Just a little TLC

Jose has been home for almost two weeks now. Everything happened so fast I couldn't believe he was finally home. I kept looking at him wondering if he was some sort of hologram or robot of some sort usurping him. At first Cairo had a hard time with him being home. He would look at Jose, walk away, then come back and look at him again and then lean into him or hug him. He seemed unsure on how to treat Jose or how to act with him. I was concerned that their relationship would not be the same as it was before. Before Jose was arrested they were glued to each other, always horsing around and playing. Cairo would jump on Jose the moment he sensed Jose had his guard down. Watching them the day Jose came home was very different, Cairo was a glance short of asking permission to hug his dad. That afternoon we visited with my brother and my parents, Jose wanted to see them that day. When we finally went back home we sorted out Joses things he came home with and I decided to do laundry in the basement. Not too long after that I heard a ruckus upstairs in my room, Jose and Cairo were playing...they sounded like they were going to go through the floor. I let out a sigh of relief, they were going to be just fine.

Since Jose has been home he's:

• Cleaned out the back yard
• Cleaned out the front yard
• Cleaned out the basement
• Fixed the kitchen sink
• Fixed the tub faucet leak
• Fixed the tub drain, it was clogged pretty bad :S
• Cleaned out the gutters, they worked as pots last summer
• Removed the paint from the windows and repainted
• Organized the pantry
• Patched the front and back stairs with cement
• Replaced the siding on the little roof over our back door

And he's still going, I'm hearing talk about removing the bushes out front and replacing the sidewalk and front stairs, installing a sump pump for the rainy season....and a whole bunch of other stuff. I'm just glad he's home and keeping busy :)

We still have to go to immigration court soon and we're not exactly out of the woods with the state. We won the case, the judge found not only one of Joses rights were violated but a "slew of them" were...but we don't know if the state will appeal, we'll find out by the end of the month. We're hoping they will not appeal and drop the case, I don't see how this case, being as small as it is, is worth the time and tax money for the state to appeal. I'd like to think they have bigger fish to fry. We're praying for another miracle.

11 months, being stubborn pays off = HE'S HOME!!!!!!!!

This week marked the 11 month of Jose being in immigration detention. Since then there have been countless events which he has not been able to attend. Countless tears that have been shed and countless prayers that have been prayed by countless people who care very much about our little family. Just words of encouragement were given to us by our friends and family, telling us to hold on and keep hope and never give up.  In particular from close friends, family, Mr. Little B and all those wonderful people who I've had the pleasure of meeting at the weekly, Friday morning, immigration vigil at the Broadview Detention Center. Just as I heard words of encouragement I also heard words that were not so encouraging:

• "You're throwing your money away."
• "You could pay a coyote for the money you've spent on attorneys"
• "I've seen it happen to many others, they pay and pay and in the end they still get deported"
• "I don't think he's ever going to go home"

All that really did was make me want to prove them wrong. We had court for the criminal case last Friday, it was continued to Tuesday, the immigration court would be Wednesday, so it was cutting it pretty close. When Tuesday came around and I was sitting in the court room waiting for the decision and utter and complete miracle happened.  We won the case! As a result the immigration judge, on Wednesday set bond for Jose and as a result of that he came home today!!!!

There are no words to describe how happy Cairo and I are. I didn't tell Cairo he was coming home. I picked Jose up early in the morning and took him home. I let Cairo spend the night at my brothers house and let him stay home from school. After dropping off Jose I went to get Cairo. When we got home, I told him the reason he didn't go to school was because of the surprise inside the house. When I told him Jose was the surprise and was inside the house waiting for him he just darted to the door and ran in the house calling out "dad! dad!". It was amazing to see them together again, the two compadres. They hugged and we cried.  Cairo told Jose "I knew you would come home soon".

In the beginning Cairo didn't seem too sure of Jose. He'd walk away and come back and give him a hug. He wasn't the same old Cairo. Slowly he started warming up to Jose. They started rough housing, the house seemed like it was going to fall in pieces, and so it seemed like things were finally back to normal. 

Thank God he's finally home!!!!