Leaving Australia

After about 24 hours of airport lines and flight the Abbotts made it back home to Texas!

Leaving Australia joins the list of hard good byes. Knowing that we were leaving our kids and new granddaughter a Pacific Ocean away made us very sad.

Before we knew it though we were in Dallas and our son in law James was giving us big hugs of welcome at the airport. As soon as we got home we immediatly went to have our usual "Mexican Food after a trip". Can you say wonderful!!

Josh brought Sassy to us that evening or at least we thought it was Sassy. Peeking out of some black and white paper was his dog chuy...pretending to be Sassy. We got a good laugh out of that.

Sassy was anxiously waiting in the car and was as predictably excited as we hoped she would be.

We got a call from Missy and Wes around midnight and filled each in on our time apart.

Melbourne, Australia is about as other side of the world....and down under as you can get. They are on the other side of the international dateline down near Antarctica and even have different constellations because they are in the southern hemisphere! What that meant to us in good ole Texas is not being able to sleep at night because we were still on Aussie time. It was strange rambling around at 3 am with Larry because we were wide awake.

:-) After two days of watching movies all night and having chats about our trip I decided I had sleep deprivation and it was time to take some Ambien. I needed about two more days of catching up on sleep and I was back to central time zone and only a little jet lag fatigue.

We are settling in to a routine finally.... and maybe in a few more days I will get my things back in place so I can find them! We have talked to Missy and Wes most every day and it helps to know they are making it just fine.

Activities have begun to pick things up a bit and we have enjoyed catching back up with everyone. Being home is a nice place to be.

We have much to be grateful for. Our wonderful trip to be with our daughter and family was such a blessing. The travel though long was safe and we were well taken care of by Qantas. We had quality time with our family and enjoyed some wonderful activities. Our family back home welcomed us with love and took care of things for us so we could enjoy our trip. Friends galore have encouraged us...prayed for us and were pleased at our joy. We thank God for the wonderful way He has blessed us and thank you for your love and prayers.

My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19

St. Oswald's Church, St. Kilda's Beach, Dandenong Ranges & The Yarra Valley

I have alot of blogging to catch up on and we leave tomorrow! Hard to believe the time has already gone by. It has been an amazing trip and it is great to see my little Missy getting around and things beginning to settle into a routine. They still have some areas they want to work on, our little Kate seems to have her nights and days mixed up, but babies will do that and it will all sort itself out before they know it.

Let me cover a few of the daytrips we have taken…. After Larry arrived we took some opportunities to let him see a bit of the area. I will give an overview of some of the amazing things we saw and include a few pics.

St. Oswald's Church

Larry & I enjoyed mass at this lovely old church. Afterward we were invited for

coffee and bisquets ( cookies ) in the Parish Kitchen.

We answered all their questions about America and they filled us in a bit about their church traditions in Australia. We enjoyed our time in worship and fellowship with them.

St Kilda’s Beach

St. Kilda’s Beach is Melbourne’s playground. You can stroll, enjoy cafés & pubs, watch the locals, rollerblade & cycle along the Lower Esplanade or enjoy all the shops. The day we went was coolish but St Kilda’s Beach just off the CBD of downtown is a must on a Melbourne visit. (Pronounced Melbun….no R ) There were plenty of people there taking in the sun….and did not seem put off by the brisk day. We enjoyed the shops and stopped in for my favorite…. large chunks of fried potatoes with a bit of crisp to them and always very hot and served on a big piece of butcher block paper. After wandering in and out of shops we headed down to the beach. It is a beautiful beach and though nippy we enjoyed the lovely walk.


Dandenong Ranges

Perched high above Melbourne amid glades of ancient ferns, towering trees, enchanted forests and storybook villages is a spellbinding region. This was my first time in the Dandenongs and I loved it immediately! It was a gorgeous sunny day and Wes, Larry & I (Missy and Kate stayed back this day) was drawn into the beauty of the mountains ahead of us as we climbed the roads to our destination. We traveled through Fern tree Gully that was named because there is an actual fern tree! We stopped and fed large white cockatoos, red cockatiels and pink fluffy parrots who were not afraid to land on our hands, arms and backs. These birds are not in captivity but live in the rain forest of the Dandenong Ranges. One bold white cockatoo took Wes’ whole bag of bird feed and flew to a nearby tree when I pursued it. That drew a laugh from everyone and I gladly gave over the rest of my bag to get away from the hungry birds for fear they would start on me next! We saw beautiful gardens, quaint and cozy breakfast cottages with plenty of old world charm. At the sky top summit we got out for some picture taking and then headed back in Wes’ jeep on an unpaved road! As I gripped the bar in front of me I commented that it felt like a roller coaster ride….and I wasn’t kidding! We all proclaimed it was a perfect day and shared our tales with Missy and Kate when we returned.




