snow.....

that's right - we got snow?!?! It was hailing on Wednesday when I went to work but it turned to rain, then apparently yesterday we got some snow and then today it snowed for most of the morning, it wasn't sticking to the roads but was sticking to the grass & buildings. I can't believe that we are getting snow at the end of March!! I hope that the sun & warmth come out soon and that they stay around!!

Guess what!

I met Mike McCardell from Global TV! and was on Global News last night! We were on our fieldtrip yesterday and were flying kites outside the Planetarium and he & his cameraman came up and asked if they could video the kids. I had to call and check with the "boss" and she said yes, so he talked to the kids and got some footage of them flying their kites.

And we made the evening news! You can go HERE to see our time in the spotlight! The kids were so excited to see themselves on TV - we even watched it this morning at work as one of the staff had taped it last night!

hello....

Anybody out there??

I can tell by my site meter that you are there but I'm beginning to wonder if it is all in my imagination!

I would love to have you leave a comment - let me know that you are alive and well and that I haven't bored you to death or scared you away with my lack of regular postings!

Have a great day!

done, done and done...

As of 12:30pm this afternoon, Ronel's immigration paperwork is on it's way to Mississauga, Ontario to the Case Processing Centre. It should arrive by Thursday. So, this now means that the countdown is ON. This starts the process that will bring Ronel here, to me.

Dropping the paperwork at the post office was quite the emotional event. This has been such a HUGE process and we have hit many stumbling blocks and I have had many personal struggles with the whole thing as well. Struggles that I apparently hid very well, even from those who I can't normally hide anything. Last week at minichurch was the big breakthrough. The sermon the week before had been about how nothing is impossible for God and that God is not a liar so if He says it is possible, then IT IS POSSIBLE. Well, at minichurch we discussed that some people have fears that seem impossible to them and how we really needed to come together and pray for each other. While they were talking about this, I was crying. A few weeks ago, a girlfriend asked me how the paperwork was going and I said it wasn't done yet and she said "Don't you want Ronel here?" It was a HUGE wake-up call for me, I did (and do) want him here, more than I can express in words, but I was also terrified about sending off the paperwork and taking it out of my control. As of today, I have NO CONTROL whatsoever over the paperwork and the result. I can't make them say yes and I also have no control over how fast or slow it is. Now, I do know - in my head - that God has COMPLETE CONTROL over all of it, but that doesn't always make it to my heart. On my good days, I am happy that God is in control of the paperwork and that it is now all out of my hands, but on the not so good days, that terrifies me. This is really the only thing I have been able to have control over and now it is out of my control.

Friday was a hard day, there were a couple of times where I thought I had - once again- missed things and that it would delay things but each time it was only a misunderstanding and everything was fine. I had all the paperwork I needed, all our communications and photos were added and there is NO reason why anyone should deny our claim for Ronel to be allowed entry to Canada. When I was finally done everything, I called my friends (and also minichurch leaders) to share the good news and then went over to hang out with them & celebrate (after 10 hours of working only on my paperwork I needed out of the house!) It was a great feeling to know that I had overcome my fear and finished the paperwork!

Sunday in between services a few of my friends & I gathered to pray over the paperwork (and also Ronel & I) and then today I sent it off. Even now, part of me wants to cry and part of me wants to get up and dance with joy! This is such a big step in the whole process and it has taken SO long to get here. Tomorrow marks 16 months that we have been married and 15 months & 1 week that we have been apart. The big prayer on Sunday (and still) is that the paperwork would be done before Ronel's medical expires on Nov, 5th 2008. And even more, that it would be done in time that I could make changes to my ticket for July and Ronel could come home with me then. That thought makes me shake - with joy and anticipation. I leave for Haiti in 135 days and it could be possible that Ronel could be home in that period of time. It would require a God sized miracle but it is possible. Current timelines for CIC is 35 days for the approval of my sponsorship application and then 7-18 months for the approval of Ronel's permanent resident application which take place at the visa office in Port-au-Prince. 10% of files are approved in 7 months in Port-au-Prince. We're asking God to have them done in less than 5 months!

