Time Marches On

I can't believe it's been almost 2 weeks since I wrote last. Honestly the days have sort of melted together and the weeks have flown by! We really are in quite a pattern now, Joe with his regular work shifts and me with the ins and outs of my days. I've been working hard at the primary school, and hard at my writing...all in all it makes us both exhausted at the end of the day and so ready for rest. Isn't it funny how life is? I mean, in a sense it's tempting to be disillusioned by the fact that our dreams are so big and sometimes reality is a far cry from what we envisioned for ourselves. For example, before we came here I had these big aspirations for travelling on the weekend, exploring, camping, etc. Yet, we don't have time much less income for such things! Goodness Emily, what were you thinking? And so instead, here we are in Australia and for the most part we can't even really explore the city we are living in because at this point we are still trying to get our feet on the ground. Yet, at the same time life has sent so many hidden blessings our way because we are having to work so hard. We are closer than ever, and the simplest things give us SUCH great joy! We worry together, yes, but it unites us in our faith and hope and drives us to aspire in a new and better way. We rejoice over a teensy, semi-rusty, 13 year old car that seriously seems a miracle to us. Just a few years ago I would not have felt that way about it. God knows what He is doing, and He has made us so HAPPY, that's all I have to say about that.

What can I tell you? Well, last time I wrote I promised to recount our Thanksgiving celebration. On Thanksgiving Thursday here in Melbourne we rejoiced in Joe's day off! We headed into Melbourne to do some errands. While we were in the city we stopped at the Queen Victoria Market. Usually we are pretty simple when we shop there, the prices are just so amazing, but on Thanksgiving we bought a whole roasted chicken, a loaf of olive bread, and hummus. OH. MY. GOODNESS. You've never seen such a feast! We ate it right then and there, and honestly in that moment I was so content....we felt so rich and so spoiled. We had to sit and digest for a bit after. Here are some before and after pictures of my American hubby on his holiday.




Also, we picked up our beautiful little miracle car! Joe was seriously a CHAMP learning to drive manual and learning to drive it on the wrong side of the road. He picked it up in half an hour, and that very day we were able to drive half an hour home without so much as one stall or tense moment. I can't quite describe the sense of freedom I had when we were driving home. I was thinking...this was all us, we accomplished this together, and boy does it feel amazing. We took a picture with our new set of keys....

I think that is all for tonight. It's 9:00 pm here, and Joe will be home in about 45 minutes from work so I am off to make him some dinner. We are striving to live a holy and faithful advent, but it hasn't been easy! It is so easy to lapse into routine and forget to make time for prayer, or to start feeling tired and allow prayer to be the first thing to go. In a way, it's quite easy to feel united with the Holy Family this Advent. We are far from home and uncertain of what is next. Unfortunately, so often I find myself behaving in ways far from Holy Family behavior (aka selfishly)...and so we try, try again!

We love you all and miss you so very much. We pray for you and all of your intentions this Advent season and of course we ask for your prayers. xoxo

So Much To Be Thankful For!

Well, once again it's been a few days since our last update. Lots has happened, as seems to be the case these days for us because everything is new and everything is changing quickly! Phew, it's hard to keep up sometimes....

 Before I give any updates I have to say that I was overwhelmed with love following my last post when I mentioned that I was feeling lonely. More than anything, the response from beautiful friends all over the world reminded me that we are not the first people who have done this, and certainly won't be the last. Right now there are friends everywhere who have left family and home and who may feel lonely and afraid...and we all need to pray for each other! Also, so many people had good advice for me, and I really was struck by the fact that if we are inspired to reach out to someone, in whatever way, to follow through on that inspiration because chances are it is just what the other person needs. I think sometimes we are afraid of "imposing" but the love felt behind a few caring words can change someone's day so, be courageous!

A few wonderful things have happened:

1. We are buying a car!! A priest from the John Paul II Institute has finished his degree and is moving back. So, we are buying a 1997 Mazda 131, manual (wrong side of the car, mind you), and with only 74,000 kms on it. How BLESSED are we? Without it being a priest who wants to  sell his car for a low price to a young Catholic couple we would be totally unable to afford a car. Yet, here we are...in a few weeks we will be mobile, even though I need to learn how to drive manual...and we can stop ruining our shoes with all of our walking :)

2. I've started volunteering at a primary school nearby. It is wonderful! I am there all day, working with the "prep" children who are 5 and 6 years old. It is getting towards the end of the year here and so the teachers are desperate for help. It is an absolute balm for my heart to spend all day with these sweet little people. Also, it is very cute seeing them all outside playing in their matching hats. It seems that all children (until year 12) are REQUIRED to wear hats at recess. They all look like little safari kids!

