Adam

Adam has really grown and learned so much in his first month at school here.  I spent this morning in his classroom as the parent helper.  It was really fun getting to know some of the children and the teachers and seeing his work.  There are 17 children in his class and he has a teacher and assistant (and parent) every day.  There are two preprimary classes on the big school campus.  They have their own marvelous play area and go to school in uniform from 9am to 3pm.  During that time he sings songs, bakes, draws and paints, plays and learns to read and write.  The approach to reading and writing is very different from that in South Africa.  The children are encouraged to write from a very early age and their handwriting is not as important as actually having a go.  In South Africa there seemed to be more emphasis on the patterns and formation of the letters first but here it is all about knowing the letters and getting something on paper.  He has had to do a bit of catch up at home so that he knows all his sounds.  When we get to school each morning I settle him at a desk with a white board and marker and he has a task to do to start his day.  Sometimes it is writing numbers from 1 to as far as he can go, other days he has to write as many words as he can starting with the letter of the week.  On other days he will be given a pile of numbered cards and he will have to sort them into order by size.  He is expected to write a few words every day and even writes his news page!  Today they had to draw ten things they love about their dad and then write a sentence next to each picture.  They have maths workbooks with story sums and grouping problems.  There is an interactive electronic white board between the two preprimary classes that the children can use to play word games and do lessons.  They take turns with the magic pen.  I watched them in action today and was so impressed.  Learning has really become huge fun! 

To help Adam to be more familiar with reading and writing, we have signed him up on a website called http://www.readingeggs.com.au/ which is a brilliant tool for learning to read and can be used at any foundation phase level.  I would highly recommend it for anyone struggling with reading.  He does a daily lesson and is really getting the hang of reading now.

Adam is four months older than the next child in his class but he fits right in the middle in stature.  He is emotionally and socially perfect for the preprimary class and is getting on really well.  So far his strengths lie in the science experiments and maths tasks but generally he loves being at school.  His worst activity at school is "Sip 'n Crunch" which is when the children have to have some juice and fruit.  He just refuses to eat fruit and eats a carrot at school every day just to keep the teachers happy!

Of all the boys, Adam has been the one who has missed everyone in South Africa the most.  He talks fondly of my friends and of his grandparents and has some very sad days when he is missing them very much.  He initiates great craft projects to post home to granny and wants to skype our friends back home.

Our sweet boy has already had a visit from the Aussie tooth mouse and now has three gaps in his mouth!  His hair is long and unruly and he still keeps us laughing with his great sense of humour.

butternuts and didgeridoos

On Saturday we had our first didgeridoo experience.  We were invited to the opening of the City Farm Cafe which is a meeting place for tie-dyed t-shirts, dreadlocks and tops that proclaim to save the planet one packet at a time.  At first we felt quite out of place in our Woolworths' clothing and hair gel but as the various bands took to the stage we began to relax and join in the vibe.  We saw real-life tribal Aboriginal people playing the didgeridoo while their companions waved their limbs about and made squawking noises.  This was followed by a band that only used recycled materials for instruments.  There was a drum made out of water bottles, the obligatory tin can shaker and another percussion instrument out of sticks and a frying pan.  Next up was a group of white female dancers, accompanied by marimba players, who did a very energetic rendition of African tribal dancing.  I thought their moves were something ethnic to Australia but was soon corrected.  I guess I am just not used to African dancers being 40 something white women.  While all this was unfolding you could partake of the free food and coffee that was being served for the official cafe opening and shop for organic vegetables, make crafts out of bark and leaves, feed the farm animals, shop for Enjo cleaning products, do origami or just laze in the sun.  You must understand that the people who invited us do not have a microwave, a tv or a tumble dryer and are in the process of making their house totally (not just the geyser) solar powered.  The mum home schools the children and the dad is president of a group called Men of the Trees that are trying to plant and save trees in WA!  It was an educational morning and the boys loved joining in the dancing and crafts.  Hugo spent most of his time on the stage with the musicians who didn't seem to even notice he was there. 

It has to be said that the didgeridoo is a very impressive instrument.  The vuvuzela really has nothing on it.

