Current Events

For those who don't know our previous immigration issues, here is the post regarding that: http://youngmomincollege.blogspot.com/2012_09_01_archive.html

Well it has been a very long time since I posted! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
So we did not get very good news this week. We met to with our lawyer in Tuesday to discuss Melvin's asylum interview. We went into his office happy and left miserable. We went into the conference room after waiting like an hour for our lawyer and started a conference call with a lady in D.C. After formalities she informed us Melvin's asylum was denied. I was shocked. For some reason I was just positive he would be his application for asylum would be accepted. Maybe the fact that his father was murdered about 7 years ago and since I've know Melvin his brother has been shot for defending a friends and end up paralyzed and in the 4 years we've been together four of his friends have been shot and killed. With all that tragedy I just assumed he would be granted asylum but apparently it's not scary enough. I completely broke down in the conference room, this was our last chance. Our lawyer so understanding and said it was all he could do to keep it together and some time his job sucks because of this part. We are going to have a judge review Melvin's case because if we didn't then he would be deported. There is also a possibility he will go back to immigration custody while the judge deliberates but our lawyer is going to do everything to stop that.
If worse comes to worse and he is deported there is not much of a chance of me and Allie going with him. I do not want to raise my daughter in a country where crime is so common, I would genuinely be scared to go outside. But I also don't want us to be separated at all. We will probably move to a country like Costa Rica, Panama, or Spain. The problem with that is we can't even afford a place on our own here even with Melvin working, how in the world will we be able to afford a place in a different country with no job lined up? It just scares me so much! But I have to remember that God has a plan here even if I don't like it.
Please be praying for us and also for Congress to get their act together and pass immigration reform already.

Random Ramblings

Finally... a moment to relax! Spring semester is always my least favorite semester! It is cold and rainy and everyone is sick. Finals are coming up and then this semester will be over, Hallelujah!! I have about 2 more years in college and then hopefully I will work for the FBI! But it is all up to the Lord and I have learned that you can never plan your future because you never know what will happen!
The other night I was having a pity party for myself because we are tight on money and I was really wishing we could just have a place of our own. I was in the car listening to music and the song "I Won't Give Up" came on. I got over myself right quick. That is the song I listened to on repeat when Melvin was with immigration for 5 weeks. God was telling me to get over myself because things could be so much worse! It has been 8 months since he was taken from us and sometimes I forget how hard it was. The Lord has blessed us so much and he reminds me of his blessings every day. Looking back I know that the Lord was behind Melvin being taken into immigration custody because it is the only way we could apply for him to become a citizen. While he was off their radar we couldn't apply because he would have had to go back to Honduras for 10 years. So since he became on their radar we could begin the process and we are still waiting for a reply. It is a very long process.
Allie turned 2 last week. I am so grateful that we could celebrate her birthday together! She was so very precious! She is growing up everyday.
I know this has been a rambling post but I just wanted to share some of my thoughts! :)
Until next time!

Grateful

What a week! The week before Thanksgiving is so crazy in college! I think professors just want to mess Thanksgiving break up so they pile a million things on you. Or maybe they just want you to appreciate it more! I'm supposed to be studying for a test for tomorrow but I just wanted to take a moment to blog.

I'm so grateful for everything and I know how different that is from the last post. But I'm really just so happy and grateful this week. Last Sunday Melvin, Allie, and I went to go take family Christmas pictures and the two that I've seen so far are precious. It just makes me appreciate my adorable family! I know some people think it is crazy that I have a baby and I'm only 20 but I wouldn't have it any other way! I get to stay home with her every day and get to play with the cutest baby ever. A couple of times this week she just wakes up talking instead of crying and then we just get to snuggle. It's my favorite part of the day!

Another thing I'm grateful for is my bible study girls. I was in 2 bible studies this fall and they made all the difference. I feel so much closer to God and my relationship with him has really strengthened. I originally singed up for these bible studies because Melvin was gone and just needed the Lord to reassure me. Melvin came home a week later. These girls have been with me through everything. They got me through everything and still do. If I need anything I know I can count on them.

