Another week gone by

This past week has been really busy!  The reformed ministry conference was held here, at Tree Tops. A couple families were involved, and so I had to help look after all the kids.  Below are some pictures from over the week...

We did lots of fun crafts

The result of one of the kid's imagination: a spoon dog

Many snacks were consumed

These 2 boys had a pile of fun together!

This is the amazing view from the park! I love spending time there!

Apparently this little lady enjoys the park too!

It was a hot day, and so they spent lots of time near the water fountain :)

These smart kids found some shade....

After a long hot morning we had some much needed quiet time (watching ice age....a great movie to watch when it's hot out :p)

Mid-week the conference had an afternoon off, and so we went on an outing to a lovely town, up in the mountains, called Kuranda. There were lot of touristy shops which were fun to have a look in. But I must admit the highlight was when some of us went over to the venom zoo! We saw many very venomous snakes and spiders who were, thankfully, behind glass.

Here's one big guy....

After having a look inside the zoo we went out to meet this friendly snake (when a female holds him he can sense it and so he likes to get nice and cuddled up....)

After visiting Kuranda we made our way back to Tree Tops. On the way we visited the Barron Gorge.

There were some pretty epic twisty vines in the trees along the walk up to the Gorge. 

When we arrived at the look-out I got all kinds of shivers. And I was reminded how small and insignificant I am in comparison to our awesome creator. There is no way pictures can grasp the depth, and sheer awe-inspiring beauty, of this place! However, I wanted to take some pictures to be able to share (and use for a reminder).

 “It is about the greatness of God, not the significance of man. God made man small and the universe big to say something about himself.” ~John Piper

After that we enjoy the scenery on the way back down the mountain. And when we got back the group of us found  place for dinner. It was lovely! Ava And I also matched that day :)

On Friday morning (the last day of the conference) we took the kids to a great park/splash pad.  We had a really good time there! Below are some pictures of the wonderful kids.

Not only was this a great place to have fun, there was also some pretty epic scenery...

On Friday evening the church here in Cairns hosted a BBQ for all of us at the lagoon! The food and fellowship was really nice.  By Friday night I was definitely ready for some rest. It was a really busy week, but all in all I loved spending time with the kids everyday!

Here is a group shot of everybody that attended the conference, plus the kids and I.

Though this week had a majority of ups, there were a couple downs. And I am very thankful that God saw me through the week! I couldn't have done it without Him!

 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. ~Philippians 4:19

Cairns Botanical Gardens

"Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these." ~Luke 12:27-28    

This past week we visited the Cairns Botanical gardens, and I was blessed with the opportunity to see some spectacular flowers. 

All the flowers were so vibrantly coloured! I could have spent hours just admiring their beauty. We came across a really huge tree on our walk...

We also had the opportunity to climb Mount Whitfield. We had a great view of the airport and the city of Cairns....

I love the beautiful weather (today it's 29oC) and scenery. And God is blessing me immensely!

This coming week (starting today) there is a missionary conference here at Tree Tops. Please pray for all who are participating, and also for all the kids (who I will help look after).

Saturday Down Under

On Saturday afternoon we went for a walk up to Crystal Cascade. I can't help but be in awe of God's majesty when I see waterfalls, something about them just gets me so excited!
                                   

                                             There were mini cascades all along the paths...

Some of the trees were just so green! 

The pathway ahead

                                     

Along the way we got to see some pretty epic tree roots!

Finally we reached the top of the path. and what a glorious sight we had

 For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land--a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills (Deuteronomy 8:7)

This was one of my views on the way home from the walk.

God is such an awesome creator, and being able to see so many new beautiful sights has been a really good reminder for me. The sunshine and warmth have been so good for me, my health is at it's prime right now, and I am so incredibly blessed!

And spending time with little Ava is probably my favorite way to end the day!

The trip so far

What an adventure this has been already!  Before this trip I had never flown....so getting use to the airports took a little bit. But as soon as I was flying I realized how beautiful the sky is from up here!

We spent many hours up there, and  I had a window seat in all of my flights, so I did take lots of sky/cloud photos.  

Airplane food isn't all bad, despite what some people say.

All of these things help the time to pass while flying.....

The first lay over was in Texas, and it was for 10 hours, so we found a hotel had had time to sleep. We got up bright and early the next morning to continue on. The next leg of the journey was suppose to be a 13+ hour flight to Guam. But when we showed up at the airport we realized that, contrary to what our itinerary said, we were going to make a stop in Honolulu. Even though it added a few hours to our trip, Hawaii is a beautiful place!

There were palm trees in the middle of the airport.

And there was a golf course right beside the runway

My first time seeing real mountains!

This place is great!

We were only in the airport long enough to find our  next gate and then we were on our way again. When we arrived in Guam we had to race to catch our flight...we made it just in time!   And Finally at 12:15 we arrived here in Cairns! It is such a beautiful place!

I am very excited to spend lots of time with this little lady! And, of course, all the rest of her family too.

Yesterday we went for a nice walk. And we went swimming to cool down...it's really warm here. Lots of sunscreen is necessary!

This little guy is one of my adorable cousins :)

So far this has been an amazing trip! And I look forward to many more new and exciting experiences!