HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!

29 years ago a pretty English lady who was married to a handsome fella started feeling the pains in her belly and at that moment they knew that their little family of three will change forever - the little baby in the belly was ready to meet the world.



His sister's life ended as she knew it once this young gentleman was born. But don't be fooled, she still hugged him and loved him even when and if he was being the little annoying brother who knew no end to mischief.

Who knew but apparently this young man used to eat bugs when he was little.

Not that you could tell it by his sweet little innocent face.

He kept growing and got into lots of troubles that boys get into. This included but was not limited to: going further on the bike than his moma and dad allowed him to, getting excited about sweeties, playing football, scraping knees, picking nose, playing with Leggos, exploring the big world outside the fence.. and lots and lots of others.

He grew up and became a handsome stallion. Tall in stature with golden locks framing his masculine face.

Young maidens were fainting when he walked by them but he knew that the promised one has not yet come along. So he just kept watching his StarTreck and hanging out with his friends.

And then, one day he met this Latvian girl on the internet and thought to himself "Me-ow! Hot mama!"

And he knew that he'd spend his life in agony if he didn't marry her. So he wrote her a whole lot of sappy emails and wooed her and wined her and dined her and got her to totally fall in love with him - head over heals.

And they got married and lived happily ever after. And she got to bake his birthday cake for the rest of his birthdays which come around on July 1 every year!

The end.

Feel free to email him here to wish him a happy birthday (and tell him how wise he is for not letting that Latvian girl get away)

Since we are on the wedding theme...

An email I found in my mailbox this morning:

Well, today is my wedding day and I thought to myself, "Self, you
should email Ags", so I am. I hope your life in Australia continues to
be blessed. I don't know if I've told you this, but I officially
consider you my "matchmaker". If you had never introduced me to
christianmingle.com (and believe me, I never would have found it on my
own), I would never had met S! Therefore you are DIRECTLY
responsible for this union! How about that?

+++
Is that not the coolest thing ever? I won't disclose his identity but I wanted to post this here because I think it's so encouraging. I am so happy for both of them. He's really one of the nicest guys you'd ever meet and while I have never met his wife, I have heard that she is a wonderful girl. I hope this is an encouragement that anything is possible and while not everyone finds their other half on the internet, the wonderful miracle of meeting them can happen at any moment.

I have to say that I am just a little part in this link that my friend is mentioning. Really, the mother of all christianmingle ismy dear friend, who met her husband on the website, then Neil and I found each other, then F's friend V met her husband from NZ on the site, then this friend met his wife S.

I have to be honest because there have been people along the way who tried it and decided it's not for them, which is cool. I remember it didn't work for me right away either. It took time, common sense and patience to meet Neil. And once I did, I was called "crazy" more than once. But it was all perfect and I know that God's hand was in it. One, because I asked Him to, two, because two people meeting and falling in love while living on two different continents just seems a little... "crazy"...

Releasing the butterflies

This reminded me of weddings and made me think of our wedding.
They say that every little girl dreams of her wedding day. I don't think I ever dreamt of my wedding day. Maybe of the dress and a veil but I don't remember planning a wedding. (Felicia even if you disagree, this is where you keep it quiet) :)

I got a wedding of dreams. I can't even say that it was a wedding of my dreams because I didn't dare to dream anything that beautiful and perfect. It was beyond my dreams.

My groom worked so hard to make all this possible. Whenever I think about it, I smile. I love the way he looks at me in this clip. There is so much love in his whole demeanor. I married the man that is perfect for me. It's amazing how God works these things out. The wait was so worth it.

Evening of Feb 14

This year we got a bottle of wine and went to the beach. There is nothing more relaxing than waves and salty air and seagull cries.


I don't think I am the only one thinking that. I love this picture of the family walk on the beach. I bet it was their Valentines days date.

There was another guy who was taking a walk with his dog.


And a guy who was surfing.
And there was us. Just sitting and listening to the waves.


At moments like that I am so full of thankfullness to God for where He has brought me and what He has given me. I am so blessed to have people in my life who I love and who love me.



