Our temporary house

It is exactly one month until we arrive in Perth....just saying that still seems surreal.  I guess it better start getting real because our plane tickets are booked and our temporary house rental is booked!  We leave on January 5th at 11 am, and arrive in Perth on January 7th at 5:30 pm.  We will have a layover in Dubai.  Our first flight is going to be 14 hours long so I am going to welcome the layover =) 

The movers are coming on December 27th, so we will need to have everything in the house labeled for either air shipment, sea shipment or storage.  Needless to say Christmas decorations are sparse in the house this year =(  It seems weird to not have the house decorated, but we will focus on the reason for Christmas and count all of our blessings, because we certainly have a few!!!

I have attached some pictures of the house...I AM looking forward to the beach view from our bedroom.  

OUR FOR SALE SIGN HAS BEEN POSTED!!  Starting Tuesday, November 8th, our house was officially for sale. 

Umeployment....

So Friday, October 28th was my last day of work.  I am officially unemployed and a stay at home mom!!! Bittersweet...it was hard to say good bye to my students and colleagues, but I am excited to stay home and spend more time with the girls and Dustin.  Addie will stay home with me on Tuesdays and Thursday...start praying for me now ;) 

Also the house will go on the market this week.  So my first week of freedom will be spent getting the house ready to show.  The realtor is coming over on Wednesday to help decorate and "stage" my house.  I am afraid she might make it look so good, I won't want to move. 

If you know anyone that wants to buy a house, let us know.  We are praying for a smooth sale...it will be hard during this time of year. 

Alright, well I am off to eat bonbons and take a bubble bath...that is what stay at home moms do right????

We have our clearance...

It has been a while since my last post, but that is because progress has been SLOW!!!  After our intial whirlwind of Cultural Orientation and Medical exams, it became a sit and wait.  Then I got the news that MY EKG came back abnormal, so our medical clearance was halted until I went and got checked out.  So off to a cardiologist I went....after another EKG and ultrasound, turns out my heart is perfect.  (AND I have super low cholesterol I might add).  In any case, that hurdle was passed and just today we received word that our Visas have been approved.

Now it is REALLY official, we are cleared to go and can put our house on the market. 

The next HUGE hurdle is my work. I tell my students this Friday that my last day of work is October 28th.  I feel extremely fortunate that I am being given this opportunity to stay home and be there for my family.  HOWEVER, I have never not worked, and I am nervous.  I think that on October 28th, this is all going to hit me.  Moral support WILL be needed (or at least a good bottle of wine!  Ha just kidding)

My next task is to clear out the house and get things ready to be packed....garage sale here we come!

XOXOX

Information Overload

It has been a hectic few weeks.  Each day brings new information and one thing to put on our "TO DO" list or our "Don't forget to...." list.  Yesterday and today Dustin and I went downtown to our cultural orientation for Perth.  Luckily, we found MANY similarities between the Aussies and ourselves.  A nice difference is the slowed down pace of life.  It was mentioned several times that they work hard and play hard, and the a work / life balance is stressed.  I am looking forward to that.  We did learn that they too like to barbque and enjoy a few beverages on the weekend....we should fit in just fine ;)

They gave us good tips on cheaper flights, the best route to take to come visit (hint hint), and cheap ways to call to America.  Do not be surprised if you get a phone call at 3 in the morning from me....I just may forget the time difference when I want to tell you a funny story!!!

Tomorrow we have our medical exams for the family...wish us luck and pray that I do not have to get an armful of immunizations!!!! 

Also we have been talking to two realators about listing our house....we will begin that process in about a month.  Dustin is excited because we are having to declutter our house and really start thinking about what we will take and what will stay.  I see a MASSIVE garage sale in our near future :)

Hugs to all!

Changes, changes and more changes

I knew that with this process to expect changes.  Some were going to be good and some were going to be bad.  Well the first bad change is happening. 

We are not going to be able to take Izzi with us.   As much as we would like to, it would not be fair to her seeing as how she has to be drugged just to DRIVE to Dallas.  Never mind a 26 hours flight and then be in quarantine for months.  So I started looking for a home.  I contacted the breeder we got her from, the Weimaraner Rescuse, and then I reached out to friends.  The last thing I wanted was to have to give her to a shelter....that was NOT an option.

Two days after starting to school, one of my teacher friends stops me in the hallway and says "I want your dog".  Oh ok, well we kinda like her, and then I realized what she meant ;)  She had Weims growing up and she wanted to take Izzi for us.  I could not be happier!  This family is such a sweet family with two kids that are just begging for a dog.  The situation could not be any more perfect. 

We have talked about Izzi going to visit for a weekend and seeing how things worked out, and then we would make it permanent.  Well last night it really hit me that Izzi would not be with us anymore and like the weanie I am, I cried and cried.  She is such a sweet animal and we are going to miss her like crazy. 

With all that being said, I know in my heart this is the best thing for her....and that is what is important. 

Sweet Izzi, we love you and you will always be in our hearts!! 

It's Official

Dustin and I have always talked about having to relocate becuase of his job.  We knew that working internationally would be excellent experience for his career.  However, for us, the idea of him working 28 days out of the country and home for 28 days, was not an option.  For ME, living in a country that I did not know the language or wish to try the food, was NOT an option.  Our choices were limited....we had always thrown Australia out there as an option, but never did it cross my mind that it might actually happen.  Until May 2011...

I can remember the day very clearly....it was the end of the school year, Dustin was out of town and I was in class.  He sent me a text saying "Call me now"....well clearly I thought something bad had happened. (We all know how dramatic I can be!)  So I called him in between classes only to be asked if I wanted to move to Australia.  Uh sure why not???  Only this time he was not kidding. 

So the discussion began.  We said yes we are interested and would be willing to go.  And then we WAITED....and WAITED...and WAITED.  We waited so long, we thought that it was not going to happen.  And then....

Once again a day I will not forget, July 25th.  An hour before Dustin and I were leaving for the hospital for my major surgery, he gets an "unofficial" phone call.....he was selected for the job!

So here we are a month later, and we are moving to Australia in January.  I must say that we are excited, scared, and a bit overwhelmed.  I decided to start writing a blog, as a way to share with our friends and family all of our stories, good and bad ;)  We have been blessed with this amazing journey, and I hope that you all enjoy sharing along with us!