Please send me a Viking.....

I have now been VIKINGLESS IN TEXAS for 26 days (and trust me, that is WAY worse than being SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE!) Lots of folks have asked about where we are in the immigration process and of course WHEN Mads is moving to his new home in Texas.... 

So here goes.
2 weeks before I left Denmark, we were certain that we were DONE with everything, so all that was left to do was to wait for his interview to be assigned. But oh no, no... we got ahead of ourselves.
We got a notice the week I moved that all of our VERY CERTIFIED copies of our important docs were not CERTIFIED ENOUGH, according to American standards. Mainly this was due to the fact that we don't have notaries in Denmark. (Yes, American Immigration, there are actually other countries in the world that do things differently than we do them in America so you cannot assume that everyone has access to the same types of things as you do....) 
Anyway, they were displeased with our very official, police certified copies of everything, so they asked for all the originals. So Mads' first task after I left was to mail off all of his originals (kind of scary to do that, but hey, what the US government wants, the US government gets, right?!)

Then we assumed that we go back to where we were just before that last notification....which was waiting for his interview to be scheduled. But oh no, no... we got ahead of ourselves.

Keep in mind that Mads' original application was submitted on November 5 and on this application we had to list all the countries in which he had previously lived. His list was short-- Denmark and Sweden (yes he lived in Sweden something like 15 years ago, and it was for less than 2 years). They never mentioned anything about Sweden before, so we just figured we had reported it, so that was sufficient. But oh no, no... again, we got ahead of ourselves.

A week after I left we got a new notification asking for his POLICE RECORD from Sweden. HUH??! We already sent his police record from Denmark, but Sweden?? Really? Now, keep in mind that on that notice from US Immigration, it gave the web address of where to go and order this police record... and it said (and I quote): "The Swedish Police registry only keeps records for ten years." 

So I called Immigration.
I asked if this was for real.
It was.
I reminded them (as referenced in his application) that Mads lived in Sweden MORE THAN 10 YEARS ago so this record would basically show no record of him, so again, is this for real?
It is.
Seriously?
Yes. 
Even though Sweden will not have a record of his living there in the last 10 years?
Yes.

OMG. 
But hey, what the US government wants, the US government gets, right?!

So 2 weeks ago he ordered the police record and after 10 days of waiting, he got it and immediately FedExed it to the immigration service. 

So where are we in the process now?
Well honestly we are back to where we were just before that last notification....which was waiting for his interview to be scheduled. 

I talked to our case rep the other day and he said, "I can see from your file that you guys are almost at the end and ready for the interview to be scheduled." I just pray that his definition of ALMOST and mine are the same. 

So here we go.
Waiting again.
And until then, I remain...
Vikingless in Texas.

An Update on My Mom

Not only have I been humbled lately by the outpouring of love and appreciation from my students and colleagues in Denmark, but I have been both humbled and OVERWHELMED by the amount of people who are lifting up my mom every day in prayer and in thoughts of positive healing.....especially when I consider the number of folks who have never even met her, yet continue to pray.

I had been back in Texas exactly 2 weeks before I was finally able to get to Dallas to see her and my dad....and I gotta say that those 14 days of waiting and anticipation were about to do me in.... 

But on Thursday morning Albert and I loaded up and headed north, leaving Jess in charge of Hermione & Lebowski. It is about a 3 hour drive to their house from Bryan/College Station and I must admit that although I really like this new place we are calling home, I got a really big twinge of HOMECOMING as I pulled up I-45 and saw the Dallas skyline. I finally felt after 2 weeks in Texas that I was really home.

As we pulled into Mom & Dad's driveway, my heart leapt with anticipation because I had not seen them since February.... much much too long. They had only been home about 30 minutes as this was the day that mom was discharged from the hospital after Phase 1 of Round 1 of the Clinical Trial she is now a part of.  

I want to take minute and explain a bit about this trial so that my awesome friends know HOW to lift her up in your thoughts and prayers. She is one of about 30 people fighting cancer in this trial, but she is the first one they have ever had with pancreatic cancer, which as you know is mainly because most pancreatic diagnoses come too late.

What they are doing is instead of killing everything like chemo does (in order to get the cancer), they are actually doing some type of gene mutation to ONLY kill the cancer. Round 1 involved their feeding a very powerful bacteria into her through an IV. This bacteria knows where to go...only to the cancer cells, but of course it required that she be in quarantine for the time that she was receiving the bacteria because it was something that she could have passed along to others. That is why Dad looks so handsome in his medical gear as he sits and keeps her company during those very long three days.... 

