I'm dreaming tonight
of a place that I love
even more than I usually do
And although I know
it's a long road back
I promise you
I'll be home for Christmas
You can count on me
Please have snow and mistletoe
and presents under the tree
Christmas Eve will find me
where the love light gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
And it's a reality!!!
I'm so giddy that I feel like a child on Christmas Eve! Tomorrow the kids and I will begin our long journey across Africa, then back across Africa, the Atlantic and up the Gulf of Mexico to Houston! I've packed and repacked and now all I can do is pray that God will give me the strength and patience that I KNOW I'm going to need during my 6 hours of "airport" time and my 25 hours of "flying" time with the kids. Ha! If I survive this, climbing Kilimanjaro should be a breeze!
Facebook has been down again for the past 4 days so I imagine I wont be able to make a post before we leave tomorrow.....but I will just as soon as my plane lands at IAH!!!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Frustrated & Bits and Pieces
It is going on 6 days now that we haven't had Facebook! It is a problem that we are all having here in Luanda Sul. If I see "Oops! This link appears broken" one more time I'm going to scream!
Thank you all for your emails! I'm doing fine, just can't get on for the time being. I'm on my final countdown....6 more days until we board the plane.....destination: The United States. I get chills just saying it!
Two other things on my mind:
1) I've been a stay at home mom now for several months but yesterday really hit me as an "Ahh Ha" moment. Carter had a music presentation at school and it was so unbelievably amazing to just "go" and enjoy it. I wasn't worried about lesson plans for a sub, asking permission, and most of all I wasn't rushing here and there. I had a little moment to myself after his precious performance. This is what it's about!! I'm so thankful!
2) Tomorrow night I am hosting a dinner party for my drivers, guards and maid. I've invited their families to come. I feel that it's important that we as a family acknowledge and appreciate all that they do for us. I'm excited that my children will participate in passing out gifts to their children. This will be a teachable moment for them and we've spent the past several nights talking about the meaning of Christmas and how it's better to give than receive. The menu will be beans, rice and chicken, a traditional African meal. Of course I will add an American flare...cookies and sweets! It should be fun and rewarding and we're really looking forward to it. None of them speak English except one of my drivers so my goal for today is to write a little speech in Portuguese....and hopefully deliver it without too many laughs!
That's it for now. I hope Facebook decides to work out its problems for us on the other side of the world, but if it decides to be feisty a little longer, you can always reach me at victoria.hagan@yahoo.com.
Cheers!
Thank you all for your emails! I'm doing fine, just can't get on for the time being. I'm on my final countdown....6 more days until we board the plane.....destination: The United States. I get chills just saying it!
Two other things on my mind:
1) I've been a stay at home mom now for several months but yesterday really hit me as an "Ahh Ha" moment. Carter had a music presentation at school and it was so unbelievably amazing to just "go" and enjoy it. I wasn't worried about lesson plans for a sub, asking permission, and most of all I wasn't rushing here and there. I had a little moment to myself after his precious performance. This is what it's about!! I'm so thankful!
2) Tomorrow night I am hosting a dinner party for my drivers, guards and maid. I've invited their families to come. I feel that it's important that we as a family acknowledge and appreciate all that they do for us. I'm excited that my children will participate in passing out gifts to their children. This will be a teachable moment for them and we've spent the past several nights talking about the meaning of Christmas and how it's better to give than receive. The menu will be beans, rice and chicken, a traditional African meal. Of course I will add an American flare...cookies and sweets! It should be fun and rewarding and we're really looking forward to it. None of them speak English except one of my drivers so my goal for today is to write a little speech in Portuguese....and hopefully deliver it without too many laughs!
That's it for now. I hope Facebook decides to work out its problems for us on the other side of the world, but if it decides to be feisty a little longer, you can always reach me at victoria.hagan@yahoo.com.
Cheers!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Missing Memaw
The past several hours have been quite challenging for me. I'm covered head to toe with flour, my patience is wearing thin, and I'm really wishing my Memaw were here. Yep, been making pies....at least I've been attempting to make pies.
My grandmother was 36 years old when I was born so I've always had the privilege of growing up with 2 mothers. She isn't a fabulous cook but pretty decent. When it comes to food, there are a few distinct things that will always remind me of her. Turkey goulash, vegetable soup with extra celery, some rice concoction with cinnamon and sugar, dressing and pecan pies.
Over the years I have spent countless hours in her kitchen watching and learning. We've always had Thanksgiving and Christmas at her house and she has always made the pecan pies. When I got old enough I would help. We'd always make the pies a few days ahead of time so we could use the oven for the turkey and dressing and other dishes.
Well this year, because I'm away from home, when I got together with my "African sisters" to talk turkey, I decided I wanted to make the pies for our Thanksgiving get together. I mean, I've been watching and making pies for years....how hard could it be??
HA! One VERY important detail I missed in the whole "I'm making the pies" moment........STORE BOUGHT CRUST! Sure, anyone can whip together a pie and pour it into a perfectly made frozen crust and cook it. News flash! In Africa those are a little hard to come by. So, I dug deep into my pantry and found a box of "just add water pie crust". Next best thing, right? Wrong! That still involved flour and a rolling pin.
After about an hour and 1/2 a bag of flour, my attempt at making a perfectly round pie crust failed. It really isn't as easy as it looks! How do they do it?? Mine kept cracking on the edges and I could never form a circle. At one point, out of desperation, I got the tortilla press out but it wasn't quite big enough for the pie plate.
Anyway, I pulled through and my story boils down to this:
Memaw,
I really missed you today! You'll be happy to know that I tried to crimp the edges of the crust like you taught me to and I did cover the crust with foil so it wouldn't burn while baking. Somehow it just didn't go right...but I tried!
To my African sisters:
My pies aren't pretty but they're made with love and I'm almost positive they will taste good. And I promise you gals that next year I will have a dozen frozen crusts in my ice chest ;-)
When we are all in Houston over the summer I'd like to invite you to my Memaw's house for coffee and pecan pie! She'd love to hear our stories ;-)
Happy Thanksgiving!
My grandmother was 36 years old when I was born so I've always had the privilege of growing up with 2 mothers. She isn't a fabulous cook but pretty decent. When it comes to food, there are a few distinct things that will always remind me of her. Turkey goulash, vegetable soup with extra celery, some rice concoction with cinnamon and sugar, dressing and pecan pies.
Over the years I have spent countless hours in her kitchen watching and learning. We've always had Thanksgiving and Christmas at her house and she has always made the pecan pies. When I got old enough I would help. We'd always make the pies a few days ahead of time so we could use the oven for the turkey and dressing and other dishes.
Well this year, because I'm away from home, when I got together with my "African sisters" to talk turkey, I decided I wanted to make the pies for our Thanksgiving get together. I mean, I've been watching and making pies for years....how hard could it be??
HA! One VERY important detail I missed in the whole "I'm making the pies" moment........STORE BOUGHT CRUST! Sure, anyone can whip together a pie and pour it into a perfectly made frozen crust and cook it. News flash! In Africa those are a little hard to come by. So, I dug deep into my pantry and found a box of "just add water pie crust". Next best thing, right? Wrong! That still involved flour and a rolling pin.
After about an hour and 1/2 a bag of flour, my attempt at making a perfectly round pie crust failed. It really isn't as easy as it looks! How do they do it?? Mine kept cracking on the edges and I could never form a circle. At one point, out of desperation, I got the tortilla press out but it wasn't quite big enough for the pie plate.
Anyway, I pulled through and my story boils down to this:
Memaw,
I really missed you today! You'll be happy to know that I tried to crimp the edges of the crust like you taught me to and I did cover the crust with foil so it wouldn't burn while baking. Somehow it just didn't go right...but I tried!
To my African sisters:
My pies aren't pretty but they're made with love and I'm almost positive they will taste good. And I promise you gals that next year I will have a dozen frozen crusts in my ice chest ;-)
When we are all in Houston over the summer I'd like to invite you to my Memaw's house for coffee and pecan pie! She'd love to hear our stories ;-)
Happy Thanksgiving!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Reaching Us
I realized that I haven't ever posted our contact information. Here goes:
Phone:
925-842-1111
Press #1 for Luanda, Angola and our extension is #6550
Address:
Craig & Victoria Hagan
Luanda Pouch Mail
ALNG
P.O. Box 5095
Bellaire, TX 77402
We can receive letters, cards and media ONLY. They will return anything else that does not fit that criteria. Media consists of books, magazines, DVDs and things of this nature :-)
Phone:
925-842-1111
Press #1 for Luanda, Angola and our extension is #6550
Address:
Craig & Victoria Hagan
Luanda Pouch Mail
ALNG
P.O. Box 5095
Bellaire, TX 77402
We can receive letters, cards and media ONLY. They will return anything else that does not fit that criteria. Media consists of books, magazines, DVDs and things of this nature :-)
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
I Believe
Hello, my name is Victoria and I'm home sick! THERE, I said it!
As the holidays are creeping up on me, the nagging thought of being here in Luanda with NO friends, NOTHING to do, NO WHERE to go, well it finally ate me up! The more and more people that I talk to, the more and more I realize that it is not a good idea to be here when everyone else is gone. See, what keeps us going are the people and the events. With no people and no events to look forward to.....well, that can take a toll on someone. I'd rather it not be me!
I've been begging Craig to let us go home the first of December and come back the week of Christmas so we could be here with him. That way we could still make our trip to Johannesburg on the 26th AND we would get to go home for a few weeks to enjoy some holiday festivities and shopping and eating in the states.
