Welcome to Australia - Detail-averse, beware :)

We're here!  After a long flight, we've arrived.  It was rather amusing coming through customs (as amusing as such things can be); after all, I'd carefully researched all of the eligibility requirements for my visa which, though granted, required me to have proof of such things as enough money for a return ticket, health insurance, and other such details.  I had an envelope full of it, and all the customs person said to us, essentially, was, "Maitland, hm?  Wine country."  Not that I'm complaining.  It's much nicer to have things go that way.

We were greeted by the DS and his wife (G&H), another pastor in the district.  They brought a trailer for our 6(!!!!) bags so that they'd all fit.  (At some point, I hope to explore in more detail the moving process.  For now, I will just say that even with living in a constant state of getting rid of things for the past 5 or so months, I was still disappointed that I had so much to bring with me).  We had showers and tea at G&H's (morning tea, in this case, involved lovely breakfast pastries with egg and meat in them, something called "rizzoles" that was some type of meat, and strawberries), then hit the road in the little Yaris.  Jesse & G had managed to pack all of our luggage into the little Yaris, and we hit the road, determined to stay on the culturally appropriate side of the road for the 2 hour trip "home".

After a quick stop at the church to pick up house keys, we headed to our new home.  I think it was around 1 in the afternoon or so, and getting somewhat hot.  Once everything was inside, we began making lists of various necessities, and spent the afternoon shopping for them.  On returning to the house, Jesse busied himself with the furniture and I cleaned, papered, and stocked the shelves in our linen closet.  Dinner involved a run to Mustafas, and we happily (and sleepily) munched our kebabs in front of an episode of Burn Notice.  Afterward, around 8pm, we crashed on the floor of the living room, where we had dragged the mattresses from the futon and Jesse's twin bed next to each other, in lieu of a bed.

We slept until around 5am; not too shabby for the first day of jet lag.  After eating breakfast out, we shopped at a furniture store and an Opp Shop (thrift store); we returned to the furniture store to order a nice bedroom set, and have reserved a couch and armoire at the Opp Shop.  So, once we have the means to retrieve them, we will add to our current furniture collection of futon, twin bed, and various tables.  

One question people have asked throughout this whirlwind of job-quitting, wedding-throwing, world-traveling, marriage-building adventure has been whether we are excited.  We are, for sure, but I think right now we're both feeling contentment at being able to settle somewhere, and that's exciting in its own way.