You're Still the One....

This weekend, I was finally able to spend some much needed face to face time with Jim. It had been 7 weeks since we had seen each other, and we were both excited to spend this time together. The purpose of the visit was to go to a wedding of a good friend's daughter. The wedding was fabulous!! The bride looked amazing (as did Caroline, the mother of the bride!) We had a great time and I always love an excuse to get all dressed up! Here we are at the wedding:

This weekend was also my nephew Matthew's piano recital. Coincidentally, Jim was down last year for Matthew's piano recital as well. We were both able to see the improvement he has made in a year. He is getting to be a great little musician! We were also able to spend some time visiting with my family Friday night.

Saturday pretty much consisted of getting ready for the wedding and attending the wedding. We were lucky that we got to sit with some great friends and we had a wonderful time! The food was fabulous and the atmosphere was great!

Today, we went to mass and afterward, we had a chance to meet with Fr. Rick who will be coming to Illinois to marry us. Father Rick is the Pastor at the parishes I work for, and has graciously agreed to come to Illinois to marry us. We are so happy that he is willing to do this. We were able to work out the details of the wedding with Father. We had our meeting over lunch so it was really relaxed and he was able to get to know Jim a bit better, which was nice.

After that, we headed to meet up with my friend Kortney and her boyfriend for a quick visit. Kortney is standing up in the wedding, and she has moved to Kitchener this past year so I don't get to see her as much as I used to. It just so happened that she and her boyfriend were going to be in town this weekend, so we managed to fit in a quick visit. It was lots of fun. After the visit, we headed to get a quick lesson on Natural Family Planning. One of the parishioners in my parish is a certified instructor so we were able to get a private lesson from her.

After that, we headed to Windsor to an Italian restaurant to celebrate! Not only is it 5 months until the wedding, but tomorrow will be one year that we have been officially dating. I say 'officially' because anyone who knows us knows that we have been 'sort of' dating for much longer than that. (If you are unsure of what I am talking about, feel free to look back in the blog to Jim's epic saga of the events of our relationship lol)

It is hard to believe that a year has gone by already. It seems like yesterday! This has truly been a magical year for both of us and we are so blessed by God to have been able to have all the events of this year take place. I pray that the next year (and those to come) will continue to  be as wonderful and grace-filled.

Come together....

In the past month, things have really been coming together with the wedding and visa planning. When it comes to the visa, I have my medical in Toronto on May 7th and my interview July 5th in Montreal. It is exciting to think that soon this will all be done, but I am still a bit nervous. I will feel much better once I get approved for the visa and it is in my hand!

As for the wedding plans, they are going great. In the past month, we have booked the hotel for our honeymoon. (Yes, it was the place that we were discussing in a previous blog). We are excited!
We have also booked transportation for the day of the wedding and received our invitations! Dare I say that all of the big stuff is done??

Now it is just all the little things that add up along with finalizing the logistics of my move to the USA. It is not cheap to move stuff from one country to another. Thankfully, when Jim and I were planning the expenses of the wedding, we remembered the amount of money we would have to add on for moving, and visa expenses. Along with the trips to Toronto and Montreal (which are not cheap!) filing for the adjustment of status (where I can actually apply for a green card) will be another 1000 bucks!  The United States government sure doesn't make it easy for one to move to their country on a fiance visa!

Next weekend, it will be 5 months to the wedding! I can't believe it! Also, next weekend, Jim will be coming down to visit. This is the first time I have seen him in 7 weeks! Even though we talk everyday on skype, it is not the same thing. It is a good alternative to being together, but we really have to work at our relationship and talk a lot because we aren't together all the time. This is one of the longest stretches we have gone without seeing each other. I am not going to lie and say it has been easy, because it hasn't. Long distance relationships are not for the faint of heart. I am so happy that soon we will be together all the time!

Loving You....

Seven years ago today, my dad died. I remember one of the first thoughts that went through my mind as I began to process things was, "He's not going to be here to walk me down the aisle one day." As the years passed and there didn't seem to be a groom to marry, I didn't think much more about that fact. I still missed my dad everyday but it was beginning to look like their wasn't going to be a marriage in the cards for me ever. Then I met Jim.

The realization that my dad won't be there physically on that special day is a hard one. I know that he will be there in spirit, but on that day his absence will be felt. My Godson/nephew Alex will be stepping in to fill the role of walking me down the aisle. My mom informed me long ago it would be too hard for her to do it.

They say that when you find the guy you are going to marry often times you end up marrying someone just like your dad. Jim is so much like my dad in so many ways. Not only is he kind, sweet, caring and loving but he goes out of his way to talk to people and make them feel special. He has a strong faith and loves God and his family with his whole heart. My dad was the same way.

I know that if my dad and Jim would have gotten to meet they would have loved each other. While my wedding day will be bittersweet without my dad there, I know that he will be looking down happy that I found someone who is perfect for me. Someone who is a good and honourable man. Someone like him.

