Trine and Adrian

NEW WEBPAGE: www.westbrook.no

2008-05-23T02:02:00.002+10:00

Hey guys!! So yeah, it has been months since the last update.
Adrian and I have now been married for a year.. and we are loving it...
We have now created a new website, so we will be updating that one regularly (lets see how long we can keep it going this time,...), this blogspot will probably not be given much attention....
As of now it is not possible to leave comments on our new site, but please feel free to contact us on the email address that you find on our new page...

Hope you are doing FANTASTIC!!!!

www. westbrook.no

Life as a married couple...

2007-08-18T07:22:00.000+10:00

Well... what can we say... life is GOOD! Sorry for those of you checking this page once in a while, that my updates have been few this year,... I will try to get better!!

We are loving life together... it truly is a blessing to be married to an amazing man.. HE is SO much fun... and we laugh a lot, have tickling fights around the house. waterfights... sometimes (not with buckets like we did in Sydney Katie and Autumn, we have wooden floors so dont think that is a good idea... )We are truly blessed in every way. We love our house, though we still need to get stuff on the walls, and bits and pieces here and there, but it truly is a haven to us, and we love spending time at home.. and having people over..

Adrian has been on summer holidays from norwegian classes, and has done lots of church work instead... (and sleeping in a lot.. quite a few days I woke him up around noon when I called from work in my lunch break.. He is turning into a true norwegian). He is working at church 40% overseeing all the worship and creative arts, and he is doing such a great job. His norwegian is getting better every day, our new pastor has said that if he doesnt preach in Norwegian at the end of the year, he's fired... so that is something that is certainly stretching him... though it kind of was a joke,,
I have been working a lot this summer, in July I went to Italy with the family I worked with, spent 10 days close to Pisa. Was a great time, though we didnt have heaps of time to spend outside in the sun.. Italy is nice I must say, and I do look forward to going there with Katie once in the future.. I missed Adrian like crazy, so we fell in love all over again, and have pretty much been like teenagers in love ever since.. 10 days is a long time when you are newlyweds, if you ask me..

We have also started to paint our house.. Adrian has been climbing the ladder as you can see from the photo.. The weather hasnt been the best, so it is going slow, but it will be good when we finish it.. hopefully very soon. Adrian is amazing, and fixing all kinds of things. A hard worker he is... that is for sure..

And yeah, by the way, he got his norwegian drivers licence, so now he no longer has an aussie one... how crazy is that....

Two weeks ago we celebrated Malin and Marius wedding, and it was a beautiful day. We sang in the wedding, and really enjoyed great time with friends and family. In two weeks we get on the plane and go to Sydney for Natalie and Andrews wedding, and we are STOKED to see everyone again... we only have 2 weeks in Sydney, but it will be fantastic to catch up with family and friends..

Church here is going good. Mark and Unni and the family have just moved back to Aalesund and taken over the church. THey are full of vision and fired up. We are blessed with great people to work alongside, and though it sometimes is a challenge, we know we are at the right place at the right time., Our worship and creative team is full of potential and great people, and we are working towards a city wide praise and worship night in November. Very exciting!!! Next weekend we have our kick off weekend, and lots of fun stuff will be happening there.. adrian is organising heaps of stuff, so it will be GREAT!

well.. this was a lot of talking... so i better stop here.. boring updates.... but God is good.. were loving life.... really looking forward to a holiday... and yeah.. stay tuned for updates soon..

WE ARE MARRIED!!!

2007-05-25T05:47:00.000+10:00

Oh what a day!!
We have just got back from a few days away in the mountains, and WE ARE LOVING life as MARRIED!!
We had a FANTASTIC day May 19, and it is all kind of still a bit unreal.. but we are sooo happy, and sooo glad we have each other.. Just posting a few photos, so you can see us on our big day... I will do a bigger update soon.. with more details. for those of the girls that are interested...
Loving you all......

THEY HAVE ARRIVED!!

2007-05-06T16:20:00.003+10:00

Yesterday at 2 PM our beautiful aussie family arrived in Ålesund. After a very long flight, about 40 or so hours of travelling (they had a real long stop over in Singapore) we met them at the airport.. I was waving flags, making Adrian feel all embarrased... but what dont you do for family coming?
We would have loved to have many more coming from overseas to join us for our big day, but we know it is a long way to come, a expensive trip and a difficult time of the year.... Kylee and James are coming from England, and also friends from different parts of Norway.. so it is exciting.. we are soo happy for all the ones that are able to be with us.. that is a blessing!!
Today it is 2 weeks and we are MARRIED!!! WOHOOOOO!!!!

Welll.. hopefully I will be able to update with photos and stuff as we go... Natalie thinks the mountains looks like a postcard, and mama Sue is going to the window all the time to look at them... so they like it so far..
Hopefully it will stay sunny and get a bit warmer...

Ok.. loving you all!!!
Byeeeeeeee

THEY HAVE ARRIVED!!

2007-05-06T16:20:00.001+10:00

ADRIAN TURNING 22

2007-05-04T23:18:00.000+10:00

TRIBUTE to my amazing man.. who turned 22 today.
He truly is the most amazing person to do life with! Everyday is fun, crazy and most of the time serious too... hehe..
I LOVE getting to know this man more and more as we continue doing life together.. Gosh.. cant believe I found my self a young gun.... PRAISE THE LORD!!! SOOO much I can say and feel about this man, but I need to wait till the wedding, which by the way is ONLY TWO WEEKS AWAY!!!!
Well.. we have had a good day! I woke Adrian up at 630 with breakfast in our house. I got up 530, made hot chocolate and other yum stuff and drove out to our house at Eidsnes.. so that was nice.. early but nice....
Adrian went to school and I worked all day, and we have spent the rest of the night getting everything ready for the Westbrooks to arrive tomorrow.. the house has NEVER been cleaner.. I think... and we are ready for two great weeks with the aussies before we get married on May 19th.. I can hardly wait.. but it is kind of unreal too.... going to be GREAT!

Last weekend, my girlfriends TOTALLY surprised me saturday morning picking me up with tractor and cowboy outfits.. We had the most amazing day together, line dance classes, go cart, photo shoot, sing star competitions, great food and great fellowship... It was the best day.. Beautiful weather and everything.... I was so not ready for the whole thing of being embarrased, as the bachleourette parties nowadays are doing, so the girls totally gave me a day with QUALITY time with my girls... though a few were missing... work, studies in other cities/nations... and so on.. but girls, THANK YOU!!! I had the best day, and will never forget it! You are such a blessing in my life!!!

Well.. life is full.. MANY things to do and finish for the wedding, but we are excited and happy...
Trust you are all doing GREAT!
A few photos from our house... though we havent taken many yet.. still getting things on the walls and all that fun stuff.. but it is starting to feel like a home.... and I am moving in in two weeks.. I can hardly believe it...
Oh well..
See ya....

Adrians Norwegian Test

2007-04-28T07:48:00.000+10:00

Well... life is going faster than ever here in Ålesund. Tomorrow it is ONE WEEK till the Westbrooks arrive, and I can hardly believe it. We are so excited.. and sooo scared that the weather will scare them away.. no we have prayed and belive that the sun will shine and it will be all beautiful...
Life is good.. we are SO in LOVE, and I love being with Adrian.. every day it gets better.. really look forward to get married.. though my tummy turns just thinking about it... it will be the BEST day...

Adrian is studying hard at school, and had a test this week reviewing the entire book. He has actually learned all the norwegian grammar, and remember he has only done classes for 3 months... he got the test back, and scored 17.5 of 18 points, THAT IS FLIPPIN AMAZING and I was SO proud of him... So he is doing really well at school, though we need to be better at speaking norwegian to each other... it is just easy to fall into the english, cause it is easy and familiar... oh well..

Except from that.. I am going to the gym, and my body has been hurting for 3 days from the work out on tuesday, It was SO hard, but SO good.. I am going to the solarium to get a tan before the wedding and doing all the other wedding things like making the name tags and favours for the table and stuff like that.. good times... its fun!!!

Well... I better stop here.. Adrian has invited me for breakfast at 9 in our house tomorrow, so I better get some sleep. Never know what he is up to..
Stay tuned for updates when the Westbrooks arrive....
trine

Adrian SKIING for the FIRST TIME EVER!!!!!!

2007-04-10T05:00:00.000+10:00

So.. today was a BEAUTIFUL day in Ålesund, and my last day off work.. We have had a great easter spending lots of time with our friends and family, having people over to our house and great fellowship... and obviously LOTS of chocolate.. today is the last day by the way.. until our wedding.. so fruit and vegetables; here we go.....

Anyways.. today we were invited for breakfast at Daniels place, a great friend of ours, and that was really nice... when we got home, it was just too nice outside to not get out and do something.. so we thought that THIS had to be our chance to go skiing.. since Adrian has NEVER done it before.. so... we found dads OLD ski clothes.. (poor Adrian looked like he was wearing clothes from the 80's), got everything into the car, and got going... And can I say.. that to be skiiing for the very first time, I thought Adrian did FANTASTIC! He went for it, and was not scared, though a little frustrated that the ski kept crossing at the front... and for me it is hard explaining, cause I have been skiing since I was a baby, and dont even know what I do.. I just do it.... but we had fun.. the sun was shining, people were out there... loving it... the mountains were watching us, along with the neighbours.. i think we gave them good entertainment for a while... and that for free.. hehe.. but yeah.. we had fun... some photos are posted below... and it will definately not be the last time we go skiing.....
LOVING LIFE and EACHOTHER....
Beautiful mountains.....
NIIIIIIICEEEEEE.......
I get knocked down, but I get up again.... nothing is ever gonna keep me down.....
Peace everyone... his confidence has increased.. it is going good....
but then suddenly...... something just happened....
....and it ended like this.....

We then headed home for family dinner, and went to see Aalesunds first footballmatch alongside about 11 000 others... unfortunately they lost, but we still had a great time.. and feel refreshed and ready to get back to work and everyday life...
Six weeks to go till our wedding... I AM EXCITED!!!!

Hope you have all had a GREAT Easter...

IDA TURNING 1!!

2007-04-10T04:53:00.000+10:00

My gorgeous little niece Ida turned 1 this past wednesday, and we celebrated her on friday with the family.. She is SOOO cute, and such a blessing to our family! SO... Ida... We love you and believe in you! You will grow up to be a mighty woman of God and honour Him with your life.

A TRIBUTE

2007-04-07T19:14:00.000+10:00

Well.. I am sitting here.. it is easter... and the first one in Norway in 3 years... outside it is snow... and we have the fire place going, chocolates are on the table.. and life is good...
The past few days Adrian and I have had lots of friends over to our house spending great time together with food and fellowship. It gives me SOOO much.. and at the same time it reminds me of all our AMAZING family and friends that are so far away from us.... Soooo.. this little blog is a tribute to you... I dont have time to post photos of everyone, but know that we are thinking of you, and we REALLY miss you.. I wish we could just fly you all over and we could spend some time together... unfortunately our paychecks doesnt reach that far yet.. But We are truly blessed to have you in our lives... friendship that lasts the distance, that will always be, though we dont see eachother every day...
I pray that this easter will be a time where you will encounter God like never before. and that Jesus will be real and alive in you..
Know that we LOVE YOU and MISS YOU... sometimes so much it hurts....

My amazing Westbrook Family

Best friends forever

What would we be withouth Aran and Kelista??

Megan and Kilaya
I MISS EDEN!!
THE BIGGEST blessing ever!!!!! My fijjian parents!
Danniebelle.. AMAZING girl and sister for life
I could never ask for better housemates...
Sisters for life
Micah always bring a smile to my face
My Rosie.. getting married at the same day as I am...
Nina, Katie and Elise.... LOVE these girls
Sindre... he is simply one of the best guys ever..
Best team trip... SO MUCH FUN!! We can do tea towel fight any day.....
Mari and her husband Carl is moving home to Ålesund in May, and I AM SO EXCITED to have them here... finally we are in the same city..

LIFE IS FANTASTIC!

2007-03-28T01:57:00.000+10:00

Look at these photos!!!!!!!... sunday after church I took Adrian up to the mountain just behind my parents house..Høgkubben... it is about an hour walk, and it was pretty wet as the snow was still there... but it was AMAZING! The weather has been fantastic and it is sooo good to be able to enjoy it like this....

Things are going good.. life is full.. we are now just about to climb another peak with our connect group so gotta go...
Love you all and trust that everything is going great!!
More updates are to come... ( I always say that.... I am trying.....)

Just adding a photo of our car too..God has blessed us with sooo much!!

We are still alive!!!

2007-03-07T09:17:00.000+11:00

WEll for those of you who are wondering.. and who are still checking the blog.. WE ARE ALIVE!!
The days have simply not had enough hours to do blog updates, though it is needed....
We are doing GREAT in Ålesund!! WE are being stretched, challenged, we are definately more in love than ever... and life is smiling..
We have lots to do with preparing our house... Adrian moved in last week.. and he loves late nights in front of the fireplace by himself... so long.. ha.. only 11 weeks till I will storm the house.... but we are truly blessed with a great house.. we are doing bits and pieces there, but our couch arrived saturday, so it is now starting to look and feel more and more like a home... We had our first candlelight dinner there yesterday, so that was really nice....

I have just come home from 12 days in US. I travelled with the family I work with, and have had an awesome time, totally inspired, learnt a lot and ready to go hard for the next few months until they go for the next trip to Italy in july. The girl I work with is 7, and one of the things we are doing now is to learn italian, so I am just going to go for it with all that I can, and see if I can learn a few frases... hehe.. great to be challenged and stretched...

