Summer Weekends ♥

This weekend was just full!  The days were full of laughter and fun.  They were full of events on my summer bucket list.  As a result my heart was full and now I'm off and ready to run, refreshed for a new week.  My Uncle & Aunt from Iowa came to KC to join the family for a fabulous weekend.

We spent much of Friday exploring the West Bottoms, finding those perfect vintage treasures.  Here we are taking a little break in the shade and downing some of the best food truck tacos and fresh squeezed limeade I've ever eaten, thank you Crave!

 In the evening we were off to the casinos for crab legs.  Really the only great pic I have from the night is this bad boy right here, the ceiling!  The rest of the time my hands were so covered in butter and crab meat, I didn't want to pick up my phone!

 Saturday morning we were off to the City Market which was above and beyond what I expected.  Oh how I wished I was headed straight home at this point so I could take one of these lovely bouquets on the road with me.  I was so in love with the fresh flowers, produce as big as your hand and the spices, oh the spices!  Its definitely a must "stop and explore" if you are in KC on the weekends!

Saturday, the fabulous GALS from our church made a trip to KC to enjoy the West Bottoms as well.  We had a blast, then off to Arthur Bryants for some good ol' Kansas City BBQ.  I seriously love these women and am blessed to do life with them.

That evening mom and I took in some wonderful shopping and then we had quite the competition playing Shanghai Rummy.  Nicole, coming out on top this month, but I think we all are ready for a rematch!

Sunday was such a blessing.  I mean, first off, I woke up to thunder.  Man I love rainy Sundays.  We headed off to church to be a part of Corbin's dedication.  It was quite memorable, the power was out and we did the dedication in the dark, complete with the sound of rain softly falling on the skylight we were below.  Seriously a beautiful moment.  I hope this kid realizes how much he is loved!  Have a happy week everyone, I leave you with this!  Now, I'm off to scoop up some groceries...I mean it is Taco Tuesday!

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Weekends

{photos by the fabulous Brittany Cunningham}

How was your weekend?  Ours was pretty relaxed and chill.  Dane surprised me with a spontaneous snowball fight, which I LOVED!  We also enjoyed watching the Seahawks win the Super Bowl and had a SPREAD of food.  Tonight we are getting settled in to watch some Juan Pablo on the Bachelor (don't judge me) and get ready for the snow that is on its way.  Lots and lots of snow.  Hope you have a great week!   Stay warm!  ♥ D+C

Weekends Are For...Wandering

Over the weekend my parents and I went on a little country cruise and ended up at one of my uncle's properties for some exploration.  The snow made a picturesque landscape and we had a great time searching for treasures in the old house.

The snow began to melt which created quite the adventure in getting there.  I had never been mudding before and I don't think the intension was to give me my first experience, but I got it!  And this is what my window looked like after driving down some of the roads.

Overall it was a great Sunday.  This spot we explored was actually near and dear to my heart.  I remember coming here several Saturdays of my childhood and helping tear down the barn.  My family used the wood to build an addition onto our house, so it was fun to revisit and relive a few memories.

Weekends Are For...Catching Up

This past weekend we spent a lot of time catching up with people in our lives.  Catching up, that's the term Aussie's use for hanging out, and it used to sound so weird to me, but now, getting together for a catch up sounds so normal.

Friday night we enjoyed a night out with some of our GWS family, the Temus.  It was a dinner eating, game show playing, face painting, disco dancing kind of night.  We are so thankful for the Temu family sharing life with us.  Amongst many other lessons, your family has taught us so much about the importance of doing life with people inside and outside the church walls.  Thank you!

The first half of Saturday was devoted to Dane and I catching up.  Life gets so crazy here and so time together is always a blessing.  We enjoyed brunch at one of our new favourite cafes, Youeni.  I highly recommend their fresh squeezed orange juice (they are the inspiration for us buying a juicer when we get back home) and the lamb sambo (oh Australia you have made me fall in love with lamb).