When I was living in Verm, I often told people that I miss the sound of waves and the smell of an ocean. Who would have ever thought that we will be living here someday, in this gorgeous spot on this beautiful planet. We are so blessed!

Addition to our family

Well, all of you who have been impatiently waiting -- we have news!!!!!!

This morning, Valentine's Day, Neil stepped out of the room and saw this:


He looked at me and in very Neil fashion said "Hmm, which way should I go now?" He arrived at the second arrow

and his next cheeky reaction was "Honey, why are these arrows pointing to the guest bedroom? Are you trying to tell me something?"

there was a continuation to the story, which looked like this:


When he walked downstairs, there was a very ... hand-made piece of cardboard that said "Will you be my Valentine". It wasn't all that impressive, so I didn't bother taking the picture. Behind it was this:


We have a new fishy!!!! He lives in the kitchen, roams in his mansion decorated with ocean shells and overlooks the dining room and living room. He has actually gotten the prime spot in the house because he can see what's happening in the kitchen but also keep an eye on the news. It's a Siamese Fighting Fish, so next thing we had to do was name him. He is actually blue, but he is very dark blue so he might look black at times. Since he is a fighting fish, I wanted to call him Bruce Willis but Neil opted for Black and Blue, which I think is a very fitting name.

Sorry mom and aunts that this wasn't the addition you were maybe hoping for... I had to keep the suspense... :) :)

Sports and our family

At work Neil gets free tickets to basketball. Neither of us are big sports fans but since the tickets are free, we decided to go along for the ride. I have to say - we really enjoyed ourselves. Out of all sports, I enjoy basketball the most. The quarters seem short enough to keep even my attention and entertainment is usually pretty good. And then, if you get a Corona, things look up even more. And trust me, to hear from me "enjoy" and "basketball" in the same santence is quite something because I am the furthest you get from being a sports fan. In fact, calling me a sports fan would be the same as giving Britney Spears "Humanitarian of the Year" award. In fact, I think it's one of the things I absolutely love about Neil. I can't imagine him sitting and watching men running around a field for hours. Or better yet, try to involve me into the discussions. With all my respect to sports and to all people who know what actually happens on the field and enjoy watching it - I will go and check my emails. Or take a nap.

Yesterday was a historic moment. Neil has never been to a basketball game before so I took upon myself the rule explaining. Which went something like this "You have to throw the ball in that mesh net thing called basket and then in the middle of the game they switch fields". I think that description captured the essence of the game. Neil lovingly patted me on the back and told me that he knows that much. To help you understand my sportistic abilities, let it suffice to say that while I was gabbling around and giving my version of what a basketball game is, I didn't catch on that the game has already started...

Internet!!!!!

Do you remember the concept of "dial up"? I had to dig in my vocabulary but I welcome it in the mean time, when there is no other means of Internet. I feel like I have been cut off from the world for the past few weeks. While writing a few lines here and there but at last we are somewhat connected.

It's been Christmas ever since we moved in the new home. My lovely husband has been working hard on earning money and I have been working hard on ... setting up and decorating the house.

I tell you, it's a hard life but someone has to do it.

It's like blank canvas and I am painting it with ... (dollar signs) and beds and cushions and this and that and a lot of other things :) And it is a dream come true.

We are a match made in heaven - Neil hates shopping, while I love it. So I go and do serious market research and find all the ways to save money on good deals.

I realize that this probably sounds a bit immature and materialistic (especially after the last post) but up to this point in my life it's been stitching and pinching and living on roommate's couches and staying with lovely people and enjoying their homes but finally Neil and I are setting up our own home. And it's all new and we have picked it out ourselves! So I can say that a year and a half into our marriage we are living the life of newlyweds, we are loving it!

Lack of internet connection at home + busy schedule + setting up a new home = no posts.

When I do get to it, I will have lots of good stories to tell.

For now you can refer to our picasa albums for new photos. I just realized that they are not in correct dates but don't think I have enough time left to change it... sorry.

ONE YEAR!!!!