66 minutes

We finished the Perth Surf to City 12km run yesterday along with about 20 000 other people.  It was such an amazing day and event.  The road was full as far as we could see and the crowds lined the streets, clapping their encouragement and approval.  Yesterday was a spectacularly warm day and the sun beat down on us as we climbed the hills in the city, ran through the parks and finally felt the sea breeze as we headed towards the ocean.  Rob has definitely gone soft on me.  He started the race beside me and stayed with me all the way to the finish!  We crossed the finish line in just over 66 minutes and had a lot of fun together.  For the first time we felt as if we were part of the city.  This morning I am very chuffed with myself and a little bit tired and sore but am already looking forward to the next race.

I have just spent the morning zooming around my (empty) house doing the weekly big clean up.  While I refuse to be a slave to my house, neither Rob nor I can live in a mess so it's a fine balancing act.  I usually enlist the help of my boys and do most of the cleaning in the hour between getting ready for school and walking out the door at 8.40.  The only day that gets more attention than that is Monday when I come home and get stuck in for a good and thorough clean.  And then, there's the laundry for five.  I just do that in between everything else, when I get a chance.  I am training the boys to tidy and clean and so far they have been really helpful.  They can vacuum and clean the car, wield the vacuum around the house and tidy up quite well.  We have already seen some of the dirtiest houses ever here.  We have also seen some of the cleanest with the most frazzled owners, so you just have to find your own rhythm and not let it take over your short life.

After all our cleaning, Hugo and I had a lovely picnic on the grass at the back of our house:  tea and jam sandwiches, and now we are off to do a quick shop.  This week is going to be good, with or without my furniture.

rarahs

Do you get it?

Robert, Amanda, Russell, Adam and Hugo.

We're downunder.

MOPS

This morning I went to my second meeting of MOPS - mothers of preschoolers!  Apparently it is a national and even international organisation that started in America.  Our church runs this group which meets every second Friday as an outreach to the community.  There is a guest speaker on a variety of topics that range from "how to improve your sex life" to "what hairstyle suits your face".  There have been talks on house renovations, handling your in-laws and many more.  Sunday 5 September is Australian Fathers' Day - yes Rob scores a double this year - and today's topic was Supporting Your Partner.  There isn't necessarily a Christian approach to the discussion but today was led by one of the four pastors of our church and he spoke so well.  He reminded us of how influencial us women are in making our marriages work.  The three most important ways that we can support our partners, according to Nick, are:

• Believe in him
• Pray for and with him
• Love him

It was a great talk about affirming the good in our men, and loving them in their love language.  We discussed how destructive it can be to spend time with other women who run their men down.  We start to notice our husband's faults instead of their virtues.  Most importantly we need to believe in them and all that they are doing and to tell them that we are there for them every step of the way.  It is fact that one in three Australian (and South African) marriages ends in divorce but surveys have found that 1% of marriages where the partners pray with each other and for each other don't make it.  If that stat is only half true, it is worth getting down on your knees and enjoying the power of prayer!

So, you see, I am getting back to basics with these Aussie girls and today I am so grateful and blessed that my man is here with me every day.

tuckshop duty

Good citizen that I am, I responded to the desperate call to help in the primary school tuckshop.  My expectation was, of course, to sell a few bags of popcorn through the hatch to some eager children.  I arrived at 8.45am to take the lunch orders and then donned an apron and got cooking!  School goes on until 3pm so the "tuckshop" is a full canteen which serves everything from sushi to fish and hash browns to toasted sandwiches and burgers.  I was put to work operating an industrial strength electric ham slicer and then made copious quantities of macaroni cheese.  The other mums were good fun and when I could keep up with their accents I managed to pick up some hot shopping tips. 

Serrving the children was quite nerve racking as I had to think on my feet and offer the correct change in Aussie money which still hasn't quite settled in my mind yet.

Mission accomplished, I met a few of Russell's new friends and chatted to some new mums.  I also now understand what all the drinks and snacks are on the menu and can help the boys to order their tuck with confidence.

We are off to the city after school to meet Rob and register for our run on Sunday.  It will be our first walk through the Perth ICC. 

new communication levels

Some of my waiting is over.  I have just switched on my broadband internet link which is much better than the 3G I was on before.  My new email is fivewilsons@iinet.net.au.  The rest of the waiting continues.  Our container is being processed by customs and could take another two weeks to pop out this side.  Needless to say, I am going slowly crazy.  Camping is one thing, camping in your own house, a whole other game.

