When you least expect it

Emily shopping for chairs

2011-04-06T13:06:00.002+10:00

Steve's new office And Emily

2011-04-06T12:59:00.002+10:00

Emily in a John Deere wagon--only the best

Steve's birthday present

New office at school

Jacob visiting dad at his office

Welcome to the Sauvageot Home!!!

2011-04-06T12:48:00.002+10:00

Finally got to hang the sign :)

Welcome to our home. All welcome to come.

Flowers from our builders Tony and Sue Went

Sign given to us by John Holt

Amen to that. This process has taken us one month shy of seven years. Praise the Lord for his goodness in given us a lovely home. We pray that we can use this home for God's ministry.

Moved into the Laundry Room

2011-04-06T12:42:00.001+10:00

Moved Into The Kitchen and Dining Room

2011-04-06T12:28:00.003+10:00

View outside the dining room

Putting up cow freeze

Full Pantry

My Gorgeous Stove

The Lounge

2011-04-06T12:22:00.001+10:00

Steve and Jennie's Room

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Our view outside our bedroom door.

Our shower

Our vanity with the lovely bath mat and towels Dad and Mum Sauvageot gave to us.

Looking through the walk in robe into the ensuite.

Mum's photo gallery

With our sleeping angel in the middle.

Looking inside the door

Unpacking Continues

2011-04-06T12:00:00.002+10:00

Main Bathroom--sink outside the toilet

Main Bathroom

Rest of the main bath.

Jacob's room

Andrew's room

Unpacked and Ready To Go

2011-04-06T11:44:00.002+10:00

Ben making his bed in the morning

Ben's Closet

Emily's Closet

Emily's side of the room.

Ben's side of the room.

Relaxing after a big day of moving

2011-04-06T11:35:00.004+10:00

On Saturday the 5th of March, we got an early start with some lovely friends help. We had the Smith family, Mark Challacombe, Risser family, Amy Stebhens, Blackman family, Jerry Donkin and the Sauvageot herd all helped us move in our new home. Then, the Ward family brought us lunch of pizza and soft drinks. We are truely blessed to have such good friends

Started the move--Friday, 4 March 2011

2011-04-06T11:19:00.003+10:00

On the 4th of March, we started the move by moving some of our hang up clothes and an item for the pantry! Roseanne, Susan, and Jennie started the process of moving on the memorable evening!

Ben's closet

Steve and Jennie's walk in closet

Rest of Steve and Jennie's walk in closet

Emily's closet--her favorite spot to be. She spent 2 hours on Saturday hanging up her clothes. She would put them on hangers and then take them off. Then she would hang them back up again.

The pantry's first customer

The house is finished :)

2011-04-06T10:58:00.003+10:00

At long last the house is finished! Praise the Lord we are due to move in on the first week of March. It is hard to believe we actually get to move in.

Our lovely 6 foot bath tub.

The water tank for giving us lovely rain water when we boil the billy.

Emily checking out the ensuite.

The tiles in the shower of the ensuite.

The empty pantry.

How The 2011 Floods Affected Us

2011-01-15T09:46:00.005+10:00

Too bad the "inconvenience" was nothing on the shelves!!! The meat, yogurt, and cheese section of the grocery store

The fruit and veggie section

More of the veggies

More fruit:)

The bread and bakery section

Interesting Signs

2010-12-24T09:11:00.002+10:00

These were some interesting signs that were in the Ration Shed Museum. We thought we could use them at school.

Trip to Cherbourg

2010-12-24T08:36:00.007+10:00

Susan did a prac for her nursing degree at a place called Cherbourg. It is an Aboriginal Community about three hours west of us. She was working at the Community Health Centre. We decided to go and visit her. We had to check out where she was working and living. She really enjoyed her time at Cherbourg. She got to spend lots of time working with children. The staff realized she was good with kids. Must be all the work she does with Ben and Emily that prepared her for the job! :) She went with a man they call "Pickles" to do health checks on Aboriginal children. He did not usually like taking students with him because they slow him down. Susan said that they broke the record on how many children they saw that day. I think Pickles was pleased with her work.

The crew--all except Trevor
Outside the Ration Shed Museum where they share the story of how Cherbourg got started. Ben and Emily trying out the seats

Emily enjoying herself

Emily playing on the tree stumps.

More Benjamin's Party

2010-12-22T12:51:00.003+10:00

In the party shed

Andrew and Jacob

Trevor and Joshua Sewell

Rachael

Big sis, Susan

Dad at the party.

Opening presents

Amy, Andrew, and Jacob

Our Jacob :)

Cousin Tim

The cake

2010-12-22T12:38:00.002+10:00

Emily helping blow the candles.

The big 10

Singing

Lighting the candles

Blowing them out.

Emily Enjoying Benjamin's Birthday

2010-12-22T12:04:00.004+10:00

Jacob and Emily

Love You!

Too cute!