Wedding planning is going slow and steady... I guess i should be stressed, but Im not.. so hopefully it will all come together...
Miss you guys that are not around... hopefully both Adrian and I will manage to come to Australia in august/september for Natalie's wedding, so that will be a GREAT catch up time....

Be blessed!

First week of everyday life in Norway...

2007-01-21T01:59:00.000+11:00

Well, what can you say to a photo like this.. God is truly magnificent who gave us all this creation to enjoy... I took this shot yesterday morning, just a few meters from our house(which is still kind of empty..) It was an amazing morning and I just had to capture a bit of it...

Well.. it is 1:30 am sunday morning and I am sitting in bed... thought this might be a good time for an update on the past week... it has been a full on week in many ways, with lots of great things happening.. For me it is definately still a transition time, as it is for Adrian... I have started work... at the moment I work 80% and it will become 100% hopefully from next month.. I am working for the same family as I did previous to my 3 years in Aussieland, as an assistant to their 7 year old daughter. It is awesome to be back with them, and the plan is to have her one weekend a month at our house.. we will see how this will work, I am going to have her next saturday, and then we will kind of build from there... she is precious.. and I love to work with her..

ADRIAN IS BACK IN SCHOOL!!! Well... Adrian only had 4 days of holiday in Ålesund, before he got straight back into classes. Every day from 8:15 to 12:30 he is in school learning norwegian. By a mistake they put him in advanced level, which means he ended up with people that have been learning norwegian the past 7 months... he skipped a whole text book.. but his teacher loves him and wants to keep him in the class.. and he is up for the challenge, so we are working our way through the first text book at home, and hopefully we can catch up in not too long.. I have to say he is doing amazing.. and I am so proud of him. It is hard work, jumping straight into pretty difficult grammar... but he is positive and teacheable, though he does have his frustrated moments... dont we all???

Church is going good! WE have only had one service since Adrian arrived... We lead worship together for the sunday service. We only have one weekend service at this point, exept from youth, but it was really great. Mark Wootton, who is our pastor preached a great message, and we had fun, teaching the church Friend of God.. It was a great atmosphere, and about 90 people, so lots of potential and we are encouraged and believe God for a great season ahead...

Other than that, it is snowing in Ålesund, and Adrian LOVES IT!! At school he got in a snow ball fight with the kids going to school in the same building, and had sooo much fun.. he is also taking all the snow off my car every morning.. which I totally appreciate at 7:30 am and it is -3 degrees outside..

Well. anyways. last night we gathered a few friends, and decided to go sleighing or toboging or whatever it is called...we call it AKEBRETT, so I just refer to it as that from now on.. My cousin OJ came up with the brilliant idea to get his dads landcruiser, and he pulled us all with robes after the car to the top of the hills.. it took us about half hour to get to the top... we had to stop many times as we fell off the akebrett... anyways.. Adrian had thetime of his life, and so did the rest of us.. we had a few big crashes, and were close to the cliffs a few times, but it was GREAT!! After we went to my brothers house, and all of us had waffles and hot chocolate, and just had a fun time together...

Except from this, we are just doing life I guess... our days are pretty full with school, work and then when I finish work, we do homework for a few hours.. then it is connect or whatever else is on.. or we do stuff in our house.. or try to plan the wedding.. and Adrian obviously does Church Stuff.. so LOTS to do... not time to get bored....

Just adding some photos too... stay close for more updates soon....
Adrian and Trine in Norway
My brothers Arild and Runar.. well... I dont think any further introduction is needed.. they are crazy...
Adrian in winter wonderland.... we are believing for more snow and cold weather....
Such a great day for a walk..
Here I am with my three gorgeous nieses... Linnea, Ida and Naomi.
Cowboy Hanken.. soon I will be leading country and western at church....

ADRIAN ARRIVED SAFELY!!!!

2007-01-11T09:26:00.000+11:00

Adrian has arrived, and as the forecast said, it has been snowing today, and been around 0 degrees...
I cannot believe how amazing it was to see my man again.. i felt like a young teenage girl... totally in LOVE,...it was great.. haha..
Adrian only slept 6 hours in the last 48 hours... so he was pretty exhausted and went pretty much straight to bed... but he still managed to sit me down and sing me a song that he wrote to me on our 11 month anniversary December 25.. I always dreamed about a man that could sing me songs, and now he has already written me two.. just wait... in 10 years, Ill have a whole album..., and he writes amazing stuff too... hmm... I am just MORE than blessed!!!!

Well.. We will keep you up to date on what is happening.. I have two days off work, so we have lots of stuff to check out for our house.. but will just have some hang out time as well.. and catch up with each other and people here....
IT IS SOOOOOOOO GOOOD TO HAVE HIM HERE!!!!
Photos and stuff of the last months happenings will hopefully be out soon...
Much love...

Adrian is coming in 3 days...

2007-01-07T23:47:00.000+11:00

Well.. the calender says January 7, and the days are going fast.. PRAISE THE LORD!! My Adrian is coming in 3 days... It is almost unreal, but I am very excited.. though Im a little nervous too.. this time it is not just 3 weeks holiday, this time we are moving here for real... COOL.. We have not had snow at all, but the forecast for wednesday when Adrian is flying in, is....... SNOW!! Can you believe it.. i will have to bring his winterjacket (which we bought in august.. just in case...hehe) and hot chocolate or something if it gets really bad.. haha... oh well..

Lots has happened this week. I started working tuesday, and it has been great getting back into it after a week of doing nothing else but eating.. christmas is a crazy season.. in the Hanken house we LOVE food..
I have also started preparing our house. Mum and I cleaned the whole house, all closets and the kitchen cupboards.. and yesterday I opened my bride coffin.. that is literally what we call it here, have no idea what you would call it in English, but anyhow.. it is what young girls did back in the days, where they collected stuff as they grew up to take when they got married.. Since I have been pumped about a husband, marriage, wedding and kids since I was 5, my box was pretty big... or more like a car load... 3 boxes..big ones.. a suitcase and bags.. i have plates, cups, glasses, wok, cutlery, bowls, tablecloths, linen, mugs, lots of crystall that i bought in Prague when i was 15.. you name it... i have stuff... i didnt realise till yesterday how much i actually had.. so mum and i went to my house, and we washed all the stuff and organised it in the cupboards.. I LOVE MY CUPBOARDS ORGANISED!!!! and after 3 years in a college house, where you have 3 of one kind plate, and 2 of another, i LOVE to have 8 of the same thing.. or 12... gosh.. it is lovely... hehe. oh well... ill have to post photos of our house soon, but the ones i have is really old and before it was finished.. so..

Enjoy, and i hope your day and week has been great, and that the next one will get EVEN better!!!!!

A New Season

2006-12-31T18:44:00.000+11:00

Well, it is New Years Eve, and I have been in Norway close to a week. It still feels a bit unreal that I now have made the move, and that i am back in Ålesund and will be staying here. Just the other night I was thinking about which movies they were going to show on my flight back to Sydney, when I realized that I am staying.. it was a weird feeling...

Adrian is still in Sydney, which is definately a challenge. We havent been away from each other for 2 weeks since we spent 2 months apart during Christmas last year, and now being engaged and getting ready to get married, I can't say that I like it, but still know that it has been good for both of us to have great time with family..

I spent about 3 weeks on the coast with Adrians family before I left, and we had such a great time. The Westbrooks are awesome, and they have welcomed me into the family with open arms... Mama Sue and I shared the joys of shopping (and spending money.... next year I will be on a tighter budget this time of the year as I am then not "on my own" anymore... sigh...), and we all had great meals and quality time together..

It was sad leaving and saying good bye to the ones I love, but at the same time both Adrian and I know that this is the right move, and that the season ahead are to be in Ålesund. We are continuing to see Gods favour upon our lives, and He is SO faithful. He has prepared everything, and we are blessed beyond measure...

Hopefully I will manage to update the blog as we go... WE have a full season ahead, where I start full time work this coming week. I am back where I worked previous to going to Hillsong, and I am SO pumped about that..Adrian will be starting norwegian classes pretty much as soon as he arrives, we have a house to set up, a wedding to plan, and obviously lots to get into at church and especially within the Worship and Creative Arts area. Adrian will be working part time with this, and we are really excited about this oportunity to serve the Kingdom.

We pray the very best for each and everyone of you!
May this new year be a year of love and blessing where we all get to know our Lord and Saviour, the reason for living, more and more...

Love you and believe in you!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Godt Nyttår!!!!

Saying Goodbye...

2006-12-12T23:45:00.000+11:00

I cannot believe it is less than 2 weeks till I am getting on the airplane and going home.. It is weird.. At the moment I have moved up to the Central Coast, and have the past week been living with Adrians family. We are staying here till we go to Norway, and it has been great having lots of fun with Adrians parents and siblings.. they are cool.. KAtie came with us for a few days before she left to go home to US for Christmas...and that was awesome, but it was not fun to say goodbye to her. SHe has been my housemate the past two years, and was one of the first people I met in Australia. We connected right away and have been best friends since. We have shared pretty much everything the past three years, and it was really weird to say goodbye, knowing that after christmas this time, I am not getting on the plane and going back to Australia again.. hmm.. i still dont think i have realized it yet...

Adrian is working a lot. He is amazing!! I have only been to the beach twice, and being with people (read Katie and Adrian) that doesnt love staying at the beach for hours and hours.. my tan is not coming along as fast as I planned.. oh well.. all good... today it has been stormy and really cold, so we stayed inside all day, exept from a few hours at the mall with Megan... really hope we get some good sunny days soon!!

Ill try to post some photos soon from Graduation and stuff from the past few weeks...
Trust everyone is doing great!
Love you all, and I am really excited about coming home soon!!!!

Engagement Party 2

2006-12-02T08:00:00.000+11:00

FINALLY an update as there has been several big things happening the past few weeks... In the middle of finishing college, graduation dinner and ceremony and all kinds of other things, Adrian and i took time to put on our second engagementparty. November 20 we invited lots of friends and family and about 80 people came to spend a few hours with us. It was a really great night with lots of candles, lots of roses, yummy fingerfood, good drinks (Adrian made the best punch ever, this will definately be his responsibility when we are married...) and live entertainment. I think People enjoyed themselves and so did we, though it was a really hectic few weeks beforehand...

THANKS to everyone that helped us make this possible.. Mum and Daddy G.. without my fijian family, it would certainly not have been a party.. thanks for all the time and effort you guys made, all the food you made mum and for Danniebelle for going to the flower markets at 6am on a day off.. I LOVED IT!!!!!!
The Westbrooks, you guys are the best!!! Soooo glad to be in your world....
Mum and Dad in Norway... words are not enough.. thanks mum for all party advises over the phone... you should consider making it a business.....
Thanks Katie for helping out and taking over the kitchen on the night.. it was soooo smooth.. I OWE YOU!!!! Autumn, you can decorate my cakes ANYTIME! Thank you sooo much, the cake looked fantastic!! My housemates you are all amazing, and Nina, Mel, Maria, Christina, Sindre and Adam... Morten and all the boys helping with the valet parking... IT WAS AWESOME.. and Luke and Dave.. the entertainment was perfect.... thanks Much for the sound system....

Oh well... i can go on and on.....Im posting lots of photos after request from mum...
Hope you are all doing GREAT!!!!

Some of my stunning norwegian girlfriends....

Amazing moment where Daddy G, Adrians dad, Morris and Aran prayed for us...

The Westbrooks enjoyed the night outside...

Rolf and Sindre

Mum and Daddy G

Noemi and I

Kilaya and Megan (adrians sister)

Bookshelves works as a bar anyday.....

Flowers from mamma and pappa

Debbie Ann and Marine

Daddy G held the most amazing speech on behalf of mamma and pappa and also from the Whippy family, and pretty much every person there was in tears....
David is one of our greatest friends, and he did some live entertainment.. (a little help from Eden) AWESOME

How precious is Eden...

The cake was made by mum Annabelle and decorated by my flatmate Autumn, SOOO BEAUTIFUL!!

This is just after we kissed... and I need to get better at this in front of people before my wedding day.. look how embarrassed I am.. hehhe....

Meeting the Family...

2006-11-06T11:48:00.000+11:00

Well, Adrian and I have had the best time this past weekend. Grandpa and Grandma Westbrook called us last week, and wanted to fly us up to Brisbane to spend some time with them.. How blessed are we, that is all I can say..
So friday morning, we had a 4am start and Katie, amazing as she is, took us to the airport.
Well, we arrived safely in Brisbane and Aunty Bronwyn drove us to the Sunshine Coast (about an hour drive). Grandpa and Grandma Westbrook welcomed us with open arms, and we had a great chat, but when it was 10 am both Adrian and I were ready for our first nap for the day...
We then headed out for lunch, and talked some more.. and then went home, talked some more and were ready for our second nap.. haha.. it was soo funny.. but soo good.. I had not had much sleep at all that week, so when Adrian woke me up after about an hour sleep, I could have slept for another couple of hours easily. Oh well.. one thing I can say is that we have talked a lot.. and grandma has told us many many stories....

Adrians parents are on holidays at Rockhampton, where Mama Sue's parents lives. They drove about 6-7 hours to come down and hang out with us, and to come to the engagement party that they had organised for us the next day. So we went to hang out with them, and had afternoon tea.. Nanna and Grandad
We had lots of fun.. and so amazing for me to get to know Adrians grandparents. They are amazing, and we had lots of laughs and great times together.. Adrians parents, Sue and Morris.. They are amazing!!
Hannah (family friend) and Adrians sisters, Natalie and Megan

Oh well.. 8:30pm, Grandpa and grandma went to bed, and an hour later Adrian and I did the same... we brushed our teeth, and could hear how they were praying together and speaking the word of god over each other and their family. They are amazing people, that have lived a really adventurous life and experienced so much.. Adrian and I looked at each other, and agreed that we have much to live up to...

