A change will do you good...

...or so they say...

We've got a great deal of change in the wind. This is the inaugural post of our family's blog as we follow to places far removed. For those of you who know us, and those of you who will as a result of these writings, we're an unusual bunch. With seven precious children, our two oldest staying behind, we're a spectacle everywhere we go. Whether in in North America or the far reaches of Asia, we're like a traveling circus...without the cracker jacks.

For the purposes of posting on a public forum such as this, we will use some family nicknames, so we will give you the scoop now:

Dad - handsome, bright, the funniest man around
Momma - crazy, manager of 5 junior family members, generally suspicious of dentists
"Rockstar" & "Princess" - our oldest son & daughter-in-law - happy, darling-newlyweds
"Butterfly" - our eldest daughter - musically gifted, patient and loving with sibs
"Magpie" - 8 years - precocious and tenderhearted
"The Bug" - 6 years - firecracker with drama in her veins
"Potato" - 4 years - BUSY and too brainy!
"Brownie" - 4 years - joyful and zany
"Bub" - 2 years - spoiled, hen-pecked, loved to his tiny toes and so content!

This inception of this journey is arguable. Some in the family might say it was a vision in the teenage years, another might say it began on our first adoption journey in 2006, still others mights say the reality started in dreams. Whatever the case, we've been wandering along a winding, unclear pathway for a number of years that has coalesced at this point in our departure from "the old place" on July 23, 2008. "The new place" is sure to be full of new experiences, challenges and cultural adaptations. Yet, we have set our face to it, and we're 21 days from our departure.

We will be teaching in the new place. As a homeschool family of several years, this will be our first introduction into a school system. Thankful for the mercy granted us by only having a few students in this first year, we'll take on teaching English, Social Studies and Science. All the kids will attend the school where Dad & Momma will teach...so, we're thankful.

We'll be living, as far as we know, on the 8th floor of a 12 story building. This will be quite a change from our current N American life...but did I mention, we love adventure?

We don't expect to have a private vehicle...public transit will be another learning curve for this typical family with two autos.

We do expect to have 4 bedrooms. This is amazing! More on such details will follow.

We plan to have a break next summer where we'll have the great opportunity to return to the old place and bask in the warmth of family and friends.

We do expect to be hot in our new digs. We further expect to be quite cold in the winter season. We should experience the climate changes in a much more tangible way that we have previously. We don't expect AC and central heat in our city...so we will learn to abide in the shade and alternately dress in MANY layers.

We will not speak the language upon our arrival. We will be working diligently on language acquisition. Some of us are asking for intervention from above...the kids will likely be speaking moderately well within the first year. This should make trips to the open market a bit more manageable...emphasis on SHOULD.

We will be dependent on our Dad and support from home like never before...it is said that when we are weak then we are strong...

...we will be faithful to posting here...join us, if you will.

Comments will always be appreciated!

They say a change will do you good...from where the author sits...something great should be on the way...