I needed that.

Finally decided to make a appearance on this blog!

I would like to tell you about a awesome experience that happened this weekend. On friday night I was contacted by Kayla Muraya. She was someone that found the gospel because we shared it with her. It was an amazing story of faith and action. We found her tracting the first week of the transfer and she was baptized within 6 weeks. As a missionary in the south, it was a miracle! As time went on she got married and has traveled the country with her husband Steve. Who is from Kenya. Way cool, I know. We spent a couple hours catching up over food. During our visit we went through my mission journals seeing what I wrote giving them my perspective of what happened. Which helped me realize the power of what I had done while a missionary. On your mission the whole point is to invite everyone that you see to come unto Christ. Hopefully that bears some sort of fruit. Since I came home I have thought a lot about that. I really want my life to be a example of living the gospel, touching peoples lives, and enjoying everything that happens along the way. The hard part about looking back is you cant see the end until it is the end. I have had times where I have felt my efforts didn't add up to much, outside of what it did for me. So, when Kayla said "If it wasn't for Stewart and you, I wouldn't be where I am now." She continued to elaborate on that explaining that because she joined the church. She went to Virginia selling pest control, which took her to Vegas, where she met her husband. Which has brought her a lot of joy. Just because Elder Stewart and I went tracking in our own apartment complex after planning meeting. A apartment complex that was tracted every time there were new Elders in the area. In fact we had to hide from the apartments managers from seeing us. We overcame the stigma that it had already been all knocked out. Because we did it caused this huge reaction that I wouldn't and couldn't have seen there or after my mission. The ripple effects of what happened aren't even done! That's what is crazy! I am so thankful for Steve & Kayla coming over! Its good to remember. 

-Ray

Too Fast

Pretty sure I'm in denial about moving... Every time I think about it, I push the thought away and out of my head. I'm afraid that in doing so I'm gonna have one big giant melt down, instead of just letting myself cry it out whenever the thought comes up.

I have stuff to blog about with my going to the Matthew Good concert on Tuesday, but I'm afraid that in doing so that's acknowledging my leaving Edmonton. That concert was so much about how my friendship with Monie has come full circle since our friendship really solidified because of concerts, particularly Matthew Good concerts. I guess I'm just not ready to let go of my home here in Canada yet, and writing about the things that I'm doing for the last time and to say goodbye make it too real that I'm leaving. Bah...

Ignoring things is just easier for now.

Monday is coming too fast...

How Do People Do It?

I don't get it. People move away from home all the time and I'm sure it's hard for them, but I'm seriously freaking out right now.

I've decided that I'm officially starting my trek to Colorado on November 21. That means in two weeks I'll be leaving my home, the place where I grew up, forever. To be perfectly honest, I'm more terrified than excited right now. Don't get me wrong. I'm way happy to be with my husband for good now and to have our little family together again, but it's really hard to be here in Canada and seeing the pain in my family's eyes when they're around me. They're all happy that I'm with them and that they get to play with Warren, but I can see it. In the back of their minds they're thinking about how they won't be able to see me in person and they won't be able to hold Warren soon. It breaks my heart to see the pain that me leaving is causing.

I'm so grateful for the understanding that everyone has that I need to be with my husband, but I'm so sorry for the hurt that it's causing them. I'm so thankful for technology that will be able to keep us connected. I will rely on that a lot.

Tonight we had a family dinner at my Grandma and Grandpa's and it was amazing. I had such a good time. Things like that are what I'm going to miss the most. I love being able to get together with my whole family each Sunday and just laugh and enjoy each other's company. It's going to be up to me to start new traditions with my family in Colorado but I fear it'll feel empty without the people I've had around me my whole life.

So how do people make it through this transition? How can I do this and not be so sad?? Bless my husband for being willing to put up with me post-family separation. He's a good man.

