campaign link

I can't believe I forgot to include the campaign link in the last post!!

Down To The Wire

So we're down to the last week of the indiegogo campaign (I know, you're probably thinking "Yay! Now she'll write about something else!" *grin*). We are currently $1,450 to our $6,000 goal. And first of all, I want to say a big huge THANK YOU to everyone who has donated to our love fund. And that's what I really want to talk about today - love. I want to tell you about this amazing journey, and this incredible man who has picked me to share his life. I've been through a lot - an alcoholic marriage, several abusive relationships, and a lot of men who would rather take advantage of me than get to know me (yeah, you could say I've had pretty lousy taste in men - a couple of good ones, but mostly not so much). I was at the point that if anyone told me I would meet someone, I wanted to punch them in the face. Paul, in many ways, was the opposite. He'd had a series of nice girlfriends, then met and married his now ex-wife. Sadly, she was a manipulator of the highest order, subtly controlling and making his world so small by driving people away that the only ones he had was her and their son. She convinced him to move to the U.S. (not too hard, since he'd always wanted to come here), then left him, and has done everything possible to separate him from his son - she's thrown out everything of Paul's that he didn't take with him when he moved out (she sent him back to Australia when they separated by telling him they were moving back to work things out and she was sending him on ahead to get everything ready, so he would go. Then as soon as he got there, she told him their marriage was over), including his baby book and letter from his now-deceased mother. When he gave the (court-ordered) cell phone to his son so that Z could call him anytime, she threw that in the trash. She won't let Z talk to his dad if he calls, and currently will not allow any form of communication between them, has made Z de-friend anyone on the X-Box she thinks might be connected to his father, limits the time Z can speak with his half-brother because she knows he talks to Paul, sits next to Z anytime he is on the X-Box to make sure he isn't talking to his dad, and throws away anything that is given to Z by Paul, me, or my mother. So needless to say, when I met him, Paul was working overnights at a convenience store, part-time as the fish guy at the grocery (both minimum wage jobs), and trying to stay awake to spend time with his son. He wasn't interested in meeting anyone after what he'd been through - until we met. He was drawn to my "sparkle", and I got lost in those big brown eyes. We went through a lot in those first 5 months - he was denied custody of his son at the end of his long court battle, he tried to leave when he got scared of being hurt, but somehow we found the strength to connect and commit. Leaving him for 8 months to work on the cruise ship was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I loved what I was doing, but always felt hollow, because my other half was missing. While I was on ship, we decided we didn't want to waste any more time, and started planning our wedding for 5 weeks after I returned home, and we wed exactly 14 months to the day after we met. I have to say, I have never seen a more perfect day. I literally watched a room full of people fall in love with this sweet, gentle, amazing man. Also while on board ship, we realized that if we stayed in the U.S., we'd likely never be able to make anything above survival wages, and Paul was really homesick - so we made the choice to build our life together in his hometown of Adelaide, Australia. We have been so humbled to have so many people supportive of our love, and to want to see us succeed. The dancing, the food, the sheer joy of the day - it was literally a day overflowing with love. 10 days after we wed, Paul left for Australia. We have no idea when we will see each other in person again. At the encouragement of friends, we started the indiegogo campaign to help offset the phenomenal costs involved to relocate our lives to Australia. It is $6,000 just for me to immigrate there. We pretty much cleaned ourselves out paying for the wedding and Paul's airfare. I'm still paying off debt that was incurred when I was out of work for more than 6 months (and being a freelancer, I didn't qualify for unemployment). So now we're saving to bring me over and to get a home and life in Australia. Some quotes from folks who have already contributed on why they chose to support our campaign: "In our world there is so much hurt and struggle and disease, and with social media there are waves of support daily, through prayer, donations and words of comfort and encouragement. I felt moved by the opportunity to contribute to a positive outcome, Kat & Paul, so clearly committed & in love. Circumstances of life have created the opportunity for their community to rally support to bring them together. $10, $20, $50 does make a difference, it is inspired action. An opportunity to support Love & LOVE WINS! Blessing <3" "For Love, With Love." "Kat and Paul have renewed my faith in finding love. I thought the fairy tale ending happened only in the movies. Who wouldn't want to be part of a real life fairy tale ending?" Please consider joining us - only 7 days left in the campaign (it ends March 3rd). Thank you.