This has been my toughest week so far.  Where do all these tears come from? 

It is all part of the process, I am told.  So I am keeping moving forward, day by day.

three-wheeled transport

It is unfair not to mention Hugo's new vehicle.  He has a really fancy three-wheeled jogging pram.  I found it in the local second hand newspaper for a bargain and it has clearly not been used very much.  Well, this chariot doesn't know what has hit it.  Hugo and I love going out and about with our new push transport system.  We spend a lot of time together now as he only has 7 hours of care at school per week.  This means that if I am going to get out and run when the sun is higher and it is a bit warmer then he has to come along.  We live 500 metres from the Canning River which is a tributary of the Swan River.  From where I enter the running path on the river there are bridges over the water 2km in both directions so a good run is to go along the footpath along the south side of the river, over the Kwinana bridge to the other side, along the footpath on the north side, back over the Canning bridge and back home.  That makes for 8km which is a decent run when you are pushing 25km of boy in pram!  Hugo loves to check out the yachts, pelicans and other runners.  He jabbers the whole way.  I use the time to gather my thoughts, pray, think and try not to run into the doppelgangers.  Rob and I have decided to put this good training to some use and have registered to do the 12km charity race next Sunday from the city to the sea.  About 20,000 other runners will join us and it is, I am told, one of the most festive events on the Perth calendar.  Check out http://www.perthcitytosurf.com/ for more and watch this space for the postmortem.  Now we have no excuse, I have put it out there.

Hugo is still very much in need of his midday nap and the pram has been quite useful when he falls asleep in the car.  It is quite an adjustment, not being able to leave him at home for his sleep.  So the three-wheeled transport is really a win.

On the fitness note, Rob has gone out and bought himself a weight bench and weights!  Just running is making him very thin and he feels that he wants to do a bit of weight lifting for bulk.  This new contraption lives on the landing upstairs between the study and our bedroom so it is very tempting to use it as a clothes/towel rack instead of its real purpose.  I am very amused by all this and the big boys think it is very funny too.  You may not recognise Rob when you see him next.

the precious and the priceless

 Quite by accident I ended up going to a women's Christian study group this morning while waiting for a towbar to be fitted to my car.  The message was so awesome and aimed right at me that I feel the need to share it with you.  The study from Genesis, told the story of Abraham and Sarah being promised a child (and a nation) by God and how they had to be patient and trust in Him.  When Isaac was finally born to Sarah, the adoring parents were besotted with him.  The story continues in Genesis 22 of Abraham being called by God to take this only son, Isaac, to Mt Moriah and offer him as a sacrifice to God.  It is the test of whether we are able to give up the PRECIOUS in order to grab hold of the PRICELESS.  Abraham had to believe completely in God's plan for his life and to trust that there was something priceless in store for him, if he would just obey.

We are not yet sure what God has planned for us here in Perth and yet we really feel that this is where we need to be.  There are some pretty awesome things waiting for us, I am sure.  I have no doubt that there are people here that we are yet to meet who are going to be significant to our life's journey.  We have to try to focus on letting go of all that is so precious to us in order to really take hold of the priceless.  Everything and everyone that has been part of our lives up until now will always remain precious and our true friendships will survive this separation, but we have to let go of the familiarity of home in order to truly experience something new.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

-Mark Twain-

doppelgangers

This is a phenomena that I can't get over.  Have you ever heard of doppelgangers?  This happens to me all the time and I have to quote Bianca Swanepoel's blog (themigratingswans) to explain.  Bi is in Auckland and she says:

"I'll be merrily going about my business, when I'll spot a person who looks EXACTLY LIKE someone back in South Africa. SHOO-EE - how weird is that? Not as weird as it may seem, actually. For those of us who did PSYCHOLOGY 101, it's easily explained. But it still weirds me out. The mind is such a complex thing. This severe separation has left a gaping hole in my life, and to assimilate it all, my mind is throwing out these flashes of familiarity. I then spend the rest of that day thinking about that person, other friends and events. Sometimes these flashes make me feel desperately alone and so very far away from 'myself'. It's like mourning, in a way, I guess. I long to just hug a friend, sit and have a coffee and a chat with them again. Have a laugh. I desperately miss that familiarity."

