1. Jimmy Buffett concert at the Opera House
2. Trip to Melbourne/Geelong/Great Ocean Road3. Celebrating our one year wedding anniversary with a Sunset Camel Beach Ride and Sandboarding down the sand dunes in Port Stephens
4. Sydney Carnival Royal Randwick Horses Races
5. Our Week Sailing Trip over the Easter and ANZAC Day holidays6. Teaching in the New South Wales Public School System
7. Finding out we would become parents and welcome Baby Lucas in March 2012 (and sharing that news with family and friends)8. Weekly Coastal Hikes/Walks
9. Girl’s Trip to New Zealand
10. Having adventures with our new friends here Rewind 365 days ago (October 30, 2010) and I was a nervous wreck. We had landed in Sydney with our boxes and luggage galore. I attempted to “have it all together” when all I really wanted to do was go to bed, wake up, and be right back in the life I had just said goodbye to. WOW, I’ve come a long way since then!!!! J
I knew I would grow as a person the minute we made this life changing decision but I didn’t really know when and how it would happen. In the past weeks I have gone back and read through several of my blogs. We sure have had quite a year, as you know if you’ve been following along! I tried to pinpoint one significant thing that put me over that wave of uncertainty I felt for quite a while when we first arrived. I determined that it wasn’t just one specific moment but numerous small moments as the days have gone on and on.
Here we are one year later, growing up more and more as the days fly by and that uncertainty is still slowly fading away. I continue to hear many of your voices in the back of my mind telling me, “Everything will be ok!” “You will be so glad you did this!” “You will learn so much about yourself!” “This will be so great for you and Luke as a married couple!” I could go on and on…but you know what? Many of you were so right and I guess this is all evident now that we are bringing another Lucas into this experience Down Under!
Last year for Thanksgiving I listed out many of the most important things that I am thankful for. There really isn’t anything I would change to that list but I would add a handful more. I truly believe that God had this plan for us and we are right where we are supposed to be.
I have missed way too many things from the US to list in this past year but here are several key things:
1. Calling our parents to ask them a question or to tell them something exciting right away.
*this is getting easier with Skype but it’s still a process to actually make an actual phone call- no more ease of speed dial
2. Texting or calling my sisters, family, and friends just for a quick bit of info
*this has also been a little better- get the WhatsApp for your cell phone if you can and we can text away!
3. Spending time with my fun nephews and friends’ kids and being able to watch them change and grow
4. Snow
*not the yucky bad weather but the beautiful white blanket that sometimes led to a snow day for school!
5. Who knew so many random foods would be missed though I think that’s a lot of the pregnancy talking here! Reduced Fat Cheez-Its, Rotel, Fritos, Buffalo pretzel bites, Chex Cereal to make Puppy Chow and Chex Mix, pita chips, jalapeno kettle chips, Mexican food (it’s here but very limited and definitely doesn’t taste like my favs back home), BBQ, Sonic slushees (there’s much more but I’m going to stop because it’s making me hungry!!!)
6. Having my own classroom
*although, I am more than pleased with the opportunity I was able to have while teaching here and I gained more experience and confidence than I thought possible
7. Spending quality time with our family and friends has been by far what I miss the most.
*Thank you for being so important in our lives that we think about you all the time! J
I have also come to appreciate many things over here in Oz though I know I can’t list them all and I’m sure there are many more to come:
*Fresh fruit year round and trying out many kinds that I had never or rarely had
*Cafes and coffee shops
I won free coffee for a week at this cafe. Too bad I didn't know until there were only 3 days left in the week!*A card or a shipment from home
*Walking to the grocery store, to get coffee, to run errands, etc. in the pouring rain and howling wind and not thinking twice about it because it’s our main and at times, our most reliable source of travel (Seriously- walking 7-10 minutes up the hill to get coffee is so worth it, even when it’s windy and pouring down rain. Even back at home when it was cold or rainy we would have never thought to attempt this…We could even back out of our garage, drive 5 minutes to Starbucks, go through the drive through and be back home in the garage without even being touched by a drop of rain. And for some crazy reason we still sometimes chose not to get out! My how times have changed!!!)
*Walking and hiking to see different views of the ocean and city
*Coastal walks
*Colorful flowers, trees and leaves year round
I love that I can get my favorite flower here year round and they always look beautiful.
