Hello to all our friends and family,
As many of you know, this year has brought about a whole lot of change for the Tax family. I'm sure there is no need to re-iterate the whole long story but in short, we finally got the summons to the consulate in Juarez Mexico to finish the immigration process for Efrain. We've been working at this for about three years now and finally got up enough Federal/State tax history to tie together all the loose ends! After dropping off the last of our papers proving that Efrain is a good guy and that our family really does need him here at the end of December; he received his Visa and crossed into the States legally on the 4th of this month. It was a long journey getting here!
2009
Over 2009, Efrain and I started to see our company, Arizona Flagstone Creations, start to take off in our local area. We were determined to stick with this company for at least a year but I suppose the saying "if you want to make God laugh tell 'em your plans" comes to mind because there was no way we were going to get around going out of the country during Efrain's immigration approval. Legally, he had to be in Mexico. We did not know this process was going to take three months but after about a month of trying to speed up the process we finally gave in that we were going to need to make some major changes. Efrain's first appointment was at the beginning of October and he left Juarez to stay with his family in Mexico at the end of October. Mom, pop and I moved Efrain and my stuff into a storage unit and Issa and I moved into my parents home in order stay afloat financially while Efrain was away at the end of October as well.
What We've Learned Along the Way
Through being separated for so long, Efrain and I have learned to appreciate how much we love each other really. It may seem trivial or stereotypical but some families can handle being separated over long periods of time and we are not one of them. We really found that we are more positive, strong, and essentially more ourselves when we are all together. Phone calls and e-mail did help us bridge the gap though.
Efrain called home regularly with stories of how he realized how much he had changed over the years- actually due to our family culture more than just American culture. For example, over the years, Efrain and I have had heated discussions at times but we never yell or hit because it doesn't help to do so. I guess in the past Efrain had quite the temper but as you all know, I'm not really the screaming/abusive type so that wouldn't work with me. I'm also not a big fan of vulgarity because there are so many ways of expressing one's self- and we can also take up things like yelling out "Hoover Dam!" instead of swearing (we usually start cracking up after that and we forget what we were swearing about anyway). But in Mexico, heated tempers and swearing are more the norm (it reminds me of how Italians are known for being so passionate and for having a quick temper. Those from Mexico city have a slang all their own.) anyway, folks were surprised to see the new Efrain. He also told me a story about how one of the police men down there tried to take his wedding ring and Efrain chewed him out for contributing to the corruption and ignorance of their people. He told the guy to go ahead and take him to jail but he wasn't going to hand his ring over and he would make a full testimony on how this police man tried to steal his wedding ring from him- I couldn't help but cheer for Efrain for being one to stand up for himself and say the things I can only dream of saying.
It seemed that the grains of bad were scattered in a sea of good though. Efrain got some quality time with loads of family he hasn't seen for a decade. He also experienced Mexico as a tourist and actually had the time to enjoy the exotic foods and sights of Mexico City and Oaxaca. His visit to his grandmother in Oaxaca was the highlight of his trip. We have some wonderful photos of the Christmas ceremonies over there and the forest out in the country where his grandma lives. I will be posting more of the pictures and stories about his Mexico trip when I have more time!
Much love to all and we hope this year brings good health, prosperity, and happiness to all.
As many of you know, this year has brought about a whole lot of change for the Tax family. I'm sure there is no need to re-iterate the whole long story but in short, we finally got the summons to the consulate in Juarez Mexico to finish the immigration process for Efrain. We've been working at this for about three years now and finally got up enough Federal/State tax history to tie together all the loose ends! After dropping off the last of our papers proving that Efrain is a good guy and that our family really does need him here at the end of December; he received his Visa and crossed into the States legally on the 4th of this month. It was a long journey getting here!
2009
Over 2009, Efrain and I started to see our company, Arizona Flagstone Creations, start to take off in our local area. We were determined to stick with this company for at least a year but I suppose the saying "if you want to make God laugh tell 'em your plans" comes to mind because there was no way we were going to get around going out of the country during Efrain's immigration approval. Legally, he had to be in Mexico. We did not know this process was going to take three months but after about a month of trying to speed up the process we finally gave in that we were going to need to make some major changes. Efrain's first appointment was at the beginning of October and he left Juarez to stay with his family in Mexico at the end of October. Mom, pop and I moved Efrain and my stuff into a storage unit and Issa and I moved into my parents home in order stay afloat financially while Efrain was away at the end of October as well.
What We've Learned Along the Way
Through being separated for so long, Efrain and I have learned to appreciate how much we love each other really. It may seem trivial or stereotypical but some families can handle being separated over long periods of time and we are not one of them. We really found that we are more positive, strong, and essentially more ourselves when we are all together. Phone calls and e-mail did help us bridge the gap though.
Efrain called home regularly with stories of how he realized how much he had changed over the years- actually due to our family culture more than just American culture. For example, over the years, Efrain and I have had heated discussions at times but we never yell or hit because it doesn't help to do so. I guess in the past Efrain had quite the temper but as you all know, I'm not really the screaming/abusive type so that wouldn't work with me. I'm also not a big fan of vulgarity because there are so many ways of expressing one's self- and we can also take up things like yelling out "Hoover Dam!" instead of swearing (we usually start cracking up after that and we forget what we were swearing about anyway). But in Mexico, heated tempers and swearing are more the norm (it reminds me of how Italians are known for being so passionate and for having a quick temper. Those from Mexico city have a slang all their own.) anyway, folks were surprised to see the new Efrain. He also told me a story about how one of the police men down there tried to take his wedding ring and Efrain chewed him out for contributing to the corruption and ignorance of their people. He told the guy to go ahead and take him to jail but he wasn't going to hand his ring over and he would make a full testimony on how this police man tried to steal his wedding ring from him- I couldn't help but cheer for Efrain for being one to stand up for himself and say the things I can only dream of saying.
It seemed that the grains of bad were scattered in a sea of good though. Efrain got some quality time with loads of family he hasn't seen for a decade. He also experienced Mexico as a tourist and actually had the time to enjoy the exotic foods and sights of Mexico City and Oaxaca. His visit to his grandmother in Oaxaca was the highlight of his trip. We have some wonderful photos of the Christmas ceremonies over there and the forest out in the country where his grandma lives. I will be posting more of the pictures and stories about his Mexico trip when I have more time!
Much love to all and we hope this year brings good health, prosperity, and happiness to all.
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