I keep on passing you in the street.  I kid you not!  This mostly happens on my run when my mind is quiet.  I will pass someone walking/running on the river path and do a double take.  Just before I call out to them, my mind takes control and I realise it can't possibly be who I think it is.  Man, this is weird.  My mind is trying to work out where I am.  So now I know I am not losing it.  There is a term for this and doppelgangers live all over God's earth.

the beautiful south

We had such a wonderful time down south over the weekend.  We headed down the newly completed highway to the wine region of Western Australia.  Margaret River and its surrounds boasts many fantastic wine farms and breweries.  We rented a little chalet on a farm in the quaint town of Wyadup next to Yallingup.  The coast is gorgeous and the beaches remind us of Long Beach at Noordhoek.  There are reefs and rock pools and fantastic waves.  This is where Tim Winton's epic book, Breathe, was written and you can just imagine those boys paddling out to the big swell.  Even though it is mid winter the sea was dotted with surfers who entertained us with their skills.  Russell was captivated and he can't wait to get down there in summer with his board. 

We enjoyed two leisurely lunches at different breweries and sampled quite a lot of the local hops products.  We also visited the Ingilgi Caves which was the highlight of the weekend.  The boys were so impressed by the stallegmites and tites and were happy to spend the better part of two hours exploring below the earth's surface.  The limestone formations are breathtakingly beautiful and each tower is unique.  The natural beauty of this region is unbelievable.

Sadly, the newspaper headlines today told of a surfer who was killed by a shark in those very waters yesterday!

WA - wait awhile, not western australia

My patience is being tested on various levels.  I am connected to you via a VERY slow, old laptop and a tenuous cellphone link which makes blogging, facebooking, emailing nearly impossible and terribly trying.  It seems Africa time has been exported across the waves to Perth as my iinet fancy shmancy broadband, phoneline, thingy-me-bob will only be installed by the middle of next week. 

I am also waiting, not so patiently, for our ship to come in.  And then also for our ship with our furniture to arrive!  No seriously, the real ship has docked.  The container is officially here but some guy was killed in a freak accident when some heavy equipment fell on him in Melbourne dock last week.   The result is that all the workers around the country are on a go-slow at the harbours.  Who knows when I will see my fur slippers and tumble dryer again.  This has been a lesson in living with the bear minimum and it is very doable.  I just can't help missing my office equipment, shoes, handbags, couch and tv.  We are squatting together in two rooms upstairs on mattresses while the three bedrooms and three living areas downstairs remain empty and cold.  The house is mostly wooden floors so it is a bit like living on top of three squash courts.  It echoes a lot and the boys are permanently bouncing tennis balls against the walls.

And so I will just be patient and WA.

cost of living

It is said that one calculates the cost of living by the cost of a loaf of bread.  How do you do that in a country that has 42 variations of the loaf?  There's the five seed loaf, the ancient grains, the pumpkin seed, the mixed grains and seed, the raisin and cinnamon loaf, the wholemeal loaf, the white sandwhich sliced, the white toaster sliced, to name but a few.

What's more mind blowing is that amongst all these loaves there is not one brand of perforated clingfilm to be found.  What's that about?  Hasn't perforation reached these shores?  I am not sure that I can go back to the blade on the box type.  I think this must be the Aussie way of subtly pulling us away from all things plastic.

On a more practical note, Russell has found a karate dojo so will be back punching and kicking next week.  We have found a great rugby club (no Aussie rules football for us, thank you) but have missed the season.  Both big boys are registered for Ardross Junior Cricket Club for the fourth term and life is settling in to some sort of routine.

Our ship is on schedule to dock this weekend so we may have our stuff sometime soon.  We are going away for the weekend to avoid our cold, empty house.  It's cold and wet here again.  If you were here, I would feel right at home.

By the way, the common or garden loaf costs around $2.

mitch albom

You heard me carrying on quite a bit about Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom.  Well I have just read The Five People You Meet In Heaven.  Wow!  You have to read it.  Makes one think who your five are. 

