Another question we're often asked now is, "Have you told the girls yet that they'll be moving to New Zealand?" While Bernadette drools on in blissful ignorance of the impending upheaval to her world, it would be a hard secret to keep from Maria, who is hyper-attentive to every word spoken by her parents (yet, sadly, not hyper-obedient to every such word). Fortunately and unfortunately, Maria really has no experience that would help her truly grasp the concept of "moving". She also thinks that she can drive us all to New Zealand in an antique blue Beetle that we see parked in a neighbor's driveway.
So we aren't really sure how to prepare her or if it is even possible. Our focus has been on how to keep our girls connected with our families back in the States once we actually get to NZ. Our goals for December: to get our passports and visas squared away. Trying to get a two year old to sit still and expressionless for a passport photo was simply not possible, but someone in the Department of State had a good laugh this month, I would think, when he saw the photo we had to submit of Maria's mouth wide open and her tongue hanging out.
Our passports were processed in under three weeks and we'll submit our visa applications next week after having chest x-rays and bloodwork. We're continuing to speak at parishes and fundraise. Splat still needs a new home, but our younger and stupider feline moved to New Jersey over Thanksgiving (note sad photo of Rich on "Farewell Ben Morning"). And the Lord opened an unexpected door for us in sending us potential renters, rather than buyers, of our home. This beautiful, holy young engaged couple will wed in May and will need to move into their new home on the same exact day that we need to vacate ours!All four of us are praying about this possibility and should come to a decision soon. In the meantime, if anyone desperately wants a semi-aloof cat for Christmas......
