Some encouragement...

Last night we went to a young marrieds small group through our church. It was so wonderful! We didn't actually get to the study, because after prayer requests everyone talked and had questions for us! People were so sweet and open and encouraging, unfortunately, I'm not used to that. It was nice to tell the story on this side of the outcome.

One of the things we really enjoyed was hearing the prayer requests and what's going on in the lives of other couples who are just a little further down the road (one couple is going to be foster parents and another are considering moving to East Asia). We are still gasping for air from our immigration battle and the whirlwind of settling into American/married life that the we have trouble considering what life may look like down the road-we're still pinching ourselves that we are together! It was a really great reminder that we will actually find our normal and be able to see what God has for us in various areas of our life. We were sweetly reminded that it really hasn't been that long and the dust really will settle. Really.

George had a great time talking to the guys and everyone was very encouraging to him about his job situation and acclimating to America. They were also very complimentary about his English, which was great boost of confidence. It was just good and we were both so blessed by it and thankful for such a sweet time.

Keep on truckin'

Yesterday I was writing a post about being discouraged. I ended up not posting it...it was yucky and not very me.

Life is truly wonderful in so many areas, but I still worry about the what-ifs. I worry a lot. I worry that maybe my husband won't get a job and I'll lose mine and we'll end up in massive debt and everything will go wrong and then we'll get deported. Yes, it sounds ridiculous. Less so in my mind. I wonder sometimes if the struggle ever ends. Will we ever have smooth sailing? Then I answer myself, do I deserve smooth sailing? I don't.

I remember the first time I went to Ghana (and met my man!!!) things started out a little rough. I was mugged only a few days in. My dreams of this wonderful trip turned into fear and doubt in an instant. I thought it was HUGE! I was ALONE in AF-RI-CA(!!!!) and had been VIOLENTLY MUGGED. Gasp! It was scary, but it wasn't the end of the world. I soon refocused and allowed God to be my comforter and to move forward in the purpose of my trip. It wasn't that big of a deal and only added to the adventure. One of my fellow volunteers commented that I just "keep on truckin" meaning when I hit a bump in the road, I keep going. That's what I want to do. Life is hard, even when it's good and I need to keep on truckin'!

I am worried, and I'm spiritually worn out from our immigration struggle. I know my God is bigger than that, but I don't even pretend to know what the outcome will be or what God being "big" looks like. So the adventure continues...

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. -Philippians 4:6

Hello, March! Hello, Stress! Hello, Bliss!

I can't believe it's March already! Last weekend was packed, which has bled into a tired (and too busy for my liking) week. My little sister got married on Saturday! We enjoyed the festivities, but there wasn't much resting going on.

Here we are at my sister's rehearsal.

We are both still on the job hunt, which can be very stressful and frustrating. Okay, it IS very stressful and frustrating! I am really, really not enjoying my job! It's changed a lot recently and to be extremely frank-I hate it. I feel underpaid, under appreciated and really just kind of abused. I'm also in a precarious position, because though they haven't told me, my boss will be relocating soon. I feel like if I speak up, they'll just let me go and hire a temp who doesn't know the difference. So I'm searching, searching and trying not to lose it in the meantime. Thanks for letting me complain. As for George, we did get some encouragement this week! We tried a new Career group at another church and it was FABULOUS! We are excited about the next 7 weeks of it and are praying for great things! Please pray with us that we will get better/jobs soon!

With all that being said, we still recognize how far we have come and are still thankful to be together and blissfully happy! Life is still good even when one part of it totally sucks.

I'm bad about posting (and taking!) pictures, but here are a few of the recent additions to our home. I'm pretty excited about them!

I'm so glad we finally put up curtains in the dining area-it's been my vision for months!

AHHHHH!!! The KitchenAid! This was my huge thing! George didn't really get the need for one of these, but he understands now. He's loving the cookies and breads I've been able to make in my limited time.

Is this...normal?

I think we are finding our normal. I'm shocked and very thankful!

We are still searching for jobs and that is still a HUGE prayer request for us and at times, worrisome. However, we balance that with the joy of being together, the blessing of having our needs taken care of and the realization that LOTS of people need jobs. This is a normal part of our normal life. :)

We have begun entertaining and it is so much fun! On Saturday we had our friends A and M over and it was such a blessing! George and M are getting closer and it's so good for them! We women love to watch them interact-it's very funny and so cute! I've never understood why people seek out friends who are just like themselves. I always thought it was boring and closed minded. I still feel that way, but I also think it's great to have some friends who are very similar. My friend A and I over the past several years have become a little more like one another and there is something comforting in that. A is bi-racial and her fiance M is from Italy. Having friends who really get the adjustment of moving from one country to another (as well as the stress it takes to have kept up that LD relationship), and the racism we have recently experienced is a real blessing! [Side note: I had hopes that in this progressive world, especially having so many Christian friends, that racism would not be something we dealt with. I was wrong.] Last night we got to hang out with them again when the guys played indoor soccer-too much fun!

Then on Sunday, after we had pretty much the best church service EVER, my parents came over and we had a very fun Raclette meal. If you don't know what Raclette is, click the hyperlink. When I visited my friends in Germany, we had a Raclette dinner and it was so cool. As a wedding gift, they gave us our very own grill and we are so excited!

Our huge news for Central TX is that it is SNOWING!! This is the biggest/most snow we have had in this area for at least 25 years. G is loving it and I'm excited too! It's very pretty.