Playing video games

Friends on Karts

2010-12-22T11:05:00.002+10:00

Asher

Charlie

Trevor and Daniel Sewell

Joshua Donkin

Emily on the Karts

2010-12-22T10:58:00.002+10:00

Emily and Dad going places!!!

Benjamin's 10th Birthday Party

2010-12-22T10:16:00.003+10:00

Benjamin is 10! Can you believe it? We had a birthday party for him at the go-kart track and waterslides. We got a good deal since one of his friend's dad owns the place.

Susan and Benjamin on the go-karts

Ben on the waterslide.

Painting outside

2010-12-22T10:01:00.003+10:00

Peter has been painting the outside of the house. The garage especially was quite a chore. Thanks Peter for all your hard work. I have picked the colour for the inside which will be getting done after Christmas. the paint colour is called Grand Piano (wonder why I chose that?). So, the walls will be done in Grand Piano Quarter and the trim in Grand Piano Half.

The Plumbing

2010-12-22T09:42:00.003+10:00

The digger to help fill in the holes. Mr. Entermann helped with this job.The water tank to go in soon.

Mr. Dave Blackman is doing a great job with our plumbing.

Hard at work

The outside is shaping up!

2010-12-22T09:39:00.001+10:00

The Kitchen

2010-12-22T09:28:00.004+10:00

The kitchen being put into position. Work started early on Wednesday the 15th of December and finished by the end of the day!
This view is looking back toward the front door. The space on the left is for the stove and range hood.

This view is looking down the hall toward bedrooms.

Spot for the microwave oven.

This view is from the front door. Spot straight ahead is for the fridge. Love all the drawers!!

There is a spot at the island for stools to have a breakfast bar.

Sample Carpet

2010-12-16T07:15:00.003+10:00

This is a sample piece of the carpet we are putting in the bedrooms and lounge.

Quick update

2010-12-15T00:22:00.002+10:00

Our kitchen cupboards and benches go in tomorrow. Can hardly wait to see how it will look. Today, as you can see we ordered all the tiles needed for the wet areas. We also ordered the floor covering. Tomorrow, we need to settle on the paint for the inside of the house. The outside paint is supposed to go on this week. Today, some of the plumbing work happened. Hopefully, we should get a picture of water tank and plumbing work tomorrow. It seems to all be happening at once! Tony said that he was trying to get it all finished before school starts on 27th of January. Hope to show you more tomorrow.

The Bathroom Tiles

2010-12-14T23:57:00.002+10:00

This is the feature tiles in the "granny flat" bathroom along with a textured creme colour tile. It is hard to see the sparkle in this feature tile picture. Also, it has kind of a dark purple hue in it that does not seem to show up in this picture.
This is the border for the shower in the kids bathroom. A real "beachy" feel!

Pictured above is the feature tiles above the sink and on the bath.

Below is the rest of the border tile.

Below is the tiles for the Master Bedroom Ensuite. A very classy look.

The Laundry Room and Kitchen Tile sample

2010-12-14T23:40:00.003+10:00

Surprise, I picked cows:)

These border pieces are going into the Laundry Room along with an alabaster colour tile.

The floor is a light textured tile.

The kitchen has a dimpled white tile on either side of this red (which is hard to see the colour in the picture) pencil stripe.

The tile shop!!!!!! Wow!

2010-12-14T23:15:00.002+10:00

Wow! Where do you start at the tile shop? Who thought it would be this hard to choose?We brought in some expert help to help with the choosing. Susan came to keep us in the right direction, Steve kept everyone focused, Jennie was overwhelmed. She had also brought the wrong floor plan with her to the shop, so our good friend Roseanne Blackman came to bring us the right one. While she was there, we roped her into helping with the choosing.

Susan was excited to help find the best tiles and Roseanne made us all laugh! We appreciated her expert opinions. It definitely made the whole experience more enjoyable."Well what do you think?" "No, what do you think?" "Are you sure about this one?" "What about that one?"

The lady at Galaxy Tiles helped us make our choices. I think we ran her off her feet and had her get just about every sample out so we could have a look. The phone kept ringing and she had several other customers. Her daughter said she should be alright on her own because it would probably be a slow day. We appreciated her input and all the help she gave us. I don't think we could have accomplished it all without her help.

Is this the right one?

The Kitchen

2010-12-11T09:27:00.003+10:00

To give you an idea of the counter top

This is the sample of what our kitchen and laundry room counter tops will look like.

The Inside walls take shape!

2010-12-11T00:33:00.002+10:00

The sheeting goes up in the Lounge, Kitchen, and Dining Room area.

This view has the sliding glass door from the dining room. The kitchen is to the right of the door. In the front is the lounge. The doorway you see to the right is the opening to the kids activity room.

This shows the lounge in the front with the dining room table close to the sliding door. The views out the windows on the left are towards the hospital and parkland.

The Colourbond and Cladding

2010-12-11T00:14:00.004+10:00

The guys finishing the back of the garage.

View of the north side of house. The veranda connects the garage rooms to the main house. On the left of this picture is the "granny flat". The big window on the main house is one of the kids bedrooms followed by the toilet and bathroom windows. The solar panel on the roof is required for the hot water system--all new houses must have solar hot water.

