Life is good

A week ago today it marked a month that we have been here in Australia. We miss our family and friends like crazy. Deodorant doesn't seem to be as widely used as in the good 'ol US-of-A. Grocery stores don't have dinner in a box - just add water. My whole cooking plan is out the window. I might have to really learn to cook.

Despite all of that, life is great here! Since we have moved into our home and received our air shipment we are a lot more settled. The town we live in is great. Everything is so close. I walk to the train station. The bakery, grocery store, fruit stand, and a lot of little restaurants are right there in the city center. It is a cyclist's dream here. Every road has a bike lane. My office has more bike racks than car parking spots. We have a shower and a gym on the second floor. Aww, if only I was in shape to be able to ride... well, I'm going to be. Give me a couple of months after my bikes get here. People are so nice. Since we have started going to church, everyone has invited us into their home and made us feel so welcome. Church is extremely enjoyable to go to. For the first time in a while I actually looked at my watch and thought "darn, only 5 minutes to go." This could also be due to the fact that Grace has been going to nursery and she loves it. I think the best thing about here is that we are doing so many things as a family. Since it is just us, we stick together. Grace and Haylee are playing so well. Grace goes into Haylee's room every morning and says "hi, sis." Haylee sits in her Bumbo chair and just watches and laughs as Grace plays. Mandy can't keep her eyes and hands off of me... well that's my story and I'm sticking to it. We are going on date this Friday for the first time in a while. Life is great. We feel so blessed to have the life we do.

Life in the hotel

We have been living in a hotel for a week now. It isn't as glamorous as we'd thought. Yes the room and laundry service is nice. The 100 meter commute to my office is also enjoyable. It sure hasn't been easy on the girls, especially Grace. Glass tables, exposed cords, balconies, two separate hotel rooms, and remnants of previous residents isn't the best combination for children. The first incident was Grace's black eye after she hit the coffee table. Ouch. She bumped her head a couple more times and hurt her fingers, poor girl.

Lucky for Grace we found a house. Mandy went out looking for two days and found a great house just off the beach. It is in Sandringham, a 30 minute train ride to work. We can't wait to move in.

We Made it

Well after twenty four hours after getting to the Houston airport we landed in Melbourne. Were we ready for our hotels. Grace and Haylee both let us know it. The flight from Houston to LA was horrible. I just about abandoned ship there at LAX. Haylee did well but Grace didn't sleep or stay still the entire flight. We overheard a guy in front of us rudely say, " aren't babies supposed to ride in coach." She crashed just as the plane touched down in LA. Everything went a lot smoother after that point. Mandy later told me she said a very heartfelt pray. Prayers are answered. Miracles do happen.

They slept through getting loaded in the stroller, pushed all through the airport, check in, security, and until we got on the plane. Grace fell asleep after dinner was served. She got up every once and a while to play. We got to know everyone around us really well because of her. Grace even introduced me to another ExxonMobil employee that knows my mom well. His office is 5 doors down from hers. Small world. When she wasn't walking around she was playing in her very own business class seat.

Haylee - the baby that didn't sleep the first 3 1/2 months of her life. Well she did GREAT! In the 15 hour flight she was out of her bassinet twice. It totaled to maybe an hour. She is doing so well. At the hotel they cried until we laid them down. They slept for 16 hours each. Poor girls.

Australia Bound

That's right. Mandy, the girls and I will all be moving to Melbourne Australia within the month. We have known about this for just over a month now. It didn't really sink in for me until yesterday. I've been in Melbourne on business. Scoping out congregations, places to live, and thinking about being over here perminantly on March 31 gave me a good reality check.

Is it far away or what? Right now Melbourne is 17 hours ahead of Houston time. After we both go through daylight savings that will change to a 15 hours difference. A flight here from LA is about 15 hours. You land in LA before you even took off in Melbourne.



Melbourne is beautiful. It is right on the Yarra river.

At night it is spectacular. For the last week I have been at the Langham Hotel on the left. The Esso building where I work is right behind it in the popular Southbank area. It must be ExxonMobil's nicest building with a built in atrium, in the most popular district in the city, and within 100 yards of the largest train station in town.

The Beaches are phenomenal. We will be going into winter but might be able go swimming before it gets too cold. The girls just got matching rash guards and bottoms. That's right, we'll have a set of pro-surfers before we come back.

Consider this an open invitation for family and friends to come and visit. There are so many nice places to visit. Ski resorts are within 3 hours during the winter and surfing is only 30 minutes away. It is a lot dryer here than Houston and as a result they actually have 4 seasons here. Luckily we won't get snow in Melbourne.