Hello from Oz

I wanted to start with this picture. All throughout our apartment there are sayings but this is my favorite. I am so blessed to have you all as friends. Thank you so much for your comments and encouragement since we left the USA. It is comforting to know that even though we are so very far from home that a message from you all is just a click away. Please keep the clicks coming.

When Norman took this job he said "We will have to journal every day" Well his part of the "we" is asleep on the couch soooooo ....This will be our(my) first official entry into the journal.

After a week and a half delay in our departure we were finally cleared to come to Australia on Tuesday morning the 6th of September. We were able to rebook our flights for the very next day. We wanted to get on down here before they changed their minds or we lost ours. We arrived at the ATL airport American Airlines ticket counter only to find out that we had NO ticket number. After an hour of phone calls, being put on hold, dropping the line just as we gave the phone to the clerk and having to call again and be put on hold for another 10 mins...we were confirmed. This rest of the trip was very pleasant. Our seats were excellent, food was typical, and the timed passed much quicker than before.

We arrived in Brisbane @ 4:50 (10mins ahead of schedule), got our luggage, went through customs, met our limo driver and were on the road by 5:30. Unbelievable!!!

It took us about an hour to arrive at our new home in Hollywell Queenlands. It is BEAUTIFUL!!!! Our view is magnificent and we are within walking distance to Big W (Wal Mart in disguise) Target and Woolworths (grocery store) .

To all my Georgia fan friends the apartment is completed decorated in red and black and I mean COMPLETELY!!! We have a red couch, red lamps, red place mats, red dishes, red towels, red ceiling, red toothbrush holder, red scissors, red first aide kit, red hot water bottle and even a red vacuum cleaner!!!! Black is thrown in for accents throughout. It makes me laugh - it is all the stuff you see in a department store and love but would never buy. And although I am still by far a Tennessee fan through and through I am thankful it is not done in orange and white.

Friday was mostly spent unpacking suitcases and getting acclimated to the time. We went to bed about 7:00. Saturday we were awake at 4 and were able to enjoy a beautiful sunrise just before 6. I went for a nice long run to Paradise Island through a nice park with 8 different exercise stations along the way. After that Norman and I ventured out to Big W and Woolworths for some food and supplies. We had dinner with Sheryl, the HR person from John Deere who had been so helpful to us when we were here back at the beginning of the summer.

Today we drove about 25 mins. to Merrimac and met with the Gold Coast Church of Christ, a small but very warm and friendly congregation. Had tea and coffee afterwards and met some nice folks there. We came back a different way and it was a little bit shorter. I took a break from this blog and went for a long run and when I got back the other part of "we" was still asleep. Guess he will have a long night.

Well that should pretty much catch you up on the life and times of the Norman's Down Under Adventure. Oh by the way we have the most beautiful lorikeets in our backyard. If I can get them to be still long enough for me to take a picture I will post one. They are so colorful!!!