Constantly amazed...

George has been here for 11 days and I am still in awe! I catch myself thinking, "What time is it in Ghana? Can I call him?" Then I remember, he's 15 minutes away! I can call him, I can text him (for free) and I can see him when my work day is over! It hasn't gotten old and I hope it never does! We are so thankful to be together and to begin our forever life in just a few days! God is so good.

Yesterday, George was able to come with me and the kids I watch (almost 2 and 3 months) and run some last minute wedding errands. It was SO much fun to have him with me and I always love seeing him with kids. After we had done most of our errands, both kids fell fast asleep in the car, so we decided to steal a front seat date! As we were sitting in a parking lot, eating burgers from a drive-thru and drinking Diet Coke I realized......this is our life in 5 years. Hahaha! Seriously though, it's not just visits anymore, this our real life!

Having him here melts away the pain, anxiety and loneliness that have filled so much of the past several years. I never imagined life could be this wonderful! Each day gets better and I am excited for all of our tomorrows!

Last night we met with our officiant and went over the ceremony. It was so sweet! We are excited to exchange these vows and prayers in front of our family and friends and to celebrate all that God has done! It's just so amazing that it's finally happening!

In other news, George's SSN came today! It was faster than expected and we are happy to have it so we can move forward and join our lives on paper-I can't wait to have things in BOTH of our names!

Things continue to go well, the hardest part right now is slowing down. We have been happily meeting people, trying new things, going here and there and all sorts of busy stuff. It's been great, but we are ready to begin settling into our life together and to find our normal. We are SO EXCITED about the wonderful wedding my parents are giving us (stay tuned for an awesome blog post about it:) but we're excited for life too!

Job seeking and wedding planning...

Yesterday, George went to our church's Job Seekers Network. It was completely amazing! He was blessed and encouraged (and because of that, so was I) and got some great tips! He'll keep going and the wonderful people there will continue to help him understand the American way of hiring and to encourage him in this search and new chapter. What a great church! We are so thankful and excited!

Yesterday was also my sister's Birthday and her birthday party/personal shower. TOO. MUCH. FUN. We laughed and laughed, and I must say, you don't really know someone until you see the type of gift they bring to a "personal shower". Haha! During said shower, George and my dad had man time. My dad introduced George to two of his close friends, Lowes and Best Buy. They had an equally good time.

In other news....our wedding is SO CLOSE!! I can't believe it! Unfortunately, I am working MORE, not less in the days that lead up to it, so I am doing some juggling and leaning on my family and friends to help out! I used up all my stress on immigration, so I'm pretty chill about it all, though I keep having dreams about forgetting something. Oh well, the most important part is here now! It will be great and I am so excited-my mom has been working really hard to make this a perfect day for us. I really can't believe it's so close!

I have been terrible about taking and posting pictures! Soon, I'll put some up, but at the very least, there will be a wedding post with all the good stuff!

Great, great day!

Today George wen to church with me! Awesome. We haven't been to church together in more than a year! It was so wonderful. He really likes the church I've been going to and we're excited to get plugged in together!

It's been a good weekend that has passed too quickly!!! We are counting down to the wedding and looking forward to finding our normal. God is so good and we are so blessed!!!

Dream come true!

This is day 4 of George being here and I'm still on cloud nine...I hope that never goes away! He is doing so great adjusting to life here, it's been a very busy 4 days! A lot of people are asking how he's doing, so I thought I'd fill y'all in a little bit.

George is fitting with my family SO well-he was our missing puzzle piece. He's always loved my family because they are my family. But now, he loves my family because he knows them (and vice-versa). Watching them interact together is quite possibly the greatest thing ever! I have waited and prayed for years to have the people I loved most be together! Now they are and it's better than I ever imagined! I'm at a loss for words to describe how wonderful it is and how completing it is for me.

George is the same man I fell in love with in Ghana. But there is something about him being outside of his norm that seems to magnify all the things I love about him. For instance...

He has always been very teachable, but in Ghana, he already knew so much. I am really enjoying watching him learn and observe things here. He's a quick study! He already clears my dishes from the table, the way my dad does for my mom....it's precious!

He's always been concerned for my well being, but for the first time, I get a "Call me when you get home." [swoon] The best part is, he can't actually wait for me to get home, he ends up calling me about the time I pull up to the gate at my apartment. LOVE. IT.

He's still adventurous! George has been so wonderful and easy going about trying new things, and there have been a LOT of new things to try! Concerning food, he likes most things (including Chick-Fil-A, Diet Dr. P, and strawberries-heck yes!) and only has a few dislikes so far-guacamole is one of them (oh well, more for me!). On his first full day here, he helped my dad put a piece of furniture together-that is NOT something that happens in Ghana, and he did a wonderful job! He's also a natural at Wii and I can't wait for a tennis showdown!

I'm kind of rambling because things are just so fabulous and I can't really put it into words. I'm so excited! Excited for today and excited for all the tomorrows to come!

What a man, what a man.

His first air travel took him 8,416 miles, over 29 hours and through 3 Continents. Wow.

......

My man is HERE!!!!!!

It was a harrowing journey, one that included lots of new experiences and struggles for George. (And one that included frantic phone calls and tears for me, when my man didn't get off his plane!) But alas, he's here. We can begin our forever!!

[Breakfast, THIS morning, TOGETHER in TEXAS]

When I began planning my first Ghana trip four years ago, I had no idea that I would meet this amazing man. I also had no idea what we would be fighting in order to be together. These last 18 months have been particularly hard. We have experienced so much! We have cried and struggled, we have learned a lot and aged even more! We have grown closer to one another and closer to our God. We have worried and planned and felt greater disappointment than we thought was possible. We have waited and waited and waited. We have been very alone. At last, we have triumphed!