Well, the next day we went shopping, and I found my wedding shoes.. WOHOO... my dress is in process, and shoes are bought... church and venue is booked.. and date is set to May 19th. So please pray with us for BEAUTIFUL may weather so we can show off Norway and Ålesund at its very best next year!

The engagement party started at 3pm, and with POURING Ålesunds rain, we enjoyed the afternoon with the family in uncle Wes and Auntie Bronwyns Garage.

It was awesome. they had decorated and there was so much food..
such a great time, and people had travelled for hours to spend the afternoon with us.. really a big blessing to us...

I had tears in my eyes many times as both of Adrians grandfathers reminded me of my very own farfar and Besten.

THANKS to all of you that made our time up there so amazing! Truly memories that we will keep and treasure for a long time!!

This one is for my dear uncle Per...

2006-10-29T23:17:00.000+11:00

Well.. when I talked to Nina yesterday, she mentioned that she had talked to her dad, which is my uncle, and that he was wondering what is happnening since I havent updated the blog since October 8th.. so.. uncle.. this blog is dedicated to you....

Oh well.. the days have gone by quickly, and we have already been engaged for three weeks. THere is soo much going on, and life is full in every area. College is big at the moment, with major assignment coming up. Internship and office is full on with lots of stuff preparing for our annual Christmas Production. WIth lots to do in churchlife and school and office, there is not much time left... But we are trying to live in the moment, and also really enjoy this last few weeks....

Friday morning Adrian and I are flying up to Brisbane. His granparents have bough us tickets to come up and spend a few days with family up there, since they wont be able to make it for our wedding in Norway. I am really excited to hang out with the Westbrooks, they are a crazy bunch of people that is for sure.....

Except from that we are preparing our engagement party which will be November 20th. I have to say I do miss mum a lot... and I would love to have her here at timees like this organising all kind of stuff for the partyl... Oh well... i guess I just have to do my very best

Oh well. full day tomorrow with assingments.. I need to get my head on my pillow
But Uncle Per.. I will see you very soon.. Ill be home Christmas Day.. Thanks for being sooo awesome.. You are auntie Tove is amazing!!

The BIG Adventure

2006-10-08T22:51:00.000+10:00

Well, we are engaged! Guess that is enough information for the male readers of this blog.. but for you girls (and the boys that are into the details), here is the full story of our October 7th Adventure.

Well.. it has been a few busy weeks, and not much time for Adrian and i to hang out, so when he left me a note in the mail telling me he was taking me away for the day, I did not think in any shape or form about getting engaged. Ever since we got back from Norway, we have talked future, and obviously started making plans considering that we made the decision to move to Norway, but he has been telling me over and over again, that he is soooo annoyed that he is not in the financial position right now to buy a ring.. Well I have been trying to assure him that hey... it is not so important with that ring.. so anyways, my mind was totally shut off to the idea of him proposing on this day...

Well, he had given me a card with instructions, and 6:20am, I was ready to be picked up. He had borrowed a good friends nice car for the day, and we headed off towards the central coast where his parents live. As we got closer, he suddenly took off from the road, and we drove into an airport. One of his best mates from the coast, Matty is a pilot and imports smaller airplanes and sell them. Anyways, we met him, and he took us for an hours flight in a 4 seater..
Matty, Adriand and me

It was amazing, such a beautiful morning, and believe it or not: I FLEW THE AIRPLANE!!! It was scary, but sooo much fun!!

Well, after saying goodbye to Matt, we jumped in the car, and went straight to Adrians parents place where Mama Sue had breakfast ready, and we had a great hour with Adrians family. they are really awesome, and it had been a while since I had been at the coast, so that was really nice... Well.. Adrian then dropped me at a lady called Yvonne's house. She gave me 1 hour FULL BODY MASSAGE, and I have never felt so relaxed in my life. It was AMAZING!!

Adrian then picked me up, asked me to change into my swimmers, and we headed towards the beach. But it wasnt just any beach, we drove 40 minutes to get to Pearl Beach which was the beach where we had our VERY FIRST DATE!! Adrian had organised a picnic bag, and Mama Sue had cooked more food, and we had a lazy hour at the beach chillin and eating. Neither of us were really hungry, but we had soo much food. We didnt even touch a quarter of it..... He then gave me a little card with the next location, and next stop was Max Brenner. For those of you that have never heard about this, it is a cafe where everything they serve is chocolate. I LOVE CHOCOLATE! We have often talked about going there, but never been. So we went there and got waffles with strawberry and lots of melted chocoalte over... YUMMY!! it was delicious!!

Well, I thought that Adrian was not able to keep things a secret from me... but it turned out to be wrong.. He even got other people involced in "lying".. So one of the days we were sitting in the office, he showed me an email from Julie, she is the one overseeing all the singers at church. Adrian had already said no to sing in church this saturday because we were going away, but he thought that I started to know something, so he organised for Julie to email him saying that they really needed him to sing, so I now thought we had to be back at 4pm. Well... i thought he was telling the truth, why wouldnt I, so he suddenly said that Julie just called and that someone else could fill in for him.. Oh well.. i didnt think about it any more, but just said that that was perfect, cause it meant we could spend more time together. Gosh.. how could I be so naive... So we went back to his parents place, and had a shower and got dressed up in the nice clothes that we had brought. And he told me he had made reservations at our favourite cafe in Manly which is one of the most famous beaches in Sydney. We drove about 2 hours to get back down, and had a really nice dinner at Bluewater Cafe. It was full moon and the stars were out too, but it was really really windy. When we got out from the restaurant, he wanted to go for a walk, and me with my dress on was shaking as the wind was really cold. But he insisted that we went for a stroll along the beach, so with his suit jacket on, I was armed for the "enjoyable" walk. Finally he had to admit it was too cold, and we got in the car and drove up towards Northead (I think that is what it is called). THis is a viewpoint over the whole city, and we always drive up there when we are at Manly. He put on Kurt Nielsens "On my mind", which has been our song since he sang it to me on our Valentines Date in february. He made some random phone calls, but I still didnt think that he was up to anything. As we came to the parkinglot, I FINALLY understood as his guitar was the first thing I saw as we drove in. Big letters LOVE was on the ground, and flowers and candles. I just bursted out " CRAP", and held my hands in front of my face. Hehe.. Adriand had to ask me to get out of the car... sooo funny looking back.. oh well, so he placed me on the grass, while he sang me a song he wrote to me. It was absolutely stunning. If I cried? No, I actually didnt... not then, I was sooo overwhelmed that I didnt really do anything else than smile.... But as he asked me to stand up, I couldnt help it anymore... then he got down on one knee... and proposed IN NORWEGIAN!! GOSH!!! He is just the most thoughtful person in the world!! And he pulled out this gorgeous ring, that he designed and picked diamond for himself...and gosh, he did sooooo good! It was just the perfect ring for me!!

So what can I say... tears, joy and excitement all together! After a long day, we were suddenly engaged.... to be married.. scary but at the same time SOOO amazing!! I truly am blessed with an amazing man, and looking at all the details he has planned blows my mind....

(Thank you to Katie, Morten and Jamin that did all the practical stuff so that the actual proposal could take place.. it was amazing!!! Katie and Morten couldnt help but cry hiding in the bushes.....hehe)
Well.. what else can I say.. It was the perfect day with the best man I could ever imagine....
and one thing is for sure...

.....THE FUTURE AWAITS .....

WE ARE ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-10-08T19:33:00.000+10:00

More details and photos to come VERY SOON!!!!
We are happy and really excited!!!!

WE ARE MOVING TO NORWAY

2006-10-06T10:43:00.000+10:00

WE ARE MOVING TO NORWAY!!!Well, the decision is made, and the flights are almost booked. Adrian and I are moving to Norway and Aalesund in January. HOW CRAZY!
It has been a process this past year that we haven’t talked too much about it, as we wanted to be sure that this was the right thing to do. But God has really been working on our hearts, and the passion for Norway and Europe is increasing, and the doors have opened for us in many ways. We are stoked that we now have made a decision; at the same time it is bittersweet as we are leaving family, friends and a fantastic church here that we love. But we do know that we are to be a part of building the Church in Norway and beyond, and HIS HOUSE.

Also.. for those of you that don’t know. WE HAVE BOUGHT A HOUSE!! When we were in Norway, all the paperwork was signed, and when we move to Norway, we have a brand new duplex house to move into. So please everyone, come visit. It is a 3-bedroom house, so we have a room reserved just for you. I’ll put out some photos soon, so you can have a little look.. it is amazing how blessed we are in every way, and how God is totally setting us up BIG TIME.
We are really excited about this next season, and to see what will take place in our city and nation. Adrian is continuing to learn Norwegian, and he is really excited about having his own garden and house to paint.. ha-ha…

Well.. Adrian will be working part time in my home church “Agapekirka”. And we will together take on the Worship and Creative Arts Team, and lead this, which will be really exciting! I will be working full time and the first few months Adrian will be doing Norwegian classes. So he will soon speak fluently.. so that is cool!

Oh well.. lots to share, Lots to do… we really want to finish this year and the season at Hillsong STRONG! So though we are excited to think about all the stuff we will be doing in Norway, we choose and want to really BE in the moment here, soak in everything we can and learn and glean from the leaders. WE are truly blessed here with great mentors and leaders that we are inspired and challenged by.

Oh well… Trust you are doing fantastic! Look forward to see you soon!

Road Trip

2006-10-03T23:00:00.000+10:00

Monday was a public holiday (we all love those), and the 5 girls in our house took off for a road trip. We drove about 2 hours south past Wollongong, that doesn’t really mean anything for you maybe. But that is the only name I can remember. Don’t even remember the name of the beach we ended up at, but that is ok.. Well, one thing is sure, we had LOTS of food. Katie and I got up (a bit later than we had planned), but we organised food, food and more food and the back of Katie’s car was packed when we all got in there ready for a day out. With two Canadians, one American, one Latina and one Norwegian, it will be an adventure. Lots of noise, fun but definitely great quality time.
Well… as we drove on, we of course had to get a little lost, cause what is a road trip without getting lost.. a little bit tensed in the car for a few minutes, but Autumn ran up to the fire station and a really nice fire guy gave us clear direction, and it was ALL beautiful.
The beach was great! And we got our blankets out and the food and the drinks.. and we ate… put on sun lotion (that means I was the only one using it… ) and laid down. Five minutes later, the biggest sand storm was all over us, and we could hardly talk. Katie with her dark hair looked like she had a severe scalp problem, with sand everywhere! We didn’t last long there, so we packed our stuff and moved up to the park close to the beach and had 3 really lazy hours there, listening to music, talking and sleeping. SOOOOO GOOD!! Of course it involved water fights, rolling around in the grass, taking photos of each other while we were sleeping and all that fun stuff.
Well… After a great day we got in the car and turned our noses towards home… Traffic was BAD, so we shouted, sang and did all the crazy stuff that girls do on a road trip.. People must have thought we were going mad, but it was such a refreshing and great day with the girls!
We truly are blessed with a great house and great girls that have become like sisters..

Away and Thinking of Trine...

2006-10-02T17:38:00.000+10:00

Sunday Night after Church I drove up to the Central Coast, because I got some part time work at my old workplace. So today and tomorrow I am up here selling things and making some money...
So I wanted to post this blog to say that I am thinking of you trine...and I love you soo much...

Adrian xxoo

8 MONTHS of happiness

2006-09-30T16:37:00.000+10:00

Monday was our 8 month anniversary, and with assigments hanging over our heads, we did not have any major plans... Adrian wrote me a really cool card, and I wrote him one and handed a plate with his favourite chocolate muffins (thank you Maria for teaching me to cook those) over the fence. The fence separates our houses, and means that instead of a 2 minute walk it is a 12 minute walk as you have to walk in a big circle around the whole neighbourhood. So whenever we need to give each other something or see each other for a few minutes, we meet at the fence...we can just see each other through the sprincles. Well, I had dinner plans in mind, so I told him to come at 6ish... I made my first lamb roast, and with some guidance from Adrians mum on the phone (temperature and stuff like that which I had no idea about) it actually turned out pretty good. Homemade mashed potatoes, vegetables and sauce.. I moved the garden table from the backyard up to the balcony, and watching the sunset and with heaps of candles and beautiful music, we enjoyed our dinner together.
Adrian even asked me to dance, and with Michael Buble as our private little band, it was just ROMANTIC!!!
Such a great night spent with my very best boyfriend! He is AWESOME!!
Everything is ready....

A little dark, but it was beautiful!!

Tissues

2006-09-30T13:15:00.000+10:00

I am over blowing my nose and coughing... I have been fighting off this flu thing since last week, and I am REALLY OVER IT!!! Gosh, how annoying.. it is a beautiful day outside, but I am choosing to stay inside in order to get well.. oh well...

It has been yet a fast week, and the days seems to just disappear. Adrian has been working a bit, which he is very happy about. We had some assignments to hand in this week, so it has been homework to do too.. well. we are doing college, so it is a part of it... they just seem to suddenly just occur those assignments, though we have known about them for weeks..

Saturday last week we had a norwegian lunch. Irene and Håkon opened their home, and it was a great day with norwegian friends and food. Can you believe that we are about 50 norwegians here.. it is insane..

Yesterday was youth, and Reuben Morgan who was in Ålesund not too long ago ( he has told us later that he loves the place) launched his new album. It was a fantastic night of powerful praise and worship. Adrian has been soo blessed to be able to sing with Reubs at different occasions, and he did it again yesterday. So I was proud as always.. Just putting in some photos so you can see... was kind of drama at the beginning as the fire alarm went of and we had to evacuate the building 5 minutes before we were supposed to start.. when there are several thousand young people inside, it can become crazy, but it went really well.. It was no fire, praise God.. so after a little delay, we got going...

