Wiebke and Paul

In Love With Lucy! October 10, 2008

On Monday, September 29th, I lost my husband to another girl…The minute Paul was introduced to Lucy Elena Fox, he was in love with her.  And so was I.

We were blessed to meet the little new baby girl of Heidi and Andy only a few hours after she was born. Heidi & Andy, we’re so thrilled for you and your little daughter. She sure is a precious baby! Thank you for letting us in and sharing your joy about her arrival with us!

Only a week later, last Monday, we came by to visit Heidi, Andy and Lucy at their home. I was fascinated to see Paul bond with Lucy - he almost didn’t want to give her back to her Daddy. See for yourself:

I think, Lucy looks really good on us!

Oh, Andy, thanks for pointing out the benefits of having a pregnant wife… :-)

Happy Puppy Birthday, Griffin! September 28, 2008

Today (or tomorrow or yesterday) is our furry friend’s 1st birthday! About a year ago, we’ve found his cute little puppy face on petfinder.com. When we went to visit him in the shelter in Madeira, we immediately fell in love with that adorable bundle of fur. He was shy but playful. All he wanted to do, was cuddle. Two weeks later we rescued him and brought him home with us.

A year later, The Griffster has grown to become an awesome, healthy, happy dog. Obviously, our love and consistent training had a fair share…;-)

Griffin, we’re so grateful that you’re part of our family! Happy Birthday - Woof!

http://www.dogster.com/dogs/675321

We Got It! September 8, 2008

Last Thursday, September 4th, we got the approval for my Green Card! After months of preparation - filling in forms, submitting documents, gathering information on basically your entire life, printing photos of your lives together, etc - we finally received the invitation to our interview a couple of weeks ago.

The rest was supposedly formality since, let’s be real, I totally deserved to receive the status of a permanent resident in the United States. Nonetheless, we were a bit nervous. Especially, after we’ve heard and read all these horror stories about “mean” interrogations.

But, again, our marriage, as you all know, is happy, solid and FOREVER! So, we’ve had nothing to fear.

Our officer was really nice. We’ve had to swear to tell nothing but the truth and after about 10 minutes (!), he said the magic words:”You are approved, your Green Card will be sent to you in between 4-6 weeks!”.

A special thanks to our friends Patricia “Mary” and Dave Solis who have been such an amazing support all along the process! No matter what time of day, they were available to answer our questions, pray for us, prepare the documentation with us and encouraged us. Muchas gracias y besos!

In 2 years, we’ll have to go through a similar process again to prove that we are still married. After that, I can finally apply for the U.S. citizenship. :-)

A Weekend In Sunny San Diego. August 10, 2008

The purpose: Regina & Ryan’s wedding on Fri 8/8/08 (nice date, guys!).
The party: The Thrashers and The Quinlins.
The location: A historic adobe in Vista, CA and the Quinlin’s hub on East Street in Sunny Diego, CA.
The result: Mucho fun with mucho awesome people.

At the Polito/Noonan Wedding:

With the Quinlins in Balboa Park:

Oh, and the one thing Paul loved the most about our weekend: Enterprise upgraded us to a Mustang Convertible. Yeah, baby! (Insert: We love Enterprise! Their customer service has always been excellent.)

Family News!

No, we’re not pregnant! But we are happy to share the wonderful news about my sister’s wedding with you.

Some of you may remember the handsome guy my sister Meike brought to our wedding in Monterey, CA a year ago. Robert and Meike finally decided to stop living in sin (wink!, wink!) and got hitched on August 2nd, 2008 on the beautiful island of Ruegen, Germany.

Paul and I were blessed to join them for their celebration as part of our recent Germany vacation.

It was a beautiful wedding, my sister looked stunning, Robert and her were so absolutely in love and they served food all day - from breakfast over a 4-course dinner to wedding cake and midnight snacks. (By the way, that stretched my tummy so much that I can’t stop eating anymore!)

We started off the wedding celebration with a “rehearsal dinner” at the castle (http://www.schloss-spyker.de/) where we were all staying for the weekend. It was great to meet the family again. Especially, my 96-year old Grandma who I hadn’t seen in over 2 years.

The next morning, we met for a delicious breakfast. Then fixed up the bride. Her make-up kept running over her face. Geez, Meike just couldn’t stop crying! :-) We headed over to a lighthouse for the civil ceremony. It was such a cute location! Next, the church ceremony in a small chapel. The message was just beautiful!