I'm so thankful at times like this for the Church because of the instant family it provides. Ray keeps telling me how excited the Ward is for me to be there, and I'm so thankful for people who are fully prepared to totally embrace me, both those I already know and love and those I don't but soon will.

These next two weeks will be full of emotion. I take comfort in the fact that I know I'll be coming back home to visit in September though to celebrate the homecoming of my amazing little missionary brother. Maybe if we're lucky, we might even be able to celebrate Warren's first birthday up here too. I can make it to September, and by then I'll have had more time to adjust to my new life and find joy in where I'm at.

This is the path I chose. I just didn't expect it to be so difficult. But I know Heavenly Father will help me along the way.

My Kid is Fun

So now that Warren has reached a stage where he's actually interactive, I've started recording videos of him. I'm such a typical mother. haha.

This week Warren has started playing in the tub. He used to just lay there in the water and look at me with this "what the heck are you doing to me" look. Now he's discovered that when he kicks, something actually happens. He's actually a bit camera shy in this video but normally, he's got a look of complete bliss on his face when he's kicking around in the water. But this video is still ridiculously cute.

I also went to Babies R Us yesterday to find a rattle for Warren. They have pink rattles, but they don't have any boy rattles. I was disappointed. They DID however have JOLLY JUMPERS!!! Those things are the best, and I know when I was really little that I LOVED it. So because it was on sale, my agency was taken away and I HAD to buy it. hahaha. It took him a little bit, but he eventually started figuring it out. Enjoy. My kid is amazing.

Final Step. Calgary.

My kid is already more travelled than his father. He's two months old. Thank you immigration(???).

Yesterday was a big day. I drove to Calgary at 3:30am in order to make it to the US Consulate there for my 8:30 appointment. Yes I realize I left 5 hours early, but I knew I would be stopping to feed Warren before we got there, and I also knew I would be dealing with rush hour traffic on Deerfoot Trail... It made sense to me. Good thing too. I ended up getting to the Consulate at 7:50. Perfect timing because I wanted to be there by 8:00am at the latest. I needed to report Warren's birth as a US citizen born outside of the US, apply for his passport and his social security number.

The drive there was... dark... 3:30am is a time I'm not usually acquainted with, especially on the road. There was minimal traffic, so things went pretty smoothly. Warren was out cold in his carseat thanks to my amazing mom who tried her hardest to keep him awake in the hours before we left while I got in some much needed preparatory sleep.

I stopped in Red Deer, parked in a deserted Staples parking lot (because it was 5:30am) to feed Warren and decided that I would just try to find a place in Calgary to change him. That plan was good in theory. After continuing on the rest of the trip, with Warren falling into a milk coma almost immediately, I had to deal with my first snow storm of the year. It was scary... and dark... so all the snow flakes reflecting the light from my headlights and those of the pre rush hour traffic didn't help with my visibility. I was a trooper though. A responsible one at that. I slowed down to ensure the safety of me and my child. I feel like I experienced the protective mother instinct in full force as I was driving through that crazy snow storm. I hit full on rush hour traffic once I got to Balzac. (That's right. Balzac. My favourite place to celebrate with my friends via text. "BALZAC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!") Thanks to my handy dandy GPS, I was directed exactly to where I needed to go.

Since I'm not too familiar with Calgary unless it's to get to Peter's Drive In or getting to Banff, I couldn't tell by the address that the Consulate was right in the middle of downtown until I got there. Downtown = Terrible parking. I was simultaneously trying to figure out which building it was after the GPS told me I had arrived at the destination and trying to find parking. I ended up pulling into this random private parking lot just to get my bearings and prepare for my next attempt at finding public parking. Then a security guard came up to me because I had invaded his territory. haha. I told him I was looking for the Consulate and he said I was close and would direct me to the right place. Then he stopped and thought a bit, then told me I could park there and directed me to a stall. After getting everything situated and prepared to get into the Consulate (baby in sling, papers, diapers and wipes, wallet in purse) the security guard pointed to the building and told me it would be $10 to park there. I kinda did a double take, and then thought to myself that he was probably just gonna pocket that $10 for himself. haha. But I thought, whatever. It would be just as expensive no matter where I parked. Good on that guy for seizing the opportunity.