Please keep this in your prayers! I'll keep you updated on the progess

drumroll please......

The immigration paperwork is
DONE

There is a LONG story that goes with this all but for now I will say that I took the day off and all I did ALL day long (10 hours) was work on completing all the needed paperwork!

It is such a great feeling to have this all done and now the hard part comes - waiting for the government to approve our application or not! The current wait on the approval of my sponsorship application is 35 days, once that is done, Ronel's application for Permanent Residence gets sent to the Visa office in Port-au-Prince where the decision is made. The current wait there is anywhere from 7-18 months! Please be praying that it is decided quickly! Ronel's medical exam expires Nov 5th, 2008 and if we aren't approved by then, he will have to redo it and that will delay the whole process!

Ok, off to shower and then am taking the paperwork over to get prayed over by some good friends of mine!

I'll try and be a good girl and post more of the back story soon!

in only...

5 months from today I get to see Ronel's face.

Just thinking about it makes me smile!!


I have lots to catch you guys up on but life has been busy so I will have to post that later. I just had to come let you know how soon I get to see Ronel!!

M'ap vini mari'm!!

a new toy!

I received a MP3 player today - I was talking to my youngest sister, Leslie, and asked her what this thing in her room was and she said, "oh that's a MP3 player I got at (work's) Christmas party. Do you want it?" I said "Sure, I've thought about them but didn't really know it I would use it" She has an Ipod so she didn't really have a use for it.

Well, I LOVE it! I set it up and put all the songs I had on my computer on it (only 55 songs) and I've been listening to it all night while I've been stamping. I can't wait to add more songs!

I think it will come in really handy on my trip to Haiti! It is A LOT smaller than my CD player and I won't have to lug all my CD's with me! I can have all my favourite songs and all on one little player! I also enjoy that I can walk around with it and it isn't in my way or cumbersome. It has a neck strap and it is so handy to have it just hanging there! (I've always kind of laughed at people who wear their mp3 players around their neck! To all of you - I apologize and I've joined you!)

Annie

Happy Valentine's Day!

Tonight I went to see the musical with some friends of mine.

It was put on by Burnaby South High School
and the cousin of one of my friends was in the play.

The play was SO much fun and really well done.
It was a great night and just a fun way to spend Valentine's Day
especially since I couldn't be with Ronel!


Happy Valentine's Day Ronel!
M'ap vini mari'm!

another update on paperwork...

so, my notice of assessment arrived yesterday in the mail! It was so nice to have that in my hand! But, I realized that I shouldn't be sending in the originals of any of our letters and such that I need to send to prove our relationship! I had all the written letters and such in the STACK of papers to be mailed and when I went through the papers, I realized I probably want to keep the originals and mail in copies! So that is what I will be doing for the next couple of days! First snag was the fact that my printer ran out of ink (which after the amount of emails I had to print out - that Ronel & I have sent to each other - I really am not surprised!) So, my mom is picking me up ink on her way home! Then I am going to scan and print all the letters off. I have 2 notebooks full of letters between us (we used to keep notebooks that we wrote to each other whenever I was out of the country - we would then switch when I would get back. It was like a journal but to each other of what had gone on while the other was away.)

So, my original goal was that I will have all the paperwork mailed by Valentine's Day but I have revised it to have it mailed by my birthday which is only 2 weeks from today! I think that it is a bit more realistic, especially since I have been SO tired lately and have been going to bed quite early lately and I have a busy week ahead.

I will definitely be posting and letting you know when that package goes postal though!

Closer....

I went and checked my bank account online and my tax refund has arrived in my account (by direct deposit) and that means that my notice of assessment should be here soon!!

I am going to double check and make sure that I have all the rest of the paperwork ready and then I can send it all in as soon as the notice of assessment arrives! I think that I need to print out some photos to send in but other than that, everything should be ready!

This means that the paperwork should be filed by Valentine's Day (giving myself a couple of days for the notice of assessment to arrive and for me to get it into the post office!)

What a great Valentine's gift for both of us!

And here's hoping & praying that Ronel gets to come home soon!