Amber comes home on the 29th!

 

 My emotions are going every which way this morning as I think about what I'll be doing this Monday.  Every parent who sends out a missionary anticipates that wonderful reunion after they have served.  You look for that spark in their eyes, the glow of missionary service and seeing the growth of the testimony they have gained as a missionary first hand.  You read in their letters how they have grown and changed but you don't really know until you see them again. 

 

These are some pictures I took of Amber right before she left this is how I remember her. Full of excitement and anticipation, also a bit of nervousness.  We'll wait and see how she is when she comes home.

Trip of a Lifetime part 2

 So after the hunting adventure, we took a few days to see some of the rest of New Zealand.  We rented a car in Greymouth and drove up the coast for a few hours and saw some spectacular scenery.

 This sign was near the end of a walking trail at the national park.  Pretty cool I thought.

 We stopped at a place called Shanty Town.  It's a recreation of an old mining town that was started there in the early 18 hundreds when gold was discovered!  Some of the buildings are original, and it was a really cool place.  It had some very cool trails you could hike on through the bush and see some of the old mines. 

 It also had some very fun picture moments for tourists.  Bret had to go really bad!  I wish we would've had someone with us so I could've went as well!

 What is wrong here? One of the difficult parts of the trip was to make sure Bret stayed left!

 After two days in Greymouth, we took a train that went through the mountains to a town called Christchurch, that was on the east coast of the south island.  It was a 4 hour ride that was just beautiful!  I wish I could put all the pictures of it on here!

 After our train ride we had Peter pick us up from the train station.  He and his wife, Caroline, work with Wilderness Quest and sometimes house guests who have come for a hunt and need a place to stay while they wait for a flight or something.  We stayed with them two nights.  They have a lovely home with 5 star hotel quality everything, and they also raise and sell Red Stag.  They have a lot of mommas and I got to hand feed some of them.  They love toast.
 

 Caroline took us on a tour of Christchurch.  We took a Trolley around town it was very old and really cool!  This is Mr. Conductor.

Not sure if any of you remember or even knew that a very bad earthquake hit Christchurch a few years ago.  They lost most of the buildings in the city center and so many of them have to be torn down.  Its really sad. Christchurch was famous for their Cathedral and it was severely damaged in the earthquake.  They haven't done anything with it because they're are some people who want it torn down, while others think it should be re-built and restored.  It's just a home for pigeons now.  Very sad.   

 Us on the Trolley.  It was such a fun day.

 I also went and bought me a hat with sheep on it. It was a bit cold that day, and Bret knows I like hats.

 For lunch we went up on a gondola about 2500 feet to the top of a mountain where they have a look out point of the harbor and the ocean.  It was so windy up there!  We had a great lunch though with a sky hi view of the whole city and a beautiful harbor and the mountains. 

 So incredible!

 So after our two days in Christchurch, we caught an early flight into Auckland.  We had about a 9 hour layover there and we had planned to rent a car and drive one and a half hours to Hobbiton! They've made it all so very nice and so cute!  It was fun seeing all the Hobbit holes, and the Green Dragon Inn, where we had  some scones and ginger beer. (non alcohol :)  I also saw Bag End and Rosie and Sam's home.  I just want to build one of these in my back yard now!!

 The view from Bag End looking down at the pond.

 This is Frodo and Bilbo's house.  There are real plants and gardens there but one tree, this one in fact on the top of the house is fake. 

 So very cute!  Some of them were quite small and for little hobbits. 

 This is inside the Green Dragon Inn.  Everything was so well built and authentic. 

 

This is the stone bridge that Gandalf went over in the Fellowship of the Ring.  I had to watch the movie again on the flight home!  It was so cool watching it after I'd just been there.

So after the tour we high-tailed it back to the Auckland air port and began our long flight home.  I have fallen in love with New Zealand!  I already want to go back.  There's so much more I want to see. I'm so happy that we had a great time and we didn't have any problems with anything and thanks to Kim who kept things safe at home while we were gone! 

