Immigration Update

Well I thought it was time for an update to everyone. First things first, I'm officially done with immigration due to nothing being short of a miracle. God truly does work in mysterious ways.




As many of you know my Opa wasn't doing well which was really hard for me since I couldn't be there to see him. He passed away on Tuesday morning. Once I got the phone call from Mom & Dad I started trying to find information to see if there was anyway that I could possibly make it home for the funeral. First I looked on the immigration website online, at first I couldn't find a phone # to call.. eventually I did, a 1-800 # but it did me no good since I counldn't find the info that I wanted. Then while Johns mom was here I suddenly had a brain wave. I asked her if she knew what the name of the lawyer was that John had spoken too before we started the whole immigration process before we got married. She didn't know but told me that if I had a telephone book for her to look in she could probably find it. So we figured out who it was. That meant time for another phone call. I called him, and got put directly through to him.. no questions asked(really amazing for a lawyers office, I would know cause I worked for one). I explained the situation to him, and told him that so far everything had gone really well, except now that my Opa had passed away I really wanted to be able to go home for the funeral but didn't know if there was that possiblity. He asked me how far along in the process we were. When I told him that I thought we were almost done, and had already had our interview he wanted to know why we didn't have them already. I explained that I had to submit another waiver and some letters, but had to mail them out yet and was planning to do that today (tuesday). Then he said..."who is the immigration officer that you are dealing with" I told him.. he said "Let me tell you what, normally I may never do this but I'm going to make you raise your right hand and swear that you won't tell anyone this phone #" So I had to swear and then he gave me the phone # for the immgration officer that we were dealing with. This made it possible for me to make a phone call that normally speaking would never have been possible because the general public doesn't get that type of information.



Anyway, so I called the officer and explained the situation to him. He then asked me how I got his phone # when I explained he said OK, and then told me that I could come and see him in the next day or so between 10-3. Normally the only way you get into the immigration office is with an infopass which gives you an appointment to come in. Since I had been planning to go shopping(do some groceries) with John's mom in the Tri-Cities we changed our plans and went to Yakima instead and headed to the Immigration office first. We got there around 11:45 and at about 12:30 I walked out of the office with a stamp in my passport, and had been told the my temporary permentant resident card(valid for 2 years) would come in the mail in 2-3 weeks. Rigth now I can't find words to express how happy I am, and yet so incredibly sad at the same time. It really is a answer to prayer...



We hope to travel up to Alberta on Thursday morning, leaving Sunnyside around 12pm or so, flying out of Yakima/Seattle/Calgary, and getting into the Calgary airport later that evening. From there we take a rental car and drive home. The funeral is on Saturday morning, and then John plans to stay till Tuesday morning and I stay till the 11th.

Sunnyside weather.!!!?! :(

Boooo I hate the weather here this winter!!! The snow was awesome, I'll take the anyday, but the last few days all I've seen is a drizzle of rain and lots of fog!! ugh!!

 Seriously I would take snow and cold any day over fog and rain in the winter!! Because that is just totally wrong, haha at least for this Albertan girl!! One thing is forsure, as soon as I can go home I'm going asap and hopefully there is some snow for me to enjoy :)

Finally I'm posting some pictures of the snow that we did have! :) I kept meaning to post about it.. just didn't happen, but I figure now it may as well go with this one :)

Immigration update...

Well, it is time for another one of those wonderful updates... what a thrill! or not!!! anyway it could have been worse so I won't complain, just time to state the facts so everyone knows what is going on :)

Yesterday morning we had an appointment with the immigration officer in Yakima.. which I think John was more stressed about than I was LOL!  Anyway, we got there in plenty of time.. checked in.. went through security.. (yup the joys) haha and of course there is always a first time for everything! the beeper went off for me :P I think it was because of my zipper in my boots.. but who knows!

We had to wait for a little while and then it was our turn... the interview went pretty quick, which amazed me to a certain extent.. but part of it was he only asked a few questions and it was pretty much like he had to do it because of protocol. He gave us another form/waiver that needs to be filled out and sent in before the 14th of January as well as, John needs to write a letter stating why it would be a hardship for him if I would be deported.. LOL! as well as some other minor things! The waiver that needs to be submitted is the part that has us going.. seriously that is a rip off!! $500+ dollars later! booo immigrations stinks! :P

So other than that.. things are looking pretty good, and hopefully that means that I will be able to have my papers in a month or so :) We were told that pretty much the rest of the correspondence will be done by mail.

That about concludes my update :)

I can't believe myself....