Trine and Annette ready to rock and roll...

Adrian and the other singers...

Sydney life...

2006-09-21T17:44:00.002+10:00

Well, i am writing this sitting in my bed under my blanket feeling very sorry for myself.... ha... yesterday my throat started hurting and today I feel like.. yeah,, not too great.... Oh well... a little pity party for myself.. and then Ill get over it... I just really want my mum right now.. there is nothing like having your mum, and my mum is the BEST, when you are sick... or fighting off sickness as Adrian would say... it is all in the confession you know...

Oh well.. we are back in Sydney and we are doing great. It was a little shock getting back to the busyness and full days after having holiday and just chillin in Ålesund, but we are getting back into things. Last week was straight into a conference with Joseph Prince from Singapore. he spoke on grace and favour, and it was amazing days with challenging and new thoughts on these subjects. He is an amazing communicator and lots of fun. So last week we had full days from early morning to late night. Office, classes, rehearsals and services, But it was great, What a blessing to be a part of what God is doing. Friday we went to the city campus as Adrian was singing an item for the conference there. And i tell you he did SOO amazing! he pretty much is the BOMB! I am really blessed!!

on the weekend we had birthday party for Noemi (one of my housemates). She is from Puerto Rico. Beautiful, Loud, alive and so much fun. So lots of people over and lots of food, which we love.. great fun...
Sunday we had Scandinavian Network, which is kind of a connect group for all the Scandinavian students once a week. And I dont even know how many we are any more. only this term we got about 20 new norwegian students here, and we are now close to 50 in total. Crazy... one thing is sure, NOrway will never be the same again....

Well.. I miss everyone at home.. it was hard to say goodbye again... and i was on web cam with Naomi and linnea the other day as Naomi had her 5th birthday. Linnea just kept on saying auntie auntie as she saw me,. and you know that almost kills me, even at 3 in the morning as it was..... Gosh.. i miss my little girls... Just need to put in some photos of them to show how yummy they are....
Naomi with the drawing she made for me, It is of course on my wall in my room..
Linnea giving me a big cuddle... Finally at the end she started to love me,... hehe...
Ida.. what can I say.. this moment was like heaven on earth!

Well.. summer is really on its way here, so that is nice. Monday I joined Nina and Pauline at our pool, they live just down the street, and Nina even went for a swim. It was freezing though, but refreshing according to Nina...

Oh well... Ill stop here for now.
Hope you are all doing great where ever you are... You are much loved!

Tourists in Oslo

2006-09-11T22:23:00.000+10:00

Well... we left Ålesund friday morning, and after an interesting few minutes at the airport, with security going through our luggage and searching Adrian, plus issues with our tickets, which meant we had to go out through the security again to fix them (shoes and belt off again.. why in the world did I put on boots??), we got on the plane to Oslo. We met Caroline and went to her appartment to then head off for some sightseeing.
We went to the Palace, walking around just chilling, feeling sorry for the guards in their warm woolen uniforms in the warm sun.. soo nice chillin and spending the day with Caroline. She has lived in Oslo for more than 4 years, and know the city really well.

After a while we took an ice cream at Aker Brygge, which is a very popular place, especially during summertime, and many of the wealthy people have appartments here. Rolf came and met us, as he has been in Norway the past month. Sooooo good to see our brother again....

Then we went to Frognerparken, and met up with Oline and also Anka. Great friends that visited Sydney Hillsong this year, and that we were sooo blessed to connect with. Soo much fun to meet them again, and also Anka's husband Carl Oluf and their son Jacob. Amazing and very generous people. Frognerparken is full of statues of naked bodies. Many interesting ones I have to say.. but it is pretty cool. Trine, Caroline, Rolf, Oline and Adrian
Rolf and Adrian trying to hide certain parts of this one....

Anka took us to Holmenkollen which gives us an amazing view over the city before we met Caroline again for dinner. Adrian has since last year been really pumped about Ungfila, which is the youth ministry in one of the largest churches in Oslo. We found our way there at 8 for youth, and it was great to be there. We finished the night off with a yummy "kveldsmat" at Anka and Carl Olufs place, great food, fellowship and friends..

Past 1am we found our way to bed, and had our last breakfast in Norway for a while, early the morning after... Trine, Jenny(Carolines flatmate) and Caroline
Caroline and I just before we went to the airport..

Thanks guys for giving us the BEST time in Oslo..
We love you all!!!!!

We arrived safely

2006-09-11T01:45:00.000+10:00

Just a quick little note letting you know that we have arrived Sydney. Praise God we are safely home after hours with travelling.
I will bring new updates from our day in Oslo on the way here and stuff soon.. Now it is 1:30am and I really should go to bed..
Have the best day!!!

Packing our bags

2006-09-08T07:25:00.000+10:00

Well today we packed our bags getting ready to head back to Australia : (
Tomorrow we will have a fantastic day in Oslo with Rolf, Oline, Caroline, Anka and her Family...
I am excited to see the city and we are going to Ungfila at night which will be great!!!

I have to say hjertelig takk to all my new norwegain Famliy and friends who have welcomed me in and made me feel at home here in ålesund!! It has been the best time relaxing and recharging our batteries...Arild and Runar Tusen cutting the cheese tak for taking time off work to just hang with me and Trine..you dudes are CHAMPIONS...

Well stay tuned for the next update of the blog as we will head back into "normal" life soon...

So until next time....ride the winds of change

Fun with words..

2006-09-08T01:01:00.000+10:00

Well, as you all know Adrian has been sooo amazing at learning to speak norwegian. And he still is learning, and trying to understand though we tend to sometimes speak really fast... especially when we get excited about something...
Oh well.. and as you all know... when we learn something there is always a time for making mistakes/or funny situations when you just use a word in a funny way... We have had some of these happening.....

We were sitting at the table at home, and mum, dad, Adrian and I were just about to eat. Adrian was saying grace, and doing this in norwegian.... He started off.. Takk for Else (thank you for else, my mum), takk for arve (thank you for arve, my dad) takk for Trine (thank you for trine) and then said takk for me. What he meant to say was thank you for me, but what it ended up meaning, was thanks for having me over, as a greeting that is said when you leave someones house...
We all totally thought it was sooo charming.. and it was not any major mistake.. it is just sooo great to hear him speak in norwegian....

Another day we sat down having dinner.. still mum, dad, adrian and me... and this time dad was saying to adrian "you are a godterumpe". This literally means you are a sweet bum, which is an expression for sweet tooth. And as my dad said that, Adrian clearly as nothing proclaimed " Trine har søt rumpe", which means Trine has a cute bum.. Mum, dad and I cracked up laughing, and Adrian didnt understand that he had said something that was funny, cause he just meant to say the same thing about me... Oh well... we all got to laugh a little, and it was great... good thing that dad didnt throw him out of the house for saying things like that about his only daughter... haha....

Lots of fun.. and adrian is getting better and better....

Naomi made me cry....

2006-09-06T09:30:00.000+10:00

My niese Naomi is the BEST: today she made me cry...
We had planned to go to my brothers house around 9pm to have a late meal together, and spend some time at their place. This week is crazy managing to say hi to and hang out with everyone that we havent had a chance to hang out with yet.. or people that we just need to and want to spend more time with.. my family is obviously HIGH priority. So after having dinner with OJ, Johanne and Petter and Johanna, which was really really nice, we arrived at my brothers house about 40 minutes late....for our second dinner in 3 hours( Adrian was excited...) My brother told me to take a seat, and pushed me towards the window. I looked outside to see if there was anything different, and then suddenly I see it.. Naomi's feet sticking out of the curtains.. So I "found" her... as she was hiding.. and Runar told me that she had been so excited about me coming, that she had been sitting there hiding in the curtain for almost an hour: SERIOUSLY it made me cry. I felt terrible. She was smiling as the sun, as i took her in my arms and kissed her and cuddled with her. She is growing soooo fast.. she is soon 5 and sooo gorgeous... and sooo excited that auntie trine was coming that she was sitting still for an hour waiting for me to find her.. gosh...it almost killed me... Yesterday the two of us went to the public pool and went for ice cream afterwards... and it is soooo much fun spending time with her. She is really growing up fast....

Many stories to tell... i have to write more later...
Time to go to bed..
Trust you are all doing amazing!!!

Sunday Night Football

2006-09-04T20:50:00.000+10:00

Last Night Trine and I got given tickets to the ÅFK verses Løv Ham Football (soccer) game.
It was so much fun to hang out with Marlin and Marius who gave us tickets!!! They are great...
The game was average but our team won which is always good. Still it was a lots of fun to yell out encouragement in Norwegian and to see Trine get really fired up and talk to me in Norwegianan then turn away and yell at the players (I could not understand herhehehehehe)
There was 9028 people at the match which is pretty big in a town 45000 people.
After the match we went to a Fellines for a celebration dinner and some great time with friends...The only problem was that Else (Trines mum) Said that we stunk out the basement with our garlic breath!!!

Tusen Tak for billetten Malin og Marius!!!!

Ida's Baby Dedication

2006-09-04T20:45:00.000+10:00

On sunday it was my little niese Ida'a baby dedication. It was a rainy day, but we had a great time. Church was at 11am for the first time in the history, but it was really great, and lots of people.. (well, maybe not at Hills scale, but 85 people here is allright for a sunday morning). Oh well.. Adrian and I sang a song... totally country... we had a great time learning it.. struggling with all the words, but Adrian is amazing and rearranged it, so at the end it sounded allright... We had Ida with us on stage, and that was cool. I was asked to be her godmother and that was a BIG deal you know.. auntie Trine... I am loving it. It has been sooo great spending time with my nieses.. they are all adorable..
OJ and Johanne took the baby dedication
Adrian and I singing...
After the service, we all went to Arild and Hildes place, for a yummy dinner, dessert and cakes....
Hilde had set the table soooo nice...
Hilde preparing the cake table
Hildes family from larvik(south east in Norway) had come for the weekend, so it was about 14 of us all together. We had a great day together, and Ida was loving all the attention.. What a blessing these little ones are...
A beautiful family

Great day, Great family, Great GOD.

Climb every mountain...

2006-09-04T20:10:00.000+10:00

Friday morning, Trude pulled me out of bed and "dragged" me to Høgkubben. That is the mountain behind our house, and it is about 50 minutes to get to the top.
3 years ago, it wouldnt be a problem to get there, but living in Sydney I havent walked in the mountains for years, so I was pretty smashed as we got to the top. Trude, amazing as she is was encouraging me all the way, telling me how great I did.. Haha.. Oh well... it was a stunning day, and it was totally clear, giving us an amazing view on the top. We could see into the fjords and all the way to the city and the surrounding islands. BEAUTIFUL! I guess I am kind of biast. but when it is great weather, there is nowhere like Ålesund.

Adrian did not join me and Trude to Høgkubben(maybe you already guessed that..), but made himself comfortable on the couch. He has started to get used to staying up late in the evening which is very normal here, most days we have gone to bed way past midnight, but that means he needs to have a nap or two during the day. so while trude and I went out around 11am, he was ready for his first nap for the day... hehe..

Well he woke up after a while and we went to Arild and Hildes place and took Ida for a walk. It was a beautiful day, so we had her for a few hours. So nice to just spend some time with her.. she is absolutely gorgeous.
At night we went to youth, and it was so inspiring to see about 60 people get together and most of these people that I have not seen before, which is a very healthy sign.
One more week to go before we are leaving for Sydney.....

Briksdals Glacier

2006-09-01T18:56:00.000+10:00

Well.. Today was a new day, and we woke up ready for new adventures. I crawled out of bed at 730, just to see the fog covering the mountains completely and mum telling me it had been raining heavily all night. We thought that our plans to go to the Briksdals glacier was thrown out the window. Adrian was pretty happy about that right then and there, as he just turned around in his bed and continued sleeping. But you know.. we are not easy to stop and a bit of rain and fog certainly wont do it. So around 930 we were on our way, and Runar, Arild, Adrian and I got in the car driving about 3 hours to Olden, which is south of Ålesund. Beautiful mountains and fjords greeted us, as we got closer to the glacier.
We parked the car, and started on our walk up in the mountain, with one purpose and one goal: TO TOUCH IT!!! Adrian in borrowed shoes, that was a little too small was amazed, and so were we by the stunning waterfalls and awesome scenary. One of the waterfalls we walked pass gave us a little shower, and there are enormous amounts of water floating every minute. Pretty amazing! We had so much fun, taking photos from all kinds of angles and corners. It was such great quality time with my brothers and Adrian.

As we got close to the glacier, Adrian got more and more excited, and I seriously felt like a tourist taking hundreds of photos of him.. haha.. it was funny, we actually all looked like tourists in way too big jackets, and with cameras around our neck. The glacier has been there for several hundred years, and it was pretty cool walking on it and touching it. No photos can really capture the experience and what it looks like. It is amazing!

We found a massive rock and sat down to eat lunch. It is not often you eat your sandwich with a massive glacier a few meters away.. so we enjoyed our food, our chocolate, the fellowship.. and the boys brought plenty of cheese to share... GREAT joy for me... (who knows it is not always easy to be the only girl.... )

After saying a teary farwell to Briksdalsbreen, we started our walk back down. Adrians feet now really started to tell him that his shooes were too small.. so Arild and Runar started singing : I feel it in my finger, I feel it in my toe... as Adrians finger is still hurting from his trip on the Manta Ray, and on top of this, his feet now had blisters.. I just told him: It truly is hard to be a man....

Oh well.. we got back safely, though a few blisters and soar feet. We all agreed that it was ALL worth it!

I didnt want to move today..