I don't know if it was the talk about Casa Ole or Pumpkin Pie from Sam's, but whatever it was, he caved too! He spent hours on the phone last night and was able to cancel our reservation (with a pretty hefty fee :-(), and get us some tickets home!!!!!!!!!!!!! He only got 4 hours of sleep last night! Thank you Craig!!
It will not be an easy trip home because this late in the game, my options are limited....and COSTLY. I will leave the 10th and fly to Dubai on Emirates (luckily I will be with a friend and her kids) and arrive in Houston on the 11th. It is a 27 hour flight! 7 or 8 hours to Dubai, a 4 hour layover and a 16 or 17 hour flight to Houston....WHEW! Craig will leave the 24th and arrive on Christmas Day! We will be able to stay until Jan. 8th!
Now, unfortunately this will change up our plans for Spring Break, but oh well....I'm happy about coming home for Christmas and so are the kids! I was a little stressed about the cost but everything works out in the end.
When Craig got to work this morning there was an email from our realtor that an offer was accepted on our house. Things like this aren't coincidence!
I believe!
As the holidays are creeping up on me, the nagging thought of being here in Luanda with NO friends, NOTHING to do, NO WHERE to go, well it finally ate me up! The more and more people that I talk to, the more and more I realize that it is not a good idea to be here when everyone else is gone. See, what keeps us going are the people and the events. With no people and no events to look forward to.....well, that can take a toll on someone. I'd rather it not be me!
I've been begging Craig to let us go home the first of December and come back the week of Christmas so we could be here with him. That way we could still make our trip to Johannesburg on the 26th AND we would get to go home for a few weeks to enjoy some holiday festivities and shopping and eating in the states.
I don't know if it was the talk about Casa Ole or Pumpkin Pie from Sam's, but whatever it was, he caved too! He spent hours on the phone last night and was able to cancel our reservation (with a pretty hefty fee :-(), and get us some tickets home!!!!!!!!!!!!! He only got 4 hours of sleep last night! Thank you Craig!!
It will not be an easy trip home because this late in the game, my options are limited....and COSTLY. I will leave the 10th and fly to Dubai on Emirates (luckily I will be with a friend and her kids) and arrive in Houston on the 11th. It is a 27 hour flight! 7 or 8 hours to Dubai, a 4 hour layover and a 16 or 17 hour flight to Houston....WHEW! Craig will leave the 24th and arrive on Christmas Day! We will be able to stay until Jan. 8th!
Now, unfortunately this will change up our plans for Spring Break, but oh well....I'm happy about coming home for Christmas and so are the kids! I was a little stressed about the cost but everything works out in the end.
When Craig got to work this morning there was an email from our realtor that an offer was accepted on our house. Things like this aren't coincidence!
I believe!
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Mission Accomplished
We are home from our first R&R'! R&R simply stands for "Rest and Relaxation". However, in this house it should be called S&E because all we did was "Shop and Eat!
Every family trip we've taken has some sort of drama and this one was no different! It began with Carter this time. The minute we got to the airport he started throwing up. He threw up the entire 2 hours we were there and once while on the plane. I was sure it was going to be a stomach virus and we would all be sick the entire trip...but thank God it ended by the time we got to Namibia! He perked up and no one else got sick....whew!
When we got to Namibia we were suppose to have a short layover but because we were off to a late start in Luanda, we landed and literally had to run to make the next flight. When we got on the plane we realized that we were separated and they had one of us sitting in 1st class and the other 4 in coach. Haha! Guess who got the golden ticket?!?
When we arrived in Cape Town we went to get our luggage only to realize it didn't make the flight...."Tomorrow" they said. "We will deliver it by 1pm".
We got our rental car and had so much fun watching Craig sit on the right side of the car, drive on the left side of the road, and shift gears with his left hand! Whoa!! Too much for me! I never even attempted that one. He did great!
During the week we did all of the "tourist" excursions. We took a cable car to the top of Table Mountain and hiked around, we saw a movie, went bowling, we took a boat to Robben Island and toured the prison where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, we drove south along the coast to a penguin colony and climbed "The Cape of Good Hope" to a lighthouse where you can see the Indian and Atlantic Ocean. Along the drive we ran into 2 packs of wild baboons and saw ostriches running around. It was breathtaking! We also found a really nice casino called GrandWest Casino. The first time there I hit big on the slots and doubled our money. Craig also won big playing switch blackjack. The second time there we lost some but still had fun. The kids enjoyed the casino because there was an ice skating rink and a huge game room. We also went down to the Victoria and Albert Waterfront a few times and every single day we went to a mall! We found a mall that had a Science center for kids. We were able to drop off our kids there while we shopped! It was wonderful!
Woolworth!! I L-O-V-E Woolworth! I shopped there (like a crazy, mad woman) everyday! It is the most amazing store on earth! I spent....well we won't go there....but let's just say, we left Luanda with 2 duffel bags and came home with 5. The US needs a Woolworth!!
Aside from all of the shopping and site seeing we did enjoy food! We feasted on McDonald's and KFC and Pizza and all sorts of other junk foods. It was great!
The kids really enjoyed themselves on this trip and did plenty of shopping and eating themselves! We stayed up late, slept in and had ice cream and dessert with just about every meal. They want to go back to Cape Town! We found a Toys R Us and another big toy store that they spent hours in.
There are a few things that we did not do that we will do next time. Craig really wanted to take a helicopter ride, the kids wanted to do a pirate cruise and I wanted to tour the wineries. Our next R&R to Johannesburg and Victoria Falls is already booked for December but if I can secure a spot on Nov. 1st for the "Two Ocean's Marathon", we will go back to Cape Town for our March/April R&R for sure. We originally said we would not go to a place twice while we were here, but Cape Town is an exception. We absolutely loved it!
Which brings me to an end...R&R...S&E....whatever you call it...our mission was accomplished!
Oh, I almost forgot the luggage! We arrived Friday and did not get our luggage until Sunday night! But we did get it :-).
Every family trip we've taken has some sort of drama and this one was no different! It began with Carter this time. The minute we got to the airport he started throwing up. He threw up the entire 2 hours we were there and once while on the plane. I was sure it was going to be a stomach virus and we would all be sick the entire trip...but thank God it ended by the time we got to Namibia! He perked up and no one else got sick....whew!
When we got to Namibia we were suppose to have a short layover but because we were off to a late start in Luanda, we landed and literally had to run to make the next flight. When we got on the plane we realized that we were separated and they had one of us sitting in 1st class and the other 4 in coach. Haha! Guess who got the golden ticket?!?
When we arrived in Cape Town we went to get our luggage only to realize it didn't make the flight...."Tomorrow" they said. "We will deliver it by 1pm".
We got our rental car and had so much fun watching Craig sit on the right side of the car, drive on the left side of the road, and shift gears with his left hand! Whoa!! Too much for me! I never even attempted that one. He did great!
During the week we did all of the "tourist" excursions. We took a cable car to the top of Table Mountain and hiked around, we saw a movie, went bowling, we took a boat to Robben Island and toured the prison where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, we drove south along the coast to a penguin colony and climbed "The Cape of Good Hope" to a lighthouse where you can see the Indian and Atlantic Ocean. Along the drive we ran into 2 packs of wild baboons and saw ostriches running around. It was breathtaking! We also found a really nice casino called GrandWest Casino. The first time there I hit big on the slots and doubled our money. Craig also won big playing switch blackjack. The second time there we lost some but still had fun. The kids enjoyed the casino because there was an ice skating rink and a huge game room. We also went down to the Victoria and Albert Waterfront a few times and every single day we went to a mall! We found a mall that had a Science center for kids. We were able to drop off our kids there while we shopped! It was wonderful!
Woolworth!! I L-O-V-E Woolworth! I shopped there (like a crazy, mad woman) everyday! It is the most amazing store on earth! I spent....well we won't go there....but let's just say, we left Luanda with 2 duffel bags and came home with 5. The US needs a Woolworth!!
Aside from all of the shopping and site seeing we did enjoy food! We feasted on McDonald's and KFC and Pizza and all sorts of other junk foods. It was great!
The kids really enjoyed themselves on this trip and did plenty of shopping and eating themselves! We stayed up late, slept in and had ice cream and dessert with just about every meal. They want to go back to Cape Town! We found a Toys R Us and another big toy store that they spent hours in.
There are a few things that we did not do that we will do next time. Craig really wanted to take a helicopter ride, the kids wanted to do a pirate cruise and I wanted to tour the wineries. Our next R&R to Johannesburg and Victoria Falls is already booked for December but if I can secure a spot on Nov. 1st for the "Two Ocean's Marathon", we will go back to Cape Town for our March/April R&R for sure. We originally said we would not go to a place twice while we were here, but Cape Town is an exception. We absolutely loved it!
Which brings me to an end...R&R...S&E....whatever you call it...our mission was accomplished!
Oh, I almost forgot the luggage! We arrived Friday and did not get our luggage until Sunday night! But we did get it :-).
Monday, October 12, 2009
When It Rains It Pours
I've been here 8 weeks and haven't seen rain..I'm talking about my tears tonight!
I'm having a pitty party...so if you're in the area, please stop by!
Well my night was moving along wonderfully, being that Monday's are my favorite night of the week because the kids are still tired from the weekend and in bed by 7:15 and Craig has basketball. It's usually just me, a cup of coffee, and peace and quiet! Hey, I'm a simple kinda girl!
