Chapel Hill

Hello once again! Our family moved to Chapel Hill in July. We moved just about 5 minutes up the road from where we were living. We live on a long and hilly culdesac almost to the circle. The house has a large built in sand box and a basketball hoop for the kids. Rachel has a large bedroom and small bathroom down stairs which she enjoys. Amy and Caleb have their own bedrooms upstairs with built in closets! That's something that they didn't have before. We have two air cons; one in the master bedroom and one in the living room which will be wonderful this summer (December). The kids also have a large back yard to play in and it is landscaped so nicely. The house has lots of large windows to let the beautiful sunshine in and all the windows have screens! Screens and built in closets.....I had no idea how much I would miss them! Our new address is
11 Peebles Place
Chapel Hill, Queensland,
Australia, 4069
For those of you who do not have it, my e-mail is hengst1962@gmail.com
Amy and Caleb are now in a carpool with two girls on our culdesac. Their mom and I take turns driving to and from school which is a treat for all of us. The girls are 6 and 10 and they love playing with Amy and Caleb. They are together almost every day. Caleb does miss his friend who lived behind us at the other house. They were great buds!
The house is wonderful, the neighborhood is great, and Duane and Rachel still catch the bus to get to work/school. We are very thankful that the Lord lead us to our current dwelling!
Amy and Caleb only have 5 weeks of school left until summer break!
Rachel is alright. She is studying very hard for her UQ finals which will be over the next two weeks. After that she will have completed her first year of Uni and will be more then ready to enjoy her summer break. She has really missed reading books for pleasure. She has been very busy with school and working at KFC.
Duane is working at the Milton office and seems to be enjoying his work. He leaves the house around 7:30 and is usually home by 6:00 which is great for the whole family. I love his hours! This week was the famous Melbourne Cup Horse races which is huge here in Brisbane. Duane said that the whole office was called into the Hub area to watch the races and they had munchies and about 20 bottles of champagne in the middle of the day. After the race they all went back to work. Amy said that her class watched the races at school. I'm not sure what they were supposed to be learning.............anyway, it was a major event in Australia.
Let's see....what have we been doing since our last blog? We moved in July and in September we went to visit Hervey Bay and Frazier Island, and we went whale watching on a small tour catamaran. We all had a wonderful time!
In January, we are flying to Hamilton Island, which is part of the Whit Sundays near or on the Great Barrier Reef. Duane and Rachel are looking forward to some good snorkeling among the beautiful coral. I'm just looking forward to relaxing at the beach! Amy and Caleb are looking forward to flying!
Michael's ocean voyage has been extended for two months, therefore he will not get back to San Diego until April 2010. So far he has been to Japan and Singapore. He e-mails us about once a month. He seems to be doing okay. We are all looking forward to seeing him again. Rachel is looking forward to the two of them hanging out and seeing the sights. Caleb has been asking constantly about Michael. We all miss him!
I'll close for now and post some pics of our house and Frazier Island trip.
We miss you all!

Settled at Last

Hello friends and family!

I believe that we are finally feeling settled and comfortable here in Australia. I think it would be interesting for member of the family to submit their own thoughts about how things are going and what they think about it all.

The weather this week has been rainy and cool. We are in the fall months and I believe that June will officiallybegin the winter months. It has been pretty mild so far with temps ranging from the lows in the mid 60's to highs in the low 80's for the fall season. We don't experience alot of rain where we live, although the dams are at 50% which is the best they have been in years!

Duane is still working in downtown Brisbane on a pipeline project. He is just about finished with it and will return to his office in Milton. He still catches the train to work each day.

Rachel is working hard at UQ with her studies. She will be finished with classes in a few weeks and will begin the second semester in August. She is also working at the KFC in the Roma Street train station. It is a massive, multilevel building with shops and restaurants. She takes the train to work and the bus to UQ.

Amy and Caleb are enjoying school very much. Amy has many friends and she loves her teacher. Her teacher is young and out of school by only a year or so. She is high energy and is very witty. She manages the classroom exceptionally well and has the kids laughing AND working hard. Caleb's teacher is quite abit older with a no nonesense personality. She and Caleb got off to a bit of a rough start but they seemed to be doing fine now. He works hard for her and she appreciates that. She still nails him with no recess for his silliness. I think they have developed a mutual respect for each other. Caleb is Learning to play AFL (Auzzie Rules Footy). They don't allow the kids to tackle until the turn 12. He is enjoying the sport. He and Amy are both wanting to take piano lessons. I would like to get that going in the third term of school.

The house that we rent has once again been put on the market for sale. The owners are desperate to get their money out of it and have it sold. We are looking at other houses to rent; somewhere close by so that Amy and Caleb will not have to change schools again. I have been volunteering at the school and enjoy it very much. I'm in Amy's room once a week, Caleb's room once a week, and then I work in the uniform shop every other Monday and in the tuck shop about once week. The parents and teachers are a joy to work with!