2006-08-31T02:44:00.000+10:00

Another day goes by....
Trine woke me up this morning at 10 something and I didn´t want to move...After the water sports yesterday I am sore all over and soo tired...After much discussion we decided to hang out with caroline...it was great, we jumped in her boat and spent the afternoon cruising on the water...We made a stop in the city for ice cream and chips and met up with Johny one of Carolines great friends..it was cool to just relax and then.......The rain came...So we jumped back in the boat and put the cover up and drove back towards home...
The rain cleared up after a little while and we pulled into the little habour and tied up the boat....
Another great day in ålesund...tonight we are going to hang out at Arild´s house with a few of our friends..it´s gunna be great...

Here are some photo´s from yesterday with the manta ray and my atempt to wake board....

Living the life...

2006-08-30T09:06:00.000+10:00

Tuesday morning I woke up early (Adrian has become a sleeping animal, and never wakes up before 10 anymore.....) and enjoyed a quiet morning with mum and dad. The weather was again amazing, though a bit cold in the morning. You can feel it in the air that is is heading towards fall... but it turned out to be another great day. My brothers have both taken this week off, so around noon we headed of to our boat, ready for some fun and watersport. Adrian was equipped and empowered with wetsuit, as the water is only about 16 degrees, and got ready for some fun on the Manta Ray. Caroline (one of my best friends from Ålesund) had her boat, and chilled on board in this one, while the boys were working hard to get Adrian to fly(pictures will be posted later). Not before Arild, who is a bit heavier than Adrian got on the Manta Ray, did they realize why they were struggeling to get Adrian up in the air. They had put the weight on the wrong place, and after figuring this out, Adrian experienced some pretty full on air time... he loved it though he was "wounded" and had to get some 911 treatment when we came home... poor fellow... (dont worry mama Sue, it wasnt bad... you know men.....). Oh well, the boys had fun, Caroline and I had great girls talk.. and the water was amazing and shining as the sun shone....

We wrapped up around 5, and went home only to pack our bags and go to Eikremsvannet to have a BBQ.

Adrian is realizing the fact that meat is pretty expensive here... poor guy has had to have sausages and hamburger for BBQ... and since he doesnt want pork.. well.. what can you do.... I am trying my best..hehe...

Eikremsvannet was beautiful and we spent some great time there with my brothers and their families....
We finished the night off at Fjellstua, which is a look out over the city and the surrounding islands. Beautiful, though we just missed the sunset...

GEIRANGER

2006-08-30T06:15:00.000+10:00

Monday we took off to GEIRANGER. Dad had rented a minibus, and 8 adults and 3 children climbed in. Just to see the reaction of Naomi, my 5 year old niese when the bus drove up to our house, was worth it. She was SOOOO excited. Unfortunately I didnt capture it with my camera, so this one'll do..
We had packed food and everything else we needed for the day, and left about 10am. We drove for about one and a half hour with small stops on the way, before we started the way down "Ørnesvingene", or the "Eagleturns" which takes us through a stunning scenary with steep mountains and deep fjords down to Geiranger, which is one of the most famous fjords in the world. Ida and Auntie Trine
Thousands of tourists, and hundreds of tourist ships visit every year. Finally I got to take Adrian here. And I dont think I am exagerating when I say that he loved it... It made all of us pretty speechless, though most of us have seen it several times before. What an amazing Creator that gave us all this just for us to enjoy. Pretty amazing! There was just a few smaller ships there, which was a great thing cause it wasnt too crowded with tourists there. Adrian also finally found his long lost forefather, also called "Troll" among friends

As we came down to Geiranger centrum, we got out all the food we brought, and had a great lunch together. The weather was perfect. Not too warm for driving, but as we sat down to eat, the sun came out again, and it was a beautiful afternoon. We also walked around in the many small tourist and local shops. Adrian got some fun stuff. We also made our way up to "Flydalsjuvet" which gives you an incredible view over Geiranger, and this is also where a lot of advertisment photos of Geiranger is taken.
Pretty amazing backdrop for the photo...
We took stacks of photos, and also ended up being photo models for a norwegian movie that is shown at a show in Oslo later this year.. pretty funny...
After this we drove the minibus on to the ferry for an hour trip through the fjord. It was breath taking as we sailed along. we felt soo small in this outstanding piece of God´s creation..It was so great to relax in the sun of the deck of the ship and learn more about the fjord with guide speaking over the loud speakers (In four or five languages). Linnea devours an ice cream.

At the end of the trip we arrived at Hellesylt ..where Trines brother suggested that we start a hillsong church..(hillsong Hellsynt) the population of the town was probablly 50. We continued on our trip to a town called Stranda, which is the place to ski in the winter!! It is also the place where Arve and Else went to school (Trines Parents) so we stoped for Soft is and then continued home...

A Stand out day in our time here so far...
Coming back home brought us back to reality, as we had assignments to do... we were sooooo tired after a LONG day in FRESH air, so Adrian and I laughed so hard as we were in the most silly moode... No surprise that we didnt finish our assignments.....

Heidi and David's wedding

2006-08-29T11:12:00.000+10:00

Well, Saturday was the BIG day...
Heidi finally got her David, and it was a beautiful day. The ceremony was in Borgund Church, which is an old stone church, and it was beautiful. The bride looked stunning walking down the isle with her dad, my uncle Per (and now Adrian's good friend..). David who is danish, could not help but smile, and he looked "proud as a rooster" as we would say in Norway. Finally married

The weather was perfect, it was raining in the morning, but as the ceremony finished, the sun was shining and it was about 20 degrees. As Heidi and David went to take photos, we drove to the city to get ice cream. Adrian had Soft is, or soft serve ice cream with strawberry topping for the first time, and he was not hard to convince. After the first mouthful he was lost...hehe..

The reception was held at Brusdalsheimen, which is a beautiful place next to the water. It was a great day, but challenging as it was danish and norwegian, as well as 10 other nations represented in the wedding. A lot of interpreting, but this was a challenge when I struggled to understand some of the danish. We still had a great time, and David and Heidi enjoyed.
Adrian experienced a wedding quite different than the Australian version. The reception finished about midnight, after having a 3 course meal, followed by a cake table containing about 30 cakes and various desserts. There is nothing like a Ålesunds cake table. Family Photo... Hilde, Arild, Adrian, Trine, Mum, Dad, Runar and Ragnhild

Heidis sister Nina, the Bride and auntie Tove, mother of the bride
The boys are almost throwing the groom in the water.....
The bride and girlfriends....

After various entertainment and fun, we sent the couple off by singing and all the guests making a pathway to their car holding sparklers. It was beautiful....

Now Heidi and David is married, and the next couple will probably be Malin and Marius.... They are preparing for a wedding next year....

The days go by...Day 8 in Ålesund

2006-08-28T11:22:00.000+10:00

Another day goes by..today went fast..it could have been because I woke up at 12pm just in time for lunch and then went to church for rehersals...Church was cool..Trine and I lead worship together so it was the first time I have opened a meeting in norwegian...We had great fun with Trines brothers on bass and drums and my great friend Petter on electric...We also had Nina sing with us and Lene play sax and sing (she is anointed) We taught them two new songs and the boys did great to pick them up quickly.. Oj Preached..so that was cool to...After Church we went to lys pynktet ( A great cafe) with a few of our friends...

On friday it was our 7 month celebration.. Adrian surprised me with 10 beautiful roses...
Trine and I spent the afternoon in one of her favouritie places in Ålesund...I can not remeber what it is called but it is some rocks on the water...It was so good to sit in the sun with this view and have QT together...
At 6pm we came back to the same place and had a bbq with all of my new friends...it was great!!
A couple of the boys got in their boxers and took the 5 meter jump into the water...it was too cold for me..another crazy thing the bbq´s were disposable..very cool
It was a great day...

So I hope that this has given you a little picture into our last few days...We are loving it!!!

DAy 5

2006-08-28T06:56:00.000+10:00

Another day with "sunnmørståka" which is a word for the fog covering the mountains. Adrian decided to sleep in, which made me wait about 2 hours to eat breakfast with him... gosh,.. everything you do when you are in love... Oh well... I think he is really starting to rest, and his body probably needs to just chill.. Weird that you can be tired after doing nothing.. I want the most out of everyday, and wake up early without any alarm, but I find my way to the kitchen talking to mum who has already been up for a few hours when I show up around 830. Good times, nothing like sitting in the kitchen when mum is having her coffee, and just chill..

Adrian and I went to the mall after spending some time with Hilde (my sister in law) and Ida, my 5 month old niese.. She is soo lovely.. Mum made us homemade meat cakes with brown sauce, and Adrian even tried the homemade "tyttebærsyltetøy", which is a jam made of some red berries you find in the woods. I am surprised that he loves all the food.. or maybe not actually, cause I have been praying for it,..hehe...

We will write more soon we love you all

Day 4

2006-08-24T08:18:00.000+10:00

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY!!
After a late night last night, I was sooo excited that I could have a proper sleep in this morning. But at 830 I woke up of Adrian singing his beautiful heart out in the room next door.. Some would say that it couldnt be a better way of waking up, but at first I have to admit I was a little frustrated. He could choose another time to do just that.. but as I got some food and hot chocolate, it was all good... (gosh, Katie... this sounds familiar...)

Well, It has been such a beautiful day today. Mum and dad was working so we didnt have a car, so we stayed at home. As the temperature was around 25, we just laid in the sun for a few hours. So nice to chill, read, sleep and just enjoy the sun.

Around 3 we packed food and drinks, and mum, dad and one of my amazing girlfriends Trude,went on the water for the rest of the avo. The water was really still, and we stopped on one of the small islands and had lunch/dinner. One of the best things is the silence, and when you go on the water, there is just such peace. SOOO amazing! We drove out to the city and through Brosundet. All in all a beautiful trip... Driving in through Brosundet
Adrian loving life...
Not sure how safe it is with this crazy person behind the wheel..
We anquored up at an island to eat
Adrian and Mum

Well, Adrian is going along with my family so well. mum and him has a great form of communication.. when mum doesnt know what to say, she just hugs him...and I think he likes it.. hehe.. Dad is pumped about having another son in the house... And me? Well.. I an loving having him here......... and it just keeps getting better....

Day 3 in Ålesund

2006-08-23T21:40:00.000+10:00

Well, what else can we say.. We are having a great time. With Heidi's (Trine's cousin) wedding coming up, there are lots of little things to do, so we spent some time at the mall shopping for wedding gifts. The weather wasnt the best, cloudy and about 16 degrees, so it was a good day for all those little tasks.

I had a girlsnight here with Heidi and 7 of my other girlfriends, and it was the best time of fellowship, sharing memories and laughing lots. Of the 8 of us, 3 are already married and 1 has a little girl, so we are definetly entering a different season in our relationships.. LOTS OF FUN!!

The Bride to be got kind of embarrassed by the gift we gave.. hehe..

Johanne and Heidi

SISTERS!! Nina and Heidi

Mari and Helene

Malin and Trude

Meanwhile Adrian went out with the boys fishing, and he caugt heaps of fish, having the best time. According to him, it was so great spending time with my brothers and OJ (my cousin). They came home around 11, smelling fishy... yummy. He is already planning his next trip out to take revange on the fishes that got away (appearantly it was a BIG one....)

Adrian and Arild

Adrian and OJ catching a big one...

Getting the boat ready

Runar and OJ

Another great day.. We are sooo blessed!

Update Day 2

2006-08-22T09:00:00.000+10:00

Just posting a few photos from our first few days in Ålesund. We have been out walking in the city today. I felt like a tourist with my camera and Adrian posing everywhere (he is probably training to become a undertøysmodell).. hehhe...
Enjoy the photos... more to come in the next few days...

Out for a stroll in the city..

Adrian in the city

Mum is totally spoiling us with yummy food as well as doing my laundry.. there is nothing like it in the world...

Arild and Adrian are already great buddies...

My little niese Ida, who I saw for the first time.. SHE IS GORGEOUS!!

Naomi is almost 5 and loves to dance and dress up..

Linnea has already fallen in love with Adrian...

Day 2 in Norway

2006-08-21T18:02:00.000+10:00

Well it is the second morning that I have woken up in Europe and I am loving it!!!

Trine´s family are sooo great..Wee are having the best time getting to know each other...We are having many laughs as we speak in English and Norwegian at the same time...
OH my Gosh this place is Beautiful..As we flew in Saturday night the sun was still shining at 8:30pm and as I looked out the window it was seriously breath taking..The fjords and mountain are out of this world!! On one side of the plane there was snow covered peaks and on the other side beautiful mountains with water falls and amazing fjords...As I look out of the window each morning I have to pinch myself to see if I am dreaming because this place is so amazing...There are so many mountains with snow covered peaks just outside, but I am wearing shorts and a t-shirt and the temperature is beautiful...

Well life is good..Trine is so amazing I am soo blessed to have her in my life!!!!

We have no plans today..It feels so good...

Ok keep checking out the blog we will update you regularly..

Adrian

WE ARRIVED!!

2006-08-20T15:28:00.000+10:00

Hey everyone,

Just a quick little note to say that we arrived safely last night in Ålesund. It was a long flight, but it went well, Adrian slept about 3 hours all together for the trip that was about 34 hours, so he is fast asleep at this moment.
My family met us at the airport, mum, dad, my youngest brother Arild and his wife Hilde and my little niese Ida who I met for the first time. Naomi who is my oldest brothers oldest daughter came as well, and it was just amazing to see them all. How blessed am I with an amazing family... After we all went to my parents house and had a family dinner, which was really nice! Soo good to be home!
We had a beautiful flight in over Ålesund, around 830pm and it was still daylight, and I think Adrian was pretty amazed by the scenery, beautiful mountains and fjords.

