Chez Emilie

Bon, ok, je devrai dire "chez Emilie et Sergio"...mais comme Sergio n'était là que pendant le week-end - j'avais un peu le sentiment surréaliste que j'étais chez moi à Montréal (comme au bon vieux temps!) et que je vivais toujours avec Emilie!

Thank you so much for having me and taking such good care of me! Apart from my pregnancy sickness, it really seemed like I never left and I sometimes even wondered if this last year and a half with David were really real...

I got to see Emilie's job as a receptionnist,


Her everyday life- thank you again for cooking!

and even took her out for a piece of birthday cake!

Immigration Situation

Pray for Sarah on Friday! We received word on Wednesday night that she had been invited for a visa interview in Montreal this Friday. She was planning on going back to Canada next week, so it's not a huge deal that this letter came this week, in fact it's pretty good timing. Except they only gave us 2 days notice!!! Can you believe it? We have had an unbelievable adventure with the immigration process over the last 18 months (regardless of the outcome on Friday, the adventure is far from over), but this is the most unbelievable thing so far. The letter was actually dated and mailed on Friday the 12th, arriving in Gatineau on Tue the 16th. We got word of the appointment around 6pm, went to a previously scheduled dinner at a friend's house in which I studied with a couple friends for Wednesday morning's exam.

By 8pm we had switched Sarah's flight information so she would be leaving the next day and cancelled our hotel reservation in Wilmington for Thu night (we were going to spend Friday at the beach). A friend came over around 9:45 and we gave Sarah a blessing that her body and mind would be at ease and that she'd make it through this stressful experience well, having learned a lot and ending up grateful for it.

I started going through all our application information, going through the pre-interview instructions, scanning dozens of pages of stuff into my computer for our records, double checking everything. Of course I found a couple mistakes, and had to update a couple forms. I needed to start from scratch on another form relating to my financial situation, and since I wasn't going to be there in person I had to have it notarized. Since Sarah was leaving before any notary opened, and it was too late to get to one, I would have to UPS it to her Wednesday morning to arrive on Thursday for her interview on Friday. In other words, if the mail had been one day slower, we wouldn't have been able to get this document done correctly!

Sarah did a couple loads of laundry, I ran out to the bank (the interview fee is $100 in US cash) and drove around to make sure I could find the UPS store and the notary in the morning, as well as filling up the car with gas. By the time we finished all that and went to bed it was 3:30am. Sarah woke up around 6:15, I woke up at 6:45. We left for the airport at 7:25, and I said my goodbye as she went through security around 8am. It's hard to explain why I felt so emotional, I feel confident everything will go well, but I cried while driving back to Chapel Hill.

I drove straight to the UPS store where they notarized the document and sent it on its way. I got home, changed shirts (no time for a shower), barely caught the bus and made it to school on time for my exam. It went ok, though I'm glad it's only worth 10% of that grade and that I'm generally doing well in that class. I had two other classes that day which were very relaxed because it's the start of my 4 day weekend fall break.

Sarah had a pretty insane day of flying. Most flights would have cost almost $700, though she found a way to go for $350 by making two stops. It meant that she would fly south to Orlando, Florida, then up to Newark, NJ before arriving in Montreal at 6:37pm. Well, our motto is that if something can happen, it will, so of course there was a lot of fog in Newark and they closed the airport for a bit. She was able to find a way through Cleveland, which worked out fine, except she didn't end up landing until 9:15pm, 13 hours after I had said goodbye to her. Have I mentioned that she's pregnant and has been throwing up at least once a day? Thankfully, she didn't throw up once all day! Unfortunatley however, she has already thrown up today's (thursday's) breakfast. Hopefully she'll feel well during the actual interview tomorrow. The other good news is that the UPS I sent her arrived this morning despite mechanical problems with the plane in Kentucky, and that the parcel Yohann sent (the original interview appointment letter) arrived in Montreal safely as well.

As far as we can tell we've done everything we are supposed to do and she should be approved to receive this visa. Of course, this is just a K3 visa, meaning she can work or study yet, but she can live in the States legally while she wait for her greencard application to be approved. She's nervous but will surely do well. Like I said, please pray for her.