Our church congregation in Kallangur has sold it's land. Services will take place in the manse. The buyers have let us continue worshipping in the church buliding and will continue to do so until they are ready to begin construction. I'm in a rotation for teaching children's Sunday school at the church. There are two families who bring their children every Sunday and two families who are more hit and miss. I always have at least 3 children and 5 at the most. They split the kids into 2 classes. The other class has 2 at the least and 4 at the most. During the Lent season, our organist was out of town some and Rachel and another lady played organ for the service. It was wonderful to hear Rachel use her talents to God's Glory!

Michael has just left San Diego on the USS Nimitz. It will be out to sea for a month. When it returns to port, he will have a few weeks and then he leaves again for a 6 month deployment. He will return shortly before January 2010 and we are planning for him to fly to Australia and visit us for as long as he has leave. He turns 22 on the 24th of May. He will be out at sea.

He has a work navy e-mail which he uses most of the time now. If anyone wants to e-mail hom to say hello, it would make him very happy. He has not been going to worship services although he would like to. I can sense by talking to him that he is depressed. He is missing his family and his church. He is living in a completely different environment than he was raised in. Any e-mails of encouragement would be appeciated by all of us. Please keep him in your prayers. I'm not sure if I mentioned in a previous blog, but Michael and Lauren were engaged. She broke it off in February. He knows that was for the best. Long distance relationships are tough.

Michael's navy e-mail is michael.hengst@cvn68.navy.mil

Amy is turning 9 this next week. Time is going by so fast. Rachel had just turned 9 when I had Amy. Wesley is turning 28 in a week or so. I am feeling very old.

Rachel turned 18 in April and to celebrate, she and Duane went skydiving. They jumped out of the plane at 14,100 feet and landed on a beach in Caloundra. It was a 65 second free fall before they opened the parachutes. They both have said that they would love to do it again. It was a birthday to remember!

I will close for now. I'm sorry it took so long for me to update the blog. I'll post our change of address on our blog when we find a house. Our lease isn't up until July 5.

May Jesus bless all of you and keep you in his loving care.

What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to Him in prayer! Oh, what peace we often forfeit, Oh, what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!

Hymn 411, What a friend we have in Jesus

In His name,

Stacey

A few pictures from Noosa

Long time, no blog

Hey everybody! I've just realized that I haven't blogged in a super long time, so I'm going to try and make up for it. Hopefully there are still a few people who haven't given up on us! I am STILL looking for a job. My friend has just found her third job since moving here in August (she quit the first 2), so I am a little discouraged by the fact that I haven't been able to get even one. I'll be starting school on March 2 and next week is Orientation Week. I am still trying to figure out all the loans, but it is very hard for an international student to get loans now because of the economy. I've pretty much only got one option now, so I'm working on that currently. I am excited to start school, although I'm also a little nervouse because I've been out of school for so long. I'm not sure how much I remember! I should be pretty busy once school starts. I'll be taking four classes this semester, which means that I'll be at the uni Monday through Friday. Some days I will go from 9 A.M. to 4 P.M., but other days will only be 4 or 5 hours long. That's about all the updates from me. Amy and Caleb are doing alright and I think they mostly enjoy school (except for the homework). Mom is still keeping busy with the birds. She especially likes the butcher birds. I think that once I am in school again she would like to either volunteer somewhere or get a part time job. She's not used to having so much off time! Hope everyone's doing well and enjoying winter. We're almost done with summer!

Other Australianisms

Here are a few more commonly used words in Australia.

Que -Form a line

trolley- bascart

pram-stroller

Nappie- diaper

esky-cooler

ute-truck

rubbers-erasers

removalists-movers

hire-rent

rubbish-trash

dobbing-tattling

loo/toilet-restroom

water feature/bubbler-water fountain

concessions-students or senior citizens

tick-check mark

hash key-pound sign

cheeky-smart mouthed

G' day mate-hello friend

How ya goin?-How are you?

Cheers-goodbye

These are just a few for now.

I'm posting more pics of the kids.

Stacey

2009 A New Beginning

Hello friends and family! Let me begin by saying that I think we are finally settling in. 2009 has started rather calmly. I like that! Driving is easier, knowing what people are saying is easier, watching TV is easier and I'm actually getting into the correct seat to drive now. Praise the Lord for the little things!

The little people begin school for the new year next Tuesday. Monday is a national holiday, Australia day. Duane will be off that day so we are driving to Byron Bay in New South Wales. We hear that beach is very nice.

We went to Noosa Heads Beach over Christmas and it was exceptional. There is a national forest with hiking trails through the hilly woods and along the beach. It is beautiful. We saw a huge lizard, a sleeping possum and a sleeping koala bear while we were hiking the trails there.

Beaches are the entertainment here in Australia. There are no shortages of beaches. Real beaches, man made beaches, you name it. In downtown Brisbane there is a man made lagoon. The lagoon is concrete, but has sand beaches and many water features. It is located in the middle of the city and next to the Brisbane River. It's pretty awesome. We live near the top of the Sunshine Coast, but just an hours drive north is the Gold Coast. The beaches along both areas are very nice.

