justin and amanda

A new quarter at Reef to Outback has begun! We have 37 new DTS (Discipleship Training School) students and 13 new staff interns. The base has been buzzing this week and it is such a fun time. Most of the students arrived this past weekend and on Wednesday we had an all base orientation day. We kicked off the day with a big Aussie "brekkie," baked beans included! The rest of the morning consisted of worship, prayer and introductions. It was a great day and it is crazy to think we do this four tim… Continue

Our trip to Colorado has come and gone and suddenly we find ourselves back at home in Townsville. It was a whirlwind of a trip jam packed full of friends, family and good food....lots of good food. I finally had my 11 month Taco Bell craving satisfied! Besides the food it was so nice to catch up with family and show off our beautiful baby girl. It surprised me how emotional I became and often found myself holding back tears when introducing her for the first time to people. I am so proud to call… Continue

My last update was almost two months ago, can you tell I am a momma now?! Babies demand a lot of time and attention. This is a statement I didnt fully understand until Mia was actually in our arms. She is well worth every second. This past weekend we took her swimming. She LOVED it! She was kicking and smiling and stayed in for about 40 mins which is a long time for an eleven week old! Justin zoomed her around the pool and pretended he was the announcer for her gold medal swim in the olympics, t… Continue

Happy Mothers Day!! It is actually Monday morning in Australia so Mothers Day is officially over here. We had a great day though, I awoke to Justin and Mia bringing me coffee, presents and a beautiful card they both had signed. We went to church and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and catching up with good friends. The day was topped off by a much appreciated bubble bath :) It was strange celebrating Mothers Day, I feel like I havent earned the title yet. But Mia is definitely here to s… Continue

Just to my right sits my wife and my precious little girl, Mia Caroline. As they try to head to sleep, it's amazing to think about the cherished gift that we have been given just two days ago. Amanda went into labor on Wednesday afternoon. Contractions started to get regular around 4:30 PM and quickly progressed. We went down to dinner with the base, and then came back home. Amanda tried to send her mom and I off to rugby with everyone else, thinking she would just gently progress. Thankfully we… Continue