Spiritual is as Spiritual does.

Shortly after arriving in Australia, one of the first things on our "to do" list was find a church to attend and feel we could be refreshed at on a weekly basis.

Having looked online for several weeks before leaving one of the places I found was a church called Kardinia Chistian Church (http://www.kardinia.org.au/). We looked at some others too but after checking out the others in person, it really felt right at KCC.

Besides that, Chloe also let us know that KCC was her favourite also. After attending one of our other picks on a different Sunday, as we got back in the car, Chloe asked...... "Where is "our" BLUE church? Are we going to go back to "our" blue church?? I hadn't even realised that the outside of the church which could be described as a BLUE CONCRETE box, was indeed blue.

OUR BLUE CHURCH!!! THIS IS PASTOR RICK!!

We assured her that we liked that church too and it has been our spiritual sanctuary since having arrived.

In the last couple of weeks we have missed some Sundays due to the fact that Dee has been in too much discomfort with the baby being so low and having multiple contractions when she wakes in the morning. Needless to say though, we thoroughly enjoy going to hear the music and the messages and will miss the church when we go back to the USA.

The little detours of life...

Yes, we all have those moments of deja-vu and today I experienced yet another. Six years ago, Deanna was visiting me and my family for the first time in Australia. I had taken her to most the places we could go and her trip was coming to an end. On the night I proposed to her, I took her down to the Geelong waterfront, to a place where you can see the city lights and out across Corio Bay... there on the steps leading to the Beach House restaurant we got engaged. ((Photo's to be posted soon)) Twice during her first visit I tried to book a romantic evening at the Beach House but unfortunately both those nights were on a Monday and then, as now, the restaurant is closed on Monday's. Tonight though (Friday), on the eve of our 6th wedding anniversary I finally got to take her to experience the ambience and the view of the "The Beach House". Mind you we had a child in tow and one on the way but it was good food and wonderful service that made for a pleasant evening. Although Chloe was tired and a little restless, (after several comments of "how many 'seconds' does it take to get some ice-cream") we managed to make it through the evening without any fuss. Her good manners were rewarded with a dessert of a big bowl of ice-cream that also had 2 chocolate frogs, chocolate topping (syrup) and 2 candy snakes. Dee (Salmon ravioli in seafood broth) and I (char-grilled pork chops with veggie stack) enjoyed our meal immensely and the young lady that served us was pleasant, gracious and prompt. This restaurant comes highly recommended by me and any who have a chance to visit Geelong should without doubt make every effort to spend a pleasant evening.

.....and the cassions go rolling along.

The weekend came and the weekend has gone but unfortunately we have still not been able to shake the youngest member of our family from his tree. He continues to push and shove, indicating to us that he is getting very cramped in his tiny world but obviously he isn't using those newly formed nails of his to scatch his way out.

What we do know about this chunk (estimated weight at 4 weeks to due date is 7-8lb) is that he loves to eat. Every time we go get an ultrasound, he is swallowing fluid continually. Dee and I have been doing all we know to do to get the young blighter to swing on his vine out of the tree. This includes long walks, foot and ankle rubbing, and gentle verbal coaxing (directing him in what he is supposed to do... all to no avail.

Dee is at the point of ....."just bring on the labour, already". Apart from this she is in good health and looking forward to the eventual birth. At least my boy had the consideration of hanging off until I was done with my REVIT training.

New tricks for the old dog

Well, it has been an interesting week here in Oz.

Dee and I thought that the baby was gonna come early on Monday night with him making his presence felt in more ways than can be told. In any case, Dee is still in "one piece" and now 3 days later we the little fella is still letting mum know that he really wants out.

I spent Monday at work and then 3 days doing REVIT training (CAD) in Melbourne which was a nice break from the office but I had to sacrifice the pillow an hour earlier than I like to so as to get to Melbourne on time for class. I really enjoyed the class and a think it has put alot of things together for me which I knew piece of and how they operated but not how they interacted with each other. I am now inspired to go and start drawing things for myself and who knows,... once I get some more speed up I may even be able to do freelance work on the side.

One part of the course I really liked was the concept modelling and the designer aspect of the program which is really very amazing. Soon (apparently) Autodesk is going to replace the "Accu-render" rendering engine with 3ds max which shouild vastly improve the rendering quality and also the time it takes. Mind you, the computer needed to run such a program will need to be stronger too and no doubt Autodesk will increase the price of their programs for the better product they are creating.

If you are interested in seeing what the REVIT program can do, go to

http://www.revitcity.com/ (or take a look at the demo on the Auto desk website) and look at the "gallery" section located along the top of the home page. Some of the pictures have an almost animation quality but many have a very real photographic quality that could, in some instances, be mistaken for real photos.

My bet is that I will be a father to a boy by the weekend but of course, as always, it is all in Gods time.