After the “official” part was over - the bridal couple invited everyone back to the castle for a picnic in the park. While we were enjoying tasty canapes and Prosecco, mosquitos were enjoying sucking our blood. Yikes! My poor Stepdad ended up with a huge mosquito bite on his forehead. Nevertheless, the picnic was a wonderful idea!

The wedding celebration concluded with dinner and dance after a change of wardrobe. Yup, Meike and Robert got hitched in style!

Overall, it was just an amazing wedding weekend and we want to thank the couple for all their hard work in making it so beautiful for all their guests! Thank you!

These two people are just perfect for each other and I believe that their marriage is a match made in heaven. I know that God had a serious hand in this relationship and I am very grateful to see my sister in such good hands with Robert.

By the way, she actually beat me in becoming a mom. Robert has an 8-year old son. Danny is adorable, amazingly well behaved and told everyone at the wedding that Meike is not his stepmom but his second mom. He really loves her a lot!

Congratulation again on your wedding day, you two!

Meike, We’re On Our Way! June 9, 2008

Great news were awaiting me when I came home from work today: My I-512L - otherwise known as “Authorization for Parole of an Alien Into the United States” - had been approved. In short:

I am allowed to travel abroad and our trip to Germany in July for my sister’s wedding is not in jeopardy any more!

Just this morning, Paul and I were talking about the status of my Green Card application and were wondering when we would hear back from the Department of Homeland Security about the approval of my travel authorization. And there it is! Praise God!

My Beautiful Sister. May 28, 2008

I saw some photos of my sister’s bridal dress fitting. She looks stunning in her gown! Obviously, I’d love to post the photos here but what if Robert sees them? Nope, bad idea.

What a blessing to see your little sister getting ready to marry a wonderful man…and finally stop living in sin! ;-)

Seriously, Meike, you’re such a beautiful bride! I cannot wait for your wedding, Wurmfuss!

Love always,
-Wiebwi

Happy Mother’s Day. May 11, 2008

“She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue . . . her children arise and call her blessed.” – Proverbs 31:25-26, 28

Liebe Mama~
Alles Liebe zum Muttertag. Egal, wie weit ich von dir entfernt bin, du bist immernoch mein Fels und die Quelle fuer weise Ratschlaege. Ob ich die hoeren will oder nicht. ;-) Fuehl dich umarmt und geehrt - und bitte nicht nur an diesem einen Sonntag!

In Liebe,
deine Grosse

A Glass Jar Full Of Wishes. May 9, 2008

A few days after our first wedding anniversary, Paul and I sat down to read the wishes our guests wrote for us on our wedding day. Upon arrival at our wedding, we asked all of you to write a wish for our first anniversary on a little card and put it into a big glass jar.

It was so much fun to read all your cards!

Here is the Best Of:

“Planned Pregnancy.”

“I wish for you two - to share the remote! Oh, and an everlasting pilot light so you’ll always be able to spark it!”

“May you never lose the desire to please each other!”

“Today, may your love and commitment be 12 months stronger! (With lots of money in the bank!) Happy Anniversary!”

“More love, more understanding.”

“Hope you’re well. Good choice you guys!”

“My wish for you is that both of you fall in love each morning that you are together. And that God blesses you always.”

“Ich wuensche Euch Glueck, Zufriedenheit, Harmonie und viele, viele gemeinsame Jahre, viele Kinder, Gesundheit und viel Geld.” (”I wish you joy and happiness, harmony and many, many years together, many children and a lot of money.”)

“Ihr sollt niemals ueber die Sorgen des Alltags vergessen, dass Ihr das grosse Glueck gefunden habt…Euch.” (”May you never forget, over the worries of the days, that you’ve found happiness…within each other.”)

Could the author of the following note, please come forward and reveal his/her identity? “I wish for you great sex for the rest of your lives.”

Thank you all for your wishes. The wishes for this past year would not have come true without the love and support from all of you! (And sorry, we’re not pregnant yet!)

New York, New York. April 14, 2008

Paul and I will be celebrating our very first wedding anniversary in the Big Apple!

Last Friday, we have booked our flights to New York. Paul’s friend Angela has kindly agreed to take care of Griffin while we will be enjoying our trip. Thank you so much for that, Angela! Besides being all excited about our celebration, we’re thrilled to know that Griffin will be in good hands.

Only 17 more days to go - I cannot wait!