A Week's Recap In Mexico....

I can't believe I've been here one week already. I'm far from being moved in. Tomorrow and Tuesday are big move days for the Bohorquez house. I'll try to be brief! The day I arrived I accidentally drove straight into downtown Tijuana. Honestly after being used to the sights, sounds and smells of Ciudad Juarez and Mexico City .... Tijuana is pretty nice! They definitely cater to the American tourist a nice plus in my book.

So instead of veering off to the "right" as my husband suggested, my TomTom GPS drove me downtown. With a nearly dead cell phone and no signal I decided it was a good time to hyperventilate. Having my parents and son with me was also another good reason to add to my anxiety. As we drove down the street I saw a SUV with California plates and decided to follow him. I managed to drove over a double speed bump ... and the car decides to turn off on me. I managed to turn it on and drove to a church (empty I guess service was over). I finally got a single and managed to call my husband and yell "I got lost!" We find each other and after hugs and kisses we had a good laugh about the whole thing. Now I see that church every time we drive back to TJ..."Look Aaron that's the church mommy was lost at!" :-|

So we enjoyed some great tacos and my parents returned with my brother and sister to my brother house in Grand Terrace, CA (an hour and 1/2 away). So Eduardo, Aaron and I drove to our new home in Playas de Tijuana. It is really nice and clean! Everyone is respectful and gracious. The house is really nice. Eduardo did a great job finding it.

Things I managed to forget about Mexico:

1. Around 7 or 8 in the morning the gas truck blows the horn and people run out to get a new gas tank. By now I've managed not jerk out of bed yelling "what the heck is going on!"
   
2. There's no hot water in the house. If we want hot water for the shower Eduardo has to go outside in the back and jimmy the water heater.
3. You should not throw toilet paper in the toilet... I will not elaborate on that.
4. Everyone drives like lunatics!
   

Things I managed to forget about my husband:

1. He's extremely attentive and affectionate
   
2. He's always cleaning
3. He's always cooking
4. He's impatient :)
5. He's a health nut :/
   

Last night during dinner he asked me if he's changed. Was he the same or different? I said he was still the same person I fell in love with it and its wonderful remembering his great qualities. As I write this... he washed the car and now cleaning the patio area.

Aaron returned to Chicago today with my parents and sister. We did this for a few reasons. One Eduardo and I haven't lived together in 5 and 1/2 years. We needed to get used to each other and get rid of our independence of living solo. Eduardo is not a Mexican Macho, but he tends to give "orders" which doesn't fly with me. So we need to work on asking each other to do things versus telling each other what they should be doing. One example... I was on the computer when my beloved said "I'm only giving you a little bit of time on that computer"... to which I replied "It sounded like you're telling me what to do and that doesn't fly with me. you wanna try that again?" He laughed and said "your right."

Back to Aaron. He's needs to have some stability and familiarity. We are far from being moved in and I still need to learn the ropes of driving and eventually the bus and trolley systems. This way when Aaron does return I'll know what I'm doing hahaha.

So much to post and so little time...

Some of you know what's the story with Eduardo immigration case. For those of you that don't here's what happened. My husband arrived in Chicago (illegally) sometime in the early 90's. During which time he didn't live a good moral life. Others have said he was being young and stupid. So in the end he has a criminal past and associated with the wrong crowd which has haunted him until this very day.

When I met Eduardo back in August 1998 we met at a church sponsored youth camp. He was an aspiring minister and on the path to becoming a pastor. We married the following year and I, like so many others, thought that by marrying a US citizen getting his papers would be a cinch! It was not so. We consulted with an immigration attorney here in Chicago and she found out that Eduardo had an order of deportation on him. When he first arrived in Chicago his mother started the paperwork for him to get legalized but again being young and stupid he never followed through with his appointments.

During one of his arrests he was told he had to appear in immigration court and he would receive the notice in the mail. Eduardo moved around a lot during that time and never got the notice. By failing to appear in court he received the deportation order. So we tried to appeal. Our argument was that he never received the noticed. We fought for almost 3 years and in the end we lost.

He had to comply with the deportation order and he leave the country on January 10, 2004. So we filed new paperwork and we waited for him to receive his interview appointment in Cuidad Juarez. After three denials from the US Consulate in Mexico, 5 1/2 years of living separately and close to $20,000 in immigration and attorney fees, we've chosen to be a family.

Aaron and I will be moving to Mexico in two weeks.

Traveling Adventures with a 7 year old...

