hannahsinthekingdom.blogspot.com: Looking Forward

This week has been 'full on' - but it has seen God work His wonders.

Early in the week, I headed out to Atherton Cemetery to pressure clean my Nana and Pops (Dad's parents) graves. I met a stonemason there who went to school with - and sat beside Peter Beattie for 3 years - poor fellow, but he was a wealth of knowledge about the local community and history.

I have inserted some before and after shots, and then we found my Mum's mother's grave. Unfortunately, my Mum's father passed away at 41 - he was a war hero in World War 1, and died of his injuries. He is buried in Millaa Millaa cemetery, and seems very lonely.
We had intended spreading my Mum's ashes over the Malanda or Millaa Millaa Falls, but since seeing how their graves have come up after being cleaned, we decided to spread half her ashes with her Dad in Millaa Millaa , and the other half with her Mum at Atherton.

This week has been so exciting - family wise.

Last Sunday we attended Northpointe Community Church, where a great mate - Daniel Askey-Doran from Maroochy Baptist Church - which has been renamed Lifepointe Baptist Church. Not sure what that all means? Daniel heads up the Mens Ministry there, and what a great bunch of guys they are.
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of sharing a project with them. Painting the downstairs area for a single mum who has been trying to sell her house for almost 12 months.

On Tuesday, Judy was in the community showers and her a familiar voice. Turns out our friends Ken and Carmel Small were parked two caravans down from us - and had been there for 3 days! This couple were a large part of our lives when our children were born, as their kids were only months apart from ours. Ken and I worked together for several years, and it has been almost 30 years since we have seen them. How awesome is that??

Unfortunately, their son Steven passed away doing what he loved last year - playing rugby league. He was also coaching a couple of other junior grades, so he was loved and respected by his peers and his teams. We were able to have some valuable time with them and even prayed for them before they headed off next morning. Lo and behold, as they were hooking up the van, the L bolt on the jockey wheel broke, dropping the van A frame inches from his feet. I knew my Hi-Lift Jack would come in handy some time, so we were able to lift the van and back the Nissan back under the tow bar so they could get going.

Then earlier in the week, I found my long lost cousin. Ronda and her husband Peter live at Tolga, and they had recently purchased a secondhand Bushtracker and been out to Camooweal. We have had some amazing chats about our families and we will catch up with her mum and sister when we get to Cairns in a week. Ronda and Peter helped us put half of my Mum's ashes in beside her mother's grave - and later we went and put the other half in her father's grave at Millaa Millaa cemetery. Great times!!

We had an awesome time in Atherton!! Over a month, and we met so many wonderful people and after spending time with Geoff and Mary Parry and their beautiful daughter Louise and her husband Gavin - who spoiled us and took us everywhere. Gav, Geoff and I even had a "boys' day" 4 wheel driving with a batch of guys from across the Tablelands. Don't ask me how to get there again.

We then headed down to Mossman. Three nights in Mossman, a day at the Mossman Gorge which is now run by our indigenous friends, was the first time we saw the beautiful Ulysses butterflies.

Then down to Cairns for a week's rest and recreation. We stayed at the Cairns Holiday Park in the middle of town. We had a wonderful day on the train up to Kuranda, and caught the Skyrail back down the mountain. Judy was totally worn out at the end of the day - as everywhere is uphill. The Butterfly House is absolutely awesome, and you learn so much about these beautiful creatures. My suggestion if ever you intend going there - buy a tour price, as the Skyrail ends up 20klms out of Cairns, so a tour bus will drop you at the station and pick you up and drop you back at your accommodation later.

We also went to the Cairns Night Zoo - wonderful experience. We met two young newlyweds from Colorado. He was a prison officer and she a medical company rep. It was also her 30th birthday, and she just couldn't wait to hold a koala. Wonderful experience especially when they found that they had escaped from the drop bears on Hook Island without injury.

Unfortunately, two days after coming back from Kuranda, we found Judy had shingles. Ronda, my cousin in Tolga, recommended a doctor in Cairns and he was great. We had caught it within the 3 initial days, so he was able to give her some heavy drugs. While you can't cure shingles, you can reduce the effect, and those are very painful.

We had an wonderful time in Cairns as well - but all good things must come to an end - and we started headed back towards the Sunshine Coast for Christmas.