News already!

Yes, updating two days in a row... pretty amazing, I know. Actually, I'm having problems sitting still from excitement. However, I've told a bunch of people about this now, so I'm starting to calm down a little.

I got a call from Al at Sukh Dhaliwal's office this afternoon. I was surprised to hear from him so soon, since I just talked to him yesterday, but, hey! I'm not going to complain! (It's not like anybody else is really good at getting/giving information quickly. Or, at all.) Kudos yet again to those wonderful people! It seems that he had a little chat with someone from "the Minister's office" (I'm assuming the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), and was finally able to get some information about our file! The interview that should have been done to determine the validity of our marriage has been waived - which means we satisfied them of our genuine marriage with the proof offered in the application and since. However, I had thought that's what David's March interview was; I've never heard of someone having two interviews unless there was a refusal and appeal in between, so I have no idea if there was a mistake made in our processing or what happened. Anyways, we don't have to worry about it since they've waived that second interview. Yay! I'm not sure if David could handle the stress of another one like the last one. It also looks like David's security/background check has been completed, which is usually one of the last steps in this process, and CIC seems to have all the information they need. The bring-forward date on our file is now November 29. That's a Sunday, so obviously we're not going to hear anything on that exact day, but I don't think it's unrealistic of us to expect to get some correspondence from CIC the first week of December.

Here's what I understand should happen next: Soon after our bring-forward date, Accra makes a *postive* decision, David gets a package in the mail from CIC-Accra with medical re-do forms, goes and gets his medicals done, and leaves the forms with the doctor, who sends them to a CIC office in Paris, France, either via CIC-Accra or directly (Not sure exactly how that works). Medical re-dos are said to get top priority at the processing facility in Paris, so hopefully within three or four weeks of receipt, David's medical information will be entered into the CIC database and an Immigration officer will access and assess them. Everything will be a go, and David will get a long-awaited email to bring his passport and receive his visa on any Monday after the letter is received. He will then have to wait at the High Commission all day (6 to 8 hours seems to be the recent processing times from what I've heard) to receive his traveling documents (I think I've seen a list of what all this includes, but can't think of everything off the top of my head) and a visa-stamped passport. I also forget how long the visa is good for; either three months or six months from the date he receives it. From there, he's free to come to Canada, provided he arrives before his visa expires (trust me, he'll be here ASAP). He will have to go through Customs and a landing interview with Immigration upon arriving in Canada, but I don't think there will be anything to cause problems in the landing interview unless he suddenly forgets his name, age, wife's name, the country she lives in... things like that. In which case, I think they'll probably stick him on the next plane back to Ghana. Hehe. And no, that would not be funny or ironic in the least. Please do not laugh if such a thing happens.

Now, IF everything goes like this (minus the amnesia and being sent back to Ghana), it's very possible that I could leave behind this "single married" status by late January/early February. I hate to get too excited because this whole process has been so unpredictable and delayed. But, yes, I am just a little excited. Having heard SOMETHING after eight months of silence from CIC is incredible. So here's us eagerly waiting for the next three weeks, just IN CASE there isn't a delay and we get something from CIC.

The Big Announcement

Yes, yes, I know what you're thinking. I know what I REALLY want to be announcing. It's not that, but this is almost as good, trust me. Being the odd little person I am, I really wanted a more original way of doing this. I have tried, and failed, to be original in announcing this at any of the opportunities I've had. Well, so be it, I guess. Maybe next time...

So, if you haven't figured it out already, the big news is... that David and I are expecting a little addition to our family in late April 2010. It's unfortunate that I don't get to see your reaction; I've had everything from gasps and "you're kidding, right?!" to "oh, I knew this was going to happen as soon as you said you were going to Ghana," along with the usual grins and hugs, and Charles' confusion: "A baby's going to have Larita!" David and I have told close friends and family, as well as my employer, but were waiting until I really start showing before it becomes common knowledge.

We realize that this is a very unstable and uncertain time in our life to be starting a family, but, really, how much longer are we expected to wait? Our lives have been completely on hold for the last year and a half. Though this baby wasn't really planned for, we are both thrilled that it's coming and that we can feel like we've actually taken a step forward in our lives. However, I'm not quite in the position of feeling anxious to meet our little one; I wouldn't mind being pregnant until David gets to Canada, no matter how long that takes :D

For those of you who are wondering about details, my exact due date is April 24th. I'm just through my first trimester and, so far, have had an easy, trouble-free pregnancy. I've had my share of nausea, loss of appetite, headaches, tiredness, soreness - enough that I'm glad that part seems to be over with - but nothing serious. I've had my first doctor's appointment and everything seems to be progressing normally. However, I haven't had my ultrasound (another month before that happens), and haven't heard back on the results of my blood tests yet. I have another doctor's appointment in two weeks, and I'm sure if anything else has come up since the last one, I'll hear about it. Other than that, there's not much going on. I do have a bit of a bump now; it comes and goes, so seems to be mostly fluid. However, enough that I've had to pack up my pre-pregnancy pants and find some with elastic waists :D I could go on and on with all the little changes I've noticed, but, really, does anybody need that much detail? I guess if you do, feel free to email me!

I'm sure there will be more pregnancy/baby updates as they become necessary - pregnancy is actually fairly uneventful. And I sure hope there will be some updates as far as Immigration goes. I have contacted the MP's office again today to have another inquiry done, but not getting my hopes up that anything will have changed. After all, nothing has changed since last March, so....