After brunch we did a bit of shopping (yay for sales racks), and then went to see the movie "About Time."  Seriously loved this one.   It is the type of movie that makes me want to embrace life and live it to the fullest, you know, its the same way you feel after watching a movie like Yes Man.

Saturday evening was spent catching up with our hoursemates Kyle and Hannah.  True, we live together, but its just different when you go out and do something together.  We hit up one of our favourite little spots in the city, The Pie Tin and then had quite the adventure playing the game "what are the odds."  The only way I can explain this is by saying it's a spin of truth or dare, only not so much truth and not quite as risky, but still so many memories made!

Sunday afternoon was a catch up with our beautiful friend Lyndsey from Scotland.  We have served with Lyndsey at GWS for our two years here, and it was so encouraging to hear how her Hillsong experience has helped her grow.  Our afternoon included free Slurpees thanks to Slurpee day at 7-11 and us introducing her to BLT's and cucumber salad.  I wish I could box this amazing woman up and bring her home with me.

As our time closes here in the land down under, I have a feeling we have a lot more catching up to do.  Hope you all had a fantastic weekend.  Much Love, The Kids Down Under

Weekends Are For....Celebrating 30 Years

This weekend Hillsong celebrated 30 years as a church.  It was such a good party, full of reminiscing, happy tears, laugher, balloons, fireworks, ice cream, friends, and so much more.


One of my favourite moments of the night was when 30 different people came on stage representing the year they accepted Christ at Hillsong.  It is amazing to think of all the lives this church has changed.  I am so thankful I have had the opportunity to be a part of this church family and am so excited to see where God takes the church in the next 30 years.  To God be the Glory!

Weekends Are For....Serving

I recently realized that I haven't explained one of the coolest parts about our experience here in Australia, serving at Hillsong GWS.  Serving in the church has been the most impacting experience I have had here and I thought it would be cool to share with you all.

One of the reasons Dane chose to study at Hillsong was it offered a hands on continuing education opportunity.  Along with classroom study students also receive credit by serving in various capacities throughout Hillsong church life.

Hillsong has two main campus's in Sydney, the Hills and the City.  It also has 12 extension services spread throughout the community.  We were allocated to serve at the Greater Western Sydney campus, also lovingly known as GWS.

Here is what is unique about GWS compared to most churches.  It doesn't have its own building.  Every week we rent out a college lecture hall/building and transform it into our church which includes kids rooms, mother's room, youth areas, young adults space, a welcome lounge, new people's lounge, city care stations, BBQ/food, bookstore, next steps lounge and of course the worship space.  Yes, each week we bump in church, hold two church services and then bump out church.  What amazes me even more is the entire stash of supplies needed to pull this off is stored in the back of a truck the size of a regular U-Haul trailer.  With that said, we are the biggest extension service by about 200 people and we are praying and believing for our own building. Dane and I believe we will have one before we leave and we will continue to pray relentlessly for it!

One of the ways Dane and I serve is through production bump in, meaning we set up the sound equipment.  There are other teams that set up lights, media, kids rooms, the list goes on and on really.  I am new to the bump in team, but I had a really good teacher in Dane and now know how to run cords, set up monitors and mains.  It makes me feel pretty cool in a nerdy sort of way.  I have been blown away at the knowledge Dane has about it all.  Seriously, I wish you could all see him serve and help direct teams.  You would be so proud.

We also serve in other areas a well.  Dane has had the joy of  serving as Musical Director, Monitor Engineer, Guitarist, Technical Director, and Front of House Sound.  I have served in the areas of Background Vocals, Worship Leader, Hillsong Kids, and Creative Set Design.  It has been so cool to see how we can use the gifts God has put on our lives to help serve in the church in ways we never really imagined.

What I love most about Hillsong GWS is the people.  They have become a part of our Aussie family.  As I am sure you can imagine, it takes a team to pull of church each week, and I love how people are always stepping up and ready to serve.  We are so blessed to have Pastor Jay Jury leading the way along with another amazing team of key leaders.

