Road tripping with Ella Rhys

We have been on the road a lot lately. We are still fundraising, and are also saying goodbye to people. In October, we spent 18 days in Oklahoma. We were back in Austin for four nights, and then off again to Tennessee and Georgia.

Ella Rhys is an incredible traveler. She is still young enough to be sleeping a lot. I do feel bad for her though. So we stop often and let her stretch. On our most recent trip, we had some 8-10 hour days and she did great. We are so thankful.

The nice thing about road trips for me, is that I can pack liberally. As in, everything but the kitchen sink. I don't have to worry about 3 ounce bottles of liquid, or 1 quart zip lock bags. Of course, Jason might say otherwise since he is the one that gets to play tetris everytime we have to pack the car.




This is how we check on Ella. We do have a car mirror but have not attached it yet. This works for now. What a cute little girl. When we get tired and weary on these trips - Ella can instantly revive and rejuvenate us with her sweetness.

Thoughts on Re-Entry

Well folks, it looks like we might just make it to Australia after all. I know many have doubted! However, with the completion of Jason's medical recently, we expect that his Religious Worker Visa might be granted by early December. The medical was a slight ordeal and a major rip-off but thats a story not really worth retelling.

December 9th we will travel to Houston to have an interview for Ella's Australian passport. An in-person interview is mandatory for all first time, child passports in the US and Australia. The US passport is easy - just go to a post office. But the Australian one has to be at an Embassy - hence the trip south. The passport is then issued about 10 days later. Once that is done, we will have all the paperwork we need to get on a plane and enter Australia legally.

I left Australia on January 31st 1999. I was fresh out of college, and on my way to China and Japan with college friends to celebrate our graduation. I intended to look for a job teaching English in Japan and was hired on my second day there. My poor mother. Since leaving in 1999, my longest trip back to Australia was three weeks (for our wedding), and our most recent trip was two and a half years ago.

I wonder what it will be like to live in Australia again? Many quickly say 'oh you're going home'. True. Yet false. I grew up there. My family is all there. But for the past ten years I have lived and worked outside of the Australian culture and norms. Most of the 'firsts' of my adult life were in Japan or the United States.

I have so many thoughts about this thing called 're-entry'. They are difficult to define. What is my point? I am not really sure. I hoped to be a little more articulate but . . . Probably more than anything its just to ask for a little grace! Have mercy on me if I sound a little different, if I forget you can't do drive through banking, or shop 24 hours a day. If I call a dummy a pacifier or a nappy a diaper. If I fill the car up with gas not petrol. I'll do my best to fit in and adjust to the cultural norms. It might take a while. Someone likened the re-entry experience to changing colour. I was green in Australia. I turned a little yellow in Japan/America, and now I am blue. Like a square peg trying to fit back into a round hole.

Regardless of how difficult re-entry might be, I will commit to finding joy in it and being thankful. I am so thankful for the many blessings of the past ten years. (and the 21 years prior to that, too).

Together again

We made it back to Texas after 18 days on the road, mostly in Oklahoma.  We enjoyed Ella's first Halloween (pictures to come), and a visit from the Lawries before heading for Tennessee.

We are currently in Jackson, Tennessee enjoying time with our team mates.  We have not been together since the day of Ella's birth.  It is difficult to be apart while we are all in this time of preparation, transition and waiting. It is good to be together with our good friends. And wonderful to enjoy the fall.

If I'm bald the next time you see me . . .

. . . its because I set my hair on fire.

I picked up this saying for a friend, and it works well for me. There are just some times when 'I want to set my hair on fire'. Its usually during times of high stress. Don't get me wrong, we are doing fine, things are great. But its just what an upcoming move across the big pond does to me.

We've done it several times before. But this time is signifanctly different. For one thing we have a daughter to consider. We still have money to raise. People to see. Goods to sell. Boxes to pack. Affairs to put in order. Not to mention my job as a travel agent, and relationships to maintain in the meantime. And then there is the emotional aspects of any move. Our days are filled with 'lasts'. Last time to see this person and that person. Honestly, I'd take care of the physical things any day.

