One more Christmas stateside...

It dawned on me today that we would be in New Zealand today if things had gone as we had planned. I chuckled when I think about how we had thought we were in control!!! So instead we'll cherish one more Christmas with friends and family in Kentucky. Grammy is with us and Mimi will join us on Christmas day. Billy and I were also able to participate in the Christmas Musical Celebration at church which is always awesome!!!
Next week we expect to ship our belongings. With an 8-12 week transit time, we'd like to give it as much of a headstart as possible so that we don't have to "rough it" for too terribly long.
Today marks four weeks since the email we received on Thanksgiving that said we'd hear something in 4-6 weeks. I'm hoping that we will hear something any day!!! Billy isn't as positive. He's thinking maybe mid-January.
So on this eve of Christmas Eve, I'm going to try to keep my eyes on the manger, the birth of my Savior, and savor this Christmas gift of being with friends and family one more year.

May you all have a most blessed Christmas and a very Happy New Year!!!

Fun Distraction

We had a fun distraction yesterday from the frustration of waiting. A film crew of three (a sound man-Scott, camera man-Mark and director-Chris) met us at our former farm to film the backstory for House Hunters International. The day was a little boring for the kids as much of the shoot was of Billy and me talking about the whys and hows of our move to New Zealand.  We did go to the barn and they filmed us grooming Bella and then riding her. After several hours of filming they took us all to a late lunch at Cracker Barrel. It was a very cool experience and we learned a lot about filming, etc. Chris, told us that after all the shoots are completed they'll have about 14 hours of film! Of course they cut and edit it down to only 22 minutes. We will of course announce the aired date, however, they still have to film us house hunting and then they'll come back when we are settled in our new home. Now if we will just get our visas!!! The episode will likely not air until at the earliest May. Will keep you posted....

... and waiting...

Billy is now unemployed and home... everyday... all day... Just kidding. He's not driving me crazy...yet...
He had looked into the locum opportunities I had mentioned in my last post, however, by the time all the paperwork is done, he wouldn't start working until February. Billy also emailed our case manager with INZ to look into going ahead and moving over as visitors and waiting for Graham's visa there but he strongly discouraged doing so. He fears INZ would reject Graham if we brought him without approval. We've been instructed to just "sit tight."
"Tight" will very much be the operative word if we don't get visas and get an income within the next month.
We are looking at shipping our belongings in the next week. We are just trusting that God will indeed bring us all the way to NZ as we feel He is leading us.
On an exciting note- we will be filming the first of three shoots for House Hunters International on Monday!!! It should be fun and a great distraction from all the waiting. They want to show the daily activities of the Viner family, starting with me preparing breakfast for the kids before school. This had me laughing out loud! I don't cook breakfast. So much for reality TV!
So it looks like it will be a quiet Christmas in our rental house, with an artificial tree (my first ever!) and gifts that will be easy to take on a plane. And maybe God will deliver our visas on Christmas day!!!

Between Chapters

Well, the Viner Farm is no more. We are no longer homeowners and are living out of laundry baskets, though not homeless. I knew selling the farm would be difficult but I had hoped it would be more like ripping off a band aid rather than a slow, agonizing amputation over several months.

I'm hoping to not call this a "chapter" in our history as I pray this will be much too short in duration to merit a whole chapter.  The kids are actually all doing quite well with this transition, with the exception of Mikaylie who feeds largely off of my emotion.  I probably share too much with her and have mistakenly told her that she would not have to go to school after the first trimester because we'd leave before the completion of the second. Unfortunately, without visa approval she must continue to attend.
Billy's job in Corbin ends next week and he'll then be unemployed. He is looking into some locum jobs, which are short term, usually covering for a vacationing physician or filling in until a permanent physician is hired. The jobs actually pay quite well, but are farther away and provide no health insurance. Our coverage ends at the end of the year.
One bright, exciting note is that House Hunters International has chosen to do a show about our pilgrimage to NZ. This too, however, is contingent on our visa approval. 
And so... we wait...

The Dark Before the Dawn???

Today has been a very, very difficult day for the Viners. Actually, the last several day, with today being the worst.  Instead of receiving news that we'd get an answer shortly from INZ, we received an email requesting ridiculous info, some they already have and some that is not possible to get. It also spoke of NZ having to evaluate Graham's special needs in school, of which he receives little... only speech and reading related to his speech issues.  They seem to think Graham is in some special school or special programs. The program they've referred to is nothing Graham would even need. This evaluation will take 4-6 weeks. We do not have 4-6 weeks. We have about a week and a half. Billy's job ends then, as does our insurance. And while we've been blessed to have use of a furnished house, it is not home and does not have enough beds to accommodate all of us. It was only meant to be temporary and I feel terrible having my children sleep on the floors and couches for an indefinite length of time.
Billy and I can't help but question our belief in what we thought was God's will for us. We've sacrificed so very much. We've allowed our home to be stolen from us, have moved Gram in with my sister, had Kaigan's senior year done primary via correspondence, put our belongings in storage, sold appliances that we will need to replace should we not move overseas, Billy's quit his job which ends our insurance, and so on...
Everyday, I feel I can handle no more, yet every day it gets worse. We are facing lawsuits for situations that others have forced us into. We've been swindled, taken advantage of, lied to, and conned.
The weight of responsibility on Billy's shoulders is more than any man should have to bear. And all under the conviction that this is God's will.
Satan is trying to defeat us. He is trying to shake our faith, destroy our family, and cause us to be disobedient.
Yes, we are tired.
Yes, we are discouraged.
Yes, we are still following the Son.

Latest Update...

I can't believe it's been so long since my last post. Sadly, there is still no big news regarding our immigration status. However, Graham's genetics test came back negative! Praise God for that!!!
We've also learned that those of us whose medicals INZ has been reviewing have all been cleared except for Graham and they will likely require more info on him. We are waiting for the letter from the surgeon that saw him for the kidney stones, as we expect that will be a letter INZ will require. Anything beyond that, we can't imagine what they could possibly ask for now.
In other news... the sale of the farm has come to a halt!  The survey had been done so poorly that there was conflict about lines. Primarily, the septic tank was surveyed on a separate tract than the house. As of right now, the contract has been breached.  What happens next remains to be seen.
We are, however, continuing our move into the rental house.  We will be having Thanksgiving dinner there with Grammy joining us!
With all that is going on, I am still convinced that we are moving to New Zealand.  Our departure date will likely be pushed back.  Our belongings may not get to us until months after we get there. And we may not even be in the house that we had thought we'd be in. But, I'm confident that God is sending us to NZ.  The more obstacles that Satan throws at us are just more opportunities for God to show off His power and glory!!!