So the building that the Consulate is in is completely unmarked. The address isn't even on the outside of the building. Dad said that's probably done on purpose to deter anti-Americans. haha. I guess... You can always count on Americans to be overly cautious with their security.

My plan was to try to feed Warren a bit and change him before I went in so he would be happy, but that ended up not happening. A line was already starting to form when I got there and I learned in Montreal that you don't wanna be far back in the line because that means more waiting. More waiting with a little baby = potentially bad. I was told that I wasn't allowed to bring any bags or purses inside the Consulate, and could check it at this deli place that was across the hall. I didn't really have any choice, even though I had made sure to take only what I needed and put it in my purse before I went in. I went to the deli place and emptied everything out of my purse (wallet, papers, diapers, nursing cover, and spit up blanket) and had to pay $5 for them to hold my empty purse. Dealing with all that loose stuff and a baby isn't the easiest thing ever...

I had to go through airport equivalent security, which meant taking Warren out of the sling, and going through a metal detector, then going to sign in with a lady that told me I needed an Express Post envelope so the things I was applying for could get mailed back to me. So I went to another place in the lobby of the building where I paid $15 for this envelope. After telling all this to my Dad, he said "Wow. Their economy must REALLY be struggling then". haha. Anyways. I went back to the Consulate and they made me go through the metal detector AGAIN, so I had to take Warren out of the sling, blah blah blah, all over again. The difficulty level was increased by the amount of loose things I had to hold on to because of my lack of purse.

I was lead by another security guard to the elevators, and once I got off, oh guess what... ANOTHER METAL DETECTOR!!! This guy was nice though and didn't make me take Warren out of the sling again. He gave me a number, and FINALLY I was in. I had the second number so my wait wasn't very long.  When I was called up, I was quite pleased that the lady that was helping me was very kind. She asked for all of the stuff she needed, and thanks to my experience in Montreal, I was fully equipped. When she asked for the proof that Ray has lived in the States for at least 5 years of his life (which is what I didn't have in Montreal), I handed over this stack of papers that Ray had sent to me, and she got wide eyed. haha. It was awesome. She was impressed with my preparedness. She went to photocopy everything, and I went to pay for everything (not cheap), then I had to sign some things and TAH DAH!!! All finished! I was told that the passport and report of birth certificate would be mailed to me within two weeks and his social security card will be mailed to our apartment in Colorado in a couple months.

I'm SOOO relieved that everything is finally finished. I've got all my papers, and Warren's are coming right away. I can officially start planning my great exodus... That's not without lots of emotions ranging the entire spectrum though. I'm so happy to finally be able to be with my husband permanently, but I'm freaked out more than I can express at the thought of being away from my mom, the rest of my family and my friends that I've had for years. I'm gonna suddenly change rolls and I'll be the one in charge of Sunday meals. No more showing up at my parents and being fed. I feel like I'm just walking into a lot of responsibility and change all at once, so it's really overwhelming. I'm just glad I'll have my husband to support me, and our little family will be able to grow together. I know I've already got great friends in Colorado waiting for me, and I know I'll make great new friends. It's just a lot of scary change that's freaking me out pretty bad...

But life must go on. And as of now I'm tentatively planning on leaving on November 21. I'm driving down, and plan on making it a 3 day trip, which means I'll be there to celebrate American Thanksgiving. Since Warren needs to eat every four hours, it'll be a good way to make sure I stop and rest. He's such an amazing traveller. I'm really blessed to have the baby I do.

