Back from downunder…
Just got back from a two week trip to Australia and New Zealand with the whole fam and Karley.
The link below is some pics that Karley took and put up on his flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/69445147@N00/
Overall I feel like the trip whet my appetite to go back with a backpack and explore. Such a beautiful place.. so much to see. I am definitely thankful for the bit of time that we had there.. crazy experience.
People keep asking my top 3, so here they are:
1. Walking through the Botanical Gardens in Sydney with my camera… after being taught some things by Mr. Mase. Flowers and birds… two of my favorites, so it was incredible to try and capture them. That night we went to the Sydney Opera House for a show… the whole thing just didn’t seem real. Loved it.
2. Manly beach day! Took a ferry to an incredible beach with all sorts of fun shops and good food. We went surfing (Kar got stung by a Blue Devil!) went exploring and got some excellent kabobs. This was the day of my 2nd degree burn that lasted throughout the trip… but still well worth it.
3. The sights in New Zealand. The landscape was incredible.. It had a very tropical feel yet pine was immersed throughout it all. And then… sheep were everywhere. I was amused over and over again.
There are so many more highlights…
Glow worms in the caves of NZ… floating on our backs because of the immovably thick wetsuits, we were able to lay and gaze up at what looked like millions of stars… actually glowworms, which are actually maggots digesting their food. They burn their food to keep from being constipated. Nice.
Public transportation in Sydney. Such a well thought out city. I really enjoyed it. Coffee was amazing and so were the meat pies and muffins. Ah. So much to see.
Taking night pictures of Sydney… Karley taught me a ton about photography in a very short period of time. We brought a fish eye lens for his new Mark II 5d. His pics are stunning.. and I’m still learning 
Paddy’s market in Sydney. Full of knick-naks and practicals, deals at almost every booth. For the tourist and the local, there was everything. Surrounded by chaos there was quietness that could be found. It made me feel like I was in a movie when everything is moving fast around one person and they are just kind of standing there… but suddenly get jerked back into reality when someone bumps into them or asks them a question.
I got to pet a Koala, feed a emu and put my arm around a kangaroo. But best of all, Luke and Heidi got to do all of those things. They LOVED it. It was so precious to see their faces light up.
Luke and Heidi were a highlight of the trip themselves. They are an integral part of our family. I learn alot from just watching them.
Also, it was great to get to watch my parents enjoy a place that they have waited there whole lives to see. I am so thankful that I’ve had the opportunity at this age to go… I thought I had wanted to go “forever!” They climbed the Sydney Bridge, walked on the Sky Tower, did the daredevilish luge in NZ and my mom did the Zydro Zorb… basically a giant hamsterball with water in it, sloshing down a steep hill. Awesome.
Okay, time to get back to real life… whatever that is. Lots to figure out now that February is here.
We woulda won…
We hum along to Christmas tunes
and search for the perfect gift.
We love to smile and spread the cheer
because afterall, tis the season…
Soon the day after the 25th comes
and along with it a sense of sorrow,
we shrug it off and look forward to the New Year
always thinking about tomorrow.
I wonder what it would be like
if Christmas wasn’t a season.
If we remembered Jesus
and celebrated him
and only him
everyday.
His life
and his death.
Our death
and our new life.
I know it is not Easter today
but it is a time to remember it
just the same.
Let’s not love and give misguidedly
and only for a season.
Lets love Jesus
everyday.
Everyday
lets give our life to him.
Just a thought.
Just to throw it out there… It really bothers me that I have Lauri’s Weblog in HUGE letters on the top of my screen. I have tried and tried to get it off, but it is being stubborn and I lack the ability to do so apparently. Once again, the computer wins. Maybe one day I will learn how to customize my blog appearance. If you are skilled in this area and would like to offer up your services, feel free.
I am a dreamer
needing direction.
I am content
needing a challenge.
I am a wild heart
needing to be tamed.
I am a giver
needing a recipient.
I am a worker
needing rest.
I am a napper
needing to wake.
I am a sacrifice
needing a cause.
I am selfish
needing less of me.
I am a stickler
needing compassion.
I am a line pusher
needing lines.
I am needy
needing to give space.
I am independant
needing a friend.
I am insecure
needing the truth.
I am confident
needing to fear God.
I am stubborn
needing to bend.
I am clay
needing to be shaped.
I am an encourager
needing support.
I am an optimist
needing to be realistic.
I am a willing ear
needing a sound voice.
I am a student
needing to teach.
I am a runner
needing to be healed.
I am a dancer
needing a song.
I am strong
needing to let go.
I am a cryer
needing permission.
I am curious
needing an answer.
I am certain
Needing to face questions.
I am a contradiction
I don’t know what I need.
Except for this:
I am a sinner
desperately needing grace.
Click:
Daisy Love
This feels close to home and it is breaking my heart. I have been humbled repeatedly while following these updates as I see Britt and Kate clinging to Jesus in the midst of the most agonizing time in their life. They are finding real meaning in James 1:2-4, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
Please, please continue to pray for their strength as parents to come from Christ.. and of course for Daisy to be healed. 
I thought this was powerful. So, I decided to steal it without permission… Glen, if you ever read this, hope that its okay. I assume that it is.
http://thesmallworld.wordpress.com/2009/08/19/grant-that-i-might-not-be/
Also, I don’t want to add to it, for it speaks volumes on its own and my mere words would merely detract from its profundity.
Last week I experienced yet another chuckle to myself and a slight upward nod in understanding. I have had a lot of those this year.
During my weekly physical therapy appointment my therapist could not stop praising my recovery and was telling everyone in the office how ahead of the curve I was. He got quite a few people on my bandwagon and all were very impressed with my strength and coordination… what kind of athlete was I?? I got that question several times. So, as you can imagine, I was enjoying the excitement because I began the rabbit trail of setting a new goal to making it to 100% by the end of summer. I saw hikes and runs and mountain bike rides… all sorts of goodies that I have just been itching for. In wanting to make sure that I was clear on setting my new goals, I asked a poignant question. How will I know when I am ready?
Apparently, no matter how “ready” I get myself, no matter how strong and coordinated, the graft has to be secure. There is nothing that I can do to speed that process along. All sorts of tests have been done and the quickest it becomes a fully healed ligament prepared for dramatic stresses is 6 to 8 months. Well, that was not exactly what I wanted to hear.
HOWEVER, this is a message that I have heard in various forms throughout this year. I am slowly starting to get it… I think it all boils down to this:
We are to do what is set out before us with utmost diligence, finding satisfaction in knowing that when the next step comes we will be ready, but not getting distracted nor losing heart when the next step becomes an unknown. There is purpose in the work at hand and we must learn to relinquish our striving for control over the work ahead. Each day has enough troubles of its own.
So, I continue on in the tedious exercises, the strenuous ones, the icing, the stretching, and the painful bending. Eventually I will see the fruit.
ps. This is what happens when you can’t contribute anything athletic to a Hume Hoe Down… Pie eating. I do not recommend it.
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=722569018767 <– This is a link to the video of my surgery of the inside of my knee only. It is pretty sweet. Hopefully it works… the kind of file it is in won’t upload to wordpress. lame.
not too shabby.
If you are really brave you should go on youtube and search for acl surgeries. I didn’t want to defile my blog and scare away 7 out of the 10 people who actually check this 