Immigration Update

As you probably heard, we received 2 days notice for Sarah to get to Montreal for her K3 visa interview which took place Friday morning Oct 19. Everything went really well and they said she had all her papers in order, though she doesn't recall them actually saying the words "it's approved." The way it works is they took her passport and said they would do some processing, put the visa in the passport and then mail it to her canadian address (Rebecca's address in Gatineau, near where we just moved from). They said the processing would take two days, and the shipping would take about a week. Since Gatineau is only a two hour drive from Montreal, we were hoping it would come sooner. So you can imagine how nervous we were getting as the days passed by without any word. It's already been two weeks since she left NC and we hadn't heard anything. Until this morning that is! The visa arrived in the mail this morning, and Sarah wrote me around 10:45 with the good news. We chatted online during most of my 11 o'clock class (I had my laptop with me) and I'm so excited she'll be coming home soon! She already had a ticket to fly back on the 8th, and it would cost $500 to move the date up, so we're just going to leave it and wait. Though it will have been three full weeks since she left, the last week won't be as hard because we'll have a firm end date in mind. The hardest part about the last week or so has been the fear that it wouldn't come, or that there was a problem and she would have stay longer, or even the remote possibility that it wouldn't be approved. We can put all those fears to rest now. The conditions of her visa are that once she enters the US, she can't leave or the visa is void. However, if a family tragedy occurs and she wants to go to France or Canada, she can request permission to leave and come back without losing her status. This is a huge relief and diminishes the feeling that she's trapped here away from her sisters and parents. The other conditions are that she still can't work or study. The only thing it allows her to do is live in the states indefinetly until she has the interview for a greencard, without having to leave the country every 3 months like she would with visitor status. That's the latest, thanks to everyone for your support!

Enceinte!

Around 9pm on Saturday Sept 1st I convinced Sarah to go buy a pregnancy test. We had been feeling ready to have a baby and thought maybe July was the month. Turned out not to be, so even when she was a couple days late from her otherwise regular cycle, she didn't want to jinx us by buying the test too soon. Finally, after playing with Delia, Milo and Eloise (neighbor kids upstairs), she was ready to buy a test and so we went out looking for a drug store that was still open (we don't live in Manhattan, that's for sure!). We got the test, came home and I read all I could about how it worked before she peed on the strip. I have a video of that moment too, but that's for posterity, not the internet, sorry! The horizontal line would show up regardless of the result, the issue at hand is whether you get a vertical line. If you are pregnant, the vertical line would show up in 2-3 minutes. If you've been pregnant for a little longer and hormone levels are higher, then the plus might come sooner. In our case, we saw the line the second she peed on the strip! She was really pregnant. As you can see from the video on the next post, we were still not ready to jump up and down with excitement, just in case we jinxed it. So there it is, the story of how we found out we are having a baby.


We took this picture of ourselves moments after finding out and moments before praying to Heavenly Father to give thanks and ask for lots of help.

We're Pregnant!

Here is the moment we find out we're going to have a baby. If we sound more confused than excited, it's because we wanted to be sure we were interpreting the results of the home pregnancy test correctly. That was around Sept 1st when she was already 3-4 days late. Now it's October 6th, in week 10, and it's finally starting to sink in.

Sunday Drama

Our friends the Vaiseys came down on Sunday afternoon to hang out. We ended up re-enacting scripture stories with the kids. As you can see we had a blast! Can you guess the story? It's Mary and Joseph traveling by Donkey. Rebekah was the inn keeper and I was the angel that talked to the shepherds. I took some creative liberty to assume the angel was also paying attention as they traveled. I think I look more like I'm about attack...

Dinner with the Verbiest family

We had a great dinner with Sarah Verbiest and her family a couple weekends ago. She's a classmate in my mom's doctoral program and we were so grateful for their hospitality and generosity. As you can see, we had a blast! Sarah and Kylie had come to NY with their friend to visit the American Girl story in midtown. At that time Kylie pronounced me "the coolest guy ever," so you can imagine I enjoyed having her around again. I was quickly replaced by Sarah (my wife) who turns out to be even cooler.

Welcome home!

We thought you might enjoy a little tour of our home...Ca y est! on est installés dans notre petit appartement!

Ratatouille

In case you guys think that this is just a Disney thing...no, we eat it regularly here! it IS a peaseant dish- and really isn't that fancy- but I LOVE IT!

la nouvelle vie de Sarah

Comme je ne peux pas travailler aux Etats-Unis pour l'instant, j'ai du m'adapter à un rythme de vie beaucoup plus lent que celui de l'urgence! C'était un peu dur au début...mais je commence à me faire à ces vacances prolongées!

Je me suis inscrite comme auditrice dans un cours de communication ...j'aime beaucoup ce que j'apprends- en plus c'est utile! ( qui n'a pas besoin d'améliorer ses relations?). Comme ça je suis occupée 2 matinées par semaine! Après ça, je passe par le complexe sportif de l'universtité- auquel j'ai acces à prix réduit puisque mon mari est étudiant. J"aime particulièrement leur piscines...mais on peut faire de tout!

Au cas ou vous vous demandez ce que je fais du reste de mes journées.... je me suis trouvé de nouveaux amis: la famille Vaisey. Rebekah et Steve ont 3 adorables enfants ( Dehlia-6ans, Milo-4 ans, Eloïse-1an et demi) et attendent leur 4ième bientôt. Ils me rappellent Guillaume et Estelle et sont tellement drôles!

New Apt

We finally arrived in our new apt and got to work setting it up. It was the hottest week of the year (I hope!) with temperatures hitting 120 degrees (with humidity factored in), or about 48 degrees celcius. It was insane. The place is pretty much setup now and looks great. We can't wait until y'all come to visit.