So yesterday.. I decided that maybe I should get the papers together that we need to take along to our Immigration Interview on Monday... anyway so I was looking around and couldn't find my "new" birth certificate... I was sure that I had gotten/seen it! Anyway.. I looked in our room, in the drawer where I keep that stuff.... nope not there :(... then to the office.. which was more of an interesting experience because there is why more stuff to look through in there.. anyway.. I dug through all the file folders, pile of receipts, and paper in there... no BC.. :( I was kinda starting to get a little worried, to say the least! Anyway then I went and looked in the kitchen in the papers that are on the counter..not there... behind the couch.. where there is a small pile.. not there... back to the office.. then to the bedroom... UGHHHHHH!!!

In the mean time my wonderful hubby started to look too.. we couldn't find it anywhere.. I thought well maybe it feel down to the bottom of the dresser.. under the drawers.. which apparently don't come out of there.. booo! Anyway you can't even get your arm down there to feel anything.. so John got a screwdriver and tried that... nope not there.... Man.. I was starting to get slightly stressed! But I had to go make supper... so that was that! Anyway after supper I looked a bit more in the office and then decided I'd had enough... and we had Bible study so we had to get ready to go for that anyway!

When we were on our way to Bible study I said to John... on a scale of 1-10 how stressed out do you think I am right now... LOL.. he said probably like 8 or so... which was exactly how I was feeling... I wasn't majorly freaking yet.. but getting pretty close! I told him that we really need to get a safe to store all our documents like that in.. not good to leave things like that laying around the house anyway!! Anyway got back from Bible study.. I looked for like 10 minutes again.. and I was like.. forget it.. enough for tonight! Tomorrow is another day!

This morning.. I didn't even start looking yet.. but decided maybe I should call mom and ask her, if it had been mailed to me or if she had brought it when they came.... LOL! Anyway.. she said that when they came they still hadn't gotten it.. and she had kinda forgotten apparently. She told me she was going to phone the registry because it was super weird that she didn't have it yet! They had told her they were going to mail it. Anyway, a few minutes later she calls me back! Ya, I called them, but they said they had mailed it.. not registered mail though, so they were pretty worried too.. anyway...... Mom remembered getting an envelope from the AB Gov in the mail.. that has Tax (or something stamped on it) so she had just put it away and never bothered to open it and look into it... When she got off of the phone with the registry place she decided to go look in there... TADA!!! my BC!!

I seriously don't know when I have been so relieved......... I was pretty freaked out by this morning... !!!!!!

Carol of the Bells - This is really neat!!

Carol Of The Bells from SPaschall on Vimeo.


I especially like how the have the lights going to the rythm of the music.. just thought I would share :)

Sunday Morning Madness... grrr!!!

This calls for a whole separate post.. LOL!! for one small thing! Anyway Bright & Early Sunday morning, at like 4:40, our phone rang.. scared the crap out of me.. but before I got out of bed and got the phone it had already stopped ringing!! :( The call display said Blocked Call.. Go figure, who in the world in their right mind calls at such a crazy hour in the morning!! Needless to say John and I were both awake.. and kinda annoyed.. Oh well we survived, but still have no clue who it was... BOOOO!!! :P

General Update

Well things have been some what boring yet life seems to have a way of giving me little things to do right now! Some of my family(parents, siblings) came to visit me a week before American Thanksgiving! That was pretty awesome since they also brought along my piano and dining table and chairs! I love it, it makes it feel so much more like home!! :) haha like it wasn't already! I got our big wedding pictures printed..another accomplishment! Christmas cards made... for us and I designed the cards for my Mom & Dad!! :) I love the Stampin' Up! My Digital Studio Program!!

Anyway the week that my parents were here ended not so great.. I had a sore tooth on Wednesday but didn't think to much of it.. dumb me... anyway by Thursday morning it was really starting to hurt.. :( so I took a tylenol and it didn't even put a dent into the pain!! :( by evening it was just throbbing, and nothing was working for the pain :( booo!! so we had to do a search for a dentist and get a root canal done Friday morning!! I normally hate freezing and let them do anything to me with in reason without it.. haha this time totally unlike me I was like just freeze it up good please!! haha :) anyway then after this I still felt miserable because of the pain meds they gave me they were making me puke and feel miserable.. so I stopped taking those pretty quick and switched to regular Ibuprofen!! aahhh much better LOL! :) Now I have an appointment on the 9th again.. so we shall see how that goes, because they only put a temporary filling in that day... 