Trip of a lifetime to New Zealand

 What can I say.  I'm having the time of my life right now in New Zealand! I just wanted to post some pictures and tell a bit about what we've been up to so far.  After flying from Omaha, to Denver to San Francisco and finally on to Auckland, then to Christ Church.....Where we were picked up by our guide Josiah Benjamin from Wilderness Quest for a 4 hour drive to our lodge about 20 minutes east of Greymouth, which is on the west coast side of the south island.  It was a long trip, but we were able to sleep on the plane and arrived ready to go! 

 This is our cabin.  It was very comfortable and first class all the way!  I was so happy to find in the bathroom a hair dryer for me!  When I was in Spain and South Africa I had to go around with wet frizzy hair.  So thanks for that whoever was responsible! 

 We started with going to the range and getting used to the gun.  We were using one of theirs and Bret wanted to see if it was as good as his favorite gun that he left at home.  After flying with a gun to South Africa we didn't want to have to go through all that hassle again.  He was satisfied with the gun we were going to use by successfully hitting the bulls eye on a 100, 300, and 500 yard target.  Also the guide, I think, wanted to see what kind of a shot I was.  I was dead on at 100 and 200 yards.  I also hit the 300 yard target once.  I wasn't even going to try the 500 yard.  I don't plan on having to shoot something that far away anyway.  I'll leave that for Bret.
 

 The next morning bright and early, we drove 3 hours to our helicopter pick up site. I was so excited!  I've never been on one before and I couldn't wait!  The other couple that are at the camp with us were going first, so we watched them take off and waited for our turn.  Taking off was so cool.  You just lift off and go up!  Up and up!  Up over the mountains!  What a way to see the scenery!  It was over before I wanted it to be, but was excited to be at our camp site for the next two days.  I was a bit concerned when I saw there was frost on the ground.  Not sure what elevation we were at but it was cold.  It warmed up when the sun came up over the mountain top and made for some beautiful sights to see.

 We set up the tents and had a light lunch of sandwiches, grapes, cookies and homemade chocolate candy bars. YUM! We climbed a high ridge and began looking for our query, the mountain Tahr.  After a few hours, and having spotted a few Tahr that were way in the heck up in the snow tops, the fog started coming in making visibility very difficult.  So we headed back to camp, had an early dinner and turned in for the night.  Inside the tent was surprisingly warmer and  I snuggled into my very good and warm mummy bag, I definitely recommend, if your going to winter camp, spend the money on really good camping gear.  I was warm and toasty all night, and was ready for the hunt the next morning. 

 We glassed a bit from our ridge and the guys spotted some Tahr way in the heck up there again and they figured they needed to go up to where they were.  I decided to stay at the camp sight, where they were going I knew I'd slow them up so I stayed behind and packed up the tents and everything and waited for the helicopter to pick us up at 11:30 that morning.  After a few hours, I heard a shot that was pretty far away, I couldn't see anything though and when the helicopter came back I directed him in the general direction of where they were headed and where I heard the shot.  He went and picked up two hunters from the side of a cliff basically and a nice Tahr!  I was so glad he had one.  He had to really work for it though!  He climbed and hiked farther and harder than he had ever had to do before. But it was worth it. 

 Here's our lodge inside.  The perfect setting for a hunting lodge. It even had a wood burring stove.
We had it to ourselves, and it had a kitchen where our guide would come in and cook meals for us. What a guy!

 Going to skip a bit to the last day, sorry.  Bret wanted a Arapawa Ram and he got one.  Very cool animal. We stalked a nice herd on a hillside and picked out a nice big male with big mass on his horns and was able to make a good shot on one. 

 This is the kind of stuff we were walking through.  Just very lush vegetation, with lots of vines and tree roots, sticks and rocks to trip over.  Also they have a nasty bush called stinging needle which is like our stinking nettle but way more viscous.  Believe me, I found out the hard way.  We also had to fight with the dreaded sandflies!  They have a nice bite and the itching gets worse with each passing day. 

 This is part of a trail that they've put in to get you to the hunting areas.  It's a nice little trail through the jungle. I wish I had this in my backyard! 

 This is a Fern Tree.  Like ferns on the ground but have a tree trunk growing under it.  Very cool looking!