Thanks for touching my life in such a special way.  I cannot begin to express how my heart aches to see you again and how much I miss you.

cool cars

I forgot to tell you about our cars:  mine is silver and is long and low (compared to my Fortuna in SA).  It is automatic, a first for me, and cruises along quietly, except for the noise created by the many bodies inside.  It has three rows or seven seats and I also like the fact that there is an ipod connector.  The favourite choice of music enroute from both Aussie and SAfrican kids is WAKA WAKA so we are still getting our dose of World Cup Fever here.  Suffice to say that this is our family vehicle and will be tested as such this weekend when we head down to Margaret River which is about 3 hours from here.

But now, how the mighty have fallen.  Quite by default, our friend, Gavin, happened to be selling his car when Rob arrived and Rob snapped it up in a rare moment of fitting in with Tall Poppy Syndrome.  He now "scoots" to the city in a Hyundai Getz.  Yes, the very man who used to make jokes about Sunday, Monday, Hyundai.  He looks rather sweet in his white 2 door box (a far cry from the Babe magnet Beemer of old).  The novelty wore off after a few weeks but then he discovered that the fuel consumption is 15km/litre and the Getz is a keeper!

Once the container spits out our belongings here, I can download some pics for your enjoyment.

the smell of bleach

Goodness, this housework could kill me.  It is one thing to play Australia-Australia when Mavis takes a day or two off and quite another to live it!  Added to that is the total confusion regarding detergents and cleaning products.  I wandered aimlessly down that isle in Coles not knowing what to buy without Mavis' list in my hand.  My eyes locked on a bottle labeled Handy Andy and I tossed into the trolley.  Well, my hands now smell of bleach!  Handy Andy is a clear gel that is full of bleach and seems quite toxic.  I am also now the proud owner of green housework latex gloves.  I just need to remember to put them on. 

One of our first purchases was a dustbuster that is attached to a cordless vaccuum cleaner.  It is such a win and the boys love using it.  We wizz around our floors before school and pick up all the breakfast crumbs.

I have rediscovered ENJO products which are HUGE here.  Lael took me to a demonstration in Cape Town and I was suitably impressed but not nearly as impressed as I am now that I am doing the cleaning.  You have to lay out a princely sum to get started but once you get going, it is practically chemical-free cleaning all the way.  I am excited!  I have also discovered that there is a discounted way of getting on board:  host a party.  So, once the furniture arrives, I am going to host an ENJO gathering for Adam's class (as a way to meet the mums) and capitalise on their purchases.  Yey!

You are probably asking who is writing this and what have you done with Amanda so I will sign off before your picture of me is totally shattered.

testing the system

The weirdest thing happened to me the other day.  We went to fetch a mattress from a friend after church on Sunday morning to avoid sleeping on a blow up camping mattress that was freezing our hips from below!  While Rob and Kristian were loading the mattress on to the roof of the car, our boys were test driving a  go kart on the road.  Russell managed to get his shirt caught in the mechanism and was slowly being pulled deeper and deeper into the kart.  I dashed to his rescue and performed a reverse pull to unwind him and then joined them playing in the street.  What I didn't notice was that my cell phone had fallen out the car with me and was lying on the pavement.  We headed off and spent the day at the beach.  That night I couldn't find my phone and started retracing my steps only to realise what had happened.  I got in my car (8 hours after the incident) and drove back to Kristian's house and there was my phone, on the pavement where it had fallen!  What a luck!

This morning I ran after the school drop and left the front door unlocked so that I didn't have to take keys with me.  Every time I look up and see someone standing at the window next to the front door, I  jump.  It is very wierd, after years of conditioning, not to have a doorbell or a wall around the house.  Russell's friends just appear in our house, as if from nowhere.

So there is an up side.

fast track to here

The boys and my send off at the airport was very special.  After relieving myself of 92kgs of luggage, I hugged and kissed Liesel Dower and her four children, Charl and Celina and their boys, Owie, Lara, my sister, Gail, my sister-in-law, Lindsay and my in-laws.  I had to hold back on the tears as I steared my three brave boys and 5 pieces of hand luggage on to the plane.  The trip was pretty good, considering and only Hugo did a bit of wailing in the middle of the night because he wanted to go to bed.  After landing in Perth and going through the whole customs ordeal with very tired children we discovered that one of my suitcases didn't make it over the sea.  By this stage I was feeling quite fragile and tired and the thought of losing my precious Dr Hauschka products, my running shoes and just about every other item of any significant value was more than I could bare!  I arrived in my new country in tears and they kept on flowing for most of the next few days.  Rob had already settled well into his new routine and was quite shocked at all my blubbing but was so understanding and supportive.  It only took a question about my background or a mention of one of my friends to start the drizzing!