Whoo Hoo!!!

So for the past month or so, I have been eligible to get an interview for my visa. At first, there was none available when I tried. Then for awhile they had 3 days available: April 23-25th. This was way to soon for me to even entertain the idea of taking it. I had a few very good reasons why I couldn't. First, I had to renew my passport since it was up for renewal in February 2013 and I need a passport valid for 6 months once I enter the US, which God-willing will be in September. Second, Jim's mom is having a shower for me (and Jim's brother's fiance) in May. Third, Jim's brother and his fiance will be getting married in mid-June and I really want to go.

So, everyday I had a routine to check the website several times a day to see if there were any interviews available. Today, once I got to work I quickly checked like I always do, and was shocked to see that there were many interviews available in May, June and July. I immediately called Jim at home and didn't get an answer. I called a few more times and go ahold of him. Then the task began to figure out which date would work best for us.

We finally settled on one: July 5th! We chose this date because it falls right after the American holiday and therefore Jim will have to take less time off. Also, we realized later, that on this date we have been together in person every year we have known each other! (Also, I think we went to the U2 show last year on this date so it has to be lucky right?)

I am so excited that it means that I will get to do everything I want to do before the interview and still have plenty of time to get the passport back with the visa on it. It generally takes 2 weeks or so to come back but very rarely it can take up to 2 months. Also, I went online to look at flights tonight and all flights on the two major Canadian airlines are 50% off if you book by tomorrow! I will be taking advantage of that for sure! What great timing! Also, it looks like Jim and I could actually travel together for once. We may take the same airline and both have connections in Toronto. That would mean from Toronto to Montreal we would fly together! :)

Getting an interview time means I can now book a medical which has to be done before the interview. I called at lunch and left my information  at the doctors office in Toronto who does medicals for the consulate. At around 3p.m. today they called me on my cell phone and when I told them I wanted a date in June the lady replied "JUNE? I don't even have the calendar ready for June! Can you call back in May please?" My first reaction was to think "Seriously lady? I didn't say December! June is only 2 months away!" But I guess I will call back in May and see when I can get into the medical.

I am so happy that everything looks like it is going to work out. Keep praying that everything goes well with the medical and the interview! :)

Looking back on the things I've done...

As Jim and I approach the 6 month mark to the wedding tomorrow, it is interesting to see how far we have come. Technically, we have not even been officially dating for a year yet. We reach that milestone next month. But those of us who know our story, know that we have been 'together' on and off for a lot longer than that.

Recently, I have been reflecting on not only how far Jim and I have come as a couple, but how far each of us has come individually. I will let Jim guest blog one day to explain just how much his life has changed, but for now, I thought I would look back on mine. I look back on my life 3-4 years ago and realize just how drastically it has changed. About 4 years ago, I decided to enter the world of online dating. I was too cheap to pay for a site at first so I spent some time on plenty of fish. I quickly realized that you had to really search on this site, because lets just say most of the men were not my type.

I did manage to go on some coffee dates with men I met on plenty of fish. Almost all of them were horrible. One guy, when he asked me to explain exactly what I did for a living told me, "Yeah, I have had enough of that religious crap shoved down my throat for 12 years in school." I wasn't really sure what to say to that. Needless to say I didn't see that guy again.

Another guy on paper was totally my type and really should have been a match for me, but I ended up doing 95% of the talking. I gave him a chance and went on a few dates with him, but when it didn't get better I realized that it was pointless.

It was around this time I got serious about Catholic Match. I was ready to meet someone who shared my faith and my beliefs. I realized quickly, while Catholic Match was a great site, it didn't really have a ton of local guys. I foolishly though I would go online and a plethora of men would be waiting for me from the Windsor area. Well, what actually happened was there were probably 10 guys from the Windsor area, and most of them were not paying members. I participated in the forums and made friends so I stayed for the good discussions and nice people. I was definitely not looking for a long distance relationship. But, when I met Jim, I was at the point where I was at least willing to give it a try.

I never thought I would be one who could make a long distance relationship work. How wrong I was. While it has been challenging not to be together all the time, we have grown so much as a couple. If you would have told me 4 years ago that I would be moving away from not only home, but from my country for love, I would have laughed at you. But, now I could not imagine my life without Jim in it.

I can't believe in 6 short months, I will be embarking on a new life. A new husband, a new country and new experiences. I can't wait!

Chicago....

This past weekend, my whole family headed up to Chicago. My sister, mom and I headed up on Friday night after work and my brother-in-law and nephews came the day after. This was the weekend that my family met Jim's family for the first time. This was also the weekend that we got a lot checked off our wedding list.

