The Newest American Citizen

Today Gladis became an American citizen.  I let the girls play hooky to attend the ceremony.  We were not allowed to bring cell phones or cameras into the courthouse.  At first, we were upset about not being able to take photos during the actual ceremony.  But, not having cameras made us all focus more on the meaning of the ceremony and listen to the judge's remarks ( which lasted for only 35 minutes).  This short speech by the judge was very meaningful. He spoke about the extraordinary American government and constitution, and the meaning of the citizenship oath.  The judge also encouraged the new citizens to sustain their native cultures in the U.S. and enumerated many contributions of past and present immigrants.

Congratulations, Gladis!!

Here are our snapshots from today.



This is the only picture we took at the courthouse - before I ran back to the car to store our phones and cameras.