I have an absolutely amazing husband. He’s caring, he’s attentive, he’s always willing to help, always wanting to listen and to support me in all ways possible. He’s hard working and very gifted in so many areas. I look at the work he does – he’s been with the teams who have built some of the biggest and most impressive structures in London - and I am amazed. I am so blessed that I am the girl who gets to cuddle next to him while watching TV, I am the girl he takes care of and spoils and I think I better stop here before all you ladies get jealous…


Happy anniversary, darling!


On a lighter note, this morning, Neil gave me little presies and a card. As I was opening it, I saw this beautiful card:

As Neil was opening his card from me, it happened to be this card:

So, yes, we were most definetely meant to be togheter!

Our history, year1: part tres

Part One
Part Two

We said good-bye to Lynn and Dave and took off to Norway the next day. My cousin and her husband, Neil and I and my dad drove North for 2 weeks. What a country! No matter where you look, it was like a gigantic national park with deep fjords and waterfalls and mountains like you see only in postcards.

From the place we camped at, we could see 7 waterfalls and amazing sunsets. We played so much Sequence and UNO that until now we feel like we need to give it a rest. All of us had a go at fishing and we even caught some pretty big fish. On the way back, on the ferry, Neil and dad were watching a Jackie Chan movie. Dad couldn’t understand a word in English but they both were just mesmerized by the action bits. It was great!


We only had one day in Latvia before we got back and we flew back to London. The last few days with Lynn and Dave were bitter-sweet. For some giggles Neil did this:

It was gone as quickly as it appeared but it was good laughs while it lasted.

We watched shows on Australia on TV and had dinners together, packed and weighed our suitcases and prayed really hard that the check in people at the airport won’t send back our suitcases that were a little bit over-weight.

Finally the day came and we got to the airport. It was hard to say the goodbyes but at the same time exciting, as this new adventure for Neil and I started. The 28 hour flight was an amazing miracle from God, I was really not looking forward to flying since I get bored and usually start counting minutes pretty much after the first 4 hours. We had a brand new plane and lots and lots of shows and movies to choose from. It was a very easy flight.


We got to Australia late at night and went to bed in the little place in the Valley, near China town. It has a reputation among the locals for being a bit seedy, which it is but we didn’t know before we got there. There are lots of characters and homeless people and bars and all kinds of stuff. But we never felt in danger, it was interesting and adventurous. We explored the city, found a great church, found all the cheaper places to check email and borrow DVDs for free and found coupons for eating 2 for the price of 1, etc. The Gloria Jeans coffee shop, which is Australian equivalent to Starbucks but was founded by a guy who goes to Hillsong and gives a lot of the profit to building ministries, became our “office”. We’d go and sit there for hours and check our emails and have a cup of coffee and read books. The kids working there knew us and would make us our favorites and have a chat. I think they were really puzzled as to what two people do on the computer/internet so often. I wanted to tell them that we are in the bride import business but didn’t want to confuse them. Not everyone understands my humor.


Then we met John, a South African guy who became our friend and showed us around a bit. With John we went to Sydney and drove back in his car that he bought there.


On Neil’s birthday, which happened to be on a Sunday, we met a couple, Graham and Judi. Graham and Judi became such good friends and I think it’s safe to say they took us under their wing. They are the age of our parents and one of their sons with his wife are in Scotland, so they keep saying that God gave them children while their children are away. They have showed us around and taken us to places and helped us in all kinds of ways possible.


They took a job as managers at a 7 story building, where they invited us to stay for free and we offered to help, since we can’t work and earn money. We are still waiting for our Visa process to start but in the mean time we are making the best of it and enjoying this season in our lives.

What a year! Could I have dreamed or imagined that our lives will be this exciting?! If I would have known, I would have asked him to marry me sooner and get this thing started as soon as possible! But all in God’s perfect timing.

Our history, year1: part duo

Part one here

We celebrated Christmas with Neil’s mom and dad and an Estonian girl we met at our church, Jelena and her mom, as well as Neil’s aunt, Lesley. This was my first time to see what Christmas crackers were all about and how British celebrate Christmas. It was a lovely, low key night, full of family love and a wonderful dinner.


