Hello there,
I bet you were ready for a new update. As you can imagine we had a lot going on these last few weeks. So here is a report about March+April
NEW PICTURES ARE COMING SOOOOON....
The quints' grandpa (Misi Papa) from Hungary came to visit between March 5th and 19th. It was wonderful for him and us to reconnect after September 2008. The kids warmed up to him quickly and it didn't take long to find Grandpa Misi standing at the changing table changing his little wiggly grandchildren one after the other. After Annabelle, he said he can do anything.
Dad was a wonderful help. He did anything from cleaning to even baking cookies for his own surprise party not knowing what will be happen in the evening.
We all had a great time, our only concern was the news about the kids' Great Grandpa (Misi Papa's dad, Manna's grandpa) who got really weak and was hospitalized.
As things did not get any better and after David mentioned that I should go home. I decided sure I will go as soon as possible. ONLY FOR A WEEK. What a husband!
To make David's load a little bit lighter I took Lili with me.
Dad and I flew out the same day but we went different routes around the world. We arrived at Hungary 30 minutes apart :)
It was wonderful to stay with my grandparents. (Grandpa was brought home from the hospital). Lili brought so much joy with her sweet presence.
It was an amazing experience for me to care for ONLY ONE child. She got over a stomach bug fairly quickly and adjusted to the new time zone in a week.
After our week was up it was time to say our goodbyes.
Dad took us to the airport in Budapest to fly home to the States.
I was checking in when the lady at the desk noticed that my green card is not valid. IT EXPIRED LAST OCTOBER. " I can not let you board"-she said. She checked with their immigration department and sure enough they took us off the plane.
"Cold shower #1"
Thankfully dad stayed and our first trip led to the American Embassy, still in Budapest.
They let me in because I had an American citizen with me, LILI. That's how God works, right?
My sweet little toddler with her American passport opened the door for me to the Embassy.
You are talking about confidence. Lili was toddling around in our backyard. She ran through the safety gate and as she got through, she ended on her bottom and was waiting for mommy.
"Cold shower #2" Due to my mistake that I forgot to submit the papers to extend my status/green card our caseworker said I have to apply for new immigration visa. This meant I had to go through blood work, criminal check, doctor's visit etc. It can take 4-6 weeks.
(Our plane ticket had 3 more weeks until it was able to be modified).
My blood pressure started to go up. Then came the SHOCK. David has to come to prove me. The consule could not make any exception. He had to come while leaving the other four there.
At this point I didn't know what my name is, whether I am a male or a female. I was ready to faint.
Back to my parents home.
I did as much as I could to get the papers going quickly. That means most of my family members who got sick with the same stomach virus got to watch Lili while I was doing what needed to be done.
David came two nights later. It was awesome for Lili to have mom and dad with her.
Who watched the other four until forgetful mom and hero dad were in the other part of world?
Our church friends and David's family. You are talking about the Body of Christ. It was smooth.
So long story short after about 10 days they stamped my immigration visa into my passport. We rebooked the flights and left to the US on April 9th.
You would think no more "cold showers". Well we had a last one.
I was praising God when we successfully boarded on April 9th. We were on the runway...I had Lili's milk ready for take off, which actually never happened.
Our plane had technical problems and the flight was canceled. Due to that they could only book us for the next day.
Lili handeled it super well.
So they put us into a 4* hotel.
The next day we had the nicest flight.
It was awesome to have my treasures back. Many of you asked what was their reaction etc.
They had that surprised look on their face kind of like, I know who you are but how come that you are all of a sudden here?
The first days were extremly hard. Annabelle's separation anxiety got really strong on top of that Lili became like that too and she was confused with the new time zone again.
So Lili shared my lap with Annabelle (I made them do it) and they fought over me.
Thankfully this slowly got better in a week or so.
I was thinking a lot and looking back as we always understand God's plan a little bit better.
It gave me an amazing time with my family and I was able to rest up for the rest of the year, 3 weeks. (I haven't even been away from them for a day) I have so much stamina to do things with them, around the house.
It was God's grace that the mistake was within 6 mos otherwise they could not help me from Hungary and it can take 6 yrs to do it through the U.S.
The best place to be is in God's hands.
Just imagine if we would have discovered this during our summer visit when it would have been totally late. Brrrr..
Grandpa is doing so much better. In fact he is hoping and praying that he will see us in the summer again.
" Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."-Proverbs 3 :5-6and He did straighten it out and I learned my lesson.
