Our home!

We had to wait about 5 days for the grass to be planted and when it was finally in, I had to do a mini photo shoot of our house. She was the star of the show!
 Our move went pretty good. My strong, hard-working husband pretty much moved in all by himself because I was working. Enoch got some help from the missionaries, but overall it was all him. We don't own much furniture, and we didn't unpack some stuff from our previous move. Nonetheless, packing and unpacking was my second job after work. And luckily, Emily was visiting us the next day after we closed on the house, so she was also of big help to us.
       We love our home, not just for it's looks, but because of what it will mean to share so many memories in it. We are enjoying all the space, and freedom. We went from being in a tiny 1 bedroom apartment to this gigantic home. Once we decorate each space inside, I will post pictures here. We are so excited for this next step in our lives. And we can't wait to share our home with family and friends. Yay!

A picture with Emily during her visit

She's a runner, just like her mama

Picking our house-Part 2

     The day finally came when we closed on our home, Wednesday August 14 to be exact. Enoch asked for the whole week off to do pre-inspection and final inspection on the home, as well as packing and moving. I took the day off work on the day of closing and we drove about 25 minutes to sign the paperwork with our mortgage company. It was so exciting to drive to the office since it gave us a sense of relief to know that all the stress involved in buying a home was soon going to end.
  So we signed the paperwork, got our keys and gave a very big "Sigh" and "Hooray!."
     In case you were wondering, our house is 2,500 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 1 game room upstairs and one office downstairs. To get a better feel, the layout is below.
       I have to thank my dear husband for making sure we always had all the paperwork filled out from start to finish. We know that none of this would've happened if it weren't for God. He is mindful of our sacrifices, obedience and faith. He listened to our prayers throughout this whole process!

Happy clams waiting to sign the papers

Before

Ta-Da! After

Upstairs Layout

Downstairs Layout

Picking our first home- Part 1

Our home back in May

     Enoch and I had been actively looking for a good area to buy a home since we got to Texas in December. We then had to decide if we wanted to build a new home or purchase one already on the market. Well, after looking and praying for months,  we found the area, Alamo Ranch. In April we found the home we felt was best for our family. We decided to build our home from the ground up and embark on the home buying process. We picked a land lot that would provide a decent size backyard for our Melany and future kiddos(No I am not pregnant). We wanted to get a house with a big kitchen since I love to cook.
     And  of course, we had to find one with an affordable price range. We picked a simple model for the area, as Alamo Ranch has very fancy schmancy homes with pretty big price tags. These fancy homes are decorated with plenty of "extras" like granite counter tops, tile flooring, covered patios, etc..
Our home inside has carpet, which we plan to change to hardwood in the future, and has regular simple counter tops, which we also plan to upgrade as well. During the months the home was being built, the house went up $6,000! We had locked in the price so it was pretty cool to know our house was already worth more than what we got it for.
     Our home is very spacious, and we feel we got a good bang for our buck. We paid way less than those homes around us. But we did not upgrade to all the "extra" things because these "extras" get rolled in to the buyers mortgage. The thought of paying for granite counter tops for 30 years was not appealing.
        Instead, we plan to do fun "home improvements" and DIY projects in the future ourselves. Enoch and I are made for each other in this sense, because we are avid home improvement junkies. We enjoy fixing stuff and improving things around the house (I know, kinda weird). He is the "handy man" and I am the "designer" wannabe in the house. Haha....

The foundation to our home-placed in April

The skeleton

Oh My Melany turned 2!

Could it be that our little baby is already 2? Once again I am in total denial that our baby girl is turning in to a cute 2 year-old toddler. Melany turned 2 years-old on July 10th! I have to admit I was very bummed I could not spend the whole day with her.But I tried to make it as fun as possible for Melany.

We got her some chocolate cupcakes with sprinkles to share with her friends at day care. Her teacher graciously took some pics of her and gave them to us. When Melany got home from school, we also had a small ice-cream cake with 2 pink candles. As you can see from the pictures she was all smiles!

We are so proud of our Melany. She makes us the happiest parents. Sure, she drive us nuts at times with her curiosity and activity level, but she is a happy, smart, joyful, silly, and simply beautiful child. My life is amazing because I am Melany's mama. There are no words to express how much we love our bundle of joy.

Patiently waiting to blow the candles

Melany wearing the shirt Aba got her for her b-day

Melany and her "Meow-Meow" (yes, that's what she calls him)

Special kisses for the birthday girl

Citizenship Ceremony/July 4th 2013

        On Thursday, June 27th, I took the day off work to attend the naturalization ceremony at the Institute of Texan Cultures. It was an exciting and long awaiting day, 20+years to be exact. I felt excited, nervous, and very relieved to finally make it official. I have always felt this country was my home in my heart, but it was not the case on paper. I will always consider myself an immigrant. I say that very proudly. At one point growing up though, I hated that I looked and was from a different country. The media and policies instilled in me a sense of fear for being an immigrant, and lacking many of the liberties other US citizens have.
       And while some will justify the need to impose so many regulations, that does not take from the fact that an immigrant's life is so unique. To name the struggles and burdens I endured to get to where I am today, would take more than one blog post. For now, I can say that I know why God wanted me in the US. It is a privilege to be a citizen of this country and continue to love it.
  I am very to grateful to my sweet mother who had the courage to bring her little 4 year-old daughter to a country that offers so many opportunities. My mother always told me I would one day be a professional. She had a dream for me, and she worked so hard to pay for my 4 year degree and always encouraging me to NEVER give up.
   Hence, July 4th this year, was very special. It was the first time I was celebrating it as a US citizen. Yay!

On a side note, Enoch and I were asked to speak in church that Sunday about Freedom and Liberty. What a coincidence!

I was so out of it, I forgot to put make-up- An all natural photo with the judge

Celebrating July 4th at the park

Melany is not a hat lover

Day 3: Disneyland

   Saturday 6/22/13, the day before I left LA, we headed to Disneyland after the wedding. This was Melany's first time. She enjoyed the shows and kept saying "Mickey Mouse" everywhere we went. Melany's favorite ride was "It's a small world." She enjoyed looking and listening to the moving dolls, colors and music. My friend Nashley has a season pass and joined us at Disneyland. It was so nice to see her and congratulate her on her engagement!

   Melany loved being around her "Aba" (Melany's way of saying "Abuela"=grandma in Spanish). Aba got Melany Disney clothes and a Minnie Mouse stuffed animal. She was so spoiled! The night parade was beautiful. We all had an amazing time!

Mary Poppins- one of my favorite Disney movies

Aba and Melany

EMILY THE GRAD

Melany and Aunt "Emy" as Melany likes to call her

This display resembles my country Guatemala

The street parade

With my friend Nashley