Yarra Valley

Missy & Kate joined us on this full day outing. Our destination was the Yarra Valley. From world famous wines to fabulously fresh food and breathtaking scenery, the Yarra Valley is Victoria’s source of indulgent sensations. There is nothing like the magical mountain villages and sun kissed gardens or magnificent forests and cozy bed and breakfasts.
Our first stop was the Healsville Sanctuary. It is Australia’s only Wildlife Centre. It features the Duck Billed Platypus, which is an endangered species. This year there was much excitement about the twin platypuses born. The sanctuary is beautiful in the natural habitat and you can wander in and among the animals with only the most dangerous contained. We also saw Dingo, kangaroo, wallaby, ostrich, Tasmanian Devil, snakes, lizards and much more. Larry loved it and drug me from a warm spot because I missed seeing the large fruit bats up close and personal. Ewwww! We got to feed the kangaroo and that was pretty cool. .

Healsville Sanctuary

Kangaroo

Dingo

Kookaburra

Our next stop was the Wine Boutiques and Wineries. The Yarra Valley is recognized as one of the world’s great wine growing regions. It is home to over 55 wineries and is one of Australia’s finest cool climate regions, which is what produces such excellent wine. We lunched, tested sips of the wine and a variety of cheeses. The scenery is breathtaking with vineyards sweeping the entire valley with colored roses marking the type of grapes grown in each section. The afternoon warmed up when the sun came out and added to the perfection of what we were seeing. Eventually it was time to call it a day and head home.

Vineyards

Today we went to the Queen Victoria Market for a bit of shopping. It is a large marketplace somewhat like a flea market but with fresh vegetables, meats and cheeses along with almost anything else you can think of. We shopped for a while enjoying the busy marketplace taking time to make some purchases and then headed home. I prepared chicken cheese rellenos for dinner and we will spend the rest of the evening packing for our return trip home to Texas. Your prayers for travel mercies would sure be appreciated.

Queen Victoria Market

I will lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
Psalm 4:8

Fancy Pants

It has been nice getting to know my granddaughter the weeks I have been here. I love knowing the way she likes to lie on her tummy on my chest or that she is a noisy sleeper. She has the sweetest little sigh and her cry is very soft and feminine.

She has many names. We refer to her as Kate, Bella, girlfriend, little girl, sweetie pie, and lately Fancy Pants. Her mom and dad bought her the cutest little stretchy pants. They look like fancy jeans in pink. They called her fancy pants the first time she wore them and the name sort of stuck. I call her fancy pants too but mostly when she fills those pants and really makes them fancy…if you know what I mean.

She has grown like a weed. Her cheeks have filled out and we are becoming more in tune with her needs. One of the things she has made us most familiar with is her love for being held and partying at night. At first we could not get enough of holding her and when she cuddled up and slept in our arms we thought it was so sweet. Kate decided that was her preferred way to pass the hours of the days.....and nights. After some weeks of that we are drawing straws for shifts.

The other night I took the 2 am to morning shift. Fortunately for me she slept until 5 am. It is not my preferred time of the morning but I can think of less deserving reasons I have been up at that time of the day. I will admit it is very different than my usual take my pills and start coffee morning routine but I was confident in my ability to handle this wee babe. With the first squawk I raced to put the bottle in the warmer and then ran to pick up our sweet princess for a quick diaper change. Fancy Pants had struck and quick was not possible. Two diapers and ten wet wipes later I managed to re swaddle her. Let me clarify swaddle. It is a bit different than my swaddling days and perhaps even a bit more on the Aussie side of doing things than in America. Using all hands, toes and teeth I wrapped and rolled and attached and finally gave up on the whole thing, draping it around her and ran for the still heating bottle. It only required a bit of cooling to insure no damage to our little darling occurred and we could begin “ the feed.”

Party at the McFarland’s

Kate took to the bottle just fine which is a good break for mommy but I was warned she was a barracuda. After a few minutes on the bottle I could see there could be some validity to that name. My little angel devoured in 4 minutes straight two and a half ounces of milk. I gave her several burps and was ready to tuck her in for a few more hours sleep. Only trouble was Miss Kate was ready to PARTY. I tried every trick I had stashed away for 40 years and still our wee darling was wide-awake. I rocked and mom swayed and sang to her and tried just letting her fuss it out but nothing seemed to convince her to my way of thinking. She had her time of convincing too. She looked sweetly at me and bobbed her head innocently but I could see through all her sugar coated attempts to her true intentions. I assured her we would have none of that. When that did not work she was a bit more assertive. She squirmed and fussed and finally threw down her ultimatum with a howl and that is when we both knew she had won. Coffee suddenly sounded good, not that I was not in charge mind you.

