Catching up

Though my intention was to continue to update our blog on a regular basis, I am embarrassed to see that it has been close to a year since I have posted. So much has happened in the past year that I'm not entirely sure where to start.

Raul had the opportunity to go to Mexico last January to visit his grandfather and the rest of  his friends and family in Santa Monica, Puebla. When he arrived home, his restricted driving permit for work was ready and waiting for him. So, he has been driving to and from work as well as driving to and from different work sites since last winter. He will soon be eligible to apply for full reinstatement of his license. We can't wait!

While Raul was in Mexico, I found out that I was pregnant. My original plan was to wait to tell him until he came home, but I couldn't wait that long, so I had the pleasure of telling Raul that he was going to be a daddy over the phone. I was expecting a small freak out, but Raul was nothing but excited. We began calling the baby baby Joey since Raul was counting on it being a boy. He was under the impression that he was to name the boys and I would name the girls (assuming that we have more than one child, of course). No matter how hard I tried to convince him that a child could not just be named Joey and that he needed a proper longer name like Joseph or Jose, Raul insisted the baby was to be Joey.  However, months later the ultrasound confirmed that baby Joey was a girl. Then Raul  asked the question, "What are we going to name her?" So much for me picking out the girl names! :)

Spring semester was a memorable one for me since I was working full-time, completing my internship, and very pregnant. Thankfully, I had an easy pregnancy (compared to many other women) with no complications. I completed my internship hours on May 15th and graduated with my Masters in Mental Health Counseling on May 17th. It is so strange to think that my days of internship, homework, and test taking are over!

In May, we became home-owners. Raul's wish list for a home included a fireplace and a garage big enough for him to make into a work-shop.  My main requirement was that it was in a nice, safe neighborhood. God provided more than we could ask or imagine. Our home is not only in a nice neighborhood, but it has a fireplace, a 2 car garage, and many other "bonus" features such as a sun-room and a fenced in back yard. The location is perfect. We are only 7 minutes away from my sister and her family and 5 minutes away from Raul's parents.

Raul was busy all summer with home-improvement projects. He did a lot of work in the kitchen, giving me extra counter space and new counter tops. I was busy trying to catch up on baby preparations since I didn't have time to do anything while I was still completing my internship.

We finished the baby room just in time to welcome our daughter, Joie Faith Mozo (her daddy was very persuasive with the name). Joie came on her due date, September 3rd. My contractions started around 4:00 a.m. We got to the hospital at 6:00 a.m. and she was born at 1:46 p.m. Everything went smoothly and we brought our daughter home on September 5th. My mom was able to spend the first two weeks of Joie's life here with us in our home. It was so nice to have a mommy to help me get used to being a mommy while Raul was away at work during the day. What a blessing it is to have our own home with enough room for Grandma Gibbs to come and stay with us.

As I write the blog Raul and our daughter are taking a nap on the couch together. Parenthood is harder than I could ever have imagined, but I can now understand that indescribable love that a mother has for her child. I have also fallen deeper in love with Joie's daddy. There is nothing more sexy than watching a father care for his child! :) So....here we are in our next chapter of life. Lots more adventures to come, I'm sure.