worried

Mom called the other night to tell us that Gigi’s got a bad gallbladder & needs emergency surgery to have it removed. They said it may take a week or two before they can do it.

This morning she was in pain again, so she went to the ER. They found a mass on her pancreas, but say they think it is not cancerous. I’m so worried. She’s got to follow up with a doc.

I can’t even think about it.

Update & Montreal Review

Well, as most of you know, Thursday we were approved for our Visa. (Well, Steve was approved for HIS visa at least!).

Another minor victory as well, Steve’s mom and grandparents are coming to the wedding. I don’t know WHAT I said-but, I said it. I got really fed up on Easter & finally spoke up to his mom & by the end of the convo she was typing ’I love you Libby. I’m glad we talked. I’m coming to the wedding’, ect.

Also, by some miracle, Mom says that Mrs. Cathi has the catering ’taken care of’...I guess maybe people to help cook & serve? I’m not sure the details. Also, my very very gracious aunt in Texas is bringing 50lbs of beef brisket (supposed to be AWESOME!!!) AND she won’t let us pay her back for it-its a gift to us.......how blessed am I?

This is my review
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
March 26, 2008

Well, we arrived in Montreal yesterday @ around 12:30pm. Thank God for our amazing Nagivon!! Turn by turn it never guided us wrong once. We woke up around 4:20am, and pulled out at about 5:30am. We got thru Toronto before it got crazy-though it amazes me the amount of traffic going thru there at 6am.

Once thru there, the drive was a breeze. No traffic, snow, rain or backups. We got into Quebec around 11:30am and instantly the roads were much worse-not as well maintained as Ontario. Everything, of course, was in French. Kind of makes me feeling like I am in France. We got to the hotel (La Tour Centre Ville) and went in and at a little lunch at the Cafe. Food was okay. I had a ’Sangria’ wine cooler with my pasta salad and half roast beef sandwich. The wine cooler made me SO hot! We asked for an early check in and she said our rooms were available. Room in general-very mediocre. A lot of potential with the amount of space, though. Full Kitchenette, bathroom, sitting room, table and chairs, bed area, ect. Massive window and central location were the selling points for me!

Steve roamed a few hours and brought back groceries. We had dinner at Yu Hang (Chinese restaurant in the hotel).

Steve wanted to swim, so we went up to the Penthouse floor and we see a couple holding an x-ray in the hall and wonder if they are VJer’s too. We went to the pool room and have the suprise of our life-Tonya, Steve’s friend from Ottawa and Andy, her Scottish boyfriend!!! I’ve talked to her before, but never met her in person and we’ve been planning to get together for months. How completely weird they were there.......

The bed was horrible! I did manage to sleep through the night though. We’re going to try to go to the Notre Dame Basilica tomorrow. If we can get a cab, we shall! Interview tomorrow morning-EEK!!!!!!!


March 27th, 2008

Interview day!! We woke to sunny skies and as soon as we left the hotel, we got a pretty heavy downpour of snow. We were the first ones at the US Consulate this morning. A couple arrived at the consulate, and as her cab drove off she screamed ’OMG! MY PURSE IS IN THE CAB WITH MY PASSPORT IN IT!!’..........POOR THEM! They did track it back though in time to get in the building.

At exactly 7:30am, the doors were opened and we were first in line. I don’t know why it NEVER crossed my mind to bring ID, but I didn’t have it. I was like "PEACE OUT STEVE, SEE YA BACK AT THE HOTEL" and Steve was left standing looking dumbstruck. I came back to the hotel and was in a brainfart. Where WAS my passport??? I don’t know. I still don’t know. I just couldn’t leave Steve there alone, so I grabbed my MS drivers licence and headed back down to the consulate. Got taken through security and went downstairs to wait for the elevator, which was to be at 8:05am.

At 8:05am, the security guard came down and we were called up to get in the elevator. The security told me my ’husband’ was already at gate 9. I walked in the room and there Steve stood-SO relieved to see me!!!

Thank God I did come back because I had to write a letter stating that I am free, clear and willing to marry him. Steve handed over all of the paperwork requested, no evidence though. She said we were approved and then we waited for him to be called for fingerprints, and pay his $131 American cash. He then waited for his interview, which was like 1 minute long or something.

