Day 2....and Day 3.....2 Celebrations!

So, of course, I totally forgot to blog about yesterday´s small celebration of appreciation. Yesterday was Mother´s Day here in Mexico. I woke up to a beautiful balloon and 2 pairs of new earrings! My celebration is definitely having such a loving family. I also got to talk with my cousin over the phone for about 2 hours----uninterrupted (mostly!). It was awesome! I guess that is 2 celebrations in one day! If you live far from a loved one, you know how valuable ¨connection time¨is whether it´s on the phone, skype, text messaging, or bbm!

Today´s celebration is coming home after an extremely long day (10 hours) and having dinner made already! My husband had a yummy dinner ready and waiting. Where we live in Mexico the garbage truck comes by once in a while, usually mid day, and you have to line up with your trash, then tip the driver/workers. Neither my husband or I are home during the day, so my husband gets the tedious job of loading up the trash and hauling it to the garbage dump site. I am very appreciative of all he does! What a blessing indeed!

After only 3 days of ¨counting my blessings¨I am finding it is a nice way to relax each evening. Nice to have something positive on the brain when unwinding from the day and getting ready to go to sleep!

Can´t wait to see what tomorrow brings!
XO XO XO

This is what I am going to try and focus on for the next 30 days. I´d like to post one celebration each day for thirty days, so I´ll start right now.

Today, I´d like to celebrate my husband calling and scheduling my daughter´s passport appointment. It seems trivial, but living in a foreign country I am so THANKFUL to have my husband (who of course speaks fluent Spanish) to be able to take care of business over the phone. I can get by, but it takes longer, and usually results in some sort of confusion for the person whom I am calling. I will never take for granted the ability to communicate over the phone! The internet is awesome (especially with the ability to schedule appts via the internet) but the internet has it´s limitations. I don´t know if my world could eliminate the occasional need to speak to a human being to resolve an issue, schedule an appt., wish someone well, etc...

It´s a small celebration today, but I am thankful nonetheless. My life has been so hectic lately I have lost touch of all the small celebrations I could have each day....I´m going to be aware and celebrate something each day for the next month.
Cheers! What do you have to celebrate today?

One of my favs.....

This is one my favorite cel phone pics......I knew she was too quiet!
About a year ago (my, how time flies!) I captured this cute pic of my lil´marker face! I think she had a good time....while it lasted! :)

Luck or Lucky?

Welcome to 2011! As the year commences, I, like millions of other people am taking a closer look at my life and thinking of resolutions to complete this year. Every time I think of something I want to change/improve in my life, it turns out that I am focusing on what I don´t have, rather than focusing on what I do have.

For one thing, I want to make more money (or win the lottery) so I can have a nicer car, a nice house here in Mexico, dress better, etc... This resolution comes from the fact that I don´t have a lot of money. But what about what I do have? I do have a car. An apartment. Plenty of clothes. Food to eat. Cable TV and internet access. What more do I actually need?

I also want to get in shape and lose some weight. This focuses on the fact that I don´t have a dream body. But again, what about what I do have? I have no health problems, a strong body, and the ability to exercise in any way I wish.

My new New Year´s resolution is to focus on what I have, not on what I don´t have. I have a beautiful daughter, an awesome husband, and our life is good. We go on vacation and enjoy each other´s company. I have a good job and many wonderful friends. I have a super supportive family who loves me unconditionally.

Sometimes I think I lack good luck and am not a lucky person because I haven´t won the lottery or fallen into a cushy job based on who I know. However, I hope this year I can truly learn that I am a very lucky person who has had (and will hopefully continue to have) good luck.

Happy New Year. May your year be full of good luck and may you find that you are very lucky indeed.

:)

Hey--That's my story, too!

I recently read an article in the Salt Lake Tribune about a man who is a natural citizen of the U.S. and his wife was an undocumented citizen. They have a daughter (who was born in the U.S.) and they applied to get his wife a spouse visa....she was denied and given a ban (like Enrique). The man is living in Salt Lake City and his wife and daughter have been stuck in Mexico for the past year.....oddly familiar.
Here is what I wrote (and emailed) to the author of that article:


Hello,
I recently read your article titled:
Immigration: Where love and law collide
and couldn't help but pause many times and say, "Hey! That's my story, too!" I am a female, born in the U.S. who has been living and working in Mexico City for the past two years because my husband was denied a visa and given a ten-year ban from reapplying for a visa. He was denied in 2007 before we were married. We have since married (in Mexico) and we now have a daughter (who was born in the United States). The only way for us to live as a family is to be in Mexico. The best job opportunities are in Mexico City (I am a teacher with a Masters of Education and an ESL certificate). My husband has no formal schooling and it is very difficult for him to find work in Mexico City. If he worked full0-time, he would make about 4,000 pesos per month (less than 400 USD). So, I am the bread-winner.

Before we were married, my then boyfriend was an undocumented citizen from Mexico who had been in the United States for about 9 years. We sought legal advice once we were engaged, bought a house, and were told to file for a finacee visa (they were being processed more quickly than spousal visas). My fianceee left Utah in December 2005 for Puebla, Mexico (since we had to file from his home country for our visa). His interviewed was granted and scheduled for Jan. 2007. He was denied his visa and given a 10-year ban for illegal presence in the U.S.

I was able to stay working in Utah as a teacher at a year-round school and was able to travel about every 3 months to visit my husband in Mexico. I became pregnant and stayed in Utah to have our baby girl (my husband was not allowed even a tourist visa to witness the birth of his daughter). He held her for the first time when she was 2 months old and we were able to travel down to visit him. When she was 6 months old, we moved our lives to Mexico City so we could actually live together (for the first time in our married lives). We have been in Mexico City for just over 2 years now. My daughter and I travel back to SLC every July to visit.

Thanks for doing stories that show how the issues surrounding immigration are layered and really affect many other people (than just undocumented citizens).
Thanks for reading this.
Sincerely,
Stephanie

Maybe one day somebody who has a say will read something like this and have a heart and push some legislation to help families like us out!

Gotta Remember

I've just gotta remember that this trial is for a reason. We may not be together in Utah, but at least we are here together. We are growing as a family and Enrique and I are growing as a couple. We are about to celebrate our third anniversary on Wednesday! Wow!
We've been thinking a lot lately about why we are here in Mexico. Why would we be going through this? We've decided there are many perks:
1--great for my career. I've had many opportunities to teach teachers, develop curriculum, and be a coordinator. I don't think I'd have any of these opportunities so early on in my career if we were in Utah right now.
2--great for Gabby's language development. By living here for the first years of her life, Gabby will be 100% bilingual. That will definitely be a plus and wouldn't happen if we were in Utah, because she wouldn't have the same Spanish.
3--private school for Gabby. Because I am lucky enough to have a great job and generous employers, we don't have to pay for Gabby's private school tuition each month. Great education equals great future.
4--close to the in-laws. Although this does have its drawbacks at times, it is great for us to be close to Enrique's family, since his mom is older and he is the baby of the family.
5--most of Mexico is beautiful!. Even though Mexico City is dirty, crowded, and dangerous, there are many parts of Mexico that are amazingly beautiful. We have been to Acapulco, Valle de Bravo, Itxapa....and there are many more places to visit while we're here±
6--great friends. We have made some fantastic friends and have a great support group here! Thank you everybody!
7--business ops. There are more opportunities for us here to open a business. Homework help in English, English school, restaurant, importations, writing teacher handbooks.

Just gotta keep it all in perspective. It's not how I expected, but it's alright. In the end, having taken this path will make our family stronger.