Showing posts with label jesus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jesus. Show all posts

It's been over 2 years!

Posted by Sille Bliss


Two years since I last published a blog here! At one point I decided to try something new and I did/am. But this is where it all started yeah? Well even though my last blog was in 2018 it was only one blog, and before that it was another one in 2016. All I can say is during that time, there has been a lot of travelling around England and a few new countries too. It has been a blast. Thank God during this time we have all been healthy and He has been watching over us. 






2019 was a bit of a stand still for us. I did take up swimming back in early 2018 at our leisure center. I love it and do it as much as possible. Unfortunately right now I'm not swimming at all because everything has been closed since the beginning of this year, so I'm missing it a lot. I applied for my ILR which was the next and last step after my two visas, it was a slow process. When applying, you have to mail in your passport and with that goes all the travelling. So we waited, we waited for almost the whole year. Even though we couldn't travel and I feel like we didn't go anywhere, we actually did. We just did it all in our own country. There was a lot of beach and park visits, touring castles and state houses.



Towards the end of the year, I received my approved ILR and passport back from the Home Office. This was a huge deal. Having been approved for my ILR meant that I was done and could stay in the country indefinitely (as long as I wasn't out of the country for no longer than a certain amount of time). I no longer had to keep applying every 2 years. This was all great, but we were just more excited and focused on getting my passport back so we could book a much needed holiday somewhere out of the country before the year's end. We loved Morocco the last time we went, so we decided to come back to more glorious sun for the winter. 💓 December 2019.


Then there was 2020. Need I say more? Covid hit and that was the end of traveling for who knows when. I was OK with that. I did not plan on putting myself in harms way, especially being so far from my family. We all had to stay safe and healthy... and that is what we did. We stayed put and followed government advice and rules. 


                
  

It was a worrying and scary time, but we had to stay positive and have faith that we would all overcome this. It was hard being away from my family more than ever (still is). Not only because everything was so horrible out there, but it has also been the longest I have gone without seeing them. October 2018 was my last visit and I am feeling the separation. But all I can do is try to stay positive. That was and still is number one right now. As sad and horrible as 2020 was for the world, it was honestly one of the best years of our family's lives. God has been great and IS our saviour. I constantly thank God for his blessings and I pray for all the people in the world who have lost so much during this time. 

So we had our 1st lockdown from April thru June, and it was long. But because of that, coronavirus cases were extremely low. This meant we were able to spend the summer months and early autumn free! We could get out and do things. We still had to be careful and social distance of course. We were able to celebrate our 7 year wedding anniversary at our favourite restaurant on it's actual day! We were able to relax in the garden of our fav pub and eat on the harbour. We spent time at the beach and rode Poole ferry - this one was a first for me and long over due. 








Oh did I forget to mention the afternoon tea?! Come on, you know we can never go too long without one. 😛 Now my highlight from it all was us deciding to do the double decker sightseeing bus tour in our town. It was so fun and amazing learning more of our history. I felt like a tourist on holiday! 😊 




Spending time out there was a little nerve wrecking at times, but we almost felt normal. There was still that little voice in the back of your mind, telling you not to forget to sanitize and not get too close to people. Even with all that, we really needed this; everyone did. But as always and even more so now, all good things can't last forever and as fast as we were let out, we were back inside for our 2nd lockdown from November to the first week of December.  

2021 today is even a better day, for not only my family but also the world. We have a vaccine! Things should hopefully get better out there. We've been in our 3rd lockdown since January and still here. I am trying to make the best of it but after 11 weeks not being able to do anything, it's getting really old. Now beginning next week people are no longer required to stay home legally but everything stays closed until the 12th of April. So for me, that is the day my lockdown is over. So there are 3 more weeks till we can feel somewhat normal again.  

So, the positives and why today is a better day - My family is healthy. We are all getting through our vaccine jabs. Most importantly, I am closer to God now than I have ever been in my life. I've always had God in my life for as long as I can remember. I have all my sacraments, I went to Sunday school and church every Sunday. My siblings and I all went to Catholic school. So He has always been with me, but I seem to have lost myself somewhere along the way for a long time now. Praying every night has always been my constant throughout the years from a little girl until now, that never stopped. But for me, that was no longer enough. God is my EVERYTHING and deserves more time in my life than just a prayer every night. I still struggle every day and pray to be a better person. It's hard, I've been me for a very long time. But I know with Jesus within my hear every day, I will be a better me. 

So with all this extra time I've been doing a ton of baking. I'm in my learning phase but I enjoy it,  especially my husband and FIL. 😛 I've done a few online courses to keep my sanity and I might start another. I also have a sewing machine and have actually made a couple of things, no clothes yet and probably not anytime soon. 😉 

My biggest accomplishment is that I have finally become a British citizen. Soon after receiving my ILR during lockdown, I decided to apply. This would mean I could live here like I lived in America - with no worries or evening thinking about things I needed to do or couldn't do while just living. You don't think about these things in America because you don't have to. You just live. So after 7 long years, lots of paperwork, money and being stressed out during each application process - we've finally completed the journey. I am a British citizen and can "just live". It's a huge load off our shoulders. No lingering thoughts about it in the back of my mind; I'm just as much a citizen here in the United Kingdom as I am in the USA. It's a great feeling. It's done! I'm finished! I'm so relieved. I can breathe. I'm a British Mexican-American now! 😂


So life during this pandemic has been as good as I can make of it. I know I'll be able to see my family again soon. There's a light at the end of the tunnel for us all and all we can do is patiently wait and pray. In time we will all be able to be with our loved ones and do what we love to do again. It's patience, you got to have it and I usually don't. It's not one of my greatest qualities so I have to talk myself through it every day. But it has been working with God's help and I just gotta keep at it; also lots of meditation, which is another thing I've taken up during this time apart from the world. 

Let's just all thank God for all He has done for us - big or small during this time and keep pushing forward to more better days and positivity in our lives and in the world. We always need more of it. x,s     


And I think I'll go ahead and leave this here...... 😛







 

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