The plan was to have a rental to move into by the time I arrived with the boys but as the rental market is quite tight here and property is at an all time high, that proved to be quite a difficult task.  Rob had seen several homes in the weeks preceeding our arrival and had only just stumbled upon a good one in Mount Pleasant as we arrived.  It was a broken corporate lease so required a bit of  negotiating and sorting out and we were only able to move in at the end of July.  That left us with two weeks of sharing a home with another family of five!  Koos and Liezl (whom I had only met a couple of times over the past 15 years) were truly amazing.  They took us all in and every night was a social occasion! They have three girls who mirror our boys in age so it was quite full on at times!  During the day there were always children who needed something or a dispute to manage.  Ten days into our stay Liezl headed back to South Africa for a wedding and left me to mother the six children!   Fortunately the girls are gorgeous.  Our boys loved playing with them and firm friendships have been formed.  Russell and Adam embraced the whole Barbie scene and so enjoyed the Barbie house, cars, clothes and accessories! It was quite sweet to watch.

Liezl and Koos arrived here a year ago from Jhb and we all hit it off so well.  I am so grateful for this unplanned overlap as we had a chance to learn the ropes and settle in slowly. They were amazing in opening up their home and lives to us to give us a soft landing.  Koos' sister has been one of my very best 'long distance' friends for many years and we visited her in Perth 5 years ago.  She now lives in Darwin.

We are now settled in our rental albeit without furniture!  We hired a trailer and went house to house via IKEA (who are very pleased to have us here) collecting a washing machine, fridge, mattresses and other necessities from friends and aquaintances!  Our address for googlemaps is 31B st Michael Terrace, Mount Pleasant 6153 WA. We only have 7 months here but it will give us a chance to get to know the neighbourhoods and decide where we want to eventually buy. The great thing is that the local primary school is 50m from home so the boys walk to and from school.  Because of the very strict rules with regards to school zones we could only get the boys into school after the lease was signed.  They only started last Tuesday so after the whole World Cup blitz and moving they ended up having eight weeks off school!  Their day starts at 9am and finishes at 3pm.  We are still in the SA routine so are all up and ready way too early and have an hour before school to do the chores and housework. 

Adam had a bit of a false start at school as we tried to put him into Year 1 in keeping with his age group.  After three days we realised that he was drowning.  They start reading and writing in the reception year here and he had missed 12 months of foundation learning.  He was feeling quite overwhelmed and under pressure and we decided to take him out and put him in the school's Pre Primary class.  He has now taken off and is right at the correct level of learning to write his letters and numbers.  He can now work on making friends and keep up with his physio exercises instead of playing catch up all the time. The cut off for age is 1 July so there are some children who have already turned 6 in his class so he fits right in.

Russell has gone into Year 3 and seems to be flying.  He loves having girls at school and is completely up to speed on the work.  He needs to do some catch up on French which is his second language!  Fortunately I took French so that will be ok.  He is joining the local cub pack next week and hopefully we can find some karate for him soon.  There are only about 20 children in each class and there are teacher's assistants so there is help when needed.  Russell is enjoying everything about the city and is so excited by the adventure.  He has even embraced the housework and is a really good helper.  He couldn't wait to get to school to start his new life.

Interestingly, against the odds, Adam has been the one to struggle the most with his loss and sobbed through the night for the first three nights.  He has been very sad about leaving all that he knows and loves behind.  There are times that his face really lights up when we see or do something new and I know that he will be fine.  When we shopped for school uniforms, stationery and bags I was so surprised when he insisted that he wanted the Australia Socceroos school bag!!  I think his heart may be melting to this new life!  Hugo has been very confused about all that is going on.  He started out being quite testing but has settled now.  He is more stuck on his blanky and dummy than ever as he finds his way in this new world and we are giving him lots of love and encouragement.  He cried in the uniform shop because he also wanted a uniform and a new school.  I have now found him a play group for three hours on a Tuesday and Thursday as all the 3 year old places are quite full.  He realised that this is permanent when the boys went to school for the first time and he asked me if Daddy is going to look for a new job here. I told him that Daddy has a new job already and he said, "oh, so this is our new home"!  This morning we started Gymbakids together which is a fabulous exercise programme for mums and three year olds every week.  The equipment is amazing and we had a lot of fun.  It is a bit of a combination of monkeynastix and playball with me involved.  He loved it and is fast asleep now from all the action!

