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
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