All the leaves are brown......

Its been a while since our last post and for that I apologise.
What you need to know though is that Ben spent a few hours writing a great post detailing his experiences at school and his thoughts on this new phase of life he has entered into.  However, sadly it was all lost at the last minute and Ben was shattered.
So, as it may be a while before he attempts a post again, I thought I'd better take up the slack and keep you up to date about whats going on with us.

Family life has needed to adjust to having a 'mature age student' in the house.  Ben is working hard to find the right balance between school work and family life. I am also doing my best to accommodate Ben's need to have study time whilst making sure we all get to spend time with him and I get the help I need with the kids.

Ben and I have started a course at church called 'Love After Marriage' (LAM).  It runs each Sunday morning for 30 weeks so its quite a commitment of time and energy (another thing for Ben to fit in to his schedule).  The kids spend the time in Kids Church as they normally would so we get to spend some time together working on our marriage.
We've had 3 sessions so far and its sort of like doing a Bible study in the nude with 100 other people, its that level of awkward and vulnerability.  The couple that run it don't pull any punches and its great.  I mean, what's the point of skirting around important issues that face all married couples in some form or another?  Already there have been tears and deep discussions, re-commitments and taking back lost ground in the relationship.  Couples have volunteered to be made an example of out the front and it has been both horrible and beautiful to watch.  We have homework to do each week and are enjoying re-connecting and taking time for our marriage.  A strong, healthy, loving, Godly marriage is a powerful witness to the world of the Lord and his love for his Bride, the church.  Our marriages should reflect that.  We definitely want ours to.

Onto other matters.

Sam had his school 'jogathon' the other day.  It is a fundraiser for the school and their main athletic event for the year (think Aussie sports day).  The kids are meant to get sponsors for each lap they run of a track in 20mins.  We were the only ones who sponsored Sam.  I hate doing that sort of thing.  Anyway, he did great.  It was 40C and the kids were so hot.  Sam didn't quite grab hold of the 'slow and steady' method of running and so spent his 20mins periodically sprinting and walking.  He got very hot and bothered and when time was called, promptly collapsed in a heap of sweaty tears.

He eventually got over the exhaustion and was happy until he realised that he had not won.  He was a bit of a wreck, poor love.  It really was quite an ordeal for him due to the heat and the pressure to run run run.  After a cuddle from us, lots of encouragement and some cold water, he pulled himself together, much to his credit and finished his day well.

Thankfully, the weather is slowly getting cooler.  It is now 'FALL'.  The leaves are changing colour and falling to the ground, creating a lovely crunchy sound for our footsteps through the park.  Its almost cold in the mornings these days but the afternoons continue to be pretty warm, around 30-35C.

I have begun training for the annual Redding Turkey Trot.  A 6 mile 'fun' run, sort of like the City to Bay in Adelaide.  It takes place on Thanksgiving morning so I've got a bit of time to get my act together!  It is very strange thinking of distance in miles rather than km.  It lulls me into a false sense of security!

Going for a run today in the park near our house, I was struck by the beauty of the changing seasons.  I love the large, shady deciduous trees surrounding the park and although it will be a shame for them to drop their leaves, there is a beauty about Autumn that is very distinct.  I realised that there is indeed beauty in making ourselves vulnerable to others, in 'dropping our leaves' so to say.  I thought of the LAM course and how it requires the participants to be vulnerable with each other, not just between the spouses but within the small groups we are put into.  It is a tough ask to let complete strangers see your marriage for what it really is, good and bad.  In doing that though, we will all be rewarded with 'new growth', if we first agree to let our guard down and allow the Lord to use others to speak into our lives.  It sure makes for interesting Sunday mornings!

Birthdays and BSSM

Yesterday (15th September) was Ben's 31st birthday.  It feels like a significant milestone to be celebrating his birthday here.  If you think about it, we wait our whole lives to step into our destiny.  Although Ben didn't know he was going to be here when he was a child, or even 5yrs ago, his life has moved towards this goal, this place, this moment in time in Redding.