On the 14th I have an appointment with the Immigration Office, so we are hoping that things go well and who knows hopefully I will have my papers soon!! I'm definitely not getting my hopes up or getting to excited about it yet.. as a matter or fact I think my wonderful hubby is more excited about it than I am LOL and thinks I will have them pretty quick.. me... well I say if I have them by the end of February we are doing good LOL!! So nope don't get to excited yet!! Hopefully after next monday we will know a little more though!! :)

This past Wednesday I helped a lady here in town take off wall paper for a few hours.. apparently my reputation is preceeding me.. I'm not to excited about it LOL!! removing wallpaper is not on my list of exciting things to do.. LOL! :) Got that done.. and went home and unpacked a few more boxes of stuff.. which makes for finding somethings :) good times!! Friday I always clean house for someone, which isn't a bad thing but I don't get to excited about it either :) but at least it is something to do and it sure beats sitting at home all the time! In the afternoon I went to Aunt Annemarie's to visit my "new" cousin Tyssyna, who is here visiting with her little 8 month old from Iowa! :) haha and then promptly was late to pick John up for work because the clock was off.. Oops!! haha big time Oops!! LOL!! :) it wasn't the first time that happened and won't be the last!!

Saturday was a crazy day!!! In the morning I dropped John off at his parents' and then I went to the Tri-cities to go do some groceries.. and bail Dad out haha :)... Came through Winco pretty unscathed.. LOL! But then hit Costco.... and ummm not so good as usual LOL! Or maybe not as good as I want it to be :) I did find myself two nice tanktops and also a magazine rack.. so that did account for about the $50 extra that I spent there!! :) If it hadn't been for that I would have felt better :) haha! :) but I'm happy about what I got :) Anyway came home quick unpacked and headed down to the In-laws again.. went to a Christmas Craft Fair in the Mall with Mom and Cynthia! It was pretty cool, but nothing that I was like.. ooo I want that LOL good thing too! :p Then we got back there and John and I headed to our place... time to run around and dust my house... since we had company coming... oops haha I forgot one spot and leave it up to James to notice.. LOL!  Anyway Tori & Arlen also came that evening.. we had some fun playing Rook! it seems to be the game to play but we really enjoy it!! :) so that was Saturday.. or most of it!! :) Enough info for this post anyway!!! :)

Sarah Palin - Ummm are you kidding me!?!

Ok so for the full story check out this link:
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/091124/entertainment/palin_marg_delahunty

"We told her we're from Canada, and we're just looking for a few words of encouragement for the Canadian conservatives who have worked so tirelessly to destroy the socialized medicare that we have," Walsh recalled Tuesday from St. John's.


Palin strolled over, looking down on Walsh and her crew to tell them that "Canada needs to dismantle its public health-care system and allow private enterprise to get involved and turn a profit."


"Basically, she said government should stop doing the work that private enterprise should do," Walsh said.

Yes there is problems with the Public Health Care system the way it is run in Canada, I have to admit that, but at the same time you can't take away what a country has had for years in a short period of time. I guarentee you that if they tried there would be a huge uproar!  Also Sarah Palin doesn't live in Canada so she actually has nothing to say about how the government runs their system up there! If you want a say in what a country does you need to live there or be a Citizen, and it should in some way shape or form affect your life.. which as far as I can tell it has none on hers :(

I have found that since moving to the US there has been several huge adjustments, but at the same time there is definite benefits to the way the Canadian system is run. Rather than paying your doctor for each and every visit that you make and paying a lot (as I have found out) I think was sometimes also take for granted that we can go see the doctor and walk out of the office with out paying a few hundred dollars for a simple exam etc. Sure at the time you pay $80 a month to the Alberta Health Care but if you are lucky work has a plan.. which mine did.. takes care of half the cost.. making it $40 a month.. then take that cost if you go to the doctor a few time and it seems to pay for itself once I compare it to what we have had to pay for my visits to the doctor here since I had a miscarriage! So in the long run I do think the system that I was used to has it's benefits!

haha feel free to debate this or add your opinions!! :)

Canadian Thanksgiving VS American Thanksgiving

So a little history lesson here :)

Thanksgiving in Canada -- What gives?

Most of us will have noticed that Canadian Thanksgiving comes well in advance of our neighbours to the south, and for all the predictable reasons: colder climate, earlier harvest, and that persistant urge to accomplish something (anything) before "they" do. But the history of our Thanksgiving is stuffed with surprises.

