Pages

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Ingersoll

I have been in Ingersoll with Matthew for a day now, and in some ways it feels entirely normal and in others it feels quite foreign. I love the fact that when he came home from work yesterday that I was here waiting for him. I wasn't waiting for a phone call or for us to skype, I was waiting for him :) Then we were able to eat dinner together at our very own kitchen table and talk about our day. You see for me it's all about the simple things, the little things, that for everyone else are just a part of their normal, everyday life. But for us, up until yesterday, our normal consisted of technology. Phone calls, skype conversations, we might even break out of our box and send a card or two but even those were very few and far between.

I am enjoying being able to make our apartment our home. Matthew has been living as a bachelor since he moved in here in March, and as he says, "It needs a woman's touch" :) That makes me happy. The thought that he needs me, that he wants me to come in and organize what I can and move things around and make it ours. I'm loving having my own kitchen, and trying to figure out what to have for dinner each night. It makes me feel important and useful, which is exactly what I need right now because until I am granted permanent residence status I am unable to work. Which some might think is nice, to have some time to yourself, to take a break and relax. But it's hard for me to think of Matthew going off to work everyday and here I am at home, not working. It makes me feel lazy and that I am not contributing to our life. And that is exactly the thought process that Satan tries to bring me down with, I must be strong and fight against such thoughts that are not true and not given from my Heavenly Father. I am choosing to think of my time of not being able to work as a gift. I am in a new place with lots to learn and many relationships to build, and I believe that this time can be a wonderful gift if I use my time wisely. To keep our home clean and welcoming to anyone who might pass through our door, to make an effort to build relationships and get involved here in Ingersoll. I am trusting my Jesus to guide me over these coming months without work, it will give us plenty of time to spend together and plenty of time for Him to mold me into the woman and the wife that He longs for me to be.

I am really looking forward to this weekend because my parents and my brother will arrive here on Friday and stay through the weekend for mine and Matthew's Canadian reception that is on Saturday. It will be great for them to be able to see where I am living and to be able to meet many of the people who will be involved in my life over the upcoming months and years. Elinor, Matthew's mom, is planning our Canadian reception and I am so grateful to her for planning a reception for friends and family who are here in Ingersoll and the surrounding areas. I am looking forward to meeting many new people and also seeing some familiar faces :)

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Oh the Packing...and the Stress

I have so much packing that needs to be done before Matthew arrives on Friday night and I am feeling so very overwhelmed at the moment. How do you pack up your whole life into boxes and suitcases? Furthermore, when you cannot take everything with you at one time how do you choose what comes with you and what has to wait until the next time, or the time after that? You see getting our wedding gifts along with all of my stuff up to Canada is much more difficult than we had expected. For instance, I have to cross the border with Matthew in order to be granted a "Visitors Status" which will enable me to be able to stay in Canada for 6 months at a time, but I am not allowed to cross the border with many possessions until I am granted Permanent Resident Status because I can't look like I'm moving when I'm just a visitor. So at this point we can't just show up at the border in a U-Haul with all of our stuff, we have to be very strategic in finding ways to get things up there in shifts. Like when my parents come visit they'll try and bring a present or two, because they're only allowed to take $60 or less across the border. Or my parents will drive and pack their car full and one of our Canadian citizen friends or family members will meet my parents across the border, put the presents in their car, and then drive back across the border because Canadian citizens don't have a limit on things they can bring across the border. Do you understand my stress? It's very difficult for me to pick and choose things, whether it's jeans (which I love immensely), or choosing between our crock pot and our dishes. But I am trying to see this in a positive light. Such as it will seem like Christmas, up until I become a permanent resident, every time my parents visit or they send us a package in the mail if I'm really needing something particular. But all in all it's not about the stuff you have it's who you're with right? And I get to be with Matthew, and that is something that I cannot wait for! It will be amazing to finally be able to talk in person on a regular basis, or if we don't want to talk we can just sit together instead. I am really looking forward to just being able to live life together, it will be fun, and challenging but that is what marriage is about, being stretched in new directions and allowing God to mold you both into the people He has created you to be as individuals and as a couple.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

6 Days and Counting...

I will be with Matthew in 6 days!!! I am so ready for us to be able to live together as husband and wife. It has been quite the journey the Lord has taken us on over the past 6 months of marriage, seeing each other only twice since our wedding back in February. But the Lord is faithful, and that is what I am choosing to cling to as I get ready to move from my home town of Charlotte, NC and move up to Ingersoll, Ontario where Matthew and I will begin our married life together. I am nervous and also so excited. I know that there will be lots of adjustments to be made and that it won't be easy, but I also know that my God loves me dearly, that He will never leave my side, and that He has given me an amazing husband to walk through life together with.