Will You Be My Valentine?

Here I am in a completely different country, all by myself, but am I lonely? Of course not! I live with a great family. I am blessed to worship with an amazing church family. And I have the best family and friends loving me from back in the States. I think this has been the best experience I could have ever chosen for myself. I am completely out of my element here, but I'm absolutely loving it. I certainly have my days of homesickness and missing my friends, but I definitely wouldn't change this for anything. The 13th of February marked one month of living the Aussie life for me. I can't wait to see what the next 11 months have in store!

After a very eventful weekend last week, the past few days have seemed pretty sublime. But I am more than happy to just have some peaceful relaxation. :) I've done tons of reading at various cafes, put more kilometers on my bike along the riverfront, and even had time to audition for a young women's chorale. And guess what?! I'm in! I'm so thrilled to be able to sing with a group again and meet some new friends along the way. Can't wait to start rehearsing!

I'm so thankful for the amount of technology available to me. I am able to keep in contact freely with everyone back home and still continue my adventure here! On Saturday morning I was even able to speak with my Grandpa who is in South Dakota at the VA Hospital in Sturgis. He's so funny and such a blessing to still have in my life. He even tried to figure out the time difference between us! (And for those of you who know the situation with my grandpa, that is quite the challenge for him!) He's doing well and getting back to his physical therapy so he can start walking again. We even joked that he can start training for his marathon again! :) I also received a lovely email from my Grandma in Milwaukee. I'm so happy she is doing well and out of the hospital. Please keep her in your prayers as she continues treatments.

I think I'm going to spend the rest of my Valentine's Day doing what I love - going for a bike ride, taking care of kiddos, and cooking! I might even toss in a little nap and getting coffee somewhere. :) So as I mentioned before, here's to the Aussie life and what God has in store for me these next months! Miss you and love you all!


~A