2 Weeks Left in Australia!

I cannot believe I am already saying that we leave the Sunshine Coast in 2 weeks. These past 9 months have been wonderful (not always easy, but wonderful for the most part!). The little Missy is 20 months old, saying new words every day, and constantly brightening up our lives with her giggles and cheekiness.

It took nearly the entire nine months here, but she has finally warmed up to all the SBS students and staff and she loves to be the center of attention with them now. We wish we had longer with this great group of young people who love our sweet girl. They have all been SO good with her and made it their goal to get to this point with her. In the beginning she was pretty shy and overwhelmed with all the big people and new faces. It is great to see her so comfortable and playful with them all now!

A couple weeks ago Aubrey started "skipping", and we couldn't really figure out where she had learned that until one of the SBS staff girls saw her doing and was like "awww I taught her that!" It was pretty cool, I think it was the first thing someone had taught her outside of our home. She is definitely at the age where she is observing so much and learning from others.

Ben is working hard to finish his last bunch of books in these 2 weeks while Aubrey and I just try and enjoy every last day by taking trips to favourite parks, Underwater World, the beach, and of course to see friends.

This week I have been doing a lot of study on Jehovah Witness beliefs. 2 young women approached me at the beach the other day, and told me how much they love teaching the Bible. Of course this isn't the first time I have encountered a JW, and I am sure you have had one or two at your door before too. However this is the first time I have been really interested in what they are taught. The more I read and learn, the more God is breaking my heart for them. The less annoyed with them I feel, and the more love. I realize how much they have been lied to, and how the foundation of their beliefs is incredibly flawed. It is pretty easy to disprove, however I have learned that they have been taught to be very closed minded and to not think for themselves. I have learned that it doesn't do much good to just argue what the Bible teaches with them. If you really want to reach them, you have to try and get them to start thinking for themselves and resist the temptation to do any "teaching" yourself. If you are interested in learning more, check out this site I have found really helpful in understanding where JW's are coming from : www.towerwatch.com

Okay, here are a few pictures from the other day!



You'll have to jump over to my photography site to see more of them.

Emerging Eden : Modern Inspiration for Wholesome Living

So one of my best friend's and I have started yet another blog. You might have noticed the list of blogs to your right.... her family blog is "Matt and Johnni". We have been emailing back and forth for a few years now, just swapping good information with one another, finally we decided that we might as well share it with other people! We have gone on searches for the "best" cloth diaper, the best natural deodorants (that actually work), struggles with low milk supply while nursing and what helped us, passion for making socially and environmentally responsible choices with our purchases (from chocolate to clothing to diapers), you name it. A big thing with us is that it has to MAKE SENSE. Everything we do, the choices we make, and that changes that we implement into our family life must be better not only for ourselves, but also others and the environment too.

Our goal is not to stand preaching on a soap-box because we aren't the experts. We are just on a journey and want to try new things! Our hope for Emerging Eden is that it can be a place of community, where we can share ideas, learn and grow together.

Stop by and leave us a comment! Even better, add us to your www.bloglovin.com account , "LIKE" us on Facebook, and follow our blog....leaving us LOTS of feedback...tell us what you have tried or what you think of a post or even what you would like to see on our blog.

And a few pictures to boot ;)

Bree helping me make one of her (and mine and Ben's!) favourite snacks : THE RAW BROWNIE.





Notice how she stuffs the mix into her mouth rather than the pan? I turned the photos to black and white so we didn't look too "dirty". She is covered head to toe in cacao (fair trade raw cocoa).





This recipe literally takes less than 10 minutes to make and is packed full of deliciousness and lots of crazy good nutrients for the whole family :) You can find it on my favourite foodie blog : My New Roots.

Aubrey : 18 Months

Yes, she is quickly approaching 20 months! But I forgot to blog these, and these are from April. She caught on to the shapes puzzle, and loves to do it every night before bed! Now at 19 months we are working on teaching her the colours of the shapes. You know those ring toys? The ones where the plastic rings all pile onto a pole in descending size? Well she has figured out that concept this month too :) It is fun to see children working out problems and solving them!