One of the biggest things is making sure all of our paperwork is in order. Good news - the sponsorship for Jason's Religious Worker visa has been approved. Now we just have to gather all of the appropriate, certified documents and mail them off to DC. And wait. Ella has her US passport, and her paperwork for 'Australian Citizenship by Descent' is also in the works. Once we get that back - we apply for her Australian passport. Just found out yesterday that means a trip to Houston. We have an appointment booked for December 9th. Now I pray that the her paperwork, and all supporting documents, are in fact back in my hands by the 8th.

We have to move out of our apartment by November 30th. So I am anxious for all the paperwork we have out there to be back by then so we don't have to be too concerned about the whole forwarding address thing. Both of my passports, Ella's US passort, our original marriage certificate and original birth certificates are all at the mercy of the USPS right now. Yes - I often wake up in the middle of the night thinking of yet another thing I have to take care of.

We are currently in Oklahoma on an 18 day road trip. The trip was extended because of an opportunity to meet with another church. This is a good thing. We will be home in Austin for four nights before getting back on the road. This time bound for Tennesee and Georgia. Once we get home from that trip, we will be furiously packing and getting rid of our things, arranging for international movers to come and get our things, before heading to Abilene for Thanksgiving. You can probably see why I was not thrilled about another road trip to Houston.

Please remember us during this time. Pray for our strength. We get tired. Pray we will provide Ella with a safe, happy and loving environment in spite of the constant physical changes. Pray that we all remain healthy. And please pray that Jason's visa, Ella's citizenship and all goes smoothly and comes back in a timely manner.

We sure are blessed though to carry this little one with us on our journey . . .

Ella Rolls over

Mark this day: October 21st, Edmond, Oklahoma . . . Ella rolls over for the first time -- one week shy of three months.

Step One: Raise head and get bearings


Step Two: Push up on arms. Get the go ahead from Dad


Step Three: Use chipmunk cheeks to gather momentum


Step Four: ROLL!


Steph Five: Regain bearings. Watch parents celebrate.

In a word . . .

Rachel nominated me to complete this little quiz. I've never been 'tagged' before - so I was very excited. Hopefully the 'Nicole' listed was me. Ha! :)

To accept this nomination, I have to answer the following questions with one word answers and nominate 10 other blogs for the "I heart your blog" award. Here goes...

1. Where is your cell phone? PURSE
2. Where is your significant other? SKYPING
3. Your hair color? BROWN
4. Your mother? THOUGHTFUL
5. Your father? WORKER
6. Your favorite thing? ELLA
7. Your dream last night? SPIDERS
8. Your dream/goal? CONTENTMENT
9. The room you're in? LIVING
10. Your hobby? INTERNET
11. Your fear? ILLNESS
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? WOLLONGONG
13. Where were you last night? EDMOND
14. What you're not? MUSICAL
15. One of your wish-list items? GLIDER
16. Where you grew up? BRISBANE
17. The last thing you did? SNUGGLE
18. What are you wearing? COURDS
19. Your TV? NONEXISTENT
20. Your pet? NONE
21. Your computer? TOSHIBA
22. Your mood? SURVIVAL
23. Missing someone? YEP
24. Your car? CAMRY
25. Something you're not wearing? SOCKS
26. Favorite store? TARGET
27. Your summer? ANTICIPATION
28. Love someone? MUCHLY
29. Your favorite color? MANY
30. When is the last time you laughed? TODAY
31. Last time you cried? OCTOBER

Okay, here are my 10 nominees - IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER AND CERTAINLY NOT LIMITED TO:

- JASON
- HAWLI
- LAURA
- FAITH
- JERI
- EMILY
- KENDRA
- JULIE
- MONICA
- JUSTIN

These were taken at the Picture People which is why they have a mark over them (so we can't print them). There is also a really cute naked one of us holding her in our hands...but for the sake of her dignity (and you know the whole world wide web thing)....I thought it best not to post. Oh and we - as in the parents - are clothed...it is the baby who is naked!

Ella at the Pediatrician

I was looking through some pictures and found these of Ella at her two week check up. Her Dad is so good to her. Always right there for her.