Last week, after months of daily harassment from our son, we decided to take a quick trip to Mexico City to visit Eduardo. I was diligently searching Expedia, Mexicana and Travelocity websites for flights deals because the prices were around $350 for each of us. After taxes it was nearly $1,000 for 2 round trip tickets. On top of that it was Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Mexico. Way too expensive So we finally caught a break on Delta for $200 for tickets.

Flying Delta wasn't as bad as many people have told me. I usually fly Mexicana because of its flexibility, low prices, direct flights and FREE meals. With Delta I had to fly specific flight times (boo!), pay a decent price for tickets, take a connection in Atlanta and PAY for my meals. Blah.

As I mentioned it was Semana Santa and our flight was packed with families traveling with kids. It wasn't bad because for the most part everyone was pretty quiet. However the flight from Atlanta to Mexico City had such horrible turbulence. Horrific. It certainly didn't help that with each bump, shift or jolt every kid was screaming. I swear I was on the American Eagle at Six Flags Great America. I guess the good thing that it was screams of delight and not terror. It still was not comforting. I almost lost my $5.00 cheese and fruit plate I just finished eating.

As we landed in Mexico City I knew the drill. Go to the bathroom and make sure Aaron went to the bathroom before we got into the line at Customs. Its so long and I wanted to avoid getting out of that line at any cost. So we walked calmly to the bathroom and Aaron laid a bomb which was great because I knew he wouldn't bother me about going to the bathroom.

We then went proceed to the line.

Aaron starts to fidget...

Me: What's wrong...?

A: Are we done yet...?

Me: Nope the line is slow...

A: Mommy I'm so hot....

(I remove his sweat shirt because it was hot in there)

A: Mommy I don't feel so good...

*Cough, Cough, Gagging*

Me: What's wrong!?

A: I NEED SOME WATER!!!

(Me frantically looking for the 3.00 bottle of water I bought, congratulate myself for finding it, hand it to Aaron)

By this time we've progressed to the middle of the line.

A: MOMMY!!! I HAVE TO GO CACA!!!

(I've told Aaron time and time again to whisper in my ear when he has to go #2 but he's still learning)

Me: Please baby, we're almost done, you have to hold it.

A: MOMMY!!! I HAVE TO GO CACA!!!!

Me: Babe there's a bathroom right outside that door can you please just hold it?

A: MOOOOOOOOMMMMYYY I got diarrheas! THE BATHROOM IS RIGHT THERE!!!

(Yep, the plural version and he's pointing to the bathroom we just used)

Me: Barnacles Aaron you just went to the bathroom!!

(I really don't want to get out of line because it's so freaking long!)

Aaron finally manages to wait and when we get to the customs agent he practically screams at her "I HAVE TO GO CACA!"

So I'm telling the woman (in spanish) please please hurry he's got diarrhea!

She stamps our passports and we take off like bullets to the bathroom. After he's done he says "Whoa Mommy I'm so hungry!"

Ya I bet.

By the way, I didn't mention the two times that Aaron undid the rope guards while we were in line. The zipper belt flew back into its place only after it slapped someone in the back....

A Straight Comedy of Errors Today...

Omg this morning was the worst morning… first I wake up an hour late, missed my regular bus, forgot my laptop, cell and iPod at home. Then while I’m waiting for the bus I realize I forgot my wallet. So I started praying that someone from work would be riding the bus… nope. So I thought I just couldn’t ask these Complete strangers for money, so I started asking everyone if I could borrow a cell phone. I got one and called my dad and who drove back and gave me like 3 bucks in quarters. I thought I would be extremely mad this morning but in the end it was just hilarious.

Last night I watched Rachel Getting Married. At first I wasn’t sure what it was really about since I don’t remember the previews, but I figured it was really good because Anne Hathaway was nominated for an Oscar right? Boy was I wrong, it was just long and it didn’t make any sense. By the end I just took it out and went to bed. I didn’t bother to finish it.

According to Rotten Tomatoes... Hathaway's Kym is a recovering drug addict who leaves rehab behind to attend the wedding of her sister, Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt, MAD MEN), but Kym's problems follow her home. Rachel cannot forgive or forget Kym's many drug-fueled transgressions, and their father (Bill Irwin, LADY IN THE WATER) dotes on his returned daughter. As the wedding grows closer, the spotlight shifts from Rachel to Kym, much to the bride's irritation. The alternately hilarious and heartbreaking dialogue in RACHEL GETTING MARRIED adeptly walks the line between wit and reality, giving audiences a picture of a family that feels entirely authentic.