A matter of moments

Today has been a powerful day for me. It started out much like any other, a quick FaceTime with my husband as he was getting ready for bed and I was getting up to start my day, a day of work trying to be of service to others. Then 2 things happened - I had a conversation with particular customer, and I received an email blast. The email was from a friend in the magic community bringing very sad news: someone I used to be good friends with before my divorce from my ex-husband has suffered a massive stroke, the left side of his brain is "dead", he has no speech and no movement. He is expected to live only days more, if not just hours. He's so young - maybe late 50's at the outside. I have always known him to be a vibrant, zestful, larger-than-life beautiful Italian man. His wife is understandably devastated by this, and I am grateful that she has chosen to let their larger community know, so they can say goodbye to this amazing man that it is so hard to believe will be gone all to soon. The conversation with the customer was touching on so many levels. She came into the bank to make a withdrawal, and somehow we got on the topic of the upcoming Valentine's Day. We laughed when we both realized we had a "yeah, so what" response to the topic. As it turns out, she lost her husband very unexpectedly about 5 months ago. He was another healthy, vibrant individual who had an out-of-the-blue heart attack. She was with him when she passed, saying the paramedics brought him back 3 different times before they finally lost the battle. The last time they brought her back, he reached out and took her arm, unable to speak, but letting her know that he didn't want to let go, but he had to. They were a couple who loved fully and passionately, and no amount of time together would be enough. She has been struggling to take care of all the things around the house that he did, learning to manage her finances when he controlled it all, and generally learning to be more independent and self-reliant than she ever thought she'd have to be. The main thing that came out of this for me is to treasure every moment. The truth is, we are all mortal, we will all die at some point. Every year, without knowing it, we pass what will become the anniversary of our death - and for the most part, most days, we manage to not think too terribly much about it. But the reality is that our time here is finite. Our time with the people we care most about is ever more fleeting, and when it is gone, it will never have been enough. My customer would give just about anything to have "one more hour, one more minute" with her beloved husband (they were only married 7 years). My mom feels the same about my dad, who left us January 2000. I know Rachel (my magician friend's wife) sees the years they had together as just a beginning, and is having a hard time seeing the world as a place that doesn't have him in it. Yesterday I went to the Holyoke Mall, Paul's "happy place" in Western MA. Everywhere I turned, I saw favorite places of his or his son's, and it made my heart hurt with missing them both. Don't get me wrong - I am beyond grateful that my missing is him being on the other side of the planet rather than gone completely. That my nostalgia is for times that we shared, and knowing I can talk with him about it the next time we Skype. And oh how grateful I am for Skype and FaceTime! That I have the gift of seeing his face and hearing the voice of my beloved on a nearly daily basis. But if nothing else, it also brought home to me today how precious every moment is. I encourage you, that if your beloved is near you, hold them just a little tighter and little longer tonight, for those who can no longer do so. Take that extra moment to hold their face in view and etch them in your mind and further into your heart. Gaze on them as they sleep and breathe them in when you hug them. Treasure the fact that your loved ones are within arms reach - and reach for them. Hold them, love them, and tell them how much you love them - for all those who cannot. Touch them while you can, for all those who would give anything for one more touch from a beloved. And if you can find it in your heart to help Paul and I have a little less time apart that we might have otherwise, we would really appreciate your help in our campaign to get me to Australia so we can be together, with luck for our first Anniversary. Please visit www.indiegogo.com/projects/keep-love-together - please put some love out into the world, and know that you are part of helping to create a very happy ending - and beginning.

30 days and counting...

So we're now 30 days out from the end of the campaign, and only 1/5 of the way to the goal ($1,067 to $6,000) We know this is a tough time for a lot of people, and that in many ways ours is not the greatest need. We started this campaign at the urging of our friends, who saw how amazingly in love we are, and enjoyed sharing in that love when they were able to join us at our wedding and reception. So we ask you, our friends, those who love us, and want to see us be together. Who know how hard it was for us to endure the 8 months apart when I was working on the cruise ship, and how hard these past couple months have been with Paul in Australia and myself in the U.S., with no idea when we will be able to see and hold each other again. Who may not know that we've also being going through some health issues and scares, made that much more terrifying for not being able to be together and look after each other. We ask you to find it within yourself to support our cause of love. We know that a lot of folks can't afford much, but even $5 or $10 will help us get that much closer - and if enough people put in a small amount, we'll reach our goal in no time. We are working toward this goal too, not asking everyone else to foot the bill for us. We work every day toward raising the money for my immigration expenses, as well as toward the first/last/security for our home together and the furnishings to make it a home. We thank you for your love and support, and really hope you will find a way to contribute, and will share the link to allow others the joy of helping a fair tale come true. <3

Holding Fast to Faith

The past week or so has been fairly trying for Paul and I, but we are keeping the faith. First, however, the report - the Indiegogo campaign (http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/keep-love-together/x/5958552) is at $978! THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed so far, we really appreciate your support. However, we only have 36 days left, and a LONG way to go to reach our goal of $6000. But first, some fairy tale joy.....