I'll accept any and all prayers asking for strength to make this transition smoothly. I need all the strength I can get. Thanks friends. :)

The Best Part of Montreal

Let me just clarify. I'm sure Montreal doesn't suck. I'm just not in the right phase of life to have really enjoyed it. Currently my life is all about my baby. Elevators and ramps and stroller friendly places are my friend. Since Montreal is severely lacking in all those areas, it made me really mad. I want to be able to enjoy things with my baby, and when things are set up that prevent me from being able to include him, I get frustrated. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.

I'm not ready to entertain the idea of going back there yet though. Montreal was never really on my list of places I wanted to go. Once I move to Colorado, there will be other places in Canada that I wanna visit that get a much higher priority. So if you decide to go to Montreal, please don't let my negative experience influence you. I'm sure you'll have a great time (as long as you're not pushing a stroller and have a rain coat).

The Interview

As most of you already know, the interview I had to get my immigration visa was successful. Let me tell you what a gong show that whole experience was though...

So I had an appointment letter saying my interview was scheduled for 8:00am. My initial plan was to take a cab to the Consulate because I didn't wanna have to worry about getting lost in downtown Montreal all by my lonesome. Mom and I tried to find the Consulate before the day came just so that I knew what building to look for, and it ended up being a really good thing we did. Posted on the door is a sign that says you can't bring in large bags, large strollers, liquids, electronics of any kind, and all sorts of ridiculous things like that. Had we not found the building beforehand, I woulda shown up with my giant stroller and diaperbag. Since I couldn't bring the stroller, that meant I couldn't bring the carseat, so I had to come up with an alternative.

Throughout the week mom and I had taken the bus a few times downtown because we learned the hard way that the Metro was just not gonna work for us with all the stairs and crap. Because we'd taken the bus a few times, I felt comfortable enough to take it on my own the morning of the interview. That meant I was gonna have to take Warren in the sling I brought. Good thing I brought that too. I would have been screwed if I didn't have it.

I woke up at 5:00am (eastern time, so technically it was 3:00am mountain time.. ugh) to give me enough time to get ready, feed Warren before we left, and catch the bus. Things went surprisingly flawless so I was quite pleased. I got on and off the bus without incident, and got to the Consulate at 7:25 that morning. As I got to the building, there were people lined up outside the door, because apparently the doors weren't open yet. There were about 15 people in front of me, and people consistently kept coming and I'm pretty sure the line doubled by the time people were starting to get let in.

I had to go through the equivalent of airport security to get in the building though. Empty pockets, take off my hoodie, take Warren out of the sling, put my purse through an x-ray machine, and walk through a metal detector. I was directed down some stairs to a waiting room, which just kept on getting more and more full. Eventually the security guard told people to pile in the elevator and go up to the 19th floor. When the elevator doors opened, all people's manners went out the window, and were just concerned with themselves getting on the elevator before everyone else. Nobody seemed to care that I was carrying a tiny baby in my arms, so I kept getting pushed back behind people and went up with the second batch of people.

When we got off the elevator, we had to go check in with this lady, and she started giving us numbers. It was at this point I realized that the 8:00 interview time was a complete lie. Everyone there had a letter saying they had an interview at 8:00. I knew it sounded too organized to be for real... So people kept pushing past one another to get the lowest numbers.. It was chaos. I was not pleased.

