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!!!
24 December 2010
22 December 2010
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....
16 December 2010
... 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!!!
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!!!
03 December 2010
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...
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...
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