VIDEO IS UP!! 

Ok, so, here's the video for what it's worth.

Turns out, I couldn't put it on blogger so had to put it on YouTube. The link below will send you there. 

Thanks to Dave and Emilee and also Mum for adding to my video snippet collection and taking some video footage that I wasn't able to get! 

xx 

https://youtu.be/FCLmvFSC0Bw

 New Challenges 

Well, I haven't posted anything on here for a little while, so I thought I'd catch up on some latest happenings. As some of you know, we had quite a change in our business when the mandates came in here in the NT, so, long story short, we had to sell our fridge trucks. 

That left us without work but with our prime mover and trailers, and me without a truck to drive. So, with the scramble to find work and keep afloat, and keep using our truck, I decided to get my road train license in September, as Dave was able to get work with another transport company carting cattle and hay and various other jobs. 

So, let's just say, I've learnt a lot of new things in the past couple of months. 

So, for the first time, I am able to post some of my very own adventures, this time as a driver, not a passenger. I have been able to do a bit of work with our truck and trailers and also work for another company once or twice a week doing their local freight in their Hino and Mack. Most of the time, you'll find me delivering freight in our trusty 79 series Landcruiser, but it's always fun to jump into something different. 

God has been so good, firstly, to help me learn how to handle a road train (with Dave's expert teaching, and a lot of practicing reversing trailers down our long driveway, and a great instructor that gave me a few lessons and did the testing to make it all legal), and secondly, God has been good to give me some work and a whole lot of experience, plus safety on the roads.

So, here are some photos of my recent adventures 

(I've had to resort to posting these photos off my phone, so high quality they are not!)

My rig and my usual look :)

A trip in the Mack

Station roads and dark clouds overhead

A common sight for me.    Dust.     Following Dave. 

Lining it up for a narrow causeway. 

Towing 55 tons of hay. 27 tie down straps and buckles to do up then roll up afterwards. (while getting 3rd degree burns from the boiling metal! I really need to get gloves)

Trailers in the rear-view mirror:)  

The combination of my very first run as a Road Train driver. Darwin, here we come! 

(Because of course, it's not Dave's way to give me an easy first run, never having even towed one, he gave me 2 and a half. ha ha)

One of the 'fun' things towing 3 trailers, and being last in line, is walking back 53 metres to close the gates after you, then walking back to your truck. You get your exercise at least! 

I love getting to travel with my hubby. Even if it means saying goodnight and then climbing into the bunk in our own trucks. 

Of course, my very first trip towing 3 trailers saw Dave and I leaving in the dark and the rain, travelling along the highway for 3 hours then on a dirt road for an hour, a road I hadn't been on, full of S bends, narrow causeways, washouts, buffalo etc. Dave always loves to throw me into the deep end. He says I do best that way! Hmmm. At least I had him guiding me over the radio and letting me know of what lay ahead. 

And for those who have actually made it this far down the page, I have put together a video of some of the adventures. 

If you're looking for high quality videography, high quality audio and amazingness, then, this is not for you! After resizing and resizing to meet the requirements for upload, well, it's not awesome, but maybe you'll get the idea. 

And if you actually watch the whole thing all the way through, I will be amazed. 

Enjoy. Or don't! Ha Ha

Wait... it looks like I'll have to do a second post to add the video.... watch this space...

🍰 Maddie Turns 21 🌹

Happy Birthday 💙

On the Road

Our lives and business have changed dramatically over the past few months and at present Dave had been busy working for another company carting cattle, hay and a whole lot of other stuff out to stations far and beyond.

I would love to be able to go with him on all these trips, but sadly, someone has to stay home to run the other side of the business. 

But I was able to go with him recently on a cattle run overnight. 

There's something about seeing 4 triple road trains pulled up and being loaded and driving in convoy.  An awesome experience.

Trying to stay out of the way, I busied myself by taking photos and exploring the surrounds. 

We were loading at dawn, so the light was not exceptional for amazing photos, but I enjoyed every minute of it. Soak it in! NT beauty abounds! 

There is beauty all around you. Look beyond the dust and open plains. Thank God for ears to hear the crunch of dry leaves underfoot. Thank God for eyes to behold his wonders. Thank God for legs to walk and arms to reach out and touch his creation. 

Open your heart and let God fill your soul with worship for the one who made all things.

Only an awesome and loving God could create such wonders for our enjoyment! 

 

 Beautiful Grandbabies

 (that are quickly growing up!)

The days are flying by, and the babies are not all babies anymore. I still haven't done a proper photo shoot with little George and Esther, but I do manage to take a lot of photos on my phone and receive a lot of photos to go awww over from their mums and aunties! 💕

So, here's just a few from the last couple of weeks.

All our babies in one spot at one time

The oldest of the troupe

Rapidly becoming a little boy, not a baby anymore!

Fletcher gets some attention without being able to jump up on everyone! 

Charlie was not impressed with kisses from Fletcher

Our little super espressive one! 

Always into mischief but cute as a button

It's always fun when we're able to have all the kiddos together. Feeding time is like a little playgroup and Chloe is great at organizing activities for everyone. 

And these 2 little precious ones get fought over as to who gets to hold them first, and for how long! 

 Just a few photos....

Last month I went on a trip with Dave to the community of Bulman

Only 310 km away, but don't let that distance fool you. 

The road is part of the road to Gove, which is the worst road Dave

has EVER driven a truck on! 

It takes around 7 hours plus normally, and with our load and excitement, it took a lot, lot longer! We had some drama, to put it mildly. 

There were some narrow causeways along the way to navigate, but Dave is an amazing driver! 

We were loaded with 3 trailers of stuff for a camp to go to some seasonal bull catchers. 

We were passed many times by the army on their way to an exercise on a station. They left us in their dust. 

With our air con not working, windows down, we were showered in dust frequently.

We crossed some beautiful country, which I tried to focus on after our overnight traumatic experience.

It's too long a story to tell in writing, but basically, it saw us between 1am and 3am, struggling to get up a little jump up with our heavy load because of bull dust. 

This meant unhooking trailers, backing down the hill on crazy angles and unloading the grader we were carrying, at 3 in the morning, with Dave learning to drive one on the spot, never having used one before (and they have at least 12 levers to work the articulated, bladed vehicle!). Me holding the torch, sick to my stomach with fear, praying without ceasing, srsly, guiding him down the ramps, then chaining the grader to the Scania and Dave backing back up the hill, towing me along in the Scania.

Well, that's the short story of the most terrifying night I've ever spent! And then the next morning, after camping on the road in the truck, the batteries were dead. So, the next adventure began. Thankfully, Dave was able to make himself some bush mechanic jump starter cables and get us going after a couple hours.  

We were able to camp with the bull catchers in their camp overnight and they fed us some camel steaks which were very tasty. 

I'm so glad that God looks after his children, as he did for us that night. I haven't prayed that hard in a very long time, but God got us through, testing our faith and trust in him. 

This is the jump up we got stuck on, on the way back. Doesn't look so fearful in the daylight, but we left our mark on the road, from the spinning tyres, grader tracks, etc. 

There was a very picturesque lookout along the way that we were able to stop and sit for a while and enjoy God's creation. 

I am so thankful for God's protection. Dave is headed out tonight on that very road, and although fear lies down deep inside my soul, I know that God is in control and has his hand on him.