perfectionist and failing is not in his personality. It's very humbling for him. It's snowing where he is, so I'm hoping he doesn't get sick because we're getting on a plane next week!! I'm ready for him to come home though.

So that's about it. Keep us in prayer as we're preparing for our flight to the Knaggs'. I'm not a big fan of flying so Michael is going to drug me up for the flight between Munich and Shanghai.

Love to you all!!!!

Time is passing....

I can't believe it's December 6th already. Time's just flying by. Michael comes home in 7 days, we leave for vacation on the 21st, and on the 17th we'll have been married for 6 months. I just can't believe how time is passing.

In Bible study we reading "The Jesus I Never Knew". I'm not really all that into it, but I think it's just because I'm not sure what I was expecting. We were supposed to do "Being a Vessel God Can Use", which I was highly looking forward too, but they changed it at the last minute. My friend Patty and I have been spending alot of time together. It's been nice to have someone here to be my Alison. Don't worry Alison, we're not finishing each others sentences or talking in code....that's strictly only something I can do with you. With Michael going away every 3 weeks, it seems, it's just nice to have a constant when all my constants are in the states.

This Christmas will be Michael and my first Christmas together. I'm looking forward to it. I finished my shopping for him last night, all online of course. We're looking forward to the time away to spend with family and each other.

Love to you all and I hope that you're enjoying the holiday season as it's starting.

Nothing exciting here...

There's nothing really exciting going on here. Tomorrow I am going to a Party Lite party with a few friends. I was able to talk to Michael tonight. He's exhausted and cold, but doing well. He's coming home in 8 days and will probably get in between 1 and 3 am. It'll be an early wake-up call for me!

I finished all the Christmas cards, and the few last ones are going out tomorrow. As you can see there isn't really much going on with me. Hope some of you are living more exciting lives than me. At least from Alison's blog she takes pics of her sleeping daughter. By the way Al, those are hilarious. Kids sleep in the wierdest positions.

Loving you all!!!!

My dogs are barkin!!!

My feet are killing me. I guess that's because I've been standing for most of the day. Michael and I had guests over for the first time since we've moved here. I had my friend's baby shower here this afternoon, and it was such a blast. The problem is, I was being "Norva". OK, maybe it's not a problem, but I've got to make sure everyone's ok and all that good stuff.

Now I'm sitting here typing away and watching Michael pack his stuff for his early morning call at post of 4am. We have to leave the house at 330 am and I'll still be in my pjs in the car.

I'm ready for bed, hoping that this packing won't take to long. I so need a vacation right now. The Christmas cards are back so keep a look out for one in the next 2 weeks.

Love you all!!! :)