The wait continues...

Another couple of months have gone by and we are still waiting for the lovely Green Card to arrive, of course with the current government shut down we are pretty sure nothing is getting down in that area. We have tried contacting different offices to try to figure out what is going on, but as of now have not heard anything encouraging.

Ryan and I have both been sick the last two weeks. Ryan had just settled into the new school year when he was hit with a cold which turned into an upper respiratory infection so he was out of school for a whole week. Just as he was recovering from it, I was hit with it as well. We are thankful that Naomi has managed to stay healthy through it all and as of now does not seem to have it. Hopefully in this coming week we can get back into the full swing of things. 

We joined in a couples Bible study group through our church which meets once a week and our home and are looking forward to getting to know more couples our age that live in the area. It has really been a blessing to connect with other couples that in the same stage of life as us. 

The most exciting news that we have had lately is that I am going to be an Aunt in April! I am really excited for Andrea to become a Mum as well as for Naomi to have a cousin.

Naomi is doing well especially since she has managed to stay healthy! She had her 6 month appointment yesterday and even handled the shots pretty well. She already has two teeth and is able to sit by herself. 

It's been a little bit of a discouraging time lately with us both being sick for so long and the green card still not being here. However the important part to remember is that the Lord continues to bless us day by day and shows us that he is still taking care of us. We are thankful for the different ways that we are always encouraged. whether that's through a group of other young couples from our Bible study, or by a phone call from one of my RVA friends. God is good all the time and his timing is perfect. 

Summer Ends

Summer has now come to an end and we are slowly getting back into a routine. We had a very eventful summer, with lots of fun memories!

My parents are still in South Carolina while my Dad is finishing off some studies. (In January they will be returning back home to Zambia) It has been such a blessing having them in the same country and we were able to see them quite a lot over the summer.

Family Vacation

We were able to take a family vacation, with our WHOLE family for two weeks! This was the first time we have all been together as a family in a very long time! There were 8 of us, plus the baby, plus a dog, and Philip a family friend joined us in the second week. We stayed in a cute little cottage at a lake in WI.

We were able to spent the days, playing board games, fishing, canoeing, and just enjoying the time together.

Moving

Before we took our family vacation my family was able to help us move. We moved to the same town that Ryan's school is in. We found a duplex that was a little bit bigger than our last place, and that is somewhat affordable. Now instead of having to drive an hour each way to school, Ryan just drives about 10 minutes. Finding our new place was also such a blessing and an answer to prayer. 

Naomi

Naomi is continuing to do well! She is now 5 months old and seems to be getting bigger each day. She is very active and keeps me busy pretty much the whole day. She loved spending time with her Oma u. Opa as well as meeting all her Uncles, and Aunts. Her favorite person is Ryan and she always has a big smile waiting for him when he comes home from work. She is starting to get a little bit shy around strangers, but still does well in the Church nursery which she has been going to since she was 3 months. She is now also in her own room, but has yet to sleep through the whole night. 

Green Card
One of the most frustrating things has been my ongoing wait for my green card. We have now been waiting for over a year, and whenever we try to contact them they are not much help and simply state that they are still conducting my security check. We are really hoping that it comes soon because we would like to go to Germany for Christmas to visit my grandparents. However with no green card, I will not be allowed re-enter the States if I l eave the country. It would also really help us out a lot if I could get a part time job, but again I can not do that until my green card arrives.

Life
Ryan is  back at school, he is now on his second year of teaching high school math. He is still quite busy, and is also refereeing soccer games on the weekends. He is however enjoying being back at school and is excited to make an impact on the lives of his students.
 I have my hands full with Naomi, and am also trying to get more involved in our church, which is now just 10 minutes from us.
Unfortunately Gabi is not close to us this semester as she is studying abroad in Japan. You can read about her travels here---  http://gabiotg.blogspot.jp/  So for now I am rather lonely with the rest of my family being far away, but we are hoping to meet up with some of them one way or another at Christmas.

 Prayer Requests

• Green Card
• To be able to go to Germany for Christmas

March

Another couple of months have passed by and we are still waiting on my green card. Every time we have contacted the office they have told us to wait another 90 days, and most recently they said to wait another six months. We are trying our best to be patient while we continue to wait for it.