Another very difficult day

With the closing on the farm growing nearer, I took today to move my 2 trail horses. I brought them to my dear friend and trainer, Nancy's to board them until we either: a) receive approval from NZ in which case I still need to find them a home or b) get rejected by NZ, find a job stateside and move them with us. The tears started as I hooked up the horse trailer and really got going when, after Soochie loaded with no problem, Bella just did not want to get in the trailer. Bella never gives me problems loading but this morning she planted her feet and was just not going to get in. I felt like she knew what was going on and was going to fight it right along with me. After a while, she finally got in the trailer and we were on our way. I cried a good part of the rest of the day. Looking at the field without my horses in it breaks my heart. Both have lived here their whole lives and Soochie has actually lived here longer than us, as I bought him before we even moved onto the farm.
As if I wasn't already emotionally drained, Billy needed me to bring Graham to a lab to have a genetics test done. It seems that the developmental pediatrician thought that, given the fact that he has both the heart defect and a speech disorder, he should be tested for 22q11, a genetic anomaly.  Since he put this in his report to NZ, we knew they would demand it be done so our poor, sweet Graham had to have his blood drawn. He's so funny! He fussed at the tech saying, "He made a hole in my body!"
I started reading a little on the net about this 22q11 but decided to cross that bridge if need be after reading "Microdeletions in chromosomal region 22q11.2 are associated with a 20 to 30-fold increased risk of schizophrenia".  Plus, assuming that a positive result would certainly nix our chance of being granted residence AND since Billy and I are certain we are going, the result will most certainly be negative.
Through the emotions of this day... okay, this year, God gave me the following prayer:

This veil of grief that blocks my sight

 Oh Father God, please help me fight

Your plan for me I know's divine

Not my will, Lord, but only Thine

You weep with me while my heart breaks

But You know, God, that which awaits

Dim not my faith, keep me yet strong

Through these days both hard and long

My feet I will on path to stay

Knowing that You lead the way

Desires of my heart, just one

To glorify both Father... Son

Trying times...

At the request of the medical assessor, Billy has arranged for Graham to be evaluated by a developmental pediatrician, a physician we never knew existed.  Amazingly, the appointment is Monday! We've been told that upon receipt of the requested paperwork it will still be another 2-3 weeks before we hear another update. With the contract on our new house expiring November 1st in NZ (which is Sunday here) we've had to request a 3 week extension. Three more weeks of limbo!!!
Stressed out is such and understatement. I think we've both reached the state of delirium. I don't know how Billy is even functioning. His mom is in the hospital and, if discharged, will be in hospice care. She is dying of Parkinson's and has deteriorated so quickly, unable to talk, walk or even eat. Bless her, she can only move her eyes.  For mercy's sake, we pray God takes her soon.
Billy and I both still have an overwhelming sense that we are still going to NZ.  Neither of us can figure out exactly HOW but, somehow, we KNOW we're going.  And when I can step out of the chaos and take a deep breath, I feel an excitement in the anticipation of seeing God work it all out.
This morning I felt God placed a message on a church message sign just for us. It read, "In trying times, don't quite trying."

Time to consider Plan B?

Billy received three emails yesterday from INZ (Immigration New Zealand) asking for 6 additional documents, 3 of which they already have! We are at a loss as to how to read this. Are they giving us the runaround? Did they lose paperwork? Is it God's will that we don't go to NZ? Is Satan trying to discourage us?
I find myself so incredibly frustrated at truly trying to obey God, sacrificing so much and putting forth so much effort and yet feeling so uncertain as to what His will really is now. Are we supposed to fight harder or change directions? Do I pack to move within the country or wait for movers to pack us to move overseas?  This has truly taken "living one day at a time" to a new level!!
I don't even know what I want. I feel like I've been asking God, "What do You want me to want?" And if He asked me, "What do you want?" I have no idea!

...and waiting...

Yep, still waiting for word from immigration.  We've had to send some additional paperwork that was requested by New Zealand and have one more (hopefully the last) to send. Our contact person, Jason, hopes to have some news by the end of the month.  This would be extremely helpful for several reasons, not the least of which is WE JUST WANNA KNOW!!!
November 1st is the date in our contract on our home in NZ by which we have to proceed with the purchase of the house or let it go.  Immigration is the only condition left unfulfilled.  We may have to request an extension, however, if the sellers have any other interested parties, they may which to deny that request. 
We also would REALLY like to have our belongings shipped. It will take 8-12 weeks for our things to get to NZ and we'd really prefer NOT to sleep on the floor for more than a couple of days.
We also need to book our flights as well as get Pete's transport, quarantine, etc. arranged.
We KNOW that God has a plan and it is perfect. Billy and I both believe in our hearts that it is God's will for us to move to New Zealand. He has already worked out so may details that would not be necessary if we were to stay stateside. Whether these delays are to refine our faith, teach us patience or for reasons we have yet to discover, I am finding peace in the fact that, while we have no control, God does!

Dancing in the Rain

After four days of crying, two days of rage and a day of emotional exhaustion and just plain numb, I got up today and ENJOYED MY FARM. Brylie, Nani and I groomed the horses and rode all over our beautiful farm.  Such a gorgeous day! Thank you Lord!!
Things are starting again to fall into place and new peace is upon me.
The couple that bought our house have managed to purchase the barn with 8 additional acres from the guy who bought the land.  Yesterday I had the blessing of chatting with the mother of the wife of the couple and she told me how excited they are about the house and farm. Their little son, she went on, cried because he wanted to live here. And not only are his grandparents buying the minis for him, his family want Hattie and any cats that we wish to leave on the farm.
This leaves only my precious Bella and Soochie. I have spoken to a few people who may be interested in them, any of whom would take terrific care of them. Today, however, my dear friend in New Mexico called and told me that she, her husband and his dad are interested in possibly taking my horses. While I know they would be well cared for by any of the others, I'm am thrilled to pieces at the thought of them being with "family".
We're still in limbo with immigration. Monday Billy and I will be sending what we hope will be the final bits of information for which they are asking.  We pray that once they receive it they will be able to render a decision regarding our request for residence.  So much awaits this news. We have only until November 1st to satisfy the conditions of the contract on our house in NZ, immigration being the only condition left to complete. With each passing week the likelihood of our belongings reaching NZ shortly after we do lessens. And we'd ideally like to pack and ship directly to NZ from the farm and not have to move twice.  Finally, we'd really like to purchase our plane tickets.  If we have to push our departure back, my Mom will likely not be able to come with us, as she is a teacher and will have to be back in class around January 5th.  But I realize that God's timing is perfect and if these things don't work out the way WE are hoping, it's because God has it all worked out differently than we do.
I know that I have A LOT more tears to shed over the next several weeks.  This storm is far from over. I have decided, however, that I'd much rather dance in the rain.