Tummy Time

In spite of the fact that we have not been all that diligent in giving Ella Rhys her tummy time each day, her pediatrician was very happy with her neck and back strength at her two month well baby check up. We're trying to be more consistent with it these days. With an infant baby though, it is sometimes hard to grab a time when Ella is 1) not sleeping and 2) happy and awake enough to 'enjoy' tummy time. It is a lot of fun though to see her make progress and grow stronger.

At her well baby check up we got an offical weight on our growing baby. Ella now weighs 11lbs 5oz (6lbs 4oz at birth) and is 22 inches long (19 inches at birth).

Thank you God for a healthy and happy daughter. Please help me as her mother, to see this time of rapid growth as a blessing and a joy!

And now introducing "Ella on her tummy" . . .

First of all, lets celebrate two months progress. Ella on her tummy at a few days old, and at one month. . .





Ella on her tummy at two months. "Here we go again", she says . . .







Tummy Time over-and-out!

About Mums

My sister sent this to me and it made me laugh. I wonder what Ella might say in a few years . . .

WHY GOD MADE MUMS

Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions:

Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the sticky tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my Mum just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of ?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other Mum?
1. We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's Mums like me.

What kind of little girl was your Mum?
1. My Mum has always been my Mum and none of that other stuff
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.

What did Mum need to know about Dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your Mum marry your Dad?
1. My Dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mum eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My Grandma says that Mum didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mum doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
2. Mum. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mum is, but only because she has a lot more to do than Dad.

What's the difference between Mums & Dads?
1. Mums work at work and work at home and Dads just go to work at work.
2. Mums know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller & stronger, but Mums have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's.
4. Mums have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your Mum do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your Mum perfect?
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your Mum, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my Mum smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

Aussie Mission Update

This is a non-Ella post. For those of you who visit for Ella...please scroll down. I thought it would be good to update you on our plans and progress towards Wollongong.

We are currently in Austin, Texas with our sponsoring congregation, the Round Rock church of Christ. We are loving being here and getting to know the family here. We are blessed through these relationships. For those of you who might wonder, 'YES! We ARE still planning on going to Australia! :)

We are essentially just waiting on Jason's visa to enter Australia. I know the wait is surprising to many people but it is just one of those things. Initially we had completed all of the paperwork for the Partner Visa (this would be permanant based on us being married, and me being an Australian Citizen). We learned though, that the processing time for this visa had doubled. Thankfully we became aware of this BEFORE submitting the application (because then we would have been stuck just waiting it out). After a little more research, we decided to apply for a Religious Worker visa for Jason. This visa is less processing time, but more importantly, it is more appropriate to why we are entering Australia.

We are about three weeks into this process. We anticipate that our visa might be approved sometime in early to mid December. Our arrival in Australia will now be either December or January.

The upside of this delay is that we have a little more time to continue fundraising. Our working fund is now complete! We have about 65% of our monthly funds raised, and 63% of our one time needs are fulfilled. We are continually humbled at how God provides for us in this way.

Please continue to pray for our family, and our team. We are all waiting on visas, and we are all still seeking partners for the work in Wollongong. Pray that in all - in our work, our attitudes, our efforts to seek partners, that God will be praised.

Our two month Treasure

July 28th - our first family picture:

September 28th:

Our sweet Ella Rhys is two months old today. We can hardly remember life without her. She has grown and changed SO much. I love to look back on all the pictures we have of her from her birth day until now. I love our two month old Ella, but I also miss my teenie tiny newborn baby. It almost seems like a dream when I look back at those pictures of her first couple of weeks.

Ella is smiling a lot now - so adorable. She is eating well and continues to thrive as you can see from her pictures! Nothing wrong with what we're feeding her! :) She has sweet little rolls on her arms and legs. And those cute cheeks . . .

As young as our baby is, it is hard to believe that we have already experienced some 'lasts' of certain things and we weren't even realizing it. We bought the last package of newborn diapers, dressed her in the preemie clothes for one last time, had our last night of nursing every two hours, the last time we could hold her like this . . .


It is a reminder to really cherish each moment.

We love being parents. We adore our daughter!




I've always loved Ella's curious eyes - here she is today, and below that is two months ago - the little girl hat captured our hearts . . .