I have been dreaming of picking George up at MY airport for more than 3 years....it finally happened!! There are no words to describe my joy. Complete is the closest thing I can think of. Praise God!!!

Woezor, George!!!

You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you!I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told. -Psalm 40:5

Heck. Yes.

VISA IN HAND!!!!!

George has his "golden ticket" to enter the US! It's no longer a dream, but a reality. We are so excited!!!

This has been such a long journey and we are thankful to God for getting us through and thankful to our families and dear friends for supporting us. I just can't believe it!!!!!

Breathe...just breathe.

I can't believe George will be picking up his visa in the morning! It's so shocking and exciting! Somewhere in my heart and mind I really didn't think this would happen. We are both getting so pumped. Several times today I realized that tomorrow is the day and that in x number of days he will be HERE...I nearly cried at the thought of that! I'm so full of joy and anxiety!

We are so thankful to God that this part of our immigration journey is almost over!

2 days 'til visa pick up!!!

Ahhhhh!!! Yay!!

5 days...and other things.

FIVE days until George picks up his visa!! I am officially excited!

My car eventually started. It's a weak Texas car. Apparently, one below freezing cold start took all the juice out of the battery and it had to warm up/recharge for a while before it would start again. I'll remember that the next time it's that cold, though I hope it's a very long time before it's THAT cold again! Heat, when will you come back to me?

I have plan for the unwanted call and am choosing not to worry about it!

As for that thing I probably wasn't supposed to hear....well, I'm taking quiet action. I will decide what to say and when to say it later. I have a pretty good poker face to people who don't know me very well, so I think I can keep things on my terms for a while. I'm trying to relax about it, trying is the operative word!

I have the best little brother. After my hard day on Friday, we went out to dinner to unwind. He wouldn't let me talk about stressful things and kept me laughing. We went to Pei Wei-at about 7, I had only consumed around 300 calories for the whole day so I was HUUUUUNNGRY! While we waited for our food, I had 8 fortune cookies (I know, ridiculous). The first one had a stupid fortune about patience. Showing his support, Little Brother snatched it, shoved it in his mouth and ate it! Classic. We laughed all night long. I sure do love my little brother!

African Cup of Nations has begun! (For you soccer illiterates, it's like the African soccer Super Bowl) George is one happy guy. :) Anyone know of any sports bars that will have coverage in the Austin area?

Trusting...

I've had a kind of tough week; I can't really pin point what has made this a tough week, but it is.. Last night I went to bed thanking God for all the good things I have going for me and praying/longing for a happy Friday. Friday's are great.

I woke up and forced myself to get out of bed (it was 20 degrees!!!). TGIF!! I did my normal stuff, got in my car and drove to the mailboxes at my apartment. I checked my mail and ran back to my car. Then....it didn't start. Nooooooooo! I tried again, no go. So I called my mom and waited in the cold...and tried again. My mom was great, she showed up and took me to work. I'm worried about how much this might cost though.

Then I went to work. Things were just okay. Until I heard something I shouldn't have. Something that will affect George and my future considerably. I don't know what to do. I'm worried.....my day got worse.

Then I had a voicemail. A voicemail from an agency I prefer not to name. Yuck. That worries me a lot. I don't know what to do.

Proverbs says: Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

I'm trying hard to trust in the Lord-my understanding of today is, bad, bad, bad. In mind I'm seeing the worst case for each of these situations. It's hard to hand it all over to Him, hard to know what exactly to do.

A bunch of things...

There are so many things going through my head right now...it's hard to even know what to say.

My brother and sister-in-law lost their baby. My heart breaks for them! I can't imagine their pain and it's terrible to me that there is nothing anyone can do to help them feel better. God and time is what is needed, and that hurts to watch. If you think of them, please pray for them.

I'm nervous about our life. All we have done for years is work and struggle to be together and dream of the one day. We've come so close, so many times....will this really happen? I know in my mind all the things about trust, not fearing, blah, blah, blah. But in reality, those things are hard to cling to when you've been jerked around over and over again. I can't wait for life with George, I am so excited about that. But it's still hard for me to think/believe that this process is nearly over and that he will actually come SOON.

I hate to admit this, but I'm really struggling with a relationship in my life (that same one....will it ever end). This relationship is often hurtful and plain irksome...I just want it to be over. But that's wrong of me. I don't know what to do, which only adds to the pain and irritation. I wish I didn't care.

Being back at work is good, but a big change from the last four months. I still love my job though and I have really great bosses. Thanks, God.

I long for boring. Seriously.

When I talk to people and they hear about my life, my family, my relationships, I often see a look of longing (and sometimes shock) in their faces. They want the drama and excitement that I have. As for me, I'd like to give boring a try. My life has never been boring and in all honesty, it probably never will be. Plain would be nice.....regular even? There has been so much uncertainty and change recently (which I know is life) but I am really, really hoping for some stability...normalcy. I think I'm a control freak...which is why all of this LACK OF CONTROL is killing me!

Keepin' busy...

Happy New Year everyone!

I have been keeping busy this week! Two of my friends came to town anyway, even though there was no wedding. So we've been having a blast and catching up and getting so excited for the future. I've been searching for airfare like crazy and go back and forth about waiting for "visa in hand" or buying right away. Also....I start back to work tomorrow!! I'm a little bit nervous, which is so weird, because this used to be my normal. I'm excited too and I know with a full time work week, the time before G arrives will fly!!

So that's all, nothing new, but still all good!