I did it =)

I packed three suitcases

full of all my stuff

(well, a tenth or so of my original pile of stuff,

but my Piglet&I managed to shrink it!)

For the first time in 10 months "packing my suitcases" is not

on my to-do-list.

*

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And now I'm all done.

Leaving my parents' home Sunday night,

staying with friends 8 hours away the last few days

before leaving,

STILL WAITING for a call, for the visa to get ready

*

In less than two weeks (God willing) I'll say yes again, to my Ben,

368 days after my first yes.

I can't wait to walk every step of the way with him,

share all joy, share all sorrow.

*

The Lord is so *so* good.

I love Him so.

*

*

åslaug abigail

Of Cake and Lovebirds...

Just a teeny weeny update here to tell you all that:

* big fat letter arrived

* all required documents are obtained

* and sent.

*we're now waiting for an interview date,

and I'm leaving by train on Monday to go to the capital.

When I come home, I'll be waving that visa in my hand

for real.

(though, I have no idea WHEN I'll be back..)

*

"My heart rejoices in the LORD;

in the LORD my horn[strength] is lifted high.

My mouth boasts over my enemies[not the Embassy],

for I delight in your deliverance."

1. Sam 2:1

* Cutting the cake at our engagement party...

I love this picture =)The on-lookers...

don't you just LOVE on-lookers??Smiling at the camera
We sure CUT that cake, didn't we??

*

åslaug abigail

Guess What!!!!??

No, we didn't have a baby,

(this is my adorable little cousin, about ten days old in this photo)

*
*

Yes, WE GOT THE VISA!!!

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DID ANYONE MISS THAT??

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We Got The Visa!!!
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Not that this means the waiting is over. We still have to wait for it to be sent to the NVC

and for them to send it to the Embassy

and for the Embassy to send me a big heavy letter with information

I'll have to get appointments and tests done,

I have to contact the Embassy,

they have to schedule an interview,

I have to go to the interview,

and THEN, we're ALMOST THERE....

*

*

But who cares about all that? I'm SO SO SO EXCITED at the thought of being there *soon*.

*

The LORD is my strength and my shield;

my heart trusted in him, and I am helped:

therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth;

and with my song

will I

praise

him.

Psalm 28:7

*
*

It came through on August 17, six months to the day from the application was accepted. However, I wasn't aware of it till last night...

Wow, thank you all of you for your prayers, for your sweet, kind notes. I am so very thankful.

I'll keep you updated,

and Raquel, I WILL tell that story, soon, stay tuned =) =)

*
*

åslaug abigail

I Promised Not to Cry...

....and so I won't.

He left today, but he just called: and he is almost home now, and WELL,

and I am HAPPY, thankful beyond words that he is.

*

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As for God, his way is perfect:

the word of the LORD is tried:
he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

Psalm 18:30

He's here...

...And the world is right again.

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pS! the visa didn't come yet

Ramblings of a Rainy Day

my most beloved sister and I

I DID go off on an unexpected,

short notice,
special,

wonderful,

much needed-holiday.

*

So I'm in the south of Norway,
visiting my sister at the boarding school I graduated from two years ago

(she's graduating this summer).

I left home two weeks ago, I'll be staying for one more.

*

We're having lots of fun.

I get plenty of rest.

We've had so much sunny weather,

today it's raining, but it is still beyond wonderful here.

*

No news of the visa, other than that we'll more than likely hear *something*

(not a final decision, but some kind of progress) from the Visa-office in 60 days.

*

Thank you everybody for your prayers.

It's very overwhelming that so many are praying =)

*

I'll post an update as soon as I've got one =)
*

(I'm off to making banana bread and eat it warm from the oven, while I snuggle up in warm blankets on my sister's bed, WITH my sister, to watch a movie. Perfect rainy day =)

*
åslaug abigail

Happiness

Mm, so I never felt this good before.

And the strange thing about that? There's no visa in sight...

*

It could be that I went copletely OFF refined sugar, and majorly reduced my gluten intake...

It could be the spring, with it's bright, sunny, beautiful mornings...

It could be the sweet blessing of just *being* at home, with my family, resting my knee...

It could be that I am blessed beyond measure (and I mean that with all my heart)

*
I LOVE waking up to a wall of clouds with several holes where the golden sunshine tumbles out in it's bright, beautiful glory

I LOVE apples with peanut butter and cheese

I LOVE hugging. My mama, my dad, hearing someone say: do you want a hug?

I LOVE getting dressed up and looking pretty *just* for my family, even if nobody else will see me all day (you know, you'd do that for people you work with)

I LOVE being off sugar, and almost off gluten

I LOVE feeling WONDERFUL, physically, emotionally, spiritually

I LOVE the this beautiful ring on my right ring finger.

I LOVE writing notes and letters to my best friend
*
*
What do you LOVE??

*
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Oh, and the "cow" in the labels is my Mindy, because I LOVED milking her.

Five Reasons to ***LOVE*** spring..

You wake up, and feel well.
The sun is shining, and you do your best (not very hard today) to shine too...
*
And then you go about your day,
writing letters that are so long
(and because of it, so heavy)that they cost twice as much to send out,
and you eat your mama's homemade yellow pea soup,
and you realise that even if you don't love peas,
you LOVE this soup (licking the bowl just to make a point)
and you certainly love your mama.
*
And then you play the piano and sing.
And you sing more, just because the echo in the tiled bathroom is so pretty to listen to,
*
and you come up with five reasons to love spring,
and you love spring just because it's spring,
but especially because of:

Short sleeves

Bare feet

Wild flowers

And the fact that THIS is the garden, and it's GREEN!

And your friend came over yesterday, and you made cards and sent letters and had fun =)
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åSlAuG aBiGaIl

Just posting,

to prove that I'm still alive, and doing WELL:.

that my days are spent working at church,

.

sitting outside on the balcony with my head on my mom's shoulder, half asleep most of the time, and when not, we talk. And compare our hands

(she tells me hers are so old now),

but they look much the same, with almost the same ring

(inscriptions on the inside and minor details the difference)

.
We have dinner together, sometimes with my dad, sometimes just the two of us.....

.
Today I came home with my arms full of flowers,

lots and lots of wonderful smelling red roses,

white lillies,

MORE white, pretty flowers which I don't know the name of..

.

And being driven home from work

by this old, caring man that I work with,

away from church,

with all I could see and smell was the flowers in my arms, I think I realised

I am getting married (so now, these last 88 days, I'll know for sure)

.

And the weather has been so pretty, so beautiful.

Just sunny, with a clear blue sky and warm enough not to wear a jacket.

.

I wish there were words to describe, let you know,

just HOW wonderfully perfect my life is right now.

.

I suppose you won't get it if I just let out a big sigh of contentment...? No?

.

Well, anyways,

.

*BIG sigh of contentment*

.
.

åslaug abigail

A couple of feet off the ground, in a school playground at 6.30 in the morning...

In THIS climbing pyramide,THIS wonderful man asked me to marry him, and I said yes.And he held my hand for the first time,
and slipped a golden wedding band onto my right ring finger,

It's been there ever since...

.
There's of course more to the story than this, but you'll get the rest later...
.

.

Blessed be the LORD God,

the God of Israel,

who only doeth

wondrous

things.

.

Psalm 72:18
.

.

åslaug abigail

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PS. This was written Saturday, January 23 - 2010