Case of the Missing Lid

Visions of frothy steaming coffee was calling me to the kitchen but after another quick diaper change I could not find the cap to the diaper ointment. I looked everywhere. Funny how things like that disappear, like socks in the dryer. Certain it would turn up later I went on about the business at hand....having that cup of coffee. We passed the morning in each other’s company waiting for sunrise and the rest of the world to wake up. Just before mommy and daddy came in to check on her progress I decided to have one more diaper change and as I unwrapped her from her haphazard swaddling I felt something hard in all that material that was most unusual. Further investigation solved the riddle of the missing lid. Wrapped in with Kate's wiggly toes was a nice grey round lid and a case solved. Mum and dad did not need that piece of information and when they came in that morning we were the picture of serenity. Kate was not telling about our morning of partying and neither was I.

Stay tuned for my next blog with accounts of our day trip to Mt. Danedenong and the Yarra Valley.

We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those that are the called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:28

Big Daddy's in Town

Friday May 15th Big Daddy finally made it to Australia. He came in style on the brand new S380…a state of the art experience in flying. He said it was a fantastic flight and there was definite energy to his step as we greeted him at the Melbourne airport.

It was a wonderful reunion with Missy and Wally and Baby Kate. I enjoyed seeing him hold our new granddaughter in his arms and proclaim she looked just like her mommy did at that age, as most doting grandparents tend to do. He enjoyed the tour of their Glen Iris home and later Wes took him for a little outing in the neighborhood. By 7 pm he displayed the usual jet lag posture….slumped and fighting sleep. It was after all 4 am in Texas and way past what his body said was bedtime. We all took turns trying to help him stay awake until 8 pm at which point he gave in and slept until 7 am Saturday morning. I encouraged him to go ahead and wake up…and have breakfast and check his email because it was 4 pm Friday in Texas, nearly the end of their workday. He at first didn’t believe me but at my look of “ I’m positive”, he was motivated into action.

Later he and Wes were off to the CBD for a bit of touring. They walked the streets, popping in here and there for a look and took the tram circuit of the city. It is a great way to get a bit of history and an overview. They ended up in an Irish Pub and waited on us to join them for dinner in Carlton, the Italian district of downtown Melbourne. I loved the place we finally chose and I marveled at how each restaurant had a spokesperson on the street whose purpose was to offer a free bottle of wine and appetizers to entice people to their establishment. One of the best things about Australia is that children and babies are welcome everywhere. The streets were crowded with a variety of people and among them prams and toddlers, including our little one, along for an evening with the family.

Today Big Daddy & Wes went to a Footy Game. The first big hurdle for Larry was to get past the name. It is Australian Rules football though we would view it as a combination of soccer, maybe volleyball, and the ball looks like a football. Wes assured him the Aussies were a pretty hearty bunch and indeed he did enjoy the experience.

Tomorrow we have plans to drive out to the wine valley and see the countryside and mountains. Only a week left with our sweet family and we hope to make every minute count. May your week be blessed as well.

This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24

My Aussie

Yesterday was Spa Day and I woke up excited and ready a good thirty minutes before time to leave, which is very telling to anyone who knows my track record for timeliness. As we headed out leaving Baby Kate with her dad, we discovered we would have to drive the Land Rover. Visions of my October jeep experience with Missy made my stomach do a flipflop. Missy said there was no time to switch and wanted to leave the other car with the car seat for Wes. In fear and trembling I hoisted myself up into the green beast and Missy, at the wheel, gave me a slightly mischievous smile and roared the monster into action and we were off to our Spa appointment.

With only a few eeks and hyperventilation moments we were quickly to our destination and managed to squeeze our big boy into the teeny little parking space on the Ashburton main street area. The Spa was nice and had the appropriate earth sounds through hidden speakers. The receptionist was polite and ushered us upstairs to our appointed room. We each had a nail technician all to ourselves….and side by side settled in on our spa beds.
Missy melted right on down and from long experience knew the routine. I got right on down to business too. I had an Aussie bought and paid for all to myself and proceeded to talk her head off for a solid hour.

The only conversation that Missy had with her manicurist was about the color of polish for her toes.


I on the other hand found out that it was my technician’s wedding week, her colors were pink and cream, she had five bridesmaids, the names of all the songs for her wedding, that she was doing the reception herself, going to Thailand for her honeymoon, was from Queensland, the story of why she moved to Melbourne, that she was a latter day saint, her future husband was half aboriginal, she lived with her mom, and knew nothing about Celtic music. We discussed the weather, Texas, my grandchildren, my daughter’s wedding, and my trip so far.

I think I was supposed to lay quietly dignified for an hour and soak in the atmosphere and enjoy being pampered with a cold glass of mineral water. I would get a big fat zero I think if there was a test for accomplishing that. I was too excited to be dignified. I vaguely remember discussing my nail color and definitely was not chillin’ out. We all know quiet is probably not in my vocabulary but it was great fun and I loved having my very own Aussie for an hour. All in all a blessed Mother’s Day experience and my toes look awesome!

Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4