The Past Three Weeks, Part 1

The past three weeks have been awesome. Awesome, but with a tinge of sadness. They were the result of the very difficult decision to return to the good ol' US of A after 4 months in Perth. While this brings great joy to our mothers and comes at the perfect time to enjoy the holidays with our families, it's been a challenging decision for me to accept as there are many aspects I can't seem to make sense of, and even more questions about what lies ahead. But I know it's a result of the Lord's guidance, so the confusion and sadness has been accompanied by a peace that transcends all understanding, and I'm so grateful for that.

So, we decided to once again make the most of our return route to Alabama. We set out over East to Sydney and Melbourne, and then spent two weeks in New Zealand's South Island where my little brother, David, joined us. It was his first trip overseas and it was so special to be able to experience it with him.

Here are just a few pictures from Sydney and Melbourne.

All this driving was done with no GPS, just maps and
Yours truly as our navigator.

Sydney...

Look what we found!

Around the harbor

It's a deceivingly large bridge.

Each night HUNDREDS of fruit bats (read: BIG BATS) flew right over our hotel, which was right in the city! It was eerily silent as they all passed through, which took about 30 minutes as they just steadily, constantly kept coming.

Melbourne...

The city's Christmas decorations were
SO cute!

Cafe under the bridge in the middle of the river!

Not a bad view for lunch.

On the map, you'll notice that we drove past Melbourne to what looks like nowhere. That was to do the Great Ocean Road, which is, well, just as it sounds.