Happy Birthday Son!

Today is Madison Luke's 4th birthday, happy birthday son! I wish I could be there for his birthday bash on Sunday but alas, I can't. I'm so jealous of everyone who's gonna be there!

I am planning a little birthday celebration for when he gets here on the 15th of August, including hiding a present for him in every room of the house and having him hunt for them (that should be fun).

Now that Rachel and Maddy's visas have been approved we have decided that they will be coming over to join me on the 15th of next month, which should give them time to visit with family while I try and get us some furniture.

It's hard to believe we've had Maddy for four years already, it's gone by so fast!

Visas Approved!

Great news, Rachel and Madison's immigrant visas have been approved already! We weren't expecting an answer from the Embassy til the end of this week but lo and behold they sent the approved visas to them in the mail yesterday.

I think there was some divine intervention involved, not for me but for my son, who I've been told misses his daddy a lot. Not only that but BatGran and Papa have graciously offered to help us with the travel costs so we can be together sooner rather than later, a gesture that has left us all lost for words and deeply moved.

What would we do without family?

Just Imagine

Imagine that you just moved in to a new place and it was totally unfurnished. What would you get first? I have spent the entire weekend thinking up a list of stuff I need to get (I came up with 43 things to get) but need to narrow it down to a "Top 5" if you will. Here's my list:

1. King sized bed (All 3 of us can sleep on the bed until we can get a singe bed or bunk bed for Maddy later on down the line).
2. TV set (Seems kinda excessive but have you ever sat in a room for days with nothing to do but stare at the walls? I want Maddy and his mommy to have a TV to watch while I'm at work, so there!).
3. Dining table and chairs (need a place to eat)
4. Sofa set (gotta have a place to sit)
5. Pillows, sheets and duvet

I wanted to add "computer" to the Top 5 so Rachel could keep in touch with friends and family but there's always the phone (for now) and if it's urgent I always have email access at work. I wanted to add "iron and ironing board" to the list but I discovered a neat trick; putting my wrinkled clothes in the drier for 10 minutes gets rid of most of the wrinkles. What would you put on your Top 5 list?

One Step Closer

I got an email from Rach this morning that said that her interview with the Embassy went well and only lasted 15 minutes. Super news! She'll probably have to wait a week to hear back from them and then they'll be able to come over to join me in D.C. In the meantime, Madison's fourth birthday party is scheduled for tomorrow and it should be great. I hope they take heaps of photos so I can post them here for everyone to enjoy.

The New Place

If you're wondering why I keep changing the appearance of Maddy's blog, you're not alone. I wonder the same thing myself sometimes but in a nutshell the change was made for two reasons; firstly the page was too blue which made it hard to read and secondly it was a commonly used template so it was used in too many other places which is like wearing a shirt to work only to see everyone else on your floor wearing the exact same shirt. The first urge you have is to run home and change, which is basically what I've done. I like the new scheme which has a few palm trees growing between some skyscrapers, a nice representation of our island family living in the big city.

I moved in to our new place in Virginia last night. It came unfurnished so although it's a pretty big place already, it seemed virtually cavernous because of the lack of furniture. The electricity wasn't on when I got there, which was odd since I was assured by the power company that they had switched it on the day before, so I broke into the utilities room downstairs and switched the master key on myself. Yes, my misspent youth came in handy.

So it was nice to go upstairs and have the lights work and hear the hum of the central air conditioning. The first thing I did was turn the aircon on all the way to cool the place out quicker. I woke up at midnight regretting that decision because the place felt like a freezer and I hadn't bought any sheets yet. The good news was that after turning the aircon off completely, I discovered that our place is well insulated which should save us money on power; the bad news was that I was cold and had no way of staying warm in bed. I didn't get much sleep last night.

Rachel's interview with the Embassy is today in New Zealand, I hope it goes smoothly and their visas get issued without any complications. Wish us luck!

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Rachel and Madison in NZ

Being the unorganized person that I am, I called Samoa this afternoon hoping to catch Rachel before she left for NZ. Boy was I surprised to hear that she had left 4 or 5 hours earlier and was almost in NZ already! Their visa interview is scheduled for tomorrow in Auckland and if all goes well they should be with me in Washington DC in no time at all.

Congrats Aunty Lagi & Uncle Tolly

I was reading through some of Maddy's old posts from the archive and came across a post in August 2003 about Lagi and Tolly getting engaged which in turn reminded me that I got an email the other day saying tht is now "official" since Lagi just got a flash diamond ring on her finger! Congratulations again guys, we're all very happy for you :)

Welcome Back Right Foot

I've had the misfortune of having gout for the past 6 weeks straight. I managed to use a pair of crutches that were donated to me by a work colleague and see a doctor last Friday so I could get a prescription for some anti-inflammatory drugs to help ease the pain. Crutching it ten blocks in the summer heat wasn't one of my more fun experiences but I made it and I'm glad I made the effort. The pills have done their job and I now have the use of my right foot again. I'll never take walking for granted again!

The countdown to Rachel and Madison leaving for NZ is down to 3 days and I'm excited for them. I wish I could come with them, Maddy's birthday party is shaping up to be the event of the year!

I'll be continuing to move house tomorrow and Tuesday. Thanks to a very generous co-worker of mine, I have been able to house-sit at her place while she was away on business, rent-free, and save up for a place of our own. I don't know what we would have done without her help.

My family will be here with me soon and I am sooooo looking forward to seeing them again.

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Maddy's Upcoming 4th Birthday

Where did the year go? Geez I can't believe it's July already and Madison's 4th birthday is less than 3 weeks away. Lucky for him, BatGran and his aunties Sachi and Lagi are on the case and have a fabulous day at Junglerama planned for him. He's so fortunate to have a family that adores him so much.

He's at an age where he'll remember this birthday (I doubt if he'll remember any of his past birthdays in years to come) so this birthday will be extra special. This will be his first birthday not held at McDonalds in Apia I think!

Work has been busy, which is good, and Rachel and Maddy's immigration process is right on schedule which is a big relief. It won't be too long until we're all reunited. WOOOHOO!

Long Overdue

It's been awhile since I updated Maddy's Journal and for that I apologize. The past 3 weeks have not been kind to me healthwise. I spent 2 weeks at home sick and haven't quite recovered yet. I don't think I'm eating well, I eat too much fast food and am not looking after myself like I should. I'm not young anymore and my body can't handle this much abuse without reacting to it I guess.

I can't wait for my family to get over here. It's like my life is on hold til they arrive. My mind is in hibernation and I'm finding it hard to focus, there are so many things I have to do but am finding it hard to find the energy and the motivation to get it done. I hope I break out of this mind numbing malaise soon. I miss Rachel and Maddy.

Work has been good, the staff have been very supportive and it's good to know that they are there if I ever need a helping hand. I'm lucky to be in such a position.

Last week I finally found us a place of our own, it's in northern Virginia, just outside of Washington DC. It's a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo on the second floor in a nice area. It's close to one of the better elementary schools in Fairfax County and right across the street from the Dunn Loring Metro stop, so commuting to work will be a breeze from now on. I sign the lease on Wednesday and move in on the 15th of July. Exciting times ahead!

Rach and Maddy will be heading to NZ on the 19th of July to await their immigrant visa interview with the US Embassy, a trip they are both looking forward to. I hear that BatGran is planning Madison's 4th birthday bash and that there might even be a surprise visit from aunt Sachi and uncle Mark from Oz so it sounds like I'll be missing out on a fun day. Take lots of photos guys!