DC Day 2

We are so grateful for everyone that went out of their way to make our trip possible. While in DC we stayed with my Aunt Mere and Uncle Phil who live in northern virginia. While with them at church on Sunday we bumped into some people who knew one of Sarah's sisters from France! What a small world!

DC

We did a whole lot in a short time frame while in DC. We walked a ton, sitting in the gallery at the House of Representatives in Congress, and then walking down the mall to the Lincoln Memorial, stopping at some spots on the way, including the incredible Air and Space museum.

I was pretty tired and sick of walking, especially given the condition of my big toe (see my blog). I let Sarah wander the museum for 20 minutes while I had a power nap.

Sarah at the White House.
Sarah in front of the Canadian Embassy.

Me on Pennsylvania Ave in front of the Capital building.

Now I'm at the other of the mall, standing where Martin Luther King Jr. stood as he gave his "I have a dream speech."

A bug's eye view perspective of the library of congress building. This really is a work of art.

Philly

On the way south from NYC we stopped in Philadelphia for lunch and a brief walking tour of major historical sites. Here is a brief sample of what we saw and did:

the revolutionary army signing up some child soldiers

The liberty bell in front of it's original home, Independence Hall. This is where the declaration of independence was signed many years ago.

Of course I introduced Sarah to her first Philly Cheese Steak.

Before arriving at my aunt Mere's house in Virginia, we stopped in Kensington, Maryland at the DC Temple. We didn't go through a session, but enjoyed touring the visiting center. It was especially fun to meet Sister Ann Trehet (left), a missionary from France who recognized that Sarah is a Sacuto and said that she is friends with Sarah's sister Tiare. Sarah's mom Tiare used to teach her in Young Women's! What a small world. We also watched the Joseph Smith movie in their beautiful theater, and had the place to ourselves. We were glad the missionariers didn't do their intro from the mic at the bottom of the theater but came and spoke personally to us.

NYC day #3

We spent a few wonderful hours at the Manhattan Temple on 65th street. This is one of my favorite places in the world, let alone the city. This is where I stood 5 feet from the prophet. This is where I was baptized, first past the sacrament, received the aaronic priesthood. This is where I proposed to my wife. I should mention that we didn't take this photo, I pulled it off a website of LDS artists. This was done by James Ransom, a member of my former ward in NY.

After the Temple we spent a few hours at the Cloisters, the medieval art museum in Washington Heights. It's a really special place, and I'm glad I was able to take Sarah there.

Even good things have to come to an end. Here's a picture of us saying goodbye to dad before heading back to Bronxville where we stayed with my Aunt Bonnie and her family. The next we drove back south to DC.

NYC day #2

We braved the heat and the tourists (I guess were tourists too, eh?) and took the ferry out to Libery Island. We didn't get off the boat since you can't walk up past the base anymore anyway, but we did get off at the next stop, which was Ellis Island.

This is where most of the immigrants coming to the US went from 1880-1930. Now it's the US Immigration Museum and a very impressive place. I don't think any of my personal ancestors came through here, but I know the LDS Church has done a lot to preserve the immigration records so that people can do increasingly extensive geneology.

One of the many highlights of the trip was of course the Yankee game dad took us to. There really isn't anything quite like sitting in the upper deck at yankee stadium and watching the sun set over the course of the hours as the Yanks beat their opponents. The victim this night were the Chicago White Sox. Check out my blog at www.dklinejones.blogspot for a couple video clips from the game. I should mention that this was the 21st summer in a row that my dad and I have gone to a game together at Yankee Stadium.

NYC Day 1

The first time Sarah and I were at Grand Central Station together was New Years Eve 2005-2006. It hardly seems like much time has passed, but when we think about all the wonderful (and stressful) things we've been through together, it blows my mind and increases my heart rate!

We were very inspired by our tour of the United Nations and particularly enjoyed this mosaic by Normal Rockwell. In fact, we have a poster of it hanging in our living room now. I should give credit to my friend Philippe, who did this same thing a year or so ago.

This is our tour guide speaking to us from the main chambers of the General Assembly. Our guide was part Israli and part Argentinian, a very interesting mix.

That evening my dad took us out to dinner in the east village where we saw Ari Hest perform. For those of you who don't know, Ari went to the same high school as me. While he was a couple grades older, we did perform at the same concert together, and I clearly remember being impressed by him. Now he's on Columbia records and has 3 or 4 fantastic records out. He is a really impressive singer and guitarist, and we loved his show. You should check out his website: www.arihest.com.

Saying goodbye to friends

During our last couple days in Gatineau we tried to see as many of our friends as we could so that we could say goodbye. The top picture is of our friend Kim, her son and his friend, in front of the chinese restaurant we went to. The second pic is Sarah with Rob and Mark, two friends who helped us load the truck. That afternoon we celebrated with a pool party and potluck at Mark and Rosalie's house. It was great! After church on Sunday we stopped by to see Georges and Fanny, their little one Johannie, and their friend Keyana (in the above picture with Georges, Johannie and us). We'll miss all these great friends!