3. I was hired by Demand Media as a freelance writer. It is an American company but I get to write articles for places such as livestrong.com and ehow.com. It gives me something to do and a way to earn a little extra income. As of yet, I've not submitted my first article but truly, it gives me a sense of purpose here, as of late, which I think is a relief for Joe.

4. Joe and I went on our very first dinner date out since we've arrived here. When we first came to Australia we were watching our budget so seriously that we just bought groceries and ate hotel picnics, etc...and i'm not complaining, I love picnics! But, on Sunday we went to 6 pm mass because Joe worked all day, and then we went for a beautiful Italian dinner. Oh, it was just GLORIOUS, I felt reconnected with my husband, I felt young and loved, and it was so nice to be just the two of us. Also, wine was too expensive at the restaurant SO we picked up a cheap bottle after and (please don't judge) drank it as we walked the 4 kms home. We had so much fun! The laughs, the dreaming, the remembering. It was just what we needed. Not only that, but it is large rubbish week here in Australia, which means that everybody puts their large "junk" out and people can just pick up what they want until it is picked up by the city at the end of the week. Now, we've seen washers, dryers, fridges, etc..none of which we can pick up because we don't have a car. However, on our walk home we found a tv with a remote and a really nice side table. It was too good to pass up!! So, there we were in our church clothes walking home carrying a tv and a side table. The TV works and we are very proud of our effort :)

Anyhow my dear loved ones, we celebrated Thanksgiving today (because it is Thursday the 25th here). Tomorrow I'll write about that. Until then, thank you for your prayers and love..we truly feel so blessed. We miss you, we love you, and we always pray for you. xoxoxo

These are a few of my favorite things! (and least favorite)

It is a beautiful Saturday here in Melbourne. I have taken a few days to write another post because I've been in a foul and negative mood, my poor husband, and there is no use complaining about things that are only made more dramatic by my perspective. So, I took a few days to breath and everything does seem to be brighter! I've not had really any reason to be in a foul mood, all things considered we are so blessed and things are going well for us, but I must admit I'm desperately lonely. Lonely days are not easy days. I'm hoping to meet some friends soon!

Anyhow, moving forward let me start with my least favorite thing about Australia so far. Australians are coffee snobs. They do not believe in perculated coffee, you know, the good old coffee machine that you put the filter and the grounds in, press start, and soon have the comforting sound of the drip, drip, drip, and the comforting smell of the deliciously hot mug of java? That's right, they don't believe in it. However, most Australians are either too lazy or don't want to invest the money into an espresso machine, so instead they drink, get ready to die of horror, INSTANT COFFEE!!! Not only that, but the decadently delicious flavored creamer we are so spoiled with in North America, doesn't exist here. So, you stumble out of bed exhausted, only to sip into a thick and bitter cup of coffee with skinny milk. Bleh. :) Poor Australians, they do not know what they are missing! I know, most of you are probably thinking "if thats the worst things are going well!" and it is true, if that is the worst we oughtta see just how lucky we are. But STILL......cooooooffffeeeeeee!

Joe and I have discovered a favorite thing about Melbourne, and that is the plethora of walk-up Sushi stands. They don't sell the rolls like in North America, sliced into small rolls of bite sized sushi. Instead, you can just order a roll and it is long, seaweed covered, rice and fish filled, meal on the go. They are only ever about 2 dollars a piece and two seems to be enough to satiate Joe so, we have taken quite a liking to them. Case in point...YUMMY!

Another of my favorite things is seeing how well my husband is making his mark on the basketball community here.  Joe is truly thriving. He is working very hard, taking every shift possible upon himself to earn a little extra money, getting up at 5 or 6 in the morning to train kids for basketball or to train clients. He has been asked to sit in on several meetings for the basketball corporation here in Melbourne to contibute a marketing perspective, and just the other day he recieved an email from the secretary of the CEO of basketball Victoria (the state we are living in) asking if Joe had time to meet with him. Who knew? I am amazed at how confident, tenacious, and dedicated Joe has been, he is putting me to shame with his determination. I have so much to learn! Today, he marched in a local parade with a few teammates and some of the little kids from the community. The kids just ADORE Joe, so much so that one little boy has been asking his parents every day if he could please bring Joe to show-and-tell. How cute is that? Anyhow, I took a few pictures of Joe today marching...the little one on his shoulders is Ben, the show-and-tell buddy, and the cutie whose face is in the "c" is Kristie, the girl whose family we are living with.