These next ones were taken out at our friends' acreage! I love the lemon tree in the background :) And I love their place because it is just beautiful, clean with a sweet touch of vintage :)

Lil' Miss Busy Pants

Well, things are getting interesting around here with our sweet-little-precious-baby full-on into toddlerhood at 19 months old! Naps are getting pretty tricky since she got a huge bout of confidence in her climbing ability just the other week. Every day this week has gone like the video below. Yes, we have tried many things to try and help her understand that we are in charge, not her, and when we say it's nap time, it's nap time my tired little one. Even going so far as to sit beside her bed and not let her climb out....for almost 2 hours. Did I mention she was screaming and crying that whole time? Yep. Oh and yes, we did try a make-shift "toddler bed" by putting her mattress on the floor and laying with her for a bit. Nope. Too busy, she says. Because we are living in Australia for 1 more month (where did the time go!) and then off to Europe, the real toddler bed will have to wait....and I (mommy talking) have to let go of control for a few months and let her take naps in the stroller or car. She obviously is more strong-willed than me!

On the up-side...she is trying out new words every day. Her favourites : "dee" (dates), "yo-yo" (yogurt), "co co" (cacoa, she helps me bake), "na-owww" (no), "me-mo" (Nemo), and "mo Bee-Ba" (more Simba from Lion King). Oh and "mo baw" (more park).

On to the video! Hopefully the [tiny bit of] crying doesn't get to you!

April 2011 : Nana and Gramps' Visit and Fraser Island

We all had a really nice time with Nana and Gramps when they came to visit us in Australia last month. We went to a few different places - Caloundra, Noosa, Fraser Island, Sanctuary Cove (on the Gold Coast), and of course our Mudjimba Beach. Fraser Island was a fun, 4-day adventure on the largest sand island....lots and lots of 4WD on the beach and throughout the Island. We went to a number of neat spots including Indian Head, the Maheno Shipwreck, Eli Creek, Lake Mackenzie, and Lake Waddy. Aubrey and Daddy enjoyed their 6 am swims in the resort pool while I slept in.

Aubrey still talks about Nana and Gramps, and often brings up their names and says "bye bye", realizing that they have gone back home.

Our time in Australia is quickly coming to an end! It is bittersweet...we are excited for all that is next, but sad about leaving one of our favourite spots to live!











You'll have to jump over to my photography site to see the rest :)

Family Photos!!!! YAY!

We were so blessed to have another family photo session...Aubrey at 19 months old this time..such a little lady :)

The photographer is Gemma Troy. I met her at our playgroup here on the Sunshine Coast, and photography aside, we really just click as friends. That is always a huge blessing when you move to a new place! What is also a huge blessing is swapping photography services for family sessions ;) Awesome! I did her family back in March, you can see them here.

Check out our preview from the session we did with her last night! Don't giggle too much at the first photo...we giggled enough for everyone ;) Aubrey looks the best in that one for sure!!

OUR PHOTOS!

19 Months Old : A Video

Well, we have both been really behind in updating our blog, so hopefully a video will do for now!

Lately Ben has been working really hard during his last semester at School Of Biblical Studies. This week the students are working hard to complete one of their longest books : Isaiah. Last night Ben briefly summed up a theme of Isaiah for me that I will try and reiterate : Who will you place your trust in? Other nations, yourself or God? The book of Isaiah brings with it judgment on nations, but also the restoration for all people (not just Israel) through the Messiah.

oh and one last thing. If you haven't heard of bloglovin you should check it out. It is a free website that allows you to view all of the blogs you enjoy reading from one easy to navigate site. So you don't need to visit your blogs each day, you just go to bloglovin and they will update it for you with who has new posts! This will save you so much time in your already busy schedule. So go to bloglovin, sign up, and begin following this blog, Emerging Eden and Chelsa's photography website.

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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.