Well, we made it! We left our house in Edmond about 3:25 am on Tuesday morning and got to Caracas about 9:05 Tuesday night. It seemed like a long day, but it actually wasn't too bad. We flew to Dallas first which we all know takes longer to taxi to the runway than to actually fly to Dallas. We only had a bit in Dallas before we headed to Miami. For some reason when we checked in in OKC they had us in different rows on our flight from Dallas to Miami so we asked about it and easily they changed it. The plane had been changed and for some reason there was no row 19 so we got put together in row10. As we were boarding the plane headed for Miami Efren says, "I really wish I could sleep on planes but they are so uncomfortable."
"Iknow, me too." I chimed in. We get on the plane and see row 10...."definitely not our row 10," I said, "this is first class, there must be another row 10 in the back...keep walking." So we passed right by walking back to steerage where we always sit. Wait, 20, 21, 22..."Where is row 10?" We asked the flight attendant. "It's up there you missed it. That's still coach."
Wait, what?? Are you kidding me? We walked back up to row 10....O....My....goodness. Each seat was in it's own little box. Each seat had it's own tv, a real size pillow and a comforter! Each seat could lay down COMPLETELY flat!!! Efren and I could have fit in one seat! We couldn't believe what was happening. We started taking pictures. I'm sure people were thinking it was our first time on a plane! We kept looking around just waiting for the man in a suit with a briefcase to come tell us we were in his seat. As soon as the doors were closed and the plane was off the ground our seats were flat and we were already snoring. That was the best flight I have ever been on. I don't remember any of it. Thank you, Jesus, for that little suprising blessing!
The flight to Caracas we were back to what we know, little seats and no leg room. That's ok though. We are well rested. We can handle it now. Since then we have just been seeing family and gettin used to the weather. It's perfect.
Thank you to all who have been thinking of us and praying for our trip. I know it's gonna be a good one. Love you all.

One More Day

Only one more day of work until I'm off for....53.....days....wow. Doesn't that sound amazing? It does, but honestly it scares me a little bit. What if I forget how to be a nurse? Oh no.

Efren's grampa is pretty sick and since we didn't have any plans to go to Venezuela for a while we were worried we may not see him again. :( so, after much thought and prayer we decided this is the time we ought to go. I have a very flexible job and for some reason Efren doesn't have one yet. Efren starts his masters in August and after that, he won't have much vacation time. This seemed to be the only time we would ever be able to go for more than a week so we thought we might as well take advantage of that.

As for what we will be doing for 7 weeks, we aren't totally sure. I know Efren will be working at the store his parents own, and I will be working on my spanish skills. Possibly some trips to the beach and I know we will be spending alot of time with his family. Since hearing that we are coming, his grampa has felt better and been more active. I think it's one of those things. He has something to look forward to so his demeanor improves. Sweet grampa.

There are a few major things that I will be missing. My dear friend is getting married. Not only are we missing the wedding, but my brother and sister-in-law are coming home from California and we will miss seeing them too. Also, my sister has the starring role in this.....

Which we will miss too :(

It's definitely not ideal timing, but I am trying to remember that in all things God works for the good, so I am ok with it.....most days anyway.

Please pray for us while we are gone. Pray for Efren's grampa and his family. We will keep you all updated!!

