We're plowing ahead...

Wedding plans are now officially in full swing. We've been holding off somewhat until we had a better idea on the likelihood of getting his visa *before* the date we had set, and after a very positive phone call I had late Friday with my contact at my Senator's office, we have decided to move forward with our September date and keep our fingers crossed. Even though it's still a big unknown, just having made a decision on this has made me feel better.

For several weeks I've been wavering between making a decision to keep with our date out of faith, or making a decision on conventional wisdom to postpone. We weren't even supposed to get word of Homeland Security's approval for our visa application until the 15th of August at the absolute earliest. After making a call into my Congressman's office several weeks ago, we got approval on our application one week later, less than 60 days after applying! This is unheard of, according to everyone I've talked to who works closely with visas. Now we have two more departments that need to process and clear our application, and several hundred more dollars before we can have the visa in hand and get him across the border. So at this point, we've decided to head right into it, counting on God to move the government and get the visa processed quickly.

Weddings are such a pain to plan. I really don't see what most brides get all worked up about. I'm just excited to *be* married. I could do without all the hoopla. But the girl side of me does want a little of the excitement - I *am* getting married, afterall. Whether people are less excited about a wedding past the prime wedding years, or if it's just a product of being on my own for so long and doing everything on my own, it's hard to say. As a single person, you learn to get used to not having a huge deal made about milestones, since you don't have a built-in person who's required to plan things. So I'm finding myself sometimes struggling with expectations, and reminding myself to stay focused on the things I need to stay focused on. I'm learning a lot about needing to ask people to get involved in things that are important for me not to do alone. It also helps remind me that people's support for our marriage goes beyond the ceremony and the cake. I know the real test is after we're married, but I need to ask for people to get involved now too.