Kangaroo.

Hi. Oh my must I say it has been a busy week full of new things : ) Alicia started school last friday and she was SO excited as she has been counting down the days! She looked to cute in her blue and white plaid uniform. I am so proud of her. Today (tuesday) was the first day of just me and Annabel. We go to music class on tuesdays which is SO much fun as the kids sing and dance. I hope to find something like that in the states when I have kids whenever that will be : ) I am excited for this week to have only 1 girl but we will miss Alicia dearly.

This last weekend I went on a wonderful adventure to the Grampians National Park which is a 4 hour drive west of Melbourne. I went with 3 other Au pairs who were.... all German! Which the friday night it was me and 8 other Germans. Lets just say if I ever go to Germany I will know someone in every city!! It was a beautiful day to drive as there were no clouds in the sky! Along the way we saw many signs about taking power naps which made me giggle a little bit since thats a Schoneman thing to take a power nap. Some of them said.... Drowsy Drivers Die, a microsleep can still kill. and break the drive and stay alive! As we drove everything looked like Africa when I see pictures. Brown grass with tall green trees all scattered around. As we arrived to the little town of Halls Gap we stopped in at the information center and got our list of things to do. First stop was Boroka lookout which was a windy drive up the mountain but when we got there it was SO beautiful as it looked out all of the valley. The mountains formed a U shape and in the middle was a giant blue lake. You could see the land for miles and miles. I was in awe of Gods beauty and how every little detail is so amazing. The flies there were horrible as they would not leave us alone! Next stop was Reed lookout where he had to take a little hike to get to the balconies. Along the way we saw a sea of stacked rocks which is supposed to be "good luck/fortune" we also saw many burned trees as last year they had a big storm and lots of bush fires. When we got to the lookout I was so captivated at how everything was covered in trees and that you could see for miles. There was a rock formation that looked like the big rock in Lion King. On our way back we stopped on these rocks that looked out over the giant lake. The last stop was MacKenzie Falls which was a steep hike down to the base, but when we got there I was speechless at how beautiful the sound of the water spilling over the huge rocks was. Since we are girls we of course took many many pictures. We stayed there for about an hour laying with our feet in the water while watching several people come and go. I was reminded of how much love God spills into our life and how he just washes it over us like the water rushing over the cliff. Its always flowing and it will never stop. I was so thankful at that moment to be in that place and to know that My Savior will always and forever love me and will continue to spill his love into my life. The journey back up with filled with A LOT of stairs and we definitely got our work out for the day : ) We then went to find our hostel that we were staying in for the night. It was out in the middle of no where and I couldnt help but laugh when I heard the name... Asses Ears Wilderness Lodge. We had our own cabin to ourselves so lets just say that my first experience sleeping at a hostel was wonderful : ) We took our "power naps" and went to get dinner at the only restaurant within an hour of us. We took the road that looked the fastest on the map but let me say it was not. We were off roading the whole way and it was a very bumpy ride, oh and we went behind the bush fire that was happening so that was awesome, thankful we didnt get caught in it. We finally found the restaurant... which was not really one. I would have to say that I learned they do not care about customer service and everything is very expensive. As we drove back we saw several Kangaroos just hanging out together. It was so amazing to see them in their natural habitat. We got back and had some wine outside under the stars while we talked about our adventures and differences of the way Americans and Germans live. It is so much fun getting to know people from all over the world. The owner of the hostel came back as he is a volunteer firefighter and was out fighting the bush fire. We asked him so many questions about bush fires and what they do to put them out. It was so hard to understand him sometimes because he was truly Australian... I like to call him a "hick Australian" The next day we got back in the car and headed to find some aboriginal shelter sights... we got lost, realized we were almost on empty with gas, and the next petrol station was a far ways away. We went to one of the shelter sights where we saw some paintings from the aboriginals.... honestly it wasn't that great as it had faded a lot but still very cool to see and read about. We got on the road and I was praying to God that we would not run out of gas. I was freaking out and the other 3 girls didn't seem to worry as they would have just waited for someone to bring them to the next petrol station.... which I would NEVER get into a car with a stranger.... but thankfully we made it to a petrol station just in time and rewarded ourselves with some 50 cent Mcdonalds Ice cream cones : ) yummy We made it home driving in the pouring rain but the good thing is it washed the dirty car! 

Boroka Outlook

Me, Corinna, Alina & Anka My German Friends!

All the stacked rocks

Breathtaking.

MacKenzie Waterfall

Gods sign of his covenant of him & man

had to : ) 

Just hanging out on the side of the road!

our cabin as Asses Ears Wilderness Lodge

Really?! I could have told you that

Church last night was so amazing as we got in groups and just prayed for one another. I am meeting so many people and it is amazing how comfortable I feel telling them things about my life. I am loving this new found Love in my life. I started reading Colossians as I am listening to a podcast from Eaglebrook and its about Pauls letter to the church in Colossi. The 4 pillars to live by Faith, Love, Grace & truth. I am trying so hard to love the people who God bring into my life here in Australia so that my faith is strengthened and my relationship with God is even stronger. I am so thankful for the grace God gives. Bob said, by the grace of God I am who I am. and I would never want to be anyone else. I am learning to love myself so I can love others with my whole heart just like my Savior loves me with his whole heart. I am loving this journey I am going through as I read the Bible and apply to what I read to my everyday life. 

I can not believe that I have already been here for over a month. Time flies and I am so thankful everyday for Mark and Carol and the girls. They give me so much joy everyday with their smiles & Carols delicious meals : ) 

I am going up to Sydney in March to visit my friend Christine from high school and studying in Sydney. Ill be there for a long weekend and I am so excited to see a familiar face.  

I am urging everyone who reads my blog to love someone deeply this week and take time to really talk and listen to someone. You never know when it will make someone's day turn positive to let them know that you love them and really care for them. 

With new found beauty,

Em