Our 1st Anniversary in Australia

Today marks our 1st year in Australia. We arrived here on 24th of June 2012 and so much has happened since. There was the memorable first 2 weeks at our rented apartment in North Sydney, our early struggles with Ethan during worship services, the agonising wait for Nanay's visa, the unexpected pregnancy, Lani's 7-month long morning-sickness, the trips back and forth to the hospital, insurance coverage and hospitalisation bills, Erin's premature birth and month-long stay in the hospital, and now the sleepless nights caring for our children.

It has been a wild journey so far. We have planned it differently in our minds. We planned to spend many of our weekends enjoying Australia's outdoors, the parks, the beaches. We were already looking to book year-end trips to Gold Coast and Melbourne. We had envisioned living in a spacious house with a big yard. We were looking forward to enjoy the relaxing Aussie life.

Well it's not really all that bad. We have enjoyed it as much as we have struggled. There have been so much to thank for. The new friends we met. The old friends who never left our side despite the distance. The new duties that we have been entrusted with in the Church. Our jobs and the company that's been very supportive of us. The places we've visited. Westfield Parramatta. Carlingford Court. Aldi. The sunday bazaar at North Rocks. Easy Way Taro Milk Tea with Pearls. Chipmunks playground. Heated pools at Ryde and Sydney Olympic. Gumtree. There's just too many things for this experience not to be worthwhile. And above all of these, God has blessed us with two beautiful angels.

It's been a long one year - probably the longest we've had in our lives - and we look forward to the next 10, 20, 30, maybe 50 more years of our lives here in the land down under.