We did actually have the FIRST Thanksgiving, a full 43 years before the pilgims at Plymouth Rock, but, in true Canadian fashion, there was something wrong with it. That first North American Thanksgiving would have been "celebrated" in sub-zero temperatures on a barren, windswept moonscape by a muttering, mutinous crowd wondering whether "the chief" had all his marbles.

In 1576, Sir Martin Frobisher set out to find the Spice Islands. He landed instead on Baffin Island. The complete absence of trees and a pitiless terrain of unrelieved rock and permafrost barely dampened his determination to establish the first English settlement in North America. Not yet disabused of his perennial optimism, he spent two years mining "gold ore". When it was well and duly hauled back to England, it assayed out as iron pyrite. Fool's Gold.

By 1710 we were back on track with this Thanksgiving thing. Records at Port Royal, Nova Scotia, note an October 10 thanksgiving celebration to mark the return of the town to the English. In 1763, Halifax celebrated the end of the Seven Years War with a similar ceremony.

In 1879, Parliament formally declared November 6 as a day of Thanksgiving, and so it remained until after the Armistice of WWI, when Thanksgiving and Remembrance Day would have conflicted thematically during the same week.

When Thanksgiving was assigned to its present second Monday in October, former Ontario Premier E.C. Drury, head of the United Farmers of Ontario, decried the move as a ploy by city-dwellers to move a farmer's holiday "up" the calendar so they could enjoy a long weekend while the weather was likely to still be fine (at the farmer's expense). Canadian - eh?

YAAAAAAY!! CANADA :) :)

Haha

I think we all know the history on American Thanksgiving but a little info anyway!

I'm going to post some links and then some info :)

http://www.history.com/video.do?name=Thanksgiving&bcpid=46875634001&bclid=1672079702&bctid=1586348651

Some Myths vs Facts:

http://www.history.com/content/thanksgiving/mayflower-myths

and the the declaration of thanksgiving to make it an official day of Thanksgiving:

Thanksgiving ProclamationState of New-Hampshire. In Committee of Safety, Exeter, November 1, 1782 : Ordered, that the following proclamation for a general thanksgiving on the twenty-eighth day of November instant, received from the honorable Continental Congress, be forthwith printed ...

STATE OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE.

IN COMMITTEE of SAFETY,

EXETER, November 1, 1782.

ORDERED,

THAT the following Proclamation for a general THANKSGIVING on the twenty-eighth day of November [instant?], received from the honorable Continental Congress, be forthwith printed, and sent to the several worshipping Assemblies in this State, to whom it is recommended religiously to observe said day, and to abstain from all servile labour thereon.

M. WEARE, President.

By the United States in Congress assembled.

PROCLAMATION.

IT being the indispensable duty of all Nations, not only to offer up their supplications to ALMIGHTY GOD, the giver of all good, for his gracious assistance in a time of distress, but also in a solemn and public manner to give him praise for his goodness in general, and especially for great and signal interpositions of his providence in their behalf: Therefore the United States in Congress assembled, taking into their consideration the many instances of divine goodness to these States, in the course of the important conflict in which they have been so long engaged; the present happy and promising state of public affairs; and the events of the war, in the course of the year now drawing to a close; particularly the harmony of the public Councils, which is so necessary to the success of the public cause; the perfect union and good understanding which has hitherto subsisted between them and their Allies, notwithstanding the artful and unwearied attempts of the common enemy to divide them; the success of the arms of the United States, and those of their Allies, and the acknowledgment of their independence by another European power, whose friendship and commerce must be of great and lasting advantage to these States:----- Do hereby recommend to the inhabitants of these States in general, to observe, and request the several States to interpose their authority in appointing and commanding the observation of THURSDAY the twenty-eight day of NOVEMBER next, as a day of solemn THANKSGIVING to GOD for all his mercies: and they do further recommend to all ranks, to testify to their gratitude to GOD for his goodness, by a cheerful obedience of his laws, and by promoting, each in his station, and by his influence, the practice of true and undefiled religion, which is the great foundation of public prosperity and national happiness.

Done in Congress, at Philadelphia, the eleventh day of October, in the year of our LORD one thousand seven hundred and eighty-two, and of our Sovereignty and Independence, the seventh.

JOHN HANSON, President.

Charles Thomson, Secretary.

PRINTED AT EXETER.

Proclamation and image courtesy of The Library of Congress.

For those of you who want to here is the basic link to the website and you are welcome do spend more time researching :)

http://www.history.com/content/thanksgiving

All I'm going to say is Thanksgiving in November is really weird!!!!!!!

gaahhh :( Productivity at its best!

