Let's Hear a Great Big "WOOOOHOOOO!"

It finally happened, at long last I finally feel like I belong here! Today was my official interview for permanent residence in Canada. Many of you knew it was happening, and I thank you for your thoughts and prayers. I especially thank my friends J and A for taking my classes today so I didn't have to go without pay! You guys are awesome!

April 27, 2006 is the day that my three long years of waiting came to a conclusion...and a happy one at that! At 1 p.m. I entered a little glass box of a room with about 7 other people waiting for permanent residence. One by one they called us in to check our photos and have the little chat. When the woman got to my photos-these are the photos for our permanent residence card, they are like a passport photo-I was informed that it was too small! Luckily, a photographer has set up shop less than a block from the Immigration building and about 5 of the 7 of us waiting were sent there to get new photos! At first I was a little irritated, because my previous photos had cost $20 and I had to pay another $20 to get these done, but my second set of pictures turned out better than the first and I even got to smile! My eyes are a startling blue in the second photos and I guess since I will have my permanent residence card for at least five years I want to look good in the photo! Tee hee! ;)

Well, after getting back from having my photos taken, the first woman checked all of my documents and then it was on to the second woman for the questions. Kevin was with me and my sweet father-in-law also stopped by. He was downtown anyway for business so he stopped in and loaned me his support. It was great to have these two awesome guys by my side as I answered the questions. The questions were super easy and in less than five minutes, they were done and I was (let the trumpets sound!) a PERMANENT RESIDENT! It seemed a little anti-climatic, actually. All of this time I had been waiting and dreaming of this day, and suddenly it was done! Relief soon set in, though, and at lunch later, and then again later in the grocery store on the way home I leaned over to Kevin and said, "I'm a permanent resident!" It's a joy to say that.

Sweet father-in-law took us for a delicious celebratory lunch and then after that I arrived home to find some pretty flowers on my doorstep from a dear friend congratulating me and saying, "We are lucky to have such a sweet girl living in Canada." Awwww...you are sweet too, dear friend! (And you know who you are!)

So, tonight my hubby will take me out for a celebratory date...I think we'll just catch a movie, because we had such a delicious and filling lunch already. Woohoo, woohooo, wooohoooo! Stacy Kaye is officially a landed immigrant of Canada! It's a happy, happy day!