I was looking over our plans for Cape Town because we are leaving Friday morning - when all of the sudden I was hit with an overwhelming feeling. I can't believe that in 3 days I'm going to one of the most "beautiful places on earth". WOW!! It made me remember a conversation that I had with Craig's Aunt Bettie a day or 2 before we left. I told her that I felt like "Why me? Why do my family and I deserve all of these wonderful blessings?" She said that it reminded her of King David and what he said in 2Samuel 7:18.
That's when it started! I went upstairs and grabbed our family's "prayer box" from my nightstand. It contains notes, scriptures, quotes and so forth inside. Numerous family members wrote down these things and gave us the box before we left. I knew Bettie had written that one down for me and I wanted to see it tonight.
* Confession: I'll admit...I've stayed clear away from that box until tonight. I knew I needed to "get myself situated" and well underway before I could allow myself to have any breakdowns. And after reading all the notes, I'm glad it happened tonight. Alone! So that I could truly enjoy my breakdown..haha..if that makes sense.
So after reading each and every note, and after a downpour of tears, I have this to say to our wonderful famiy: Thank you for your words of wisdom, your thoughful poems and quotes, and most of all...thank you for the scripture that reminds me that all of our blessings come from the Lord. I am truly counting my blessings tonight! I have so much to be thankful for and the overwhelming feeling of gratitute...belongs to you, Lord!
"Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family that you have brought me this far?" 2Samuel 7:18
I'm having a pitty party...so if you're in the area, please stop by!
Well my night was moving along wonderfully, being that Monday's are my favorite night of the week because the kids are still tired from the weekend and in bed by 7:15 and Craig has basketball. It's usually just me, a cup of coffee, and peace and quiet! Hey, I'm a simple kinda girl!
I was looking over our plans for Cape Town because we are leaving Friday morning - when all of the sudden I was hit with an overwhelming feeling. I can't believe that in 3 days I'm going to one of the most "beautiful places on earth". WOW!! It made me remember a conversation that I had with Craig's Aunt Bettie a day or 2 before we left. I told her that I felt like "Why me? Why do my family and I deserve all of these wonderful blessings?" She said that it reminded her of King David and what he said in 2Samuel 7:18.
That's when it started! I went upstairs and grabbed our family's "prayer box" from my nightstand. It contains notes, scriptures, quotes and so forth inside. Numerous family members wrote down these things and gave us the box before we left. I knew Bettie had written that one down for me and I wanted to see it tonight.
* Confession: I'll admit...I've stayed clear away from that box until tonight. I knew I needed to "get myself situated" and well underway before I could allow myself to have any breakdowns. And after reading all the notes, I'm glad it happened tonight. Alone! So that I could truly enjoy my breakdown..haha..if that makes sense.
So after reading each and every note, and after a downpour of tears, I have this to say to our wonderful famiy: Thank you for your words of wisdom, your thoughful poems and quotes, and most of all...thank you for the scripture that reminds me that all of our blessings come from the Lord. I am truly counting my blessings tonight! I have so much to be thankful for and the overwhelming feeling of gratitute...belongs to you, Lord!
"Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family that you have brought me this far?" 2Samuel 7:18
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Up and Coming Travels
After countless hours on the Internet, we have booked our next 2 trips! YAY!
The kids have an October break from school the week of the 19-23rd, so we decided to pack them up and take them someplace fun! Our first destination will be Cape Town, South Africa. I'm very excited about this trip because we are going to spend 8 days on the Victoria & Albert Waterfront that overlooks Table Mountain! Check out the beautiful pictures:
http://www.eveandersson.com/photos/south-africa/cape-town-table-mountain-2-large.jpg
http://www.waterfront.co.za/Pages/Welcome.aspx
We are staying at the Westin there which is extremely luxurious and has a "Kid's Club" that allows us to check in the kids for the day so Craig and I can have some time together!
There are a plethora of things to do in Cape Town and let's not forget....McDonalds!
Trip number 2 will take place back in South Africa! This time, we will spend 8 days in Johannesburg. This trip caters a little more to mommy and daddy as we will stay at the Monte Casino! It's not the trip home that I was hoping for....but I think it will do :-)
http://www.montecasino.co.za/Pages/default.aspx
We will leave Angola on December 26th and ring in the New Year in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The hotel offers amenities such as a movie theater, hot air balloon rides, a Bird Garden and much more. It will be fabulous!
I promise to take tons of pics!
The kids have an October break from school the week of the 19-23rd, so we decided to pack them up and take them someplace fun! Our first destination will be Cape Town, South Africa. I'm very excited about this trip because we are going to spend 8 days on the Victoria & Albert Waterfront that overlooks Table Mountain! Check out the beautiful pictures:
http://www.eveandersson.com/photos/south-africa/cape-town-table-mountain-2-large.jpg
http://www.waterfront.co.za/Pages/Welcome.aspx
We are staying at the Westin there which is extremely luxurious and has a "Kid's Club" that allows us to check in the kids for the day so Craig and I can have some time together!
There are a plethora of things to do in Cape Town and let's not forget....McDonalds!
Trip number 2 will take place back in South Africa! This time, we will spend 8 days in Johannesburg. This trip caters a little more to mommy and daddy as we will stay at the Monte Casino! It's not the trip home that I was hoping for....but I think it will do :-)
http://www.montecasino.co.za/Pages/default.aspx
We will leave Angola on December 26th and ring in the New Year in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The hotel offers amenities such as a movie theater, hot air balloon rides, a Bird Garden and much more. It will be fabulous!
I promise to take tons of pics!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
A little thought goes a long way!
So today I was trying to come up with some "fun" and different meals to make for dinner.
On a side note: If you didn't read my post yesterday, it was the most glorious day because Silva found those yummy rolls for me......seriously the best bread I've eaten in about 6 weeks now! I've sent him twice to buy more because we have literally eaten them up. I have to hide them from the kids and Craig has to hide them from me.
Anyway, I can't get enough of them and I was thinking about how delicious they would be with Chick Fil A chicken in them with a great big Diet DP! That's when the light bulb went off......
Tonight was "Chick Fil A" night in our house!! I used what I had and came up with a grand menu! We each had a #1 with a fruit cup (and for me a Diet Dr. Pepper...I don't share those). There were a few differences like our chicken was dinosaur nuggets and we didn't have waffle fries and Polynesian sauce...but hey, who said this would be easy :-)
On a side note: If you didn't read my post yesterday, it was the most glorious day because Silva found those yummy rolls for me......seriously the best bread I've eaten in about 6 weeks now! I've sent him twice to buy more because we have literally eaten them up. I have to hide them from the kids and Craig has to hide them from me.
Anyway, I can't get enough of them and I was thinking about how delicious they would be with Chick Fil A chicken in them with a great big Diet DP! That's when the light bulb went off......
Tonight was "Chick Fil A" night in our house!! I used what I had and came up with a grand menu! We each had a #1 with a fruit cup (and for me a Diet Dr. Pepper...I don't share those). There were a few differences like our chicken was dinosaur nuggets and we didn't have waffle fries and Polynesian sauce...but hey, who said this would be easy :-)
Monday, September 28, 2009
Pao Sweet Pao
Pao in Portuguese means "bread".
As I've said before,things are pretty expensive here! If you saw my Facebook photo of the infamous "Bimbo" bread, you know I'm spending between $30 and $45 a week on the stuff. Well not anymore!! Good-bye Bimbo! You are banished from our home! Today my driver went shopping for me and found me the most delicious rolls. They are large rolls! Perfect for sandwiches! They taste like the Hawaiian bread that you use with spinach dip! And they are K25 each.....HALLELUJAH! That basically means that they are 4 for $1.00. I see big butts in our future!
As I've said before,things are pretty expensive here! If you saw my Facebook photo of the infamous "Bimbo" bread, you know I'm spending between $30 and $45 a week on the stuff. Well not anymore!! Good-bye Bimbo! You are banished from our home! Today my driver went shopping for me and found me the most delicious rolls. They are large rolls! Perfect for sandwiches! They taste like the Hawaiian bread that you use with spinach dip! And they are K25 each.....HALLELUJAH! That basically means that they are 4 for $1.00. I see big butts in our future!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
To Taste or Not to Taste…
This is from the school newsletter. It is talking about Sam's class. Her picture was in the newletter but I could not copy and paste it :-(
Since school began, Year 2 has been investigating the ‘5 Senses’. In Year 2.1, one week has been dedicated
to learning about each of the senses. The most exciting and favorite seems to be the sense of
TASTE. We found out that the senses work together too! For instance…Did you know that if you can’t
smell you can’t taste? Also, the smell of food determines if you will eat it or not. Year 2.1 did several
experiments with 10 different foods. Working with partners, five foods were chosen for tasting. One
partner was blindfolded and had to guess what food they were eating. Only three out of 18 students
could identify all of the foods although they knew which foods were on the list. Several children were
hesitant to eat what they could not see. All were excellent ‘Risk-Takers’. So seeing also plays a part in
what foods we eat. Each part of the tongue is sensitive to one of four different tastes: sweet, sour, bitter,
and salty. We could not taste lemon juice on the tip of the tongue which is the place for sweet food.
The end of the week was the most exciting when parents joined us for an afternoon of sampling foods
from different countries brought in by the Moms.
Children sampled Indian and Brazilian sweets, Pakistani kebobs and roti, peanuts, lemon sorbet, and
more. It was truly a taste fiesta! Children experienced lots of flavors…spicy, sweet, bitter, and salty.
The spicy kebobs were followed by lots of water.
