Arrival to the USA

Our journey to the USA so far just feels like a bit of a holiday. We've spent 2 nights just outside LA, now we're in San Franciso for 2 nights before driving to Redding (where we'll live).

I must say that we are very proud of our boys! We dragged them from cars, to planes, to buses, walking through airports, with little time to stop and eat and they were beautiful for us! Zeke especially had to put up with us getting him to move quicker, or be carried. Jaden was his usual placid self which made life easier. People in the LA airport were very helpful seeing that we had 2 young children. Just as we were about to exit the airport, I realised that in picking up our tonne of luggage, we'd forgotten to pick up the porta cot and car seat! So while I waited half way up the exit ramp with 2 trolleys of luggage and 2 tired kids, Dave went back and got someone to collect them for him (which took a long time as they only picked up one thing the first time!).

Eventually we were out of there and in our big American car! We had to upgrade our hire car from a sedan to a Crysler Aspen - kind like a cross between a 4WD and a Tarago. Big! But nice to drive - easy to drive when you're learning to drive on the wrong side of the road! We're enjoying the challenge that it brings. (We won't mention the fact that today Taff backed into a car behind us!). America seems to be the land of the big cars. Quite bizzare.

We spent our first 2 nights in Anaheim (just south of LA) - directly opposite Disneyland. Felt a bit odd being so close to Disneyland and not going!!! It's just not worth it when the boys are so young. Save that one for a few years down the track. Our accommodation had a little water park which Zeke (sort of) enjoyed. :) Unfortunately he was starting to get unwell. He has a rash over his body which we think is a combination of heat rash and ezcema. Possibly a reaction to an additive but we're not really sure. He's getting better so it's nothing serious thankfully. We would love you to pray for our health - Dave and Zeke both a bit unwell. Taff stupidly had some pineapple in a smoothy tonight (something that made her extremely sick during pregnancy).

The landscape around LA seemed to be barren and concrete! Lots of road/bridges going over each other and the hills seem very dry (it is the end of summer though, so probably to be expected). We didn't actually head into the CBD (or Downtown) LA. Not enough time. It also appears that 'Dennys' is more popular than 'McDonalds'. Their servo stops along the highway are more like little shopping centres too!

After our 2 nights in Anaheim, we made the long drive to San Fran. The trip was hard as Zeke was really not well that day. It breaks our heart when he says he wants to go home. So hard to explain to a 2 year old that we actually don't have a home right now. Trying to explain what's happening to him, but when you're not well all anyone wants to do it go home.

So now we're in San Fran and we head to Redding tomorrow. We'll fill you in on our San Fran stay next time. Thanks again for praying for us! Please pray that we'll find a place to call home very soon!

Final Day

Tomorrow is the big move. We are now officially 'homeless'. We moved out of our house last Friday and have spent our last few nights with Taff's family in Torquay (hard place to stay, I know). We're busy trying to do the last few little jobs - and we're sure we will have missed something - including the final packing of our bags and making sure we're not over the weight limit!
We are very excited - even slightly anxious now - about moving over. Life is about to dramatically change. It will be a big few weeks as we try to settle in before Dave starts college on Sept 15.

We want to say a HUGE 'THANK YOU' to everyone who has helped us with the move. Thanks to those who physically helped with the move; thanks Rach for helping Taff; thanks to those who have encouraged us along the way. A very special thank you to everyone who has helped us financially. We have been absolutely blown away by the generosity shown towards us. We can't thank you all personally (cause some of you we don't know) but please know that we are very grateful for your support. Thanks also to those who are praying for us as we take this adventurous step! We appreciate your prayers.

Might be a while before we are connnected via the internet, but we'll let you know how the transition is going as soon as we can!

Thanks again! Don't forget to shoot us an email to keep us up to date on what's happening in your life! :)

The final weeks in Aussie Land!

Two weeks until we fly out of this beautiful country to invade the land of the yanks! We have mixed emotions about the move - excited about the journey ahead and the challenges that we will face, but very sad to be leaving friends and family behind. Thankfully the world of technology continues to grow and we can chat to people on skype! (Add us to your contacts: taff.harvey or dave-harvey). There is also the part of us that is just 'doing' things in order to move - plenty of little jobs that need to be done in order to make the transition smooth.

We have so many wonderful friends and family members that make it hard for us to leave. Thank you for being such a huge part of our lives. Thanks for your love, support, prayers, help, and fun! We hope that this can continue - for the most part (at least for the next two years) this will just be from a distance!

So just over 1 week til we leave the house that we designed, built, and have lived in since we were married. (As much as we love the house, it's getting far too small with 2 kids and no backyard!). A frantic week and a half ahead, then a few days to relax before we fly out on August 27th. The next part of our adventure starts...