Ever since our youngest daughter was a toddler we have talked about going on a family adventure to Australia.  For almost 15 years, we have talked about this.  Having dreams are funny things because sometimes they come true and leave you gasping for breath!  Sunday evening, December 4 we received word that our visas have been granted.  We have until early June 2017 to arrive!  Eeeh!

Let me back up a bit…..in April 2016, my husband Lawson and I went on a two week trip to Brisbane, Australia to explore the idea.  We were initially thinking we would simply apply for a short term visa and have an adventure.  It dawned on us while we were there that our girls could truly fall in love with Australia and choose to stay long term so we began exploring more long term visas as a back up.  While we were visiting schools, one of the staff mentioned a business/investor visa that would allow us to stay permanently if we ended up choosing that path.  So, Lawson filed an application of interest.  Truth be told, we thought we might get a no simply because in 5 months time Lawson’s birthday was at the cut off age for this particular visa.  Instead of no we got an invitation to apply to the state of Queensland for this visa.  A few weeks later we received another yes and an invitation to begin the application process.  This was no small thing and we only had a month to gather our life on paper.  This process rivals international adoption in what is required of you (FBI checks, financial records, doctor visits, character assessments….to name a few).  And then we waited and waited.  Lawson’s birthday came and went.  We went about our life.  Finally, late October we got a yes….then a “oops you are not eligible for this visa” then a scramble to figure out ways around this hiccup which we did and now on this 5th day of December 2016 we are feeling quite overwhelmed by what has just happened!  We are the first Americans to be granted this type of visa for the state of Queensland!.  We are beyond thrilled, a whole lot of overwhelmed and a wee bit scared at what we are attempting to do!  We would love to have our friends join us on this adventure as we blog about the process of getting to Australia and eventually about life in Brisbane!