We'll post photos and more stuff soon. I woke up wide awake at 7am so I better try to sleep a little more..
Talk soon!!

7 days to go....

2006-08-11T07:13:00.000+10:00

OH MY GOSH!! I am excited! Today it is a week till we go home. How awesome is that. It is crazy, but the days are going by sooo fast now. I am calling mum every second day just to remind them how many days are left till we are arriving.. hehe. She has filled the freezer with all my favourites, and for those of you who know mum, she knows her stuff... I can hardly wait.....
Life is very full. But it is very good. Up until we leave it is something happening every day, every night, so I think we are going to fall asleep as soon as we sit down on the plane friday night. At least I am, cause I can sleep anywhere and anytime really...

Last night we went up to the Coast for Adrians dads birthday, and a family dinner is always nice. We love getting up to the coast and away for a little bit from the house down here, even for a few hours.. Refreshing. That gives us time to hang out and talk too, as it is about 90 minute drive. As life gets full here, it isnt always easy to find lots of time for Adrian and I to just talk and hang out, so we have learned to value those moments. And life is only going to get bigger and fuller, so we are preparing for the ride of our lives....

Oh well, I just wanted to say hi. We are doing great!
Anyways, all you norwegians.. 7 days and we am on our way.. SOOOOOO excited and pumped about seeing you all!
( Adrians grandma has told him that if you guys dont treat him well, she will come and deal with you, just so you are aware...hehe)
Talk soon!

The Power of a New Day

2006-08-04T11:54:00.000+10:00

Over the past few weeks I have been thinking.......about the power of a new day.

How amazing that God's mercies are anew every morning..
This all started after a bad day last week. I went to bed and just thought to myself or it could have been God saying to me...Tommorrow is a new day...It honestly was so amazing to wake up the next morning and choose not to think about all the problems from yesterday. By doing this it enabled me to approach the day with a new outlook. I think is how God works.. Although He is not contained in time..His word declares that His mercies are anew every morning..So all our mistakes from yesterday he leaves in yesterday and we start afresh with him every day. How awesome that my life is not determined from yesterday's mistakes or failures but by the mercy and goodness of God!! There is such freedom when you understand this principle.

Hope this gets you thinking about how you will approach each new day..

Adrian
(Thank you Caroline for sending us the great picture!!)

6 Months already!!

2006-08-01T16:14:00.000+10:00

Hi Friends...This is the first Blog that Trine and I have written together but at different times..

Well a week ago Trine and Celebrated 6 months of dating..Pretty Crazy that half a year has already gone by...because something is always happening in our lives, we celebrated over the weekend. Saturday night we went to our first movie together!! I know it took me a long time...It was great to hang out...Then Monday night were invited out to dinner with Friends..Trine seriously blessed me!!! She is such a generous Women and always suprises me with amazing gifts...It was cool tuesday becuase we got to Lead Worship together in college..good times...
I am so thankful that Trine is apart of my life...She is the Bomb!!!

Ok Trine's turn to write....

Well, what can I say.. time goes fast when you have fun... Half a year together.. who would have thought..?? No, but it has been six fun, crazy, challenging and sooo good months.. You know, a relationship really does bring out the best and the worst in you.. man, Adrian has sometimes really experienced that with me.. ha... but how good that you have a best friend that you can just tell everything. You can share the good things, and the things that arent that great.. and it is cool.. he still likes me.. it was so funny the other day, as I had one of those days..girls you know what I am talking about.. and before going to connect group jumped into my blue fleece comfy pants and a hoodie, and big thick norwegian wool socks.. and he proudly proclaimed as I came down the stairs, Man you look so beautiful even in your comfy clothes.. yes.. i tell you.. he is a keeper...

It has been a journey, and the journey continues... less than 3 weeks and Adrian will be able to see more of me as I reveal my greatest treasure, my family and the people I know at home... i am nervous... adrian is pumped..hehe. It is going to be so great, and we are both really really excited. Finally he will be able to see what has made me who I am, my family who I just love more than anything... (except for Jesus..., just had to throw that in there), and my amazing friends.. You know you guys have been the ones making me to the woman I am today.. obviously my journey has continued here, with people I am blessed to know in Sydney, and other places in the world.. but it is a pretty cool thought. As friends and family we impact and influence each others lives in a way bigger scale than we understand...

So Adrian, my best friend.. E E GLA I DE! You are such a blessing!

Team Tip to the Coast

2006-08-01T15:59:00.000+10:00

What a great weekend!!!

Adam(US), Dave(Scottland/Ireland, Elise, Kristen, Nina(all norwegians), Katie(US), Trine, Adrian and Ben(UK)

Trine and I took a group of friends to the central coast on the weekend....We went up to lead the praise and Worship in my mum and dad's Church. It was so good to get away from the Bella bubble (The area we live in) and smell the fesh sea air. When we got to the coast we stopped at macca's for ice cream then went to the beach. It was so great..as the dolphins jumped out of the sea and we all just relaxed by the beach..

The girls kind of went crazy chasing a couple and their bridal party that took their wedding photos on the beach, and loudly discussed wedding dress, hair, make up and who knows what. After that the boys went out to the church and set up for sunday morning, while the girls went to the grocery store... and i tell you they got food. 3 norwegians and an american/norwegian (Katie is half norwegian after living with Trine for 2 years) means that there will be food, and LOTS of it. Trine, Katie, Nina and Elise

After sharing a great meal together, getting to know each a little better, we had rehearsals. And then.. MORE FOOD! Katie has been giving her voice some rest lately, so she was THE BOMB preparing things in the kitchen, doing the dishes and just serving us, which was such a blessing! THANKS KATIE!

The night got a little crazy after 1am when the tea towel fight got violent..Trine, Katie and Adam have the scars to prove it!!! And this much can be said, we will never look at a teatowel the same again.. We pretty much ran around for an hour chasing each other with tea towels, and for all you norwegians that dont know what I am talking about.. I will show you in august..

We all slept in the church as you do on a proper team trip, the girls in the Pastors office and us guy's in the main aud. I slept on the altar and it was great to chill with Jesus...
The morning was great, it was so fun to have great friends together leading people in Worship. Seriouly we are blessed to have such great people in our world, and this weekend was another great highlight of our year.
As you can probably see in this photo, it was a psycho bunch of people. John Ollis(in the right corner) came to preach. He has been staff at college for years, but have now retired to travel the world fulltime. In the coming 14 weeks he is travelling like crazy visiting about 15 nations.. totally a man for us to look up to and learn from.

After Church we had a feast together then drove back to sydney for Sunday night Church at Hillsong...
It was really great to get out and just have a weekend of fun.. it can sometimes get a bit intense, and you do the same week in week out, so we all feel refreshed and totally blessed!!

Life is so good only 18 days until we aer in Norway!!!!
I look forward to meeting all Trine's family and friends

Snakkes Adrian...

Hi and Goodbye

2006-07-21T14:32:00.000+10:00

If there is one thing I don't like about this place, it is all the goodbyes.. College is a constant hello and goodbye place, and I really dont think it is that cool. I love the fact that you meet people from every continent with all sorts of cultures and languages. Habits, smells and interesting opinions. But when the day comes and people start leaving.. hmm.. that sucks..
But I guess it is a part of life hey..
Last week, Kylee moved out of our house. Kylee is from Canada and has been her almost 4 years. She met James from England at college, and in 4 weeks they are getting married in Canada and then moving to England. How exciting about all the things ahead for them, but sad that she has left us.. The bonus for me was that I got her room which is WAY bigger than my old room, and PRAISE THE LORD it has a proper closet. A big one, so I can fit all my stuff in there(it is amazing how much weird stuff you collect as the months go by).

But yeah.. Audrey which I have been living with the past 18 months left about a month ago. She is from Chicago, but met an aussie (no wonder this college is called Bridal College.. watch out people), and they are getting married in 3 weeks. Chris and Audrey will be coming back to Australia and be a part of the key team at Generation Church at the Gold Coast.

We are back in the office after conference, and it is definately way cruzier than the previous weeks. It feels kind of weird after being so busy, and then some times sitting there counting the cracks in the wall.. haha.. it is not that bad, but time goes slowly when you dont have much to do.. we are starting a new concept for the month of august which basically is an outreach. Creative presentation, and preaching the gospel in a way that is easy to understand for people that yet not know God. I love how this church always focuses on the next thing. It is never just happy where it is at, but always looks for new ways to reach the lost. Challenging and sooooo good!

We are counting down the days to go to Norway. I talked to mum, and her and dad had spent a day at MoldeJazz with my auntie and uncle with beautiful weather,going to a church concert with Take6.. nothing is like the sunnmoeres summer... and I cant wait for Valldals strawberries.. they are DIVINE...

Well well.. hope your day is fantastic...
Talk soon!

Hillsong Conference 2006

2006-07-08T22:32:00.000+10:00

It is almost unreal, but the fact is that Hillsong Conference 2006 in Acer Arena (Superdome) is over. The week of conference that we have been preparing and planned for months, is suddenly gone, and it feels weird but good.
This years conference was the 20th year, and obviously this was celebrated. The line up of speakers and worship leaders was almost unreal, with people like Reinhard Bonke, Rick Warren(Purposedriven Life), Bill Hybels, Matthew Barnett (Dream Centre LA), Jentezen Franklin, Delirious, Alvin Slaughter, Cindy Cruse Ratcliff and Israel Houghton. Powerful messages and amazing worship with all these people and of course the Hillsong Team lead by Brian Houston and Darlene Zschech. It is truly amazing to be a part of this team and this church for this season.Standing at the top section in the main auditorium looking at about 20 000 people fully going for it in worship, jumping, raising their hands and singing... breath taking.. there is no other word...

My role for this years conference was the Entertainment. I was overseeing everything happening on the Outdoor and Expo Stage and also Brian and Bobbies Guest Lounge where they hosted all the Guest Speakers and pastors. I spent most of the week outside, and Praise God for great weather.

The sun was nice and warm, which made it actually enjoyable for the delegates and for me. I was working with John and Bob who are two of the college students, and also a production crew of 8. They did amazing, and we all had a great week.

The crowd was huge at times, as 20 000 people wanted to line up for the night ralllies. Amazing how many people actually walked in and out those doors this week.

One of the most impacting moments for me was wednesday night, when Darlene, Miriam Webster, Israel Houghton, Cindy Cruse Ratcliff and Alvin Slaughter sang We Speak To Nations. It was incredible. The spiritual weight these 5 carried was HUGE. And the congregation went off too. I had tears streaming down my cheeks, and couldnt sing a word. Amazing to see these amazing people doing stuff together. Also thursday night with Israel Houghton and New Breed was phenomenal. They are all black, and their music is sooooo good. If you havent heard any of their stuff, you need to.. they are awesome.. Again, I just cried... ha....

One of the night I found a little girl who I just fell in love with, her name was Chelsea and she is 4. Isnt she just cute??

It is weird that it is over. This morning I could sleep in, and it was soo nice after getting up 530 all week, coming home and get to bed around midnight. My feet seriously hurt so bad at the end of the week, and I wonder how many km I have walked. Up and down and back and forth. Acer Arena is huge, and long distances. But is has been the most amazing time, meeting heaps of people, making new friends and meeting old ones.

Adrian was overseeing and running Revelation, which is the pre entertainment in the main auditorium before the night rallies. That is a huge job, and lots of things to organise and make sure happens. One of the nights they had a guy propose to his girlfriend, and he came flying in from the top of the roof in a Knights outfit. It was funny, but she was happy and she said YES when he asked, so I guess that is what is important. I wasnt too impressed though.. haa.. but then they were older, and they had a very interesting story, as they met at last years conference, and GOD had told her beforehand that she was to meet her husband.. hmm.. God works in mysterious ways, that is all I can say..

Conference is over, and the countdown for our trip to Ålesund has started. It is now only 40 days till we leave Sydney, and we are SOOOO excited.

Danz turning 20

2006-07-08T21:22:00.000+10:00

Danniebelle, my fijian sister, was 20 last week and we celebrated her birthday at a cafe in Sydney last saturday night. It was a beautiful evening, and I just had to put in a few photos.
Danniebelle is full of life and heaps of fun, and fully one of the most generous people I know. She has been like a sister to me since the first day I came to Sydney, and has truly become a great and close friend!!

Darling Harbour by night

Beautiful Danniebelle turning 20

Annette and me

The TEAM

2006-07-01T00:43:00.000+10:00

Adrian and I are blessed to be working alongside fantastic leaders. Aran and Kelista Puddle are young, but awesome leaders who have just brought us into their world, believing in us and loving us. It is such an honour to be with them and to be a part of their lives. Aran is one of the Worship Pastors at Hillsong, and Kelista and him are both invovlved with worship leadership and teaching and preaching. I wish everyone of you guys at home had the opportunity to meet them, hopefully that will happen in not too long, cause they have truly impacted my life and they continue to challenge and inspire me every day. Aran is from New Zealand, and he is CRAZY! He often reminds me of my brothers, who are pretty psyko too.. hehe.. think you guys would connect really well… hehe..
Just thought Id put in a couple of photos of us…

We are normal… at least sometimes....

But most of the time we are acting like monkeys….

Aran, Kelista (in green tshirt) and Jeanette, who is my flat mate and also work with Aran in the office as a 3rd year just like Adrian and I.

We love doing life with these people! They truly are rolemodels and leaders we look up to as well as GREAT friends!!

Westbrook Family Gathering

2006-07-01T00:40:00.000+10:00

It is Friday, and the last day in the church office, and the last day of preparations before this years Hillsong Conference is done. And it feels crazy and a bit scary. What I havent done now... well, it is not much to do. I am praying and crossing fingers and toes (at least that is what I would say in norwegian), that everything will run smooth, and that none of the bands are pulling out. It is freezing here, and lots of people are fighting off sickness and stuff, but no thank you....