After the 3 days (Phase 1) she was allowed to come home to somewhat go about her normal routine as she awaits Phase 2 of this first round next week. And "going about her normal routine" is where I came in! We had a fabulous time during my 2 days with them.... didn't really do anything special, but in our family, you don't have to DO something special to make the time together incredibly special.  In fact, even Albert knew that we were there to just hang out with PaPa Mike and Granny Dee....and those of you who know Albert know that for him to LEAVE MY LAP and head over to her, he must really love her...and she must be pretty awesome! 

Phase 2 of each round involves another type of attack on the cancer cells but this time in the form of pills that she will take 3x a day for several days in a row. They are not as dangerous as the IV bacteria she received, so she ought to be able to actually get out and enjoy herself a bit more....and maybe even get out on the golf course with her golfing buddies! 

After Phase 1 is completed, they will run a scan to see that the ATTACK is working...and then when we see THAT IT IS, she will start all over again with Phase 2.

When we first got Mom's diagnosis.....on 10/11/12....about 30 minutes after Corrie was born.... I was in shock. At first it was hard to process something so amazing as actually witnessing the birth of my first grandchild AND something so devastating all at once.... but as the days progressed, I was so confused. As you know my family has suffered a great deal in the last 5 years..... about 6 weeks after I moved to Denmark, the bottom seemed to fall out....
And I honestly could not believe that God was allowing this to happen ...and to my mom of all people. She is quite possibly the strongest person I know, and although we are different from each other in many ways, one of the things that I think I inherited from her is that strength. 

So I just resolved that because she could not be strong for a while, I would have to be strong enough for both of us, for all of us. And that is what I have tried to do these 7 months. I have not allowed myself to cry very often or wallow in the "why us" sentiment because my role in our family during this time was to be what I was used to her being for all of us.  And I believe that resolve is what has helped me to walk this journey with her.... of course my dad is the one really WALKING it....day in and day out...and wow.... watching him in action, as he takes care of so many things is just awe-inspiring. 

But the other thing that has helped me in this journey is that I am not "choosing to live every day to the fullest because my mom has Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer". Rather, I am choosing to live every day to the fullest because that is how my mom raised me to live.....long before cancer ever made its way into our family. When, as a 16 year old girl, she found out she was pregnant and CHOSE to KEEP me, she instilled something in me (long before I ever took that first breath) that taught me that LIFE IS A GIFT.... a gift that we must choose to unwrap every single day.

The greatest part of this week's visit was, honestly, the LEAVING because unlike my leavings in the last five years, I just gave them each a quick hug and said the greatest words ever uttered.... 
SEE Y'ALL IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS.

Goodness gracious. It is good to be home. 

O Captain! My Captain!

In 1865 Walt Whitman penned the words to his very famous poem about President Abraham Lincoln.

O Captain! My Captain! Our fearful trip is done.
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won....



The poem has always been one of my favorites, and in fact, when I discovered that it was used by Robin Williams' English teacher character in Dead Poets Society, my love for it grew even more.

I have used the film (and book version) of Dead Poets Society with almost all of my classes during their first year of English with me at Herning Gymnasium. It is a great story to use to introduce the topic of VOICE and to work with students on what is, for many, their first attempt at poetry analysis. 

However what happened to me on Wednesday, May 8 during my last class in Denmark gave that film a whole new personal meaning for me. I had just finished my "What's all the Fuss about Texas" presentation for 2y (my Seattle class). This was my way of telling them a bit about this crazy Cowboy state that I call home, so that they would know something about where it was that I was going as I was leaving them. 

After I finished, one of the girls said, "And now we have something for you." The entire class of 28 immediately began to stir and I honestly thought they were all leaving the room for some reason.... and then I was presented with this image....  as they all stood up, climbed upon their desks, and said, "O Captain! My Captain!"

I have been in education for 20 years and I have received some amazing gifts and notes and tributes during those 20 years, but as I stood there on May 8, 2013 in room 31.15 in Herning Gymnasium in Herning, Denmark, I felt something like I have never felt before. Yes, I know that I have impacted students across the years and I know that I have left a bit of myself with each student and each class that I have had....but on this day, at this moment, I was reminded that in about 16 hours from this exact moment I would be leaving this place as I returned to Texas, and I found myself HUMBLED. 

COMPLETELY HUMBLED.

I am not sure if these students realize the impact of their actions on me.... but even now, as I type this 2 weeks later, I am sitting here with tears streaming down my face....  
I am humbled and I am so appreciative of the 4.5 years that I was able to work with students in Herning and Ikast, Denmark. They impacted me so much and I will never forget a single one of them. And every time I think of education in Denmark, this image of 2y will flash across my mind. 

I HAVE BEEN BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE.