Moving Forward... (are we really doing this?!)

I have been anxious to update this blog for weeks and weeks, but so many things have been up in the air.  I've wanted to wait until the details were more "official" and we had a better idea about specific times and places.  I am very excited to report that Steve has signed an employment contract at a hospital in Palmerston North, New Zealand, and he is scheduled to start working on July 8, 2013!

I didn't mention Palmerston North (or "Palmy" as the locals call it) in my last post.  At that time, Palmerston was our third choice.  As we did more research, prayed, researched, and prayed some more, we ultimately decided that Palmerston would be the best choice for the entire family.  It's a lovely town located on the southern end of the North Island, with a wonderful hospital, great schools, and larger LDS church congregations.  We are confident that it will be a great fit for our family.

While we were still deciding which hospital/city to select, there was plenty to be done in the meantime. One of the most urgent necessities was obtaining passports for all six kids.  We filled out all the paperwork prior to going to the passport office, and thought we were good to go.  We realized once we got there that I had neglected to bring some important documents that we needed.  I rushed home quickly, soon remembering that the brush and hairspray I had brought to freshen up the kids' hair was still in my purse.  I called Steve from the car, urging him to at least try to make the "littles" look somewhat presentable (we had gone to the office directly after school on a busy day).  He assured me that he "had it covered."  Little did I know, the gals at the office were so speedy and so efficient that most of the photos had already been taken before I had even called Steve!  I had to laugh when I returned and saw the photos:

I think both twins were in the process of saying "cheese" when the camera clicked.  Not ideal, but still cute.

After a few weeks, the passports came in the mail, and were welcomed with a fair amount of celebration.  Having passports makes the kids feel excited and special.  I love this picture of everyone holding their new passports.

Beyond obtaining passports, there has been SO much other paperwork to complete. This is a photo of us working on the Visa paperwork.  I felt like extending my middle finger towards this stress pile, but somehow restrained myself.  It's nice to have the majority of the paperwork behind us. :)

Another huge item on the "to do" list has been finding a place to live in New Zealand.  We have literally spent hours looking online at available rental homes.  It has been very tricky to find something that is big enough for our family, and is also at least partially furnished.  With those criteria, the pickings have been slim.

One of the hospital employees in Palmy named Christine has been invaluable in this process.  We would find homes that looked interesting, and she would make appointments to see the homes and would give us a full, detailed report.  An interesting thing to note is that many homes in New Zealand are very poorly insulated.  We've heard time and again from current/former foreign visitors that the chilly living conditions can be an issue (and since we'll be moving there in the middle of NZ winter, we'd be dealing with it from the get-go).  We found a home that was large and fully furnished, but when Christine went to look at it, she expressed her concern about the age of the home and the poor insulation, adding that electricity is "very expensive" and it would cost a fortune to keep the home warm.

Finally, a few days ago, we both spotted a nice, newer home that Christine recognized was in a great neighborhood.  It only listed a few appliances as being included in the furnishings, but when we contacted the agent, she said the owners would be willing to provide at least enough beds for our family.  Christine made an appointment to see the home, and we were thrilled to read her email with the subject line:  "I've just been to look at your new home!"  It's large, new, and in a beautiful neighborhood adjacent to a golf course and a lovely river-walk trail.  We are thrilled.  Thanks to Google Earth, we've been able to get a good look at the entire area.  I love technology!!

We'll be close to schools, church, and the hospital.  Since Steve is planning to bike-commute to work, the location is great (we only want to buy one car).  Speaking of cars, we are seriously considering purchasing a pop-up style van when we get there...one with sleeping/cooking capabilities.  Since we are planning to see as much of both islands as we possibly can, and since staying in hotels might not be practical or even possible in some areas, we have purchased a large (yet very light) tent that we are taking with us to use on our touring adventures.  There aren't a lot of large cars available in NZ, yet we've seen some really sweet camper vans available with 8 seat belts.  Naturally, I'll sleep in the van with the twins while Steve and the other kids sleep on the ground outside in the tent. :)

We've been working with an excellent travel agent who is helping us arrange our travel to NZ.  Since the hospital is including a generous travel stipend as part of the contract, we think we have it worked out to leave Utah on June 23rd and spend 5 days in the Cook Islands before continuing on to New Zealand.  Doesn't that sound fun?  Nothing has been booked yet, but we are close to finalizing those plans.

In the next few months, we have so much to do... packing, putting things back in storage that we won't be needing, organizing Steve's parents' home, finishing up the school year, soccer games and track meets... plus we're looking forward to a few fun trips to St. George and Oregon.

Oh, and one other little thing -- we've decided, after much debate and discussion, that we are going to have a new home built in Mountain Green while we are gone, so there are just a few decisions that need to be made there.  :)

I've told several people that I can't remember a time in my life when I've had so much on my mind at once, but we're just taking it a day at a time and looking forward to the wonderful adventures in store for our family!