a faith observed: Australians all let us rejoice! Citizenship here I come!

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Australians all let us rejoice! Citizenship here I come!

I can't believe it! I've nearly finished completely my application for Australian citizenship! It was surprisingly much easier than I anticipated and tomorrow I hope to round up the necessary supporting documents, have them certified and post my application. Then I wait for my interview and if I successfully pass my citizenship test and the interview,I am scheduled for my swearing in ceremony where I commit my loyalty to this great country. I did a practice test and nearly aced it, so I'm not too worried! :)

My goal was to finalize my application before our baby arrives and I think I'll be able to check that one of the pre-baby to do list! Unfortunately as I was in the middle of completing my application, I noticed that my US passport is set to expire. So I've added another application to my pre-baby list and am Google-ing what needs to be done for that, as I write.

Just over 3 weeks to go! I am excited and nervous.... With Christmas less than a week away and family around the week following Christmas, I know these last three weeks will just fly by. It's been such a wonderful few months - I've really appreciated having Andrew around so much and his support and just enjoying the time as a family, without the stress that comes from being too busy and over committed. Simon has just been amazing these last few months- we're definitely not feeling the terrible two's that many describe- and he just has grown up into such a great little boy - or big boy- as he calls himself. He has finally entered the world of SLEEP! Ahhh.... the bliss of it for us. We can actually go through a bed time routine and then leave the room and he falls asleep on his own, without a peep. And doesn't wake up for at least 10-12 hours. He's also eating a lot better independently and we feel like we can finally sit down and enjoy our meal without cramming it into our mouths as fast as we can while attending to Simon's every need. AND his vocab is just amazing. He is talking so much, singing songs, reciting from books we read, and saying little prayers at night. So, so sweet. So I'm really happy with these big steps we've made before our little girl arrives.

I always think, "I have to write that down and post it in my blog" in response to the funny, clever things Simon says or does, and then I forget to and can't remember any of them! I wish I could share them all with you all - I am getting so excited that my mom will be here for three weeks in January/Feb and that my sister, Rachel, and my sweet niece Sally will be here for a week in February. It will be so nice for them to meet our little girl and also just spend time with Simon. There's absolutely nothing as great as family. I'll be missing Deb and of course, my dad, but how blessed to have Mom and Rachel here so soon.

1 comment:

Marge said...: Way to go, Liz!! You will all be a 2 passport family before long! And I can't wait to see Simon in all of his "grown-upness"!; December 23, 2009 at 4:27 AM

Post a Comment

This is me, a faith observed.

C.S. Lewis writes about the pain of losing his beloved wife, Joy, in his book, "A Grief Observed". In some ways this is my attempt to share my journey through grief and back into life, as the past nine months have been characterized by an immeasurable longing for my beloved father, who died suddenly this past January.

After months of hibernation from the internet, I unexpectedly find myself able to re-begin this blog and connect with my larger community of family and friends. This blog will likely reflect less of the intensity and depth of my pain and more of the simplicity and ordinary joy that keeps my life full - namely days running after our little boy, Simon Pierre. But it is because of the incredible love and presence that defined my relationship with my father, that I feel I can will myself to not just survive each day but to pour that same kind of love and attention onto Simon.

My father was an endless source of strength to me, a pillar of faith. His last words, spoken to my mother as he passed into that which is unseen, "God is good - good all the time", have remained with me through this dark cloud of grief. And when God seems hidden, when justice seems to be losing out, when life is unfair, and when death swallows up the one I most love, I remember my father's words and breathe in this promise, that the God of love is in the process of restoring that which has been destroyed.

And as my father told me in dream I've had since his death, "Look to Jesus. As a father, to point you towards Him is the best gift I can give to you." So here I am, this is me, a faith to be observed.

I hold onto that which is not always seen- the promise of God's goodness, the hope that one day in the promised new heavens and earth- on a grassy hill or a sand covered beach- the lion and the lamb will lie down side by side and I, too, will lie down side by side, next to my father, and we will laugh and laugh until there are no more tears left to cry.