Today Last Year (Part 4)

The first night in a totally empty house. We borrowed some air mattresses from my cousin.

Finally, some basic furniture arrived, well, some borrowed for the moment and others bought.

First day of school for the kids.

Finally, we got started with life here...

Today Last Year (Part 3)

When we arrived at the Tullamarine airport, the captain invited us to the cockpit.

Bunking in with my brother at midnight, the day of arrival.

Had a good day the next day with my little nephew.

Moving into our first rented place. It was totally empty; we've got nothing except what's in the suitcase. No furniture, no nothing.

Today Last Year (Part 2)

Farewell with some of our best friends ...

The Final farewell in the airport ...

The guy in uniform actually sent us all the way to Melbourne, no kidding. I will show you proof in my next blog.

(More to follow on what happened after we arrived in Melbourne).

Today Last Year (Part 1)

Well, today last year we were packing and going to the airport to take a plane to leave home. Yes, it is exactly one year today that we left. The year seems to have passed by very quickly. Here are some pictures leading up to the moment we left. Bring back some fond memories of good friends and colleagues that we have had over the years.

It was just after my son's birthday ...

Farewell from family friend.

Farewell from our care group.

Farewell from the church and good friends.

Farewell from good friends and church friends.

Farewell lunch from my colleagues.

Farewell from old friends.

From the church.

Our home

One of the church friends asks us about the new house that we are staying in. I didn't have the time to upload any photos until today. So, sorry SP for the late photos.

The first picture is the front of the house as one walks down the pedestrian path.

The house is right beside a park. The park extends back much further, and it's actually quite big.

And this is the front door to the house.

As you walk into the house, the first thing you see is the lounge. You can see how "lived in" and how messy it is.

This is the kitchen.

And the backyard.

Now, you have completed a tour of my house! Except, of course, the bedrooms, which are too messy to be shown ....

Happy Birthday, Tim

We recently celebrated Timothy's birthday. It is amazing how much he has grown over the space of one year! He was still a kid when we had our farewell in KL - and that was just after his birthday. We are here almost a year, and he has just celebrated his birthday again.

Happy birthday, Tim.

Catching Up (Part 4)

And finally, during this mid-year winter break, I took a week off - hence the time to catch up with my blog. We also went to the zoo and spent a good half a day there. The next day we went to the cinema to watch Karate Kid, acted by Jaden Smith and Jacky Chan. The plot was essentially the same as the old Karate Kid, but the kids enjoyed it tremendously.

Well, we have been for a good 11 months now. By the end of July, we would have been here for a year. The year has gone by very very quickly.