Happily Ever After...

Well, it's official....    Happily Ever After can start now, because LUKE IS HERE!! :):)

First of all, let me show you what I did to our room :)  I made it into a little bit of a Canada explosion!  Because how often does this event happen??  Only once in our lives, I can guarantee it!!  So I went to the dollar store and bought all sorts of ridiculous fun Canada stuff and made our room into a very welcoming place for a newly landed immigrant ;)

The Canucks poster was actually hanging there for months, HA!  I left it because it obviously fit.... and yes, I am apparently a 12 year old boy with a Canucks poster on my wall! :) hahaha!  The Welcome Home Luke sign would eventually get hung on the outside of our front door.

The Canada coloured blanket was knitted for our baby actually :)  One of the parents of some of Luke's school bus kids found out we were expecting a few months ago and knitted that up for us - so sweet.  But of course it worked perfectly in this situation!

This is of course from that famous Molson beer commercial - which you can see right HERE - it's the best :)

I goofed a little bit on this one - this was the number of days that we waited until we found out that he had been approved.... I forgot to add in the days that we were apart since the Feast.  But the sentiment is there nonetheless ;)

This is just a cheesy lovey dovey one :)

Welcome Home!!!!!

I also made what I am calling a Canada Starter Kit for Luke as well - as if he's not familiar with our country or something ;)  But I bought a whole bunch of stuff that was just stereotypical Canada, and some that's only found in Canada and presented him with it on his arrival ;)

Okay, starting at the top left - Ruffles Au Gratin potato chips (his fave, and he can't find that flavour anywhere but here apparently), a Canada flag which I presented him with at the airport, a Tim Horton's card so he can get some Iced Caps anytime he wants, Smarties (the true Canadian Smarties...only available here!), the tupperware container holds some Nanaimo bars, and on top of that is a Canada magnet with a beaver (had to have the beaver!), the Smarties lay on top of a box of Butter Tarts (pure and simple Canadian food!), and some Canucks socks.  I found the Canada toque in Winners and was sooo excited!  All of this went inside a President's Choice reusable bag from Superstore (Loblaws in other parts) - being that we are Cdn and super into our no name brands AND recycling ;) hahaha!

I arrived at the airport just as Luke's plane was landing, but I knew I had a good wait because they only have a small handful of customs agents to process the plane full of people, and a permanent resident landing would take too long for them to do while there were others waiting.  I come to find out later that Luke let everyone in front of him in the line because he knew he would be waiting until the end anyway (what a polite Canadian - I bet he said sorry to all of them too!  My kinda guy ;) hehehe!)  So I'm waiting, and waiting, and  waiting.....  and I knew there was nothing to be worried about - how would we have problems at this point!?  But my anxiety was still rising and rising as more and more people came throught :)

About an hour later (I was pacing at this point), a very nice customs agent came out and said "Who's here for Luke?"  me, me, pick me!!  He told me that he was doing his landing right now, and that he would be out in just a few moments - he just didn't want me to worry :)  AWWWW!!!  I found out from Luke later that they were all super nice and helpful while they did his landing, and they even said "Welcome to Canada"!  This makes me so very happy :):)

I FINALLY saw him pushing his massive bags through the doors, and my heart swelled and I was SO excited and so SO happy!

I presented him with a million hugs and kisses and his flag and a Canada pin, and then asked a very nice lady if she could take our photo, which of course she did :)

I don't think we could smile any bigger!!!

And wouldn't you know it, on the day Luke arrives to the True North, it's snowing :)  So we got to battle some snow on the way home, and I took a photo of him by his welcome sign...

And that's it!!!!  We get to now live happily ever after, forever and ever together :):)

Thank you so much to everyone who has prayed for us, and sent us positive thoughts through all of this.  We are incredibly blessed and so incredibly thankful to have this all behind us.  What a wonderful way to welcome our baby girl into the world, with a little stability!! :)    I will of course keep you updated on all the new adventures and fun times that I'm sure we'll have now that we're together :)

And in parting, I will leave you with a video of the song that Luke sang in the car on the way home :)

Long overdue UPDATE!

