Well Hello There...

Hello world, sorry I've been away for so long. As you all know by now I am pregnant, 9w4d to be exact. And, well let me tell you the last month or so was hard, very hard. Everyone is okay so don't panick, I've just had the worst morning sickness ever! I got to the point where I couldn't keep anything down and guess what changed it all? I just switched my prenatal vitamins and voila! I have risen from the dead. I had no energy to do anything, was eating whatever I could tolerate and just became one with the couch for the entire month. I have been feeling so much better that I even got a workout in on Thursday and plan to start Turbo Jam on Monday. I really want this to be a healthy pregnancy.

Speaking of babies, my sweet baby girl, Sofia, will be 4 on Wednesday! I can't believe how big she is and how tall she is. I'm 5'6" and my husband is 6'1". I really think she is gonna be like 5'9" like my sister. She looks like a 6 yr old. But I am just so thankful to have spent these last months with my family and this birthday we will be together, as we should. Last year was super hard because my mom did a huge birthday party for her at her house and everyone was there. Even some close friends of mine went and I saw the whole thing on Skype. I had to hang up a few times to pull myself together because it was just so emotional. I'm glad she has those memories and even more glad this year I get to hug and kiss her and wake her up at the butt crack of dawn to sing las mananitas.

And my amazing family and in laws are spoiling her just as much now as when she was there! Right now she has about 6 big boxes in the mail full of presents for my little one. I just hope they arrive on time. We want to take her to the zoo, swimming and the movies to celebrate. It's amazing how much happiness this incredible little soul has brought to our lives in just 4 short years. She is such a trooper and so full of love. I remember saying goodbye to her in Juarez last year after I got my ban and I put her in the car and just hugged her and cried, and my sweet angel just said, "don't cry mommy. Ill see you soon. And I promise to call you everyday. I love you" She was 2 years old, about to turn 3 and she was the one keeping it together and calming me down. She didn't even cry.

Thank you God for blessing me with such an amazing daughter who fills my heart with joy. And for allowing us the amazing gift of becoming parents again, for the 2nd time. Life has its ups ands downs  but it's how you choose to see things that makes the difference. I choose to focus on the good, on the beauty in the world. As always friends, life is great and God is good! :)

A new beginning

Something new is taking place, something amazing. Something I have been praying for and have been so very blessed with. I am pregnant! Yes, you read it correctly, pregnant! I could not be happier!  I am 4 weeks 1 day and I calculate my due date to be February 18, 2014. My first doctors appointment is this Tuesday and I am beyond excited! My little Sofia is so happy and keeps telling me she will help change diapers and share her toys. I'm also excited to blog this pregnancy. We had been trying for just over 2 months and let me tell you it was hard to convince my hubby we should extend our family but he is just as excited as me! My symptoms before my missed period was increased appetite, frequent urination, and for about 4 days I was incredibly fatigued. I took a test on Sunday and it was a faint line at first. I walked away a bit disappointed because I thought its so light it must be a false positive but then I went back and it got much darker. I only took one because I just know I am, I can feel it. I don't care what it is as long as its healthy. God has given us such a blessing and I am SO happy that we have this look forward to, and it has nothing to do with immigration! :) I'll leave you with the picture I used to announce my pregnancy. :)

1 year and 3 days later

I posted this 3 days late, thus the 1 year 3 days title. It has been a whole year since my interview in Juarez and since I got my 9cii, 10 year ban. It has been a crazy journey since then but I am so happy where we are at now. God is so amazing that the morning after I got the ban I had breakfast with an amazing family telling me how wonderful Mexicali is. And here we are now. My husband works at a place he likes and gets along great with everyone. We live in a nice little house that finally feels like home and are making lots of new friends and church. I just can't complain about a thing and I am so thankful for that. When I walked out of the appointment and back into the hotel, I barely made it into the room and just feel to my knees and cried. I then went into the bathroom so my daughter wouldn't see me and just let it all out. I went back and laid in bed with my little family just crying and wondering what on earth we were going to do.

We talked about living in Mexico City but we both just hate it out there, that was not an option. In Queretaro we did really like it there but there is no work there. All the husbands have to travel all over the country for work and we wanted to be together. If we wanted to live there we had to open up our own business and with no money that was also out.  I began to search border living but had heard so many terrible things that it really made me nervous to live there. I thought of all the violence and knew I wanted some place I could raise my family without having to worry about getting hit by a stray bullet dropping my kids of at school.

Then it happened, God sent us the family to talk about Mexicali and it just sounded amazing, and I have yet to be disappointed. It is hot here but only for 3-4 months out of the year. The rest of the year its really nice weather. I feel secure here and we are starting out again from absolute zero, not even a bed or anything and a TON of debt. It has been almost 9 months since I first got here and slowly but surly we are getting back on our feet. I think it will take at least one more year from now until we are in a good place but I thank God for all of our blessings and we have all we need and then some. It's crazy how life works. I never thought I would be living in Mexico, on the border, raising my family. But here we are!

And this month I celebrate 7 amazing years with my husband and next month our daughter turns 4. We will finally be together to celebrate everything as we should and just be happy! As always, life is amazing and God is good! :)

A very special day!

