Point Cartwright : Another Day

I am so sorry for being so back-logged with my blog updates! We have had a couple really busy months. I had the opportunity to do some sweet maternity and newborn sessions here on the Sunshine Coast. We also had an awesome visit from my mom and dad a few weeks ago...Aubrey still can't stop "talking" about "Nana and Baba" and freaks out at the opportunity to chat with them on Skype.

The photos from their time here in Australia will come later...I promise! But for now, I am still getting caught up. Although Aubrey is well into her 18th Month of her beautiful life, here are a few photos from March...so 17 Months Old. Enjoying another awesome day at Point Cartwright.

I won't even make you click over to my photography blog to see these ones ;)

Remember Japan

A blog that I enjoy (thanks to Johnni's reccomendation) recently posted about her friend. Jessica's Little Shop of Illustration is donating 35% of each purchase to relief efforts in Japan (through the Red Cross) until April 17th. I originally checked out her work because of a "giveaway" blog post...but now I really am interested in her Art. It is unique and really beautiful! I have always loved using art to add to my home decor. Especially when there is a special story behind it all. Because we are planning a trip to France for Lindsay and Dav's wedding this July, I am excited about her Paris illustrations!

This one reminds me of my girlfriend - Lily. A lover of Peacock feathers! Because of her I now also love them, and always think of her :)


They are all beautiful, but these two have a little significance for me right now!

17 Months Old : Family Time

We had a wonderful Sabbath day together last weekend. It was much needed and super restful. Sometimes our "rest" days tend to not be so restful. Ben is wanting to just rest from a long week of studying and working, and I am wanting to get out and explore the Sunshine Coast together, to do something fun. Sometimes this results in tension between us, especially if we think our expectations aren't being reciprocated, and it is SO hot out that our tiny flat is a sauna making us feel at times irritable as we try to get out the door to a pool or the ocean to cool off. But this week wasn't like that. It was a super calm, super restful day, and we still went out and discovered a new place that we hadn't gotten to yet. The weather was really cool, and that was a nice change actually. We went 25 min down the coast to Point Cartwright. A place we hadn't been yet. Aubrey walked about 1 km, refusing to go in her stroller. It was fun, I had time to take pictures that way and enjoy photography.

Oh, and Aubrey is 17 months old now!!

One of Mommy and Aubrey....because we don't get too many of those!


This one is for Grandma Jane. Aubrey was so excited to wear her new monkey pj's for the first time. She looked adorable!


If you haven't seen them already, the rest of the story is on my photography blog.

Little Mermaid

Yesterday Aubrey and I both got a cold, yuck. So we are taking it easy, and I youtubed "Little Mermaid 2" for us to watch together. She loved it....and actually, so did I! She could only sit for about 10 minutes, and I am seriously considering finishing it on my own. Thank you Ariel for having baby Melody to continue the adventure.

Anyway, Aubrey is our little Mermaid! I started her in swim lessons back in October, and they have proven to be quite beneficial for us. Mostly it gives me ideas of games to play with her in the water. The lessons themselves are a bit stimulating for her, there is a lot going on in 30 minutes, a lot of kids to observe (she is a people watcher), and she has a mind of her own. She can do everything the teacher asks...but never when the teacher watches. So the teacher always comes over to give me more instruction....I smile and nod. Aubrey knows what to do, she just chooses to only try it for a few seconds then she is ready to do the next thing. BUT, she LOVES the mat-run! Too bad they only get 2 turns each. She would do that all day.

We improvise the mat-run-fun with a bodyboard...not quite as good, but she still has fun for a while.





Secondly, you might have noticed all of my "little camera" uploads on Facebook from our 2 day trip down the coast. Well, on the way back, we stopped at the YWAM Brisbane base. This is where Ben and I met back in 2003 on the Beach To Bush DTS.

The dorms we stayed in on DTS:




In the Courtyard




More snaps on my photography blog : www.chelsaschaefer.com

Cheers!

16 months : coolest playground ever!

At least the coolest playground we have ever been to! We discovered it on our day trip to Maleny and Gardner Falls. It was a learning playground with different stations to discover. We got quite excited about the swing-carousel that had seats large enough for adults to sit it....that is until we both felt so stinkin nauseous after. Wow our stomachs have gotten weak! We also really enjoyed the zip-line! We have taken Aubrey to a few playground that have ziplines, but we have to hold her onto the tiny seat and just run her back and forth (very tiring). THIS one had a perfect seat and harness for her! Amazing fun if viewed from a child's eyes!