It has been wonderful to see him so happy, to be stepping into this next phase of life.  When someone's dreams come true, its awesome to be standing along side them.  That being said, he's at school, walking out his destiny and I'm at home with the kids.  Its been glaringly obvious that I am going to have to be very careful in protecting my heart from getting bitter.  I always want to hear what has happened at school each day but if I let myself get all annoyed at the fact that I'm missing out I'm in for a crappy time.  I know that I am doing a very special job caring for my children and home etc.  A job that no one else can do better than me, a job that is as much worship pleasing to my Lord and King as being at church or in BSSM.  Its only the evil one that tells me the lie that I am missing the boat or insignificant.  I remind myself often of the words of prophecy spoken over me about this time at Bethel Church being as much about me as it is about Ben.  The Lord has big plans for me too.  He has amazing plans for everyone.  Even YOU.  Especially you.

Back to the birthday. We had to go to a 'meet the teacher' night at the boys school (also at the church) so we arranged to have the kids looked after (thanks Brooke and Rachel!) and planned to go out to dinner afterwards.  The meeting took longer than we'd thought, partly because we met some other parents from the UK (also here for BSSM) and got talking.  It was fun.  God loves bringing people together just for fun, just to bless. He's pretty awesome like that.

We got to speak to the boys teachers and we were so impressed.  The school clearly loves the kids and the love of the Lord is evident in every classroom.  It really was amazing.  We're so glad we made the decision to send the kids there.  We'll work the budget out later........

After the meeting went late, we stopped off for some quick dinner at a Chinese place.  It was delicious food, great conversation and a balmy night made for a very pleasant time all round.

Turning up the heat

Upon arrival in Redding, we were met with intense heat, i think it was about 39C. Since that day, the daily temperature maximum hasn't dropped below 37C. Initially we were drinking litres of water and we all felt the heat. These days, it seems normal and our bodies have adapted. Amazing really. That being said, the heat is strangely different to what we experience during summer in Australia. We've all been out in the sun, during the heat of the day, without sunscreen or hats and no one has been burnt. The Ozone Layer certainly has a lot to answer for!

We spent the first few days in Redding very tired but very busy making all sorts of arrangements. It seemed to take forever to get over what I can assume was jet lag. We were so tired during the day and then the kids would be awake for a few hours in the middle of the night. Totally whacked.

One of the first things we did was go shopping for food. And so began an adventure that continues even now. Finding foods that we recognised, that tasted familiar and were not filled with High Fructose Corn Syrup (bad news) was harder than we'd ever imagined. So many foods have seemed as though they were ok from the outside and then turned out to be completely different. Yogurt, cheese, bread and butter are some staples that are very different to what we know in Australia. They do not drink instant coffee here, so I've bought a little coffee maker and am actually enjoying the process of making 'real' coffee each day. We bought a bread maker off of Craigslist (an online classifieds that everyone uses here) today and I sure am excited about making bread that doesn't taste sweet and stale. It's surprising the things that make you feel as though you can face the future! The fact that I need 'real' bread to feel secure is confronting! I suspect I value my carbohydrates more highly than I should.

We were living in an apartment in the 'lower socio-economic area' of Redding, owned by a 4th year student at BSSM. It was cheap and served our needs well but after a midnight episode of helicopters, sirens, searchlights in the carpark and dogs barking, we were keen to be on our way.

Earlier this year, we purchased another Aussie family's home contents and their car. It was a divine arrangement by God, with each family involved getting what they needed. Such a blessing! All our new things had been put into a storage unit and our car had been looked after by a friend of the previous owners. It all worked out beautifully.

So, with heaps of help from some other wonderful Aussie's and a monumental effort on a boiling hot day, we moved into our new Redding home. We are renting a 4 bedroom place about 8 miles from church. Many people have been surprised that we live 'so far away' from church but when you've previously travelled 40mins each Sunday in Australia, 10 mins (on a slow day) is nothing.

The excitement of moving in was dampened by the fact that the air conditioning was not functioning. It was a long, hot, boring day. The kids had no toys to play with, all we had to eat was a few bananas and some biscuits and did I mention IT WAS SO HOT!! Eventually someone came and fixed the aircon and we were able to sleep in comfort.

It took a while to find out what we already had and what we still needed. There have been many trips to Walmart to buy random home items. One of which was a washing line. No Aussie would be comfortable using a dryer when the clothes could be dry in a matter of minutes in this heat. So we've strung up a make shift line across the back patio which is working a treat and I feel more at home hanging out the washing than I ever imagined possible. The kids have been beating the heat by running through the sprinkler in the nuddy. Us responsible grownups keep our clothes on while frolicking in the water. At least while the sun is up...ha!