The biggest lesson I have learned is that serving in a church isn't about personal glory.  It is all about Jesus and people.  Trust me, there is nothing glorious about giving up your Saturday afternoon to bump in, or rucking up at 5:00am to make sure things are ready to go for church.  But when hands go up during alter call on Sunday morning, and I know that people are meeting Jesus for the first time, that people are finding healing, restoration, freedom, joy, true peace in their lives well that's what makes it worth it.

Weekends Are For....German Food

We had the most amazing weekend with our friends Gav and Monique.  They took us to the Bavarian Bier Cafe where we had our fill of Oktoberfest.  Following Monique's recommendation I had the pork knuckle which is oh so finger lickin' good and covered in crackle (oh Australia thank you for introducing me to the wonderful world of crackle).  Cool thing about the Cafe, it exists in an old renovated church and includes balcony seating.  The conversation was jolly, the food was delicious and the night was memorable.

Favourite story of the night.  We rode in a taxi, our very first taxi.  While riding I started smelling something, yeah you know.  Immediately I was pinning it on Dane, but he was very clear that if he had the courage to let it rumble in a taxi, he would claim it.  After passing the blame amongst ourselves, we came to realize it was the takeaway container of sour kraut.  Oh you Germans, you are so cheeky.

Exploring Tamworth

Long weekends are the best!  Last weekend we joined our friends Gav & Monique for a little road trip up the coast to the town of Tamworth.

Some things you should know about Tamworth:
= It is the country music capital of Australia
= Weighs in at a population of about 36,000
= History fact: it was the first city in Australia to use electric street lights
= Gets super hot during the day and super cold at night.
= Known as the National Equine Capital of Australia (yes we saw lots of ponies)
= Home of the Big Golden Guitar
= Also home of the best South African restaurant ever (more to come on this)

Tamworth is the country music capital of Australia and holds the world's second largest country music festival.  Yes, eat your heart out Country Stampede.  Sadly, this festival is in January so we missed it by a few months, but that didn't stop us from taking in the site of the big golden guitar!

While in the area we decided to take a little bonus road trip to the down of Gunnedah, also known as koala capital of the world.  We have yet to see a koala in the wild, and Gavin, living in Australia his whole life, hadn't either.  This was going to change.  After searching literally, high and low, we found one (thanks to the help of some fellow hikers).  There is something so incredible about seeing animals in their natural habitat, no fences or cages separating you.  It just makes you feel more alive.  For a long time we just enjoyed watching the little guy take a nap, but right before we left, he popped up and started stretching.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was enjoying the South African restaurant The Safari Club.  My beautiful friend Monique is South African and so she knows what to order!  I really can't say enough how much I love meeting people from all over the world and enjoying their country's food with them!  So Monique and Gav have frequented this spot before, and know the owner/chef Elliot.  They also know the secret to ordering!  Just call the plate you see above the Shane special.  I am telling you, this was the best BBQ I have ever eaten.  Yes, that is saying something.  Any of you who went to Thelma's BBQ with me in Houston, TX, well this tops it.  I am not kidding.  It was such a privilege to meet Elliot and tell him thank you for cooking us up such a lovely feast.  He even let us sign his wall!

Other things that made our weekend great:
= Late night trivia competitions: boys vs girls of course!
= Checking out the Aussie farmland (pictured above for all you curious Kansas farm boys)
= American candy store with Big League Chew & Candy Corn
= Cable TV in the hotels rooms, yes we watched American Football
= The alphabet license plate game...the letter E!!!!!
= Girls Night Dinner: super fancy complete with wine, seafood marinara, roasted chicken, and sticky date pudding
= Guys Night Dinner: pizza, coke & the Grand Final Rugby Game

Tamworth, we had such a great time.  Gav & Monique, thanks for the awesome memories and all the amazing treats!  We love you!  ♥