This week is my sister's wedding (That's right, mine was a month ago and hers is this week. For those of you counting, my parents have married off 5 of their children in 21 months). We are excited to help and host my family at our apt after the event (though I'm ready for weddings to stop!). We have this weird tradition of getting together after a wedding. We eat fried chicken, unwind and talk about the day. It sounds weird once I write it, but I'm excited that we get to host!

So I think that's it, we sound more like a boring married couple now than the dramatic, bi-continental couple we were before....awesome!

1 month

Today is the one month mark since G has been in America! I can hardly believe it! Now that we have begun our forever, we don't really count days or anything, but I wrote this date on my calendar a while ago. ;)

Things are really wonderful! So much has happened in such a short amount of time and we are truly blessed. It feels so normal to be together here and to be living life, it shocks me that it's been such a short amount of time. This has been a packed month for George especially. He has experienced so much and has handled everything so well! I knew he would do well, but he has surprised me with how smoothly and quickly he has taken up life here. What a man!

The job hunt continues, we have faith and hope for good things to come! Please keep praying.

We are settling in just great and we may or may not be turning into homebodies! Ha! G is great at helping me be more water and electricity conscious, which for an American, I already was and I now find myself telling other people to turn the water off! He is a huge help around the house (I hardly do dishes, never iron and don't really clean the bathroom anymore) and he ALWAYS makes me laugh! Life is so fabulously different. Aside from just being in the same place- we are enjoying cooking together, grocery shopping, going to the gym (I have joined the ranks of really awesome wives who do their workout time and watch their husband for the rest...I like that system) making life plans and watching the Olympics! Life is so good and we are very blessed.

Wedding PICTURES!!

They're in reverse order, but whatever. Here are a few of my favs....

An update...

I'm slacking in my blogging lately. Oh well, life is wonderfully busy and fabulously less dramatic!

The job search is in full swing! The job seekers network at our church wasn't quite the best fit, so we are searching alone for the time being. G didn't really fit into their box of what a job seeker is, wants and needs. If someone doesn't understand or even sympathize with the whole new immigrant thing, then they tend to do more harm than good and be a discouragement. We don't need that right now! The down side of not going to the job thing anymore is that my dad spent time taking George and that was SO SWEET! I would hear how wonderful my dad is about as much as I heard about the actual job meeting! Adorable! We are very thankful for the support we get from my family.

We have tremendous faith that God will show us what to do and come through for us. We also understand it may not be as fast as we'd like or look the way we think it will. Before G arrived, the thought of both of us looking for work and how two new jobs would logistically fit in was pretty daunting. However, now that he's here-those worries are on the back burner! Please pray with us that God would provide the perfect jobs for both of us and that the transportation (1 car, 1 driver, 2 people going to 2 jobs) would work out smoothly!

It is cold! Not snow on the ground cold, like the DC area, but for an African and Texan...it's about as bad!

Things are so wonderful right now. I know it's the honeymoon phase and whatever, but truly, life is good now that we are together. I hope I always remember the struggle and prayers to have George here and never take it for granted. My worst of days when he's here are still better than my best days when we were apart. I'll stop the mushy stuff now.

Our wedding photographer is uploading pictures tonight and I am SO excited!! He posted one and it beautiful! You can see both of us! George is brown, not black and I am my normal white, not a ghost. Amazing. I'm so pumped! We have empty frames waiting for wedding pictures and I can't wait to fill them.

George is discovering new American things everyday and I love watching it. Last night, he pumped gas for me since it was so cold-it was quite the sight! G had only gotten the run through on how to pump gas once (it's all full-service in Ghana with OLD gas pumps) and the station we went to had new machines. I was particularly classy, twisted around in the driver seat shouting directions to him through the back window which was open about 2 inches-I had to shout because he couldn't hear me otherwise. When he finished, all we could do was laugh, it truly could have been a comedy sketch! He also discovered Jerry Springer (I didn't know that was still on!) Dr. Phil and Oprah yesterday. Thankfully, he didn't like any of them!

Marital bliss...

As you probably guessed from the absence of blogging, (or from facebook stalking me or actually being there) last week was the BIG DAY! It was so completely wonderful and I really cannot imagine what could have made it better, other than the impossible-having ALL of our family and friends there! It was a bit chilly here, but we got through just fine. I can’t wait to get the pictures! We had a blast, we felt so loved and we ATE! Here are a few fun things before the picture post…

When I was waiting in the lobby of my hotel with my dad to go out to the ceremony, this guy kept telling me how beautiful I looked and was going on and on. It was a bit weird, but my dad and I just laughed it off. Then, he came back (for like a seventh time) and gave me a rose, which didn’t go with my bouquet, and introduced himself. It was Eddie Vedder, front man of Pearl Jam. Haha! That’s Austin, people!

One of the things we had at the wedding was a more personal guest book. It had individual pages with questions for the guests to answer and to give advice. Reading it this week was SO MUCH FUN! G and I laughed and laughed. Nearly everyone said something about us having babies, lots of babies or beautiful babies. The advice was my favorite part. From a couple who was career focused and started their family into their 30s, Have kids while you’re still young! From a couple who struggled to have kids and that was a big focus in their lives, Enjoy your time getting to know each other before you have kids. From an old family friend who has been married 30+ years, Settle all arguments while you are naked-they usually settle pretty fast. I guess that’s the secret to a long and happy marriage! Ha! Seeing everyone’s perspective was a lot of fun and I’m glad we have this memento to keep for many years to come.

We’ve had a wonderful week settling down and settling in (thanks a TON to my mom who filled in for me at work this week!!!!). We have been able to relax and have been productive as well-it's been great! We are just so happy about life and are looking forward to our future! We are so thankful to God for taking us this far and to all of our family and friends who have been so supportive.

This is bliss…

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!