I felt like this was a wedding I did not want to be at...

Mini-Update

Ok,

Here’s what you should know. The State Department (Homeland Security) made the final decision to deny my Eduardo the chance to file the pardon. The American Consulate in Mexico agreed with the State Department and the process was over for us.

We started working with a group called Westside Minister’s Coalition (WMC) and they in turned had us work with Senator Roland Burris. Well you know that whole scandal with Gov. Blago and Burris. WMC told us that whole thing with Burris was going to blow over and for while I didn’t see it happening but apparently it has.

WMC has kept in touch with my mom and the status of getting that decision overturned. The last we heard was the Burris had this binder I created for WMC. The binder included a personal letter from me, our timeline, my husband's police records and court dispositions, letters of rehabilitation, copies of his diplomas, pictures of us, pictures of my husband preaching, etc.

So at this point the State Department is reviewing our case again. Pray for a favorable decision because we’re supposed to hear back by the end of the week.

Bridget

Pre-Thanksgiving ... Thanks...

So its about time for an update. So many things have happened since my last post I know many of you are anxious for one. Let's start with the most important (and obviously the point of this blog)

Eduardo
As most of you know Eduardo had a appointment in October and now the consulate said that all they knew about my husband was his past. Based on their findings my husband was associated with the gangs but not an actual member. Therefore they could not issue a visa nor give him the chance to file the I601 wavier (the pardon). However she said that if he sent her copies of:

Copies of his diplomas

Photos of him preaching

Copies of his credentials

Copies of some of his sermons

Then they will allow him to proceed to the wavier. They know he is a minister/pastor now but they have no proof of it. Getting the items above is no problem because I have all these things. Some items I had to wait for my mother-in-law to send which finally arrived last Thursday. (Don't even ask about this.)

I thought that the person who is reviewing my husband's case would be the same person that would review him again at the I601 Wavier. But my attorney mentioned that it's actually two different departments. Here's what bugs me. Eduardo has gone through this abnormally long, drawen out detailed background check by one department. Now I find out that for the visa appointment its going to be ANOTHER department? My concern is that this other department MIGHT just ignore the fact we went through the ring of fire and see a criminal history and we won't get a same day approval for Eduardo's visa.

Doesn't these extremely detailed background check on my husband count for anything at the wavier appointment? My attorney will argue that fact and it is my hope that both departments will just let us proceed and HOPEFULLY get the visa the same day.

Me
So I noticed that the last time I posted something I was talking about our company layoffs. Well we had some more last Wednesday and thank God I'm still here. By the sound of it might be triple work for me. But my mom said I need to budget my time wisely and I'll get through the days. Makes a lot of sense and I'll have to put it to use.

At church we had elections for new positions within the groups. I don't know if I mentioned this but I was the secretary for the Ladies League and I feel like a did a crummy job. Well apparently my thought was correct because I wasn't re-elected.

Aaron
Aaron's probably doing a lot better then Eduardo and I put together. He's enjoying school and maintains his solid "C" average.

Regardless of what's life is throwing at us we're doing well. We're thankful for each other support, our family support, our church support and our friend support. We appreciate each one of you!

We had layoffs this past Friday...

I want to say it was a complete shock. Instead I was rather shocked who was let go. I started to worry and think about the situation my friends are currently in. I work in Architecture our work is based a lot on the current housing market.

As I'm sure as you're aware if there's no need to build we won't. Our clients might find it difficult to obtain the necessary loan in order to construct. While I'm sure many have their own money needed for construction they're not willing to take the risk.

So the lenders won't lead, clients can't build yet clients won't build because peopling are not buying.

Because my job at the firm is in a administrative assistant role it might not be too difficult to find work if I was laid off. We can work in all types of industries. We're adaptable I guess. Now is there's an industry that doesn't suffer layoffs due to the current conditions of the market? According to the Food Network the candy industry is the only one that doesn't. I don't know how true that is, but they reason that its because no matter what the cost people will always purchase their favorite candy.

My prayers are for my co-workers who were let go. Why you were chosen I don't know but try to think of it as an new opportunity. (Easier said then done, I know!). But KP's mom is right "when God closes one door He opens a window."

There Are Times When Even The Internet Is Boring...

I've decided to start carrying a notebook around with me. No not a huge notebook just something small to write my random things. Whether I'm on the bus or walking outside my mind is working overtime. I especially enjoy the moments when I think about all the things I can write about on my blog. As you can tell I haven't posted a single one of them. Ok I'll get the notebook and post more often. But here are some random thoughts for you.