The front of the house that faces Nissen Street. Far left window is to the lounge, then comes the front door, followed by two kids bedrooms. The window you can see on the garage is to the granny flats lounge area.
The garage outside walls are almost complete. In the car is Jacob and his friend Joshua Sewell along with Emily Grace. And no, Emily did not actually drive them there. She is just "driving" while dad takes the photo.

Another view of the south side and front. Tony is enjoying a break after all his hard work. I think he is enjoying the view as well.

Images of the outside before the colourbond and cladding!

2010-12-11T00:08:00.003+10:00

View down the south side of house.
View of the south side from back bbq area.

View down the front toward the garage.

View of the garage with the front of the house to the left.

The South Side

2010-12-11T00:00:00.003+10:00

A peek inside the master bedroom from the bbq area.
This is the view of the south side of the house
(the side that faces Hervey Bay Hospital).
On the far corner, we have an entertainment area with a bbq area.

This is the view from the corner of the bbq area.

The Inside Frames

2010-12-10T23:51:00.001+10:00

Behind Tony you can see the master bedroom and ensuite. The laundry room is past the ensuite. He is sitting next to the walk in pantry and you can view one of the bedrooms on the other side of the pantry.Having smoko (a morning tea break) while sitting in the kitchen, dining room, and lounge--very open plan living. The camera is looking toward the kids activity room, two bedrooms and the three-way bathroom (toilet room, bathtub and shower room, and sink outside both).

The Roof

2010-12-10T23:42:00.009+10:00

The roof (a silver colourbond) goes on next. It really is starting to look like a house! :)

This is the view of the garage and granny flat. At the moment we think the "Granny Flat" is going to be semi-independent living for Susan and Trevor. We will put grandma and grandpa in the main bedroom of the house with ensuite when they come to visit. By the way, when are you going to visit:)

The Trusses Next

2010-12-10T23:32:00.006+10:00

The trusses go up on the garage.

The garage is looking good.

We get told an update on how the house is progressing from anyone that drives by on the way to school or church. I believe our church family is as excited as we are to see the house go up!

The frame begins!

2010-12-10T23:07:00.002+10:00

The frame to the "granny flat" and garage--hard to believe it is really happening!

The beginnings of the frame for the main house go up. It truely is exciting!

The Dunny

2010-12-10T23:05:00.000+10:00

We put "Grandma's Dunny" in place ready for her arrival!!

The slab

2010-12-10T22:56:00.004+10:00

The guys worked hard to get the foundation laid.

Tony and his crew smoothing out the concrete.

Admiring the work :)

Mr. Rosier on the machine.

Start of our house

2010-12-10T22:34:00.008+10:00

In April of 2004, we made application to subdivide a block of land from Mr. Col Pantlin. It stayed with Council for a year and a half when they turned us down. We were pretty devastated, but then a friend told us about a business that helps people to get approvals from Council. We put in a second application. Sadly, the application fee had gone up. There was much debate over letting another driveway come out on Nissen Street and what the purpose of the block should be. They brought in engineers to find out where the best place for a driveway should go.

We finally gained approval for the subdivision (in 2008) after submitting to several conditions and paying several contributions to different areas. We had to close Col's driveway and build a shared driveway directly across from the entrance to Fraser Shores 2 Retirement Village. One of the funny conditions was having to fence and landscape the front of the block before a house was built. Praise the Lord that the retirement village across the road asked if they could landscape the front of our block since their residents would view this as they left the village. So, we got some lovely Foxtail Palm Trees planted in front of our block.

Our excitement was felt around the world. We were finally going to get the house of which we had been dreaming. Next step was to put in an application to have a house built. (Hopefully it would not take another four years to get approval.) We gained approval just as our builder Tony Went was starting one of our school building projects. Because the school building was urgent and had to be done by a certain deadline, our house got put on hold again. (What's a little more time, hey?)

After 6 1/2 years of waiting, we have begun to build our house! It has been an exciting time in our neighborhood. Maybe we will get to move in before 7 Years has expired!

The truck arrived to clear the block!
Breaking ground!

Emily playing in the dirt where the foundation will be laid.

Hey Grandpa!

2009-05-14T20:43:00.003+10:00

First steps

2009-05-14T20:34:00.002+10:00

7 Months already! :)

2009-03-30T20:33:00.003+10:00

Well,we haven't posted any pictures recently so...... thought I would show you Emily at 7 months!!! Wow how time flies. We can hardly believe she is 7 months already! Here she is ready for church. . . our happy little vegemite!

New Hairstyles

2008-11-24T21:31:00.004+10:00

How do you like all my hairstyles?

Emily Goes Green!!

2008-11-07T13:51:00.002+10:00

Emily Dedicated to the Lord!

2008-10-08T09:22:00.002+10:00

Pink is my colour!

2008-09-24T07:59:00.001+10:00

Here's looking at you, Kid!

