Think: "You think you can, You think you can, You think you can" & one day say: "You thought you could, You said you could, You knew you could" & thus, at least: you thought you did.

Posts tagged ‘family community’

Letters of Support

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For the past few months, I’ve been vigorously working on my husband’s immigration case. It involved a lot of writing, office type work, obtaining and making copies of records, and gathering information.  None of it was easy.  But the hardest thing for me was asking for what’s known as “Letters of Support,” which basically vouch that Amor is a good, decent person and upstanding member of society.  I have social anxiety (along with Bipolar Disorder) and for so long, Amor and I have kept his immigration status hush-hush.   Now, however, we had to come out of the shadows (so to speak) and admit the truth to friends and family that (gasp & shame, shame!) my husband entered this country illegally.  He was 16 years old when his brothers first brought him here and he has built his entire adult life in the US.

It was stressful and nerve-wracking for me to announce this and ask for help. But it had to be done, as part of the petition process.  So, I wrote down a list of 25 names of friends, family, and acquaintances.  It was scary to me to think of contacting these people without knowing their political stance or possible prejudices regarding this touchy issue.  But I took several deep breaths, and said a few prayers and started contacting.

The response I received was shocking.  Our community of friends and family were more than willing to help us file by writing for us.  In all, I collected 20 notarized letters!  I saw how kind and generous these people were to take time out of their own hectic lives to invest in ours.  They had to actually sit down and think about me, Amor and our kids, construct the letter, then go get it notarized.  A few of these people, I know had physical health issues.  One had a newborn baby.  Another person is a dear friend whom we haven’t physically seen in over a decade, but we’ve kept in touch via social media.  Yet another had problems getting the statement notarized because her identification was expired but she made it happen!  Each person went out of their way to help us.

I read each letter as they trickled in.  Each one with optimistic affirmations about us and our family.  After gathering them all, I sat down and re-read them.  It wasn’t just the quantity that astounded me, but the quality as well.  These people wrote from their hearts. I know we are in their prayers. Tears of gratitude trickled down my face.

Our case has since been put on hold, for now, anyway.  But we have our paperwork ready at a moment’s notice.  Now, whenever our attorney says to submit, we will be ready and able to move forward.  Thank you, so much for those of you who helped us.  We love and appreciate you all.

(July 2016, Twins 2, Mica 8, Hope 7)

Double Talk Quote:  Amor – “I’m too smart for that show” (Ruff Ruff, Tweet and Dave).  Me – “That’s why I watch Curious George.”
Bible Verse:  “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Philippians 2:4
Term that has Earned its meaning:  true friendship
Relatable Lyrics:  Lean On Me by Bill Withers

“If there is a load you have to bear, that you can’t carry, I’m right up the road, I’ll share your load if you just call me, if you need a friend…We all need somebody to lean on.”

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

EarthQuakers Twins and Asher

“If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans”

My sister, Sarah and her husband Joe have been living with us for about 8 months. We were both at the end of our pregnancies when they moved in and we’ve enjoyed the support of being moms together for about 6 months. I feel that having her around has been beneficial to me and my children, Mica, Brooks, and Bella. I know it was helpful to her as well to have support for herself and her newborn son, Asher.

Once, my breast milk supply dropped and she graciously pumped extra (as did “Sharin”, a close friend of ours) to help me minimize the amount of formula I had to supplement while I worked to get my supply back up. Another time, she got food poisoning and had to go to the ER. In that case, I did the sharing and got to help take care of my sweet nephew. I think for her, as a new mom, it was nice to have back up. As for me, as a second (and third)-time mom, I would have been bursting with confidence, except for the fact that having twins is a complete game-changer and it took some time for me to find my bearings. So it was a definite plus just feeling like there was an extra person I could count on.

I knew the day would come when they would leave. I knew it would be soon. They told us when they moved in that it would be short-term. I just didn’t expect them to move so far away. See, we had a plan. My family is super close (at least I’d like to think that). So we all decided that grandma, and each sibling and their clan, would move close to one another. Our kids could grow up close to each other and we’d have, kind of a family community. We had even been looking for land together.

Then Joe was offered a job that was located six hours away. The lucrative benefits it offered were irresistible. It is an amazing opportunity for him to advance in his career.

I have a prayer list. I have had one for years and it includes pretty much everyone I know and lists specific areas of concern for their lives. One of my prayers for Joe is that he would find a good job that he enjoys. God is definitely doing a work in their family!

While I am excited for them, I feel like a piece of my heart is about to move two states away. I love Sarah so much. I will miss the way she makes me laugh every day and the silly ideas we come up with. I love having theoretical debates with Joe, especially when we agree about something but one of us plays “devil’s advocate” and the discussion goes on and on just for fun. I will miss his sarcastic sense of humor. But most of all, I will miss watching baby Asher grow and learn and play with my little ones. Now, I know they aren’t moving to the moon, but that doesn’t negate the fact that I will miss them dearly.

I pray for blessings, protection, and salvation over them as they move and for supernatural favor in all they put their hands to do.

I love you Sarah, Joe, and Asher.

PS: Sarah, My only demand respectful request is that you to send me a daily email with a picture attached!

Double Talk Quote: “It shouldn’t be hard to read a map.” – Sarah (who is notorious for being directionally challenged)

Verse: Deuteronomy 28:2-3 “All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.”

Word that has Lost its meaning: plan

Relatable Lyrics: David Bowie “Changes” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHkrpKYehcI

2/23/15 (The EarthQuakers are 7 months old)

Sarah and Asher

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