We have found a new church, Mount Pleasant Baptist Church (www.mounties.org.au) which is truly awesome.  It has a wonderful kids and youth ministry and an incredible band.  It is bigger and clearly has more money than the church we were used to in CT and we love the atmosphere and the people who we have met.  There is a daily occasional creche at the church which I can use for Hugo whenever I need to leave him for a couple of hours and he loves their play area.  This journey has and will continue to be a true test of my faith as I completely trust God in this challenge.  We are so grateful that we have the faith to pray with each new step we take and feel that God is with us on this.  We wouldn't have been able to do this alone.

Rob is really doing well and is loving his new job.  There is plenty of scope to grow and change the business and he is getting stuck in.  He billed 46% of his hours last week which is fabulous considering that he has only been here less than a month.  It is a huge change from the corporate life of Macquarie and there are only 3 execs and 3 or 4 admin staff.  It is a very small business but a welcome change for Rob.  He leaves after breakfast and is home for dinner EVERY night which is life changing for us .  We have so enjoyed having him around every day and he is looking and feeling healthier than he has in years.  He has just celebrated a month of not boarding an aeroplane which is a first in years!  He is more relaxed and is so positive.  He gets up early to run before work most days and can't wait to engage with the river and be on the beach.  Some days he drives the 20km stretch to work and other days he parks at the nearby train station and rides the very slick fast train in to work which gets him to the city in 7 mins.  He then has a 10 min walk to the office.  He can't wait to ride his bike to work when it arrives.

For me this has been extremely tough.  I never realised how huge it was until I boarded the plane. The aching loss of all that I had in CT has left me breathless at times. I have woken up in the night a few times with a crushing physical pain on my chest as I realise where I am.  At this stage of our lives with three little people to hold up and support this move is hugely challenging.  I have felt such a vacuum in realising that I don't know where the local shops are, don't know anyone at school and don't even remember my own phone number!  My phone is eerily silent as I try to navigate my way through all that is new and different.  Most of all I miss all my girlfriends and my sister so much.  I long to talk to all of you and share with you and I feel so desperately far away with all these kms and 6 hour time difference separating us.  Every day is a step forward and I am taking them one at a time but the tears flow easily at short notice as I realise that I am not going home.

I have new running shoes and am back on track.  There are amazing running, walking and cycling paths everywhere. Our new home is 500m from the Swan River and I run along the river regularly.  The amazing freedom for all of us is incredible.  The play parks and public areas are astounding.  The beaches are beautiful and the surf is good and the water is warm.  We have already had a swim in the sea.  We have had fabulous meals out, the shopping mall is brilliant and the weather superb. The boys are going to love using their kayaks on the river and Rob is drooling at all the yachts.  So there are lots of good reasons to be here!  There are far worse places to start again!

What I have learned so far:

• There is no bad coffee in Perth
•  I can drive at 50km/h if I try hard
• Rob can drive a vacuum cleaner
• my ironing will take practice
• Australians are generally warm and friendly
• I LOVE having my husband around every day
• my children are well adjusted enough to take this on

And the good news is that my bag was found lying in a warehouse in Jhb somewhere and was delivered to me two days ago, unlocked and with every item still there!!

At last, time to blog...

Well, here I am reconnecting with my friends!  We have been so impressed with everyone's messages via facebook, skype and email, wanting to know how we are doing.  There is so much going on here as we settle into our new life.  Our emotions change regularly and our new experiences are many.  I have decided to journal this huge adventure, as much for myself as for any of you who are interested in following our progress.  Thank you for sharing our lives from a distance.

Please feel free to pass this link to anyone who has touched our lives.

I am going to try to bring you up to speed on all that has happened in the last two weeks since the boys and I boarded that big plane to a new beginning...