2008-09-20T09:09:00.004+10:00

I may have pianist fingers but these are swimmers feet!

2008-09-20T09:09:00.003+10:00

Peekaboo!!

2008-09-20T09:09:00.002+10:00

Hello Grandma and Grandpa!!

2008-09-20T09:09:00.001+10:00

More Emily Grace

2008-09-20T09:09:00.000+10:00

Did we mention that we have a new baby girl named Emily Grace Sauvageot? Have we shown you pictures yet? Well, just in case you missed her, here she goes again!!!!

First Sunday

2008-08-18T18:25:00.000+10:00

Emily had to go shopping on Saturday the 16th so that she would have a nice warm dress to wear for her first time going to church! Mum said she could not wear a sleeper for her first Sunday in church. It was quite an experience to find a warm dress since most of the shops have brought out their spring/summer clothes. The Lord provided just the right dress for her to wear.

There was a long line of people wanting to have a hold of our precious bundle. She has brought a lot of joy to our hearts and to the hearts of our church family!

She even got leggings and wore the shoes grandma sent!

Holding Dad's hands

2008-08-18T17:43:00.000+10:00

Our little rose bud!

2008-08-18T16:33:00.000+10:00

The day Emily Grace was born, our rose bush decided to bloom. What a perfect rose it produced.
Emily and Benjamin adore each other. Benjamin thinks she is pretty special.

Emily Grace and some friends.

2008-08-13T12:47:00.000+10:00

Emily loves her thumb!

Here she is with her good friends and "cousins" Catie, Emma, and Beka. They all love her to death:)

Roseanne says to Susan "Eat your heart out, Susan." She is trying to get all the holding of Emily before Susan gets home.

Emily with Aunt Tamra giving off that lovely new baby smell.

A nice quiet moment with mum. I think they adore each other!

Emily with three of the brothers!

2008-08-13T12:05:00.000+10:00

Jacob was pretty excited about being first to hold Emily

Ben thinks she is the berries! When he held her, Emily just gazed up at her in awe. After Ben gave her back, he told mum that he thought Emily liked him best! The day we came home from the hospital, Ben came into our bedroom and whispered that he was practicing being a big boy now--since Monday. Now that he was the big brother, he needed to become that big boy.

Andrew was pretty excited about his chance at holding Emily.

All the boys were excited about having the chance to spend time with Emily Grace before her big sister and biggest brother get home from America. They check on her as soon as they get home from school and as soon as they get up in the morning.

Emily with Dad and Mum!

2008-08-12T19:48:00.000+10:00

Emily with Dad! I think they like each other a little bit :)

Emily with Mum! She doesn't look too happy to be out in this cold world, but mum is very happy!

Emily Grace Sauvageot

2008-08-12T16:29:00.000+10:00

We are pleased to announce the birth of our sixth child, Emily Grace Sauvageot. Emily was born yesterday, Monday, 11 August 2008 at 4:20 pm. Mum and Bub are both doing well at home now. She is a beautiful baby girl (who happens to look a lot like Dad!) Thanks for your prayers and thoughts during the pregnancy. Praise the Lord with us!!!

Emily was 8 lb 7 oz and 20.5 inches long at birth.

Riverboat

2008-05-24T01:32:00.000+10:00

After our tour of the Arch, we took a river boat ride on the Mississippe River. The boat was called the Tom Sawyer. The Mississippi River is a huge and fast moving river.

The Arch

2008-05-24T01:22:00.001+10:00

On Thursday 22nd May, we took a tour of the St. Louis Arch. It was a real rainy day, but at least it was clear and not foggy.

Here we are waiting to go up to the top of the arch.

Hannah in the very small car going up to the top.

Here we are at the top!

Arriving in St. Louis again

2008-05-24T01:09:00.001+10:00

Because we left Thompsonville late, we did not have time to stop for lunch. So by the time we got to St. Louis, the team was very ready to eat tea.

We found a place called Bandana BBQ. Everyone seemed to really enjoyed their tea.

We had some neat conversations with the waitress there. We sang to her and she gave everyone a bandana for a souvenier.

Ben decided to try his hand at being as cowboy!

Thompsonville to St. Louis

2008-05-24T00:51:00.000+10:00

Thought you might like to see some of the garden outside Dad and Mum Sauvageot's house.

The team had about three days to rest up and practice for convention. They also got to do a little shopping and play some basketball.

They got to experience Taco Bell, Sonic and American hot dog!

The boys seem to be enjoying themselves! (even in the car).

On Wednesday, a friend of Steve's from school (who he had not seen in over 20 years) came to see us for the morning. Randy and his wife Lisa spent the morning remembering things that happened in Arkansas when Steve and Randy were in their teens. Randy sings for the Blackwood Brother's Quartet. The kids heard some funny stories about Steve's growing up. We ended up leaving a little late and had to rush to our next appointment.

We were invited to share at a little ACE school in Willisville on the way to St. Louis. They had made a slice in the shape of America that said, "Welcome Aussie Friends to the USA".

