Life with the Mrboons.

Well, we have certainly been slackers when it comes to blogging. We apologize for leaving all of our many readers (um, all 3 of you!) with weeks and weeks of not knowing what is going on with the Browns. I'm sure there are many rumors floating around the cyberworld about us but I assure you at least 90% of them are false. Alex started school 3 weeks ago and has been busy learning Hebrew vocab, reading about New Testament Cities and archeology, and studying about campus ministry. He spends a lot of time in the library at the seminary and wishes they would keep it a little warmer. I have been busy settling into my new job at Covenant Church where I am working as the Children's Ministry Director. I'm loving what I am doing and really enjoying getting to know the children and families at Covenant. When not at work and school we are enjoying being newlyweds and just love spending quiet evenings at home in our cozy little apartment (I'll try to get pictures up later this week). On the immigration front, we've had a few frustrations of late, the biggest being last week when Alex's Adjustment of Status application was returned to us with a rejection notice attached to it. According to the USCIS we did not pay the proper filing fee for the application. This seemed odd to me because I checked with at least 3 or 4 immigration officials before I mailed the application about the filing fee. So, I called the 1-800 helpline, and, after about 40 minutes on the helpline with several different immigration officials, I was told by one officer, "Whoever read your application must have been sniffing glue." Makes you feel confident in the USCIS, eh? So, we wrote a new check for the same amount and mailed it back hoping that the next person to review it won't be a glue sniffer! We have recently talked with another couple here in Saint Louis who has gone through the same process and we were encouraged to hear that they received their greencard about 8 months after they filed their application. So, maybe by the end of the summer we'll have something.

Well, that's the update on the Browns. Hopefully we'll do better about posting on a more regular basis.