My plan, since I was there, was to report Warren's birth. Since he's a US citizen born outside of the US, I had to report his birth at the Consulate so that they'll issue a certificate that proves his US citizenship and allows me to take him across the border with me. The lady asked me where my husband was, and I told her that he was in Colorado, and she just stared at me then informed me that she can't do anything without him there. I told her that I was not aware of that, and as far as I understood, that as long as I had a notarized letter of authorization from my husband (which I did have), it was just as good. She again stared at me, then told me that it says on the website that my husband needed to be there. I read that website a thousand times and nowhere did I read that he needed to be there. It just said that parent(s) need to be present with the child when reporting a birth. So she went to talk to her supervisor. When she came back, she asked me for my marriage certificate, which I didn't have because the interview people had it. Then she told me that my husband needed to be there for my interview too (which I knew he didn't need to be) and then she asked me "Did you even LOOK at the website??" Oh man... My blood started boiling... I hate getting treated like an idiot... She went and got her supervisor though, and she was a lot more reasonable. The supervisor explained to me that in order for me to report Warren's birth without Ray present, I needed to bring proof that Ray has lived in the States for at least 5 years so I needed a school record or pay stub, or something along those lines. I had brought something that proved he was living there right now, because I had read that on the website, but apparently I misunderstood what it meant. The supervisor was a lot less condescending though, so when she explained to me that unfortunately they can't process the report of birth without those documents, I was mildy irritated and less infuriated. She said that as soon as I had those documents that I could make an appointment at the Consulate in Calgary and get it taken care of there. It's still inconvenient, but it's manageable to go to Calgary.

I went to go sit back down, and no sooner after I did that, my number for the interview came up. So I went to the place they told me to go, where they took my fingerprints and looked through all the paperwork they had from us. It was nothing like I pictured it would be. I wasn't sitting across from someone at a desk, I was standing on the other side of a glass panel with a dude on the other side in front of his computer. The guy doing the interview was really nice though. I'm pretty sure he was gay too. haha. That made it even more enjoyable. He was all smiley and said "Sooooo... Tell me about yourself! You married an American. You obviously just had an adorable little baby. How did all of this come about???" haha!!! So I told him "our story" and he just smiled and asked me a couple more questions about where I worked before and where I would be living in the States. Turns out he graduated High School in Colorado Springs too. Small world eh? But because of everything I had just gone through with Warren's paperwork, my mind was totally somewhere else and I didn't even think to ask him what school it was he graduated from. Then he just said, "Well. I've approved your visa! Welcome to the United States!" I was kind of taken off guard because there was no warning. He just said it out of the blue! And again, since I was still processing all the stuff to do with Warren, I didn't give him the reaction I think he was expecting. I just said "Oh. Thanks." hahahahaha... He looked at me a little confused, but he continued on and explained to me that he was gonna keep my passport so they could stick the visa sticker inside of it and courier it back to me.

That was it! All done. Just like that. All this waiting and having to make the special trip to Montreal just for that. Yeesh.. They really need to get more than one Consulate capable of doing immigrant visa interviews. At least it was over though, and I didn't have to go back to that Consulate for Warren's stuff. So I got my marriage certificate back, and I was free to go.

By that time, I had been at the Consulate for three hours. I was in the first batch of people to get there in the morning though which ended up being a better thing than I woulda thought. By the time my interview was done, there were prolly around 200 people left waiting for their numbers to come up. I had number 11. Whew.

I brought a bottle to feed Warren, so I did that before I left and I also changed his diaper. That diaper change was pretty eventful and hilarious though. The change table was in the handicap stall, so I got him all situated and when I was in between taking the old diaper off and putting the new one on, he began to pee. My first reaction was to grab his leg and point him away from me, which meant he was pointing to the wall. He had a pretty impressive range too! He cleared everything and just hit the wall. HAHA!!! I didn't have anything to clean up other than the few drips he got on his leg. He just peed on the wall. Oh man. I was laughing pretty hard, and I was actually kinda proud of him. Hahahaha...

So that was my interview adventure. I talked to Ray as soon as I could after I got back to the place we were staying at and told him what I needed from him in order to report Warren's birth. We flew back to Edmonton the next day, and I got the papers I needed from Ray the day after that. So I've got the appointment scheduled in Calgary for Halloween morning. Here's hoping that everything goes well this time! I already got my passport back, so I have all the documents I need to cross the border, I just need this certificate for Warren to cross the border now. They print the certificates in the US, so it'll have to be mailed to me. So I've prolly got about three weeks left in Canada. That's both exciting and terrifying. haha.

Here's hoping all goes well in Calgary!! It's the last step!!!