Neils friends, Kuldip and Neil, had flown over to England from Ca, all six of us spent a wonderful night at Geoff and Sui’s, playing Charades, eating spicy curry and opening gifts. I have to say that Neil, my Neil’s friend, is an absolute pro when it comes to Charades – we were laughing so hard, our bellies hurt.


My darling husband and I decided that instead of expensive gifts, we are going to take a trip as a Christmas present to ourselves.

Our destination was Edinburgh, Scotland, we got there on a train. The train part is special and worth mentioning, as we had talked about wanting to go on a train journey at the very beginning of our relationship. We boarded the famous Flying Scotsman and spent a weekend in Scotland in January.


February was special since my mom got re-married in Latvia.


Neil and I went to the wedding and my Neil, the reserved British man, saw some Latvian wedding traditions that he’s never seen before. I think he thinks of Latvian weddings differently ever since. The best part about it was that everyone loves Neil and at this point I didn’t feel like I need to be right beside him even if he’s talking to someone who doesn’t know English. He’s so easy going and relaxed that a few finger pointings and nods and thumbs up do the job. I love him so much for it – he’s ok to be on his own in a country where he doesn’t know the language.


Since Neil had points from work, we could use them up on a trip anywhere. We decided to go to Amsterdam for a weekend.

It was such a great getaway for the both us and we love exploring new places together. My dear husband took me to one of the best restaurants I have ever been to – Pasta De Basto in Amsterdam. The waiters were professionals singers. We really enjoyed the meal, which was absolutely delicious and the singing. It was amazing. The city is on the smaller side but beautiful and famous for all the wrong things, while the really nice things about it are not praised enough. It was low key but wonderful.


My sister came to visit in March. This was the first trip alone for my little sister, who is not so little anymore but will always be my little sister. We gave her the trip as the birthday present to her 18th birthday. We had a lovely sister bonding time and at this point I had become a professional tour guide through London.


Kerry and Brett flew over in April. They had a little reception for all the family and friends to see them as well as meet Brett for those who hadn’t met him. It was a really lovely day. I got to meet a lot of Kerry’s friends who I had heard about but had never met.


All four of us went to Rome for a weekend. Wow! Italy is absolutely gorgeous. I think the trip put such a good taste in my mouth that I want to return there and travel through the country side.

And guess what, Brett asked Kerry to marry him in Rome!!! He was very sneaky about it all and had asked Dave for her hand before we went. They snuck out together and he asked her by the Travetti fountain latish in the night, just the two of them. So romantic and sweet!


At the end of April Michael and Felicia came to visit us and say good byes before we sailed off to Australia. Michael had lived in London years ago and loves it, so it was a lovely re-union as well as new places and things to do having Michael as the tour guide. Neil took a couple of days off work and we had such a great time together.

From Paul’s bakery to Sushi near St. Pauls and Camden market and Notting Hill and Harrods, we did it all in 5 days! It was so good to see them again and to hang out with our dear friends.


We moved out of the apartment at the end of April and moved in with Lynn and Dave once again. It was a lovely time to spend with Neil’s mom and dad before taking off.


Clive and Esther, Neil’s parent’s bestest friends, couldn’t make it to the wedding, as a wedding gift they bought us tickets to Toronto, where they live.

We went there at the beginning of May. What a great week we had! They threw us a little reception to introduce us to their friends and took us to Toni Romas rib restaurant, which was such a highlight for the rib connoisseur, Neil. It was a great time and even though it was my first time meeting Clive and Esther, it felt like I’ve known them for ages. All the good things we’d heard about them were so true, they were it and so much more!


We got back from Canada and the next day we were off to Latvia with Neil’s mom and dad. We wanted to show them Riga and Latvia and since we got reasonable tickets we decided to have a little holiday for the 4 of us. Neil and I were so proud to show off my city to his parents.

We had such a good time looking at the city from the tallest tower and walking through parks and drinking hot chocolate in little coffee shops. My little sister chauffeured us around and we spent a day at my grand-parents, who were so proud to show their animals and gardens and make good friends with Neil’s mom and dad. It was a great time and way too short.