100 for 2008

1. I got a new job at a new hospital.
2. I experienced my grampa get sicker and sicker and die at that hospital.
3. Helped a friend through a hard break-up.
4. Helped that friend move into my parents house.
5. Was in my brother's wedding.
6. Maintained a relationship on Skype.
7. Took a last minute trip to Venezuela.
8. Got proposed to!
9. Accepted the proposal!
10. Ziplined through the canopy of Venezuela.
11. Missed my flight in Puerto Rico.
12. Spent the night by myself in Miami.
13. Ran the 6 mile leg of the OKC Memorial Marathon.
14. Finished nursing school.
15. Graduated with my BSN.
16. Missed my pinning ceremony.
17. Sold stuff on Ebay.
18. Bought a wedding dress.
19. Went to Puerto Rico for the second time in 2 months.
20. Met up with my fiance in Puerto Rico.
21. Went on my 4th cruise.
22. Went to Barbados...
23. St. Kitts...
24. Antigua...
25. St. Thomas...
26. Dominica...
27. St. Lucia...for the first time.
28. Accepted a position at the Oklahoma Heart Hospital.
29. Had my 24th birthday.
30. Saw/loved Wicked.
31. Helped a dear friend through the shocking news of her pregnancy.
32. Passed the NCLEX.
33. Became an RN.
34. Got my own insurance.
35. Saw/ loved Spamalot.
36. Met awesome friends at OHH.
37. Became nocturnal.
38. Lived in the same city as my fiance for the first time.
39. Lived in the same house as my fiance.....with my parents.
40. Got a joint bank account.
41. Bought a car.
42. Got scammed by the car company.
43. Hung out in the VIP section of a club in Dallas.
44. Swam in a closed hotel pool.
45. Planned a wedding.
46. Attended a wedding shower....where everyone brought a gift for me.....overwhelming!
47. Saw, in person, the Texas Tech v. OU game.....
48. Went through pre-marital counseling.
49. Took birth control for the first time.
50. Filled out immigration papers.
51. Pushed the Code Blue button.
52. Welcomed Efren's family to Oklahoma.
53. Had a bachelorette party......;)
54. Saw Venezuelans dressed as cowboys.
55. Practiced for my wedding.
56. Fired a DJ two days before my wedding.
57. Hired another DJ two days before my wedding.
58. Promised myself to someone forever.
59. Danced with my dad at my wedding reception.
60. Spent the night with a boy.
61. Changed my last name after 24 years.
62. Went on a honeymoon.
63. Cried on my honeymoon.
64. Met up with Efren's parents on our honeymoon....
65. Learned to live with a boy.
66. Went to the driving range for the first time.
67. Became the "bread winner" of our little family.
68. Tried to play 9 holes of golf.
69. Went house hunting.
70. Played 2 holes of golf.
71. Got my husband addicted to 24.
72. Started attending my childhood church again.
73. Had a patient call the police on me.
74. Helped my brother and sister-in-law move to So Cal.
75. Had early Thanksgiving at a BBQ joint.
76. Voted...no comment.
77. Worked on Thanksgiving.
78. Gave my precious dog away.
79. Woke up crying because I gave my dog away.
80. Bid on something on Ebay that was ultimately sold for more than $2,000.
81. Started a blog.
82. Made an offer on some land.
83. Made a second offer on the same piece of land.
84. Decided that wasn't the land the Lord had for us!
85. Spent Christmas morning with my husband.
86. Opened gifts via web-cam with my brother and sister-in-law.
87. Packed for a week-long trip 10 min. before we had to leave to catch the plane.
88. Watched the movie Voces Inocentes.
89. Cried uncontrollably for 30 minutes after watching Voces Inocentes.
90. Acquired the taste for beer.
91. Learned of the scripture my dad had claimed over my life more than 20 years ago.
92. Spent the night in my parents closet with my friend and my sister.
93. Felt the impact of the failing economy first hand.
94. Helped my husband get a SS#!
95. Saved money for retirement.
96. Filled up our car for 35 dollars.
97. A few months later, filled up our car for 13 bucks.
98. Joined a small group of young married couples.
99. Learned more about God's love for me through the bond of marriage.
100. Celebrated the new 2009 at the hospital with coworkers, a bottle of sparkling grape juice, and Efren.

Live to work....Work to live....

Efren and his friends that he went to college with in Venezuela keep up with each other through email since they are now spread out in several different countries around the world. That's what happens when you're an exchange student and meet your future wife, I guess. ;) The topic they have been discussing recently was basically that people in our society today, for the most part, live to work and work to live. Because of the way the world works the "work week" is Monday through Friday 8-5 or 9-6 what have you with Saturdays and Sundays off. If you're lucky your job MIGHT allow you 2-3 weeks of vacation time a year....out of 52. Step back and think about it for a second. I know I hadn't really ever considered it strange because this is commonplace. We grow up, graduate college, and then start our careers, all the while knowing that at some point we will enter the mighty work force. The guys started talking about this and realized how backwards it seems. We all spend soooo much time working, when do we get to enjoy each other and live life...not live work. There are professions that are the exception, nursing of course being one of them. Not only do we only work 3 times a week but we get to make our own schedule. For the most part we work just as many hours, but we get several days off at a time. What if the rest of the working world was like that? What if companies let their employees work 10-12 hours a day but only 3 or 4 times a week?! On top of that, what if we ALL got to pick which 3 days of the week we wanted so that the other four could be spent with our families? At my current position at the hospital I am required to work a certain amount of hours per six weeks. It can be anytime within those six weeks. If I cram them all in at the beginning, I could have up to 5 weeks completely off. I am SO blessed with that opportunity....but what if all jobs were like that?! Get your work done and then go enjoy your family or take a mission trip, or as our friend on the "Cash For Gold" commercial did, take "the vacation of a lifetime!" (Sorry, we only have 5 channels, daytime TV is where it's at, and the same Medicare and Platt College commercials are played C-O-N-S-T-A-N-T-L-Y).
Sometimes it seems like we live to work, and for some people, they work to simply live. I don't think it will ever change because society says that is the "norm."I wish it would though. Life is too short to work so hard and miss something. Make every moment count.

