Monday, February 19th
As you can imagine, it was difficult to feel motivated to do anything this week…other than figure out how to help get my husband back home. I searched uscis websites, bus travel websites, google maps etc. I was able to send Carlos some money so that he could buy a bus ticket. He and his Abuelita Maria (grandma) left this evening by bus headed for Tijuana. It was a 29 hour trip (not including stops). I tried to still spend some good quality time with our children. I had to be strong, so they would not worry too much. 
I read this book many times to David this week. He can recite many parts of the book on his own. It is amazing the way a young child’s mind works. I can’t wait for David to be able to “read” this to his daddy when he gets home.
Tuesday, February 20th
We woke up to snow today! That was something exciting to take the kids’ minds off of was going on with their dad.
Carlitos and Jose got some friends together to play soccer. Yes, they love soccer so much that they will go out and play soccer in the snow! Carlitos sent me this video clip that he took.
Back at home, the younger kids headed out to play in the snow as well.
Check out Emily’s smile in the picture. She lost another tooth yesterday! This will be a cute surprise for Carlos to see when he gets home. He knows that Emily lost a tooth the week before. She smiled for him over a video call, but he won’t be able to see that the second tooth is gone until he gets home.
Wednesday, February 21st
Carlos’ bus arrived in Tijuana around 11 this day. I was glad that he was much closer to the U.S., but there was still a border between him and us. Luckily, his abuelita has a house in Tijuana where they were able to stay and rest up. Their plan was to go to the U.S. consulate or the U.S. customs and border patrol office, first thing in the morning.
Thursday, February 22nd
On this day I had not heard from Carlos yet and it was already 10am. I realized that I had not yet prayed that morning. I went to my room where I read the scriptures and then prayed that for Carlos and his abuelita. I prayed that the hearts of whichever officials he came into contact with this day would know that Carlos was telling the truth and that their hearts would be softened toward him. By noon I started to worry, as I had still not heard from him. Then, around 12:15 he called me saying that he and his abuelita were at a Burger King on the U.S. side of the border. An immense feeling of gratitude toward my Heavenly Father came over me, as well as a feeling of his love. I was so so so thankful that Carlos was back in the U.S. I found out later on that while he had been at the U.S. customs and Border Protection Port of Entry, that he too prayed for the same thing. They waited their for 3 hours, but the officers were able to run a check on Carlos and see that he does belong in the U.S.
I was so excited and relieved, I wanted that same feeling for our kids. I called the boys’ school and had the office send notes to them in class saying that Dad was back in the U.S.! I waited to tell the younger kids, until they came home from school. Then I told all those who kept our family in their prayers. For those of you who read this blog, thank you again. I sincerely feel that all those prayers helped!
That evening, Emily had family math night at her school. After an emotional week for me, Carlitos was an awesome big brother and he took the girls to the math night. 🙂
Friday, February 23rd
Carlos and his abuelita caught another bus today, to head home after staying the night at his abuelita’s friend’s home. I was so glad he was on the way home, but waiting for all these buses was hard. Flying is so much faster, but you can’t fly without an I.D. So, I spent the day getting things ready for Carlos to come home. I also did a little scrapbooking that night, which felt nice to be able to do.
Saturday, February 24th
Our cuties waiting for their daddy at the bus station. Emily and Ian were in the van and the boys stayed home.
It was so nice to be able to finally see Carlos again! It was exactly a week later than when he was supposed to come home. We should have been picking him up from the airport the Saturday before. I am just so thankful that he was not hurt when he was out of the country and that he made it home safely.
Here is the reason why Jose stayed home. He and Tauni already had a date planned to go to their high school’s tolo dance! It was kind of interesting how things worked out. We were thinking that Carlos would not be able to see Jose until after the dance. Remember, we had no cell phone, so we couldn’t just easily call Jose to find out where he was, but as we drove into town, we surprisingly spotted our truck in a local store parking lot. We pulled up next to it. Jose and his friend Matt were waiting in the truck while their dates were in the store. At first they both looked over, they way you do when someone might park next to you, and then Jose did a double take and realized that it was us. He and Carlos got out of the car and had the biggest hug. It has been so wonderful to see my husband reunite with his children.
While Carlitos was at home, he straightened up a bit. He also made a welcome home sign for his dad. You can see that Carlitos is wearing a Mexico jersey in this picture. Mi suegra y mis cuñadas were very thoughtful. (my mother-in-law and sister-in-laws) Seeing how Carlos had bought each of us little gifts and souvenirs, he no longer had them after being robbed / carjacked. So, they put some money together and bought each of our kids a jersey. 🙂 I’m so happy to have my hubby home and the kids are happy to have their daddy back. All is well at the H family’s house again!