And very importantly - on her two month birthday - we observed a very special family tradition . . . the Sunday afternoon nap. Kissing Ella to sleep . . .

First time parents . . . indeed we are

There is a fine line between loving on your kids and smothering them. By the look on Ella's face . . . I think we crossed it.

"Hey . . . you checking out my blog again???"

Thanks Dr Seeker . . . and few other pics

Today I had my post partum check up. It was actually supposed to be LAST week but I forgot. During my pregnancy I once turned up two days early for an appointment. This time I was two days late for it. Thankfully I realized before getting ready, packing up the baby and leaving the house.

I was reminded while visiting with our doctor today how God answered our prayers. We moved to Austin at 30 weeks into the pregnancy and we both definitely had anxieties about finding a doctor we could feel comfortable with. It is hard for me to express what a blessing Dr. Seeker was to us. You all know the story of us wanting to use a birthing center, desiring natural childbirth, dealing with placenta previa, having it resolve, developing cholestesis at 36 weeks, only to end up having to deal with my greatest fear afterall . . . a c-section. We could not have asked for a more skilled, kind hearted, compassionate doctor. I truly believe that Ella and I were in the best hands. I am so thankful for the care I received from Dr. Seeker. I sure wish there would be a way for him to deliver any future baby Whaleys.




And here's a few pics of our most precious baby Ella . . .



Check out my cheeks:


Waiting on Momma's Doctor:

Labor Day Weekend

We had a great Labor Day weekend. Saturday morning we had a web video conference with our teammates and Kairos coach. It was great to "hang out" with our good friends. Not only was it good to see their faces and hear their voices, it was so good to think about our move and ministry in Wollongong. For those of you who have not heard, all three of our families have hit snags in the via process. It is basically just a time issues, but has been quite discouraging. Processing times for most visas are surprisingly longer now. Our family has now decided to apply for a Religious Worker visa for Jason. We will work on the more permanent visa at a later date. I know to most people it seems ludicrous that we have to go through this lengthy and fairly costly experience even though I am Australian, we are married, we have enough money to migrate etc, etc. But it is just how things go unfortunately and just part of the process. If you took a look at some of the paperwork, you would quickly understand why it makes me want to set my hair on fire.

We have so many things to take care of right now. Most importantly our newborn baby, and ourselves. Ella is our number one priority and next to that if we get a shower each day and food in our bellies we call it a good day. But we can not forget the visa process, the passports that need to be applied for, the fundraising and so on. Yesterday, after three attempts, we succeeded in getting an acceptable photograph for Ella's US passport. The first time, Ella was just tired, hungry and mad that we kept interrupting her sleep. The second photograph showed Jason's hand as he propped her head up. The guy at the passport office told us he would send it in to "try". I was pretty sure that there was NO way that photograph would be accepted and that sending it in would just create yet another delay and more paperwork. So we tried once more at WalMart. We were able to snap a picture of Ella with her eyes open and looking directly at the camera. She looks rather mad and red-faced. Nothing like the sweet little girl we gaze at all day. But we'll take it and I am sure she'll have something to say about the picture at some point since it is good for five years! At least we can check that off the list.

Next we are waiting on Ella's "Citizenship by Descent" paperwork. This will allow her to become an Australian citizen. Unfortunately it will require another passport picture (don't ask why we didn't have them print more of the other picture). Sigh. And $110. And that is not the passport cost...just the paperwork. I say we are "waiting" because the Embassy is mailing us the application form. We printed it off at home but each page was cut off at the bottom because it was formatted to print on A4 paper and we couldn't seem to fix that. Its all the little things that seem to hold us back.

Anyhow...I digress. We enjoyed visits from some special friends on Saturday. Sam and Sue Larkin visited from Houston. I knew them from their years in Brisbane. It was great to catch up with them - it had been at least five years.

The Shrocks and Lewis' also visited from Memphis and Waco. It was so good to reminisce about our days in the H.O.O.D. It was fun to watch them love on Ella - especially the guys. Several times us girls was look up from talking to see the three guys gathered around Ella and loving on her.







Ella enjoyed her very first baseball game here in Round Rock. She did so well. I think she enjoyed being out in the warm summer air. Good times.