Christmas Joy!

Christmas Joy!
Originally uploaded by I like fireflies.

like i said in my previous blog, we laughed until...well, until a lot of things...

i don't know if i've ever spent so much time consistently laughing in my life...

i need to figure out how to bottle it up and then re-open it on my meloncholy days...

oh, the beauty of laughter!

a perfect holiday!

most perfect cafe EVER!!!
Originally uploaded by I like fireflies.

well, it's hard to believe that my time away is coming to an end. tomorrow we leave nikki's to drive up to brisbane, where we'll spend new year's and then fly out the next day.

i feel at peace and refreshed...more than i have in a long time!

i've taken naps at my leisure...spent hours in coffee shops...verbally processed the past year with my friends...experienced god's deep refreshing and comfort over my soul...watched the lord of the rings trilogy once again...been fed like kings and queens...laughed until my stomach ached and more...talked to god like a friend again...blessings upon blessings upon blessings...so countless to name!

i am ready to go home to townsville and jump into all that god has in store.

raindrops keep falling on my head!

wah wah
Originally uploaded by I like fireflies.

this afternoon there was a delightfully random rainshower. first there was thunder and then came the rain...in case you were wondering the order. the sounds were glorious! when the rain let up a bit and the sun was peeking through the clouds sporatically, i took my camera out into the elements and caught some moments.

then i took a nap and was content with life for a few moments.

nikki joins our journey

view from the road 1096
Originally uploaded by I like fireflies.

on monday our friend nikki joined our journey and picked us up in brisbane. we then took a five hour road trip down the coast to her house. it was a beautiful drive! most of the time i felt like i was driving through the shire, like in the lord of the rings. i took about 500 thousand photos...i was captivated and my imagination was whirling. the clouds were amazing that day as well...so many shapes and sizes...breathtaking...stunning. by the way, it was absolutely genious to see nikki again. sometimes i think we forget the deep peace that accompanies friends who truly know you.

it's been a long day, mister!

over it
Originally uploaded by I like fireflies.

so now i'm going to tell you about the two train incidents...
1. the lady that we stayed with in brisbane was kind enough to drop us off at the train station. it was a sunday and a bit quiet. no big deal right? we had about five minutes until the train was to arrive. now since it was sunday the ticket counter was shut so we had to use the automated ticket machine. no big deal right? WRONG! the machine only took coins and between the three of us we only had about six of the twenty four dollars we need for all day passes. we started to panic and run all over the train station asking people to trade cash for change. we had two minutes left...we are still rounding up change as we are throwing it into the machine as the train is coming. we here it down the tracks...we are freaking out! we still have two tickets to go. the train stops and we are still pumping coins into that stupid machine...yelling...laughing...trying to get the passes before the train starts going again. let's just finish by saying that as soon as the last pass printed out, we were running to get on the train and as soon as we did the doors shut and off we go. talk about an adrenaline rush!
2. fast forward to the end of the day. it's about an hour train ride to where we are staying from the city...so we get cozy. so we are sitting there listening to our music, reading and just having a jolly ole' time! we have no idea what time it is cause none of us have watches and apparently we forgot that our cell phones told the time. at any rate, time flies and all of the sudden we are at a stop and i ask which stop is this...christina flies up and runs to the door as she realizes that this is our stop. tammy and i are trying to round up all our stuff as christina is screaming at the door and pushing all the buttons in the vicinity including the emergency button...she gets the door open and runs outside only to run back inside cause she realizes we are not going to make it out. so there we are in an empty train, having just missed our stop and practically peeing our pants with laughter. needless to say we went to the next stop and waited a half hour until the train went back to our stop. this photo was taken as we were waiting for the train to go again. good times!

along the journey

old friends
Originally uploaded by I like fireflies.

i think i've said before that the hardest part of rto is saying goodbye to friends who leave...but oh is it a joy to reunite with them! and that's exactly what happened as i began my holidays in brisbane. christina, tammy and i flew out of townsvill last saturday and stayed a couple nights. we met up with the beautiful naomi kelly, which was pure goodness! our first stop after getting off the train and meeting her was starbucks...of course. just walking into a starbucks makes me feel at home. it's kind of a sick obsession i have actually.

we had a nice day in brisbane...checking out some markets, sharing a meal together and just catching up.

we had two separate train incidents which i'll explain later. oh, trains! you wouldn't thought we were in a foreign country and hadn't actually lived in australia for the past year.