Sunday 18th May 2008

2008-05-24T00:12:00.000+10:00

We all had the privilege of sharing with the good folks at Unity Freewill Baptist Church. Bro. and sister Carney were gracious enough to have us come and share. We started the introduction with singing, "G'day, g'day". The whole group sang "Open Our Eyes, Lord". Hannah played her clarinet

John Furnivall did a poem about David and Goliath

Steve shared about the work in Hervey Bay. The Carney's and their church were the first to support our work in Austalia. They also came out about 1998 to share with our staff and pick up their son Rusty who had been with us for 6 months.
We had a great quartet sing "It is Well".

Neil and Michelle got special recognition for the wedding anniversary.

All the team ended up joining the choir!

After the morning service, they had a lovely lunch for all to share. The team got to try some real southern dishes and experience some southern hospitality and fellowship.

We also had the opportunity to share in the evening service. We shared the one act play, ensemble, and the quartet sang again.

After church, we congregated at Grans (Bro. Carney's mother) for supper. There is a lot of fun at Grans house.

Aussies are arriving!

2008-05-23T23:52:00.000+10:00

On Friday 16th of May, The Aussie team from Hervey Bay Christian Academy were supposed to arrive in St. Louis. But.......somehow they got delayed in New Zealand and did not arrive in time to make their connection in San Francisco. Much to their disappointment, they could not make it to St. Louis until Saturday and would miss the St. Louis Cardinals baseball game!

Well, someone had to make the game so. . . .the Sauvageot family suffered through and watched a very exciting game. We had to rush out of the ball park in the 10th inning to make it to the airport in time. The Cardinals won in the 1oth inning with a walk off home run.

We rushed to the airport to make it in time to pick up our aussie friends. Steve and dad waited by the cars parked on the curbside while the rest of us went in to greet the team. Well. . . .the plane was an hour late. They finally arrived a bit weary and worn. It was really great to see some familiar faces and hear some great talking.

We had about an hour and half to reach Thompsonville, Illinois. We stopped at the church for a quick practice. Here we got a picture of the weary team! They were all excited about finally being in the USA>

Mother's Day Celebrations

2008-05-23T23:38:00.000+10:00

On Saturday before Mother's Day, Steve took us all to Joe's Crab Shack. It was quite an experience. Ben has been calling it the Crab Shock. He really comes up with some funny sayings.
Ben really liked this fire hydrant. It reminded him of Australia with the colour! Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi, oi,oi!

On Sunday, we had the privilege of sharing at a church in Hampton, Virginia. There was another Australian missionary there as well. He is from Mackay and it was great to hear the Aussie accent once again!!!! He shared during Sunday School and our family shared during the Morning Worship Service. After church, we all went to a Chinese buffet for lunch. Then we hit the road toward Steve's dad and mum's house. We traveled until about 10pm. The next day, we traveled until evening and finally made it back to Illinois once again. We have a few days to rest up before all the Aussie Gang arrives.

More Washington D.C.

2008-05-22T23:12:00.000+10:00

We went to the Lincoln Memorial on Friday. When you look out of the memorial, you see the Washington Memorial, the Capitol Building, and the reflection pool.
Here we are by the Lincoln Memorial.

The kids thought this zebra crossing was interesting in that they tell you how many seconds you have to cross the street!

Arlington Cemetery

2008-05-22T12:01:00.000+10:00

Arlington Cemetery was really interesting. It was made out of the front lawn of General Lee's home (pictured left). Because General Lee switched to the South during the Civil War when Virginia joined the South, the north was pretty upset about this. So...they decided to get back at Lee by burying their dead in his front yard! When Mrs. Lee returned after the war, she was so upset she never stepped out of the carriage and never returned to her home.

This picture was a memorial to the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.

We also got to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. On the tomb it says "Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God." The changing of the guard was quite an experience. There was to be no talking of sitting while it was going on. In fact a few school kids were whispering and the guard yelled out that there was to be no talking! Our tour guide said he had never heard the guards have to tell the audience to be quiet!

The White House

2008-05-22T11:46:00.000+10:00

We did not get to have a tour of the White House because you have to book it about 6 months in advance. But. . . we got to go to the outside gate and see it from afar.
This picture of the white house is neat because you can see the Washington Memorial in the background.
Jacob was enthralled with the squirrels we found walking back from the White House. He especially liked the black one we saw. We had never seen a black one before!

Washington D.C.

2008-05-22T11:14:00.001+10:00

We went to the capitol building on Thursday the 8th May. Dad and Mum had arranged for us to have a personal tour of the capitol with their congressman's office. His name was Jerry Costello and his office person was Katie. She did a really good job helping to point out things we would have missed if we had gone on our own! Below you will see a picture of the kids beside a bust of George Washington, the 1st President of the USA. Also, their is a star on the floor that is the very centre of Washington D.C. We met with Katie across the road from the Capitol building where the tour began. Then we got to walk underground to cross the road and into the building. After the tour finished, we got to ride on a train back across the road (all underground!)

