"I Still Call Australia Home"

Wow, it's been some time now since I last wrote and so many great things to tell about! Here in the land of Downunder, the weather is just how I imagined it. It's warm, hot, rainy some days and the wind just gets better, not to mention the ruin of my hair. Australia really is a beautiful place. I have loved the opportunity that I have had to travel to some really nice places of attraction, that i had never really been before and some of them only being local.

A sad, however, wonderful move for one of my closest family friends, Katherine Felt and her family recently moved to Texas. At the same time I was thinking why are they going? I knew exactly why they were leaving. It had been one of Katherine's dreams to move there, and now she gets to live it with the people she loves the most - her family.

Christmas with my family was wonderful! Being with them again was a blessing. At the same time, I was missing the snow that I had connected with Christmas on my mission. However, to say the least, those will not be my last two Christmas' in the USA. There will always be a part of me there, that's for sure. In the mean time, I will do the best with the time that I have here in this beautiful part of the world.

New Years came literally right around the corner. I left Melbourne on the 30th of December and with some family friends went and camped in a beautiful place called Warrnambool. I cannot express in words how much I loved and appreciated Heavenly Father's creations. I had never done something like this before and to be honest, by the time the 10th day came around to come home, I was hesitant. I loved the beach. I love the feeling of sand between my toes, the sun on face and the cold water that brings fresh air and a feeling of peace and calm. Each morning I would wake about 6:30-7:30am and go for a run along the shore or along the perimeters of the area that we were camping. It was great to be able to use this time to reflect and clear my mind and start a new day. I experienced hurt too. I was taking the kids out for a bike ride and looking back I can laugh now, but I was in pain. Dakota (3) was behind be on her bike and we were heading down a hill. I looked back and told her to hop off her bike and walk it down, well I probably should have done the same thing, but in little time I found myself on the ground with a wonderful knee of seen flesh and blood...hmmm, not what I expected in the first couple days of camping. To say the least, Dakota stayed away from me most the rest of the day! The water was beautiful. There was one morning I went for a swim, it was freezing to the point that I had numbed my body long enough to stay in there for more than 5 minutes. A wetsuit may have just come in handy!

Well, drives to the mountains, picnics at the park, there are so many things out there for us to enjoy, and some of these places I had no idea about. I have great friends that I can relate to and share experiences with.

So what now? I am living at home at the moment with a goal to go back to school. I am so excited to go back. At first I was hesitant, but then thought about all the positive outlooks on it. I can be socially active and doing the things that I love the most - being around people.

I just got back from my morning run. trust me, running past the main traffic terminal in the morning is a killer. There's enough pollution there to fill and damage your lungs for the week, don't ask me why I even take that route. Exercise has been a great fulfillment for me.

I hope that each of you have a great day and look forward to being successful this year. I know you can. Yes you can! It's all about the quality of your thinking and achieving your most inner thought and feeling. There's two steps to the story...#1. You Can. Meaning you have to tell yourself that it is possible, believe that you already have the end in sight, you already have what you see. Step 2. Do It! There's no room for doubt when you already know that you can have. Move forward, control your mind and it's forces. What you set out to do, you can achieve. Do it! You Can Do It!!!