we're in!

we got an email this morning from our case officer. it is what we have been waiting so long for. the process is near the end. here is what it said:

"I am pleased to inform you that your application for residence in New Zealand has now been approved.

Your application will now join the issuing queue. The Migrant Levy of £230 will be taken from your credit card and the visas issued within the next 2-3 weeks.

I wish you all the best for your new life in New Zealand.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Kind regards"

i am especially taken by the line, "i wish you all the best for your new life in new zealand." i just keep thinking, that's what we are going to have--a new life. it is overwhelming to think about, and i am having a hard time wrapping my head around the hugeness of it all. in less than 5 months we are going to be strangers in a strange place, trying to make a new life for ourselves so far away from all our creature comforts. it really is mind boggling.

i knew we would be accepted. i got caught up in the "what ifs" game, and that is never a good idea. i am just a worrier by nature, and i still can't really let myself believe it till we get our passports and all our supporting documents back from london.

we haven't told anyone yet. i mean, of course people know that we are making these plans. but no one knows the certainty of today. we have yet to tell our family and friends that we have been officially granted residence in new zealand. like our engagement, it is nice to hold your secret safe inside for a while. its a personal celebration between the two of us. i am sure people will know soon enough. i will probably just tell sunshine when i get home from work (yes, i tell her everything! what are best friends for anyway???)

other big news: i decided to go to germany after all. mike talked to siefke yesterday, and i was a little envious about the plans they are making. and i changed my mind....again....and decided to go for a little german holiday and "make party" with all our good friends over there in deutschland in july. i am excited. i did really want to go to europe before we moved. and i think i needed to make my german friends a priority. they came all the way to whidbey for our wedding. i think i should stop fretting over the finances, and really consider the importance of being there for your buddies. nothing is worth more than that.

thought of the day...well, yesterday, actually. when did "guess what?" immediately evoke the answer, "you're pregnant?!?" i got that same response twice in the last few days. i just think that is weird. this makes me not want to tell people about it when it comes time for us to make that kind of announcement. to be perfectly clear: NO!

so, there is excitement in the air. when i got the email, my heart was thumping. and even now, just thinking about this new life makes the butterflies in my belly flutter. odd.