On to Washington D.C.

2008-05-10T11:39:00.001+10:00

On Wednesday the 7th May, we had a loooooong day of driving to Dunn Loring, Virginia. We left at 6:00 am and thought we would arrive around 3:00pm. We were trying to find our hotel when we passed the exit we should have taken. We finally got turned around and headed back when we missed our exit a second time! We took the next exit which we thought would get us back to our hotel. It did get us there. . . . eventually! We took our bags into the room when we had to turn around and get back into the car because we were supposed to be at Bro. and Mrs. Dryden's house for tea. It was worth the long drive for the lovely home cooked meal. After dinner, we were able to share at Community Church of God for their Wednesday evening service. As you can see in the picture, Susan and Trevor sang their duet "High and Lifted Up." We had a good time of fellowship there even though we were tired. The people here really took care of us. Bro. Dryden took us on a tour of Washington D.C. over the next two days and different people in their church had given things for dinner over the next two nights. We were thankful for God's provision. It was great to have some home cooked meals for a change.

The Shaffer Family

2008-05-10T11:26:00.001+10:00

On Monday the 5th of May, we headed to Greenville, South Carolina to be with David and Lori Shaffer (Steve's sister). On Tuesday evening, we had the privilege of going to our nephew's (Joel Shaffer) graduation from grade 12. We only got to spend these two days with the Shaffer family, but enjoyed every minute we had with them.

Below you will see a picture of the whole Shaffer family. Joel, David, Anna, Joshua, Lori, and Melissa Shaffer.

Saturday 3rd May 2008

2008-05-10T10:51:00.000+10:00

We are on the road again and Ben's still smiling! We are headed to Union, South Carolina.
We arrived on Saturday and met with Pastor Chuck Parrott and his family for tea. The sign out in front of their church gave us a huge welcome. They also had a promo from radio Rhema to play on their radio station about our coming to their church services. It was great to hear the Aussie accent again!!!!

On Sunday, we went to Covenant Baptist Church in Union, South Carolina. We were able to share in Sunday School along with Steve's dad and mum. We were going to sing "I'll fly away" during the morning service, but since the congregation was going to sing this song we decided to sing "Just a Little Talk With Jesus" as a family (along with Dad & Mum Sauvageot). Then we sang "If This is What God Wants", Trevor sang "I Will Go On", and Steve preached the morning service. They also had a lovely potluck lunch for us to share with the fellowship. During the evening service, Trevor sang "Forgiven Again", Steve preached, and Steve & Jennie Sang "God Never Moves Without Purpose or Plan."

As some of you Australians may remember, Pastor Charles Parrott came to Fraser Coast Baptist Church in 1995 and again with his wife in 1997. This year, he plans to come again in July. He is hoping to bring a team from his church for a missions trip. Pray along with him for the people God wants to bring out to Australia with him. He is very excited about coming to Australia again. Below is a picture of Pastor Chuck, his wife--Renee, and children--Chase and Joshua.

video of Williamsburg

2008-05-07T05:26:00.000+10:00

More Williamsburg

2008-05-07T05:02:00.001+10:00

More pictures of Williamsburg. Here is a man in the court room. A lady in front of one of the shops. Susan got to see how they did sewing by hand.

The boys also wanted to get a picture with one of the Captains of the army. We saw a production of these two preachers talking about the issues of the day. They were quoting Scripture. It was great to hear Scripture in a public place. We enjoyed our day seeing a bit of history.

Williamsburg

2008-05-07T04:50:00.000+10:00

We went to Colonial Williamsburg where they dress in traditional dress and do things like they did a long time ago.

We had to restrain some criminals while we were there!

Yaggi Cheese

2008-05-07T04:40:00.001+10:00

We had to visit the Yaggi Cheese House on our way through southern Ohio. The Sauvageot's have bought cheese from them for 3 generations. It is a family tradition!!

We traveled on through southern Ohio and saw all the places where dad lived as a boy.

Indians!!!!

2008-05-07T04:20:00.001+10:00

On Tuesday 29th April, we got to go the the Cleveland Indians baseball game. This is Dad's team! It was 3.8 degrees Celsius. We walked in the gate and Steve was stopped and asked if he wanted to be selected to win a $100 gift voucher. All we had to do was cheer for the Indians in front of a camera for a minute and a half. Then the Indians had to have 10 strike outs for Steve to win. Aunt Leah said she had never been on the big screen at any game. She went with us and got on the big screen!!! Sadly they only got 7 strike outs. Boo hoo!

Jacob was having a great time. Benjamin was calling his ear muffs weasels. He kept saying let me try those weasels.

During the game we rugged up to try and stay warm!

About the 7th inning, Trevor caught a foul ball.
Boy was he excited! He became an honorary Indian for catching the ball on the fly! I don't think he will ever come down off the clouds!

Benjamin bought this monkey with indians gear on to help celebrate!

Arriving in Cleveland

2008-05-07T04:10:00.001+10:00

On Monday the 28th of April, we arrived in Cleveland Ohio. We caught up with Dad's sister Leah.