Dark Days

I don't even know how to begin this entry.  I've never felt so much grief in all my life.  To those of you who have had great loss of loved ones, I apologize.  I know this seems trivial and perhaps materialistic but it's what I'm going through right now.
Our beloved farm was auctioned on Saturday. The land sold, tragically to Satan incarnate and the house to a quite lovely couple who will loathe the day they bought this house when they find it set in the bovine sewer that it will surely become.  And for what?? We scarcely covered our mortgage, commission and fees.  The garage sale we held a couple of weeks ago brought more money than we will make on the sale of our entire farm, equipment included.  I've wept for four days.
I'm truly not being materialistic, for it's not the money or actual land or house for which I grieve.  I would be sad but peaceful if someone was going to love and nurture this place as we have over the past eight years. Billy and I have poured our blood, sweat and tears into this homestead and never have I felt more peace and happiness than the years we've spent here.  I fully expected to be buried next to our dear dog Macy under the tree in the back field.
I am trying to be strong and know that God is still in control but I can't help but feel abandoned and even punished for our attempts to obey. I feel so heavy, as if cloaked by the lead vest they put on one having an xray. I wish I could shake it off.
Mikaylie slept with me last night, as Billy was on call. She broke my heart when she, crying, said, "I want my Momma back".
I'm trying , Baby.

Getting Excited About Our New House

Thought I'd post the link of our new home in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

http://www.nz.open2view.com/Property/225826

I've probably looked at these pictures a thousand times.  Arranging funiture, decorating, choosing colors and just day dreaming.  Can't wait!!!!

Waiting...

Oh the waiting.  THE WAITING!!!! We're in a holding pattern. Can't ship our things. Can't purchase airline tickets. I'm not exactly the patient type so this is excruciating!!!  I am really trying to just give it to God. I pray but I don't know what to pray for. So I just keep saying, "Your will be done. Your will be done." Anything else is praying for MY will. Ultimately I know God's timing is perfect.
I'm going through the house and packing what I can... mostly summer clothes, extra bedding, etc. Can't pack breakables due to insurance. I'm still finding loads, literally LOADS of things to get rid of. I'm thinking of having another yardsale at the rental house. At least I'm busy, I guess...

Falling into Place

The last 10 days have been absolutely crazy! The scary thing is, it’s probably just the beginning! I’ve been preparing for the moving sale for months and suddenly it’s time and I don’t feel ready!! The auction is 2 weeks away. WOW! Are we really doing this?!?! While sad to leave our beloved farm, we still feel convicted so there is a peace. Thinking about our new house in New Plymouth helps and I’m getting excited about getting settled there in December/January.

The first day of the moving sale was okay. The local newspaper apparently did not receive the order for the classified ad so the sale was not advertised until the day of. If tomorrow does not do MUCH better, we’ll run the ad again and have the whole thing again next weekend. JOY! Yes, sarcasm!

God has provided yet again for us in this huge endeavor! In sharing our adventure with a friend, God revealed a furnished house for us to rent for the 2 months before we leave Somerset! I had resigned to the fact that surely we’d be living in a hotel for those 2 months. I mean, who would rent out a furnished house for such a short time? And to a family with 6 children?? Not only did He find us such a place, they will even let us have Pete (our schnoodle) there.
My biggest heartbreak I’m having to cope with is leaving my beloved horses. This may seem silly given I'll be leaving dear friends and family. But I can call them, Facebook, etc. I can't do that with my horses.

I bought Soochie and his mother when he was just 3 months old and Bella, his half sister was born here 4 years ago. I love those two! They are the best trail horses!  And they are my babies!! 
I finally broke down and called Ray, our barn builder. He had mentioned a couple who may be looking for trail horses and that they would take terrific care of them. He gave me their name and I reluctantly called them. They said they would discuss the possibility but also gave me the name and number of another couple who may be interested. I was thinking, "Great! I don't even know you! Like I'm gonna call another set of strangers to take my babies!" But as it turns out, the wife of this couple is someone I know and think the world of. I spoke with her husband and he said he’d have her give me a call. With a tremendous amount of peace in my heart, I called Billy. I told him that I may have found the perfect place for Bella and Soochie. I then burst into tears and said, “You know we’re going, don’t you?” He laughed and asked why. I told him that the horses were the last thing that I had reservations about and I had been praying that God would not only provide me with someone to take them, but also that He’d give me complete peace about it.

God's still working on this!

Praise God!!!! Will's passport arrived Saturday and this morning I received a call from the secretary at Congressman Hal Rogers' office with news that they had received Graham's!!! It took less than ONE WEEK!!!!
All of our papers are now in order and we are just waiting for word from New Zealand Immigration.
We are also very busy preparing for the garage sale of all garage sales! I'm looking to sell close to half the contents of our home, leaving the rest to ship overseas.
The auction of the farm is scheduled and we pray that God's hand is on that in a huge way!  I can't imagine that He would lead us this far but not take care of the sale of the farm.  The auction company is a little concerned because the bank is requiring us to set a reserve since we owe and this often deters buyers. I assured the auctioneer that God's hand has been on this entire endeavor and I don't expect Him to leave us now. God has shown His faithfulness which has strengthened mine. I no longer pray and hope God will act, I pray and expect it!!

The paper chase continues

With Graham's adoption complete, Billy drove to Frankfort to get Graham's certificate of foreign birth.  The following day I went to the Social Security Field Office here in Somerset to apply for his social security number. Long, confusing story short... never mind, there is no short story...I was able to get his number ordered, however, it was going to be in his former name until we could get it changed to his new (current) name. To do this we needed proof of citizenship. Foreign children adopted by American parenst become citizens when the adoption is completed in the US. The SSA would not, however, recognize the adoption judgement as proof of citizenship. I was told I'd have to get his passport and that would serve as proof of citizenship. This could be tricky though because he had different names on his Indian passport, his visa, his certificate of foreign birth and now his social security card. If we were even able to get his passport, it would be in his former name. How could we travel through security and immigration with a child with a different name than us?  How complicated that would be!?!?
In addition to all of this, we'd still not received Will's passport.  We had received a letter after applying for his that requested additional paperwork that we had not known to send. We had sent what was asked but had still not gotten his passport.
I headed to our congressman's office for guidance and possibly influence but they received conflicting information from every office they spoke with.  It now appeared that it could take 5 months to get this certificate of citizenship before even applying for a passport!!!! So much for New Zealand in December!!! We couldn't even get through the immigration process without Graham's passport, not to mention get him out of the country!!!  And where was Will's? They'd not gotten info back regarding the status of his either.
Panic set in with a breakdown at the high school where I was tending to soccer business (in my spare time!).  Prayers started harder than ever, even from the poor bookkeeper whose office I had lost it in. I shared this disaster with my friend, Patty and she began praying too.  Within an hour, I received a call from the precious young lady at the SSA office who informed me that after much research and finagling she was able to change Graham's name with social security. Praise God!!!
This news brought some releif but since we'd yet to receive Will's passport, I wasn't sure if we'd conquered the problem yet. Whatever was holding up Will's could also be a problem with Graham's. The nice young girl at the congressman's office was still seeking info.
I joined two of my bffs for a venting session. Unfortunately, they perceived these problems as signs from God not to go. Two other friends as well as myself perceived them as hurdles Satan was throwing at us to discourage and cause us to disobey.
Next I called our adoption case worker to inquire about the certificates of citizenship and how to go about getting passports. She assured me we had all that we needed and that they, themselves had just gotten passports for their 5 adopted children.  SSHHEEEEWWWWW!!! I called the girl at the congressman's office and told her what I'd learned. She (though sounding doubtful) said great and that we could bring the passport application to her office ofter the post office had processed and sealed it in an evelope. She said that the congressman's office would expedite it for us!! Again, PRAISE GOD!!!
This morning, Billy received a response to an email to our immigration case worker granting us permission to send the application packet on to him without the boys' passports. We could forward them to him when they arrived to us.
So this morning, Billy, Graham and I went to our 9:30am appointment at the post office to apply for Graham's passport. From there I went to Congressman Hal Rogers' office where Rebecca sent it on, expedited, to be returned to the congressman's office.
After depositing Graham off at school, I had one last order of business to take care of... I went to the Postal Stop location and Fedexed the 4 lbs application to London in the United Kingdom. It is due to arrive in New Zealand's Immigration Office by noon on Friday. Our deadline? Saturday, September 11.
I exited the building and felt an enormous weight lifted off my shoulders and I cried with relief.
I then treated myself to a facial and a massage.
Now we wait...