The final flavor sensation of the unit was when Ms. Madge brought in cashew juice. Most students
tasted it and said it delicious. However, unlike the candy no one asked for more. As long as food looks
and smells delicious, it will probably taste good.
Since school began, Year 2 has been investigating the ‘5 Senses’. In Year 2.1, one week has been dedicated
to learning about each of the senses. The most exciting and favorite seems to be the sense of
TASTE. We found out that the senses work together too! For instance…Did you know that if you can’t
smell you can’t taste? Also, the smell of food determines if you will eat it or not. Year 2.1 did several
experiments with 10 different foods. Working with partners, five foods were chosen for tasting. One
partner was blindfolded and had to guess what food they were eating. Only three out of 18 students
could identify all of the foods although they knew which foods were on the list. Several children were
hesitant to eat what they could not see. All were excellent ‘Risk-Takers’. So seeing also plays a part in
what foods we eat. Each part of the tongue is sensitive to one of four different tastes: sweet, sour, bitter,
and salty. We could not taste lemon juice on the tip of the tongue which is the place for sweet food.
The end of the week was the most exciting when parents joined us for an afternoon of sampling foods
from different countries brought in by the Moms.
Children sampled Indian and Brazilian sweets, Pakistani kebobs and roti, peanuts, lemon sorbet, and
more. It was truly a taste fiesta! Children experienced lots of flavors…spicy, sweet, bitter, and salty.
The spicy kebobs were followed by lots of water.
The final flavor sensation of the unit was when Ms. Madge brought in cashew juice. Most students
tasted it and said it delicious. However, unlike the candy no one asked for more. As long as food looks
and smells delicious, it will probably taste good.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
A Much Needed Update
Oh Me Oh My....I don't even know where to start!! So much has happened in the past 2 weeks. I will backtrack to church...
The Luanda International Christian Church
We found an English-speaking service that is interdenominational so we decided to give it a go. It was very moving.....to say the least. The tile floor was dirty, the stained glass windows broken, but the echo of the people singing familiar songs was emotionally overwhelming. During the service the kids have "Sunday school" which is held on the top of the building. It is an open air space with concrete floors and it is divided into areas for different ages. The kids sing songs with a person playing guitar....and Sam loves it. She was so excited that people in Africa knew "Amazing Grace", her favorite song!
Chevron BBQ
We went to our first BBQ a few weeks back and had a blast. Especially the kids. It is a monthly event for all Chevron families. Food, dessert and drinks are provided and there are 2 pools for the children to swim in. You are able to bring your own beer or wine if you so choose. Anyhoo..the kids basically are free to run and play with all of the other kids. TONS of fun for them!! As a matter of fact, Miles had soooo much fun that he left with a tummy ache (we later calculated that he must have eaten 7 donuts and drank 2 cokes) and in the middle of the night he did come into our room and vomit!! FUN times for the kids...next time we will keep a closer watch on him and the dessert table.
Moving
We are settled in our new home....AMEN! Everything is unpacked and things are going smoothly. I love that it is so close to the school and all of the other families. I'm glad the Internet wasn't up and running the first week because it gave me time to get situated. The house is smaller than what we are use to, so I worry about where I'm going to put our 8,000 pounds of "stuff" when it arrives in a few months!
Busy
I am SO busy! I can't believe we've been here a month already. There really is so much going on all the time. Just in the past 2 weeks I've gone to a TICA meeting (The International Community of Angola), I've gone to "Spouse's coffee" which is a monthly get together for Chevron spouses, Sam started Tennis lessons, and today I joined AWAA which is the American Women of Angola Association. Whew!! And that's not to mention all of the little things going on....oh....and we had our first trip to the clinic! And NO, it wasn't for Carter! Sam came home one day with fever so I had to make the trip with her to the clinic one night. A Malaria blood test was administered and luckily that was not the problem but her blood count did show an infection so for like the first time in 7 years we actually left a clinic with a real diagnosis and a bag of medicines. For once I didn't hear those dreaded words, "Alternate Tylenol and Motrin every 4 hours". It was nice and mama was happy.
October R&R
We have booked our first trip! I can't believe it is a month away! We are going to spend October break in Cape Town, South Africa. I'm sooooo excited about this trip. Many other families are going at the same time so it will be great. I can SHOP and EAT and get my hair done!!!
Guards
We have, or at least I thought we had 3 guards on duty 24/7 but today I noticed a new one. This has taken some time getting used to. The guards come and go and are in and out of the backyard 24/7. They have 12 hour shifts and they guard us and the house. It really is quite nice because the kids can play out front and I don't have to be right there. They have a room and a restroom with shower in the back of the house so they are constantly around. They've become part of the family. I feed them and give them snacks and they help with other things like taking out the trash and washing down the patio. If someone comes into the house to install Internet for example, they come in and keep a close eye on things. It was weird at first but now it's great because I don't have to be here when things are being done to the house and I know they are protecting my things! Even when the gardeners are watering in the back or cutting the grass, they are watching! It's comforting! Not that we are in physical danger, but because theft is a high crime.
Best for Last: Empregada!!!!!!!!!!
I hired a maid! One of the many perks of being an expat in this country is hired help. Just about everyone has full time maids. Actually, the locals have them too. Every house I've seen is built with a room and bathroom for an Empredagada. She started on Saturday and my driver found her for me. I really trust my driver Silva. I think he is an honest and hard working man and I knew that the person he found for me would be good. He showed up with her on Saturday and I was totally not expecting that. I was in the kitchen making Cinnamon Rolls (from scratch) when he knocked on my backdoor. He had the biggest smile on his face and he translated our "interview" with her. She is older than I originally had hoped for but her children are close to my age and she has grandchildren so I think she will be great to have around. She even started that day! She speaks NO English but she works hard. Her hours are 8:30 to 4:30 but today she was here from 7 to 6. Saturday she only works half a day. I know that sounds crazy and mean...trust me I do....but that is just how it is here. I promise I am taking care of her! I provide lunch for her and uniforms and shoes and just about anything else I can. Her name is Beatrice but we call her Bea and the kids call her Abuella which is Portuguese (and Spanish) for grandma. I always wonder what she thinks of all that we have and how we live. When I was showing her the washing machine and how to use it, she showed me the scars on her wrists from years of washing by hand. We are so fortunate! Same with the dishwasher. She has no clue. She is still washing my dishes by hand. She is great and so happy to have this job. We are more than happy to have her......ESPECIALLY me!! This will be one of the things that may just keep me overseas longer than a few years ;-)
I promise to post pics tonight or tomorrow!! Craig is off tomorrow and the kids are out of school for a national holiday so that will give me plenty of time to get them downloaded!
Tchau!
The Luanda International Christian Church
We found an English-speaking service that is interdenominational so we decided to give it a go. It was very moving.....to say the least. The tile floor was dirty, the stained glass windows broken, but the echo of the people singing familiar songs was emotionally overwhelming. During the service the kids have "Sunday school" which is held on the top of the building. It is an open air space with concrete floors and it is divided into areas for different ages. The kids sing songs with a person playing guitar....and Sam loves it. She was so excited that people in Africa knew "Amazing Grace", her favorite song!
Chevron BBQ
We went to our first BBQ a few weeks back and had a blast. Especially the kids. It is a monthly event for all Chevron families. Food, dessert and drinks are provided and there are 2 pools for the children to swim in. You are able to bring your own beer or wine if you so choose. Anyhoo..the kids basically are free to run and play with all of the other kids. TONS of fun for them!! As a matter of fact, Miles had soooo much fun that he left with a tummy ache (we later calculated that he must have eaten 7 donuts and drank 2 cokes) and in the middle of the night he did come into our room and vomit!! FUN times for the kids...next time we will keep a closer watch on him and the dessert table.
Moving
We are settled in our new home....AMEN! Everything is unpacked and things are going smoothly. I love that it is so close to the school and all of the other families. I'm glad the Internet wasn't up and running the first week because it gave me time to get situated. The house is smaller than what we are use to, so I worry about where I'm going to put our 8,000 pounds of "stuff" when it arrives in a few months!
Busy
I am SO busy! I can't believe we've been here a month already. There really is so much going on all the time. Just in the past 2 weeks I've gone to a TICA meeting (The International Community of Angola), I've gone to "Spouse's coffee" which is a monthly get together for Chevron spouses, Sam started Tennis lessons, and today I joined AWAA which is the American Women of Angola Association. Whew!! And that's not to mention all of the little things going on....oh....and we had our first trip to the clinic! And NO, it wasn't for Carter! Sam came home one day with fever so I had to make the trip with her to the clinic one night. A Malaria blood test was administered and luckily that was not the problem but her blood count did show an infection so for like the first time in 7 years we actually left a clinic with a real diagnosis and a bag of medicines. For once I didn't hear those dreaded words, "Alternate Tylenol and Motrin every 4 hours". It was nice and mama was happy.
October R&R
We have booked our first trip! I can't believe it is a month away! We are going to spend October break in Cape Town, South Africa. I'm sooooo excited about this trip. Many other families are going at the same time so it will be great. I can SHOP and EAT and get my hair done!!!
Guards
We have, or at least I thought we had 3 guards on duty 24/7 but today I noticed a new one. This has taken some time getting used to. The guards come and go and are in and out of the backyard 24/7. They have 12 hour shifts and they guard us and the house. It really is quite nice because the kids can play out front and I don't have to be right there. They have a room and a restroom with shower in the back of the house so they are constantly around. They've become part of the family. I feed them and give them snacks and they help with other things like taking out the trash and washing down the patio. If someone comes into the house to install Internet for example, they come in and keep a close eye on things. It was weird at first but now it's great because I don't have to be here when things are being done to the house and I know they are protecting my things! Even when the gardeners are watering in the back or cutting the grass, they are watching! It's comforting! Not that we are in physical danger, but because theft is a high crime.