We also caught up with Leah's daughter, Kim. Steve had not seen this cousin since grandma's funeral in 1998.
Susan loved meeting Kim's daughter, Sarah, who is interested in medicine as well.

On way to Cleveland

2008-05-06T23:57:00.001+10:00

On our way to Ohio, we stopped at an A&W Rootbeer place for lunch. The sign interested us (about being closed on Sundays)! You can see us enjoying our rootbeer outside in the cold.

Uncle Harold and Aunt Lena

2008-05-06T23:49:00.000+10:00

On the way to Cleveland Ohio, we stopped to see Mum's Uncle and Auntie. This month they will be celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary! What a blessing to get to see them and hear stories from the past. They seem to be going strong. Oh to have more strong marriages today!

Kokomo, Indiana 26th &27th April

2008-05-06T21:49:00.000+10:00

We arrived in Kokomo, In on Saturday 26th April. These are our good friends Mike and Joan Ennis. Bro. Mike was the principal at the school where Steve spent his grade 12 year. Joan had fixed us some great veg. soup for dinner. It was just what we needed because it was very cold (about 6 degree C).

We had a good time catching up and the boys had a chance to play basketball!

On Sunday, we had the opportunity to share at Victory Baptist Church. Steve was able to share about the ministry during Sunday School. We sang with Mum and Dad, as a family, and Trevor sang a solo. Then Steve preached during the morning service. After church, we had a time of fun, food, and fellowship. Steve got to have lunch with Denny Mize who he went to school with and had not seen in 26 years. Steve also got to catch up with a lot of folks who had known in high school.

A bit of fun comparing belly size!:)

Cousins

2008-04-28T09:48:00.000+10:00

On Saturday we had lunch at Cousin Frank's house. Cousins Becky, David, and Karen were there as well. David and Steve used to get up to lots of mischief when they were younger.
Frank made us a lovely lunch. Steve was reminded of Apple Salad (we will have to introduce it to youse when we get home!) We had a nice time catching up and remenising. You will have to ask Steve about his "I thought you was David" story!

Farm country

2008-04-28T09:37:00.001+10:00

Here is Jacob's arm back!! We had terrible trouble finding a doctor that would take Jacob's cast off. Most of the doctors would not take a cast off unless they had put the cast on. Finally, mum found one that would do it. Jacob was glad to get his arm back. Now he needs to work on getting movement back in his wrist. Pray he gets the movement back in the next two weeks.

We can sure tell we are in farm country. It is really beautiful seeing all the farms and countryside.

On the road again!

2008-04-28T09:28:00.000+10:00

On the road again!! We spent Friday running errands and getting Jacob's cast off his arm. We are now traveling around seeing a few relatives and some historical sight.

At Dad and Mum Sauvageot

2008-04-28T09:16:00.001+10:00

We arrived at dad and mum Sauvageot's on Thursday the 24th of April. We got to see their red barn and Andrew and Benjamin road on their neighbor's toy tractor. It was lovely to see their place, garden, and orchard.

We ate at the Carney home (their lovely neighbors) and had a nice time of fellowship and playing games.

Throwed Rolls

2008-04-28T09:07:00.000+10:00

On the way to Steve's mum and dad's house, we met them at a place called Lambert's Cafe (Home of the throwed roll). Pictured is Susan's chef salad, the boys country ham and Benjamin's hamburger. Dad and mum were very pleased to see us!!

Family pictures

2008-04-28T08:25:00.000+10:00

We were blessed to be able to get family pictures with Mike and Brenda.

Frog legs!

2008-04-28T08:22:00.001+10:00

We enjoyed tasting frog legs (a cultural experience) along with catfish and hush puppies.

In Tupelo

2008-04-28T08:08:00.001+10:00

At Steve's brother's church, the kids joined the choir at Wildwood Baptist Church. They were pleased to have a few more voices. Steve shared about the work in Australia during the Sunday School. During the evening service, Steve preached and all the Sauvageot (Mike's family and Steve's family) sang. Steve and Jennie sang a duet and Trevor sang a solo.

We also shared at the Academy chapel service, Wednesday with the youth, and Jennie shared at the ladies Bible study.

Steve enjoyed spending some time with his brother Mike and the kids enjoyed their cousins.

Show all

On the road to Tupelo

2008-04-23T02:01:00.000+10:00

After breakfast at Attaway house, we hit the road toward Tupelo to see Steve's brother Mike. Well into Arkansas, Mike called and said he had some good seats at a baseball game in Memphis, Tennessee. We were about 2 hours from Memphis. Sooooooo, Steve decided we would try for the baseball game. We got suite seats (where you have a room with comfy chairs) right behind home plate. It was pretty exciting. We saw the Redbirds play the Isotopes. We ate Memphis BBQ and Ben had ice cream in a mini helmet. The game ended around 10:30 and then we drove another hour and half to Tupelo. We got there at 1:00 in the morning. Boy are we ready for a good sleep!