Well so tonight I went to bed on time.. haha but couldn't get to sleep :( and since John wanted the light off beside our bed... after laying around for 1/2 hour driving myself up the wall thinking.. which is what I do best when I don't want too!!!!.. I decided that I might as well get up and be productive!

That was what the original plan was before I layed around for 1/2 hour.. but then i decided that sleep was more important than scrapbooking.. now apparently blogging is! Oh well!

Today was one of those really unexciting busy days. It didn't actually start off that way, because I didn't do to much in the morning, but by lunchtime I was hard at dusting, vacuuming and doing laundry, washing it and folding it! for a change I actually was folding it as it came out of the dryer.. I have no idea why but I was!!

oh I guess I better tell you the part that was "exciting" (not) anyway apparently a Northern Flicker thinks our hour is the place to peck a hole into :( stupid bird!!! so now we have a nice little hole in the peek of our roof by the garage.. I will have to post a picture! Anyway I ended up running out there several times to chase him away so that he wouldn't make the hole bigger than it was yesterday already :(  boo.. if I had a gun I would shot him!!!! seriously go find a TREE!!!!!!!!!

So that was my day in a nut shell.. supper was super easy cause we had leftovers :) Pop them into the oven to warm up and tada! LOL!

Port Angeles - Our Stay!

out on Ediz Hook in the evening.. I figured I had to try get some pictures... Night photography takes some work though.. so this is about the best it got.. without spending tons of time out there!

This is Port Angeles :)

Now looking out to the Ocean.. Victoria is more to the left... The moon coming out was pretty spectacular.. it is tough to capture moments like that on camera :(

Port Angeles once again :)

That second night we went to eat in the Bella Italia Restaurant... it was a very neat place! :)

Day 3 - Wednesday

This is as I was driving into the papermill, the funny part of this is you feel like you shouldn't be driving here.. yet this is the road that runs through the papermill and then to Ediz Hook!

There is more to come....  so check back again! :)

Picture for my brothers :) ~ on our way to Port Angeles

So this picture ended up being deleted out of my other post for some odd reason... andway when I saw this I knew I had to get a picture for you guys LOL! just cause! :)

My Hubby Rocks!! :)

haha well so last night we went to do groceries for the month in WinCo and Costco... anyway that has been a while that we did them together.. so that was kinda interesting :)

So this is my story:

As we were walking to the till we walked past the flower display.. and then as we were past John all of the sudden said to me.. so do you want some flowers.. I said.. well that is up to you, I mean what can I say.. haha! So we walked back.. I told him to choose some.. he looked at the flowers and then said well what do you want I said figure it out LOL! so he said Roses right?! I was like well whatever I don't care sure! LOL! so he looked at them well I don't know which.. so you choose some.. LOL :) so sure enough Orange roses.. :) Yay!

Our trip to Port Angeles... trip to/out there!

So... finally all the pics :)

So I pretty much started taking pictures once we hit Yakima... for those of you who really know me.. ya I don't take a trip without a ton of scenic pictures! :)

I loved the way the trees were different colors and the sky was a wonderful blue.. so you will see a bunch of pictures with that :

Orchards.. definitely one of my favorite things about Washington!

Here they were working on removing rocks along side the road.. definitely worth a picture in my books :)

Coming out of the tunnel! I always love those pictures :)

Snow..!! You got it! LOL! I LOVE SNOW! I was so excited.. haha just ask John! I'm amazed that I didn't even think to stop... :P hehe! we wanted to get to Port Angeles before dark though so..

Mt. Rainier! gotta love Evert's zoom! Thanks bro!!

Pictures out of the sun roof! The clouds were amazing!!

ugh to bad the sun was shining on the window.. I just liked how this looked though!

Some pictures that would totally make nice puzzles!!! haha! Even though I hate puzzling and have no patience for it!

Starting to get close to Seattle LOL :) something finally is starting to sound familiar to me :P

Now for my family... check out this picture below...Doesn't it look familiar!?! :) haha remember! :)

There is a huge gap now.. haha cause I got sick of taking pictures I think.. LOL! I know fancy that! :P anyway so from here on in this post they are John's pictures cause I was driving!

Anyway... so I was driving and a car was coming up behind me pretty fast.. and I was like.. ohoh.. that is a cop.. and sure enough he came right up behind me and it was.. LOL! so I slowed down just a tad more.. cause I had not the faintest idea of what the speed limit was.. then at the next pull out on the side of the road I pulled over and let him pass me... Talk about freaking out though! A bit further along the road.. turns out I was doing pretty good with what my guess had been for the speed limit! haha! But you never know!