A look back over the year - Luba's 1-year America-versary!

Can you believe it?!?! It has been 1 year today that life changed radically for Luba and me (and our families). Luba stepped off the plane here in America, his first time visiting and relocating combined. 

The day before, I posted THIS. On the 24th around 2pm, I waited anxiously at arrivals at LAX/Tom Bradley International Terminal. I had gotten my nails done. I had gotten my hair done. I had gotten my makeup done. It was nervous busy-ness waiting, filling up the day until arrival. Superficially, it was all good. Deep down, questions swirled: What if he hates it? What if I'm not who he thinks I am "on my side?" What lies ahead- everyone faces difficulty but we are moving forward with extra weight from our unique situation?

It has been a whirlwind since that day filled with huge huge events, deep losses, immensely stressful situations, new adventures and exciting times. But, through each, we have felt God's grace, providence, love, and sense of humor.

Take a stroll down memory lane with us.

October 2013: stalker status while monitoring take-off, where the plane is mid-flight (what a cool app!), all the way until arrival at LAX

 Pit stop in Santa Monica 

First "state side" happy hour 

 important lessons begin....PHO!

exploring Hollywood and my old "stomping grounds" there 

catching up with friends 

November 2013: 

We moved into a place together (.2 miles from my work, yay for walking to work!) in Huntington Beach. It was new to both of us, a great place to start fresh and make it ours. 

We got "legally" married in VEGAS! Drive thru wedding in a limo full of friends!! Read the post about it HERE!

We made a visit to St. Louis for the first Thanksgiving together and meeting my mother and sister & family 

The Arch 

and some St. Louis wine tasting!

There was also this.....the beginning of a complicated and unknown medical journey

December 2013:

We traveled to Lucedale for Christmas and Luba met my dad and we spent more time with family.

 Bellingrath Gardens 

 The U.S.S. Alabama 

January 2014:

We continued medical appointments, research for new doctors, ultrasounds....

February 2014:

 angiogram with my best "nurse" by my side 

hosting friends, something we both love

March 2013:

A month full of "normal" stuff but also saying farewell to friends moving. The fun thing about this couple is that they went to South Africa years ago and know Luba's dad. They only met Luba here in CA!

April 2014:

What a fun month!

Luba had a surprise bachelor party with some of the guys he had gotten to know.

I had a bachelorette with the girls. It was exactly like I wanted - naughty fun, at home with girlfriends, with no banana hammocks swinging around my face!

 best hostesses!

We also had a bridal shower at work. Friends were so creative to theme it Mardi Gras to match the New Orleans venue. 

 such a cute idea!

 creative friends behind the scenes

We won't run out of date ideas for a while! Love this jar!

The "real" wedding - the best event ever. We had such a fun time with friends and family "back home!" 

It meant so much to us (especially me) that April Diaz officiated this wedding. We have sameness on so many levels and she has been a friend and mentor. She made me redefine what "pastor" is (should be a blog post for another day!)

April/May 2014:

We left Mississippi and headed to NY! This was a fun adventure because it was a new city for both of us. We went on a food tour, walked around the city, walked the Williamsburg bridge, and had dinners out at unique places-including a South African restaurant!

 Cheers to the beginning of the adventure!

 Braai, South African restaurant

We also had a lovely dinner at Ngam. This is us with Chef Hong (connected through NewSong Church...cool!)

Our tour guide thought it would be fun to walk the Williamsburg bridge since it is something locals would do.....um, it wasn't "fun." 

We took the bolt bus to DC. We toured, ate, caught up with a friend who spent time in South Africa. We LOVED this city.

Our ride from NY to DC

trolley tour of monuments at night - highly recommend!

In May, we also had our visa interview, which can be very stressful. They look through our paperwork and determine if they feel it is "legit." They agreed and he got his green card!

June 2014:

We celebrated my birthday together for the first time! (Something I've wanted for so long!)

July 2014:

We celebrated HIS birthday! We went out together to a Brazilian BBQ place since he's a meat lover. We also had a party, a pseudo-braai, with friends.

He also got his driver license! Woot! Because he is an international driver, he had to take both a written and driving test in CA. 

We also went on a food tour with Amanda in San Juan Capistrano. I love food tours around any city, and this was his first.

August 2014:

We went to the OC Fair! I had not been to the fair in years so it felt "new" again. 

September 2014:

This was a HUGE month for us! My mom came to visit and I had surgery on September 4. 

The recovery time was a perfect time to just get to know each other again and was truly a blessing. We caught up on a lot of TV shows, ate delicious food that friends brought, and simply chatted. We also laughed a lot. Once I was more mobile, we visited a few places within a short distance.

 Santa Ynez with friends

 Checked one off the bucket list - stay at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo

And, here we are in October! 

We have been catching up on things we wanted to do before surgery after he came but never got a chance. Because I love Fall, we went apple picking in Oak Glen - TONS of fun!

We had a super fun night combining 4 of my fave things: dive bars, beer, old hymns, and friends! We met up with friends at the Harp Inn and sang old hymns. This is once monthly...let me know if you are interested in going!

For the 24th (1 year mark yesterday), we went to K'ya Bistro in Laguna for some tapas. We caught the sunset over the water, a view that NEVER gets old here in CA!

Thank you to so many of those, near and far, who have traveled this journey with us! How would we have made it??!!

Love, 

Danielle (& Luba)