Anyhow, that's all for now. Tomorrow we will have been here a full month, I can hardly believe how the time is flying. I am grateful for everything we've experienced so far, good and bad, because as my friend said in the letter from my last post, in the bigger picture it seems that the good and bad are both part of the greatest good. So, we persevere, we find so much joy in the little things and in being with each other. What more could someone ask for?

We miss you, we love you, please pray for us and we continue to pray for you! xoxo

We are a Pilgrim People

Well, my sweet husband and I have been married 4 months today! Actually, in real-time I suppose it is 4 months minus one day because we are a day ahead here. I truly cannot believe that it has only been 4 months, it seems like longer! I can remember my life without my husband, but at the same time it seems so far away because I can't imagine not having him now. I received many warnings about "reality setting in" or getting to know the "real Joe". But, I have to say that has not happened. I know the real Joe, and reality is only better than what I anticipated. I am a lucky woman that my vocation is to love this man. I'm not saying that everything is perfect, far from it, but I am saying that when I try to look at my marriage to Joe as a vocation, a call to holiness, I can only strive to love him more and better every day. I am one blessed lady.

Anyhow, I received a letter from a dear dear friend the other day, which I am going to quote below (without her permission), but we always spoke about blogging together so I'm really hoping she doesn't mind. Anyhow, in the letter she was speaking to me about the struggles of those close to her, all beautiful couples, open to life, who really have encountered major sufferings in their lives. She also spoke, without self pity, about her own struggles and the fact that life's imperfections mean a constant temptation to thinking "things will be better when...". It made me contemplate the fact that we are pilgrims on a journey, that this life is fleeting and we aren't made for it alone. I know CS Lewis speaks of the yearning for heaven that each person experiences and I would venture to say that the struggle to find "home" on this earth is part of that yearning. We seek to find the place that will fulfill us the most but for whatever reason there is always something missing. It is truly a consolation for me, here in Melbourne, and a reason to avoid self-pity at all costs. It is motivation to see the gift that each day is and avoid living for tomorrow when things "will be better." It is inspiration for me to battle for the things that matter most (which are almost always the things we can't see or touch), as opposed to focusing on the material which will only pass away. I am so grateful for my darling friend's providential words that remind me to be content and joyful in the blessings that sorround Joe and I each day here in our new home.

Anyhow, her words are truly beautiful...I am posting them below with names removed and substitutes put in parenthesis:

"Isn't it interesting, and quite amazing that the Lord gives us what we need and takes things away too when we need for them to be taken away? 

I may not have family or many friends for that matter nearby to help me, and I have a husband who works quite a bit, and we may be on a tight budget (we only have $73 for the rest of the month for groceries, we shall hope it lasts!) but we do have a home, each other and our health not to mention our faith, and Jesus right next door!!!! 

No matter who we are, it is often easy to look at our lives and think, "things will be better when..." and forget that all we get is here and now.  We don't have tomorrow yet, and we may not have it at all.  I'm sorry I am really not trying to be pessimistic, I'm just quite struck at the goodness of God in our lives today and how to best accept happiness today however it comes to us. 

I pray for (all my friends) and I don't feel bad for you all in that I think your lives are more difficult than mine, nor do I think that your lives are easy and you have no reason to struggle.  Not at all.  I think you all are fine and wonderful people and seeing the blessings and the difficulties that each of you has right now at this point in your lives just makes me think of how God loves you each so very much.  From where I stand I can see the good and the bad and I can see how the good and the bad are both good in the grand scheme of things. 

And it helps me to see that the seemingly bad in my life today is also good in the great scheme of things.  It makes me rejoice in the suffering of not having a grandma to play with (my little girl) when I am soooo tired because I can't sleep well and can't nap and don't get enough rest at this late  in the pregnancy.  It makes me rejoice in the suffering of having hormonal imbalances that can be so emotionally painful and that come with holding life so close.  It makes be rejoice in the suffering of not having so many of my dear friends closer.  It makes me rejoice in the suffering of not being able to buy what we want to eat because we have to literally count our pennies when we go to the store and buy only the necessary items.  It makes me rejoice in my wonderful husband being gone so much because this and all other sufferings, of mine and of others, are producing a fruit so much greater than any of us can see or imagine.  The glory to be revealed in us is far greater than the sufferings of the present, as St Paul says.  And we believe it and we live it in our lives!  To see that God really does work everything for the good of those who love Him.  It is so beautiful and so profound and it only strikes us at some times in our lives.  I suffer and I rejoice with my dear friends, because I see that their sufferings are temporary and they are not without great rewards.  These sufferings of (all of us families) are not in vain!!! 