Best for Last: Empregada!!!!!!!!!!
I hired a maid! One of the many perks of being an expat in this country is hired help. Just about everyone has full time maids. Actually, the locals have them too. Every house I've seen is built with a room and bathroom for an Empredagada. She started on Saturday and my driver found her for me. I really trust my driver Silva. I think he is an honest and hard working man and I knew that the person he found for me would be good. He showed up with her on Saturday and I was totally not expecting that. I was in the kitchen making Cinnamon Rolls (from scratch) when he knocked on my backdoor. He had the biggest smile on his face and he translated our "interview" with her. She is older than I originally had hoped for but her children are close to my age and she has grandchildren so I think she will be great to have around. She even started that day! She speaks NO English but she works hard. Her hours are 8:30 to 4:30 but today she was here from 7 to 6. Saturday she only works half a day. I know that sounds crazy and mean...trust me I do....but that is just how it is here. I promise I am taking care of her! I provide lunch for her and uniforms and shoes and just about anything else I can. Her name is Beatrice but we call her Bea and the kids call her Abuella which is Portuguese (and Spanish) for grandma. I always wonder what she thinks of all that we have and how we live. When I was showing her the washing machine and how to use it, she showed me the scars on her wrists from years of washing by hand. We are so fortunate! Same with the dishwasher. She has no clue. She is still washing my dishes by hand. She is great and so happy to have this job. We are more than happy to have her......ESPECIALLY me!! This will be one of the things that may just keep me overseas longer than a few years ;-)
I promise to post pics tonight or tomorrow!! Craig is off tomorrow and the kids are out of school for a national holiday so that will give me plenty of time to get them downloaded!
Tchau!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Luanda International School
Okay, so today I decided to slowly work myself into the school. I started in Sam's classroom but the teacher really didn't need help until the afternoon so she sent me to the library.
(On a side note, I've heard wonderful things about the librarian so I was anxious to make myself handy.) So Sam escorted me over and I met Mrs. Margaret (the students call everyone by their 1st name).
The library was small but welcoming. I noticed that up front she had a parent section which was very nice. After talking with her and telling her about my teaching experience her eyes lit up. She told me that in 5 minutes a class of Year 5 (4th grade) students was coming in, would I like to read to them? Next thing I know, I'm doing a compare/contrast lesson and checking out books. It was wonderful! The students are amazing!!! They are so polite and smart and it just is so neat to hear their accents and to learn where they are from. Literally all over the world!!
After the class left I noticed a bell sound and ALL of the students in the entire school came out for a 30 minute break. They are allowed a daily break to play, have a snack, whatever! Many came through the library and you can tell that Mrs. Margaret is loved by all. She knows them all by name. It was pretty neat.
The school setting is hard to describe. Each grade level has its own separate building. Just about each grade level has 2 or 3 classrooms. So it is a building with 3 rooms. The doors to the classrooms lead outside to sidewalks and covered patios which take you to the other buildings. Kind of like portable buildings. The center of all the buildings is the cafeteria, office and library. There are also several huts where children sit and have lunch or hang out.
In the afternoon I went back to Sam's class to help with Art. Whew....I was exhausted when I left. The little ones are busy!! After introducing myself and telling the class I was an American, Sam's teacher asked the other kids to raise their hand if they were American. Out of the 20 students, 5 raised their hand. That was a cool feeling!! Other countries represented in her room are Brazil, England, Pakistan and many others.
Here is the website: http://www.lisluanda.com/
(On a side note, I've heard wonderful things about the librarian so I was anxious to make myself handy.) So Sam escorted me over and I met Mrs. Margaret (the students call everyone by their 1st name).
The library was small but welcoming. I noticed that up front she had a parent section which was very nice. After talking with her and telling her about my teaching experience her eyes lit up. She told me that in 5 minutes a class of Year 5 (4th grade) students was coming in, would I like to read to them? Next thing I know, I'm doing a compare/contrast lesson and checking out books. It was wonderful! The students are amazing!!! They are so polite and smart and it just is so neat to hear their accents and to learn where they are from. Literally all over the world!!
After the class left I noticed a bell sound and ALL of the students in the entire school came out for a 30 minute break. They are allowed a daily break to play, have a snack, whatever! Many came through the library and you can tell that Mrs. Margaret is loved by all. She knows them all by name. It was pretty neat.
The school setting is hard to describe. Each grade level has its own separate building. Just about each grade level has 2 or 3 classrooms. So it is a building with 3 rooms. The doors to the classrooms lead outside to sidewalks and covered patios which take you to the other buildings. Kind of like portable buildings. The center of all the buildings is the cafeteria, office and library. There are also several huts where children sit and have lunch or hang out.
In the afternoon I went back to Sam's class to help with Art. Whew....I was exhausted when I left. The little ones are busy!! After introducing myself and telling the class I was an American, Sam's teacher asked the other kids to raise their hand if they were American. Out of the 20 students, 5 raised their hand. That was a cool feeling!! Other countries represented in her room are Brazil, England, Pakistan and many others.
Here is the website: http://www.lisluanda.com/
Saturday, August 22, 2009
We Have Arrived
We made it!! We've been in Africa for 5 days now. Here is a summary of my week:
Flight over:
We were suppose to leave Houston at noon on Monday but on the way to the airport Craig called and found out the flight was delayed 3 hours. Our first reaction was..."Oh great!" We were already tense about the flight with 3 kids...we did not need a delay! We got our 30 bags checked in (1 ton total weight) then we headed up to the lounge to have snacks and drinks. We just thought we'd hang out in the lounge until time to go. HA! The kids wanted to run around and play. I noticed a door that said "Nursery" on it so I went over and took a peek inside. Jackpot!!!!! It was a large room with 2 cribs, 2 rocking chairs and a restroom!!! OMG! It was the perfect camp for my crew! The kids played and had so much fun in our hideaway.
At 3PM we boarded the plane and by this time the kids were tired. We took off and dinner was served shortly after. They had a special menu just for the kids..it was awesome! Before dessert, Carter and Miles were asleep!! The rest of the flight went very smoothly thanks to Legos and a $20 box of Bendaroos!!
Arrival:
We arrived Tuesday afternoon to find out that our house was not ready!! We were told to go to an apartment in the city.....you know how I feel about the city!! We arrived at the apartment and a co-worker of Craig's was here to greet us. She welcomed us and gave us the keys and took us up for a look. WOW! The apartment is nice. It has 3 large rooms and 5 bathrooms. The hallway is literally 1/8 of a mile long. All we need is a bowling ball and pins. We were also given a "welcome packet" of bread, fruits, veggies, cheeses, chicken, a case of coke, coke zero, fanta, beer and 12 bottles of wine! The apartment also has a gym. It is nice....but the kids need a yard. There is no where for them to run and play...except for the hallway...which they have enjoyed! They told us the house would be ready in about a week and a half...so we are almost there!!
School:
The kids started school on Wednesday because I wanted them to adjust to the time as soon as possible. They were very excited and Sam and Miles went right on in without any problems. Carter always seems to have difficulty with transition and change so this week has been harder on him. His classroom is right across the playground from Miles', so when I go to pick up Miles at noon (Carter's lunch time) he sees us and doesn't understand why Miles gets to go home and he has to stay. I ended up taking him home on Wednesday and Friday. Hopefully next week will be better.
Sam loves the school and has made friends. A few of the girls in her class are European and speak Portuguese and English. She is in awe and follows them around. She really wants to learn the language. Craig and I went to have lunch with her on Thursday and it is just soooo different from the "school" we all know. I think it's going to be great. She has language class twice a week so hopefully she'll be able to teach me! She also has swimming on Wednesdays, music and PE twice a week, and computer once a week. She is in 1st Grade but they call it "Year 2".
Traffic:
As I've mentioned before, traffic is awful! From the apartment to the school is an hour and a half round trip!! It sucks bad! But the good thing is, I get to see LOTS of interesting things. I'm such a people watcher so it is perfect for me. It amazes me to see the people here and to watch them go about their daily routines. The women work just as hard, if not harder than the men. With no running water in their homes, you'll see people of all ages carrying empty water jugs to be filled. I have no idea where they get water but anytime that I've seen a puddle of water on the ground, people are using it to wash! People sell everything on the streets. The entire drive to the south, you'll see people lined in the streets selling such random things. The men tend to work in the streets ( I guess because it's dangerous) and the women and children work on the sidewalks. This week I've seen men selling lint brushes, highlighters, phone cards, DVD players, shoes, toilet paper, ironing boards and other random things. The women tend to sell all of the food items. They carry the big bowls on their heads with bread, fish, fruits, veggies and today I saw one carrying a big cooler and ice cream cones were sticking out...so I'm assuming she had ice cream on her head?? Sam and I are always fascinated by their lives. It's just unbelievable seeing these people that live half a world away and they wear, sell and use the same things we do, but their lifestyle is sooo different. Today we saw a kid wearing a Texans jersey! Just about everyone has Nike or Converse tennis shoes. Funny how the world is so different yet connected in so many ways! It's also common to see very young children running down the sidewalk...with no parent! I mean kids that are like 3 and 4 years old!!! They are just on their way. Sometimes there might be a few together. It's crazy! We wont let our kids in the front yard by themselves and the kids here just roam free.....next to crazy drivers going various speeds down the road. I'm always so worried about them. They obviously don't have to go to school because I see tons of kids all day long. I'm curious about that...I tend to investigate!