Not quite the adoption day we had planned

We had been anxiously awaiting September 1st for many months. It was to be Graham's big day, the day he was to officially become a Viner! However, at around 12am that morning, I heard him come down the stairs and to the bathroom.  This may not sound unusual but Graham is a nearly nightly bedwetter. He NEVER gets up to pee! I went in to check on him and found him doubled over on the toilet. He said his belly hurt.  He tried to pee but was only able to squeeze out a couple drops. I began to suspect a UTI or even stones. He laid on the couch, writhing in pain and then the vomitting started. Now I also feared appendicitis. I called Billy who was... you guessed it... at work!! He said to head to the hospital.
At the hospital, after some pain and anti-nausia meds, a CT scan showed 2 large kidney stones, too big to pass. Graham would have to have them broken up by laser. The urologist was ready but was unable to find an anesthesiologist willing to anesthetize him with his heart history. Now 5am, we were headed to UK in Lexington. I had to keep slapping my face to stay awake.
At 8:30am, I called our attorney to let him know that Graham and I would not be in court and to ask if Billy could go before the judge without us. He said that the child had to be there and that the judge can be a stickler. We'd have to reschedule. I managed to maintain composure and told him we could not wait for another court date, as our immigration packet was due in London, England the following week.  Doubtful, our attorney agreed to meet Billy at the courthouse to see what the judge would do.  I urged Billy to go ahead and bring the rest of the kids. They had been so looking forward to going to court as a family and officially welcoming Graham as their legal brother. So at 1pm, as Billy and the rest of the children were in the courtroom watching the judge sign the adoption judgement, Graham was in the OR having his kidney stones blasted and getting circumcised!!
Graham did great!! Such a trooper! He and I got home Wednesday night while the rest of the family were at church. They were so happy to see him when they got home. After a hug from Brylie, Graham proudly asked, "Wanna see my weiner?!?"  Needless to say, we had a discussion about what's appropriate to talk about at school.

WE GOT IT!!!

Our last offer on the Glen Almond house was accepted!!!  We are so ecstatic!
With our application packet all ready to turn in (save for Graham's birth certificate which we will get on Thursday), our biggest focus now is preparing the farm for the auction and having a HUGE garage sale. Billy has been spending every spare moment mowing, weedeating and selling livestock. I have been sorting though all of our stuff!!! So much STUFF!!! I'm going from room to room deciding what we will take, what we will sell and what we can simply throw out. My criteria for bringing it is 1) Is it functional? and 2) Do I love it? I've also taken some breaks from sorting through the house and shopping for things we want to bring. Since the kids will be playing musical beds and some will be sharing rooms, I've purchased new bedding for them. I've also chosen some new bedding for Billy and me. I really like the colors on the walls in the bedrooms in the new house and have found lovely bedding that will work great! I've also looked at dining tables and will soon be looking for patio furniture. And with all that I have sold or am going to sell, I'm not spending any extra money.
My biggest concern is my horses. I so dread selling them and have even looked into shipping them. I pray that if I'm not supposed to bring them, God will provide the perfect people for them and I will be at peace about leaving them.
Busy busy busy!!! December will be here before we know it!

One More Offer???

When you are waiting to hear back about an offer on a house, a 16 hour time difference is maddening!!! Business hours in NZ is the afternoon/evening for us and during our business hours, New Zealand is sleeping. Plus, we submitted our offer on what was Friday in NZ. Sunday night, we received a counteroffer $28,000 over our initial offer. Wow! This may be harder than we thought. We increased only $5k, not willing to pay too much over GV (Government Valuation) or RV (Council Rating Value). The vendors’ attorney all but called us either cheap or without funds to our attorney. He also spoke of two other interested purchasers, one from Russia and another from Australia. He said the vendors will not be countering. Disappointed, I began pouring over the listing websites again in search of a “plan B”. Our attorney, however, had also spoken with the agent (realtor) who indicated we were fairly close to an acceptable price and that the Russians had purchased something else. She made no mention of any other interested parties, Aussie or otherwise. I spoke will Billy, who of course was at work, and we agreed on a top dollar amount we were prepared to spend on this property. I then emailed the agent and basically told her that if the vendors are at their lowest acceptable price then I guess we were done. (I can play hardball too!) I thanked her for her assistance and suggested that perhaps she’d be the agent on another property that may work for us. Before she even received the email, the agent called me after having spoken to our attorney and was quite concerned that perhaps we were calling it quits. She indicated, as she had with our attorney, that the venders were prepared to accept a price just over our last price. She encouraged us to make one last offer over X amount but I told her that X amount was our top price we were willing to give on this property. She said she’d speak with the vendors and to go ahead and submit that amount as our final offer. So we submitted our last offer…

Back to the Paperwork!

There was no easing back into the swing of things and we had no time for jet lag. Unfortunately, jetlag didn’t get that memo and Billy and I both trudged through the week like a hot, heavy blanket was weighing us down. Billy had to be at work for 7am Monday morning and was on call to boot. I had to prepare for the kids to start school on Wednesday as well as help my mom and sister prepare for and hold a garage sale for my grandmother.


For the past nine years, Gram had been residing in a retirement community in Somerset where I could take her to doctors’ appointments and run various errands for her. I had never considered moving from Somerset, even to Corbin, an option. Billy had mentioned the New Zealand idea to Gram some months ago and she decided that she would take this opportunity to move in with my sister, Jenn, and my nephew, Sam. By Gram moving in with them, Sam would have someone with him at night and Gram would nearly always have someone home with her, as Jenn sleeps days and works nights as a nurse. What we hadn’t anticipated was Gram selling her house so quickly! While Billy and I were in New Zealand, Gram sold her home, just barely four weeks after listing it. This was such a blessing because Gram, being a worrier by nature, fretted over the sale of her house day and night. She closed on her house the Tuesday after our return, we went through her house and held a garage sale that following weekend, movers came and packed her house on Sunday and she was sleeping in her own bed in her new house with Jenn and Sam Tuesday night. Wow! God’s hand was in that one all the way! And we praise Him for it!