Just think, if we had flexible schedules, Wal-mart wouldn't be so hellish on Saturdays and Sundays and there wouldn't be such a thing as rush hour!

A Big Red Stamp of Approval

So today was the most anticipated interview day! We received a notice in the mail more than a month ago informing us that Efren and I needed to show ourselves at the Department of Homeland Security on 1/23/09 at 12:45 in the afternoon with everything legal ever issued to us throughout our entire lives. Ok, maybe those weren't the exact words, but that is what they meant! Good thing my husband pays incredible attention to detail and is so organized! He had everything from the title of our car to pictures of us (looking like we are really in love) to an indepth medical exam...originals and copies of everything! Wow, it was a huge folder.
We showed up at homeland security at 12:15...excessively early, you say?? I agree. But there's no arguing about it, we are gonna do it his way. No problem. Early is always better than late, right? On time works too. Anyway, in hopes that we might be called first of all the 12:45 appointments we get through security and find our seats at 12:20, before the 12:30 appointments arrive. So now we wait. and wait. and wait. for all the Jose Manuels and Ikabana Sotubas to get called before us. Everytime the door opens we hold our breath....nothing. Until 1:45...FINALLY! They call Efren's name and we make our way back to the office of our interrogator. Good thing Obama closed that prison and did away with Jack Bauer-esque torture techniques because I'm afraid we may have gotten a taste. First we had to stand, raise our right hand, and swear that what we were saying was "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help us...." yes help us Lord Jesus! The next several minutes were filled with pointed questions aimed at finding a loop hole in our relationship and proof that he paid me to marry him to get the green card. I believe the exact words were, "Cayce, do you feel like you have been had?" umm, no. "Well, there is gonna be alot of people mad if you are." umm, yes. "When did you meet? Where were you? What time of day? When was the last time you were in the US? Why did you come? Where were you living? Do you have any children? First marriage? Parents names? Shoe size? Boxers or briefs?" Ok...maybe I made a few of those up....but seriously it was nerve-racking! This woman has so much power over us at this moment and she won't even smile!! "Have you ever been in trouble inside or outside the United States?" To this question Efren replies," What do you mean?" "You know what trouble means!" The woman snaps back....yikes! Yes, right now I am feeling like I'm in trouble!
I am able to hear what is going on in some of the offices around us....giggles, laughter, jokes...seriously? I want to be in one of those rooms!
After 40 minutes of this lie detector test it was over. A huge red stamp reading, "APPROVED" was smashed over the top of our huge folder. REALLY?! I believe I kicked Efren under the table...ever so slightly of course as to not alert the officer. Who knows what she could do at this point, but I don't want to find out. She probably has a red stamp eraser in her drawer. She walks us out and it takes us getting out the door, past security before we feel like we really made it! Whew! YAY!!! 4-8 weeks or possibly sooner is when we were told to expect the green card. Praise the Lord. So many things could have gone wrong, but the Lord got us through! Thank you to everybody who has been praying for us. It feels great to be done with the whole immigration process. Now all we need to do is pray the actual card doesn't get lost in the mail!
Congratulations, my new US Permanent Resident!!

Goin' To The Ship!!!

Looking back...

Happy New Year 2009!!! Wow, I can't believe it. As I get older every years seems to go by faster and faster then the one before. 2008 was so full...I think it could be described by any adjective other than boring. It was busy, wonderful, suprising, stressful, scary, new, fun, joyful, sad. We said goodbye to our grampa, but welcomed another sister and my husband! I finished my BSN, got my RN liscense, and started a fast-paced job at the Heart Hospital. We celebrated with my brother as he married the woman of his dreams, and they celebrated with me as I married the man of mine. My mom was able to retire from her full-time job of mother-in-law caretaker, and my brother and sister-in-law moved across the country to southern California. I missed Thanksgiving with the fam for the first time and had Christmas via webcam. It's definitely been a different year, but it's been wonderful at the same time. Only the Lord knows what 2009 holds; A family trip to the Holy Land, another wedding, new jobs, houses, and maybe even babies. It will be fun to look back a year from now and see what else is new. Happy New Year everybody! May the Lord bless you and keep you this 2009!