The Bunny Down Under

So I realize a post on here is way overdue, but better late than never! :)

I hope you all had a blessed Easter and a restful weekend! This was my third Easter away from home, but this is by far the farthest I've ever been away. To make it feel a little more like home, I decided to volunteer to do some music for the Easter service at church. In addition to singing, I had my french horn debut at St. John's. I was a little nervous because I'm still getting used to the different horn and I hadn't played in public for over 3 months, but it all turned out well. Thankfully! I was also told that this was the first time anyone had ever played horn at St. John's and they would love it if I could play again! That's always positive. :)

Easter Sunday was a day filled with music and hanging with the kiddos. I babysat most of the day and had a great time relaxing with the kids even though they were hyped up on chocolate most of the day. :) I was even lucky enough to have been visited by the Easter Bunny. I got a little box of Lindt truffle eggs! Yum!

Today was Anzac Day which is similar to the U.S. Veterans Day. I attended a special Dawn Service at Kings Park up in the city this morning. The service was spectacular and the view was even better! The only bummer about the whole thing was how early I had to wake up in order to get there. :) Needless to say I've had a very long day and am excited for a good night's rest! The Dawn Service is a memorial service remembering all of the military branches in Australia and New Zealand. It is a very solemn occasion and the service was performed in complete silence and mostly darkness as it started before sunrise. I was very intrigued by the whole thing considering I've pretty much only ever experienced the U.S. side of war history. It was a nice change of pace and very educational to hear about another country's struggles through the wars and all that went with it.

Tomorrow I'm off on a week long camping trip with the family to Dongara which is about 4 hours north of Perth. It should be a fun time getting away for a while and experiencing something other than Perth and city life. I'm still not quite sure how I feel about sleeping in a tent for a week, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. :) I'm sure I will also have plenty of stories to share from the week away!

Time for me to finish packing and catch up on some homework! Happy Monday to you all back in the states! Have a great week! :)


~A

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate!

As Easter is fast approaching, I am beginning to reminisce about past Easters back home - church services, family gatherings, eggs, jelly beans, baskets, and green plastic grass. It's kind of strange to be away from familiar surroundings during the holidays. But then again, it fascinates me to see other people's tradition and the cultural differences.

Over the past few weeks, I've been taking note of some of these differences between the Easters I remember and what Easter seems to be here. Back home it seems like jelly beans, plastic Easter eggs, and speckled malted milk ball eggs were the candies of choice when it came to Easter. Of course, chocolate was always popular, but usually when it was shaped like a bunny or made into miniature eggs and wrapped in colorful foil. However, here chocolate is king! Cadbury and Lindt definitely rule the Easter candy kingdom. I have yet to see jelly beans or plastic eggs or pretty much anything other than chocolate eggs and bunnies. In the grocery stores and even Target and Kmart, chocolate eggs are everywhere. They come in so many sizes and flavors I couldn't even imagine. Cadbury has eggs in every popular flavor of chocolate they offer - milk, dark, white, cherry, toffee, etc. It's crazy how much chocolate is out there!

Just a short one tonight folks and I hope you all don't mind that it's just about chocolate! :) I'm sure I will have at least one more post coming this weekend! Have a great Thursday...I'm off to bed! :)


~A

What's the Cure?

So maybe, just maybe I'm starting to feel the pangs of homesickness. For the past three months it seems like I've been on a euphoric high from being in a new place and experiencing new things. However, now that I'm settled into somewhat of a routine and things aren't so new anymore, I'm starting to miss home and all that that word implies.

I skyped with my parents tonight which is always an experience. It's great being able to see them every week though, even if it's just on a computer screen. Unfortunately my mom had to share some bad news with me and I think it made the homesickness worse. I know all of you reading this don't know my whole family, but please keep my grandparents in your prayers. My paternal grandmother is back in the hospital because of another infection in her shoulder and the doctors just found some more cancer that has spread to her lungs. I don't know what I would do if something would happen to one of my grandparents or any of my family members while I am gone. It breaks my heart to know that there is nothing I can do to help. However, I can send love and support through my words and offer up prayers for healing. Somehow, I just wish I could be there and give them all hugs and tell them I love them.

These coming weeks are also going to be a little more difficult than usual because I am missing some very important things back home. My dad's birthday is on Friday and I can't be there to help celebrate. Easter is coming up quickly and I can't be home to spend it with my family. I understand being able to live in a foreign country for a year is quite the experience and blessing, but somehow the experience doesn't make missing out on things back home any easier.

It's only a year...how bad can that be, right? I know I will make it through, but sometimes I still can't help but feel a little sad because I'm not home. Fortunately, I am so blessed to have such supportive and loving friends and family to make this whole year a time to remember and be so thankful for. I've also been fortunate enough to meet so many wonderful people here that are helping make this an experience of a lifetime and a year I will never forget.

Love to you all from Australia!


~A

Rain, Rain...Please Stay!

I am so sorry it's taken me forever to update this thing! I don't know if I just got distracted, was super busy, or what, but here it is - my update from the last 2 weeks! While waiting for the wordy post, I hope you've enjoyed my little videos of the kiddos. :) They certainly have a blast making the videos for you all!

As the title of this post may suggest, we finally got rain in Perth! I honestly cannot remember the last time I've seen rain, but it certainly hasn't been while I've been here. It was refreshing to wake up to the sound of rain showers outside my window, but the sound still seemed a little foreign. I realized rain showers in Perth are quite different than at home. The sun still shines while it rains and it only pours for a few minutes before it stops. The clouds aren't dark and ominous but rather puffy and only slightly gray. I like the rain here especially the smell right after it stops. Unfortunately, my head and pressure changes still don't get along, so I had a tiny migraine all day. I guess some things never change! :)

A couple weeks ago I had the special privilege of being able to Skype with my grandpa. Let's just say it was a blast! I loved being able to chat with him for a while and it was so funny that he wanted to show me off to all his nurses. He is such a character and I love him for it! :)

I better start practicing my piano since I will be leading the music at church on Sunday. I haven't played piano in church in quite a few months, so this could be interesting. But I'm excited to see how it turns out! Hopefully I don't get too nervous and fall apart. Thankfully I have some pretty awesome musicians to help me through the service and back me up in case anything happens. :) Maybe I can even enlist my kiddos to help me prepare for this Sunday. And who knows? There could be some adorable videos that might come with that. :)

Well I'm off to get some rest before an adventure with Lawson tomorrow. We're going to the zoo!! Yeah, I'm pretty psyched about being able to go the zoo and meet the kangaroos finally! :)

Missing you all lots and lots! Sending love from Oz!!!!! :)


~A

Hello, America!

Here is Lawson and Sahmara with a little hello for everyone back home! :)