March Madness!!!

And we are not talking about basketball here...In fact, I think we are so busy Matt hasn't seen any games yet. Maybe he sneaks them in when I am not around :)...This month we have the "Colour your World" international women's conference. It has been amazing so far. Matt is in the choir and Tiff volunteered at the first one (10-12) and is attending the second (17-19). It is a really inspiring conference with a focus on social injustice and empowering and motivating women to do something about it.

In the middle of these two conferences we moved house (since the one we were renting sold ). Fortunately, we have some amazing friends that helped do most of the work. (I let one of my friends make all of the decisions and she set up my whole kitchen for me--thanks, Sarah :) Our friends describe our new place as a palace. It is great!! we have a one bedroom apartment that feels massive after spending the past 8 months in a studio flat. We don't even have to walk through the garage to get to the bedroom (yeah!!)

Somewhere in the midst of all this we found time to have our 20 weeks ultrasound!!! All looks good with little Roo and we found out that we will be using our little girl name in August (can't tell you what her name is--it's our secret :)...So excited to have hold her in our arms. It seems like it is so close, yet, time goes by so slow.

We have been so blessed by people in our world here. We have been given a stroller, a swing, bassinet, toys, mattresses, and some clothes (for mum and bub). Our list is growing each day, and we look forward to watching God provide. We can't wait to take Roo on her American tour when we get home. Stay posted for her special appearance dates in a town near you--tickets will sell fast ;). Love you all....here is her 20 week picture...

In case you haven't heard...

So much to do, no time to write...but why is it any different you may ask?!? In case you haven't heard, WE ARE PREGNANT!!! Yeah...our little bub is going to be born sometime around August 3 this year--which means we are 18 weeks along right now...so this makes things a little bit more busy and mum-to-be has a bit less energy...we are very excited to meet our new little one, but have to wait a while still...

In case you haven't heard, our landlords are selling their home and the flat we are living in, so we have been looking for a new place. We are super excited to be moving from a studio apartment to a one bedroom apartment in 2 weeks. It will be great to have a bit more room for baby, friends and family...

In case you haven't heard, Matt has started his second year in college. He has had lots of opportunities to lead worship at the extension service we attend and has also led worship for several of the chapel services in the college. Of course, he get great feedback every time. He has learned so much since we have been here and is so grateful for the opportunity to learn.

That is about all you should have heard about for now--we will try to do a better job to keep you posted. Be well, and do great things!!

Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere

10 differences of Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere:

10. Driving to look at the christmas lights is pointless until after 9 pm (8:30 sunset)

9.Goodbye Christmas sweaters Hello Christmas Tank tops (much more stylish I must say)

8. Most of the Christmas songs--meaningless--"I'm dreaming of a White Christmas"; "Walking in a Winter Winterland"; "Frosty the Snowman"

7.Forget the sleigh, I want a boogie board

6.Santa Clause is wearing shorts

5. You Christmas Shop to get in the air-con

4.We don't have Thanksgiving to tell us when to pull out the decorations

3.I'll pass on the Hot Cocoa and Apple Cider, how 'bout a frozen coke

2.A white Christmas doesn't involve snow.

1.Christmas baking doesn't happen in the oven

Almost half-way!!

Part of me can't believe we are almost done with our first year already!! And part of me can't believe it has only been a year!! We have met so many wonderful people, experienced some of the better days of our lives, and have learned more than one could use in a lifetime!! Matt is almost finished with his second semester of school and we are going to the graduation dinner and ceremonies at the end of the month. We look forward to December and January slowing down for just a bit before next school year kicks off. Matt has had so many amazing opportunities this semester. He led chapel for the second time this past Monday and did a great job (as to be expected). The night before he was in the choir for the new album that Hillsong is recording (which means he had a front row seat to all of the excitement)--I got to sit in the upper section with our amazing connect group!!! We both had a great night...It is overwhelming when our entire church family gets together to worship together. The church has over 25 services throughout the city on any given weekend--sometimes it is easy to forget the huge impact that the church has on the community and the world. But, we get a not so subtle reminder on nights like this...We have been so blessed to be a part of a church so passionate about loving God and loving people...It is difficult when we realize that this season will one day come to an end an we will have to try to take that passion with us...No need to focus on that though--for now, we are trying to focus on absorbing as much as we can...If you didn't get a chance to catch a glimpse of the heart beat of our church in the cinemas...I encourage you to go when the film releases in December...It is called "Hillsong United:We are all in this together"--It is a doco about the church(as a whole not just Hillsong) and its role in our world today--I haven't seen it yet but can't wait to on Nov. 18 (yes, even our films come out in the US first--not fair)--anyhow, the response to it has been amazing so take the time to check it out--you could go see a movie that makes you feel dumber, or one that just might change your life...I choose the latter :) you can pick--Hope all is well on the homestead!! Miss seeing you guys--if you get tired of winter you can come visit--our summer is shaping up quite nicely and Matt won't have school!!!

Adventures with Mom and Dad

We had such a good time with Mom and Dad Windall here. They spoiled us sooo much. They brought us heaps of yummy food (and other stuff) from America. You just don't know what you miss until you can;t get it anymore :) We were so glad they were able to come and visit and see a little bit of our life.