Other than that, all is going pretty smoothly. I had an incident at the mall that cost me a hundred bucks but I learned a lesson! (I lost my parking ticket and they obviously took advantage of me and wouldn't let me go without paying. I'm not sure if my driver didn't make a buck or two off of it as well since he was translating). I've also made some friends and have a few things planned for next week that I'm looking forward too! One being the "Hash" which is a running club that meets every other Saturday for a 6 mile run through the city. Craig has done it and apparently it is pretty fun and involves beer afterwards! Should be interesting.
Today we took the kids back to the mall (which is very nice and reminds me of a smaller Baybrook Mall). It is very clean and very nice. We ate pizza and wanted to catch a movie but the only one in English was G-Force and they've all seen it. We also went to the Shoprite which is kinda like the "walmart" here. I got carrots, cucumbers and a few snacks for the kid's lunches. I was looking for bread but they sell it by the loaf there and I've heard it doesn't last more than a day or two, so I've got to find the right place for bread because I use a lot for lunches. Then tonight we got dressed up and went to a very nice Chinese Restaurant called Chez Wou. Craig's birthday is next week so we thought we'd celebrate tonight. It was pretty good and Sam even tried the sweet and sour chicken!! Huge deal because she's so darn picky!!
That's it for now...I'm off to put the kids to bed. I appreciate all the emails I've received. It's nice to hear from everyone! I miss you all!!
T
Flight over:
We were suppose to leave Houston at noon on Monday but on the way to the airport Craig called and found out the flight was delayed 3 hours. Our first reaction was..."Oh great!" We were already tense about the flight with 3 kids...we did not need a delay! We got our 30 bags checked in (1 ton total weight) then we headed up to the lounge to have snacks and drinks. We just thought we'd hang out in the lounge until time to go. HA! The kids wanted to run around and play. I noticed a door that said "Nursery" on it so I went over and took a peek inside. Jackpot!!!!! It was a large room with 2 cribs, 2 rocking chairs and a restroom!!! OMG! It was the perfect camp for my crew! The kids played and had so much fun in our hideaway.
At 3PM we boarded the plane and by this time the kids were tired. We took off and dinner was served shortly after. They had a special menu just for the kids..it was awesome! Before dessert, Carter and Miles were asleep!! The rest of the flight went very smoothly thanks to Legos and a $20 box of Bendaroos!!
Arrival:
We arrived Tuesday afternoon to find out that our house was not ready!! We were told to go to an apartment in the city.....you know how I feel about the city!! We arrived at the apartment and a co-worker of Craig's was here to greet us. She welcomed us and gave us the keys and took us up for a look. WOW! The apartment is nice. It has 3 large rooms and 5 bathrooms. The hallway is literally 1/8 of a mile long. All we need is a bowling ball and pins. We were also given a "welcome packet" of bread, fruits, veggies, cheeses, chicken, a case of coke, coke zero, fanta, beer and 12 bottles of wine! The apartment also has a gym. It is nice....but the kids need a yard. There is no where for them to run and play...except for the hallway...which they have enjoyed! They told us the house would be ready in about a week and a half...so we are almost there!!
School:
The kids started school on Wednesday because I wanted them to adjust to the time as soon as possible. They were very excited and Sam and Miles went right on in without any problems. Carter always seems to have difficulty with transition and change so this week has been harder on him. His classroom is right across the playground from Miles', so when I go to pick up Miles at noon (Carter's lunch time) he sees us and doesn't understand why Miles gets to go home and he has to stay. I ended up taking him home on Wednesday and Friday. Hopefully next week will be better.
Sam loves the school and has made friends. A few of the girls in her class are European and speak Portuguese and English. She is in awe and follows them around. She really wants to learn the language. Craig and I went to have lunch with her on Thursday and it is just soooo different from the "school" we all know. I think it's going to be great. She has language class twice a week so hopefully she'll be able to teach me! She also has swimming on Wednesdays, music and PE twice a week, and computer once a week. She is in 1st Grade but they call it "Year 2".
Traffic:
As I've mentioned before, traffic is awful! From the apartment to the school is an hour and a half round trip!! It sucks bad! But the good thing is, I get to see LOTS of interesting things. I'm such a people watcher so it is perfect for me. It amazes me to see the people here and to watch them go about their daily routines. The women work just as hard, if not harder than the men. With no running water in their homes, you'll see people of all ages carrying empty water jugs to be filled. I have no idea where they get water but anytime that I've seen a puddle of water on the ground, people are using it to wash! People sell everything on the streets. The entire drive to the south, you'll see people lined in the streets selling such random things. The men tend to work in the streets ( I guess because it's dangerous) and the women and children work on the sidewalks. This week I've seen men selling lint brushes, highlighters, phone cards, DVD players, shoes, toilet paper, ironing boards and other random things. The women tend to sell all of the food items. They carry the big bowls on their heads with bread, fish, fruits, veggies and today I saw one carrying a big cooler and ice cream cones were sticking out...so I'm assuming she had ice cream on her head?? Sam and I are always fascinated by their lives. It's just unbelievable seeing these people that live half a world away and they wear, sell and use the same things we do, but their lifestyle is sooo different. Today we saw a kid wearing a Texans jersey! Just about everyone has Nike or Converse tennis shoes. Funny how the world is so different yet connected in so many ways! It's also common to see very young children running down the sidewalk...with no parent! I mean kids that are like 3 and 4 years old!!! They are just on their way. Sometimes there might be a few together. It's crazy! We wont let our kids in the front yard by themselves and the kids here just roam free.....next to crazy drivers going various speeds down the road. I'm always so worried about them. They obviously don't have to go to school because I see tons of kids all day long. I'm curious about that...I tend to investigate!
Other than that, all is going pretty smoothly. I had an incident at the mall that cost me a hundred bucks but I learned a lesson! (I lost my parking ticket and they obviously took advantage of me and wouldn't let me go without paying. I'm not sure if my driver didn't make a buck or two off of it as well since he was translating). I've also made some friends and have a few things planned for next week that I'm looking forward too! One being the "Hash" which is a running club that meets every other Saturday for a 6 mile run through the city. Craig has done it and apparently it is pretty fun and involves beer afterwards! Should be interesting.
Today we took the kids back to the mall (which is very nice and reminds me of a smaller Baybrook Mall). It is very clean and very nice. We ate pizza and wanted to catch a movie but the only one in English was G-Force and they've all seen it. We also went to the Shoprite which is kinda like the "walmart" here. I got carrots, cucumbers and a few snacks for the kid's lunches. I was looking for bread but they sell it by the loaf there and I've heard it doesn't last more than a day or two, so I've got to find the right place for bread because I use a lot for lunches. Then tonight we got dressed up and went to a very nice Chinese Restaurant called Chez Wou. Craig's birthday is next week so we thought we'd celebrate tonight. It was pretty good and Sam even tried the sweet and sour chicken!! Huge deal because she's so darn picky!!
That's it for now...I'm off to put the kids to bed. I appreciate all the emails I've received. It's nice to hear from everyone! I miss you all!!
T
Friday, July 31, 2009
Hit The Ground Running
I'm back from my pre assignment trip to Africa and it was unbelievable!
Flight Over:
I was nervous about the long flight over the Atlantic....especially after the Air France incident! But I made it round trip all in one piece. Craig has made friends with a nice little lady that runs the check-in counter for Houston Express (the airline we use), so that morning he called to let her know I was coming. She greeted me right away and I was thinking "How did she know it was me?". So after checking in, the passengers are invited to the British Airways lounge so I headed on over and went in. Immediately I understood how she knew me....I was the only female! The room was filled with at least a hundred men already getting their drink on....and there was me! I kept hoping that another woman would enter the room but no luck. So aside from the flight attendants...I remained the only woman on board.
Most of the men (the vast majority) are rotators coming on and off the oil rigs. They are interesting to watch and you can tell that they have made that trip many times. It was all routine: Board plane, drink, sleep the rest of the way, wake up for breakfast, land. Oh...and snore loudly :-)
My Itinerary:
As soon as I landed it was 8 in the morning (2am Houston time). I was exhausted but there was NO time to sleep or rest. I had an itinerary that had to be followed with various meetings, briefings, lunches and dinners. I met with medical personnel, security, Craig's co-workers, his bosses and not to mention the highest ranked Chevron employee in Angola...no pressure! The first meeting was lunch with his wife at their home. It was soooo nice! From then on, it was pretty repetitious. All of the meetings were basically the same conversations but just with different people. They ask a lot of questions, share their experience and offer advice on packing and so forth. After we met, they had to give an informal report on how the meeting went and if they thought we would "fit" the part. Fortunately all of the feedback was positive!! They really focus on the spouse for these expat assignments because it is a difficult transition and bluntly, you know the saying..."If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy"! So I appreciate that :-)
My opinion of the city:
Luanda is like any other city....it is crowded, dirty, smelly and has lots of traffic. The difference in Luanda from an American city is that you see naked children running around, bare breasted women nursing their babies, men pissing on the side of the road, potholes that are 4 ft. deep, women carrying things on their heads (very large things...and heavy things...and strange things...not just fruits and veggies but pots and pans and all kinds of random things). Another difference is the traffic! I joke that I spent half my time in Luanda sitting in traffic. This actually isn't a joke! There are no stop signs or traffic lights...basically there is NO organized driving system in Luanda. The car that gets closest to the one in front of it, gets to go first. It's crazy!! I'm assuming that this is the reason we are not allowed behind the wheel! It is a huge liability! So, we have a driver and I did get to meet him. His name is Sylva and thank goodness he speaks some English.