Immigrations was another issue. Physicals on the eight of us were completed, most of the paperwork was done. We just had to organize it and go through the check list one last time… or so we thought. One jetlagged sleepless night, Billy got up at 3am and began going over things. To his shock and horror, he had misunderstood that we needed the children’s passports for the application, not simply for traveling when we actually moved. His work schedule, however, would not allow for him to go with us to sign for the passports. Plus the kids were now back in school. He managed to have someone cover for him Friday afternoon, so at 4 o’clock there we were, all at the post office in Somerset, with 5 passport applications (all to be expedited) and 6 children all hyped up after school. I’m sure the staff there were LOVING us!

Now, we lacked only 3 things- the letter from Graham’s pediatric cardiologist, Graham’s birth certificate and his passport. The letter had been requested one month prior at his annual cardiology exam. Graham has a congenital heart defect and had valve repair surgery at age two. He’s great now, perfectly health with no restrictions. Sometime, likely in his late teens, he will need another repair. His doctor simply needed to send a letter stating his current condition, the monitoring he requires and future prognosis. We had expected the letter to have arrived while we were in NZ but upon our return, it had still not come. I called the cardiologist’s office to inquire about it and was informed she was out of the country! Panic set in. Our deadline for having our application in was rapidly approaching!

Meanwhile… we had decisions to make about a house. I strongly feel that moving directly into “our new house” will help the children as well as myself adjust most smoothly. Winging it with six kids is really not feasible. Finding a place to rent that would accommodate the 8 of us was looking sketchy. But most importantly, we BOTH really liked the Glen Almond house! Since we were in a holding pattern with our immigration application, we shifted our focus on buying our home in New Zealand. After struggling over the legalese of the purchase agreement (guess some things are the same in whatever country you may be in), we submitted an offer…

Back To The USA

Saturday morning we rose for what would be a VERY long day. We packed up our things and walked to the mall in Hamilton for breakfast and flat whites (latte), then we set off for Auckland. We navigated our way to the airport without incident, returned the rental car and waited. The car had to be returned by 4pm but our flight wasn’t to leave until 9pm.


At some point (Friday night, I think) we received a call from our realtor with the French House to inform us that the vendors (sellers) had received an offer. We didn’t want to lose the house but we were also not ready to make an offer. We held our breath and prayed that if this was the house we were to buy that God would hold it until we were ready to make a move on it. Eventually, we learned that the offer was rejected. Shew!

We flew through the night on a lightly loaded plane which allowed Billy and I each to have a whole row of 3 seats to ourselves. We ate the dinner, brushed our teeth then turned in for the night. When we were approaching LA, the pilot cautioned us about opening the window shades, as the sun was up and would be blindingly bright. I can’t even begin to comprehend the time change thing. We had left NZ at 9pm Saturday night but arrived at LAX Saturday at noontime!

We had a 9 hour layover but after going through immigration, customs and rechecking our luggage, we had 6 hours to kill. We’d had enough of airports for a while and had several more hours of that still to come to we hopped in a cab and headed to the boardwalk in Santa Monica. Wow! After being in New Plymouth for over a week and having lived rural Kentucky for the past 11 years, THIS was a culture shock! The honking horns, shouting people, bumper to bumper traffic and standing room only boardwalk was overwhelming.

We ate lunch at a restaurant on the boardwalk then walked down to the beach. We sat for a while where there was nifty gym area with rings, parallel bars, high bars, and mats. It was entertaining to watch the people on these apparatuses. The beach was lovely but crowded. We watched the sun go down over the rides on the boardwalk then caught another cab back to the airport.

We board one last plane and took off for Cincinnati at 10pm. We arrived there at 6:30am, retrieved our luggage and our car and then we were FINALLY on the last leg of the trip. The kids were already at church when we got home so we quickly showered, dressed and headed to church. What a reception we received when we walked through the doors of the sanctuary! Five lit up faces and five sets of arms around us. Kaigan was running the soundboard so he saved his hugs until after the service.

The service was amazing as always and I bawled like a baby throughout. I love it when we let God show up!

A Dream Come True

Friday morning, Billy and I walked around the corner from our motel to a cafe for breakfast then we headed to the place where we were to go horseback riding. The drive took us along the the coast where we saw surfers waiting for a good wave then wound around the hills, still along the coast, to the ranch of Wayne, Penny and their three children. We started up their dirt drive which, because of the winter rains, was actually mud. Billy slowed the car in an attempt to avoid some ginormous potholes but instead we slid in the mud until the car's rear tire rested against a rock. We were stuck. Billy tried forward and reverse but no good. So we hiked the rest of the drive to the barn where Wayne was tacking the horses for our ride. His jeep pulled us out with no problem and soon we mounted and hit the trail, Wayne as our guide. It was only the three of us- a perk of visiting in the winter.
We rode through cow fields, through wooded areas, through creeks, up and down hills and through some pretty muddy spots. Some of the muddy spots were on the downside of hills and we would just hold on while the horses slid down as if they were on skis. A little scary but quite fun.
In one wooded section of our trek, Billy's horse spooked or something and he darted off the trail, through some tree branches. Billy was able to stop him quickly but as he did he clutched his face. Wayne and I rode over to find that he had busted his lip and had what looked like a cat's claw scratch across his cheek. Thankfully he was wearing sunglasses which may well have saved his eyes from injury. With minimal blood loss and a fat lip, we continued on.
We crossed the road that ran along the coastline, entered another cow field, rode up a hill and there before us was the Tasman Sea.  We crossed over sand dunes, rode around a couple of fisherman and headed to the surf. As awesome as it was to finally be riding on the beach, I found the waves made me feel rather seasick. I guess not having my own feet on the ground made my equilibrium all off. My poor horse must have though me an idiot because when the waves rolled back toward the sea, I'd pull the reins back to halt him but he wasn't walking at all. It was like when the car next to you backs up and you press the brakes harder because it feels like you are the one moving.
We left the surf and rode up to softer sand and Wayne gave us some instructions. We were gonna take a little run. Billy handed Wayne the camcorder to capture the event.  And we were off! We tore down the beach, kicking up sand, wind in our face... It was awesome!!! A dream come true for me! I was in horse heaven!!
Wayne and Penny's place was just picture perfect. To sit at the barn with a view of the beach... it just doesn't get any better than that. 
After having to be towed out of mud for the second time, Billy dragged me away and we headed to Hamilton and our hotel. We cleaned up then headed downtown on foot in search of dinner and wifi. This was our last night in New Zealand. :-(  If we could have just sent for the kids, we may not have left.

Abseiling at Waitomo Caves

Thursday morning we bid farewell to Elise, Jeremy and the dogs and began our journey to Waitomo Caves. We took a rather leisurely pace, stopping for photo opps, lunch at the Fat Pigeon and an occasional shop. We found Adventure Cave Tours and waited for our caving expedition. A shuttle took me, Billy and Hector, a 19 year old student from England to the point where our adventure would begin. Our guide, Scott, gave us our gear. Let me pause here to mention just what a stressful moment this was for me. I have this thing about people germs and ABSOLUTELY DETEST wearing community clothing, hats, gloves, shoes, etc. For our caving trek we had to wear a jumpsuit, a hard hat with a light, a harness and rubber boots. It took some deep, calming breaths for me to be able to put on the garb, particularly the boots!!