Anyways, we have had a great chillin night with Adrians family. A big barbeque at Ivan and Bridies place with uncles and aunties and cousins. It was so good to just turn off all brain activity after having a big week in the office, and just sit and chat about stuff that really doesnt matter... and of course some things were of more serious character, as the Westbrook brothers are all pastors.. but anyways...

Just adding some photos from tonight..

Sue (Adrians mum), Nat (Adrians sister) and me...

THe boys watching footy outside

Eden is my little boy. He is so amazing!!

Adrians mum, Megan, his 4 year old sister, Natalie and Kilaya who is Aran and Kelista's daughter.

Auntie Debbie and Cousin Paul

We are about to enter 10 FULL ON DAYS! Hillsong Conference starts monday night but on the weekend we have church like normal, 5 services and for us, so conference has already started. It officially ends next sunday after 5 days in the Sydney Superdome with about 25 000 people gathering every day with AWESOME preachers like Reinhard Bonke, Rick Godwin, Rick Warren, Jentezen Franklin, Matthew Barnett and so on. And I have to mention Israel Hougton and NEw Breed, Cindy Cruse Ratcliff and Alvin Slaughter, as well as Delirious and obviously the Hillsong Team. Worship and the word is going to GO OFF! I am soooo excited!!! Friday night we finish in the Superdome, and saturday and sunday we have 5 services as per normal with lots of the guest speaker still being in church.
We are believing for a life changing and transforming week in other peoples lives, but also in our lives.

5 MONTHS

2006-06-27T23:51:00.000+10:00

Well, it has been five months since I returned to Australia after spending Christmas in Ålesund, and that also means that Adrian and I have dated for 5 months. How crazy! it feels like forever since he asked me out... (and for those of you who wondered, yes he did ask my dad for permission to go out with me... what a gentleman).
It has truly been 5 fun, interesting and challenging months, learning a lot about Adrian, but also definately learning a lot about myself. Sometimes you dont realise what a monster you are till you get together with someone else. Someone had the same experience, or is it just me? Ha.. sometimes I cant believe he still likes me.. hehe.. Well, to be honest, I think we have walked through some things that we needed to see, understand and deal with when it comes to each other, and it is truly just getting better and better. Our relationship is stronger, and I believe healthier than it has ever been. Adrian truly is an amazing blessing in my life... And I am so looking forward to bring him to Norway and connect him with my home, my family and my friends. So i am really believing for FANTASTIC weather, so we can do Geiranger and the whole deal... Sometimes I forget how beautiful Norway is, and then I see photos and I almost get overwhelmed.. Well well..

Soo, Adrian and I spent our 5 month day (or actually the day before, since sunday was all day church) in the city. ADrian told you guys about that in the last post, so I dont have to repeat what he said, But it was a great time, just hanging out and talking and chilling. We work together in the office at church, so we see each other the whole day, but we are not spending time together, if that makes sense. We are both focused on all the work we have, but sitting next to each other, it feels like we have been together all day, but we have not actually had any quality time together. It has lead to some frustration and sometimes me being very annoyed (here comes the monster again) at him (poor guy, what is it that he has committed himself to??). But it is a great thing to. We are doing life together, and working with a common goal and purpose. And that is a really great thing!

Photos will come later, I cannot seem to find the cord to the camera at the moment, I have no clue where it took off.. so weird. Well well.. probably not too much to see anyways.. Ha....

Have a good one!

Life...

2006-06-26T13:37:00.000+10:00

Hi Everyone..it's Adrian again

Life is great!! It is such a beautiful day about 17 degrees, sun shining and I should be doing an assignment but can't get motivated....
There is so much happening at the moment here in Sydney only a week away until Hillsong Conference and we are doing our best to be well prepared for it.. That means full days in the office and then rehersals a few nights this week..

Trine and I had a great weekend this weekend...Friday I got to meet Silia fra Aalesund..who is one of the worship leaders from Agape Krika..That was cool..Trine and I had the privellage of leading worship in Chapel on friday, So much fun and God showed up in a powerful way. Hopefully we can put a picture on the blog of that soon....give us a few weeks..Friday night we went to Powerhouse with the Norwegian crew..it was great...

Saturday night, Trine and I celebrated 5 month's of Dating by going to a cafe on the beach at Manly..Was a great night..I loved it..the food was delig the atmoshphere was relaxing and the company FANTASTIC...hehehe. We also had Ice Cream and walked along the beach front...IT was Soooooo cold..

Sunday was another full day..I love it cause we get to spend sunday's empowering other people to live a great life..Trine sung in choir and I played accoustic guitar for our two morning services at Hills and I sang at the 6pm service...

After the 6pm service we went around to Aran and Kelista's house with a few other couples and had a great night relaxing..Us boys watched a New Zealand Cartoon called Bro town and the girls talk about wedding stuff...

Life is great, full and full of God oppurtunities.

So Let God's love shape your life as you walk in the promise of His salvation this Week!!

What a beautiful God

2006-06-16T03:01:00.000+10:00

Wow... the days are going by so fast..
It is now 2:30 in the morning, and I am loving staying up and have time to myself. These past few weeks have been very full and very stretching in many ways.. And I am a person that need some time that is just Trine-time. I dont really have to do anything specific, but I love just being awake. Often when I get tired, I dont actually really need sleep but I need to hang out with myself in order to be refreshed and energised (wow, I sound like a weirdo...) anyways..
So I had a really long day in the office today. I finished past 8, and my brain was pretty much fried. For those that dont know what I actually do, I am working with Aran Puddle, one of the Worship and Creative Arts Pastors at Hillsong Church, and with Hillsong Conference coming up there is SOO much that needs to happen. I am kind of overseeing the Entertainment side of things outside and in the Expo where they sell all the resources that the speakers and artists bring. It sounds like piece of cake, but there is actually a LOT to organise... I am learning a lot, and my admin abilities are being STRETCHED!!!!! It really hurt sometimes though...

Well well.. I have been finishing my assignments, and after talking to Mari and then spending another hour with my mum on the phone, Im just hanging out in my room... it is so nice. I really should go to bed, and get some sleep. I am going to the office again tomorrow morning..
Listening to this song, that was where i got the title for this..
What a beautiful God
What am I, that I can be called your child
What am I

I get really amazed by his greatness sometimes.. easy to grow familiar hey. But then again He is so huge, and He cares about US, about ME.. blows my mind....

Well.. I have to bring some praise reports...
Sam is going really good! Check out his blog (minchley.blogspot.com) and have a look at amazing photos and reports.. Still a way to go, but this is really going the right direction!! Thank you Jesus!!

Also, my cousin Nina, who is here at college with me, she was diagnosed with cøliaki(have no idea how to spell in english)about 4 years ago. In college we have this month as a month of Miracles, and last week, Nina was healed: Normally she would get really really sick if she eats anything with gluten in it but this week she had bread rolls and bisquits, and PRAISE GOD , she is healed!!!!

So... since you now are getting encouraged and your faith is stirred, can you PLEASE PRAY WITH ME?
I talked to my mum, and Olaug one of the ladies in my home church in Ålesund is really really sick. She has been diagnosed with Cancer, and has been given no hope. She has 5 kids and a husband, and she is way to young to leave for Heaven.. So please pray with me!!! We need to see Gods power move in that situation, in Jesus Name!!

Thanks people, how amazing that we can pray for each other!!!
Be blessed! i am going to bed!!

Update

2006-06-14T16:55:00.000+10:00

Adrian here...

It has been a while since our last blog.....Life is enlarging our capacity everyday!!! I don't even know where to start...
Church life (always a good place to start) Well we are preparing for Hillsong conference at the moment. Trine is looking after all the entertainment in the expo and the forecourt. Which is a huge responsibility but she is the right person for the Job.. (even if she get's mad at me for showing my muscles in the office)... I am looking after the pre service show in the main arena. Which means I am making runsheets and lots of little random things.. for example finding a company who can fly one of the host's into the building...just for fun...
This season is really teaching us many lessons for life and leadership...I am also learning how much our mindset towards a project can determine the process of ahiciving it...in other words not getting overwhelmed by the enormity of a task...
Personal life( What is that???) Well some day’s it seems that all my life is Church then go home and sleep then Church again.....But that is truly what this life is about..eating sleeping playing for the cause of Jesus...Well Trine and I went to my sisters engagement party on Saturday..My little sister is growing up!! I am so happy she has found the man she want's to spend the rest of her life with and pray that they would experience the smile of God upon their lives....It was held on the central coast.. Crazy thing is that we didn't see the beach...I know some of my norsk friends will be thinking I am out of my mind right now but that's ok..The party was great, Trine made a deilig cheese cake..I could eat some right now!!! mmmmm fooooodd..We got to meet alot of new people and chill with my family to...It was great..On mondag ettermiddag Trine and I went out to Winsor about a 25min drive west from our suburb. It was great to sit by the river and do some reading for our assignments and just talk about life..It had been a while since we got to spend some Quality Time with each other.

Family life.. Well I just wanted to say that my family is amazing and I love them soo much..For all who don’t know my mum and dad are senior pastors of a growing Church on the central coast..They have lived there for 4 or 5 years now (I can't remember) Their house is just minutes from one of Australia greatest beaches..No you can not stay there for free...$150 a night plus $70 dollars to me for advertising...My Sister Natalie who just got engaged works at a Child Care Centre, loves kids and is getting married next year!!! (Of course that why we had an engagement party) Her man's name is Andrew he is the Apprentice mechanic of the year for Mitsubishi and is setting a new level for living in his family!! What a champion. I also have another sister she is 3!!! Megan is such a blessing to our family as she live a free and simple life..I hope she turns out to be a surfy Chick for God!!! We also have a Dog named flekken!! that's right our dog is Norwegian!!

Ok there is much more I could say...but you will have to keep checking our blog for the next update....

Life Goes On

2006-05-31T23:36:00.000+10:00

Well, it has already been a week since I posted my last little not on the blog. Gosh, where do the days go...?? It has been lots of social gatherings, norwegian girls night at my house, birthdays, church, ministry trips as well as lots of school work and assignments due. yes it is a big and full season, but where else would I be right now than in the middle of Gods plan and purpose for my life... It is good.. I love it...

The week has actually gone by so fast I cant even remember what happened. Well, Monday, which for most of the people at Hillsong is the day for weddings, we went to Nikki and Johns wedding. It was a beautiful day. Adrian and I thought that we wanted to save the 70 dollars we would have to spend on tolls and parking, and catch the train. BUt that was not a great idea. At least not this day. Cause what happened? YES!! The train broke down, and the trip into the city took us almost 1,5 hour instead of 40 minutes. GOSH! I was sooo frustrated. Adrian was chillin, he thought that it was a great oportunity to chill, but yet again he was not the one that had to run throught he streets in HIGH HEELED BOOTS! Gosh... Well.. I prayed that the bride would be a little late, and so she was so praise the Lord, we got into the church before the bride arrived, and we did not embarass ourselves. This is my third wedding in Australia, and the 2nd one I have arrived late to. I really do not like being late. Think I got that from my mum....

Anyways it was a wonderful day, and Nikki and John were beautiful!

Sooo.... You all know my passion for kids... so below is three prayer requests that I would love you to help me and pray for...
Please still keep SAM in your prayers. He is now starting to wake up, but he is still on some pretty heavy drugs after the surgery, but let us really pray that he wont have to use them anymore, and that he will be able to breath properly through his nose and mouth. And also that he will start to make sounds.... HOW AMAZING what the doctors have been able to do for him; Please also keep the rest of the family in your thoughts and prayers as they are living full and big days both physically and emotionally. Lord may you give them all the strenght they need to run the race!

Elise, things are going really great! But let us pray for a COMLETE healing and recovery for her and for Margrethe and Vegard, that they can know God in a more intimate way than ever before.

Please also pray for Ask, Carolines little nephew. He has been diagnosed with cancer, it is located behind one of his eyes, and has started with chemo. THis is just NOT cool. And I am sick of the enemy trying to kill, steal and destroyed. Ask is also 1 and his life has just started, Cancer do not belong in his body, PLEASE pray with us as he is going through some tests to see whether the treatment works or not. Let us believe together for a GOD MIRACLE in his life, and for Åshild and Magnus that GOd will just show himself SOOO faithful!

Beautiful!
Love you all for praying with me!

GREAT REPORTS

2006-05-23T05:47:00.000+10:00

Hi everyone,

Just a quick note to say that Sam has done SOOOO well. The surgery went really good and the doctors are happy. Thank you all for praying with us!! It is still a long wait. Sam is going to stay in bed for a week, so let us continue to pray that he will have a miracle recovery, and that when he wake up he will be able to make sounds. He hasnt before because of a whole in his throat which he has been breathing through. So let us still lift up this amazing family to God, and be a part of seeing God glorified in their lives... What a testimony this is going to be!!!

LET US PRAY!!

2006-05-21T07:41:00.000+10:00

I love it how this whole blog-thing is a connection point between different people and different nations. I have been following Mie's blog, (linked to the right) the past month I guess. Her world changed when her son was born a year ago. It is hard to explain everything in english, but for you Norwegians, check out Mie's blog and have a read (minchley.blogspot.com). It is amazing and a bit heart breaking to read through all the stuff they have experienced. But anyhow, God is in control!!

So, what I would love you to do is PRAY WITH ME!!! I love it how we as believers, brothers and sisters in Christ, can carry each others burdens even though we dont know each other. THrough Christ we are connected in a deeper way. It is pretty amazing!

