It's been awhile....

It has been ages since I have blogged! I was planning on blogging on our trip, but then I realized that I was spending time on the computer that I could be spending with my family. So...I decided to give blogging a big rest so that I could have more time to spend with my parents.

This trip has been awesome. What a blessing it has been to me and to our family. I am dreading saying good-bye. It is going to be so hard on us to leave my family again. I am really praying that the Lord would give us a chance to spend some more time over here with my family sometime in the future. I just cant describe how great it has been!!!!

I have posted some photos on my facebook throughout the trip. If you want to see our family photos-Click here. If you want to see Christmas photos-Click here. If you want to see some general photos of our travels-Click here and here.

We have already started packing. We left Australia with 1 half full bag and 1 empty suitcase (to bring stuff back in). We are now bringing home 6 full suitcases!!! Our trip home is going to be quite a big longer than our trip to the States! We start out Wednesday afternoon leaving Nashville....going to Washington DC...then on to LA. We then fly LA to Sydney....Sydney to Brisbane...and Brisbane to Bundaberg arriving on Friday afternoon with 4 VERY TIRED people.

Please pray for safe travels and for us saying Good-bye! It is going to be hard on all of us.

Snow Flurries!!!

I cant believe it, but we are having some snow flurries in Atlanta. There is suppose to be more to come!!!! This has been great for the boys. They are loving it.

We just returned today from South Georgia. We went down for 2 days to visit with my Aunt and Uncle. We had a great time. It is so nice there-such a country little town where your worries just seem to fade away with the simple lifestyle.

We actually had a chance to catch up with some friends from Australia. It was so great to see our friends and just catch up.

We are back to Atlanta today and staying here for the rest of the week. Good country cooking and lots of shopping-We're lovin it!!!!!!

Off to Atlanta....

We are off to Atlanta today. We are really looking forward to seeing our family there. It will be an interesting drive I'm sure-with lots of potty stops for Noah.

Some highlights so far......

• We had a pretty good flight. It seemed so long and was really exhausting for all of us. The boys did great on the long flight to LA-they even slept most of the time. Dave had a rough time with the domestic flights. I think he was just exhausted from not having enough sleep. Needless to say, he spent most of his time screaming from LA to chicago. We got our first taste of cold in Chicago when we had to board our plane OUTSIDE in the below freezing temperatures. We all made it in one piece to Nashville. Dave arrived with a fever, but soon was better once he had a good night sleep.
• Mom is looking really good-she looks like a million dollars!!!! She has lost a lot of weight and has really been taking care of herself. I think this is the best I have ever seen her look-just amazing.
• My parents house is like a Christmas wonderland and looks absolutely gorgeous! I will take some photos and post soon.
• I've already made the run to Old Navy and Victoria Secrets. Actually-I did that the first day with Heather. I needed to pick up some essentials. I heard a rumor that Old Navy is going out of business-I sure hope not. It is my favorite store.
• Poor Heather is back to school and work. We will see her again after Thanksgiving. We had Thanksgiving with her on Sunday with Mom's famous cornbread stuffing. It was to die for!!!!
• Noah loves the dogs. Heather took Bentley back to school with her. While Heather and I went out shopping, Shane said that Noah chased Bentley so much that he was eventually trying to hide from him. Poor Duncan is too old to play or even care what Noah does. Dave loves to pet him and I'm scared that the boys will want a dog when we get home. NOOOOOOOO!
• The boys love their grandparents-they are having a wonderful time with them and getting spoilt lots. Dave is now walking around the furniture. It happened quite quickly, but Mom and Dad's house is perfect for it. I think he will be walking in the next few weeks or at least taking his first steps. It will be nice for them to witness this historic event!

Well....that is enough highlights for now. Next time-I will try and post some pictures. The weather here is perfectly COLD! We are freezing...but loving it at the same time. With central heating, it is a lot easier to enjoy! At least we arent trying to keep warm inside the house, just only when we go out!

We are off to Atlanta. Cya when we get back!

Packed And Ready To Go.....

Well....we are all ready. Bags are packed!!!! Finally! It has been a really crazy week and I am so thankful that it is over. I'm actually looking forward to it all-although I do hope I am not mental after being in a confined space so long with my children.

I will be blogging while we are in the states-so dont forget to have a check every once in awhile. I got some great news earlier today-My parents said that it was snowing!!! What are we going to do with all the cold weather!?! We were just getting over winter and now we are going right back into it. It will be fun and I pray the boys get to see snow.

I should probably head to bed considering I have to get up around 5 tomorrow morning (or maybe a little earlier). We have to be at the airport at 6am to fly to Brisbane! I'm so excited and the kids seem to be excited too! I'll keep you posted....

Aussie Christmas

We had our Aussie family Christmas on Wednesday night. It was a great seafood Christmas with great food!!!! Here are some photos we had taken.

Noah and David

Here are some pictures of Noah at 2 years and 8 months old and David at 10 months old. Arent they beautiful!!!!!

Not long now...

Well....Time is passing by quickly with not long left until our 50+ hours of traveling back home for Christmas. Yeah...thats right...50+ hours. We leave Bundaberg at 7am on Saturday morning, have a 4 hour layover in Brisy, then the 15 hour plane flight to LA, then a few hours in LA, then to Chicago, with a few hours there, and finally home to Nashville (we arrive Monday morning Australia time). It will be interesting to say the least!

We are busy as ever getting everything ready before we leave. I cant wait to get on the plane and know that it is all behind me. We are all getting really excited about traveling again as well!

Dave will be 10 months old next Saturday and is now crawling. I do wish he would have waited until we were in the states. It will be hard now keeping him confined in the plane. He is waving and saying Bye-Bye! He is a bit clingy-but I think that is normal for his age.

Noah is talking like crazy. His language and vocabulary have really come a long way in the past month or so. He love scraft and loves kicking the ball outside.

Shane is loving his job at the council (and so am I)!!! He has been pretty busy lately helping run the men's ministry at church and playing soccer on Tuesday night.

Me-well...I'm busy just being a Mom. I am working really hard on the creche (nursery) for the church in preparation for next year. I am trying to have lots done before I leave. I've been cooking a lot for the "Helping Hands" ministry at church (they take meals to people who are sick or have just had babies).

Well...thats a pretty good update for now. I will try and post some pictures before we leave. There are so many things to do!!!! I will be posting while we are in the states too-so if you want to check out the traveling Elsons....just have a look here!