An Unexpected Trip

Just a few weeks ago, we found out that we needed to make a special trip to Washington DC in order prepare for our move to Sydney...

After a busy week of packing out of our home, we headed East to take care of some last minute details.

 
While over in the DC area, we were able to get together with my husband's Uncle David and Aunt Brenda. We had a fabulous time laughing and catching up since we last saw each other.  The children enjoyed getting reacquainted and we cherished the opportunity to spend this sweet time with them.

During the week we have been busy with appointments in the mornings, but have had the opportunity to wander about the area and take in some of the historic sites and museums.

 

 

It has been a whirlwind of a time and we are now looking forward to heading down to visit our family in California for a nice rest.   Then off to our new home in Sydney!

Happy Birthday Thomas!

We celebrated Thomas' Birthday today! 

He has just turned 8 years old.  

He spent a fun filled day with his Grandparents and

enjoyed a wonderful cake decorated with lots of

John Deere green! His favorite color.

He had a wonderful time...

in spite of our overseas move happening over his big day. 

I think he felt pretty special none-the-less.

Happy Birthday Thomas! 

WE love you.

Moving Day!

Today we finished packing up our overseas shipment.  Our items were packed up in boxes and then packed into wooden crates... which are then to be packed into a sea container... which will travel for approximately 75 days by boat to Sydney!  


This weekend we, will work to clean the house and prepare for another week of packing up the rest of our storage items... what an adventure!

I have moved a bunch in my life... this move has been rather interesting and in some ways more demanding of us to let go of stuff... things that we like... Australia has a lot of restrictions on the importation of goods... so we have had to sift through and weed out restricted items...



We have purged over half of our books... put many in storage... and STILL the movers comment on the fact that we had a lot of books!  I guess a home school family values the written word...  Perhaps we should consider a Kindle for the next move?  It would save us literally hundreds of pounds.

 

Of all the moves we have had... this seems to be the most planned for and by far the most complicated.  It has also been one of the most prayed over...  Things are running smoothly and we are so thankful that our Heavenly Father is walking side by side with us through it all. 

Happy 4th of July!

The past few weeks have been a blur preparing for our move to Australia... saying good bye to friends and neighbors... sorting through and packing our things.  Selling off our cars and many pieces of furniture... finding a home for our Oscar kitty....We slowly are simplifying and letting go.  There is lots still to do.  The moving truck arrives this week to pack and load the things we will carry with us to Australia... all will be loaded into a shipping container which will travel on a 75 day journey over the Pacific Ocean.

As we were packing up a few toys, Thomas shared some new found wisdom...packing up his beloved Legos he announced,  "Mommy, I thought this was going to be hard.  But it's really not.  It's kind of fun!"  It is an adventure of grand proportions for our family... to leave the comfort of our life here behind and prepare to set up a new "home" in a foreign land.
 
There are a lot of details still to unfold, but one thing is for sure, our Heavenly Father will guide and direct all the details and we need only trust in his sole provision for us.  This is where we will rest today.  In His sovereignty.

A Finished Project

This afternoon, we were summoned upstairs, with excitement, as Thomas had a special building project to share with us.

Thomas has been working on this K'Nex roller coaster since January...a gift from his Great Grandma Joan, he has slowly worked to put it together.  At first it was difficult, the pieces were quite small and it required a lot of focused attention on his part.  I have to say, this has been the first project that Thomas has not torn apart after it became too difficult... he stuck to it and he finished!

We watched as the roller coaster car zoomed and zipped around the 4 foot structure!  Very impressive for a seven year old little boy...  I can't wait to see what else our son can do when he puts his mind to it and perseveres... anything is possible!

Celebrating A Big Day!

Today, we celebrated a wonderful achievement! 
  

Ruth, our sister-in-love, graduated from law school with a Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Idaho.

 

She has worked diligently and we are so proud of her!

 

Moving to Australia

It seems for a few weeks my head has been in a daze as I wrap my heart around this truth.  Yesterday the "official" word came and it looks like we will be living in a foreign land once again before the summers end.

Sydney, Australia is to be our new home for the next few years.  We are all excited at this opportunity and looking forward to the adventure that lies ahead... yet also, we are sentimental about the friends and family we leave behind here in the States.

This new assignment calls us to represent our country... and we are looking forward to serving and spreading the hospitality of our homeland as well as learning about the lives of others living on the opposite side of our globe!  We consider it an honor and a privilege.

Happy Birthday Sarah

Our baby girl turned 12 today...
 

 She is beautiful, sweet and a joy to be around...

Blossoming into a lovely young lady...

 Full of imagination and talent...

 

 A Pure Blessing from the Lord.

A Spring Trip

This past week we drove across the Pacific Northwest toward the greater Seattle area.   My husband had a training course to attend and we decided to tag along for a spring break adventure of our own!

Our first stop was Walla Walla, Washington.... while we were there, we visited a couple of the local wineries.


 "L Ecole No. 41" is a Winery that has made use of  an old school house built in the early 1900's... They have done a great job of restoring the building and have preserved many of the historical fixtures, including the beautiful woodwork throughout as well as a hand painted mural of the last Christmas Pageant before the school's closure.  Historically, this area was known for it's french fur trading influence...

The original school house bell that has been engraved with the winery logo.

Onward to Seattle... we had a lovely time visiting with friends and family.  

 

Sarah and her cousin Abby

 

Spring was in the air and many flowers and shrubs were 

showing signs of Spring!

A trip to the Woodland Park Zoo was a highlight!  

We were able to enjoy a visit with my Sister and her family....

the kids had a wonderful day...

 Learning about the different skulls and teeth...

God created such interesting differences in each animal for their unique purposes...

 Look at these rare monkeys!

 

The children took a ride on a beautiful old carousel...

 

At the end of our time we also made our way up to Vancouver, BC.    Very good friends from the East Coast were vacationing there and we were able to meet them for a fun day filled with good food and fun...

The kids had a great time visiting the Science Museum.  

Thomas and a new friend thinking up inventive ways to harness the laws of gravity...

We took a lovely drive through the beautiful Stanley Park...

Dinner at Bistro De Paris