As I look back now it all seems a blur, I remember bits and pieces yet wonder how it all fell into place. I truly had angels around me.
I really don't have many pictures from that last month but these three bring back fond memories.
This sweet picture of Joseph and my dad and last cuddles I had with little Carson.
McDonalds lunch on the floor of our home with friends and neighbors as everyone gathered to help me clean house on my last day there.
I have some amazing friends and they arranged a goodbye dinner just for me. I don't know how I held in the emotions. They all had HUGE rolls in helping me through the last month. I miss and love them all!
There were nights I felt completely hopeless, wondering how I would get an entire house packed with a brand new baby and 3 other children needing tending to. Many times Kari and Steve showed up with dinner and helping hands. The night Aaron left (the same day as Rebecca's blessing) I came home from the airport unable to contain my emotions. These two came over with dinner and to get my kids in bed. They stayed with me until I was settled and ready for the new day.
I am grateful for their helping hands and their ability to make me laugh and smile. Yes, Kari did wrap Steve in bubble wrap...
This is only a glimpse into the mess I was dealing with, but in the end we managed to get all our belongings into 2 massive storage containers.
Goodbyes are NEVER easy.
MaryKate and her 3 girls, Liliana, Sofia and Eva, were also a HUGE lifesaver to me. They did so much.
Many times they came to the rescue to watch my kids, hold a crying baby or just be there to 'listen' to me vent.
I really don't have many memories of those first 6 weeks of Rebecca's life. I am so grateful to those that came to love her for me while I couldn't. These 2 pictures are really all I have from that month.
Josh was hardly ever home, he wanted to be with his friends as he knew he wouldn't be seeing them for a long time. I am grateful to Marianne for letting Josh basically live with them for a month. He was well looked after and cared for. One day Josh and his friends Jayce and Ammon came upstairs in our home with this beautiful butterfly. I am so glad that I captured this moment to remind me of their friendship and the joy they had in sharing this beautiful creation with me.
The day finally arrived to go. Sunday October 28th, 2013 to be exact. I had somehow managed to get nearly everything done. Did I mention that I also refinanced our house during all this commotion?
My parents met us all at Aaron's parents house where we had spent a couple nights and between two cars we piled everyone and everything inside. To make the beginning of our journey interesting we realized that I didn't have the infant insert to my new baby carrier so Beth and Tanner rushed off to Target to purchase one for me. As we are quickly trying to pile into cars Rebecca spits up all over me and my mom. Somehow amongst buckling in the car seats Joseph hits his nose and it starts bleeding everywhere. Chaos!
Once we are in the car and start driving I take a deep breath, still NO time to cry...
The drive there seemed like a blink of an eye, it wasn't long enough.
We arrived and I now knew it was time to say good bye. We unloaded 11 maxed out suit cases (50 to 80 pounds each), 2 car seats, 2 booster seats, double stroller, and 7 carry ons. Everyone had their eyes on us, it was insane. Thankfully a skycap worker had pity on us and didn't even weigh our luggage and worked his magic to check our luggage all the way through to MEL so we didn't have to collect in in LAX.
Airline workers were getting frustrated with our cars parked on the road for too long so they were urging a quick goodbye. It was all over WAY too quick. It still gets me very emotional thinking about it. A quick hug for everyone and as I hugged my sister Stephanie she broke down in tears and wouldn't let go. That's where I lost it, I had held it in so well until this point. Then onto my dad... the tears were officially flowing.
Next thing I know, we are now walking inside the airport I have stopped crying but then my mom starts sobbing and Josh and Rachael follow her lead. I had to be the strong one so I laughed it off and cracked some stupid joke. We carried on.
The first flight I honestly don't even remember. To be honest, I think I had gone mental during all of this, I don't know how I kept my cool and didn't completely lose my mind.
We arrived in LAX and had a crazy 8 hour layover. Lame.
We left the airport and went to a hotel we had booked. There we relaxed, the kids fought, ran around, cried, whined and Rach and my mom walked across the street to buy Panda Express for dinner.
Close to 10pm we headed back to LAX. This is where it got interesting.
The kids were absolutely exhausted and ready for bed. We had to check through security.
My mom somehow made it through a quick pass line so I had her take the 3 older kids. I stayed behind with all the bulky 'stuff' and Rebecca.
Now comes the fun part... They decide that they need to pat me down and check all of my belongings.
At this point I have a 6 week old strapped to me. The make me take her off and lie her on the floor. I then have to take apart my stroller, unload my camera back, diaper bag and massive laptop bag filled with my mac book and iPads.
My stuff is lying everywhere and my baby on the floor while they pat me down. Then once I am cleared they leave me to pack up all my stuff. I am positive this is where my camera was broken.
I catch up with the others and we arrive at our terminal, it's a madhouse with people everywhere and no where to sit. We find a small section of floor and take it. Rebecca is crying (I am sure at this point i had no milk to feed her). Joesph, Rach and Josh all fall asleep on the floor. It's now boarding time and we cannot get them to wake up.
Between my mom and I we carried kids and all belongings staggering onto the plane, I just about lost it and went crazy trying to herd onto this plane with hundreds of other grumpy selfish people.
Heading down the gate I drop everything, one lady lets out an irritated huff and then this sweet young man picks up my belongings and carries them onboard for me.
We all plop down into our seats, my mom and I let out a HUGE sigh of relief, glance over at each other and start to laugh. What just happened we thought?
Bring on the next 16 hours...
The flight went really well. The kids slept for 8 hours and found the remaining 8 hours exciting. It was a new experience for them and they found plenty to keep themselves entertained. They really were very well behaved. The 16 hour flight was the easiest part to be honest.
We finally arrived in Melbourne and departed our flight. Got straight through immigration and onto baggage claim. This is where another nightmare began. With so much luggage we couldn't physically move it all ourselves and with many failed efforts we couldn't get anyone to help us. One lady's exact words to me were "sorry, you should have booked someone to help you in advance" Left on our own and denied the use of a large case carrier we struggled foot by foot with cases falling off our towering trollies inching our way to customs. Josh is pushing a stroller that he cannot see over running into people while my mom and I are picking up cases that keep falling left and right. It was horrendous.
Finally one man felt sorry for us and managed to get us straight to the front of the customs line and out the door. As we are inching our way to the exit gates we collide with each other, into the wall of the narrow hallway and now are blocking anyone trying to exit. The automatic doors breeze open and I see Aaron leap over the barrier and rush through to help us. I think that's when I lost it, Aaron said that I looked completely drained and kinda out of it.
We finally made it to Australia on Tuesday October 30th and was back with Aaron again. Yipee!
An hour later we were at our new home in Australia unpacking our things and laughing about the adventure we had just experienced. It was cold here so for the remainder of the day we snuggled up on the couch.
I don't know how I kept it together during this time but I am incredibly grateful for all those that played such a HUGE part in getting us here. It is one of the HARDEST things I have ever done, especially after having a baby.
Looking back I know that we were being watched over and cared for by our Heavenly Father. There were several people and instances that I know the Lord had his hand in working a pathway for us. This is were we are meant to be at this time and this experience is evidence of that!
Wow, just wow! That was one heck of a journey. I felt overwhelmed just reading. I am so happy that you made it there safe and that you have that memory, what lessons we learn from our challenges. It also makes me want to be more loving and supportive to others who are in challenging circumstances.
ReplyDelete