I did not go in with him for that. They asked him:

-How we met
-When we decided to marry
-Why he decided to move down there (south)
-What is he going to do for work
-Has he ever been arrested

Simple enough, eh? So, we left with HUGE smiles on our faces and came back to the hotel (now it wasn’t snowing, figures) and called EVERYONE!

Word to the wise, as most of you know, DO NO BRING BRIEFCASES!! ONLY BRING CLEAR BAGS-no electronics, including the remote for your car that is on your keychain. DON’T leave your purse or other belongings in the cab ;)

The better organized you are, the better. I placed each separate document in its own malina folder, well labeled-they were impressed.

Now we have to get moved. I just reserved the U-pack moving company. Thankfully our rate went down about $200!!! I have less than two weeks to get everything packed up. Steve will be working another 5 days & he’ll be done! We should be back home (to my home) by April 15th. We have one month & 9 days to plan the entire wedding.........EEK!!!

Blessings,
Libby

Happy 2 year anniversary to me & steve!

Well-today is me & Steve’s 2 year anniversary! YAY! I can’t believe its been 2 years already, but at the same time it feels like 5 years....hard to believe what it was like without him....I believed that one day God would bring me an amazing man to share my life with, and He has! I never believed it would be possible to have someone so wonderful in my life-someone who is wonderful all of the time. He’s amazing. Almost always cheerful, never argumentative. We get along. We just.......do. When we have an issue, we talk about it & move on...its what I always imagined & hoped for-but never thought it could be real.

I was praying & praying (and had other ppl praying) that we would find out our interview date by our anniversary. We have been waiting since around September to find out our interview date in Montreal, and I knew that they always send the interview letter about a month ahead of time. It finally seemed like it might be here soon, but still we had no letter in the mail. I was concerned because we have a lot of trouble here getting our mail for some reason-Steve’s mom has had problems with this for a while. So, needless to say I was getting overwhelmed & very emotional. I talked to a friend & he told me to just talk to God about it. So, at that moment that is exactly what I did.

Thursday night I decided to email Montreal & ask if they could email me an interview date, not even sure they could do this.

Friday, at about noon, I decided to take a nap. I woke up about 2 1/2 hours later, and there it was, in the inbox. They said we had an appointment scheduled for MARCH 27 (yes, less than 2 weeks from now!). I was so sleepy-but SO EXCITED. I called a BUNCH of people-so happy. Then of course, the reality set in of ALL that we have to get ready for. Moving Steve into another country...the interview itself...planning a wedding...trying to find a job. My head started swirling!

What amazes me the most is that after so many months waiting--I was just begging God to find out this date before our anniversary. I wanted to know He was listening. I wanted to know that His hand was on this & that everything is perfect in His timing. I don’t care what anyone says-this is our miracle.

I didn’t sleep well last night, but I’m trying to follow Steve’s advice and deal with ONE thing at a time. You simply must do this to survive this immigration process-which seems never ending. As for now, I’m trying to focus on being prepared for the interview in Montreal. Next, I will begin preparing for the move down. Once I’m down, I’ll be preparing for the wedding & honeymoon.

This is such a journey....one that has seemed endless...but to see the light in Steve’s eyes last night & the way he hugged me when we saw each other & found out this news------its been worth it. Waiting is difficult. Nobody likes waiting. But in the end, everything is worth the wait. Now, everything feels like it is moving at lightning speed.

Keep us in your thoughts & prayers....there is SO much to think about, plan & do. Thank you ALL for your good thoughts & prayers & support. You have been my shoulder for so very long...and I couldn’t have better support.

over the top

I am completely overwhelmed.

1)Why hasn't my interview letter come yet?
2)Why is there so much drama to walk back into in MS?
3)What in the hell is wrong with my mother in law?
4)How am I going to get a job?
5)I am trapped in this cold apt, and I want to run. I would run to Pittsburgh, but there is drama there, I would run home, but there is drama there. I am safe here, but SICK of sitting in this apt. I just want to run away.
6)WHY WONT MY LAWYER MAIL ME BACK!?!?!? I'm so tired of emailing her & getting no results. There is probably little time...and she hasn't mailed me back!
7).........more snow is coming *cries*................................................

I don't think even 8 Xanax could help how I'm feeling today.

My buddy Jeremy just reminded me though of something I should do...get on my face, cry & just let it all out. Thats where I'm going.

Peace out.