I'm also grateful for a book business that I just joined. They are called Usborne books. They are incredible fiction and non-fiction children's books (babies through teens and adults like them too!). Allie's daycare had an open house and at the open house they had a book fair. It was Usborne books. As soon as we get to the table I recognize one of the books. It is Allie's absolute favorite book at the Hoover library. I'm having my first party next Friday and I'm super excited. I've also already had someone book a party with me! Check out my page: https://u3320.myubam.com/

Anyways I'm also grateful for you! I'm grateful for y'all reading my blog. I've reached almost 500 views. Most of the people who read this are my friends and family and I love y'all!
Happy Early Thanksgiving y'all!

A Heavy Heart

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Ephesians 4:29

Today I am writing with a heavy heart. Recently someone came to my mom telling her that she is there for her if Melvin and I are taking advantage of my mom by living with her. This isn't the first time this has happened but it just breaks my heart  that anyone would even think this. Melvin and I help out with bills and groceries. This is a mutual agreement between my mom and us. It's not like my mom just got stuck with us. It also breaks my heart for the people doing the judging. Judging is not going to help anyone and it just creates a darkness and meanness in you. I guess I'm writing this so you can see the not so pretty part of being a mom living with your mom. And also I just want you to pray that I remember that what's important is not what people think but what my glorious God thinks. Pray also for the people judging. Nothing good comes of judging.
I promise to write a happy post in this up coming week!

*Updated*
Here's a happy post on my other blog!
http://cutestbabygirl.blogspot.com/2012/11/my-little-model.html

Baked Shrimp in Lemony Garlic Sauce

So after everything with Melvin I kind of forgot the whole purpose of this blog. It's a mom blog! So today I'm going to post a recipe today. I know so boring, right? :) Well this is mine and Melvin's favorite dish! It is perfect over yellow rice! And the best part? It's a Weight Watchers recipe so it's not bad for you. Bon appetit!

Ingredients

	1 1/4 pound(s) uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
	1 spray(s) cooking spray
	1/4 cup(s) fresh lemon juice
	2 Tbsp light butter, melted
	3 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), minced
	1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
	3/4 tsp lemon pepper
	1/4 tsp ground red pepper
	2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425°F.
  
• Arrange shrimp in a single layer in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Combine lemon juice and next 5 ingredients; pour over shrimp.
  
• Bake at 425°F for 8 to 10 minutes or until shrimp are done. Sprinkle parsley over shrimp; serve immediately. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3 ounces shrimp and 2 tablespoons sauce).

Melvin's Homecoming

Oh Goodness, it has been forever since I got a chance to blog! A lot has changed since my last blog as most of you know! Melvin is home!!! I am so happy to have him back. The spent apart and not knowing how long we would be apart was killing me. Here's the details of Melvin's homecoming:
Friday 9/14/2012
One of my best friends and I went to a baby/kids sale at a church. We found a great kitchen for just $40 so we bought it. Later I went back to put it in my car around 4ish. I had to take it apart and it was not an easy task! The entire time I was thinking of how Melvin could do this in like 5 seconds and how I wished he was here to help me and how much I was hating immigration at the moment. I got a call from an unknown number which I ignored because I was taking apart the kitchen and I never answer unknown numbers. It called again. And I by some miracle I answered. "Is Mrs. Banegas there?" Right away I knew it was important because no one really calls me by "Mrs. Banegas." "This is she." "We are trying to release your husband do you think you can come get him?" I almost cried I was so happy! I said of course and we worked it out that I would go get him the next day since Jenna LA is 7-8 hours away and since I had Allie I couldn't just take off at that second. I immediately had to call everyone and let them know. Allie was with my Nana so I got to tell her in person which I thought was perfect because she was the person who was with me when I found out Melvin had been picked up.
Saturday 9/15/2012

