Woolard Family: Busy "First" Week

Well, we are in the new house (16 Shoalwater Parkway, Iluka, WA 6028) for those of you who are interested. Moving in this weekend was a relief of sorts. Speaking for myself and the rest of the Woolards, we really needed to be in a house that was ours. It's hard staying in what feels like a "hotel" for 2 weeks...even if it was MUCH bigger than a hotel room. We have enough items, thanks to Ikea, to get by until our shipping container gets her in mid-March. I'm told it will feel like Christmas! HA!

Lindsey started school yesterday - had a GREAT first day and made new friends. Imagine that! :-) I have to give that girl kuddos...she is the best teenager I have ever known. She's got a wonderful sense of adventure and the independent spirit she has become over the last 6 years amazes me. I like to think I had something to do with that! LOL! :-) She's just a smart beautiful girl and she makes me proud every single day. I hope that in the years to come, she has nothing but fond memories of this adventure we are on.

Lainey and Harrison are doing well...being little stinkers at time, but I'm trying to continue being patient with them as we settle into a routine. Lainey starts school on Friday and will go two days a week to "kindy." She has to wear her "unicorn" (yes she's still calling her uniform a unicorn) and she's quite excited about this, but ONLY if she can wear the pink glitter sneakers with it. Some things never change. So Monday & Friday will be Harrison's day with mom. I'm going to try to figure out some fun things for us to do.

We go to the park quite often to play, to eat and to relax. Again, it's hard to believe that's the lifestyle we are now living. I haven't met our neighbors yet, but the people next to us appear to have kids the same age as Lainey and Harrison and there are teenagers everywhere. Something...or someone should I say...for everyone. The Perth Arts Festival is starting this weekend, so I've planned out a couple of cool things for us to do from now until March. There are some really neat family events, kids events, international film viewings, and concerts, so I'm excited about that. We plan on going to the beach this weekend, since we do live just around the corner now. LOL! We are hoping that this weekend won't be quite as hectic as the last. I've bought all the food to take with us, have the beach tent ready (along with the sunscreen), so all we need is Saturday to roll around.

I was messenging with my mom today, and I told her I was feeling a smidge homesick now. I was expecting it to come, but it's funny because it's almost right on queue with a section in one of Sam's International Management books he used for a class this past fall. The book says that after 2 weeks in the new location, homesickness sets in, and it goes on to give this whole cycle of emotions folks who relocated tend to feel for the first year. LOL! Always happy to know I'm on schedule! For me, the hardest part is not being able to share my life, in person, with those I love most. Skyping and typing will have to be the mode of sharing. That's hard. <sigh>

However I will not allow myself to wallow in any sadness. God has put us in the beautiful place to experience it...to breath it all in. I will lead my children by example and continue to focus on the wonderful blessings all around us and truly enjoy the experience.

Here are some much awaited pictures. The rest are on Facebook.