Suited up, we took a short walk to the platform over the opening to the underworld. Peering down from above, we could not see the river below, though we could hear it. It was dark and misty and quite exciting. Scott showed us how we would be proceeding and it was about time to take the plunge, so to speak. Now it was Billy's turn for deep breathing. Eighteen years of marriage and I never knew he was afraid of heights. He was so funny! His nervousness brought about a side of him I’ve never seen. He was making goofy comments, interrupting Scott’s instructions, basically stalling. I finally told him to “just stop talking!” Quite the role reversal!!

The four of us slowly descended on our ropes, lowering ourselves down the 100 meters to the ground below. It was fantastic! At the bottom, the river was deafening. We detached ourselves from the ropes and began to hike through the gorge, frequently having to climb over rocks and boulders. There were different types of formation, not a lot unlike Mammoth Cave. Often we had to turn our headlamps on just to see where we were walking. At one point we stopped and Scott had us turn off our lights. We looked up at the ceiling of the cave to see what looked like the sky full of constellations. In fact, what we were seeing was larvae poop! Yep, a certain type of fly (guess I should look up the name because I don’t recall) fly into the cave and lay larvae on the ceiling. The larvae’s excrement glows to attract other insects which then become stuck in webs the larvae make. The larvae then eat the insects. They are in larvae form for 9 months. When they become flies, they mate, have baby larvae then become trapped in webs and get eaten by like a cousin or something. They are flies for only 3 days. Honestly, I’m not making this up!! The brochures called them glow worms so there was a slight letdown to find out that it was actually larvae poop!
Once we had our fill of larvae poop, we continued our trek through the cave. I had wondered briefly about how we would get back up out of the cave that we had abseiled down into. Well, that question was answered when we arrived at a 100 foot ladder, virtually straight up and down! Scott had gone up first to secure the rope and then I went. That climb up was 10 times hard and scarier to me than the 100 meter descent. Oh, the burn!!! My arms and lower back were on fire and panic set in about three quarters of the way up. Okay, so we were attached to our harness and rope, but we were not pulled up. And I did not want to find out just how strong our dear guide Scott was by letting go! Hector zipped up like it was nothing! He confessed he ran cross country. Billy and I were feeling our age panting and aching.

We had a little more hiking and climbing to do before emerging out of the cave and into the forest. Billy and I were exhausted but invigorated at the same time.

We shuttled back to our car, purchased every photo of our adventure then headed to Raglan where a hot tub and our motel room called our weary bones.

Last day in New Plymouth

First thing Wednesday morning, Billy and I headed to the final property we were to view during our stay in NZ. On the way Billy stated, “This is it! I’m not looking at any more houses this visit!”


“Wouldn’t it be great if we walked in and we were both like ’This is it!’?” I asked.

He said, “Yea but don’t say that or act like you love it.”

Victoria again met us there along with the agent. The house was listed as a “magnifique” , French provincial home. It had two French doors on the front of the second floor (main floor) that opened onto small balconies with iron railings. The main entrance was up a ramp on the right side of the house. The kitchen was terrific! Looong, stainless steel bar with the sink in it. Beautiful, hardwood floors. Gas stove. Built-in shelves. Two different living areas were off of two sides of the kitchen. There were 4 bedrooms and 2 baths on this main level and another bedroom and bath downstairs, off of the tandem garage. The back part of the garage was nearly finished and could easily be made a rumpus room with just carpet and a set of doors or wall separating it from the front of the garage. There was a fully shelved storage area which I have no intention of filling! The downstairs bedroom opened to a small patio on the front of the house, blocked to the street by a wall, though open to the driveway on the side. Back upstairs, the master was roomy and opened with double doors to the beautifully landscaped backyard and patio, complete with an outdoor fireplace.

Not only Billy and I, but Victoria as well, walked through expressing our love for the home. Victoria even teased that if we didn’t buy it, she would!. And Mr. Don’t-Let-Them-Know-How-Much-You-Like-It was gushing all over the place!! We left with high hopes that we’d found “the one.”

We headed to a cafe, just blocks from the house, for coffee (flat whites were our choice) and breakfast. Billy made some phone calls, one of which was to make an appointment with an attorney about buying a house. We visited Victoria and Arthur’s lovely home which was one of the first built in New Plymouth and then parted with Victoria to roam downtown before our appointment with the attorney.

That night, we shared one last dinner with Elise and Jeremy before retiring. We were headed out in the morning forWaitomo Caves …

Tuesday morning, while Billy was again doing his thing at the hospital, Victoria picked me up and we searched for several homes she and I had found on another website that Roland hadn’t mentioned. We called the listing agents for three of them and arranged two showings, one later that afternoon and one the following day. Victoria would meet us for both, but first Roland had arranged for us to see the “subdivision” house.




The house was very pretty with a view of the mountain as well as distant sea views. However, we had learned that “if you can see the mountain, it’s cold.” I wasn’t terribly impressed though Billy was. I felt it was rather far out and if I was going to sacifice land, I wanted convenience. Also, I felt the subdivision was too American which lessened the whole “move to a foreign country” thing.



We left the “subdivision house,” retrieved our hospital loaner and hurried to our appointment to see what I’ll call the “wood house.”



The “wood house” was located in the Merrilands area, not too far from the contemporary house. It was, however, on a cul de sac. We entered through an iron gate in a brick arch to a courtyard. There were raised flower/vegetable beds and shrubbery but no grass. We entered the main door into a foyer and walked back to the kitchen where the wall of windows revealed a simply breathtaking view!! Behind the house was a reserve which consisted of forest down the hill to the river below. While there were paths down to the river, the vegetation was too thick to be able to see it. Oh, but you could hear it!



The house was quite suitable logistically. The kitchen was terrific and had an amazing 5 gas burner, 2 electric burner, 2 oven, one grill drawer stove imported from England. It was black and huge and awesome! I might would even enjoy cooking with it!! But…



Billy was not a fan of this house. The main floor had tongue in grove wood on the walls AND the ceilings as did the master bedroom. The backyard extended out a few feet from the back of the house then dropped to the river below. There were paths with steps but Billy saw a lot of work in improving the steps. I didn’t find any deal breakers that a can of paint or a hammer couldn’t fix but Billy saw work.





At the end of the day we had one house Billy liked but I did not and another that I liked but he did not. Hmmmmm….



Dinner of pork tenderloins at Roland and Linda’s house with Debbie, Jim and Stephanie. Billy mentioned the “wood house” to which Roland said had “peat slipping”. We'd have to do more research on tha!. Billy also mentioned the house we were to view the next day to which Roland commented on it's single car garage. I had read it was a tandem but we would see...