I've started to realize that having a computer at home and not have internet access means I don't use the computer very much. So I want internet access but I don't want to get it just yet. I will a bit before I do.

Now lately I feel as those I'm in limbo. Neither here nor there just stuck in the middle. Eduardo was having a hard time earlier this week. The frustration of our situation has caused him to fall into a depression. Its harder for me to talk to him when he gets like that. I don't know what to say or do that would help him to get out of his funk. So I just listen and pray that he does get better. I will admit that it does drain me emotionally.

Aaron has been back to school for about a week and half. Simply put.... its uh interesting. I attended the 1st Local School Council meeting and my gosh what a disaster. I don't know that I can make it to the next one. I told them at the meeting that if they continued to have the meeting at 9 am it impossible for a full-time working parent to get to them. But I tell you there were so many people at the meeting I wonder if they are welling to move the meeting time.

There's tons more to post but the lunch hour is over... Oh before I forget Happy Birthday to my wonderful mom!

Mexico City, Day 1 and 2, Gran Melia

We left Chicago around 6 am and had a connection in Dallas/Fort Worth. When I looked at my itinerary I saw we had about an hour and a half before we had to change planes. Little did I know that an hour and a half wouldn't be that much time on the return. No problems while we were flying and we landed in Mexico City around 3:00 pm. One thing I don't understand, when going through Customs at Mexico City's airport, is the need to x-ray our bags as we're leaving. I like to believe the hassle we go through at O'Hare Airport and its security measures would be enough but it's not. We didn't have to wait long for the bags and the x-ray was clean so we done.

Normally Eduardo meets me at the airport with flowers which I always appreciate. My favorite are colorful daisies. But I always feel bad when I can't take them home with because of customs. Well I've never tried to bring them home, I assume it would be a problem. This time Eduardo had no flowers (darn but at least I won't feel guilty about leaving them). Instead he gave me a paper and it was a surprise trip to San Miguel de Allende. I was so excited. I actually wanted to visit San Miguel for about 2 years but we either went somewhere else and didn't go. For this trip we planned on going to San Miguel but money was tight (who am I kidding there was no money!) so I knew we couldn't go. Either way I was happy with this gift. We would leave to San Miguel on Monday.

We stayed at the hotel Gran Melia in Mexico City on the main street Reforma in Centro Historico. With my architectural connections I could appreciate the structure and work as well as its flaws. Now if you remember I forgot my digital camera so this are pictures from the hotel's website. From the outside the view is spectacular! You'll also see a nice shot over looking the Calle (Street) Reforma.

The hotel offer many amenities and it was great and everyone seems generally nice and hospitable (who would have thought over the mix reviews at TripAdvisor.com).

So I've been traveling to Mexico City for quite some time and you'd think that we learn a few things about how the city works. Nope. Day 2 in Mexico City we were supposed to head to church because 1. Eduardo was going to preach and 2. because I was supposed to meet the Bishop. We need to be at church at 12:00 pm. We forgot that every Sunday the city shuts down Reforma and several other streets and creates sort of an activity day for the family. You can run, ride your bike, rollerblade ...whatever on this major street.

So when I woke up the next morning around 8 am, Eduardo and Aaron took off swimming. I heard someone talking on a speaker outside. As I peered down I saw people running a marathon. I didn't think it was a big deal until we left the hotel at 11 and found every surrounding street was blocked. It took us quite a bit of fancy driving to get out to the next major street. After asking several police officers we were directed on the "right" street and found ourselves back at the hotel! (and after an hour of driving).

Eduardo was not a happy camper. We eventually got church at around 2 pm (2 hours late!) and we ended staying for the 3 pm service. Oh well.

Here's the buffet that cost us $20 per person. When Eduardo said "200 pesos" I thought 'wow $20 bucks for all us that's pretty cheap!' My bad.

Here's the pool. This picture doesn't really do it justice. It was really nice!

The Lobby

Since we were heading to San Miguel de Allende on Monday Eduardo asked a fellow pastor to drive us home. The pastor would then drive our borrowed car and park it inside his gated house. But Eduardo locked the keys in the car and we were all were stuck outside trying to get the keys out. Eventually (after 1.5 hours) someone random guy asked if we wanted him to help. I'm freaked out thinking "OMG! He's going to get the keys out, pull a knife or a gun and steal the car!" (Hey it's Mexico City what did you want me to think!)