I had to be up at and the road on by 4A.M at the latest. I had to be in Jenna LA by 1. I ended up leaving at 3:30A.M. Being on the road that early is not easy...at all! Especially because almost all of the highway lights were not on. I had to stop several times and get some form of caffeine. Melvin would try to call me every hour just to keep me awake. I also called Samantha because I knew she had Habitat for Humanity at 7 that morning so she would be awake. Once the sun came out it was much easier to keep going. The 40mins-1hr of the drive is complete farm land. The Lasalle Facility where was held was in the middle of nowhere. I passed the turn/driveway of the place because the road was so narrow and looked abandoned. The building is huge and intimidating. I have no idea how he still had his sanity intact. I got there at about 11:30 so I thought I would have to wait. Once I finally got through the gates he was already waiting for me. I wanted to tackle him. We got out easily. All I had to do was give them my license. We did not have to pay a bond which is a miracle because most people have to pay $5,000+. As soon as we got out we embraced and then got in the car as quick as we could to get out of there. We stopped to get him so real food because the food was really gross where he was. At the classy restaurant of Popeye's, we got a lot of glares. As I said we were in the middle of the country and they are apparently not welcoming to interracial couples but even that could not ruin our happiness of being together. We were both kind of in a daze, like we couldn't believe this had happened to us. We drove for about 4 hours but then stopped at a motel in Mississippi because I was so sick of driving. The sketchy motel was in a sketchy small town. I mean the Walmart across from our hotel closed at 11P.M! But sketchy motels are always exciting to me so I was OK with it. We planned to leave at about 10 or 11 the next morning since we never get to sleep in.

Reunited

LaSalle

Sunday 9/16/2012

We both woke up at 6A.M because it was so cold and then we couldn't get back to sleep. So we got ready and went to eat the free breakfast at the motel. We are on the road by 7:45AM. We got to Hoover by about 11 or 11:30. The first thing we did was go get Melvin a haircut because it had grown so much in 5 weeks. Then we went home and Melvin finally got to see Allie. She was a little shy at first but then she eventually warmed up to him and went straight into his arms. We were playing in the den for a while and then Melvin started crying because Allie had gotten so big. Melvin never ever cries so of course this was like heart breaking to us. But we were so so so so happy that he was home with us!

Saturday 9/22/2012
We had a welcome home party for Melvin and it was a huge hit! We had about 25 people come and we cooked out and had all kinds of food. It was so sweet to see all the people that cared for Melvin!
Tuesday 10/2/2012
We had to check into immigration so that they could see that Melvin was not trying to run or anything. The building is this creepy building behind all these abandoned buildings in Homewood. When we got there it took forever to find the office. When we finally found it the guy was very nice and gave us another check in date for 2/13/2013. We are taking that as a good sign for his court date on 11/06/12 since they gave a check in date much later than that.

Well that's most of the story! I will try to get on the write another post about just normal life! :)

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future"

That verse has been my lifesaver these past four weeks. It has been the hardest past four weeks of my entire life. On August 10th Melvin was arrested for not showing up to court three years ago. The only reason he was arrested the first time was because we had a very racist Hoover cop. Melvin and I were leaving the pool and he was going to throw a beer away but since the trash can he was going to was outside the fence it was now considered "open container in public". Pleasant Officer Cole, the bane of my existence, was the rudest person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. He cussed me out and accused me of doing drugs. Another cop came (because Hoover cops can't do anything by themselves) and Officer Cole told him to search my car without asking me if they could. Of course they did not find anything. The nicer cop informed me that "anytime they see a black or white girl with an Hispanic man they will automatically pull them over because they think it's either prostitution or drugs". That's Hoover cops for ya.

Sorry I got on a tangent. So they arrested Melvin on Friday 8/10 which was two days after his birthday and two days before our second anniversary. Melvin was not doing anything when they pulled him over. He was walking down the road after I dropped him off and they just pulled him over. They informed me that even if I paid the $800 bond that I would not be able to get him because immigration has a hold on him. We got an attorney and he said that we should pay the bond because it would get the process moving because he would be moved to immigration custody anyways. He went into immigration custody in Homewood on Wednesday. They then send him to Louisiana and he got there on Friday. Our attorney said that he has an order of deportation and there is not much we can do. All we can do is file an stay of removal which would allow him to stay here another 6 months while we file the Visa application if they deny it though then he will be going back to Honduras. We wrote letters on his behalf and have been waiting and waiting for an answer but so far all we have gotten is a deportation scare last Sunday. They told him they were going to deport him Sunday night/Monday morning. Then last minute they told him that he was the only one he was not deporting to Honduras. This roller coaster they are putting us through is crazy and tiring.

So that is what my past four weeks has been like. It has been so super hard being a single mom and a full time student. Classes started a week after Melvin left. Not going to lie, Melvin is the main parent. I watch Allie during the day but as soon as he gets home he takes over and does everything. Without him Allie and I are so loss. My heart aches everyday. Especially when Allie looks for Melvin. It just doesn't seem right that someone could rip a family apart like that. 

I will try to post a happier post later and I will keep y'all updated!