spring is in the air

Where to begin? So much has happened in the last few weeks. Taylor arrived and we've been so busy meeting people from the church, that my days are beginning to over lap. And Spring is upon us, here in Western Australia, so you know what that means? Allergy season, that's right, I was hit with a monster sinus infection last week, that left me pretty wounded and with a man voice. But I took some strong drugs and I'm feeling 100% better. Oh and to top it all off, two of Australian's major icons died this past week: Steve Irwin and Peter Brock. How will we ever recover?

A few weekends ago, several of us, about 20 to be exact, went up to Moore River, which is about an hour north of Perth, and stayed Saturday night in a holiday house. My friend Simon organized the weekend, which was full of new friends, great food and laughs, cake, a late-night adventure to the light house and a 2am canoe outing that I slept through. It was really great to have Taylor come along and meet so many new faces and make those connections that he'll probably have while he's here in Perth. We were also able to invite along our new German friend Alex, who's studying out here at ECU, a university in Perth. She actually stayed with Helen for a few days until she could find a place to live and she's managed to stay friends with us, even though we are pretty crazy. I think she's glad to have some sort of connection with someone in Perth and she even came to church with us on Sunday, which was awesome. Last weekend, we celebrated Josh and Taylor's birthdays. For Josh's, Hayley and I organized a surprize bbq for him at their house and it was a great success because he had no idea what was going on. Then we all lounged around on the couch and watched the footy finals. On Sunday, it was Taylor's big day, so after church, we bombarded Sue Simmon's house hold and enjoyed a fine Italian lunch on her veranda, which was followed by cheesecake. That afternoon we watched Sam's basketball final, which he won, and then that evening we had another big outing at Ho-Mein Chinese restaurant. When it was all over, I vowed never to eat again. And in Taylor's words, we were all pretty "bloated". On Monday, we had Care group at Dee Taylor's house, followed by coffee with Josh and Taylor and then a trip into the city to Borders. I found a new journal to record all of my inner workings. That evening we had volleyball and then Taylor and I found the nearest fish and chips place, got some dinner, and went home to chat to our friend Cath on Skype. Tuesday, I met Taylor and Sam at our favorite cafe, The Wild Fig, where we shared a few coffees and indulged in their free internet access for a few hours. That afternoon I baby sat Billy and then made my way over to the Barton's for Bible study. And today I went to BSF in the city and then visited my good friend Anna for the afternoon. I've been home long enough to do some much needed laundry and type this wonderful post, then I'm back out the door for another dinner. Does it ever stop?

I've only got about 2 more weeks left here in Perth; it's so strange. I can't believe that it's already come around full circle again. I feel very much in the middle about it all- exstatic to return back to Nashville to see friends and family, but also very sad to leave my friends and family here. And everytime I see anyone, they always ask the dreaded question: "when do you leave again?" But a verse that I read yesterday that really spoke to me was 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."