Today was such an amazing day! Today my husband and I were baptized and are now official members of the Seventh Day Adventist Church! I am so happy that God is the center of our family and has blessed us so much. I hope he continues to bless us and guide us and I am just so overwhelmed with happiness!! God is amazing my friends, truly amazing!!!

 
 
 

77 lbs lighter

I have been doing really well with insanity. Just after I finished month 1 I got a really bad cramp in my right leg and it affected my workouts for almost a week. I still did the workouts but I just took it slow and started running 2 miles before my workout to get my legs warmed up. Since I started running I have noticed a big difference. I have lost 10 lbs and now wear a size medium shirt. I haven't been able to comfortably wear a size medium since about 9/10th grade! I now weigh 155. That is a total of 77 lbs gone, since I was at my heaviest at 232. Some things that have really worked for me besides the running and insanity are that I drink about 2-3 liters of water a day, stop eating 3 hrs before bed, use smaller plates, and always try to make half of my plate fruits or veggies. I'm now trying to motivate my mom to loose weight because she is very overweight and in the past few months has gained even more. I will post my pictures when I'm done with insanity to show my progress. I am happy with how my body is changing, now I just need to work on my mindset. I still have that fat girl mentality and I need to stop. My husband has been so amazing and supportive this whole time and is also getting pretty buff again! Next week I complete insanity for the first time ever! Wish me luck lol :)

Insanity day 1 month 2

I'm very proud to say that I made it passed the first month of insanity. I've never gotten that far and am very proud of myself. Today was day 1 of month 2 and it makes month 1 look like it's for babies! It's twice as long and a million times harder! I know I can do this I just need to go at my own pace. I pushed myself too hard in the beginning and didn't finish the last circuit but that's okay. Now I know for tomorrows workout.

So far I've lost 7 lbs. I haven't really measured but I know I've lost inches, I can definitely feel the difference in my clothes. I would like to complete the program twice and then join the new gym that's about to open just up the street from my house. I would have to walk with my daughter there and in the summer it gets to about 120 F so I'm hoping by then the nights will start to cool down and I can go after my husband gets home. That's another thing, it stays hot 24/7! Back at home it got hot during the day but at night it was nice and cool so it wasn't that bad. Not here, its 1 am and still over 100.

I also started going to church every Saturday with my daughter and I'm so happy about that. And now we are going to start to go in the afternoons too with my hubby. Life is amazing and I love my family. I pray that immigration reform happens and includes us, but if not that's okay. There are people in this world who are fighting for their lives, and far worse circumstances then us. I know that God never makes mistakes and everything will happen as it should. I'm still advocating and doing everything I can but ultimately it's all in Gods hands. Well, I'm still super tired from todays workout so I'm just gonna sit around and re coup. Maybe even take a nap with my little monster. :)

Amazing weekend

This weekend was just amazing. It was full of laughter and hugs and smiles and just love! Saturday morning I got up with Sofia and we got ready to go to church. We usually only got when my husband has Saturdays off because we only have one car but we found a church much closer where I can take a taxi and it will be affordable. Once we were ready I was about to call the taxi and my phone was acting weird, I couldn't make a call. But I was determined to go so we walked to the entrance of our privada and asked the security guard to call me a taxi. They usually arrive in under 5 minutes but this guy took forever and we were a bit late. But it didn't matter. We made it and it was a beautiful service. Sofia had so much fun in her class and behaved very well except for one bratty moment.

Church ends at 12 noon and that is the same time my husband gets off work. He usually crosses back in about 20 minutes so we waited for him outside. He got off work late and didn't pick us up until almost one but a few sisters waited with me so I was okay. We then went to check out the new plaza they built right next to our privada. It is so nice and they have a gym people, a gym! I can walk to it and get some food, work out, or just shop a little! This is huge for me because now even though I don't have a car, I can get out with Sofia and within walking distance. It's so new a lot of the stores aren't open yet because they are still under construction, even the gym. We took a tour of the gym and they showed us the lay out and invited us back next week to see the progress. The gym will be state of the art and have a wonderful daycare! Not just a daycare where they sit the kids down and tell them don't move, but they have activities for them, teach them about health and it will give Sofia another chance to interact with kids other than at church.

After that we got some delicious tacos and just chilled at home but the feeling was different. Something about going to church just puts my whole family in such a good mood. On Sunday we got up early, did some grocery shopping, had yummy pancakes for breakfast and had a water balloon fight. It was so much fun!

I know we didn't do anything fancy, or spend a lot of money but this weekend just gave me a new look on things. We may not have much but together we have it all. And we don't have to spend a lot of money to have fun and be happy. I just feel almost rejuvenated.

On another note today I start week 4 of insanity! I have been doing very well with the workouts but eating not so much. Cravings are my worst enemy but I have been making progress, slowly, but still progress. I am just so thankful that everything is coming together and feels like home. Ill be going to church regularly with my daughter, will join the gym once it opens and just those two things alone will allow me to interact with other people again and get out of the house. I'm excited for what's to come. Life is good, very very good. And is amazing! :)