24

24, I am now 24 years young. I had an amazing birthday with my family and it wasn't because we did anything special but just because we were together. I'm grateful to God for blessing me with another year of life and being able to spend it together. When we first got here we started at zero, with not even a bed, a mountain of debt and slowly but surely we are moving forward. We have a healthy baby girl and another on the way, so much love in our home and gratitude for everything we have.

I look forward to getting older, especially my 30's because that's when I'll be able to return, at 31. Even though I can't wait for the day I can return I need to also cherish this time I have now. I have the huge blessing of being a stay at home mom which has taken a lot for me to get used to but I get to be a part of it all. I get to see my children grow and be there for every amazing moment and milestone.

Sofia is doing so well when we do school time. She is learning the alphabet and her writing improves everyday. She can write her name now and is just so smart. She is always asking how much longer until her sister is here and is just as anxious as I am, if not more. She asked me the other day why we are having another baby and I asked her if she didn't want someone to play with and grow up with so she's not alone. Her reply, mom I'm not alone, I have you and papi. Her positive outlook on everything is something that amazes me. I'm blessed to be her mom.

Well as you can tell by now this post had no point, just random stuff. Just wanted to check in and leave a few pictures. Til next time... :)

 

 

1 year in Mexicali

One year ago today I was in Mexico City counting down the hours until I left for the airport to go to Mexicali. I remember how nervous I felt about moving to a border town we had never been to and praying everything would work out. I also remember how anxious I was to see my baby girl and hubby. In just a few hours my new life was about to begin. Everything fell into place so perfectly thanks to God! I just renewed my lease for our house for another year. It's crazy to think a whole year has come and gone and here we are, together, happy, healthy, and pregnant. We found out on Monday we are having another little girl and could not be more excited! We can't find any names we like so please feel free to leave any suggestions. I want something simple and cute, nothing too crazy. Also my amazing hubby is in the process of getting his CDL! Please pray that he gets it soon because it would be a huge help, especially with another baby on the way.

Sometimes I get stuck in a rut, in a boring routine. I feel unfulfilled, like I could do more. I still don't have a car so I'm at home 99% of the time. But then I remember being alone, and how much I longed for this "boring routine". I sometimes go through my blog and see just how blessed we really are. We started from nothing when we moved here. I mean absolute zero, with a ton of debt from all of the immigration expenses. Just two months ago we finally got a bed, a real bed! I had been sleeping on an air mattress for almost 2 years until my dad bought us the mattress and we bought the bed frame. I had forgotten what a good nights sleep felt like. It's little things like that, that reassure me we are making progress and moving forward. Slowly but surely, with Gods help, we will get to where we want to be one day. But for now I am thankful for everything God has blessed us with and just hope that the rest of our time here is as amazing as this past year has been. :)

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 :)