So I stood behind the men with a wrench just in case. The guy got the door open pulled the keys out and.... AND..... asked for $50 pesos. Argh! Thank God that was over with!

One minor recap of my vacation...

Saturday Aaron and I headed to Mexico City to visit Eduardo again. At this moment (from an immigration standpoint) we've done the following. We had the possession of cannabis charge changed do show that the case is officially closed. I have some doubts because when I first saw a copy of the disposition I noticed that the "possession of cannabis" was not written out at all. Instead there was the number code but the area next to number was blank. I forwarded that to our immigration attorney and it caused some confusion with them as well. Either way the disposition and a letter was sent to the consulate. Here are just some of the highlights what happened after that.

I went to the Daley Center (in Chicago) to get two copies (sealed) for our attorney. As I was in there I noticed something odd was going on outside of the building. However, I made it through security and proceeded to the 10th floor. When I was being attended an announcement was made and we had to evacuate the building because there was a bomb threat. I have gotten the chills before but never throughout my whole body. So in the end my mission was not accomplished. I returned two days later and got two copies. But then I noticed that the area by the number code was now filled in. At this point in our immigration journey I now that I MUST have my ducks in a row. I thought because we had already sent a fax to the consulate with the "blank" court disposition the fact that it was now filled might cause a problem. It didn't so I was on my way.

So where are we at now? I hate to say it but we're just waiting at this point. (Have you noticed a reoccurring theme with my posts? It's all 'We're waiting, now we wait, we need to wait' wait wait and more wait) Honestly I don't know of anyone else who had learn patience but me with all this blasted waiting.

Ok so I'm on the plane as I type this and Aaron's had more soda in the past 3 hours then he has in 2 days. I was hoping he would nap ... ya right. Eduardo and I planned a trip to San Miguel de Allende but the funds are tight so we'll have to tour around Mexico City. I'm sure there's plenty that I haven't seen. Here's a list of things I forgot to pack:

1. Jackets (these planes are FREEZING)
2. Something to swim in (maybe I can borrow shorts from Eduardo hahaha!)
3. Conditioner
4. Nice shoes for church
5. A pin or scarf for my new dress
6. Flip flops for Aaron
7. Sunscreen
8. Something to pin my hair up
9. My Bible. I'm sure it's going to look great that the pastor's wife doesn't have her Bible.
10. iPod cable
11. A digital camera!

Here's a snapshot of me having a bad reaction of something I ate or the sun :(

Reality Time Already?

How do you explain to 6-year-old why kids exclude him from playing with them? It burns me to no end when children to it. There's no real logic trying to figure this out yet it happens. Can kids be that malicious towards one another? This I can expect from random kids you don't know but this happens within my own family too. Terrible huh? As much as I want to say to my son "nope you're not going to play with so and so and you're staying inside with me!" he won't understand that. Especially when he can hear the kids outside hooting and hollering and he's not allowed to have the same fun. In the end I'm being a bad mom (to Aaron at least!)

As much as we try to protect our children my brother Danny said something interesting to me. He said we can't always be there to protect our kids and sometimes we have to allow these experiences to happen. By doing this it gives our children a (sad) dose of reality. The reality to know that not everyone is nice, not everyone is polite no matter what you do (or don't). Someone is not going to be happy you're around. Its the same for kids as it is for adults.

But I continue to raise my child I only hope that he is self-confident and self assured. That's my prayer for him everyday. Protection and self-confidence. Ranting and raving about bratty kids isn't going to get me anywhere. But just talking to my son and explaining realities of life might be the only thing that will work. The world is a beautiful place with wonderful people in it. You just have to weed through the bad one to find the good ones.

In other news: I finally got all the documents I need for Eduardo's stuff. I would have gotten it earlier, but on Wednesday when I was at the Daley Center we had to evacuate because of a bomb threat. I was telling my husband I felt the chills all over my body. I wanted to get out of the building and out of the area as soon as possible!

The Windy City was really a windy city last night!

Ever since we moved from Marengo, IL I've never experience such drastic weather here in the city. Last night Aaron and I went to the library to return a museum pass I got last Saturday. So we stayed there for a bit before heading home. Thank God we made it home before the storm hit. Here's another reason why I enjoying renting a basement apartment. That's the first place you need to go in case of tornado! I spent like 10 minutes trying to convince my aunt and uncle to head downstairs but they didn't. The weather was so bad I had to admit was pretty scared. I've never heard tornado sirens in Chicago before. At first I thought it was just a fire station but it wouldn't stop blaring! After about twenty minutes, Aaron decided to go to bed and slept through the rest of the evening.

