We really enjoyed our stay (3 nights) in the shared house. The family were lovely, as were the people that were in there with us. It was such a relief to be with people and know that we weren't chewing at our savings. During our time there we spent countless hours searching for a house and a car. We were offered a 3 brm place in a great area, however the house was really small. It wasn't worth paying the money for the size of it. Prior to being offered that house, we had looked through a massive 3 brm place with a massive yard for only $100 p/m more. We applied that day and were called up at 9am the next morning with the good news that we could rent the house! The great thing about the house is that it is big enough that we have been able to have 2 borders move in to help with rent (more on them later). The house also reminds me (Taff) of my 2 homes in Bendigo. The carpet and the size of the house (and the era) remind me of the house I grew up in in Spring Gully Road. The bathrooms are big and long with really big mirrors. For those who saw our house in Flora Hill, we had a massive mirror in the bathroom. So we feel right at home here. The yard has lots of grassy area for Zeke to play and kick a ball (without it traveling down the hill to a main road!). We were able to move into the house immediately - just had to buy a couple of beds to do that :).
So we have slowly been filling our house with furniture. We have been incredibly blessed! We went to some yard sales on Saturday and got some amazing bargains; 2 swivel/rocking chairs for $15, and a couch for $15 - all had just been steam cleaned and are in beautiful condition. We also got given a single bed with sheets etc which was amazing. We also picked up a swing and slide set for Zeke for $10! Nothing wrong with it! Just needs a coat of paint to make it like new again. We also picked up a big fridge with ice maker for $60. So the place is starting to feel like home.
In the process of setting up, we met the neighbours. It's a really friendly neighbourhood - in fact I would say that Americans in general are so friendly and hospitable and willing to help out. We love it! Dave met our next door neighbours and immediately got an invite over for tea. Their whole family went for dinner also so we met quite a few people that night. The added bonus - they have a beautiful pool with a waterslide, and a tree house for Zeke to play in. Their daughters, Cassidy and Maciah, are 8 and 10 years and Zeke has taken to them quite quickly. Their extended family includes 2 boys aged 3 and 4 which has also been great for Zeke. Corey (our neighbour) kindly helped Dave put Zeke's swing set together and lent him the tools etc to fix it up a bit. They have also given us their password for their internet while we wait for ours to be connected. After knowing them for 24 hours, they offered to look after our kids while we went out for dinner to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary. Very kind of them!
As I said, we've also had 2 borders move in with us. One of the guys, Tim Parr (from NZ), is a good friend of my sister & brother in law. We'd had a little bit of contact with him prior to coming, then when his accommodation fell through we were able to offer him a place to stay. We then got another guy Bob Carr from Virginia to share the room with him (it's a decent sized room). Both guys and their friend/girlfriend are easy going and lovely people.
Last night we had an extra 2 people in the house! Some of you will know Lindsay Stokes (Mark Stokes dad) from Kyabram. He has connections with Tim Parr's girlfriend Anna. So he rocked up on our doorstep last night and will be staying until he finds a place to live. We also had another girl, Rochelle (friend of Bob) crash on the couch. Thankfully the house is big enough that you don't feel like you're getting in each others way.
We also managed to buy a car. Dave still hasn't gone for his license, but will do that next week (found out is wasn't as urgent as we thought). The lady we bought the car from has been very helpful to us also. She's fixed up a couple of things on the car for us and made sure that we've got a reliable car.
We have been blown away with how many great people we've met - neighbours, housemates, borders, friends, people who helped collect our furniture, car seller etc etc. It's definitely made our transition a whole lot easier.
Sometime over the next couple of days we'll make a short video of our home and post it to the blog so you can see where we're living. If you're interested in our address, just shoot us an email and we'll email it to you.
Dave started school today. I'm sure he's going to love it. I'll miss not having him around all the time like he has been the last couple of weeks, however he only has school for half a day each day so I can't complain! :)
We are all well again. Zeke has settled in to his new home very well. He is much happier now that he's not battling sickness and we've stopped in one location. Jaden - still the same - very easy going and taking it all in his stride :).
Hopefully we'll get the video of our house done soon for you all! Thanks for your prayers, emails and skype calls! It's been a roller-coaster ride but we're enjoying the adventure of it!
No comments:
Post a Comment