One of our highlights was a huge duststorm that came through on Wednesday morning. (Being that we are al extreme weather junkies...we loved it, unlike the rest of Australia ;) All night Tuesday we experienced tropical storm strength winds and woke up to a red glow in the sky. Apparently, since we couldn't get to the outback, the outback came to us. The winds had blown in heaps of dust from the central of Australia out to the coast. It lasted about half the day and then we all just drove around with red cars and had to dust the red out of every crevice of our house. (Good thing mom and dad were here to help).

I think we may have tired them out a bit. There aren't many sleep in days when you have to see all the beauty and keep busy with the responsibilities of life. Dad had to find time in between the many beautiful sites. And we let him have a comfy chair at home so he could sit on the porch when he had time.

Mom loved all of the birds and we stopped quite a bit to get pics of all of the colorful birds. The problem with this one was I was so overwhelmed with getting the photo, I forgot to put the car in park so as mom was getting out of the car and I took my foot off the brake the car started to run over moms foot...oops!!! Fortunately dad was there to help--Sorry mom!!! At least we got the pic.Aside from the birds, mom and dad found some other Aussie friends. Dad spoiled his letting him eat right out of the bag. Good thing mom stepped in and made him share with the other two, making sure they all got a bit to eat.Dad got to cook his fair share of BBQ's while visiting us...At this one in particular, his job wasto make sure the meat didn't jump off the barbie...:) Yum!!! Well that is a quick look at our adventures with mom and dad. We saw so many amazing sites and ate lots of yummy food and had heaps of fun. Guess you will have to come and check it out for yourself...

Spring in Oz

Behold the Emerald City!!! Finally the gray of winter is passing and the green of Spring is emerging.  More than ever we are experiencing the new life that spring brings. (No, we are not pregnant) There is energy in the air that is unmistakable.  In the life of our church it seems as if each week new people are coming out of hibernation and bringing excitement into the house.  Our street team continues to make new relationships as the enticing air breaks the barriers of sealed doors and windows.  Most of all we feel God working in our lives growing us and pruning us to fulfill his plan in our life.  Oh, and I cannot forget to mention the emerging spider I witnessed crawling across our carpet.  It was all black and its body was the size of the top two sections of my pinky.  He died from blunt force trauma.  They ruled his death a homicide.  

We continue to love our home.  Right now, I am typing from under a clothes line strung across our apartment.  I washed 5 loads of laundry in 25 minutes today (there are some perks to using a laundromat), now they must air dry before mom and dad arrive.  Speaking of, we are so excited for mom and dad Windall to get here in about 30 hours.  It is always a new adventure when we have company and so much fun to hear their perspective of our new world. 

We trust that everybody at home is well.  We are so grateful that our friends and family have supported us on this amazing adventure.  Everyday we wake up with a new appreciation for this opportunity.  It is hard to believe we have been here for 8 months already.  We have learned and experienced so much it is as if 3 life times have been crammed into just a few short months.  So much is hard to share because words just cannot capture how God works.  Expect the unexplainable so that God may be glorified in your circumstances.

Greatness...

We have finally reached the first day of Spring and can feel the excitement in the air that comes along with the warm sun and cool winds.  It is as if we are finally coming out of hibernation.  :) This past week has been really great.  To start with, Matt and I have been leading a Team for the City Care ministry we are a part of called Street Teams.  We just had a whole new lot of students join us, and they are amazing.  The ministry focuses on people that need to see God's unconditional love in action.  Our new team members have caught onto that vision and embraced it. It is so cool to see how God uses us in the lives of other people to make a huge impact.  This past week, the church had 300 loaves of bread donated that we were able to take and distribute amongst our community.  Some commented that God made a big impression with only a few loaves when he fed the multitudes..imagine what he can do with 300 loaves :).  Well, our team saw amazing breakthroughs as neighbors that had been hiding behind closed doors suddenly emerged to see what we were up to.  Sometimes we don't know if we make a difference in their lives but this week we God showed us that He is performing a great work in the community we serve. We had one guy (who has demonstrated a bit of drug use) tell us that he is now volunteering at a food bank/drug rehab center. He said he is over living on drugs. 

I guess you can say we are a bit excited about our Street Teams.  

So then there is our beautiful Methusalah (aka "Meth").  It is time for renewing the registration (already can you believe it. ) The thing is Meth had to be inspected before the process could be completed to insure road safety.  Being that Meth is a bit older we were uncertain as to possible imperfections that one might find needing to be fixed.  But, Meth passed a very short test with flying colors.  

Then Matt is the best server in Sydney.  In a country that does not typically tip their servers, Matt managed to come home with a $192 tip.  His managers were stunned (and a bit jealous :).

His wife went shopping :0.

What is there to say but GOD IS GOOD!!

We are so shocked that September is already here.  It seems like just yesterday we were telling people about the application process with a bit of hesitation.  What an impossible dream, but we will give it a go...and go we did.  We have learned so much on this short journey, lessons that we will cherish for a lifetime.  

For now, we are enjoying springtime in our new home.  Humans are not the only creatures emerging from the winter.  Tonight I killed my first roach...yes, they are bigger in Australia.  We have learned a lot about grace and forgiveness, but that is one trespasser I cannot forgive.  Anyhow, as I will conclude my rambling with this thought.  Are you trusting God for the impossible, or only expecting rational? Our God is out of this world and is not limited by that which can be explained in our world.  Allow him to work the irrational solution in your life so that His Glory can be revealed.