So we figured we better let you all know what is going on. For the last two weeks we've had Brian's friends from the states staying with us, so we've been all over the place. Calum was here from Japan for a week and now Alec Glass (little Al's namesake) is here. He heads out on Thursday and then on Saturday we have our goodbye party. We are still waiting on Alex's passport, but the consulate said they would be mailing it out today.
The movers are schedule to come pack up the house August 13 & 14, so if everything comes through we'll head out the 15th or 16th! We hope to stop a couple places on the way back, so it may a few days before we are back in the States. We haven't booked our flights yet, but we will soon. We got the good word to stay in Grand Rapids for a while, so we are super excited to be spending several weeks at home with the 'rents. It'll be a hilarious time, I imagine, since the Coopers have never met Alex. Plus while we're at the Johnston's my sister (with her 2 children) will also be staying there. Both places will be packed out!
Gibbs & Cox, USA has informed us that they won't have any work for Brian at this time, so he's been busy job searching. He has applied to several places and has already received interview requests & job offers in the DC area. We won't know anything for a while though - we definitely won't make a decision until we are back in the States.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
He's Done it!
So we've joking for a while now that Alex may not roll over until he's 6 months old cause he's so laid back. He had been actively trying to roll over and then seemed not so interested recently.
Well today he did finally did it!! He rolled over for the first time, at 4 months & 2 weeks. Of course he did it the very first time when I wasn't looking :( Our friend Ali Back was over and we stepped out of the room for a second and came back and little Al was on his tummy! He did it again for Ali as I was in the kitchen getting us some water.
Go little Al!
Well today he did finally did it!! He rolled over for the first time, at 4 months & 2 weeks. Of course he did it the very first time when I wasn't looking :( Our friend Ali Back was over and we stepped out of the room for a second and came back and little Al was on his tummy! He did it again for Ali as I was in the kitchen getting us some water.
Go little Al!
Monday, July 23, 2007
Baby Talk
This is our little buddy while he still cooed:
And this is him now - all we get is gurgles and hisses:
And this is him now - all we get is gurgles and hisses:
Monday, July 16, 2007
What We Know So Far
1) We will be moving back to the States in August.
That's about it.
When we get back we would like to spend some time in Grand Rapids with our families and friends. After that we may go back to Washington, DC. Or we may go somewhere else. It's anyone's guess at this point. We're just not sure how things will work out yet.
All possibilities of staying in Australia for a while longer have been cut off in a most unseemly and seemingly final manner.
That's about it.
When we get back we would like to spend some time in Grand Rapids with our families and friends. After that we may go back to Washington, DC. Or we may go somewhere else. It's anyone's guess at this point. We're just not sure how things will work out yet.
All possibilities of staying in Australia for a while longer have been cut off in a most unseemly and seemingly final manner.
Here are the specs.....trip to Melbourne
At 3months and 4weeks (at least I think, I can't keep track).
Weight: 6.4 kilos or 14.08lbs
Length: 64cm or 25inches
Alex can now roll onto his side from his back. He also has become very coordinated with his hands and is discovering his feet. He's overall a happy baby and laughs a lot when dad blows raspberries on his tummy after his bath.
He's getting pretty long I think, although the doctor told me he's on the 50%, but when I looked at it I think she was wrong. Mother's bias of course. He's at that stage where he's too long for his 3mth clothing but a little small around for his 3-6/6mth clothing. I guess baggy will have to be in!
So we drove to Melbourne last week to apply for Alex's passport. A little important since we have to leave the country in 4 weeks! So I guess most kids like the car and sleep for a long time in it. NOT Alex! Oh no, I know that 8hrs is a long time, but when it turns into 10hrs because you have to stop 6 times than he's beginning to cause his own misery. So we now know that we cannot do road trips that will go past 5pm if we have any hope of keeping him happy. His trend was to eat, play, sleep for 45minutes and then wake to eat, repeat. No long naps for him and once it hit 5 or 6pm he would start screaming in the car. We had to pull over and Brian so nice walked with him outside the car until he fell asleep. We would slip into his car seat and make a mad dash for our destination.