Sweet Zipline




Making Music



Getting very nauseous!


Mommy Time


Daddy-kisses

Cyclone in Aus! We are safe, pray for Cairns and Townsville and all QLD

playgroup & driving cars

Heya!! (as they say here...but I think only in emails?) Aubrey and I had playgroup today with our friends here....I finally brought along my camera, but really only snapped a few of the adorable babies! People always ask me what my favourite photography subject is....I think I am leaning more and more towards maternity, newborns and babies!

Here is just a peek....you'll have to go to my website for the rest :)

aubrey : coal miner's daughter

Aubrey is 15 months and loving it....well for the most part anyway. We tend to have a lot of fun together, she is social (but on her own terms....she can take a few minutes to warm up to people). She loves to wear her shoes, mommy's shoes, & occasionally daddy's shoes. She makes me laugh with her big cheeky grin, no matter how tired I am getting after a long day. When I am kneeling on the floor for the hundredth time , picking up discarded food from her meal that she mostly just picked at, feeling very much exhausted, I feel these little arms wrap around my back in a big hug. All my frustrations melt away. When she is whiny and clinging onto my legs while i try and clean, she makes up for it when I finally give her my attention and she giggles when I tickle her, then looks up at me with her gorgeous blue eyes when i stop , nods and says "yep" matter-of-factly to inform me she would like some more tickles please.

Thank the Lord for making a mother's job so worth it every day with all of these rewards!

My First Pony Tail



A good teeth shot with Daddy's headlamp on.



Working the "fake" laugh



Pretty Eyes



We bought her a new skirt today at Cotton On Kids. Doesn't it match the headlamp perfectly?



PeeEss: you would think it was Mother's Day! Two girls that I love just posted about their mom's, prepare to be moved.

http://littlemrsmason.blogspot.com/2011/01/my-mom-kicks-serious-butt.html

http://weenophotography.blogspot.com/2011/01/mum-love-india.html

aubrey : 15 months old

Wow! Bree is growing so fast! Turning from a baby girl into a little girl before our eyes. For more of her 15 month photos check out my photography blog .

I haven't posted many pictures because she is getting so hard to photograph! She sees the camera and runs the other way. Cheeky little thing!





After a little play in the rain, time to shower off!


One of her favourite things to do is to sit in the front and play with the steering wheel and buttons. Notice the carpet (aka "mustache") on our dashboard?

Ben is in the 3rd week of his 2nd semester here at www.ywamsbs.com on the Sunny Coast. This week he is working on the book of John. I try and study the same books each week, of course in a lot less depth. It is pretty hard for me to watch Aubrey and sit through any lectures, but something i have really enjoyed is listening to SBS lectures on podcast. They aren't the same speakers Ben's school has, but they are really good teachers, so knowledgeable. Check out thesbspodcast.com - or type that into the search bar of your iTunes. These are not sermons, they are lectures on books of the Bible. In order to properly study the Word, you need to understand who the Author is, who the Original Reader is, and historical context of the date of the letter. VERY cool stuff!! For me, it makes the Bible come alive and proves is validity and authority.

Thankfully this week has been full of sunshine!

Australia Flooding

Hey Family!

Quick update that we are doing great and where we are living isn't expected to flood. 1000s of others are much less fortunate. For the past several months Queensland has been inundated with rain. After nearly 10 years of drought, the ground simply can't hold anymore water. We've been witnessing the affects of that over the last several days and will continue to do so over the days ahead.

In our area most of the rain has caused roads and agricultural land to flood, not so much the homes(although there are a few). As you can see from the attached video that isn't the case in many parts of the state.
Despite the sun being out today, tomorrow is expected to bring flood levels higher than the previous big flood of 1974. In Brisbane alone they are evacuating well over 10,000 homes despite little to no rain on some parts of the coast. The tides mixing in with the draining rain water is causing most of the problem along the coast. In-land it is simply the quantity of rain.

All of that to say Australians need new houses, cars, businesses, food, clean water, a massive clean up effort, and prayer. Most of us probably won't be providing houses and cars, but at the very least we can pray.
If you were planning a visit to the Sunny Coast, we are expected to maintain a steady drop of rain for the next 8-10 weeks so you may want to rethink your plans!

Love to you All!