Jim flew in late Friday night and headed to his mom and dad's house. On Saturday, Jim and his mom came to pick up my sister, mom and I to go to our cake tasting. We got to try our yummy cake and decide on a design. This is the fun part of the wedding planning for sure! I won't spoil the surprise and let you know what we got, but it is going to be delish! On the way up to the cake tasting our moms got acquainted. Once our cake tasting was over, we had time to kill and were right in the neighbourhood of where Jim's brother lives, so we had arranged to meet him and his fiance for a snack. We had a great time catching up with them, and they were able to meet Maggie and my mom.

Soon it was off to go to our food tasting at the hotel where we will be having the wedding reception. I didn't really know what to expect, but I wasn't prepared for how great this tasting was going to be. We got there and met the banquet manager, Jean. She brought us to the room where will be tasting the food. When we entered the room, there was a table fully set up with all the linens that will be at our wedding. Our first choice we had to make was what napkin design we wanted for the wedding. We had 5 choices. Again I won't spoil it for you, but they will be cute. We were introduced to our server for the tasting, Pedro who promptly offered us wine. I wasn't expecting a server at all! I just thought we would have a bunch of things on the table to eat and they would each give us a fork. It was so not the case. We had previously chosen two starters to try and Pedro brought all five of us out full samples of each starter. We ate them both and chose our favorite. We were pretty unanimous on our choice which was great! Next up was the salad course. Again, we had previously chosen two to try and they brought out full versions of each. We also got to choose 2 salad dressing (we had 4 to choose from). Jim doesn't like salad, so he sat this one out. When we told Jean that Jim didn't like salad she offered on the wedding day to bring him out a fruit plate at that course!
Next up was sorbet to cleanse our palates. It was a yummy refreshing treat.

Finally, our entrees we had previously chosen came out along with different starch options and vegetable options. They brought out full entrees for us to share. We made all of our decisions pretty quickly and unanimously. With 5 of us present this was a great thing! At the end of the tasting the chef came out to talk to us and see if we had any questions or concerns. It was amazing how much care the hotel took to make sure we will be happy on our wedding day!

We could not have had a better time. We had plenty of food, lots of wine and a great feel for how our wedding food will taste. We are so excited to try it again on our wedding day!

After the tasting, the florist we are working with met us right at the hotel. When it comes to flowers, I am not one to know a chrysanthemum from a gardenia. So this was a pretty easy appointment. I just told her what I liked, and brought some pictures and made sure we had all the flowers accounted for that we wanted on our wedding. She had done the flowers for Jim's sister's wedding and they looked so beautiful so I know that mine will look great on the wedding day too. It was so great that my mom, his mom and Maggie could share in the planning and see the banquet room where we will be getting married and share in some of the preparations of the wedding.

That night, my nephews and brother-in-law Dave arrived. Jim and I decided, after hanging out with my family for awhile, to go for a date night. We didn't have much alone time, so we took what we could get. It was nice to be able to just talk about how everything went that day and how excited we were that things were coming together!

The next day my whole family and Jim and his mom headed to church. This church is his mom's church and the church we will be getting married in. It was so nice for my family to be able to see where the wedding will happen. My little nephew Alex was feeling under the weather, but he managed to make it to mass. After mass, we all headed for brunch where we met Jim's sister and her husband, Jim's brother and his fiance and Jim's dad. It was VERY surreal for Jim and I to have our WHOLE families in the same room together! Everyone got along well and were able to get to know each other. It was great!

After brunch, some of us headed back to Jim's parents house. It was great for my family to see Jim's parents house and experience their wonderful hospitality. All in all it was a great weekend! It went by very quickly but it was awesome that our families got to meet!

Only 198 days til the wedding! :)

We are Family....

I am really excited! Why, you ask? Three reasons.

1) I am heading to Chicago this weekend and Jim and I are going to get a few more things checked off on our wedding to-do list. We will be doing our cake tasting, food tasting and we are meeting with the florist. But the best part is that this time we get to have our families involved. You see, this week is March Break (spring break for you Americans) and my whole family is coming up to the Chicago area with me. We are taking this opportunity for Jim's family and my family to meet. Our moms and my sister will be joining us for all of our wedding errands. Then on Sunday, our whole families (all siblings, nephews and parents included) will be going to brunch. It should be a great time.

2) I got word that we are cleared to schedule an interview! We have to go to a website and try to get an interview from the times they have available. The only problem is that there are no interviews available at this time. This is a common occurrence because they only open up a certain number of interviews at a time to keep it controlled and to not get too far ahead. Lucky for us, we have some time to wait, since the wedding is not until September and the interview is the last step of this part of the process to get me over to the USA. Hopefully new interview slots will open up soon. I am really excited that things are moving at the pace we anticipated.

3) I spent some time this week figuring out how certain things will work when I move countries. I was concerned with my life insurance and pension plans and what would happen to them. I contacted the agencies and they were very helpful and explained all I would have to do which is not as big of a deal as I thought it would be. So my stress levels surrounding these issues has decreased significantly.

Hope you all have a great weekend! :)