House Hunting

Monday morning we met Roland at his office and he took us all over New Plymouth. He showed us a very lovely, brand new, but “in the city” house in the Merrilands area. It was mere blocks from the beach but had no yard and was on a busy road. The house itself would accommodate our family and the idea of being walking/biking distance from the beach was rather appealing. The modern kitchen was great and had a wet pantry (pantry with an additional sink). The house was set higher than the surrounding houses and the view from the large balcony was stupendous!!! Suddenly I saw the beauty of having everything so close and I had a revelation… 1) If we are going to make this major life change, this is part of it. Living in the city will be such an different experience for all of us and in a good way. 2) The kids have frequently expressed interest in living closer to other people so that they could have nearby friends to play with. While I think they’ve enjoyed living on the farm, it is, for the most part, MY dream, not theirs. 3) Finally, if we were not going to be able to be on a couple of acres farther out, we may as well take advantage of living in town and all of the conveniences that entails.




The simple fact that I was remotely interested in this house about knocked Billy over! It was not our style. Very contemporary. However, it would suit our needs and finding homes that could do that could be few and far between.



The garage of this house was at the top of a steep hill and we had concerns regarding the kids riding their bikes down it to the sidewalk. Roland pointed out that at the street level was an additional garage that could store our bikes and kayaks so Billy and I headed down to take a look. The view, however was more than I bargained for! While Billy was filming the view of the house from the street and the surrounding area, I squinted for my eyes to adjust from the beautiful, bright sunshine to the dark of the inside of the garage. Once I could see, to my horror, I saw one of the construction workers relieving himself in the corner!! He probably wondered why I was staring for so long when, in fact, it was only because it took me that long to actually see him!



From this house Roland drove us to one of the pony club locations where horses may be boarded. This was actually close enough to bike to! While there, we chatted with a girl and her mother who were visiting their horses. They told us that the girls would meet there and all go riding together, even down to the beach!!



Roland drove us around some more and I was becoming more and more oriented. We had a quick bite at a local café then headed to the house on 6.8 acres in Oakura. Again I’ll stress how incredibly gorgeous the property and views were, however, once inside the house it was clear that it would not suit us very well. The master bedroom and three other bedrooms were all upstairs and shared only one bathroom while there was a fifth bedroom on the first floor with its own bathroom. No matter how beautiful the land was, I just could not imagine sharing a bathroom with 4 kids!



From there we dropped Billy at the hospital for his meet and greet and Roland and I continued to tour New Plymouth. He took me to several spots that provided awesome views of Mt. Taranaki for photographing. When Billy was finished at the hospital we went to one more house in a very American style subdivision but were unable to see the inside.



Billy and I went back to Jeremy and Elise’s for a wonderful lamb dinner, exhausted, overwhelmed but more open minded. Sleep , however, for us both, was restless.

First full day in Taranaki

During our first night in Taranaki, all of our friends and family in the States must have been on their knees praying that we'd hate New Zealand because Billy and I both woke in the middle of the night in sheer panic! Prayers of those who don't want us to go? Jetlag? Satan? Or just the realization of the magnatude of this endeavor... We had cold  feet!!

We had hoped to attend a church Sunday morning, however, Debbie had arranged for lunch at a local winery called Okurakura with another couple she and Jim thought we should meet. Roland and Linda and their daughters Bernadette (15) and Stephanie (12) , Jim and Debbie and Billy and I all arrived in torrential rain that blew sideways. The fierceness of the ocean waves crashing on the black sand outside the window of the dining room was exactly what I was feeling in my head.




Roland, a real estate agent, chatted with Billy while I discussed schools and youth life in Taranaki with the girls. Bernadette told me about the boarding school which she attends and both girls were quite eager to meet our kids. At one point, after speaking to Roland for some time, Billy turned to me to inform me that we would likely not be able to purchase a house on a couple of acres, close enough to the hospital. To this I tearfully and adamantly replied, “Living in the city IS NOT an option!”



Being the OCD kind of person I am, I had been obsessing for months over New Zealand real estate websites and had compiled a list of houses I wanted to see. My first choice, unfortunately was too far from the hospital. So after lunch we headed out in search of my second choice. We found it with little trouble and the property was just as amazing in the pouring rain in person as it was in photos on the internet.



We all headed back to Debbie and Jim’s for Scrabble, chatting and leftover Thanksgiving dinner.



Tomorrow the house hunting really begins…

Taranaki

Saturday was an absolutely beautiful day for flying!! The sea and Mt. Taranaki were stunning!!! We were greeted at the New Plymouth Airport by Billy's future colleague, Jim, who took us on a quick tour of New Plymouth before bringing us to the home of he and his wife.  Jim and Debbie are also Americans but having lived in the Middle East for 2 years and NZ for nearly one, they have a slightly different perspective of the whole moving to the other side of the planet thing.  Added to that, they are from Pittsburg and have no children at home. Wonderful, fun and helpful people!

The hospital had loaned us a car and so after visiting with them for a little while, Jim lead us to the home of another future colleague where we were staying for the week.  First experience driving on the left from a right-sided driver's seat!!! Billy did quite well, though following someone else is a good way to start. Driving on the left also entails alot of talking to oneself and cussing.

Jeremy and Elise are a lovely couple originally from South Africa.  They've been in NZ for 18 years and were a wealth of information. They live on 3 acres and have 2 standard poodles, one black and one white, so we felt quite at home.

After freshening up and chatting for a bit, we headed back to Jim and Debbie's for dinner where we met the last of the physicians in the group with whom Billy will work. Arthur and Victoria, both Kiwis (I think), were also quite lovely and Victoria became simply invaluable when house hunt! More on that later.

Debbie had prepared an American style, Thanksgiving dinner. It was delicious which is good because the bird was $120!!!  We had a wonderful time and laughed harder than we had in a long time. Four couples from three different continents, and each with completely differing life paths makes for great stories and side-splitting laughter.

The magnitude of this journey God seems to be leading us on was beginning to become more real and, quite honestly, more frightning!! Billy and I both woke that night in sheer panic and fear. "What the heck are we doing?!?" was all we could say. And this is when the praying REALLY began!

Scouting Exposition- Part 2

First impressions of Auckland…



Very clean! No trash…er, I mean rubbish on the streets, etc.

Very ethnically diverse. It was not uncommon to see a person of a very obvious ethnicity, say Chinese or Indian, but then they begin to speak in a heavy Kiwi accent! Or hear several different languages spoken while just waiting at a crosswalk. Once while chatting with Mikaylie on the telephone, she asked if I would get someone to talk to her so she could hear the accent.  I laughed and said, "I could ask 9 people before I find someone with an actual Kiwi accent!" 

Fairly mild for winter. A light jacket was all one really needed. Unfortunately, mine was in my luggage so I had to buy a new one!  The funny thing was that many locals dress as though it would snow at any moment.

Kinda quiet for a city- you could hear the vehicles on the streets but not much of horns or sirens, etc.  And the people were rather quiet. It didn't really feel like a bustling metropolis.

Have yet to see a Pepsi product! Love me some Coca Cola!!!

