The start..........

Nige had been on at me for ages about emigrating to Australia, but I was unconvinced and used to just put it to the back of my head, hoping that he would forget about it! After all, it was the other side of the world and I hadn't even been there....just seen it on Neighbours and Home and Away! I was very happy living in our lovely cottage in a Worcestershire village. Nige had a succesful established business, we had fabulous family and friends around us......why would I want to move?!

We decided to make a holiday over there with Jacob who at the time was almost 2. I jumped at the chance of a fab holiday, but I think Nige was using it as a ploy to convince me!!

We flew in to Sydney in March 2007 and was totally blown away with the sights in Sydney. We stayed in a hotel in Edgcliff, just out of the town but easily accessible using the underground. After a few days we hired a campervan and travelled around. I totally loved it! We stayed on all sorts of camping grounds, including national parks. We saw some absolutely amazing places, but I was still thinking of it as a holiday and trying not to think of the fact that soon I would have to make a decision!

We travelled up the Great Ocean Road......amazing!! We dropped off the campervan in Melbourne and stayed in St Kilda for a few days. I'd got the days all mixed up though and we ended up leaving a day before we thought!! Whoops!!

I had decided that I loved it and I knew that it was the best thing for our little family.....all that outdoor life, but I was dreading leaving my Mum behind in the UK. I lost my Dad in July 2006, so I knew that Mum would be devastated about us leaving. I think, know in fact, that a lot of people may have thought it was a very selfish thing to do.

We decided to start the visa application process and contacted First Contact in London. Our application would be based on Nigel's trade being Refrigeration and Air Conditioning. This was in August 2007, but in November I found out that I was pregnant with Jessie, which delayed things a bit. Part of the visa process is having a medical including xrays, which at that stage of my pregnancy I couldn't have, so we had to wait.....great I thought!! Even though I was so excited about the prospect of living in Oz, I was still dreading it, so I knew I had some extra time, so again I put it to the back of my head!

Nige and his Brother Mark had booked a reccie for February 2008. Mark and his family were in the process of the visa application too and hadn't visited Australia. Nige also wanted to check out Brisbane and Adelaide, so they thought it would be a good idea to go on their own as they would be able to cover more ground and it would obviously be cheaper. However in January, just before their trip, Nigel's Dad passed away suddenly. Nigel's Dad had been adament that we should go and live in Oz if it was what we wanted to do. I remember him saying that they would miss us, but he thought it was the right thing for us to do and he was always saying that there was nothing left for us in the UK. Now Nige was having the same thoughts as me about leaving his mom.





Jessie was born in July 2008 after an emergency caeserian and 3 days later she was posing for her passport photo!! On our wedding anniversary in the September we had a call from the agent to say that we had our visas. I screamed!!!!! I remember it now....jumping up and down while I was on the phone! I called Nige to tell him, I don't think he believed me at first. Boy did we down the champers that night!!!!


The proud big Brother!