Truly things may be better or worse at different times in our lives, but it will not be perfect until Heaven.  I may live close to my dear in-laws at some point, but I will never live in a perfect country community next to you, (all my dear friends), my parents and sisters and my in laws in the mountains, at the farm and Brazil!  That all right there is perfectly impossible!!! I will always miss Brazil and Brazilian things, or if I were to move there, I'd miss the Farm and American things, and of course, by living at the beautiful farm I don't get Jesus in the Eucharist within walking distance, or the mountains which I love so much, and to be sure, it is just about impossible for you and everyone else we love to want to move to a little commune somewhere perfect, like Montana (though the we and the Packards may live close in Montana someday, we won't get everything else wonderful, like Brazil and the farm!)  Alas, this life in imperfect.  But it is not meaningless or unhappy.  It is very happy.  And the sufferings and imperfections make us long for the perfect and they will take us there some day.

Sorry this is so long, and I hope it somewhat makes sense.  I love you, and with all my heart I pray for you and Joe.  And I am truly so grateful for your friendship and witness, and I am very proud of both of you and of knowing you. 

And I am grateful for your openness to life.  I truly believe that people may regret not being open to life in hindsight, but I doubt anyone can regret being open to life in hindsight!  I am not praying for you to get pregnant, though I have no doubt that would be a most amazing blessing for you two.  I am praying for God's timing, because His timing is perfect.  I can attest to how God does provide and He send us little blessings in the womb with much provisions!  It is miraculous and beautiful.  So, no fear!

God is leading you!"

I really can't add anything to my sweet and wonderful friend's beautiful words. I share them because I think she has insights for all of us to glean, and I couldn't just keep them to myself. I am the most blessed friend to have the witness and encouragement of a dear friend such as this.

I will post an update on our progress later, for now this is the most important thing.

We love you and we pray for you!

The Quang-er

So, it was a rainy rainy day here in Melbourne. We went to bed last night with high hopes for for the day. We were going to wake up and walk to the gym so that Joe could shoot hoops and I could do zumba! Let me tell you, without a car we have been walking miles upon miles every day, I suppose it's good for our waist-lines, but not for our shoes. I've already broken one pair!! After the gym we were going to take the train into West Melbourne to go to confession and mass. Anyhow, I woke up to the sound of rain pelting against the window and immediately my heart sank because we can't even walk to the bus in that kind of rain, it's 2 km away and the roads all get flooded.

However, it was ok. Friends of Peter and Cheryle were over for breakfast and they offered us to borrow their bikes until we have a car. I am SO SO excited. There is a path that runs from Eltham into the city and we have been dying to take a day, ride into the city, visit the market, and have a picnic. Now we can! I'm so grateful for Joe and Mandy's generosity. We picked the bikes up today and they are just beautiful. Oh, and more good news, because Joe is starting his first shift on Monday at the gym! Now that his accreditation has gone through he gets to start work. I know it is going to be good for him, because he's started to feel like he is going crazy not doing anything. Also, the security of having a job until something better comes to fruition is just awesome. Now, hopefully I can get one because who knows what I'll be doing all day without him, 'sigh', I'm going to miss him. It is amazing how much you cling to each other when you are the only security that each has. He gets to work the floor at the gym, but the big bucks will come when he gets clients. Actually, he already has two. Funny story about that also. Everyone has been teasing me that the "yummy mummies" at the gym are going to be all over my hunky hubby. I really don't care, because he is mine and so they can only look :) Not only that, but he is so proud of his wedding ring and the fact that he is married. Anyhow, his first two clients are gay! No yummy mummies for me to worry about. I think it will be really fun for Joe to train these two guys together, it's just great.

Well, the highlight of our day was Quang. For those of you who don't know, Quang is Peter and Cheryle's 14 year old exchange student. He has been here since he was 12, and will be here through the end of high school. Joe and I absolutely love Quang, he is a sweet boy with lots of insecurities that sometimes manifest as "acting out." He just CLINGS to Joe, "joe joe joe joe joe" all day long! Joe is so good with him. We got to go watch his basketball game today, and he scored 4 points. This from a kid who had never played organized sports before coming to Australia. Apparently he performed extra well, I think it was because Joe was there cheering for him :) I felt so proud of Quang, and I'm going to miss him when he goes home to Vietnam over school break.