The sun is extremely strong here. The rays are more intense than in Houston; not as hot, just stronger rays. The summers here are great though. Today it is 31 degrees C with 65% humidity. The other day it was 28C and 47% humidity. This is the middle of summer! We are doing well without air conditioning. We have a couple of fans we move from spot to spot. Duane recently made screens for some of the windows so that we can open them without letting in skinks and bugs. There are a few days that are almost unbearable but they are few and far between. If this is hot and humid....bring it on! Australian's warned us that the summer days get terribly hot and the humidity is awful. What would they say about Houston?

I am still enjoying our veranda. There are birds, birds, and more birds. They visit me early am, mid day and late afternoon. Most of my visitors are currawongs, butcher birds, Ravens, miners, and an occasional kookaburra. The babies now come without their mothers except for the Butcher bird. It still stays close. All of us can feed the butcher bird adults and baby right from our hands. Sometimes when the Ravens are full they will take the food and bury it in the yard next door or in a tree nook. The other birds have caught on and will take the hidden food. The Ravens will swoop the smaller birds right off of the veranda as they eat. The miner birds will then swoop the Ravens while they are in mid flight. That may be because the ravens will sit in the tree and wait for the miner birds to get bread and carry it away to the rooftop behind us and when the little birds land, the ravens and currawongs startle them into dropping it and then fly away with the food. Caleb loves interacting with the birds almost as much as I do. He was up before 6:00 am this morning hand feeding all three Butcher birds. We do enjoy it up in the treetops!

Rachel is busy trying to get both government loans and personal student loans for UQ. She has selected her classes for the first semester and will begin in March. She is still looking for employment. I hope she finds it soon. At least she has her piano to keep her occupied. She is going to a beach this weekend with her friend's family from Canada. Then on Monday, she goes to the beach with us. She should be good and water logged by Tuesday.

Caleb and Amy look forward to school starting again although Amy misses her school in Houston very much. I think she would take the first plane back to Houston without us if she could. She accepts the school that she is in, but she likes everything and everyone at Abiding Word more. Caleb loves everyone! He is at home where ever he goes! He can't wait to see his friends again and play ball during every recess. I will miss them when they go back. I still need to find my way. I hope to do a little volunteering at the school some days.

Duane is doing well at Maunsell. He will be working at the project building through March and then go back to the office in Milton. He purchased a bike when we first moved into the house and he enjoys riding it along the river and into the city. A foot bridge over the freeway is being built and will be finished this month. This will enable Duane to ride near or in Mt. Coot-tha. This is very close to our house. I do not wish to have a bike. The hills here are too much! Walking them is hard enough. We live in a very nice area with lots of trees and hills. Duane works with guys who peddle their bikes to and from the office every day. Crazy guys!

Michael is doing okay in San Diego. I think he would rather be with us, but he is making the best of it. The Nimitz has gone out to sea a few times since Thanksgiving, one week at a time. Michael is happy to report that he does not get sea sick! That in itself is a tremendous blessing! I have a correction to make on Michael's e-mail. It is m.hengst3@gmail.com. I had left the . out of it. He would love to hear from you! I had it wrong in my adress book too. No wonder he never responded to my e-mails! I thought he was just busy.

That's about it for now. I will try to post some pictures that we have taken around here. Hope you enjoy them!

Stacey

December Update

Merry Christmas friends and family!
Our container of household goods arrived at our doorstep the last Saturday in November. It is was like Christmas had come early! I missed our sofa and bed the most. I think for Rachel it was her piano and bedroom furniture and for the kids it was their toys.
Well, the kids have just finished up school for this year. They are now on summer vacation (again) for 6 weeks and then they will begin a new school year and a new grade at the end of January. Rachel has been accepted to the University of Queensland to study Marine Biology. It is a three year course so she will be able to get work in her field before we return to the states in 2012. She begins school in February. Duane will get two weeks off during the Christmas break. We are planning some snorkeling on Morton Island, visiting Underwater World, two nights in a hotel at Noosa beach and rain forest, visiting the Mt. Coot-tha Botanical gardens and lookout point, and hiking some trails. The kids are very excited.
On Sunday, Dec. 21, the kids will be participating in the Children's Christmas program at church. Duane also wants us to schedule an open house during his time off. We also need to get our Christmas shopping completed before this next week. Duane will be ready to get back to work and rest by the time his break is over.
We miss not having Michael with us. I know he misses us also. If any of you get a chance, please send him an e-mail just to say hello. I know he would greatly appreciate it. mhengst3@gmail.com
I do not have a mailing address for him. He is stationed for the next three years in San Diego California on the USS Nimitz . It is grounded for renovations and repairs and is due to go out to sea in June. In October, Michael and Lauren became engaged! They both want to wait to set a date sometime after Lauren finishes college which will be a couple of years.
I am on the veranda typing this blog. The birds are incredibly chattery this morning. The Currongs, Ravens, Kookaburras, Noisy Miner birds and Lorikeets are all competing for airspace. It's wonderful to listen to them. Many of the baby birds are leaving the nests for the first time. I enjoy watching them as they visit our veranda looking for bread or fruit. For awhile the ravens would come and peck on the windows for food; talk about spoiled! A few nights ago we were visited by a Powerful Owl. That was neat!
Our family wishes you all a very merry CHRISTmas as we celebrate our savior's birth!