A week after we arrived in Redding, Sam started school at Bethel Christian School. He is in Kindergarten (the US equivalent of reception) and loving it. Having done 2 terms of school in Australia already, he is quite a bit ahead of the class in terms of reading and writing etc. I think it makes him feel pretty clever already being able to read and we're glad that this move is boosting his self confidence, not the other way around.

Lachie has also started 2 mornings a week at Pre School at Bethel. He's doing so well and is always very happy after a session there. On his first day he apparently did a wee in the playground instead of going inside to the toilet. These things happen growing up in the country! Anyway, upon returning for his second session, the teacher told us about the wee issue and so we made sure he knew the rules and where the toilet was. When I picked him up later that day, I asked him if he went to the toilet this time. He informed me that no, he didn't need to go to the 'party' and asked me why they call the toilet a 'party'. So funny. Poor kid probably thought there were going to be balloons and streamers and instead found a loo! 'Going Potty' is the accepted term here. Even for adults. Curiouser and curiouser........

Drowsy Drivers

Well, we finally made it to Redding. I think I'm going to have to make installments for this part of the Wilson adventure because there is much to say about the happenings of the last couple of weeks.

Its times like these I think back to my Yr12 English journal. We hadthe majority of the year to choose 4 books, read them and journal our way through each one. It counted for a large percentage of the final mark for the subject. True to form, I left it to the last minute and as I sat scribbling (yes, with a real pen and everything!) largely made up responses to books I’d skim read, I dearly wished that I’d had the work ethic and the foresight to do a bit each week and keep on top of it.

That being said, I havn’t had a lot of time, energy or brain space to be blogging about the events of the last weeks as they came to pass. Its only now, having been here in Redding for just over 2 weeks that I can take the time to sit quietly and begin to recount the whirlwind process we’ve been through, which started long before we even left Australia.

The last week in our place at Milang was spent packing, sorting, dumping and burning our possessions. It was strangely fun to be getting rid of lots of stuff we never used or didn’t want or even just plain never liked (think wedding gifts). We took a load to the dump, multiple loads to the op shop, had a bonfire and passed on some of our baby gear to friends with a newborn. There is nothing like the feeling of downsizing.

In the midst of all that, we had to take Lachie back to WCH for a check up X-ray at the fracture clinic. They split his cast so he could fly without any risk of his arm swelling and creating problems. We’ve since cut the cast off ourselves as per instructions from the doctors. I love home surgery!

Sam finished up at Murraylands Christian College in Strathalbyn and was given a lovely send off by his class and special gifts by his teacher, Mrs Short. He was pretty stoked with the presents and quietly chuffed at being made to feel so special.

Ben played his last game of footy and went to his last training session with the Strathalbyn Roosters. Although he was sad to have to leave the club, he felt he needed the headspace in preparation for the big move ahead so some of the sting was taken out of retirement from the game he loves so much.

The day before we left was spent cleaning the house from top to bottom. We really wanted to leave the place neat and tidy, to finish well and leave with integrity. Ben mowed and whipper snipped everywhere, disassembled the trampoline and generally got the place looking smart from the outside while I got the inside clean with A LOT of help from my wonderful sisters-in-law. When we were finished the place had never looked so good, it was a shame to have to leave!

The final preparations went on into the night as Ben and I tied up as many loose ends as we could think of and finished the packing. We got to bed later than we’d hoped but I guess thinking back, it was inevitable.

After a very average sleep, the big day finally rolled around. My alarm went off at 5:30am and we were out of the house at 7:30am. We made it 500m down the road before I realised I’d forgotten something. Haha! After leaving for the second time (with rather confused children), we made it to the airport. We piled out of our car with all of our luggage, the pram and Hannah’s car seat. We were met there by the Harbottles, who helpe

d us get organised and through Check In, which with five people to get through, took forever. Special thanks also to my Dad for helping us out with that long process, being a seasoned flyer himself!

Eventually we made it through security, then waited for a while and began to say our goodbyes to the family and friends that had kindly gathered to see us off. It was less emotional for me than I thought, probably because I was so focussed on the task ahead but it was still sad and weird to be saying farewell to the people we love so much.

