We're Baaaccckkkk

So our extended stop has finally come to an end. We were blessed with 5 months in OZ before God had his way and we were redirected once again.

We've had fun during this time. Eleni got to return to her old Kindy and make lots of friends and really enjoyed herself just being a kid! I was able to work fulltime which really was great. I had my own class and with the difficulties this class had before my arrival it like starting a new year. I was really sad to have to leave but I couldn't leave miss Eleni to the wilds of our new country for too long.

We did have fun spending time with friends, travelling to see my family and just having a chance to stop a while together.

It was a hard time for Marty waiting for news on the job front but as we knew God had the perfect one waiting for him. It truely is - his work style, challenging, great work mates, socially connected with cricket, soccer and archery to boot - not bad.

Before leaving we had time to spend with family and friends oh AND we got to see Picasso and his collections. We have to admit to liking his collection maybe a little more than his work at times!

So this one is short and sweet. Time to say farewell Brisbane and hello to... well you may have to check out the next blog if you don't already know where we have landed. It is closer than Montreal and fabulous if you're a tourist though maybe a little smelly

Until next time.... bye

Time is flying and our heads wont stop spinning, there is light at the end of the tunnel it seems.

Jen now has a contract to work through to the September/October school holidays, which gives us a little more stability. It is a little school a bit of a distance away but shes loving having her space and her class and finally getting to put some of what she has learnt into practice. While Martin’s still searching for gainful employment he is getting more than the prescribed 30 minutes a day of aerobic activity by cycling Eleni to and from Kindergarten, a 50-60 minute round trip each morning and afternoon.

Sadly our free use of internet has come to an end. Dimitri has been very generous in letting us his internet access but all good things must come to end so if we take a while in replying to you you can add this to the list of this months most recent excuses.

Happily with the 2 weeks of school holidays (yay) we got to travel to the Central Coast to visit long lost family and friends

We got to do the daggy thing and visit some of our earliest childhood memories with Eleni, the giant Prawn, the Big Banana and the enoumous knight (or big knight I'm not sure). It really was a hoot and we're happy to report Eleni loved it just as much as we did.

Finally we got to see Eleni’s Godparents. I'm sure they started to think we had disappeared. They’ve moved out to be on the farm and Eleni loved the wide open spaces - well she really loved hanging out with her Godbrother. They really are like peas in a pod. What a blessing to see how beautifully and easily they get along.

It was great to catch up with friends that we hadn’t seen for over 2 and a half years. A lot of driving was done not only to get there but to visit all our friends. We're thinking next we may just have one big BBQ and invite everyone to us A great delight for us was to catch up with two friends from Montreal who were in Sydney to visit their new grandson, a special afternoon and who doesnt like sitting on the deck mid winter soaking up a bit of sunshoine (winter, what winter)?

Another highlight, fishing. Eleni was excited about finally getting to use her new rod but not as excited about actually fishing. I got a few nibbles but no fish. It was very cute to see Poppy, cousin Edward and Eleni trudging along the beach ready for battle.

All in all we had a great week with Jen's family, never long enough but it was really nice to see them after so long. A holiday is needed after the travelling though.

Sooo, hopefully our next news letter will have news on the job front for Marty. We have a good lead but dont want to say anything tooo soon...... hmmmm

Love to all, xx

One advantage for Eleni of moving around the time of her birthday was that she got to have an almost 4 party in Montreal and a 4th birthday party in Brisbane as well.

The Montreal, Canada party was celebrated at Eleni’s favourite family restaurant, more affectionately known as the “Chippy Shop”. (One of our opportunities to teach the locals a few of Australia's favourite words) Eleni was very excited to have the “Birthday Seat” at McDonlads and enjoy her princess and pirate party. Although the room was a little small for the size of our group, Mum forgetting to count adult seats in the basement party room, hmmmm; Eleni and her friends had fun playing games and eating chippies though we think our princess would have had more fun running around in the cold eating what was left of the snow (remember that idea for next year)!

In Brisbane, Australia Eleni’s birthday was celebrated with an Aussie barbecue brunch in Southbank parklands – one of our favourite Brisbane spots. We were even able to find Canadian maple syrup to have on our pancakes. A fabulous feast was had by all. It was great to catch up with friends and family that we hadn’t seen for the year of our Canadian caper and an advantage of Southbank on a warm autumn day was that we could cool off in the man-made beach.

Yes dear friends, a BBQ, a beach, warm sunshine, there's a contrast, to snow, indoor heating and snow suits!

Its given us a fabulous opportunity to create lots of very special memories for Eleni, take lots of photos and have plenty to talk to her about as she gets older.

Love to allxx

With tearful good byes and a little reluctance we have left Montreal. It was harder than we realised and we are sorry to have gone after so short a time though we are happy to be seeing old friends again.

Jen and Eleni flew back two weeks before Marty to be in Brisbane for the start of the second school term in Queensland. Marty sold off what he could and said good bye to our apartment and the small mountain of stuff that we had accumulated in one year (what a job!)

Jen was very glad to be back on a Qantas flight for the last part of their journey as they were so much more friendlier and hospitable than the other airline which shall remain anonymous to protect the guilty. Marty was blessed by two very generous check in attendants who let him check his excessively heavy suitcases as he tried to bring back as much as possible.

Jen was able to get relief/supply work fairly quickly, and Eleni was able to return to the kindergarten she was attending before we left Brisbane. It's made transition for Eleni so much easier but she still asked when we are going back to Montreal to see her friends. Marty has been slower to find work and is currently searching for new work.

Brisbane has been very slow to move into winter. The locals are enjoying a very mild autumn and early winter (which technically starts at the start of July in Australia) with temperatures in the mid 20s. I (Marty) had acclimatised a little too well to Montreal and the heat and humidity had me wondering how I ever survived in Brisbane before.

We’ve realised that we also quickly became accustomed to city life after living downtown in Montreal. Even Brisbane’s inner suburbs still feel distant from the “Centre Ville” and we've found ourselves yearning for a wander along St Denis.

Life is screaming along and we hope to catch you all up soon. Our feet our slowing treading in reality but we live in the land of unreality as wait to find out where God will send us next xx