Matthew 5:16

"Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" Matthew 5:16

Monday, September 19, 2011

U.S.A.

Dear friends and family,

Stone family and us with my mom
Sooo much has happened since the last post. We were able to personally say goodbyes to many friends and family members for which I'm very thankful.
We could even see Gracie Stone before we left! Randall and Timi were nice enough to invite us to their home and we had a very good time with them. 
My friends from High School made a farewell party for me a few days before we left and they made a very special book with all of our memories in it. I love it! I had to leave some clothes in Hungary to make it fit in the luggage, but it is worth the loss : ).
We were also able to go to the Opening Weekend of the Bible School here in Hungary and say our last goodbyes to the staff, interns and students. That wasn't a happy moment but we are glad we could spend so many years with many of them.

On the plane
We left Hungary on the 13th. We had a 9 hour 40 minute flight to JFK and then a 2 hour flight to Indy. Amy has never flown before so I was a little nervous. She doesn't really like to sit for a long time and she had to be still for about 10 hours. She did great! She didn't cry even once! She was smiling at people and laughing and had no problem whatsoever. 
At JFK
Then we had a 4 hour 50 minute layover. When you arrive to JFK, there are 3 different lines, one for Americans (Chris), one for Green Card holders (me), and one for Visitors (Amy). This is a security check point and they made us stay in the Visitors line which was the longest by far. We had to wait in the line for 2 hours and Amy was absolutely quiet even then. As soon as we got to the officer, it was about 10 minutes and we were ready to go pick up our luggage to check them in again. It took them less than 5 minutes to deal with my Immigrant Visa situation and they didn't ask anything. They just told me to wait for it in the mail. : )
The next flight was very short and Amy slept through it. When we arrived to Indy and I had to wake her up, it was 4 am in Hungary so she was very tired and started to cry. That was the first time she cried and was traveling for 18 hours by that time.
with Grandma, finally!
Karen, Dave and Karen's brother, Kevin were waiting for us at the airport. It was Karen's first time seeing Amy in person.
We arrived to Dave and Karen's house after midnight. We traveled over 20 hours and were ready to go to bed. Amy didn't know that, so she kept waking up at night : ).

We didn't have any jetlag (though that's normal for us) and Amy was doing good the nights after that. 

4 generations
We've already been to Karen's family reunion, been to church 3 times so far (yes, we are very spiritual) and had Amy's Citizenship Appointment today.
Yes, Amy is FINALLY a US citizen (as well as Hungarian). It went very smoothly without any problems. It was also very quick I must add. She received an American flag from the officer which she tried to eat almost as soon as she got it. Oh well, she might not appreciate it as much as we do! : )

Chris is still looking for job opportunities, right now online. We also are looking for rental houses and until we find one, we are enjoying Dave and Karen's hospitality.

That's it for now! God bless you all!
I see you!