After spending a few days in the city and going to various "grocery stores", I was feeling a bit anxious. All of the stores that Craig took me to were like convenient stores with foods that did not look familiar...with labels that I couldn't read. There was NOTHING in these stores that our family would eat. I was concerned.
Before arriving in Luanda I had already set myself straight that I was going to be happy no matter what. We made up our minds to do this and there was NO turning back. "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me"! This has been my motto for the past year and quite frankly I was hoping to have a new motto now that the family is "back together". On my last night (before visiting our neighborhood in the south) I was feeling a tiny bit discouraged but there was NO WAY I was going to share my concerns with Craig. He was so excited to have me there and he wants this more than anything. I was not about to start complaining. I just kept quietly adding more and more food items to my list.
Finally...the last day and the most exciting! I went to the suburbs...away from the city. AHHHH...there is grass...and homes...and a MALL...with pizza and burgers...and a REAL grocery store with foods I recognize. I was at peace! I loved the house, I loved the school, I loved everything about the suburbs! Mama is happy!
Reflecting:
On the flight home (and this time I slept at least 10 hours) I thought about everything I saw and put it all together. This is truly something larger than I ever imagined. The people I met were so interesting to talk to. Only a small handful were American. It's pretty darn cool to take a step outside of the box. I can't wait to share our experience!
Flight Over:
I was nervous about the long flight over the Atlantic....especially after the Air France incident! But I made it round trip all in one piece. Craig has made friends with a nice little lady that runs the check-in counter for Houston Express (the airline we use), so that morning he called to let her know I was coming. She greeted me right away and I was thinking "How did she know it was me?". So after checking in, the passengers are invited to the British Airways lounge so I headed on over and went in. Immediately I understood how she knew me....I was the only female! The room was filled with at least a hundred men already getting their drink on....and there was me! I kept hoping that another woman would enter the room but no luck. So aside from the flight attendants...I remained the only woman on board.
Most of the men (the vast majority) are rotators coming on and off the oil rigs. They are interesting to watch and you can tell that they have made that trip many times. It was all routine: Board plane, drink, sleep the rest of the way, wake up for breakfast, land. Oh...and snore loudly :-)
My Itinerary:
As soon as I landed it was 8 in the morning (2am Houston time). I was exhausted but there was NO time to sleep or rest. I had an itinerary that had to be followed with various meetings, briefings, lunches and dinners. I met with medical personnel, security, Craig's co-workers, his bosses and not to mention the highest ranked Chevron employee in Angola...no pressure! The first meeting was lunch with his wife at their home. It was soooo nice! From then on, it was pretty repetitious. All of the meetings were basically the same conversations but just with different people. They ask a lot of questions, share their experience and offer advice on packing and so forth. After we met, they had to give an informal report on how the meeting went and if they thought we would "fit" the part. Fortunately all of the feedback was positive!! They really focus on the spouse for these expat assignments because it is a difficult transition and bluntly, you know the saying..."If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy"! So I appreciate that :-)
My opinion of the city:
Luanda is like any other city....it is crowded, dirty, smelly and has lots of traffic. The difference in Luanda from an American city is that you see naked children running around, bare breasted women nursing their babies, men pissing on the side of the road, potholes that are 4 ft. deep, women carrying things on their heads (very large things...and heavy things...and strange things...not just fruits and veggies but pots and pans and all kinds of random things). Another difference is the traffic! I joke that I spent half my time in Luanda sitting in traffic. This actually isn't a joke! There are no stop signs or traffic lights...basically there is NO organized driving system in Luanda. The car that gets closest to the one in front of it, gets to go first. It's crazy!! I'm assuming that this is the reason we are not allowed behind the wheel! It is a huge liability! So, we have a driver and I did get to meet him. His name is Sylva and thank goodness he speaks some English.
After spending a few days in the city and going to various "grocery stores", I was feeling a bit anxious. All of the stores that Craig took me to were like convenient stores with foods that did not look familiar...with labels that I couldn't read. There was NOTHING in these stores that our family would eat. I was concerned.
Before arriving in Luanda I had already set myself straight that I was going to be happy no matter what. We made up our minds to do this and there was NO turning back. "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me"! This has been my motto for the past year and quite frankly I was hoping to have a new motto now that the family is "back together". On my last night (before visiting our neighborhood in the south) I was feeling a tiny bit discouraged but there was NO WAY I was going to share my concerns with Craig. He was so excited to have me there and he wants this more than anything. I was not about to start complaining. I just kept quietly adding more and more food items to my list.
Finally...the last day and the most exciting! I went to the suburbs...away from the city. AHHHH...there is grass...and homes...and a MALL...with pizza and burgers...and a REAL grocery store with foods I recognize. I was at peace! I loved the house, I loved the school, I loved everything about the suburbs! Mama is happy!
Reflecting:
On the flight home (and this time I slept at least 10 hours) I thought about everything I saw and put it all together. This is truly something larger than I ever imagined. The people I met were so interesting to talk to. Only a small handful were American. It's pretty darn cool to take a step outside of the box. I can't wait to share our experience!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Tick Tock
Time is ticking! Since my last post...things have been quite busy! Craig came home 2 weeks ago and we have worked nonstop.
Medical: On the morning he arrived, I was downtown getting my first round of shots and my exam. The kids have been to TX Children's Travel Clinic twice in the past 2 weeks for their shots and they have one more round on the 15th. I had my second round last week and will finish up on Wednesday. NO MORE SHOTS...yay! I did receive 7 prescriptions that I dropped off today. They lady at the counter looked at me funny and said "Mam, you're going to have to come back in a few days. We don't keep thousands of Malaria pills on hand". Yes, I said...thousand! The 5 of us have to take Malarone E-V-E-R-Y-D-A-Y. And Sam has 2 pills a day! S0...365*6=.....you get my point :-) I can only imagine what that is going to cost. Craig said that his last prescription of 50 was $300! My goodness! Malaria prevention can be costly! So...I think we are squared away on medical!
House: Headache! We are selling our house so that involves several components. Last week 2 Realtors came out to give us an estimate. We have to use Realtors that Chevron has assigned. From there we get to chose the one we want to sell the house. The 2 separate companies have to be within 5% of each other or a 3rd company has to come out. Naturally, because nothing in my life is "simple", the quotes were NOT within the 5% so I get to host another realtor this week :-). Once we choose, the house goes on the market and after 3 months it will go into a forced sell. Don't really understand all that but the bottom line is...after 3 months I won't have a house note!
Packing: WHEW! The moving company came last week for a pre assessment of their job. They went room to room and asked what was going where. We have 3 options: Sea, Store, Leave. So as of right now, they will arrive on August 5th and do it all. They box everything and put it on the right truck. They will be with us for several days until everything is gone. We have decided to take about 1/3 of our things and store another 1/3. The final 1/3 will go to family or Goodwill! Our house in Luanda is fully furnished so we will use many of the things that are already there. The reason being, it takes SIX MONTHS to receive our shipment. There are limited ports in Luanda and it is growing so quickly that it simply takes time to go thru customs and so forth. The same is true on the return shipment. When we arrive back in the US, we will not have our things for at least 6 months. We are able to ship 8,000 pounds and I WILL have 8,000 pounds on that ship!! Unfortunately...NO food is allowed :-(.
Here is my problem....I have to survive 6 months before my shipment. So if I need something between now and January...it is going on the plane with us. Well, for those of you not familiar with Luanda, Angola...Google it :-). There is not much there! Yes, they do have things but I'm just not exactly sure what and how expensive things are. I've probably embarrassed myself but I've left no stone unturned! I've already done my Christmas shopping, I planned a Thanksgiving dinner with stuffing and pumpkin pie, my kids have Halloween candy and costumes and last but not least I have Sam's Birthday party invitations, decorations, goody bags and jumbo cupcake pans with frosting and cake mix! JUST in case! I've done the same for the boys but their stuff will make it in time on the ship! I also have Valentine cards and Easter egg die! JUST in case! I don't want my kids to miss out on anything!
On our first trip over, Chevron is nice enough (HA! As if they aren't all the time) to send our family "Business Class"....boy do I feel sorry for the other fellow Business Class folks on that flight! Anyway, with a Business Class ticket you can check 3 bags each. PLUS Chevron is giving us an additional $2500 to pay for excess baggage. As of right now we are hopping that plane with TWENTY-FIVE pieces of luggage...NO I'm not kidding. And each one will weigh 70 pounds....NO I'm not kidding. I will post pics! My media room upstairs has been converted into a wal-mart dumping ground. Literally, the room has 25 boxes that each represent a piece of luggage. I have it sorted and arranged by category and will continue to fill up every last one of them before we fly! We found some great bags at LLBean but they got expensive so we also got some crates to use. We will also have a few ice chests to take meat and cheese. CRAZY!! That's packing!
Look See: My first trip to Angola will take place on July 17th. I am flying over to see the house, school, stores and culture. Chevron will play host to several dinners and meetings where I am the guest of honor. I'm really looking forward to that and so is Craig. He is anxious to show me what his life has been like for the past year. From there we decided to take a little detour (and to celebrate our Anniversary and new chapter of our life) to Portugal. There is a direct flight from Angola so that is why we chose Lisbon. We will spend 5 days there before returning home to finish packing. It is going to be an overwhelming 6 weeks but as always...I look forward to the challenge!