As I am writing this, Mie, her husband Chris and their children Elissa and Sam are in Switzerland for a major surgery for Sam Monday 22nd. CAN YOU PLEASE PRAY WITH US??
Let us together pray for wisdom and knowledge for the doctors to do what they need to do for Sam. Sam is going to be on heavy drugs for five days, so they wont be able to communicate with him. Let us pray for Mie, Chris and Elissa that God will show him self soooo strong these days, and that the peace that passes ALL understanding will guard their hearts and their mind in Jesus Christ. I totally believe for God to move in this situation! He is so faithful!!
So guys, let us remember Sam and his family.

Also Elise (elisebotn.blogspot.com), Margrethe and Vegard Botn's daughter is facing some challenges after her surgery. My heart breaks for the little ones beeing in pain. So let us pray for Vegars exam coming up and for Margrethe, and a breakthrough in their situation, and a miracle recovery for Elise. God may you saturate them with your presence and your goodness. Let them feel and KNOW that YOU are GOD.

Control Freak...

2006-05-11T21:31:00.001+10:00

Been thinking a lot lately about being in control.. Or maybe more of letting go of it.. I tend to be a control freak. I like to have a plan. I like to achieve and to see my plan and goal fulfilled.. I like to know what is happening, and be in charge.. Hmm.. I have come to know life isn't always like that. And I don't think it was meant to either. But it is still sometimes hard. I often just want to hold on to whatever I can to stay on top of things, knowing what is going on. But then I realize that it will only limit me. Hmm.. It isn't always easy to see the bigger picture. But if I get too caught up in the tiny details, my journey is going to be more difficult. I need to lift my eyes. Someone at church was saying it last weekend: when we become too inwardly focused, to busy figuring out what is happening to meg, mitt og mine, as we would say in Norwegian, we loose focus. The challenges become bigger, the road seem harder. But as we lift our eyes. Focus on what really matters, focus on Jesus, the Rock. Focus on where we are heading. Then we will move. Then we will see things from a different perspective... Wonder if I make sense.. Well.. At least it makes sense to me.

I want to leave a legacy. In every encounter with people. Leave something more lasting than a hand shake and a polite greeting. I want to impart into and invest into people. Encourage, inspire and lift up. Be someone that can lift peoples eyes of the challenges, off the hardships, and help them see the bigger picture. Help them see the journey from a different perspective.

Hmm.. A bit reflective tonight... Lots of thoughts in my head lately. Some time I feel really weird. But then Praise the Lord, the preacher at Youth on Friday, said that it is ok to be weird. So I am now going to be weird and be proud of it. Ha....
God is soo faithful! And I love it. When we feel like things doesn't make sense, He brings clarity. He is the most trustworthy friend and companion.

Well well.. I have been in front of the computer all day, so my eyes are almost square. Have been working, and then writing on my thesis. All the girls have been home tonight, so we have been hanging out for a while. Soo good to just be able to laugh and chill. The girls in my house are amazing! Such a big blessing!!

Well.. Tomorrow it is Mothersday here. SOOOO many thoughts go to my amazing mum in Norway. She is seriously the most amazing and godly woman I know. We are spending the day in church tomorrow before we head up the coast tomorrow night to spend sunday night and monday with Adrians family. We have mondays off, so we are just going to relax, probably go for a walk at the beautiful beach up there and enjoy life. Natalie, Adrians sister got engaged today to Andrew. So we are celebrating that as well.. Good stuff happening! Andrew proposed on top of the Harbour Bridge, so they were all pumped when they called earlier. We are absolutely excited for them both!!!!

Well... I better stop here.... Take care!

Adrian's 21st Brithday

2006-05-09T15:44:00.000+10:00

A message from Adrian

Well Thursday was my 21st Birthday...We had so much fun....I began the morning with Trine at my door, in her hands a norwegain Birthday cake(jordbær bløtkake) and present's!! The cake tasted so amazing, I had one piece and then left it in the fridge...But before I had my second piece the boys in my house almost ate most of the cake! hahah Champions...
Then Trine and I lead Worship at Hillsong men..That was fun because we hadn't lead together since last year....After the meeting my mate Adam took Trine, Katie and I out to lunch which was soo good, there is nothing like great friends,food and LLB(lemon lime bitters for those of you that didnt know...).We had a relaxing afternoon lying in the park, sun shinning,delig slappe av!
Then I was told we were going to my parents house for dinner..But 45 minutes before we planned to leave, JD showed up in my house with a black jacket..and a little note that said "Change of plan"..So I got ready to go out..then my Beautiful Princess shows up in a black luxury sports car...and say's do you want to drive!!! So I drove us into the city and we took a relaxing walk around the Opera house area..Then we get to the wharf and there is a Huge ship sitting there..Captian Cook Cruise's and we boarded for a three course meal on the ship as it floated through the Sydney habour..It was a stunning night with a stunning Lady...Then to top it off the Ship's entertainment sings Happy Birhtday to me along with the 150 other people on the ship...So much fun

Trine went over the top for me and I apprecaite her soo much...So you all better leave great comments for her to read!!

Adrian

A CRAZY WEEK

2006-05-08T22:41:00.000+10:00

Well, it has been a crazy week.
The days go by so fast, it is already May 8th. It doesnt feel that long ago since Arild and Hilde's little daughter Ida was born, but as I look at the calendar, it is already over a month. Wow.. we need to enjoy every day and every moment, cause life is going to pass us by quickly if not..

Well, lots of things have been happening this week. Adrians birthday was on thursday, and Adrian will tell you more about that.. Saturday we had his birthday party with friends and family. Here in Australia the 21st birthday is pretty big, so I organized his party with his mum. About 60 guests, and lots of food. and lots of cakes. I made another norwegian jorbær bløtkake, with ekte norsk vaniljefyll, as well as cheese cake, chocolate muffins, heaps and heaps of them and chocholate birthday cake. Katie and I spent friday night hanging out and making cakes till 1:30 in the morning. I got up again at 7 to go tot he fruit market, and then made a big fruitsalad to complete the dessert table.. . Jepp.. nothing like it.. It was a good day, and just spending time with Adrians friends and family was great. His family live about 1.5 hours drive up the coast, so they drove down to spend the day. Good times! For those of you that don't know, Adrian has two sisters, Nat who is 19 and has a boyfriend, Andrew. and then Megan who is 3. Really cute.. And his parents, Sue and Morris are really great too. They are pastors at a church at the Central Coast.

Well..that is pretty much the update from this week, and weekend. Nothing too exciting happening today. Both Adrian and I have been working and then we cooked dinner..and that is pretty much it. This week, all of the staff at church are going to staff camp. They do this every year, and I am going to stay with Aran and Kelistas kids. Aran is the pastor I work with in church. Kilaya is 4 and a very determined and mature young lady, and Eden is 1. Both of them so adorable, and I love hanging out with them. So the next few days I will be staying at their house, doing all the fun stuff, like picnics, cooking, going to the mall and you name it... Miss Naomi, Linnea and Ida which I still havent met, heaps, but I figure that God has blessed me with these two, as a "plaster på såret".. cant remember what that is in english......

Just thought I'd post a photo of them so you know who I am talking about.. they are the best, and we have lots of fun...

Well.. it is time to go to bed...
Trust you are all doing well!! I miss you and soooo look forward to see all of you norwegians in august. For the rest of you.. I pray it is not too long till we'll meet.....

Celebrate good times... COME ON!

2006-04-29T11:47:00.000+10:00

Well, time is going by sooo fast, and believe it or not, but I have had a boyfriend for 3 months.. JOHOOOO.... Well as a little celebration, and just for fun, Adrian had organized Anders, one of the Norwegian students at college to take photos of us. So the plan was for us to act like models.. Ha.... Can you imagine...?? Anyways... as it turned out... Anders is flippin amazing, and takes awesome shots, and actually has his own company and everything.. check his stuff out at www.kjondal.no

Anyways, in the beginning, I was so embarrassed, and thought the whole thing was really uncomfortable.. while Adrian loved every minute of it.. hehe.. but after we got warmed up, it was just heaps of fun...
After we finished the last shots at Freshwater Beach, we went biking in this amazing park. A huge area with different gardens, and lakes and picnic area. Beautiful! We just enjoyed a very lazy afternoon there, before we finished the day off at a Thai restaurant. Beautiful day!!

Adrian says hi to everyone, and would really love you to leave him a little hello.. Please feel free to leave comments guys, it is fun to see if you have been here and checked us out.. Ha...

It's a Beautiful Day

2006-04-22T22:32:00.000+10:00

Wow, the weeks are going by so fast. I can not believe it is almost May. Crazy. It is definitely going towards winter here in Sydney, but the sun is still nice and warm during the day. We have had a great weekend so far. Youth at Friday was amazing. We had a United night, all the different age groups comined, and it was amazing to see about 2000 people gathered once again. Andi Andrews was preaching, and she is so funny. If you have seen Legally Blond, she is like the main character in that movie. Hilarious... Anyways, so powerful word though. And tons of people responding to the altar call. Nothing like seeing people make their peace with God..

I am also just incredibly blessed with my housemates. For those of you that don't know, I live with 5 other girls from USA and Cananda. They are amazing, and we have so much fun together. Kylee and Audrey are both getting married in August, so today all of us went for Audreys Dress Fitting. It was so much fun. You know girls and wedding shops.. We go kind of crazy.. All of us trying on veils and taking tons of fun photos, laughing and enjoying life. It was great, and Audrey looked gorgeous. It is going to be weird not having Audrey and Kylee with us, as they are moving out and finishing college in July.
Posted a photo of all of us, so you can all see what they look like.. They are all amazing!!

I have been reading the news from home lately, and it is scary how much junk is taking place. What is happening to us? I think there has been some kind of attempt of murder every day the past week in Norway. The smallest country, where at least I have always felt safe. Flippin.. You never know anymore.. It is time to see something change. To see people realize and understand that there is more to life than that. Gosh... I get frustrated, but at the same time it stirs me up to want to be a part of making a difference on this planet. I only have one life, so I want to be someone that has been a part of doing something great.. Wow, I am glad I know the giver of life, and the One that makes life worth living!

Hmm.. Trust you are all well..

Happy Easter

2006-04-17T17:16:00.000+10:00

Well, Easter is over, so it is kind of late to wish you a Happy Easter.. well well.. I have to say I miss the snow and our House at the mountains at Bjorli around Easter times. I have so many great memories from the years we spent Easter there. Heaps of snow, skiing, hot chocolate, fire place and great quality time with the family. Hmm.. Some times I wish I didn't grow up so fast.. Hehe..

Well, Easter has been good. I haven't really done much. It has been good to be able to rest and to spend some great time with friends. Obviously we have had things on at church, but except from that it has been pretty quiet. Amazing to see thousands of people in the Easter services, and many of them making their peace with God. It has been so great!

I have to say that I really miss my family.. It has been quite a few calls home to mum and dad this week. I guess I realize more and more how amazing you are, and how much I appreciate you and the relationship and connection we have as a family. It is definitely not to take it for granted. Thanks for being so fantastic mamma and pappa.. I love you!

Had to post a photo of Naomi and Linnea as well. I so miss my little girls... They are sooo beautiful and wonderful!

Trine and Adrian at the Zoo

2006-04-10T21:41:00.000+10:00

Wow, what a beautiful day.
Adrian and I made our way into the city today, and spent the day at the Zoo. It is crazy, but I have lived in Australia, the land of the Kangaroo's for more than two years, and had until today not seen one. At least one that was alive.. Well, today was the day. The sky was blue, the sun warm and the day perfect for our little adventure. So we packed our bags, mainly with chocholate since it is our junk-eat chocolate day today, and jumped on the train into the city. We went for a little stroll down to the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge before we took the ferry over to Zaroonga Zoo, where we spent the day chillin, wandering around, doing nothing else than looking at all the weird and amazing creatures. And yes, I finally saw kangaroo's. So I feel fulfilled and satisfied. Wonderful! One of the funniest and most gross experiences was when we went and saw the monkeys. We went close and looked, and one of the older monkeys came and sat close to the window where we were watching. What we did not know was that he had a need to go toilet, so just in front of us, he start picking his behind, and pulls out his dinner from yesterday. As this was not enough he pees all over his hands, soo.. we started laughing.. and then just left him alone to finish his business. And some people say that we originated from the monkeys... What were they thinking???

We took a sky train up to the top, and the view was beautiful over Sydney and the Opera House. So nice to walk around without having to worry about what time it was or that we had to be somewhere at a certain time. The whole day was just relaxing and wonderful! Such great soul food.

So when you come visiting, cause I hope that some of you will soon.. we can go to the Zoo.. I know all the animals by name now, so they are ready for us whenever you decide to make your way down here.....

IDA IS BORN

2006-04-10T21:20:00.000+10:00

Well, Tuesday April 4th, my third niece IDA was born in Ålesund. Arild and Hilde had their first little baby girl, and the Hanken family was enriched by another little princess. It is not easy for me being down here missing out on these kind of things taking place at home, but I keep reminding myself that it is all for the cause.. I SOOO look forward to going home for a few weeks in august, and be able to see Ida, Linnea and Naomi. They are growing fast and so much is happening, so auntie Trine needs to be a part of it. At least as much as possible.

I am just thankful that Ida, Hilde and Arild is well. Praise God that Ida is healthy and perfect. It is such a blessing! May you grow up to know God in a rich and deep way little one, and live to honour Him in all that you do!

WELCOME

2006-04-10T21:17:00.000+10:00

Hi, and welcome to my web page. So great that you took the time to stop by. A bit quicker than travelling across the planet for those of you in Norway, or from the States or wherever you find your beautiful self.
I trust you are having the best time, and that this web page can help us stay connected and up to date on what is happening. Please feel free to leave a comment or two whenever you are here. I will truly appreciate it.

Have a fantastic day! Be blessed!!