Destruction by Deep Burial

On December 1st 2008, our boxed belongs began their journey to Australia. They arrived in the Port of Sydney on January 29th and have been sitting in Port since then waiting on clearance from customs and quarantine.

We took Ella out at the last minute :)




Australia is well known for its rigid quarantine screenings and limits of what can and can't be brought into the country. Knowing this, I packed very carefully and even discarded some items I knew just wouldn't make it.

On Monday I received an email from the local company who is handling the clearance and release of our shipment. I knew an email from them titled 'SEIZED ITEMS' was not a good sign. True to its title, the letter read:

Ms Whaley,

Your shipment has been inspected by the AQIS and they have seized the item listed below:
- Christmas decoration (Bark or Straw) which require Gamma Irradiation or Destruction

The letter proceeded to inform me that Destruction of this item would cost $55AUD, and Gamma Irradiation $375AUD. Alternatively I could choose to travel to Sydney and re-export this item.

If my mental inventory serves me correctly, I believe the offending item might be a snowman with a piece of raffia tied around its neck. Yes, folks. Raffia. Probably treated raffia from Hobby Lobby at that. I'm not trying to make light of the stringent standards . . . Australia is free from many pests and diseases because of such standards. But seriously.

Most of our Christmas decorations hold some sentimental value. But this week we drew the line. What is Gamma Irradiation anyway, and would I really want the snowman after such a process anyhow?. (the letter did warn us that gamma irradiation might damage our goods) We reluctantly chose to destruct Frosty, and paid for the deed online.

As if "destruction" alone isn't sad enough, the invoice detailed that it would be Destruction by Deep Burial. I could have been spared the details. Really.

The upside of this is that only ONE item was seized. Thankfully our buckwheat pillows, tatami mat and wooden getta from Japan, and a handmade wooden serving tray made it through. (just for the record, all of those listed items had entered Australia previously. We had them with us when we left Japan and spent a couple of months in Australia - so I was pretty confident they would make it).

Rest in Peace Frosty. Hope you find some friends down there. I'll bet there's LOTS of cool stuff deeply buried.

Ella loves:

Walking in the Babybjorn


Going out with Momma - even though she looks very serious (music with Mummy class is the new thing...)


Standing in her carseat:


Scooting backwards:



Life!

Ella: Growing, Sitting, Eating and videos on youtube

A little Ella Rhys update. We had her weighed in Brisbane at around five and a half months. She then weighed 15lbs 12 oz. Now she is about 7.6kg at almost 7 months. I am going to have to learn to convert. Something interesting here is that most people say their baby's birth weight in pounds and ounces but that is it. All subsequent weighings are done in kilograms. So at least people understand her birth weight! The first time I went to buy diapers, I didn't know her kilogram weight so just guessed on what kind and size she needed. There are not many parts of life that remain unaffected when you cross cultures.





Now that we are settled, we are working on establishing some better routines, especially for night time. After a bath we usually read four to five books, her Bible story and sing a few songs and pray together. She absolutely LOVES being read to and some days gets quite excited.





In fact she'll read about anything she can get her hands on . . .





The end result



Traveling around with her Papaw and Grammy photo


A hat is standard attire in Australia, especially for such pure skin



She started sitting up really well around six months. The first picture was her just trying.




And she loves to stand (assisted). Her dad lets her stand in all sorts of places that I wouldn't even think of. Always under his watchful eye of course.


Around six and a half months, we gave Ella her first rice cereal. She did pretty well. We have some videos posted on you tube at www.youtube.com/jasnic06









Ella's other latest fun thing to do is to blow bubbles and it is awfully cute. She can sit there for the longest time and entertain herself with her own bubbles. Again, check out the youtube link...I believe it is titled Ella the beatboxer or something like that.

Updates below

I have posted three blog posts trying to get caught up. Scroll down and enjoy, and check back later.

The highs, the neutrals and the lows

HIGHS: We live in a beautiful place -

This is the view from our kitchen window of Mt. Kembla. Our view is beautiful. We really live in a pretty place and I love being near these mountain ridges and the ocean.


We can worship God wherever we are:

The first Sunday worshipping was at our home...on the floor


Our second Sunday worshipping at Wollongong was at the Mullins house. Note the upgrade from the floor to a sofa!

Ella is soooo happy! I am understanding more why Jesus said we must be like the little ones.


Wide variety of ethnic foods:


THE NEUTRALS: The clothes line -

Being back in Australia means hanging clothes on the line to dry. It is second only to ironing on my list of detestable household duties. And line drying means a whole lot more ironing. I confess though, that after 10 days solid of rain, we purchased a clothes dryer. It is a small 4.5kg capacity dryer but it will do the trick during rainy spells like that, or if I want to return something to its normal size! :) Sometimes I have to wonder "did I really grow up here!??" This is labeled as a neutral rather than a low because I think it would be good for me to grow in my acceptance of this as a cultural norm.


AND THE LOWS: There will be some lows that won't make it to the blog. But this one must be known. Please pray for me sanity as I deal with such things -

This my friends was IN MY HOUSE. Referred to by Australians as a normal, harmless, house spider. The Hunstman. I'm sorry but this is not "normal", and while harmless, it is not welcome in my home. That said, we did not intend to kill it, just remove it from the house. But in the process, this one did lose its life.


And yes, this is the leg that my biology major husband is holding. Not a nose hair.

Australia - first days

I'll try and recap our first month in Australia. It involved a lot of reconnecting and our energy focused largely on settling in . . . getting a vehicle, finding a place to live, and getting essential furniture items. More on all that later.

Our first Sunday we worshipped in Campbelltown with the Southwest church of Christ. Jason was an intern here for two years. Even though we have not visited often, or even recently, every time we go back to Southwest, there are always warm smiles and open arms. True family.



Ella is often the center of attention:


Overlooking the coastline heading to Wollongong:


At the Harbor in Wollongong


We made a couple of day trips to Wollongong before flying to Brisbane to see my family. We have not been to Australia since July of 2006 and on that trip were only in Brisbane for about 6 days. This trip we had about 8 days with them. It was good to "land" a little more. My nieces have grown and I have a nephew to meet for the first time (and another one on the way). Ella will learn a lot from her Australian cousins, I'm sure. I look forward to seeing them interact over the next few years.

Ella with her big girl cousins, Lauren and Olivia. They are so good with Ella.


And with cousin Benjamin who like Ella but was a little distressed at no longer being the baby. Good practice though because he is about to be a big brother.


With Aunty Shelly and Uncle Brian


And with her Aussie Grandma


First time in the swing at Grandmas house


Ugh. So not ready to go here just yet. Ella Rhys wearing Momma's wedding veil


Thanks to Facebook I was able to get together with some highschool friends and a long lost friend from primary school. Many of them I had not seen or talked to since we graduated in 1994. It was a lot of fun to catch up. We're all pretty much in the baby season of life. And as I always do while in Brisbane, I enjoyed seeing my friends from Uni days. More babies there, too.



I also enjoyed seeing people from my home congregation. They prayed for us as we move to Wollongong and we were greatly encouraged by their support.

And with Kuan Chou...the Monopoly champion. Ella loved him and even fell asleep in his arms.


For the most part, I'd say that Ella Rhys likes it here...


Ella and her momma


God sure did spread a lot of beauty here. This is at Wellington Point - about 10 minutes from where I grew up.