There he is! You can just see us in the background there too! I'm sure there'll be many more Quang updates. I suppose that is all for now though. A day that seemed to have gloomy prospects turned out not so bad at all. Tomorrow we will head into mass here in Eltham before Joe has basketball practice, and perhaps I can get some zumba in too. Who knows, one day at a time!

I hope everyone at home had a very happy Friday. I miss you all, so very much. Sending long distance hugs and love!

We pray for you, please pray for us!

We are asked to trust: the beauty of Catholic teaching on openness to life.

Whew, are you scared by my title?

I am sitting here at work, doing a temp day for Cheryle (who we are living with), but so grateful for the opportunity to earn a little bit of money! Anyhow, don't worry, I'm not shirking my duties, it is a very quiet day here and so I'm just trying to be productive while I sit here. I'm so proud of my Joe, whose accreditation came through for his personal training, so he is up at the gym learning the rounds. Hopefully he can start next week! It is certainly going to take the strain off, the ability to put a little bit of money in the bank, especially with tuition payments upcoming for me, and because while we are here we really want to be able to explore the country and its surrounding countries!

Anyhow, something has certainly been on my heart lately, and that is the constant possibility of children due to our striving to live faithfully Catholic teaching on openness to life. It isn't easy being open, only because it is so tempting to be fearful and to question just how we could make ends meet if a wee one were to come into the picture. Yet, we are reminded constantly that God's plan is so much bigger than ours, that His will is manifested in our fidelity, and thus we have to know that we'd be ok! It is a grave mission to be called, in marriage, to be living signs of God's Trinitarian love to the world. We are humbled and awed by the gift of such a task. Not only this, but it truly is an expression of permanence, of deep and lasting love, to be open to every facet of my spouse's being.

We are inundated with messages about what marriage should be these days. Marriage should only happen when there is stability, dual incomes, thriving careers, when "life has been lived". But, to me, this IS living..to start with my beloved from nothing and work together towards a unified goal is precisely what marriage should be! I think that it fosters selflessness (ie: Joe has given up energy drinks for our budget and I've given up chewing gum, hehe), a minor example but significant too. Those are not the things we'd have to give up if we followed the world's message for marriage. Yet, where would our joy be then? In each other? I'm not so sure.

Anyhow, I'll close by pasting a little section from my past thesis, a good reminder of marriage and its inextricable link to openness and fruitfulness. Just some food for thought on this Friday morning (in Australia).

"One should not separate children from the aim of marriage, then, because instead of being a separate reality or end, fruitfulness is evidence of the love and unity between the lover and beloved. Love so sublime that the beloved, in the fullness of who they are, is accepted and constantly affirmed by the lover cannot help but manifest itself to the world as superabundance. Children are precisely this. As von Hildebrand says in his essay on Humanae Vitae, “Could we think of anything more beautiful than this connection between the deepest love communion, the ultimate self-donation out of love, and the creation of a new human being?”[1]"

I love you all and I miss you every day! We pray for you, as always,

xoxoxo

Status Update: Persevering

Well, Joe's interview went really well today. As a matter of fact, it went so well that they hired him on the spot! Now, consider us two very sweaty and flustered individuals arriving at his interview after walking in business apparel in the muddy grass to the train, finding the wrong Leceister (sp) street (because Melbourne has multiples of every street), and finally arriving in the rain to his interview. It certainly was a relief that it went so well! But, the truth is that it is a commission only job and it simply isn't the right choice for Joe to work on a commissions only basis while he tries to support his wife and help us establish a foundation here. So, with heavy hearts we got back on the train. On the positive side, Joe had a great interview experience and is only more practiced in the art of an interview. We are certainly grateful for that!

More later, love and prayers...

Today was a really good day! Joe and I decided that we were going to take a breather day, and go on an all day date. I think it was just what we needed. I woke up optimistic and totally excited to "live a little." We've worked so hard lately, and put alot of pressure on ourselves to make tons of progress very quickly...today it was such a gift to simply "be". Or, as one of my favorite authors, Matthew Kelly, would put it, we took time for "carefree timelessness"

So yes, we took off to, you guessed it...the beach! The sun was shining, it was a glorious 28 degree Celsius day, we packed our bags and took off for the train. It is only about a 1.5 km walk along the train tracks from where we are living to the Eltham train station. The last time we walked it we were jumping puddles and I was trying not to whimper from my blisters! This time, though, everything had dried out, and it was a beautiful walk. While we were walking, my handsome hubby's phone rang and, you'll never guess, he got called in for an interview with a sport's marketing company tomorrow. We are SO excited, and he is so nervous (ok, ok, I'm super nervous for him too). The interview is in Carlton, which would be close enough vicinity to my school that we could even travel into the city together daily. How ideal!