Ryan had two weeks off school for spring break, which was the last two weeks in March. It was such a blessing from the Lord that Naomi was born 2 weeks early  and so happened to arrive during Ryan's spring break so that he could be home with me for her first week.

Naomi Grace Reopelle arrived on March 28th at 2:30pm. She was 7 pounds 1 ounce, and 21inches long. We were very thankful that the birth itself went well and did not take very long at all. A couple of weeks before Naomi was born the doctor had found that she had some irregular heartbeats, (Premature Atrial Contractions). So Naomi spent her first 24 hours in the NICU. For the most part the irregular heart beat has resolved itself, but she does still have Patent Ductus Arteriosus, which is an opening in her heart that still needs to close. It's not conmpletley uncommon with newborns and may very well close on its on during her first month. We will be seeing a cardiologist in a month for another EKG to determine if the opening has closed.                                                            

                                                                                                     

 Ryan is now back at school  teaching again, he has about six weeks left until the summer. My Mum is currently here for two weeks, we are really enjoying having her here, and it has been a huge blessing to me especially since we are having plenty of sleepless nights with Naomi.

Prayer Requests
* Naomi's heart to fully close
*My green card to arrive soon
*Apartment Search (We are hoping to move closer to Ryan's school at the end of the summer so are hoping to find some affordable housing)

2012-2013

Well I thought it would be about time to start blogging again, hopefully in this new year I will be able to blog a little more often.

2012
2012 was a busy year for both Ryan and I. We both graduated from Judson, and a week later were married! Because my parents were coming for the wedding they were able to be there for graduation as well.

Both our families at Graduation.

On May 5th my Dad married us.

We then went to Florida for a week for our honeymoon.

While on our honeymoon, Ryan received a job offer from a Christian school in Aurora, IL (about an hour from where we currently live).

After returning from Florida we settled into our little townhouse.

Over the summer Ryan worked at his varies summer jobs, and I started to process of applying for my Green Card (applying for residency in order to be able to work in The States).
Once August came around Ryan started work as a high school math teacher.  He teaches several sections of Geometry and Pre-Calculus and Discrete Math.

I think the hardest part about his job is currently the hour long commute that he has each way. It means he has to get up at 4:30am every day and by the time he gets home after driving for an hour is very tired.

We are very thankful that God provided us with the job though!

Once the school  year was just getting starting and we were just settling into the rhythm of married life we were caught off guard by another surprise. We found out I was pregnant. It was a huge shock to us both. After getting over the initial shock of it we are now both very excited and are looking forward to the arrival of our baby April 8th of this year.

Although it was such a surprise to us we soon realized it was all apart of God's plan. We are currently in a 2 bedroom apartment, had been trying to find a 1 bedroom apartment closer to where Ryan works. We could not find anything in our price range, and prayed about it often. Now we know why we could not find anything, God knew all along that we would be needing that second bedroom. Also my parents are leaving the mission field for a year, during which my Dad will be finishing his Masters in Global leadership at a University in South Carolina. So my parents will both be in the United States during the time that our baby is due, which means that my Mum will be able to fly over here in April. South Carolina is still far away from Illinois but a whole lot closer than Zambia :)

I had a really rough first trimester and was sick a lot, but am now thankfully feeling a lot better and getting anxious for the next 3 months to go by fast.

Over Christmas Break, Andrea and Aaron came up from Texas and we were able spend Christmas Eve and New Years Eve with them. It was really nice to be able to spend those days with some family!

2013
The new year has now begun, as of yesterday Ryan is back at school. As for me, I am still waiting for my Green Card. We have completed all the necessary paperwork and interviews and are now just playing the waiting game. Until I receive it, there is nothing I can do but wait. It would have been nice if it had come earlier so that I could have gotten job. As the days go by and I still can't work at my due date comes closer I am just not sure what will be happening with my whole job situation.

Prayer Requests

• Safety as Ryan travels to and from work.
• For the baby and myself to stay healthy.
• For my Green Card to arrive soon.
• For what the future holds. (At this point we are just very uncertain of what the coming year will look like with jobs and and our living situation.)