We've been 'home' in Redding for about 5 weeks but it feels as though we never left.
Our flight to the U.S. was horrible. Things started off well and our first leg of the journey, from Adelaide to Auckland went smoothly. The kids watched movies happily and the excitement of the plane trip was still fresh. Presents from Grandma and Grandad provided much joy and much sugar, a combination perhaps not so appreciated by the passengers seated around us but the kids loved their special treats from special people.
After a brief stopover in Auckland, we boarded our flight to San Francisco. By this stage everyone was starting to feel a bit tired and cranky. Hannah was not keen to be strapped back into her chair after being able to run free through Auckland airport. The boys just wanted the plane to take off so the T.V. would start working. I mean, they had not watched anything for at least an hour, their screen-high was wearing off and they were beginning to have withdrawals.
Eventually we made it up into the air and the real fun began. Please, please, note my sarcasm. There was, in fact, no fun had that night. Zero. Zip.
Hannah refused to go to sleep and proceeded to cry and scream and thrash about in her seat. Much to the horror of the young men in front of us. There were many rude stares thrown back in our direction. We were doing our best, we really were but Hannah was having none of it. The boys struggled to get comfortable enough to sleep and at one point Lachie was in tears, he was so tired but just couldn't get himself in a position that worked. I really felt sorry for him.
Ben and I took turns all night to walk around with Hannah trying to get her to sleep. She would drop off in our arms and when we tried to sit down she would wake. How about just standing up with her? I hear you ask. Well, she is a sturdy lass and our arms, backs, knees and feet were feeling the strain. Goodness, how we tried but to no avail. It really was like some strange form of torture.
Hannah finally fell asleep about 2.5 hours before we were due to land. I also managed to drop off, the first time all night, only to be woken shortly by an air hostess kindly giving me Hannah's breakfast. Dang it! I let Hannah sleep as long as I could but had to wake her, which was like a cruel joke, so she could eat something before landing. She was as cranky as all get out. No, she certainly didn't want anything to eat. In fact, just the act of asking her if she would like some yoghurt sent her into the scream zone once again. It was quite, quite awful!
So we landed. Gathered up all our belongings and waited for everyone to disembark the plane before it was our turn. We herded the little ones, who were so very tired, up the hallway towards Immigration. Making the crucial mistake of stopping at the toilets meant we were at the back of a VERY long queue. The kids were so far gone. Sam was in tears at the prospect of standing up in the queue for so long. Lachie collapsed into the ground in his dramatic way and declared 'I just CAN'T do it!'. Hannah was so tired she was falling asleep standing up.
After about 2 hours in the line, we made it to the desk. All our paperwork was in order and with the help of three small crazy-eyed kids we were pushed fairly quickly through Immigration and waved past any sort of customs activity. Thanks kids.
We made it to the car hire center and loaded up our van with our luggage. Which, by the way, had been collected for us by some kind person (angel?) and loaded onto carts and was waiting for us as we made our way out of Immigration. Such a blessing.
It was weird to be on the other side of the road once again and the weirdness was enhanced by the fact that neither of us had had any sleep overnight. Sort of felt like a dream. Thankfully, with the help of a very good GPS, we made it out of San Francisco and up the I-5 to Redding.
When we arrived home and pulled into our garage, I noticed there was an odd piece of furniture sitting in there. Looking down the passage as we went inside, I noticed a chair that was in the lounge room when we left was now in our bedroom. Weird.
As we went from room to room, we realised our whole house had been decorated with extra furniture, art work, toys and clothes for the kids and more! We were astounded! My wonderful friends from my small group had been very busy turning our house into a home. It was simply amazing. We felt so loved, it was a wonderful moment. There was food in the fridge and it was the best feeling to sit down for a meal after such a long couple of days. Thank you Jesus!
It has become rather obvious to us that there is a special grace for our family to be in Redding at this time. In this season, Redding is home. Although our hearts are for Australia and we miss our family and friends dearly, this city, these people have embraced us and we love it. It feels as though we are growing at an accelerated rate. Learning new things about God, about us and about the world every day. It's as though God has uprooted us from Australia, and planted us here in a big pile of juicy fertile soil, for us to grow quickly. To speed up processes that may have taken years to happen had we stayed in our homeland. Things are moving at a rate that at times, seems a little scary. But in a good way. Sort of like a roller coaster. It's incredible fun and so exciting but at any moment you could pee your pants.
Thanks for all your love and support. I am sure that much of what is happening for our family would not be possible without your prayers. God hears and He is showing Himself faithful. Be blessed to know that we are doing great!!