After going through the doors to the international terminal we waited to board our flight to NZ. It was all new and exciting and the kids handled it well. On the plane, we all had individual tv screens which the boys thought was heaven and we were willing to let them go crazy with it which made them even happier! The flight got into Aukland in time for us to rush through the terminal to our connecting flight to LA. We were running short of time and a little stressed. Hannah was randomly chosen by United Airlines to be drug tested so she was taken by Ben into a little room and searched. I sort of wish she’d had a big poo in her nappy, that would have been a treat.

Finally we boarded the plane, gazed wistfully into first class as we were escorted to our seats in economy. The flight started off pretty well with more movies for the kids, food and getting the kids

changed into their pjs. Things started to go pear shaped when Hannah woke up very hot and unsettled. She continued this way for the rest of the flight. Not really sleeping and very unhappy. We spent most of the night walking up and down with her just in a nappy. It was a very long night. The boys slept ok, but not great. Ben and I had minimal sleep. I’d foolishly thought I’d be able to sit back and watch a movie or two after the kids fell asleep. Haha, what an idiot. I got about ½ way through ‘The Kings Speech’. That’s it. No books read either. It really was a tough night.

We landed at LAX and had to wait until everyone else had left before we could get all our stuff together and get off the plane. We managed to do that only to be shepherded into a very very long queue at Immigration. It was very hot and muggy in there and Hannah continued to scream and wanted to be held constantly, which made moving along the line rather difficult. An older couple from NZ befriended us and kindly helped us with our many bags, pram, carseat etc. They were a Christian couple and really looked after us, even letting us cut in line after a new lane opened up for visa processing.

We finally made it through Immigration and Customs, collected our luggage and headed for our connecting flight to San Francisco. Hannah screamed on and periodically fell asleep while being held only to wake with a start and begin a whole new episode of misery. Anyway, after making our way through the maze that is LAX, we got to a security point, at which they wanted Lachie to go elsewhere for

an X-ray of his cast. Just to check he wasn’t hiding anything illegal. At this stage, had he been carrying drugs of any kind, I probably would have given them to Hannah. In the end, they told Ben that Lachie wasn’t old enough for the X-ray and sent them on their way.

We waited for our flight to San Fran, not really knowing what to do, which line to be in, when to board etc. We were all totally frazzled and had it by that point. Hannah was completely off her face and in fact screamed hysterically for the majority of the 1 hour flight between LAX and SFO. It was a cruel and unusual form of punishment for all aboard.

At last we landed, disembarked the aircraft and made our way through yet another airport in which we had little to no clue what we were doing. We collected our bags (again) and began our wait for our hotel shuttle. Which didn’t come for 2 hours. Yeah, that’s right, we waited on the curb for

2 hours. After a few firm phone calls to the hotel, they finally sent a taxi van around to collect us. We arrived in our room in San Fran around 7pm. The kids had bananas and muesli bars for tea, had a bath and crashed. Ben and I enjoyed a meal of BBQ shapes and water, showered and also fell into bed, only to be woken by a screaming Hannah shortly after.

The night continued along this line. Hannah periodically waking up and crying, the boys waking up and being extremely alert around 1am, Lachie being moved into our bed (the boys were sharing a double bed), Lachie wriggling and kicking and touching Ben and me, Sam needing a drink. It seriously felt like it went forever.

That being said, everyone eventually settled and I was woken by Sam wondering if it was morning. I looked at the clock which showed 9:25am. WHAT????? Ben was meant to be picking up the rental car at 9:30am and the hotel breakfast ended in 5mins. Amazingly, we got everything done and we were out of there and on the road by 11am.

Driving on the right hand side was weird and navigating our way out of San Francisco was a baptism of fire for Ben. It was rather tense there for a while! Soon enough we made it onto the highway and the driving got easier. The kids slept on and off and Hannah seemed marginally improved.

We lunched at Mc Donalds, where the woman behind the counter couldn’t understand what I was asking for. It was a new experience, being the one with the accent, the foreigner. I can’t say I enjoyed it either. I felt out of my depth, silly and inept. Not a feeling I’m used to really.

We finally made it into Redding around 3:30pm, met up with the lovely lady who had been looking after our new car and dropped off the rental. We headed to our temporary accommodation and moved in. It felt good to be there but not as exciting as I’d thought. We were more focussed on getting some food and setting up beds to be really aware of the fact that we’d arrived in the city we’d dreamed of for so many years. It felt surreal and a little strange and I think we were all too tired to begin processing what we’d just done.