Ohhh man, I am SO behind!!  I've been meaning to write this update since we got home from the Feast... and then suddenly life got super busy again... although what was I expecting?!  Anyway, I am finally sitting down and plan on getting everyone caught up on what's been going on in our lives since the Feast... although it's likely old and moldy news by now ;)

First and foremost... LUKE GETS TO COME HOME!!!!!!  Can I scream that loud enough??!  We are DONE with Immigration!  Okay, in a couple days we will officially be done, but it's pretty much completely over as I write this :)  For those that don't know, we got an update at the Feast that they were *finally* actually processing our application - this was totally thrilling to us because that meant our app was finished sitting in a pile and was actually being LOOKED at!!   Just a few days later we got an email saying that they were done and that Luke's application had been approved and they were requesting his Passport be sent to them so they could insert his visa into it.   He went and got photos taken on his way home from the Feast, in Spokane, and sent off his Passport the very next day.  It got to Buffalo, NY on Monday Oct. 22nd and we began yet another wait for them to get the visa inside and sent back to us (we were beginning to wonder how long this could possibly take!!!)  We had sent them a prepaid overnight envelope to send it back, and we had the tracking number for it, so we checked it every single day.  And then just last week, after I got home from my prenatal class, Luke had been trying to text me to tell me that he finally saw movement on it!!!!!  That meant he would likely get it the next day... HE DID! :):)

He unfortunately had put in his notice at work for Nov. 15th, so he had to stay until today (He had a GREAT last day at work today, wooohooo!!!) but we've booked his plane ticket for Thursday Nov. 17th, so he will be here in just a couple of days!!!  I cannot even tell you how surreal and unbelievable this whole experience has been.  Luke and I have been dealing with immigration for almost 2 years now (it would be 2 years in February), so to have it be done... err, almost... is just mind-blowing to me :)  Luke will officially "land" on Thursday evening, and at that point we will be done with all of this.... over!!  He'll need to wait for his PR card in the mail (this could take a month or two) but there's no need for our lives to be on hold while we wait for this.  We can finally be together... we can finally live happily ever after... it's all coming together :):)  I'm going to share the photo of when we heard the news again - it makes my eyes water whenever I look at it - we were SO emotional!

Okay, now for some baby updates!  Things are going really good still - I'm keeping my energy up for the most part... I do get fairly tired by the end of the day, but I am still working full time, so I figure that's pretty normal :)   I'm in my 35th week right now, and the time is just sailing by... it's pretty amazing actually.  It's hard to imagine that we'll be holding a little teeny tiny person in our arms within a few weeks.  I can't wait to meet her :)  Here's a photo of me that I took last week, when I was in my 34th week:

You can definitely tell that the belly's getting bigger!!

I've been dealing with the gestational diabetes lately though - I had to be put on insulin, which I have to tell you, I was upset about it.  I had really been wanting to stay away from the insulin if I could, and really maintain it with diet... and I felt really down at first when they told me that it wasn't working well enough.  I know it's not my fault, and I know I'm not doing anything wrong, but I really felt like it was.  I felt like I failed, I felt like I did something to mess it up... ugh.  I got over that eventually - I guess it was just the hormones and emotions.  It's a tough thing - I of course want to do everything in my power to keep the baby safe and healthy, but I also want to do things as natural as possible, and I guess I just stress.  I do have to say though that since I've been taking it, it has leveled my sugars out, and things do seem to be doing better.

The insulin they use these days is so completely user friendly - it's like an epi-pen almost - you attach a needle, dial in the units that you need and stick yourself (which you barely even feel).  It's very simple.  I have to take the one on the left before dinner, and the one on the right before bed.  I do have to say, I am getting super sick of poking myself though - at least 4 times a day for my blood sugar and then twice a day for the insulin.... it's getting old!!