Prices weren’t quite as high as I had feared.

Had many of the usual food places- Subway, Starbuck’s, McDonalds, etc.



Once we got our room we took a nap then headed down to the hotel restaurant for a seafood, brick oven pizza with 2 glasses of wine for $20NZ, including tax and tip! Finally we turned in for the night in exhaustion.



Friday morning we ate a breakfast buffet in another hotel restaurant. We checked with the concierge regarding our luggage and learned that they would, in fact, not arrive at the hotel until the afternoon. Meanwhile, my legs were killing me from making two mad dashes in airports in topsiders (good for easy removal in airport security but terrible for sprinting!)!!



On to the Sky Tower, the tallest building in the southern hemisphere where one could do somewhat of a bungee jump. We opted not to do so simply because it was quite chilly. (That’s our story…) Extraordinary views!!



Next we headed to the harbor for a whale and dolphin safari. It was a lovely cruise around Auckland’s harbor for four and a half hours.  The first three and a half hours we took in the beauty of the islands around the harbor, as we didn’t see any whales and finally saw HUNDREDS of dolphin in the last hour, just as we were heading back in. I managed some terrific photographs, though they will need some editing because most are off center from just snapping repeatedly.



When we arrived back to our room, Praise God! our luggage was there!! Gave them all a quick hug then retired for the evening. It was all of 7:00pm! We didn’t even eat dinner.



Saturday we boarded a twin engine bound for Taranaki Region.



To be continued…

Scouting Exposition- part 1

On July 27th, Billy and I set out on the trip we’ve dreamed of for years. We drove to Cincinnati and flew to Denver. Because of a weather issue, our landing was delayed and, though we ran our hardest, we missed our connection. Three hours later, we were flying to LA. Because of the previous delay we had less than 45 minutes to make our international flight to Auckland. Again we ran, exited the airport, hopped in a taxi and sped to the international terminal. They rushed us through security and we ran to our gate with actually time to spare. We settled into our seats amazed we made the flight.


The flight to Auckland was uneventful, though looong! Finally, we stepped off the plane and into New Zealand! Passing through immigration was a breeze. Unfortunately our baggage had not run as fast as we had and were not on our flight. They would be delivered to our hotel the following morning. We bought a prepaid phone with $50 worth of international minutes and called home. While wrapping up the call with Mikaylie, we headed out to board the shuttle to our hotel. The shuttle was nearly full with only two seats available. The driver asked Billy and me who would like to sit in the front seat and I quickly said I would. Still chatting with Mikaylie, I rounded the front of the shuttle to get into the front seat. To my embarrassment I had forgotten that in NZ the driver’s seat is on the right! The driver, fully anticipating my error, asked if I would like to drive. The entire shuttle-full of passengers, including Billy found this quite amusing. I, too, was laughing so hard I could barely explain to Mikaylie what was going on.

Our driver was extremely informative and gave us tons of information about the city and New Zealand in general. We arrived at our hotel late in the morning, too early to check in. We checked our carryon bags with the concierge and headed out to purchase some clothing to tied us over until our bags arrived. We grabbed a quick lunch in a bakery shop. I had a delicious curry chicken salad sandwich with walnuts and Billy had a veggie sandwich. We found a mall and a clothing store that also carried toiletries. Prices were quiet reasonable, with tax included in the price. We returned to the hotel where they allowed us to use the gym facilities to shower and freshen up. We then, utterly and completely exhausted, waited in the lobby for our room to become available.

To be continued…

New Zealand, would you please allow us to live in your lovely country??

Before one can move to New Zealand, one must apply to live in New Zealand. And before one can apply to live in New Zealand, one must ask permission to apply to live in New Zealand.  It took Billy several hours over the course of three days to fill out the online application called an EOI (Expression of Interest).  He submitted our EOI along with the application fee (~$450) and less than 2 weeks later we received our official invitation to apply for permanant residence in New Zealand!!!  From that date we had four months to submit our completed application and then the fun really began. All eight of us must have complete physicals, the three of us over 16 must have a fingerprint, FBI background check and bloodwork and the six of us over 10 must have chest xrays. We are nearly finished with all of the paperwork and  our background checks came back today!  No crimimal record, by the way.  Now we are just waiting to finalize Graham's adoption so that we can get his birth certificate and ultimately his passport.

While we've been working on the piles of paperwork, God has been doing a lot of work on His end.  One of the biggest issues I had about moving was that my wonderful grandmother (Gram) lives in Somerset where I can take her to various appointments, get her groceries and just enjoy her being near. While she's been doing quit well living on her own, she has had a couple of falls and we've wondered if she shouldn't be living with someone. My sister and nephew live a couple of hours away and she works nights. Gram has decided to move in with them so that my nephew doesn't have to be home alone at night and she will nearly always have someone home with her.  We will miss her terribly and she will miss the great grandchildren but I believe this is all part of God's divine plan.

Why New Zealand?

My husband, Billy, has for as long as I can remember, talked of someday visiting New Zealand.  Perhaps I'll get him to blog in  more depth about his attraction to this small, often overlooked island down under.  We have for years dreamed of taking a vacation there. We had planned to go for his 40th birthday but between funds (or lack there of) and kids (or abundance there of), the trip never materialized. 

With new administration in the White House and talk of major medical reform, thoughts returned to NZ and even the possibility of actually living there for a year or two.  Let me pause here a moment and say that our possible relocation is NOT a political statement. We love the USA and, while we believe there are many issues that need reform (medical care being one), we are not rejecting our home country.  The state of this country did, however, contribute to thoughts of trying a different way of life.

Billy continued to research New Zealand.  I humored him, "Oh wow! What an adventure that would be!" On the inside I guess I never really thought it could ever become a real option.

In October of 2009 Billy and I traveled to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for a continuing medical education course. While he was in the lecture, I headed to the beach. Being the shy, reserved kind of person I am (yes, sarcasm), I began chatting with a lovely woman, Debi, whose husband, Gary, was also attending the course. She told me they live in Arizona but were considering taking a job in New Zealand! I was excited, especially for Billy because I knew he would enjoy meeting her husband and hearing about their plans. When the conference took a break we promptly introduced the guys. Well, let's just say Debi and I were scarcely able to speak with our hubbies again!  They hit it off and talk of New Zealand, job opportunities, who to speak with about what took over the trip.  Fortunately for Debi and me, we too got along wonderfully and we all had a terrific week!

Meeting Gary, for Billy, was a huge turning point in his dreams of NZ.  Thoughts of moving to a foreign country, literally on the other side of the planet, suddenly didn't seem so random or insane. Here was a "normal" guy and his wife who were seriously considering it so why not us?? So Billy contacted the recruiter in Australia with whom Gary had been working and we soon had a list of several locations in NZ that were looking for physicians.  After considering weather (NZ has a very diverse climate across the islands) and  various other points, Billy felt that New Plymouth on the North Island would be the best location for our family.  Then we received a job offer!!! Suddenly this pipe dream was looking more and more like a possible reality!!!