Paul is Amazing. Those of you who know him, already knew that I'm sure. :-) We were able to celebrate his "birthday weekend" this past weekend because he had off from work, and what a wonderful weekend it was. He has been working so hard on the farm lately (early days, long hours, and no days off) and this past weekend we were able to just relax, get some things done around the house and celebrate!  I could go on and on and on about all the good attributes of Paul and why I love him, but I just wanted to point out some of the things that I've been super appreciative of him lately.


Paul is the most ambitious learner that I know. First, he is constantly in the word of God striving to be a better man after God's own heart and a better servant to others. There isn't a day where he isn't in the word, researching different topics discussed in sermons, or doing something to bring him and our family closer to God. He is also constantly reading books about being a better person, a leader, friend, husband, and business owner. Then after reading them, he takes notes on them to remind himself of what he read. He is also ALWAYS studying dairy and farming. You would think that after a hard days work, one would sit down and just relax for the night, but not Paul. He'll go and pick up one of his millions of pamphlets or books on farming and read about it. Then he'll analyze it and take notes on it. Or he'll go on the computer or to a note pad and type up what he learned for that day or where he can improve in different areas at work and in life. He'll write down questions to ask his mentors and make sure he is understanding everything that is going on at the farm. He's always checking himself making sure he's growing, making sure he's learning, making sure we are meeting our goals and setting new goals and not wasting a single moment. Why does he do all that? Because he has a big God-given dream that is always stirring his heart.  I'm so grateful that he won't let it just die out because it seems too big or impossible, nope, he's a lion-chaser and I love it and am truly thankful. There is no doubt in my mind that this man has a great and wonderful future that will impact so many people for the better. I feel so blessed and thankful to be at his side cheering him on. I'm so thankful that I have this man to lead my family. He is a man who stands on principle and the truths of the Bible. He is already the best husband ever and I love him more and more everyday--I know he'll be the best dad ever to our kids and I'm so excited to see where he leads us in the future! 
 

Yes, you read that correctly. Monday night our lovely little Jane died from Pulpy Kidney. It was really sad and we both miss her very much! What a good and cute little lamby she was! I miss her cute little baaa and her fat little tummy and her sweet little personality. 
Tarzan is doing well and you can tell he misses his little buddy. He often runs around the house baaing and looking for her. We go for lots of walks and are spending lots of time together so hopefully that is helping him adjust. 

Ok, so I realize I'm a bit behind so I decided to clump these two together! Sorry for the delay reader!! (all 2 of you, Hi Mom and Dad!) :) 
After getting off our lovely cruise we headed towards Milford Sound. This is a smaller sound, north of Doubtful. It's smaller yet the road driving to it is one of it's biggest draws along with Mitre Peak. The drive was absolutely beautiful. Even with the weather not being the best (remember the Fiordlands get a LOT of rain every year) it was still stunning. Driving along it at parts you felt as if you were in a jungle. We'd look into the woods and it would be pure bright green, just stunning and beautiful. Then other parts you would be surrounded by massive mountains all around you. The only way into Milford is to take this road and then through Homer Tunnel. The entrance to Homer Tunnel was stunning in itself. You feel like a minuscule little bug standing in the presence of giants. It was neat to see this while it was raining because the fog and waterfalls just made it all the more spectacular. We truly serve a INCREDIBLE God. I kept thinking about when God created the earth, and even though there were no humans here to enjoy a place like New Zealand, He saw it and said it was "GOOD" and good is right. I imagine Him sitting there just thinking about all the humans saying...oh I can't wait until you discover the beauty of what I have made in New Zealand!!!!! :) Here are some pictures from the road. The little bird at the end of this group of pictures is known as the Kea, and they are little buggars!!! Really, they wait at the entrance of the tunnel (because cars stop there and wait to go through) and go on your car and eat it. Yes, you read that correctly, they eat the rubber around the windows of your car. They are a huge nuisance, we kept having to swat at them to get off our car! 

We then made it to Milford Sound. Unfortunately we couldn't see the famous Mitre Peak due to the weather conditions, which was a bummer. We were going to stay at the Lodge in Milford (basically a backpacker place and the only place to stay in Milford Sound) but because the weather wasn't very nice, and the forecast wasn't looking to promising for the next day either...so we had a decision to make. 1. pay to stay at another backpackers and room with random people, make our own food, and hopefully be able to see Mitre Peak then head to Queenstown in the Morning......or 2. go to Queenstown now and stay in a super nice hotel (for free) and get the best breakfast in the whole world.....we chose the #2. We had already spent 3  nights in "backpacker"type accommodations and were ready to just relax. We then headed to Queenstown and were able to spend friday night, and all day saturday at the Hotel and around the town. Queenstown is such a beautiful town. It is surrounded by Mega mountains, and is just breathtaking!!! (I feel like I'm running out of adjectives to describe all these beautiful places!!!!) Well, I know I posted about Queenstown earlier so I won't go into great detail here. The weather this time was much nicer, and not having to deal with the stresses of a broken car this time was an added bonus. We headed home on Sunday, stopped at Lake Tekapo to walk around for a bit, snuggled with our lambies when we got home, picked up some pizza from pizza hut and headed over to Andy and Trish's to watch the All Blacks win the World Cup! A lovely end to a great vacation! We were so grateful for the time Paul could get off work and for the time we could spend together, I know Paul enjoyed showing me a bunch of his favorite places and recalling stories from his previous trip here. It was so neat to finally be here and experience it myself!! Here are some pictures!!! Enjoy and God Bless!!!!