Today I got the letter my attoneys wrote to the Consulate stating we're providing the additional evidence they wanted and to please give Eduardo the benefit of the doubt. It's been 15 years! They even used small portions of some recommendations letters we submitted as part of Eduardo rehabilitation (Some excerpts from Bro. Zuniga my pastor and from Christiana my sister in law). I'll get an original court disposition tomorrow and off to the consulate the letter will go. Again we're still waiting for an answer, so please keep us in your prayers.

I wanted to thank my pastor Bro. Lupe Zuniga. On Sunday they picked up an offering for me to help with my immigration fees. I'm grateful to God, my pastor and the breathen from the church for this much much much needed help. Thank you!

Speaking of church I finally was able to post the pictures of the family camp. You can check them out here!

Money, Money, Money...

Well I took out a loan on my 401k versus cashing it out to pay for the immigration stuff, lawyers etc. Anyway the payments were going to be deducted automatically from my paycheck starting at the end of June. But I noticed it hadn't happened. When I questioned the finance person about it he said that it wasn't going to happen right away but soon... ok no biggie...

When I called him on it again early last week I mentioned that I still hadn't seen the deductions. He called back and left me a VM telling me that he made the mistake of not paying the loan and now I'm behind 3 payments totaling over $900! So for the next 3 paychecks I have to make double payments on this loan.... AND I go to mexico next saturday and guess what? I have FOUR unpaid days for that vacation! I nearly died because I asked him to tell me how much my checks where going to be and the one check (where I take my vacation) might be around $300.

I know the finance person felt really bad about the situation but sheesh... Things will be ok I'm not going to worry about (don't get me wrong I flipped out when it happened but I'm ok now). So I mentioned to my hubby that we probably shouldn't go to San Miguel de Allende and we should try to do some things on the cheaper side while I'm down there in Mexico City....

Aside from that the weekend weather was wonderful! We went to Lincoln Park Zoo and so much has changed. If Yoly and I ever figure out whats with our memory card reader maybe I can post some pictures... This morning a storm blew through early in the city. I've never see the sky get so dark at 7 am. My parents drove me to the express bus this morning so I made it completely dry.

I feel like I should be posting more about my bus adventures or bus musings... for example today its raining cats and dogs and I watched a woman close her umbrella and point it out in front of her as she paid the fare. However, since she was pointing it out in front of her she's practically stabbing the bus driver and getting him all wet!

Finally!

After a few days of waiting I finally got the new court disposition I needed from the Chicago Clerk's office. After reviewing it (with my limited knowledge of criminal law) I can see that the possession of cannabis has been completely removed from the court record. That's really huge! So I've emailed that over to my immigration attorney Laurel.

Right now the next steps is to get that new disposition to the Consulate and then wait for them to decide on the gang issue. Timewise I honestly don't know how long that's going to take. I would hope they made the decision sometime in August. At the very bottom of this page you can see a countdown clock for our wavier appointment. I'm going to need to reschedule it but I'll wait to do until next Tuesday. When the gang issue is settled then I reschedule the wavier appointment. I'm assuming it's going to be sometime in October. Not too much to do just more waiting.

Today is the last day for summer camp for Aaron. Both my mom and I are relieved. It is a good program however, given the area we're in and the quality of some the camp directors it was ok. I could never tell how Aaron was enjoying himself. There were plenty of good days and bad...but it was hard trying to get Aaron to tell me about his day. He managed to tell me that yesterday he went to the movies and saw Speedracer and he didn't like it. However he enjoyed the popcorn and soda. (Hey so do I!)

Tomorrow we're off to the Lincoln Park Zoo in blazing 95 degree weather. I thought we probably shouldn't but Aaron didn't ask me or my mom...he went straight to Grandpa (my dad). So if Aaron said please my dad doesn't deny!

To my second child...

Today has been a solemn day for me. Not many of you know but in December 2007 I had suffered miscarriage. And today marks the due date of our baby. I do feel sad of what could have been, but at the same time happy because I was at least able to cherish the small time I had with my with baby. I'll never understand the reasons for it happening but I'm grateful that the Lord allowed me to the opportunity to at least experience it.

As I go through this journey I've never expected my life to be this way. But I do believe that bigger and better things are coming. Many people tell me that the Lord is going to bless us like never before. It was hard hearing that before when things looked so grim. Now that I feel things are moving in a positive way it's something to look forward to.