Anyhow, I need to make a long story short. Our day consisted of the train, delicious sushi rolls, the tram, a stop for sandwich makings at the iga, lemonade, a picnic, walking on the beach, another tram, and, one of the best parts, meeting up with the amazing Hudec family to watch their boys play hockey at the Icehouse. Isn't Chris just the best Canadian dad in Australia ever? I just LOVED watching teensy John Paul playing with such heart amongst all the big players. We had such a nice visit with Chris and Paula, they are a gorgeous couple, truly generous and Paula calmed so many of my fears. I can't wait to see their family again (Sunday for mass!). We finished the day off with Italian and here we are, home again. Whew, what a good day.

We are truly blessed. It reminds me of a line from a hymn we used to sing at mass, "the wilderness will lead you to your heart, where I will speak." We have felt as though we entered into a sort of wilderness, feeling confused and uncertain about what to do next. Lo and behold, He is showing us the way.

Time to practice for the interview! Pray for us please, we pray for you every day.

Love and prayers,

Our world is topsy-turvy!

I suppose one just has to start when it comes to writing a blog entry. I have so much on my heart and mind that I really don't know where to begin! What a time this has been for us, my beloved Joe and I, as we begin our adventure. Sometimes I find myself questioning just why we've chosen a path like this for ourselves. It's funny because we received so much encouragement from all of those around us, people who never made the choice to up and leave what was familiar and establish themselves somewhere else. All of these people said that it was something they wished that they had the chance to do, and now they never will. I understand why we were so encouraged but at the same time I think it might be harder than it looks (and harder than I anticipated!). For those who don't know me as well as others, you need to know that I tend to be an incredibly introspective person, so I probably spend too much time dwelling on all the things that are bothering me! For instance, I want to set up a home, with pretty scented candles, matching linens, my own cookware, pictures of us on the wall, and planning our first Christmas together. I find it hard to be boarding in someone else's home, not knowing where we are going to live or what the next day is going to bring. I find myself clinging to any semblance of control I can have over our lives, which is very little. Truly, the only control we can have over our lives is to put our lives in the hands of our loving God, who we believe has led us this far. But, let me tell you...my faith is being seriously tested living in the home of a devout atheist and his devoutly atheistic children. Time to find an apologetics class!!

Anyhow, enough of that! Topsy-turvy is so much better than unchallenged or lacking passion. I can tell you, we are neither unchallenged nor lacking passion. We have to fight each day, sincerely seeking the path that is right for us, and, with some trepidation, reveling in the mystery of it all. God is so good, and God's plan for our lives is so much bigger than we could ever anticipate. I can't wait to find out what it is, little by little! What I can tell you right now is we are making our home in a gorgeous city. I can't believe how beautiful Melbourne is, albeit truly metropolitan it has maintained a sense of natural beauty. We are living in a suburb named Eltham right now, and there are miles upon miles of trails through gorgeous "bush" as they call it here. We've seen the most beautiful tropical birds, parrots, and yes, even a troop of kangaroos. We love walking and exploring! There is even a bike path all the way from here into downtown, and that trip takes 45 minutes in a car. We are excited to start getting pay-cheques so that we can buy ourselves some used bikes. Moreover, we are making our home in a thriving city, and for that we should be truly grateful. The city is in full development mode, with plenty of room for young, innovative minds. We know that once we find our niche we'll be very challenged, which is wonderful! Joe is playing for a basketball team with really wonderful teammates. I can tell already that we fit in very well, despite being one of the youngest and the only married couple! We have been welcomed with open arms and everyone is eager to show us around. Yes, all is well!

Now, this isn't much of a first posting. No exciting news or tantalizing tidbits. Yet, it's whats going on for us, we are striving, we have had many ups and downs, but we are excited and we DEFINITELY aren't throwing the towel in yet. Not only that, but through it all we've only grown closer. On our wedding day I could have never imagined I'd only grow more deeply in love with my husband, but each day I wake up filled with such a sense of gratitude that this is the man God gave me to fight for heaven with.

I love you and I miss you!    XOXO