Things here in Capalaba have become quite routine. Monday to Friday I take the children to and from school, I spend my days visiting with friends, Skyping with friends and family, cleaning, and whatever else ends up filling my time. Most evenings are spent helping with homework, dinner, and card games. A couple nights a week I sneak out early to go to bible study or visit with friends that live around the area. I have become so comfortable here that it's hard to believe I've only been here 4 months!

I have been praying for some sort of part time or casual job for the pasts 2 months and as of Sunday my prayers have been answered! I got word from one of my friend's in the area that there was a family he knew in need of a support worker for their teenage son. I sent them an email Sunday afternoon and by Sunday evening I was offered the job! Every Tuesday until I come back to Canada I will be driving to the north side of the city (about a 40 minute commute) to pick the young man up for his work experienc

e. I help him out with his office admin type work at a company called Mamre. This involves scanning, filing, etc... Then we go out for lunch (Macca's is his favourite so I'll need to be prepared to go every week). The timing couldn't be better either! It works out that I can fit in the shift perfectly between the children's school hours! This is such a Godsend and I couldn't be happier with how my first shift (last tuesday) went. I'm really looking forward to see what next wee

k will bring!

Driving over the Gateway Toll bridge is part of my commute.

Last week I discovered one of the Gold Coast's more beautiful beaches. I've been to all the popular ones: Surfer's Paradise and Main Beach. Last Friday though I got the opportunity to check out Burleigh Heads. WOW! The water was crystal clear, the sand was soft and white, and there was plenty of parkland around to picnic on. This is by far my favorite beach on the Gold Coast...for now.

I nearly forgot! Last week Steve and Monique came home and sent the girls and I to the local park to see a Koala in one of the trees. We spent about 10 minutes searching the trees for the koala, when suddenly it ran out on one tree and onto the next. This is the first wild koala I have seen while here in Australia, so I was quite excited!

Pretty cute isn't he?

Visit with Mama and Papa

I am terribly bad at writing regularly, therefore I apologize to anyone who is disappointed by that. Since I can't say that I will begin to post things more often I will simply try to make this post extra good! Here goes nothing...

My parents arrived safe and sound in Brisbane exactly one week ago and consequently I have a an absolutely wonderful week! Reuniting with them after nearly 4 months was more emotional than I had expected, I realized just how much I missed them. They got off the plane and as soon as we began our drive home I started to blabber/talk/explain and generally just carry on about where to go what to see and funny Aussie lingo, laws, etc...

Steve and the rest of my au pair family were more than happy to have mom and dad stay with us thankfully. So... I've lost my room and have been demoted to sleeping on a foam mattress in the office. Of course I don't mind though, it's a small price to pay to have my parents right here with me for 2 weeks.

The night they arrived I brought them to church where I found myself doing the same thing that my parents have done to me all of my life: I showed them off.

Throughout my life there have always been times where I feel like my parents are introducing me as their daughter and making sure I meet everyone because they are so proud of me. Now that I have them here I feel the opposite:Now I'm the one saying: ''Hey! Come meet my parents! They've come all the way from Canada! Aren't they just great????!!!''

After a few days of having my parents around I began to see why I do what I do around the kids. I'm definitely my parents daughter. Everything I do with the kids here is based on what I've learnt from my parents. Whether its discipline, talking, playing, or having a song for everything. It's just amazing, and I've never realized it until now when I see them with the kids.

Well, we haven't sat around doing nothing all week, we have been quite busy:

I've shown my parents around Capalaba, they've seen all my favorite shops, the girls' school, my church...I guess that,s about it for Capalaba haha.

We've had sorbet at Cleavland Point, shopped at one of the nearby Westfield malls, wine tasted at Sirromet, watched the dolphin show at Sea World (twice), and finally we spent this past (very rainy) weekend at the Gold Coast, followed by a great no-fuss dinner after church today.

As nice as it is to have mom and dad here I know when they leave in a week it will be hard to see them go. Being away from the ones you love really makes you appreciate what they do for you and what that relationship means to you. So my encouragement to everyone is that they don't take time spent with family for granted. Every little bit counts, enjoy it even if it's difficult to sometimes.

Here's some pictures from their trip so far...