Twelve Apostles

I love to read. I always have since I was just a little kid. One of the things I remember reading about as a young girl was the Twelve Apostles in Australia. Twelve limestone stacks jutting out of the water along the Great Ocean Road. It was one of the places I wrote about in my wish list journal when I was about twelve years old. I started my wish list journal so I would remember all the places I wanted to visit when I was older. Most of these places were in books I had read that had left a deep impression on me. Sometimes, I might write down a place I heard adults talking about around the dinner table or maybe I saw a place on tv. All I knew was, I wanted to see new places and things when I grew up. 

Of course, we make our plans and God laughs, right? I married at eighteen years old, had our first baby at twenty and life grew its own set of legs after that. I never had any regrets because all I ever really wanted to do was to be a wife and mother. My parents offered me the world if I would put off getting married and go to college first. It just wasn't in my heart to do. So, I followed my heart and I'm very thankful for the life it gave me.

During the first forty years of our marriage.....read that again. Does it make you laugh the way it does me? Forty freakin years! I feel like I should be in a rocker with no teeth sort of whistlin that phrase with a Kentucky accent. So, during the first forty years yer pa and me was hitched. What in the hell!?! Sorry, I cant help myself sometimes. Anyway, we did travel quite a bit during our marriage but nothing more daring than Hawaii, Mexico and Canada. Of course, with seven kids, we camped all over the United States and had a great time doing it. But that's as far as our travels took us. Until a little over four years ago.

In 2016, we officially became Empty Nesters and as fate would have it, our youngest son was living in Australia. So, when he called to ask if I would come over to help when their first baby was born, I didn't have to think twice. Well, until it was time to board the plane and fly across the ocean. I may have had a bit of a panic attack then but that's another story. 

I spent five weeks in Australia with Andrew, Tori and baby Levi. It was more than I could have ever imagined and I can imagine quite a bit. One of the incredible things my kids did for me while I was there was taking me to see the Twelve Apostles. I will never forget the moment I saw it with my own eyes. 

And this is about the point where I turned into a twelve year old again.

Why yes, actually, I am crying, thank you.

Looking at this picture, I can hear the ocean and smell the spray, like I was still there. Being a California girl who drove Highway 1 to Big Sur for decades, I understand this is Australia's Highway 1, Big Sur. But for me, it was a dream realized. Something I had given up on because I thought I had to. That is such a lie we tell ourselves. Don't ever give up on your dreams. They'll find you in the right season. Dreams don't age out. Ask me how I know.

It's never too late if you're still breathing.

Andrew Luis Hansen, making the magic happen. When I say my kids are more than I deserve, I mean it. When I say they make me absolutely crazy, I mean that to. 

One of the best things you can do is pray for your kids and wait to see who God brings alongside them throughout their life. I'm so grateful for Tori. She is Andrew's equalizer. I couldn't have asked for a better wife for my son or mother to my two grandsons. And she dragged me around Australia for five weeks. Who does that with their mother-in-law and still smiles?

Keep dreaming. I am.