I've been extremely blessed with all the beautiful goodies that my wonderful family (near and far) have given to this little girl!  Let me share some of them, because they are too good not to! :)

This is a beautiful blanket that Jenene embroidered!  It reads as black in this photo, but it's a navy blue background with these adorable little girls embroidered on it - so sweet!  I can't wait to see it in person - it will be one of the many things that Luke gets to fly up here with :)

We got a super snuggly and warm sleeper for our little girl to come from the hospital in, and Mom made a gorgeous knitted sweater and toque to go over it.  It's the same sweater pattern that I wore home from the hospital 28 years ago, so this has very special meaning :)

This sleeper is SO soft, inside and out, and it sooo sweet with the little teeny polka dots :)

Such a gorgeous sweater - I love the buttons :)

Mom also made these really adorable booties - she has plans to make lots more too, in various sizes - I am very excited!

In other news, I've told all my jobs about me being pregnant and my plans for afterwards.  I'm keeping most of them - I had to downsize a bit though.  My plan is to stop working here in a couple of weeks (beginning of December) and to be off until mid-January.  It's a tentative plan, because how on earth am I supposed to know how I'm going to do in delivery, recovery, etc?  I don't know how baby's going to do, how well we're going to adjust... all these details that I have no idea about.  But the plan at the moment is to bring baby to work with me - I figure for the most part she's (hopefully) going to sleep a fair bit during the day, and when she's not, I'm hoping I can wear her in a sling or a wrap of some sort so I can be as hands free as possible and still clean.  I have plans to do only 2 jobs a day and work 4 days a week, so hopefully this all works out as planned!!  Most of my jobs have been really awesome about the whole thing though - not that I figured they would be mad at me or something!  But still, I was very happy to receive such positive feedback from most everyone (there was at least one person who was rude, but that was expected, and that was most of the reason why I was quitting her anyway! hehe).

I have a whole post planned about the backyard soon (I know, Alina, I need to show you those!) - there's a lot of photos to go through, and I simply don't have time at the moment!  Anyway, I hope this has been an enjoyable catch-up for you - I seriously should have done this weeks ago ;)  I'm hoping life will settle down a little bit when Luke gets here - at the moment we spend as much time as we can chatting on the computer and on the phone because frankly that's the only way we've been communicating, so with him being here day  in and day out, I think I might have some time to catch up on things I've been getting behind with :)  And then I get to snuggle with my husband every night forever and ever.... life is good!! :):)

Feast of Tabernacles 2011 - Kellogg, ID

My family and I attended the Feast this year in Kellogg, ID - a great change of pace! :)  It was wonderful being reunited with Luke, Alina and William for 10 days - but it definitely wasn't long enough!  We picked up Ali and Will at the airport in Seattle, and Luke met up with us the next day in Kellogg.  We were sharing a very large suite with my family - it had a 1 bedroom (for Mom and Dad), Alina slept on an air mattress in the living room, and the boys shared the loft.  Attached to that suite was a studio apartment suite for Luke and I - it was perfect!  We all shared meals and snacks and everything, and had tons of fun playing games together and spending lots of time with one another.

I tried to take as many photos as possible, but I was also just enjoying being with Luke again, so the camera went on a bit of a back burner from time to time.  But there are definitely enough to give you the vibe of our visit I think - plus I stole a few from Dad's camera as well ;)

These first few were taken on the drive from Monroe, WA to Kellogg, ID - these ones were as we were coming up to and going over the Snoqualmie Pass.

Our fearless driver and navigator (Dad and Mom ;)

And then we have the awesome flatness of Eastern Washington:

Here's our suite!

This is the studio that Luke and I had...

Our little kitchen...

This stairway was just to the left of the attached doors between mine and Luke's room and the rest of it - it led up to the loft that the boys shared.

This was our view from the attached doors between the rooms - lots of room for the family to congregate and eat delicious meals and fellowship with people.  The living room was to the left, kitchen to the right, Mom and Dad's room straight ahead, next to the very large bathroom!

