Easter Newsletter

No, no don’t panic you haven’t lost half a year, it is NOT Christmas. For those of you who are new to the Hutley communication tree most people only hear from us once a year via the Christmas Newsletter. Receiving a newsletter in May will probably come as quite a shock to them.
So why am I writing in May. Well it won’t surprise you to know that it was going to be an Easter newsletter but I wasn’t organised enough to get it done on time. There are 2 reasons for writing – 1. I’m not sure how many people actually got our Christmas newsletter and
2. We have moved, yes AGAIN!!!!
So here is a brief recap of 2008 for those who missed it.
We started the year in Cowes on Phillip Island in Victoria. David and Nicki were both working at Coles Supermarket. Through January and February we were starting to feel unsettled and began looking to move again. Dave was eager to not live through another Victorian winter. In March we decided to head back to Queensland for a few weeks and see where we felt lead. We decided to buy a mowing business in Gympie and live at Caboolture.

The boys both struggled in large State Schools (Nich in Year 7 and Pat in Year 9). The business in Gympie started to grow and Nicki found work at Coles Supermarket at Caboolture. We attended a small Church of Christ close to home. Nicki also started selling Nutrimetics and particularly enjoys giving the relaxation spa.
Around mid year the O’Connor’s (David’s sister) began talking about moving to Maryborough. We decided we would look at it as well and decided that we would definitely all go. After problems at school we moved in November. We found an old place to rent on 4 acres just outside of town.
So onto 2009.
The mowing business in Maryborough has continued to grow. We were fortunate enough to be offered work by one of the largest rental agencies. Gympie has continued to diminish and we gave away our last 8 customers in April.
Patrick (Grade 10) has settled really well into school and has started going to the gym which he is really enjoying. He is hoping to finish at the end of the year and get a carpentry apprenticeship. Nicholas (Grade 8) has not settled as well, he continues to struggle to sit quietly and his quick wit is not always appreciated by teachers. Nich played cricket again and really enjoyed it. Nicki decided to volunteer to umpire netball as a way to meet people but was talked into playing with a group of old girls who were playing for fun. She is loving it (will take a while for the old body to agree with that statement). We have settled into a small Nazarene Church with a good mix of people and ages. Nicki has just become the Treasurer and David is heading Missions.
We received notice that the house we were renting had been sold and that the new owners, whilst knowing that we had a lease until mid May, wanted vacant possession. So we began our search for a new rental. We decided that we would move into town to save ourselves travel time running the boys backwards and forwards and so that their friends could spend more time at our place.
On April 1 we flew out for 7 days in Vanuatu loaded up with Bibles, Sewing and School Materials. We spent a lot of time with Pastor Shem Tema and his wife Elizabeth whilst still finding time to do some of the touristy things. Two days before we were due to come home David became ill. The local hospital diagnosed Malaria. We found an Australian doctor who tested for this which was negative and proposed Dengie Fever. He doped David up enough to get him on the plane and told us to go to the hospital when we got home and get tested. The fabulous Queensland Health system left a lot to be desired. The doctor didn’t actually examine David and told him to go home and have some softdrink with a teaspoon of salt. We eventually convinced him that he might need more than this so sent him home with an antibiotic. Blood tests at GP showed that it was not one of the mosquito born diseases but even though his kidneys and liver showed that his body was waging war against something they were unable to identify what it was. If he hasn’t completely recovered in a month we have to go back for more tests.
We moved into our new rental the week after we returned and have settled in well (still not finished unpacking but the basics are done). We are quite enjoying being in town (never thought I would say that). We are in a quiet area opposite the golf course in a large Queenslander (4 bedrooms and 3 sunrooms). David has mostly recovered but still not 100%. Nicki has started doing some relief teaching at the boy’s school. It works in really well as the mowing slows down in the winter the relief work increases.
Hope to travel again this year. Looking at skiing in New Zealand, meeting friends from Laos in Vietnam and the islands of North Queensland as well as weekends away fishing.
Here are some lessons I have learned that will help you avoid stress.
1. Don’t try and find a new rental house while trying to get ready to head overseas.
2. Don’t move house the week you return whilst your husband is lying on his back half dead.
3. Don’t do either 1. Or 2. Whilst trying to run your own business.
WANTED
Study Guides – New or Used. I am starting a drive to collect these to send to Vanuatu. If you would like a copy of the flyer I am putting out to distribute at your church please let me know.
We are also looking for Study Bibles and Sewing Machines.