 OK.  My hunt!  After we got back from our mountain Tahr hunt.  The next morning I woke pretty early and heard the rain just pounding on the roof.  It had been raining most of the night too.  It's a tropical rain here that just pours for hours at a time, stops for maybe 20 minutes or so then it starts up again.  The temp wasn't tropical however and being damp and cold isn't my favorite thing in the world.  Bret spent the big bucks on our rain gear though, because he new we'd need it.  We dressed in our rain gear, and headed out in the rain, to find a Red Stag for me.  We headed up the trail to where we were hunting and after we left the trail we started hiking through the bush.  It was the hardest hike I've been on.  I was trying to follow our guide, while carrying a rifle over my shoulder, through the thickest brush and trees and muck that you will ever find in a forest.  Plus it was just pouring rain, so everything was slippery, and wet and mushy.  Thank goodness we bought the best boots money can buy for me as well.  I was walking in mud, water, and wet grass for quite a bit, plus it was raining, and my feet stayed nice and dry. Despite all the wet and muck, I was having the time of my life!  It was actually fun!  We didn't get a shot at anything in the morning, we did see a few nice bulls though, but none gave us a shot, so we headed back to the lodge for a nice warm lunch.  We went back out to the same area we were in that morning and stayed in the bush next to this clearing where our guide was thinking they bulls would be walking into for the evening.  They didn't come.  So we were moving to a different place, and as we came out of the bush into a small clearing our guide spots a good bull and we set up the shooting sticks.  To make a medium story not so long, I get the gun on the sticks and take aim.  Putting the cross hairs right on him.  Problem is he's facing me a bit and has his head down eating.  I couldn't shoot for fear of hitting the horns.  So I waited, all the while my breathing is getting faster and my heart is pounding more and more out of my chest.  The rain has let up a bit, which was nice, but my hands were still wet and cold as I held the gun.  My eye looking at this big bull through the scope with the cross hairs locked into position, was getting tired, so Bret told me to let off a bit and wait.  Finally he turned and gave me a nice broadside shot.  I got ready and pulled the trigger.  I watched him stagger a bit and walk off into the bush a few yards.  I new I'd hit him, but the shot was a bit to far back on the shoulder, not my fault, as later the next day we sighted the gun in again and discovered they had to move it a bit to the left, anyway,  we walked up to it, and by the way it started pouring again by this time, it was standing there with his butt to us.  My guide told me to shoot again right in the "you know where" So I put the cross hairs right in the you know what, and fired again.  This time he was down for good.  I had my Red Stag.  We attempted to take pictures in the rain and got a few good ones.  It was also getting dark. So back to the lodge we went, with our guide to fetch the animal later with the four wheeler.  I went and took a nice hot shower!   

 Its been a wonderful experience this week, and look forward to our next part of the trip which is some site seeing in Greymouth where we'll attend church and then take a train back to Christ Church and fly back to Auckland, spend the day visiting The Shire, then to the airport to make the long flight home. 

                          
I have to say something about this picture.  The sandflies were really bad in this area, plus with no wind and no rain they were REALLY BAD.  So holding still for a picture was torture.  They were swarming our faces.  Our guide happened to capture this jewel of a photo.  When Bret and I saw it we busted out laughing, along with our guide and anyone else who saw it!  Just kind of sums up the situation and the day nicely. 

Where does the time go?

Its May 8th, a special day in my life.  It's the day I became a mom for the first time.  I was scared silly.  What was I supposed to do with this little tiny screaming person?  Really, that's all she did for the first 6 months. She did manage to squeeze in some eating, sleeping and pooping.  (sleeping was very little.)  Thankfully for my sake, and Bret's, we managed to survive the first year.  I'm sure Bret thought many times that this wasn't the woman he married, and what in the world did we just do?!  It was a hard year, and I learned many things about myself and about being a mom.  I also managed to fit time in there to be a wife as well.  Although that really took a back seat to almost everything else. I loved my little daughter, and that made everything worth it.  Now she turns 21 today.  Holy Cow! 

   This is Amber at her 19th Birthday.  I've missed her 20th and now her 21st.  But I know she is in a much better place than here, right now serving the Lord. 

We've all missed her and are so looking forward to her coming home in July.  So Amber, my thoughts and prayers are with you today, even though I can't see you or hug you on your special day.  We love you!