It was a fun trip overall - despite little Alex being out of sorts and the fact that is was freezing and we didn't bother to bring our jackets. I think he's teething and he's got a runny nose. Add that to an upset schedule and unfamiliar territory & you have an upset baby.
We got in at 11pm on Monday. The next day we headed to the US Embassy and that was a breeze! In and out in 1 hour! We then headed back to put Alex down for a nap...when we heard loud drilling. Brian stuck his head out the window to see where it was coming from. Behold, next door (on the outside) a man was hanging drilling something with the window. Luckily he soon moved down a level and then was done. Alex slept all of 45min so we went for lunch and then over to the Botanical Gardens. It was nice and sunny and wonderful to just be outside. We finished at the Shrine of Remembrance which surprisingly had a lot of interesting displays inside. We thought it would just be a rather large monument. That evening we asked for a nearby Italian restaurant but when we walked there we realized it was packed and we were WAY under dressed. We spotted a Mexican restaurant just down the street! Yes it was good and the first Mexican we've had in over a year. We had to rush through our meal though cause Alex was not having it!
Wednesday we relaxed in the hotel for a little bit and then headed over to the Aquarium. Which was great and amusing. We had forgotten that it was school holidays and were quickly reminded by the groups of children going on special tours. On our way back we popped up to the 54th floor of the tallest building where there is an observation deck. Brian got some great photos. We decided not to risk eating out so we ordered take away from the Italian restaurant around the corner. It was great!
Thursday morning we set off to drive the Great Ocean Road. It was beautiful and a lot of fun. We stopped about half way, Portland, to stay over night and then drove straight home on Friday. There wasn't much to see the second day.
Overall a great trip and a time for us to relax and stop worrying. When we got home God had given us some answers and peace. We just know now that we can't road trip with Alex in the evening :)
Weight: 6.4 kilos or 14.08lbs
Length: 64cm or 25inches
Alex can now roll onto his side from his back. He also has become very coordinated with his hands and is discovering his feet. He's overall a happy baby and laughs a lot when dad blows raspberries on his tummy after his bath.
He's getting pretty long I think, although the doctor told me he's on the 50%, but when I looked at it I think she was wrong. Mother's bias of course. He's at that stage where he's too long for his 3mth clothing but a little small around for his 3-6/6mth clothing. I guess baggy will have to be in!
So we drove to Melbourne last week to apply for Alex's passport. A little important since we have to leave the country in 4 weeks! So I guess most kids like the car and sleep for a long time in it. NOT Alex! Oh no, I know that 8hrs is a long time, but when it turns into 10hrs because you have to stop 6 times than he's beginning to cause his own misery. So we now know that we cannot do road trips that will go past 5pm if we have any hope of keeping him happy. His trend was to eat, play, sleep for 45minutes and then wake to eat, repeat. No long naps for him and once it hit 5 or 6pm he would start screaming in the car. We had to pull over and Brian so nice walked with him outside the car until he fell asleep. We would slip into his car seat and make a mad dash for our destination.
It was a fun trip overall - despite little Alex being out of sorts and the fact that is was freezing and we didn't bother to bring our jackets. I think he's teething and he's got a runny nose. Add that to an upset schedule and unfamiliar territory & you have an upset baby.
We got in at 11pm on Monday. The next day we headed to the US Embassy and that was a breeze! In and out in 1 hour! We then headed back to put Alex down for a nap...when we heard loud drilling. Brian stuck his head out the window to see where it was coming from. Behold, next door (on the outside) a man was hanging drilling something with the window. Luckily he soon moved down a level and then was done. Alex slept all of 45min so we went for lunch and then over to the Botanical Gardens. It was nice and sunny and wonderful to just be outside. We finished at the Shrine of Remembrance which surprisingly had a lot of interesting displays inside. We thought it would just be a rather large monument. That evening we asked for a nearby Italian restaurant but when we walked there we realized it was packed and we were WAY under dressed. We spotted a Mexican restaurant just down the street! Yes it was good and the first Mexican we've had in over a year. We had to rush through our meal though cause Alex was not having it!
Wednesday we relaxed in the hotel for a little bit and then headed over to the Aquarium. Which was great and amusing. We had forgotten that it was school holidays and were quickly reminded by the groups of children going on special tours. On our way back we popped up to the 54th floor of the tallest building where there is an observation deck. Brian got some great photos. We decided not to risk eating out so we ordered take away from the Italian restaurant around the corner. It was great!
