Celebrating Independence Day

Mexico does it well when it comes to celebrating their Independence. Most of the time, it's my favorite time of the year.

This year we celebrated the Sunday before with Gabo's family and then on Thursday the 15th with our friends. I think we are going to need to do something completely different next year cause me hosting their Independence day is a lot of pressure.

Anyways, here are some pics first with the family. 

I made a cake to show my love. It was a double win because they love my cakes and I was showing my Mexican Pride. :)

My man with  my cake.

Con Ximena...look likes she wants to dig in!

Some of Gabo's siblings and their families. 

And then the celebration with our friends. We invited everyone who didn't have plans.

Gabo with Violet

Sweet Lily playing "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" which ended up to be a very controversial game.

There is a small problem at our house...there is no very good phone signal so the phones have to be lined up by the window. Pretty crazy. Reminds me of when I visit my mom's house.

We fell into bed about 3:30am. It was an exhausting night. Next year I might go to a hotel. :)

Presenting the new apartment!

Moving out of our old apartment was bittersweet. We loved where we lived. We had some great parties, meetings, and conversations there. I fell in love with Gabo in that apartment and learned so much more about the Mexican culture and about Jesus and my relationship with him. I lived there 3 years. 2 with Angie and 1 with Gabo.

This is what our living room looked like the Sunday before we left. We had way more stuff than we thought! 

The process to leave with the owner and his beloved secretary (hint: sarcasm) was a little bit unnerving. But overall, the process was pretty seemless giving that we live in one of the largest cities in the world.

Here are some pics of the new apartment.

The cute little dining room.

The cross collection right above the new and improved buffet.

The Kitchen...the plus this time is that it's open and I am not cooking in a closet!

The office. This is still a work in progress.

The living room and the front door.

While Telmex was changing our internet over...

I spent some time unpacking and getting settled into our new apartment. We love it by the way. Telmex, our local internet/phone company took their sweet time coming over to do a job that literally took 5 minutes. I am officially done complaining about that. 

Let me share with you all the story of the mueble (piece of furniture in Spanish). This is a buffet that some STINTers found in the trash of their apt 3 years ago.

This was after Gabo used his brute force to pull out the vertical pieces in the middle that made up a wine rack. We aren't big wine-o's here so we preferred simple shelves in the middle. I got my instructions from www.younghouselove.com and a friendly paint salesman at the local Soriana store.

So first I sanded it.

Then I did a spray on primer. 

And that is when Angie and I started to get a little light headed in the house. We opened some windows and turned on the fan. 

Then later that night, I started the lovely task of painting the beast in all it's nooks and crannies with black oil paint mixed with a little bit of paint thinner. 

Just so you know, that paint was a pain to get off my skin but well worth it in the long run. 

So here it looks all finished. 

We love it. Although we have no idea who the original owners were, we are glad that it ended up in our house!

God's Blessings on Labor Day

Yesterday my sister pushed this little nugget out. Well actually Lucy Marie weighs 9 pounds so she is not a little nugget but yesterday was her day. Just like all the grandchildren multiplying in our family, Lucy is special too. 

On December 25, 2010, my sister calls me on skype and she says that they have a secret to tell us. They just found out they were pregnant! Gabo and I were ecstatic to be the firsts to know. Amy was thrilled. A couple of weeks later, Amy calls and tells me that she tripped and bounced down the stairs and there was some bleeding and she was going to go to the dr. This was before other family members knew. They found out that there was a placental hemorrhage next to where our little Lucy was growing. The OB-GYN tells her to take it easy and to come back in a few weeks. Which is impossible by the way with an 18 month old in the house. These type of hemorrhages can be dangerous leading to bedrest, miscarriage or premie babies. So we prayed a lot here in Mexico.

On February 14, Amy sends me a text message after leaving her ultrasound. The hemorrhage is gone. It's a miracle...not just shrunk but disappeared. We celebrated God's mercy on Amy's womb. 

So yesterday Lucy arrived all 9 pounds of her. I was in Mexico moving apartments without internet. 

Here is how they got our couch in our new apartment. Quite the fiasco...(more pictures to come of the new place)

And yesterday, my best friend Suzanne moved too...from Dallas, Texas to Ioannina, Greece.What a great day!

I thank God for many things today...

- Suzanne and Jerry and their heart to serve Jesus and tell college students about His love in Greece

- My sister Amy and my brother-in-law Ryan and my lil' man Rylan--they are a great family to welcome someone new into. Lucy has a great place to come home to even though Rylan thinks she lives at the hospital

- Our new apartment! It's close to a fun market and a park and 3 blocks from my girl Angie
- My mom-Cath's birthday is today!

Quick Trip to South Bend

Yes, I was in the states for a very short week. I am sorry that I didn't tell you guys. I needed some time to hang out and rest up from the crazy year.

I really only came for one reason...

This one in the orange lunging across the table. My sister (to the left) is about 4 million months pregnant but she decided to teach summer school so I hung out with my lil' man for a couple of days.

Rylan has quite the vocabulary these days. Let me share some of my favorite lines with you.

Me opening the car door to get the nino out. 
Rylan: (hands flung out wide) "TA DA" like he just finished a magic trip

Pulling out of the mall parking lot, Rylan was mad we were leaving. 
Me: do you want french fries?
Rylan: No
Me: do you want to go get mama?
Rylan: No
Me: do you want to go back to the mall?
Rylan: No
Me: Well what do you want?
Rylan: I want jetskies and sailboats.
Me: You want to go to the lake and see jetskies and sailboats?
Rylan: OK! (asking a clarifying question automatically means that I am asking him to go)


I also had a great time seeing family. Although I didn't take many pictures, it was a really good and relaxing time. I had fun shopping in the states, eating Bruno's Pizza, going to Hacienda and laughing a lot.

However, I severely missed this face.

It's amazing what 8 days in the gringo land can do to my heart. Love my home in Mexico but love the roots in USA.

Hope to see you all the next time around! We are praying to be there at Christmas!