Dad checking to make sure we can fit everything in the fridge... we did ;)

William, what a dork ;)

Huge bathroom with two sinks and TONS of space!

Mom and Dad's room.

Our first family dinner in Kellogg! :)

After our Costco trip - a necessity with 8 of us! :)

Boys and their computers ;)

Sorting all the baby clothes that Luke's coworker Christina gave us - what a blessing!!

At least half of these are in Missouri now, keeping Sacha's baby Emma nice and cozy! :)

The view outside of our suite - so lovely!

The tram that goes up the ski hill - more on that later!

The boys made paper planes (yes they are all over 20 years old) and were trying to fly them up into the loft... of course I had to capture this ;)

They eventually made it work ;) haha!

We were in a gorgeous, open and bright space for church every day - it was lovely!

The adorable children's choir practicing for their big day (they did an awesome job, so cute!)

Luke and I had a fun afternoon in Coeur D'Alene - we went to a great antique mall (I found an awesome 12 month sized crinoline for $10!), checked out a great toy store, walked around the cute little downtown area, and saved the day when we found that someone had left their credit card in the outside US bank ATM (Luke called and we dropped it off at the local Wells Fargo bank)

Some weird creatures/scarecrows in a local park.... odd!

Luke talking to Wells Fargo about the credit card we found!

Quite possibly the largest gumball machine I've ever seen! :)

We had a really fun family dance one evening - lots of fun :)

Haha, look who's in the middle of the chicken dance! ;)

This is Luke's boogie/dancing face! haha!

William had been "challenging" Dave to random contests and challenges - one of which was an arm wrestling competition.  Luke joined in....

And then they had a beer guzzling one....obviously...

On 3...

And away they go!

Dave's done!!

Luke's done!!

William was having a tough time ;) LOL!

He eventually did finish ;)  Just a wee bit later than everyone else! haha!

We went to the historic little town of Wallace, ID one afternoon - we hit up a couple of antique stores, went on a mining tour, checked out the local brewery, a pawn shop (where they sold many stuffed creatures, bears, cougars, etc), and enjoyed the old architecture.

Luke testing out his sampler platter of local beer :)

Ali getting in on the sampler action...

I liked how they named these things ;)...

We got the GREATEST shakes here - everybody else got huckleberry, and we got blackberry... SO good! 

Our serious face....

Luke's creepy face, HA!

My "bump" is getting bigger and bigger! :)

One afternoon after church we went for a ride in the gondola that was part of our resort - it goes all the way up to the top of the mountain where the ski area is.  It's apparently one of the longest gondola rides in north America - it was quite pretty!

All of us!  Luke wanted this picture taken because Dave, Ali, Will and Jordan were going hiking for a couple hours, so he wanted a photo to show the search and rescue team if they got lost! :) haha, good idea baby ;)

On one of our last nights we went to a great pub/restaurant for dinner called Capone's - it was featured on Diners, Drive-ins & Dives, so we thought it would be worth it to check it out.  Was it ever!  Delicious food, and lots of fun :)

That was also the evening that Luke and I received possibly the best news ever.... His Permanent Residency paperwork has been approved and he can FINALLY move up to Canada to stay!!!  I will write more on that tomorrow, as I know I need to do an update post as well! :)  but let this photo sum up how overwhelmed we were... it was absolutely surreal :)

We had a great farewell lunch on the Last Great Day - it was a really nice way to sum up the Feast and visit with everyone one last time.

On our last night we had a big "eat and drink all the leftovers so we don't have to take much home!!" party! :)  It was a lot of fun - everyone brought their leftover food and drinks and we are and drink til we were very much stuffed... and still had some left over to bring home the next day!!

It was a really wonderful Feast - inspired and uplifting messages, lots of great company, and of course lots of wonderful moments with just me and my man :)  It was a Feast to remember for sure - our last as a family of two, the one where we found out we would be reunited SOON!  Great memories, and of course over way too fast!