stepping out...

23 days until the BIG move

How are we doing? How are we feeling? How is Josh doing? And so many more questions have been asked over the past month. Josh has been living in the sunny warm weather now for a few weeks. He is living the bachelor life for now, working crazy long hours and squeezing in FaceTime chats whenever he can. We are adjusting to this new normal, with the help of many people!! Our families and friends have been so gracious in giving up their time to help at bedtime, take and pick up Ellington from school and make many meals. We are so appreciative and feel so loved. It's times like these that I start to reflect on how easy it is here and how hard it will be there. But spite that anxiety, we are very excited for this opportunity and adventure.

We are taking it all in stride, everything from visa paperwork backlogged to shipping boxes and luggage becoming our new furniture & toys in the house. The kids are adjusting well -expect for maybe Tate who has decided this is the perfect time to start the temper tantrum twos!- 

So where will we be living & why?

We will be living in...

walking distance to Bar Beach, and yes the place where a week ago they were monitoring 2 large sharks near the beach...oh great!!! As the locals told Josh, "it's fine to swim as long as the surfers are out, if the surfers come in then you know it's not ok to go out."  

Josh is managing the purchasing and transitioning of an Australian company to Whirlpool. They are currently a distribution site for Kitchen Aid small appliance and will continue to do so now under the ownership of Whirlpool. He has a large task at hand to not only lead the company but to also learn their culture & customs and find a way for the two worlds to mesh without too much headache. 

A few weeks ago I visited the area with Josh and Theryn and enjoyed meeting a co-worker of Josh's. They invited us over for a barbie! Yep, that's what they call it. We enjoyed their fellowship and may have even landed a new babysitter! We had a chance to visit a few school options for Ellington and are very pleased with the public school in our neighborhood there.  We passed on the private school since they were going to have Beckett cut his surfer hairdo!...haha, no really they were....but we feel more at home in the public school anyway.  

Ellington has all the normal mix of emotions. She is excited, scared & nervous for all that she will have to figure out. We are looking forward to a more laid back morning as her school does not start until 9 and is out by 3!! 

Their culture is much more home based and centered around the family. Stores are not open late, beaches and restaurants are the hangout spots, and holidays are truly a break from everything! We have been given two years to soak up this part of the world and learn from the people God places in our lives. It is our pray that we are open to where God leads us while there and invest in the people and community He has prepared for us to be apart of. A good friend once told me when we moved from the Detroit area to West Michigan to ALWAYS put roots down where you are. She is absolutely right.

That's all for now...and as the Aussies say - cheers!

...more to come as we make our way there