Givin' it a fair-dinkum Aussie go

Shortly after our arrival in Australia. We started making efforts to get settled and make a go of things. We left the USA having sold our house and put all of our worldly possessions into a 10x20 storage shed. Let me tell you 10x20 doesn't sound like much but it sure is a far cry from the 9 boxes that I came to the USA with 7 years ago. Still it gives me comfort that I obviously have not become too materialistic if I can fit everything our little family owns in a 10x20 space. As I began to explain in the last post....us humans with our grandiose plans for our own lives don't always fall in line with that which God has planned for us, I did pray for wisdom and guidance about our move here AND I asked the Lord to make it difficult for us if this was not mean't to be. To that end I have to say, it hasn't been impossible but it surely hasn't been the garden stroll it appeared that it might be. As we prepared for the move, I looked at the work availability in the AutoCAD drafting field in Australia and the jobs seemed to be profuse. Far outnumbering the people available to fill them and so I felt confident that I could land work quickly and get us off to a flying start. Well that weren't so. I took me a full 4 months to find work. In Australia, I have been able to claim unemployment even though I haven't lived here for the last 7 years, so that at least was a little help coming in as our savings dwindled to nothing. I also got some "family assistance" to help with Chloe because she is an Australian Citizen through me. (Dee never qualified due to her not bing citizen or we would have got a little more). I started working in Melbourne at a firm called SmithMadden group (http://www.smithmadden.com.au/). These guys are an interior design firm and were great. I started doing some unpaid work experience for these guys and they gave me a start on the newest Autodesk program called REVIT. In short, it is a 3D modelling program, so whatever you do as a 2D plan will instantly appear in 3D when required. Being in Melbourne, made for long days. Starting at 6am, on the train at 6:50am, arrive in Melbourne at 8am, walk up the street and start work at 8:30am. Reversing the process at the end of the day and getting home at 6:15pm. Needless to say, it was tiring to say the least but a concern also b/c if Dee went into labour while I was in Melbourne it could've taken upto 2 hours for me to get home. So I started looking for work locally in Geelong. After a short search, I found a residential home builder (http://www.pepperjackhomes.com.au/) that was willing to take me on with my limited experience in the REVIT program and "gimme a go". It has been 4 weeks now and things are on the improve. My learning curve has been almost vertical but that is okay. Problem is that flying vertical, occasionally you will stall out and go into freefall.... done that too. Every day is a new day and every day I thank God for the job I have that can teach me more about a program I need to know and will hopefully make a career turning-point on. On the 10th, 11th & 12th of July I will be attending a 3 day intensive course on the program and hope that I recieve the benefit out of it that is expected. Having made it this far, we are now planning to turn our faces back into the breeze and head back to the USA.

The Next Step

After the completion of the sale of our beloved house, we moved in with Dee's folks for what we thought would be a few weeks but ended up being about 8 weeks total. Unfortunately, I had figured that the US Immigration department would be prompt with our simple request for Dee's records and they frankly didn't give a "rah-zoo" about our timeline. Finally we got the paperwork we needed and hastily executed our next move.

By this time, our plan had been formulated.... we would either move out West to Idaho or Colorado OR we would go to Australia and see what we could accomplish there. Work (CAD) seemed more profuse in Australia, according to what I could see on the internet so we decided to take the plunge and visit family at the same time.

At the end of January, we arrived in Australia and moved in with my folks for what we again thought would be just a few weeks while we got work and settled in. Not so. A few days after arriving we had a scorcher of a day 100.4° F (38° C). We headed to the beach about 9 miles from home with my sister and her girls. We were not sure how Chloe would respond to the noise of the waves but the waves weren't too wild and with the other girls playing at the waters edge, squealing and having fun. It never took long for her to venture into the water and soon was saying "Dad, I want to go out there, ...where the surfers are!!" Well not even Dad was going out that far, the first time back in the water after 7 years away. I have to say though, getting back into the surf again I felt instantly revitalised... like a dry sponge tossed in the water again.

We had several good days of Summer, and even saw some of the largest waves in recent memory rolling into Torquay Back Beach (as opposed to Front Beach) which is normally very docile because of it's orientation to the Southern Ocean and prevailing winds. On this day though, the waves were reaching between 8 & 10 feet. All I can say is, I had a blast body-surfing for about an hour catching waves that pushed me about 100 yards to the shore.

Now several months later, we are still at my parents house and if I have learned only one thing in all this time, it is this: No matter the age of the female, if she doesn't have a place to call her own she becomes very discontent. Both Chloe and Dee have taught me this lesson many times over.

God works in mysterious ways and it seems to me that while God has let me find work here and do the ministry that he has in line for me, I get the distinct inclination that this is not where we are destined to be. So to that end Dee and I are making plans once more to move back the USA and try to settle ourselves there..... probably in the Boise, ID location.

In the beginning

Had I known this was available to all and any before we left the USA, I would have started blogging way back when. Seeing that I only found out now,... I guess I'll start now.

In March 2006, we decided to sell our beautiful, big, red, double bricked house and pick up stakes for a try at life somewhere else. We weren't sure at that point where the "somewhere else" would be but we had 2 or 3 places in mind.

After the excitement of listing the house and the first flush of prospective buyers we spent the next six months waiting. Finally we changed realtors and the difference was like night and day. We had a buyer even before the new sign went in the yard!! As with all house sales we had some final touch-ups to complete (including WJ getting on the roof of the garage to sweep and shovel snow so two days later we could re-shingle the roof in the dead of winter!!! Yes the neighbours thought I was nuts!)