Nice day

My attempt to take a photo of our family on our first official outing today.

We enjoyed a nice lunch at Bottega Louie with Leon while he snoozed in his comfy stroller (he is in the background of photo). The entire restaurant bustled with the lunch rush and yet he was a total trooper. It was wonderful! Chris and I had a fabulous time especially since it has been about 4 weeks since we've been able to enjoy a nice meal out.

Earlier in the day we had a very important interview at USCIS (US Citizenship & Immigration Services). I've lived in the U.S. since 1999, have attempted twice through employment to change my immigration status and failed each time. The first time being inexperienced and not knowing any better- I hired a lawyer who turned out to be a scam. He disappeared and left with money he collected and precious time I've lost. The second time, the company I worked for closed due to the recession before I could obtain my change of status.

It had to take Chris petitioning me to finally get my status changed and approved. It's crazy to think that I went through so much grief in the past trying to get my immigration status taken care of- only to come to a point where I finally stopped trying, lived my life, married the love of my life and now it's as if the green card is just an extra bonus on top of all the other blessings that I have.

I only got the green card when it did not rank at the top of my priority list. Funny how life does that.

We showed up at the immigration office at 11am sharp with baby Leon in tow and all of our paperwork to prove that we are as legit as can be. The immigration officer even wanted to see photos from our wedding, utility bills with both our names printed, bank statements of our joint account, tax forms... it was crazy how specific and strict the process was.

I'm grateful and relieved to have it all taken care of and out of the way. I now have peace of mind that I'm in no danger of being detached from my precious family that I love.

The officer said that in just several weeks- the green card should arrive in the mail. I'll definitely take a photo of it and post it here!