Thursday morning we set off to drive the Great Ocean Road. It was beautiful and a lot of fun. We stopped about half way, Portland, to stay over night and then drove straight home on Friday. There wasn't much to see the second day.
Overall a great trip and a time for us to relax and stop worrying. When we got home God had given us some answers and peace. We just know now that we can't road trip with Alex in the evening :)
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Narrower
Well, the options are narrowing down somewhat, which is good. The next few days should bring in some decisions by other parties that will make or break one of the options. Please keep praying for wisdom and guidance.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
The Future
We're trying to keep the future pretty wide open at the moment while we seek the counsel of the wise. There are an overwhelming amount of options when one does this. Hopefully the counsel of the wise helps to narrow things down a little bit. One possibility is Washington, DC and the same job I had before leaving for Australia, another is Chicago, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and an as yet unknown job, yet another is staying here and working for our church while going to Bible College of South Australia. We'd like to figure everything out as soon as we can, but it may take a few weeks to get things hammered down.
What we do know is that we're going to stay in Australia until the beginning of August (Lord willing). Our friend Calum is coming in two weeks to stay for a week, and after he leaves our friend Alec is coming to stay for a week. After that I think we'd like to head back to Grand Rapids, MI by way of New Zealand and Hawaii (we'll see) and spend some time with our families and friends before heading off to wherever our new home will be.
There are a lot more really cute shots of Alex up on Flickr if you want to check them out.
What we do know is that we're going to stay in Australia until the beginning of August (Lord willing). Our friend Calum is coming in two weeks to stay for a week, and after he leaves our friend Alec is coming to stay for a week. After that I think we'd like to head back to Grand Rapids, MI by way of New Zealand and Hawaii (we'll see) and spend some time with our families and friends before heading off to wherever our new home will be.
There are a lot more really cute shots of Alex up on Flickr if you want to check them out.
Sunday, July 01, 2007
I Have Gotten The Axe
So Sarah, Alex and I will likely be moving back to the States.
This is certainly bittersweet news for us. God has blessed us more than we ever could have imagined while we've been here. He's taught us a lot too, about priorities and parenthood and patience and giving and servanthood. We've conceived and born our first child here, we've become part of an incredible church family at Trinity and we've been able to work and socialize with a very tight and very good group of people at GCA. We have been able to live within 5 minutes of work and 10 minutes of church. The work itself has been interesting, challenging and satisfying, and hasn't required much overtime. The health system is good, the food is great, and the mountain biking is top notch. We've been able to afford to rent a cottage style house with a yard and a shed and little stained glass windows. It's become our home. We'll be leaving a lot of ourselves behind, and it's going to be one of the most painful things we've ever had to do.
But in going back we know that God will continue to provide for us. We will be closer to our families again. We'll once again be with the friends we left behind when we came to Australia. My parents will meet their grandson Alexander for the first time.
The hope that comforts me is the promise of another life when this one is gone, where those who know Christ will be with him forever, together. No more national boundaries or expensive flights, just pure, unadulterated joy everlasting.
This is certainly bittersweet news for us. God has blessed us more than we ever could have imagined while we've been here. He's taught us a lot too, about priorities and parenthood and patience and giving and servanthood. We've conceived and born our first child here, we've become part of an incredible church family at Trinity and we've been able to work and socialize with a very tight and very good group of people at GCA. We have been able to live within 5 minutes of work and 10 minutes of church. The work itself has been interesting, challenging and satisfying, and hasn't required much overtime. The health system is good, the food is great, and the mountain biking is top notch. We've been able to afford to rent a cottage style house with a yard and a shed and little stained glass windows. It's become our home. We'll be leaving a lot of ourselves behind, and it's going to be one of the most painful things we've ever had to do.
But in going back we know that God will continue to provide for us. We will be closer to our families again. We'll once again be with the friends we left behind when we came to Australia. My parents will meet their grandson Alexander for the first time.
The hope that comforts me is the promise of another life when this one is gone, where those who know Christ will be with him forever, together. No more national boundaries or expensive flights, just pure, unadulterated joy everlasting.
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