Last night I was reading Aaron a story call Miss Rumphius. How one of her goals was to make the world more beautiful. Even Aaron said that it was a nice story and "could we plant flowers?". I replied that no matter where we live we will definitely plant flowers.

Is this blog ever going to be about something normal?

Wednesday morning I went to court for my husband possession of cannabis case and praise God we got it vacated... actually BETTER then vacated. The judged order it to be "annale"? I probably spelled it wrong, but its a Latin term that basically the case is abandoned.

The judge couldn't understand why CDJ was being difficult about this case. And my criminal attorney explained to the Judge that if we didn't get the decision amended to show that the case is closed my husband would not be allowed to complete his immigration process. The state's prosecutor said they had no problem with the motion to vacate. "We have no evidence, no witness, even the lab couldn't pull up any reports". So the judge said that he didn't want to this case to "deny him the chance to reenter the country. Motion sustained." And at this point I don't have to pay anything!

I will have to wait until the decision is entered into the system. Supposedly it's 3 days but in reality its 9 days. However, my criminal attorney said he would call the clerk and ask her to enter it as soon as possible. So I hope by today (Friday) I'll have the certified court disposition in my hands and off to Laurel (our immigration attorney)! As Laurel and I were talking we think we're going to have to postpone our wavier appointment. We still don't know how long the Consulate is going to take to make the decision about the gang thing. So we'll see. 1 hurdle down, 1 more to go!

In other news...The family camp was so much fun and we had a great tent that held up during the horrible rainfall we had last Saturday night. I'll post pictures as soon as my sister downloads them :)

A minor recap and what's coming up...

Ok, as you know last Friday I went to the City Clerk's office to get a new court disposition for Eduardo's 93 case of poss. of cannabis. At this time the consulate has said that what we gave them indicates that the case is still open. However, its not. At the recommendation of the Clerk's office I had to ask to call the file back from the "warehouse" and I would present myself with Leo (our criminal attorney) and ask the judge to either vacate the case or amend the decision to show that it is dismissed. It would take 5 days for the file to return from the warehouse and 3 days before I can see a judge. I called the Clerk's office today and praise God the file has already arrived! So I'm going there tomorrow during lunch to ask that it put on the court docket. I'm praying that I see a judge next Monday or Wednesday! Keep those prayers coming.

In other news, our church is having they yearly Family Camp in Green Lake, WI. Yoly (my sister), my son and I went to last year and we had so much fun. This year my parents, my sister and son along with my cousin Mary and her husband will be going. Aaron's been wanting to go back since we left last year. I hope that when Eduardo comes back we can do it more often during the summers.

In other other news, Aaron was written up at his summer camp at the park. Turns out he was hitting another kid. When I said that he shouldn't hit other kids he said "But Mommy Andrew was not being very nice!" like that's an excuse but to him it was good enough. He cracks me up because he kept trying to change the subject by telling me how he tried the lunch at the camp. He ate the sandwich, but what that really meant was he just ate the bread and "it was so delicious!" ha!

Eduardo's back in Mexico City and he was very happy to be "home". When I head there next month I'll be checking out our possible "apartment" and the school. Then we're trying to decide about where to go and what to do. Of course Aaron said the beach and there no arguing that!

Here's the update to Thursday's appointment...

It's been a whirlwind kind of week. Here's what's going on now. We still have the gang problem and now according to the immigration officer there is a 1993 possession of cannabis case that the Officer seems to believe is still open. When you look at the court disposition it says "Bond Forf - SOL". I got a letter from the Chicago City Clerk's office that gives an explanation of that acronym "SOL". Basically the case is dismissed and the State of Illinois has 90-120 days to reinstate the case. Well that was back in 1993 and obviously 90-120 days have passed!

Anyway we don't know what exactly is bothering the Consulate about this particular case. But I've got someone at the Clerk's office and my wonderful criminal attorney Leo who are helping me recall the file and asking that it be put on the court docket. So I'm hoping to appear before a Judge and we're going to ask him to vaca the case. Because that seems to be the only thing that's going to work.

What’s confusing is that they’re telling Eduardo to bring stuff to the wavier appointment in August. But when Eduardo asked if it means we can proceed to the second appointment they told him “no cuentas con ese sita” (don't count on that appointment). I think the bottom line is they said we have to mail them a letter that states the poss. of cannabis is closed and that THEY would inform us of when we can go back to the consulate.

