Visas!!!

Nothing about preparing a family of five for a move across the Atlantic has been easy; but it has all worked out.

• Getting into the University of Edinburgh, and securing enough funding to make this year a reality? Check (thank you Olivet, Union Presbyterian Seminary, and University of Edinburgh!).
• Moving out of our house and finding renters for the year? Check. 
• Finding loving homes for our chickens, dog, and cat? Check. 
• Securing accommodation in Edinburgh? Check.
• Working out travel arrangements to Edinburgh? Check. 
• Taking care of passports for the kids, and renewing mine and Brittany's? Check. 
• Going through all our clothes, and determining how to pack in suitcases for the year? Almost check, still working on it!

The list goes on and on, and includes lots of small details as well as big ones. Suffice it to say, moving to Scotland has consumed us these past couple of months. 

The most anxiety inducing aspect though was applying for Visas. We had to fill out a separate application for each individual, and each application took a couple of hours to complete. After completing the online applications, and organizing all the paperwork, we then needed to drive to Washington DC to a Visa Processing Center where we were fingerprinted, and had all our paperwork stamped. We then shipped off all the paperwork, along with our passports, to the British Consulate office in New York. 

Because of my trip to Belize, we couldn't send everything out until the first week in July, leaving us just four weeks until we traveled, with a process that typically takes three weeks to complete. Brittany and I both understood that if we had made even one mistake, it could potentially force us to change our travel plans, and cost us thousands of dollars. Thankfully, it turns out I filled everything in correctly, as we received our Visas last week! There was a lot of excitement in the Lovell household after receiving everything back in the mail, and realizing we were officially ready to travel! 

While I successfully filled all the paperwork out to receive our Visas, I made one mistake on the front end, that is forcing us into an unplanned European vacation. After getting accepted to the university, Brittany and I began looking into plane tickets. We found a great rate through Icelandair, and decided to jump on the tickets. Our excitement about finally booking the tickets faded away after I realized that I booked too early, because our Visas wouldn't start until August 10th, due to when my program officially begins. While we explored changing our tickets, we ultimately decided to just enter as tourists initially, and then leave the country, in order to re-enter as students. So we will leave DC August 2nd, arrive in Edinburgh August 3rd, and then head to the Netherlands August 5th. So be on the lookout for pictures from Amsterdam next week!

The countdown is on, as we finalize all these details. No, preparing to move a family of five overseas for a year hasn't been easy, but it will definitely be worth it!

~ Seth, 7/30/18