Leaving Texas

2008-04-23T01:32:00.001+10:00

Up at 5:30 on Friday the 18th! Got up to pack the trailer and say goodbye to the Lanes before they had to go to work at 6:00.

We left the Lanes and headed to Steve and Bonita Attaway's house for breakfast. Mr. Attaway was Steve and Jennie's voice teacher in Bible college. We fellowshipped with them until about 10:00. Thank you to Bonita for all her hospitality--the kids were amazed at how you work.

Ben loved their neighbors dog that came for a visit as well.

This picture is for Gwen. We saw heaps of Dr. Pepper trucks in Texas!

This ones for Les :)

2008-04-23T01:24:00.000+10:00

Thought you might like to see our friend Don Lane's motorbike!

Police shooting range

2008-04-23T00:53:00.000+10:00

On the 17th April, Steve, Susan, Trevor, Andrew, Jacob, and our police friend Don Lane went to the police shooting range. They got to shoot several pistols and rifles. Jacob thought it was the greatest thing he has done so far! He thought all his Christmases had come at once!!

After they returned home, we had a Texas BBQ with the Lanes and Scotts during a Texas size thunderstorm. They were cooking hamburgers in the rain!:) It was a lovely way to spend our last night in Texas.

Visits with friends

2008-04-22T08:50:00.001+10:00

Susan's new glasses we had to replace because her old ones kept breaking. Trevor said they were too posh for her. She just ignores him.

This is our new van and trailer that we are riding around in. We make quite an entrance!

This is Bro. Travis. We went to see Bro. and Mrs. Travis on Wednesday. They are very good friends of Steve's dad and mum. We also worked with them when we were at ACE. They were so pleased to catch up with us. They are retired now and enjoying their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Bro. Travis said their schedule is: They get up when the bed ceases to be comfortable, eat when they feel hungry, and go to bed when they wake up after sleeping in their chairs for an hour or so.

This is Mrs. Travis. They were surprised at how big the kids have gotten.

We started back to the Lane's and realized that we have been away from traffic for toooooo long. We got stuck in rush hour traffic. We were trying to get back to change for prayer meeting at church. We made it back to Lane's about 6:45. Steve and the four older children raced off to church while Ben and mum stayed home for a rest.Pattia had made taco salad with fritos which we ate after church. It was beautiful.

The next day we went back to Ft. Worth and met up with Dr. and Mrs. Brooke. They were Steve's mentors when we lived in Texas. Steve worked with Stan Brooke and learned a lot about being a school principal from him. Steve also got to see their son, Joshua, who he coached in basketball. Please pray for Pat Brooke, she has come out of remission with her cancer and needs our prayer.

Dinner with Dad and Mum Huberty

2008-04-22T08:37:00.000+10:00

On the morning of 15 April 2008, Steve paid $33 to send the form to the airlines. About 1/2 hour later the airline calls and says our bags are on their way back from Houston and will deliver them this evening!!!!! Trevor is very happy.

We went to a BBQ place called "Red Hot & Blue" with Tamra's mum and dad. The kids love the way they bring the drinks out in a glass that looks like a pitcher. They are amazed at the free refills. It was really good to catch up with the Hubertys. We went back to their house to get the bag of goodies for Tamra. While there, Benjamin got to play with some of the Huberty cousins. They were excited about meeting Catie, Emma, and Beka's friend from Australia. Benjamin tried to teach them football!

Rest Day Monday

2008-04-22T08:30:00.000+10:00

We get to have a rest day Yeah! After our whirlwind trip to church yesterday, we are excited about having a rest. The airline now says our bags are lost and they do not know where they are!! We have to fill out a lost bag claim form and send it to head office in Phoenix. One problem is all Susan's competition sewing is in one of the lost bags! We hope we get those returned. Steve spent a loooooong time filling out all the paperwork. We have to wait until tomorrow to send it first thing!
What a drama. Trevor is not impressed!

Grace Baptist Church

2008-04-22T08:11:00.001+10:00

One Sunday the 13th April 2008, we went to our sending church Grace Baptist Church in Flower Mound, Texas. We met up with lots of old friends and had great fellowship.

We ate lunch with the pastor and his family at a Chinese buffet. One of Steve's students from our College and Careers Sunday School Class came as well. That was a great time of catching up and remembering stories of fun times with our sunday school class.

After lunch, we had just enough time to race our things out to our good friends house Don and Pattia Lane in Hickory Creek. We chatted for a little bit then race out to the church again to get ready for the evening service.

Here is a picture of Steve with his twin brother Truong Lee. They are trying to get our power point to work properly. Also pictured is his lovely family--his youngest Alydia which stole our hearts.

Steve presented our work in Australia and all the new things we are doing there. We sang "If this is what God wants" and Trevor sang "Forgiven Again". Steve preached on Acts 8.

After church, we met friends at a place called "Culvers" for tea.

The airline still has our bags in Houston (This is day 4). We fall into bed about 11:00 PM. Boy are we tired!