We did a 3-way call with our immigration attorney and she's also confused. Both of us believe the wavier is still going to happen so we’re going to continue to prepare for it. So right now I'm waiting for a court date and Eduardo's old file to come from the "warehouse". I pray its going to be this week. There's so many obstacles and it's very difficult but it's not impossible. I feel that the consulate is looking for every reason to deny us the opportunity to file the wavier. As much much as they want to knock us down, we keep coming back and giving them everything they're asking for.

I have a playlist on my iPod call "Encouragement" and whenever I hear an encouraging song I add it to that list. Two songs that have helped me today have been: New Direction's "Peace" and Fred Hammond's "No Weapon"... which I thought was an appropriate song and verse for my family.

Isaiah 54:17
No weapon that is formed against you will prosper;
And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
And their vindication is from Me," declares the LORD.

Update from Tuesday's 1st Appointment.

They are still trying to see if my husband is eligible for the I-601 (the pardon). Here's one of the problems. On one police report it says that my husband said he was a part of the Latin Kings. My husband denied it and said that when he was arrested there were two other guys that were part of the Latin Kings but he was not. There are no other court dispositions or police reports that state my husband's supposedly affiliation with the LK. Just this one police report. So they're reviewing it further to make sure that his can file the waiver.

The second thing they asked for was for my husband I-212 form. This form is needed because Eduardo had to leave to Mexico due to his order of deportation from a 1991 hearing. I didn't send because 1. I didn't remember and 2. now that I think about it is supposed to hand and hand with the I-601. So when my husband called me and told me that he had to go back on Thursday they wanted the I-212 AND the I-601 wavier packet! Blah!

I told my husband he needed to go back and ask again. Because how could they ask for the I-601 packet when we have the wavier appointment? Plus there's no way I could shell out the $580 for the wavier and $545 for I-212 Thursday! So he called me back and said that he could turn in the paperwork and the money at the wavier appointment. Here's my thought on why he's going to be eligible 1. God is good and He is on our side 2. The officer kept telling my husband "bring it to the wavier appointment"...why say that if there was a chance he wasn't going to be eligible?

So all panic aside and talking with my husband (and my friend Hilary) we figure this is a good thing. I mean this officer could have told him flat "No wavier ... see you in 10 years" but she didn't. So it's a good thing. On Thursday they'll tell him if he can file the waiver which I'm sure he can. Thanks for the prayers and the thoughts! We're still in the rat race!

Cutting it close with Immigration....

So by some fluke I didn't get the DS-230 (the Beast of all forms) or the I-864 (the form that says I will support Eduardo .... $$$... for 10 years!) done and mailed off with enough time.

Anyway. In the past I sent immigration stuff to my cousin Sandra in El Paso (FedEx, Overnight ... even Saturday delivery). However on Thursday, when I tried to prepare the FedEx label it tells me Saturday delivery is not available to my cousin's address. So I said ok well I just overnight from the post office. BUT I wasn't sure if their overnight also included Saturdays to a PO BOX. Well it kinda of does, but it worked this.

If you overnight something with USPS they guarantee it will get there to the next day to their "facility" HOWEVER they have no control of when the workers at the actual post office will put it in the box. Also remember the post office closes early on Saturday. Yet another obstacle.

Well my cousin called me Saturday and said NOTHING arrived. ARGH!!! So it will probably get there Monday.... I just checked the Track and Confirm with USPS today and it says a notice was left in the box. I hope its there. If not I planned to email scanned copies of these forms to Eduardo and I hope that it flies with the immigration officer at his appointment. Seriously what else can I do if the package doesn't make it? Needless to say my husband was really ticked off and he asked me to get him the waiver packet 1 week before the appointment so he wasn't going through this mess again.

I said this time around I wasn't going to freak out. I'm just rolling through the punches at this point. By the way, my husband said that going to the psychologist was the biggest waste of his time. He even argued with the dr. because Eduardo said the dr. talked about nothing but about his previous drug use.

My husband told the doctor MANY times that he since he turned his life over to Jesus he has not done any drugs for 15 years! My husband said to the doctor why are they treating him like a drug addict when he clearly isn't one? Caramba I tell you my husband has taken a "no holds bar" kinda of attitude with immigration. I think he (and I) are tired of tippy toing around immigration... its like we're telling them "you have NO reason to deny us anything anymore". We sick of this process! Oh and they had him draw pictures... what the!?

Two days to go!