These are a new favorite of ours. 
Leaves changing
TALL flowers
One of my favorite trees over here. When the leaves fall it makes me want to sing, "Purple Rain" and I do everytime!
*Alfresco Dining (even in the cold weather they just set up heaters to keep you warmer)
*Having new friends that you could have sworn you’ve known your whole life
*Fresh Seafood
*Using words like “gorgeous” and “beautiful” to explain something before I would have called “neat,” “awesome,” “great,” or “cool” (to describe food, behavior, a drink, the weather, clothing, etc.)
The designs are just "gorgeous"
Now this is a "beautiful" cup of coffee*Picnics
Bondi Beach picnic in the winter
Brekky picnic at Cremorne Point*Sitting outside on our patio to read, eat, or relax
*Luke walking me to school in the mornings and just being able to walk to work period
* Luke’s parents got a Slingbox which has enabled Luke and me to watch the K State football and basketball games. This requires us to get up WAY too early on Sundays for football, but we have enjoyed it so far!
*Erin is a "money magnet." That's right! The girl finds money on the ground ALL THE TIME! Well, one day when we were on a walk I happened to spot a $5 note on the ground...and she walked right up ahead of me and found a $10 note. ;)
*A car
Yes, we did just purchase a car in the past couple of months though we have driven it minimal times. It has been helpful with our doctor appointments and it will be nice to bring the baby home in it and not a scary taxi ride!!! We were also able to do some baby store shopping and actually bring home our items instead of waiting and paying for the delivery. It is sometimes still more of a hassle to take the car so we still prefer public transportation or walking to make it to most destinations. The hassles being lack of parking or expense of parking and tolls, traffic, and just driving in an unfamiliar place.
Although I have learned to live without these two treasures in our apartment, it still hasn’t made it on the “appreciate list” above.
I had my first snake encounter recently. I was walking home from school and a bright neon green snake stuck its head up over the side of a waist high brick wall…just at the same time I was walking by. I believe it was just as frightened of me as I was of it as it immediately slithered back down into the bushes as I let out a gasp that sounded more like a scream! Some of the kindergarten students from my school were already playing in the park right by there and came running over to see what the fuss was about. When I told them I had just seen a snake they just giggled (as kindergarten kids do assuming you are kidding around). I told them I was serious and I’d never seen one like it before. The little boy asked me to describe it and he goes, “Awe, that’s just a green tree snake. They aren’t on the poisonous list. It’s harmless.” Thank you, six-year-old! I still went home and Googled it right away to find out more. I found out that they are about 1-2 meters in length. Yuck! Feel free to have a browse at these pictures. http://www.google.com.au/search?q=green+tree+snake+australia&hl=en&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=WikFT-S2HLCUiQfinqzOAQ&ved=0CEUQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=660
*Year round school and all students wearing uniforms
*Students and new friends who only know me as Lisa Lucas and have no clue who Lisa Rush is
*A new job with new coworkers
*Homesickness (though it never really goes away)
*Although I rely on my iPhone GPS when necessary, I have a much better sense of direction by walking everywhere
* Being much more independent on day to day things
*Ordering groceries online and having them delivered (Now this is AMAZING, GORGEOUS, and BEAUTIFUL!)
*Cricket, Rugby, Lawn Bowling, and Netball
*It takes only a short time to clean the whole apartment but at least 2 or more days to complete a few loads of laundry!
*People here really do stop the day in the morning and afternoon for their “tea” (snack, tea, coffee, etc.)
*Meeting for “coffee” sometimes just means meeting up with someone and you may not even drink coffee at that meeting
To celebrate our one year in Australia, Luke and I went to the Ceramics shop and spent the day painting a couple of items.
My dish
"Colour Me Mine" pottery shop
Luke working very hard 
We turned his cookie jar into a kitchen utensil cannister instead
The final products!When the next 365 days rolls around I have no doubt that I will be at yet another phase in this journey, one of which is being a parent. Many of our “firsts” here have come and gone and we are on our way for year two of our Australian Adventures with a positive outlook in our minds. And somewhere in all the craziness of the past year there have been numerous hidden blessings that we couldn’t be more thankful for. What a memorable year!
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