Leaving Arizona

We are officially ready to leave for Australia. After over a year of preparing and planning 

and praying we are on our way to sabbatical in Australia!!

The minivan is all packed up with clothes from our closets and anything else we needed to pack at the last minute. Matt unhooked the battery from the car and hooked it up to a charger so that it wouldn't be dead when we got home.

DJ took us to the airport at 4am with 12 suitcases and 2 car seats and 4 backpacks.

We looked pretty funny checking in 8 suitcases, especially when I had to move some things around because we were over 50lbs with a couple of the suitcases. We each carried on a small rolling suitcase and backpack on the plane.

 We stopped in the Admiral's Club in Phoenix for breakfast before heading to our gate. 

The kids LOVE going into the admiral's club!

We landed in LA early in the morning and were hoping to find a place to drop off our bags and venture into the city, but we soon discovered that was not possible. So we found a comfortable spot in the One World Lounge (which was VERY nice) and made ourselves at home. We ended up spending 12 hours in the lounge. We had a sweet set up with couches, TV, unlimited food, and even warm showers before getting onto the plane. We hung out and relaxed, played games, watched TV, slept
and enjoyed ourselves.

Rylie had a blast with the blocks and stuffed kangaroos and her Gracies. 

We got to video chat with Grandma D and all of Matt's family that was at Aunt Emily's house for Christmas Day brunch.

 Played in the kid's play area outside of the lounge for a little bit.

Finally, as the time of our flight approached (1:15 am on Christmas morning) we showered and had the kids take a nap before boarding the plane.

Here we are on the plane ready for the 15 hour flight! God blessed us by having 2 open seats next to Matt so each kid got to spread out and lay down. Rylie slept for some of the flight, however, Derek didn't sleep at all. I slept the most!

Here is the moon as it was rising (?). It was amazing and purple in color.

We made it to Melbourne, Australia! Look at these 2 smiling kiddos. They did amazing on the flight. It was a strange feeling to be awake and on a plane for so long. But, God brought us through and kept us safe and the hardest part is over!

Matt arranged for a driver to pick us up with a minivan because of our 12 suitcases. 

It was our first look at a car with the steering wheel on the other side!

 Here we are just pulling up to our house for 2.5 months in St. Kilda. We are all pretty exhausted at this point. The kids did amazing!! Thank goodness Matt had been here several times and travels internationally a lot, because I felt pretty out of it.

We are looking forward to this time with our family and the adventures we will take and the memories we will make. 

We are beyond grateful to God for providing this season of rest and space to dream.