SIblings, Flowers, Gardens, Road Trips

A couple of weeks ago, defying all the careful, methodical, and cautious aspects of my temperament I hopped in the car with Judah and my sister Anna to make the 8 hour road trip to Spokane. I had felt entirely torn about the whole thing, because Judah had been sick with the flu, Liliana currently had it, money was short, and Joe was busy with work. It just felt like the wrong time, but then is there ever a right time to put life on hold?

It strikes me that perhaps that is what makes these sorts of adventures so wonderful. Because we have intentionally put life on hold we can be truly in the moment while real life outside of our happy bubble spins, waiting for us to enter back in (maybe a little dizzy from the re-entry).

We met my sisters Jocelyn and Eve, and Eve's babe Sophia for a simple happy weekend of sistering....slow mornings over coffee in pyjamas, walks, dark chocolate, vino, sappy movies, face masks. FUN!

"Sisters are different flowers from the same garden."

This anonymous and slightly cheesy quote kept bouncing around in my head as we spent the weekend together. We are so similar, and we are so different. Our differences help us balance each other out, give objective perspective, supply support and encouragement. Our similarities as sisters mean that we know each other in a unique way, different than anyone else (even a spouse!) could. We just get it - even when we don't quite understand why someone behaves with their special little neuroses (kidding not kidding), we still get them and oh how we still love them to the moon and back.

I want to thank my parents over and over for having a big family. Siblings are such a gift!!!  Here I am though, in the early stages of a young family and I see that they are also hard work! To be open to new life, aware of how it changes everything in these tunnel years, is admittedly frightening.

A new baby means new routines (or lack there-of), new physical/mental/emotional struggles, new expenses, new challenges, new behaviors, new fears for the future. It means more humility, more mess, more poop, more mouths, more exhaustion, more insecurity. YET the new JOY outweighs anything else. The new HOPE for this little person's life is palpable. The inexplicable LOVE AND INCREASE OF SPACE IN OUR HEARTS drowns out any of the other challenges.  The gift of a sibling to siblings is immeasurable and irreplaceable. And, as the siblings grow and blossom into adulthood, the friendships cannot be compared to anything else. Not to mention, who doesn't love their very own cheer leading squad as they navigate these murky waters of young adulthood?

So, here is to you - Jocelyn, Eve, Luke, Vincent, and Anna. Your lives are gifts, I'm so glad you exist. Thank you for being uniquely you in our family. I love you!

XOXO

A quick update!!

Dearest Ones,

It is 8:30 am, I write with a steaming cup of coffee and a sweet baby down for her first nap. I can't believe that my last post was just after she was born, recounting all of the intensity of her beautiful birthday. So much has happened! I have so many reflections in my heart...about parenthood, marriage, life. However, before I move onto those I think I'd simply better update everyone on where we are and what we are doing!

This is the determined side of our little person!

First of all, little Liliana is almost 12 weeks old. I can't even describe the intensity of having your heart literally moving and breathing outside of you. She is so beautiful and peaceful, yet entirely stubborn and determined at the same time. She has traveled well, but I am so grateful to finally be settled somewhere, so she can find a  a sense of security and some sort of regularity. I will write more about her and the adventure of parenthood in our next blog.


 ...two days later...life is different with a babe!!!


Yes, we have settled! After over one full day of travel from Australia (in which the wee one was a perfect angel), 3 happy weeks in Texas, we are here in Calgary. The weather is crisp and autumn like, but the sun has been shining every day and so we feel blessed. Joe is consumed with daily terror over the cold weather, even though we already went out and invested in some warm gear. He is CONVINCED that he will soon be a  popsicle and nothing will save him :)

A family photo in BEAUTIFUL Canmore!

We are praying and hoping for Joe's immigration to come through soon so that he can find employment. Meanwhile, he is going slightly crazy feeling like he has too little to do, and I am going slightly crazy knowing my Love is slowly losing it :) (slight exaggeration but not really!!) We trust though, that we are in the right place, and as many times as we re-evaluate the decision we made to move here, we feel peaceful that it was the right one.

Anyhow, I'm going to leave it at that so I can write about the nitty gritty of life and love. We will update as soon as we have any new developments!  Thank you for your love and prayers, and for supporting us as we made the move across the world. We miss you all, we love you dearly, and we pray for you every day!!!!


XOXO,

Rainy Days but Happy Days!

Hello dear friends and family, from a very chilly Melbourne. As I write the rain is falling down and I sit bundled in our living room with the heater keeping me warm.

So, what’s the news from Melbourne? Besides the chilly weather that makes us not want to get out of bed each morning, we are doing very well and of course are very happy. Can I just take a moment to rave about my amazing husband? He has picked up yet another job here in Melbourne. Working at a warehouse 8 hours a day certainly isn’t glamorous and is so far from Joe’s dream job, but he doesn’t complain!  He is also still working night shifts at the gym and coaching, as well as playing basketball. I am just so amazed by his selflessness, the fact that he would sacrifice so much to support me as I study and to support our family as we anticipate Liliana’s arrival. I am so excited for the day when he finally gets a job he loves and when he doesn’t have to work 50+ hours a week. For now, we just count our blessings J

The little lady is growing and growing! We had our 28 week check up two days ago, and everything looks wonderful. She is active and spends much more time head down now, which makes my ribs one of her favorite things to explore with her feet. I love it though; those little kicks are a sign of a healthy and growing baby. Here are some recent pictures (at 28.5 weeks)…12 weeks left, WOW!

Joe’s basketball team continues to struggle to get a win in. With injuries crippling the team and various other difficult circumstances surrounding them, I am proud of the men but feel so bad that their morale is taking such a beating! Joe, of course, continues to play his heart out on the court, although I think I am getting used to seeing him skid across the floor and take beating on the court. Not to mention, he dishes it out as well, and almost every game finishes with 4 or 5 fouls.

We had some surprising news when Joe’s work visa was denied by the Australian government. Although, it is all starting to make sense as we follow the news and hear more about how the government is cracking down on the granting of work visas in order to lower unemployment rates here in Australia. So, it is time for us to re-evaluate, as Joe will be illegal in Australia at the end of September….good thing we love being spontaneous and we also fully believe that God reveals His plans for our life in beautiful and mysterious ways. More on that soon!

Well, I suppose that is all for now! I wish I could thrill you all with stories of daring adventures and exciting travel. Instead, we live an exceedingly low key life, as we strive to make ends meet and provide a little bit for our future. However, coming on ten months of marriage I can tell you that I am more passionately in love, happier, and more secure than I have ever been. With most things in our lives (waaaaay) up in the air, our marriage stays grounded in love for God, our baby girl, and each other. Joe is my rock and my prince. I am the luckiest woman alive, and in that senseI feel like I am still living my very own fairy tale. Praise God!

We miss you every day. We miss the smells of spring in Texas and Calgary, we miss Canmore and bonfires in Joe’s backyard, we miss hugging our mamas and dads, and the ability to just call anytime, but we persevere!  We love you!

xoxo

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