Stay tuned :-)
Medical: On the morning he arrived, I was downtown getting my first round of shots and my exam. The kids have been to TX Children's Travel Clinic twice in the past 2 weeks for their shots and they have one more round on the 15th. I had my second round last week and will finish up on Wednesday. NO MORE SHOTS...yay! I did receive 7 prescriptions that I dropped off today. They lady at the counter looked at me funny and said "Mam, you're going to have to come back in a few days. We don't keep thousands of Malaria pills on hand". Yes, I said...thousand! The 5 of us have to take Malarone E-V-E-R-Y-D-A-Y. And Sam has 2 pills a day! S0...365*6=.....you get my point :-) I can only imagine what that is going to cost. Craig said that his last prescription of 50 was $300! My goodness! Malaria prevention can be costly! So...I think we are squared away on medical!
House: Headache! We are selling our house so that involves several components. Last week 2 Realtors came out to give us an estimate. We have to use Realtors that Chevron has assigned. From there we get to chose the one we want to sell the house. The 2 separate companies have to be within 5% of each other or a 3rd company has to come out. Naturally, because nothing in my life is "simple", the quotes were NOT within the 5% so I get to host another realtor this week :-). Once we choose, the house goes on the market and after 3 months it will go into a forced sell. Don't really understand all that but the bottom line is...after 3 months I won't have a house note!
Packing: WHEW! The moving company came last week for a pre assessment of their job. They went room to room and asked what was going where. We have 3 options: Sea, Store, Leave. So as of right now, they will arrive on August 5th and do it all. They box everything and put it on the right truck. They will be with us for several days until everything is gone. We have decided to take about 1/3 of our things and store another 1/3. The final 1/3 will go to family or Goodwill! Our house in Luanda is fully furnished so we will use many of the things that are already there. The reason being, it takes SIX MONTHS to receive our shipment. There are limited ports in Luanda and it is growing so quickly that it simply takes time to go thru customs and so forth. The same is true on the return shipment. When we arrive back in the US, we will not have our things for at least 6 months. We are able to ship 8,000 pounds and I WILL have 8,000 pounds on that ship!! Unfortunately...NO food is allowed :-(.
Here is my problem....I have to survive 6 months before my shipment. So if I need something between now and January...it is going on the plane with us. Well, for those of you not familiar with Luanda, Angola...Google it :-). There is not much there! Yes, they do have things but I'm just not exactly sure what and how expensive things are. I've probably embarrassed myself but I've left no stone unturned! I've already done my Christmas shopping, I planned a Thanksgiving dinner with stuffing and pumpkin pie, my kids have Halloween candy and costumes and last but not least I have Sam's Birthday party invitations, decorations, goody bags and jumbo cupcake pans with frosting and cake mix! JUST in case! I've done the same for the boys but their stuff will make it in time on the ship! I also have Valentine cards and Easter egg die! JUST in case! I don't want my kids to miss out on anything!
On our first trip over, Chevron is nice enough (HA! As if they aren't all the time) to send our family "Business Class"....boy do I feel sorry for the other fellow Business Class folks on that flight! Anyway, with a Business Class ticket you can check 3 bags each. PLUS Chevron is giving us an additional $2500 to pay for excess baggage. As of right now we are hopping that plane with TWENTY-FIVE pieces of luggage...NO I'm not kidding. And each one will weigh 70 pounds....NO I'm not kidding. I will post pics! My media room upstairs has been converted into a wal-mart dumping ground. Literally, the room has 25 boxes that each represent a piece of luggage. I have it sorted and arranged by category and will continue to fill up every last one of them before we fly! We found some great bags at LLBean but they got expensive so we also got some crates to use. We will also have a few ice chests to take meat and cheese. CRAZY!! That's packing!
Look See: My first trip to Angola will take place on July 17th. I am flying over to see the house, school, stores and culture. Chevron will play host to several dinners and meetings where I am the guest of honor. I'm really looking forward to that and so is Craig. He is anxious to show me what his life has been like for the past year. From there we decided to take a little detour (and to celebrate our Anniversary and new chapter of our life) to Portugal. There is a direct flight from Angola so that is why we chose Lisbon. We will spend 5 days there before returning home to finish packing. It is going to be an overwhelming 6 weeks but as always...I look forward to the challenge!
Stay tuned :-)
Thursday, June 4, 2009
What's for Dinner?
Yesterday I spent the better part of the day trying to decide what to cook for dinner. Today it has been:
yellow fever
tetanus
malaria
hepatitis A and B
pre-assignment trip agenda
passport photos for Visa
appointment with expat counselor
KMPG
school records
shot records
renew drivers license
Dr. Cooper
Dr. Anderson
Health Department
police department/background check
Just to name a few..................
yellow fever
tetanus
malaria
hepatitis A and B
pre-assignment trip agenda
passport photos for Visa
appointment with expat counselor
KMPG
school records
shot records
renew drivers license
Dr. Cooper
Dr. Anderson
Health Department
police department/background check
Just to name a few..................
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
God is Good
We have been waiting for this day for months now and it has finally arrived!!
Here is a recap of my evening:
I was sitting at the table talking to the kids while they ate dinner and at precisely 6:58 PM the phone rang. It was Craig calling to tell me that he woke up to go to the bathroom (It's nearly 1am there) and while he was up he checked his email and received his official offer.
HOLY COW! This is it. There is absolutely no turning back now, It's officially official!
He forwarded me the offer and I anxiously printed off the 20 page document so that I could go over it with a fine tooth comb tonight. After glancing over it, I probably understand 1/10 of what it says :-)
So, as I predicted...the stress has arrived. I've literally got a million and one things to do. He plans to schedule my preassignment trip tomorrow when he gets to the office. That will take place mid-July. Once that is complete, it is pack and move time!
The kids were thrilled to hear the news and they each took turns congratulating their daddy. He is very excited and can't wait to have us over there. It will be a very memorable experience for the entire family. It will give us opportunities and adventures that we would never have thought possible. I feel safe and at the moment I have no concerns whatsoever. Craig has spent the majority of the past year there and has felt 100% secure the entire time. He really enjoys it. The only person that might have trouble is me. I'm leaving behind my career and lots of wonderful friends and a family that I am very close to. It's emotional for me but on the flip side, I get to be a full time mom! That's exciting. I get to be there when the kids walk in the door from school. The laundry will be done, the dishes clean, dinner made. I won't have to take time away from them to do those things anymore....and to me, that is going to be the greatest reward. Maybe I'll run for PTA president....
Here is a recap of my evening:
I was sitting at the table talking to the kids while they ate dinner and at precisely 6:58 PM the phone rang. It was Craig calling to tell me that he woke up to go to the bathroom (It's nearly 1am there) and while he was up he checked his email and received his official offer.
HOLY COW! This is it. There is absolutely no turning back now, It's officially official!
He forwarded me the offer and I anxiously printed off the 20 page document so that I could go over it with a fine tooth comb tonight. After glancing over it, I probably understand 1/10 of what it says :-)
So, as I predicted...the stress has arrived. I've literally got a million and one things to do. He plans to schedule my preassignment trip tomorrow when he gets to the office. That will take place mid-July. Once that is complete, it is pack and move time!
The kids were thrilled to hear the news and they each took turns congratulating their daddy. He is very excited and can't wait to have us over there. It will be a very memorable experience for the entire family. It will give us opportunities and adventures that we would never have thought possible. I feel safe and at the moment I have no concerns whatsoever. Craig has spent the majority of the past year there and has felt 100% secure the entire time. He really enjoys it. The only person that might have trouble is me. I'm leaving behind my career and lots of wonderful friends and a family that I am very close to. It's emotional for me but on the flip side, I get to be a full time mom! That's exciting. I get to be there when the kids walk in the door from school. The laundry will be done, the dishes clean, dinner made. I won't have to take time away from them to do those things anymore....and to me, that is going to be the greatest reward. Maybe I'll run for PTA president....
Saturday, May 16, 2009
When Craig left last week...whoa..I guess it's been two weeks now. Anyway, he heard Carrie Underwood was on his flight. He never saw her but thinks maybe she was put on at the last minute and of course was sitting in first class, not business or coach! Anyway, I googled it this morning because I've been curious. Sure enough:
http://www.inentertainment.co.uk/20090514/carrie-underwood-news-angola-in-africa-for-american-idol-cares/
http://www.idolstalker.com/carrie-underwood-revisits-africa-for-idol-gives-back/
Wow! I will be doing the same thing one day...just not rich and famous!
http://www.inentertainment.co.uk/20090514/carrie-underwood-news-angola-in-africa-for-american-idol-cares/
http://www.idolstalker.com/carrie-underwood-revisits-africa-for-idol-gives-back/
Wow! I will be doing the same thing one day...just not rich and famous!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Jumping The Gun
I'm getting things started a bit early! I want everyone to be able to share this experience with us so I've created a blog for friends and family to keep up with our adventures.
Currently we are in the beginning stages of our move to Africa. My last official work day is June 6th...boohoo. I'm waiting for the paperwork and Craig's authorization letter to arrive so that I can take the kids next week to get their passports and photos. I guess Visa's will be next? Everything has been moving so slowly but I have a feeling that things are going to take off very quickly!
Stay tuned for future updates! I will try to make a post weekly until we arrive at our destination. Then I'm sure it will be a daily diary!
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