The more I look around me, and the more I look at what I have with Paul, the more I realize how truly blessed we are. We met when I went into Stop and Shop, and it was like magic. When we met for our first date, we hugged, and it felt like the Universe aligned. Our first kiss was the sweetest I have ever known. When I said I had to leave for 6 months for work, I never doubted that he would wait for me. When I had to tell him I would be gone for 2 more months, my heart broke when he cried from missing me so much. When he asked me to marry him, I thought I might be the luckiest girl in the world. When I did marry him, I KNEW I was the luckiest girl in the world. Over the past few weeks, as we've talked to folks about our goal of being together in Australia and everything we are overcoming to be together, people keep saying "Just go there and be with him. I don't understand why you can't just be there." The situation is this - we spoke with the Australian Embassy in Sydney this past week, just to make sure we haven't left any stone unturned. We asked if I could "just go be with him" in Australia, and file for residency while there. We were told that "You *could* do that, but at any time the government could decide that you entered under false pretenses (ie, entering on a tourist visa with the intent to stay permanently), deport Kat back to the U.S., and ban her for up to 8 year from re-entering Australia. Then you would have to file (and pay) all over again." It just isn't worth the risk. We've also been asked why I don't go visit - the truth is, it is too expensive to "just visit." Airfare alone is in the neighborhood of $2000, so it would defeat our purposes for me to visit, when the goal is for me to stay. We've also been asked why we are moving to Australia. There are a lot of factors that have gone into this decision, and it was not an easy decision to make. First, is that Paul is unable to find work in his field in this country (he is one of the top swim instructors in Australia). He doesn't have a high school diploma, and most jobs above minimum wage in the U.S. won't even talk to him. The few places who could hire him (such as the YMCA or health clubs with swim classes), have flat out refused to speak with him because they feel he is over-qualified and would want too much money - without giving him the consideration of interviewing him and letting him decide if what they offer is what he would accept. He was living in an extremely toxic situation (renting a room from his ex-mother-in-law) and we couldn't afford to rent a place of our own, as my work situation has been erratic at best. Add to that an unstable relationship with his ex-wife who threatens every other week to have him arrested (she's done it before when she didn't get her way), we came to the decision that since I don't have anything really tying me down in the States and he not only has a greater earning capacity in Australia but would be much happier there and I can find work pretty much anywhere, we made the difficult decision to emigrate to Australia. Paul has gone ahead to try to get settled and find a place for us to live while I try to pay down some of my debt and get my visa organized. We've also been asked why it is so expensive - here is the breakdown: $3100 to file for the visa. $900 for the medical exam and background checks. $2000 for the airfare and baggage check (2 checked bags and 2 carryon). We are living extremely frugally, and saving every extra penny we can. In addition to saving for this $6000 (which is what the indiegogo campaign is about - http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/keep-love-together/x/5958552), we are also saving $2500 for the first/last/security for an apartment in Australia, a car so Paul can work the 3 jobs he's managed to land, and continuing to pay his attorney fees from when he divorced and fought for (and sadly lost) custody of his son, and his ongoing child support. There are also some health issues going on, but I won't go into that until I know more about what, if anything, is going on - we're waiting on some test results.

We have said all along that from the moment we met, it has been like a fairy tale, and all we want is to live together so we can be happy ever after. Everyone says it is amazing how the love just shines out of us when we look at each other, and is so incredibly present in the pictures. At the wedding and reception, it was amazing to watch a room full of people fall in love with my husband. If you are blessed to have your soul mate and other half in your life - if you believe in love - if you want to be part of creating a "happy ever after", I hope you will find a way to help us. If you can, please contribute to the campaign (http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/keep-love-together/x/5958552). We hope you will tell everyone you know our special story, and of our amazing love that we are blessed to share with each other and our friends. We hope you will share our video that tells the story with folks, to let them know what is going on (http://youtu.be/80KtlCm5E4k). The campaign is set up so you can donate via credit card or PayPal, and PayPal is set up to accept donations in US Dollars, Australian Dollars, and Euros. We hope you believe in love, and we hope you will join us. We have 36 more days to reach our goal - and the Embassy also said that if we can file by March 1st, they might actually be able to process it within 90 days rather than the 10 months we were told initially, which means we might actually be able to be together for our first anniversary. Wouldn't that be amazing?!? With your help, we know we can do it. Thank you. <3

Inching Forward

Wow!!! Some amazing activity and very generous people!! THANK YOU to all who have donated the past few days!! We are now $778 toward our $6000 goal! Please know - there is only 42 days left to raise the remaining $5,222. If we can reach $5,500 (that is only another $4,722), we have an angel donor that will get us the last $500. Thank you for believing in love, and supporting Paul Milner and I being together. We can't do it without YOU. We know it is challenging right now for a lot of folks, so maybe you think that a little bit won't make a difference - trust me, it can make a BIG difference. We've had donations as small as $1, and we are grateful for them all. Please help support us - financially if you can, and also by helping to spread the story and the love. Everyone loves a good love story, and you may be surprised who wants to have a hand in a happy ending - so PLEASE SHARE!! Thank you!! <3 <3 <3

Timing Wow!!

We have some great news!!! If you've been on the fence about contributing to the indiegogo campaign (http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/keep-love-together), now may be the perfect time for you to join us!! Paul spoke with the Consulate in Australia today, and they said that if we can file by March 1 (the same time our funding campaign ends), my visa could process as quickly as 3-6 months - instead of the 8-12 months we were told previously. This means we have to have the $6000 together when we file, because if it happens sooner rather than later, I have to be ready to leave the country within 90 days or we have to start - and pay for - the process all over again. If you are blessed to spend every night and wake up next to your beloved every morning, can pick up the phone and text/call them anytime you want, believe in love and that it will find you, or just want to see more love in the world, we hope you will join and support us. Believe me - everything helps. Thanks!! Kat & Paul :)