Grandkids!! ;)

Hi everyone! We arrived in the States June 6 and have been to Arizona and NC. Currently we are in TX with our son, his wife and their 2 girls!! We are so excited to be able to play with them and hold them! This is one happy Gigi! Lovin' the time with the grandkids! Allana, 2 1/2 and Lillia almost 4.

Below is Allana wearing Daddy's hat :)

Josh, Erica, Tim and the girls

At Wal-Mart

Tim holding Lillia and Josh holding Allana

Daddy & daughter (Allana)

Pics below are of Pappa (Tim ) playing with Lana

She's got her Mamma's beautiful, blond, wavy hair! :)

Pappa with a pink blankie! :)

Pappa & the girls :)

Ballerina Lillia

Summer...so far

We are enjoying our summer! We are eating way too much! I'm having to swim laps for over an hour every day just to burn up the extra calories!!

What I'm enjoying most in the good ole USA is:
seeing family - we get to see neices, my mom, Tim's mom, my sis-in-law, and friends
driving again! I haven't driven any vehicles in 11 months!
clean streets with no garbage around and stinky smells
lanes, and cars that stay in their own lanes
NO traffic coming at you in your lane!
central aircon - in the whole house, not just the master bdrm and not just at night!
swimming every day at a pool right across the street from where we're staying

We're looking forward to seeing our oldest son (back from Afghanistan), his wife, and our granddaughters at the end of this month!! And next month we get to see our youngest son and his wife! Yay!

Here are some pics to enjoy! As you can see, most of them are at restaurants! Yikes!!

With my mom, the day we got to Tucson, AZ!

Italian at Olive Garden - yum!!

my mom and me again, we really need to stop taking photos at her front door! :)

Below is an ole stompin' ground of ours when we lived in Tucson - Casa Sanchez!! Mexican! Tim and my mom

same place - me and my mom - look, it's not at her front door :)

Really cool outdoor place at an Indian/health food place we ate ate today

Tim and me

Mom and me

At La Parilla Suisa - Mexican. This was one order!! Tim and I shared it and only ate about 1/8 of it! Not used the huge portions they have here! This is chunks of grilled chicken, bacon, bell peppers, onions, etc all grilled. Delicious!

The pic below is the Mexican place that served the food you saw above!

Ready to go "home?"

As I sit here late at night thinking that I am so tired I need to get into bed, my mind is also busy thinking of going "home."

Tim and I leave for the States in 3 days! I still can't believe our first 11 months in Cambodia has gone by so fast!! How?

As I get ready to go home, I think about this new home that God has placed us in. I actually will miss Cambodia - God has given me some new friends here that I will miss this summer. I have so enjoyed teaching at Logos International School. The staff has been unified and we have all gotten along swimmingly. The kids are great! They want to learn and do their best.
God has given me a new house to live in. I look forward to painting and decorating it when I get back!
God has given me an "adopted daughter." The daughter I always wished I had had. Although I do love my daughters-in-law, I just wish I was closer to them and could hang out. And I loved raising boys, they were a blast!
But right now, God has put into Tim and my life a high school junior that will be living with us for the next two years. She is a MK (missionary kid); her parents live about 6 hrs. away. We are looking forward to having a teenager around and of course all her friends too!

These are just a few things to look forward to coming back to as I think about going "home." I've come to think of this as my home now though and it kind of feels like I'm leaving home. But that's what we MKs do quite well - adjust to a new environment quickly and let it become our home.

As I look forward to heading to my states-side home I am most excited about seeing my family! My kids, their wives, and grandkids especially! And I get the extra fun of seeing my mom, sisters, and Tim's family. What a great summer it will be! Other than family, I am looking forward to doing/seeing the following:
eating Mexican food
being in a house with Central Air
driving again
being in a country with traffic laws and lanes actually used properly
Chinese food
did I say Mexican food?
Arizona DRY heat
hearing more English around me than a foreign language
WalMart, Target, Kohls, etc
trying clothes on before buying them
oh, there is so much more, but I really do need to get in bed

Here's our schedule over the next few days:
Friday 8 a.m. - 10 a.m. Last day of School- hand out report cards
Friday 11:30 - ? Staff Luncheon at the Country Club (never been there before)!
Friday 3:00 - Going with girlfriends to get my toes painted (first time in Cambodia, first time ever! I've always done it myself)!
Friday 6 pm - dinner at Mike's Burgers with teacher friends
Haven't even packed yet!

Sat - go suspend Metfone (internet)
Sat - go to bank and withdraw dollars
Sat - maybe find time to clean house?
Sat - laundry
Sat 2:30 - ? Goodbye BBQ for Weiss family (elementary principal and his family who are leaving to move back to Canada)
Have to clean and pack if not done by now!

Sun - get up and eat breakfast and do last minute stuff
Sun - arrive at airport by 12:30, leave for China at 2:30 p.m. - 2 1/2 hr flight
Sun - China to LA about 13 hrs flight
Sun - arrive in LA Sun, same day (we gain a day coming back to the STates)
over night in LA with my sis

Mon 6:30 a.m. - leave LA for Phoenix, Arizona
arrive 7:50 a.m. picked up by sis-in-law and driven to Tucson!
See my mom and other family!! Yeah!!!

Please pray for safe and smooth travels - no delays and no missing our connecting flights! :)

27 Years!!!

Our wedding anniversary is in a few days.
Here's a few thoughts as I ponder our marriage.

After 27 years of marriage:
there is still love, much deeper and richer than in the beginning...
there is still laughter, mostly at each other (ha ha ha)...
there is still heartbreak, but you help each other through it...
there is still committment, "through richer and through poorer, in sickness and in health," through good and bad choices (my own words)...
and most important of all
there is still God, the creator of this glorious and sometimes difficult relationship, the "glue" of this marriage...

I can't believe it's been 27 years! I've been married longer than I've been single. I can't even remember what it was like before Tim! :)
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to Tim and me!
I love you babe! You are my lover and protector.

Here's a cute picture. :) This was taken around April 1984, 2 months before our wedding day on June 2, 1984. We were 21 years young when we got married!

3rd Grade Year-End Pool Party

We swam in the beautiful school pool from 9 - 10:15 a.m.

And then went back to our classroom for our snacks :)

Logos Junior Senior Banquet

The view from the hotel where the banquet was

Tonle Sap River, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Everyone was provided with masks :)

The Juniors pretty much planned the banquet themselves. They did an awesome job! Below are pics from a fun game we played:

Mr. Weiss - Elementary Principal

Juniors singing a song to the Seniors - so sweet

New House - Before Pictures

Hi everyone! We are moved into our new (new for us) house and we finally got internet Monday night. So, I am able to post some pics.! Yay! :) Here are the BEFORE pictures of our lovely home. When we get back from the States, we are going to paint, decorate, etc. So, you'll have to wait a few months to see the AFTER pics.

Our move went smoothly. It was the best move we have ever done! We had a truck rental make 2 trips ($15.00 per trip). It was wonderful! They lugged all the stuff out of the house, over balconies, etc and then moved them into the new place. Tim dropped me off at the new house at 7 a.m. and I cleaned the kitchen about an hour and half or so. When the movers came with our stuff, I stood and directed - that's all!! It was the easiest move for me! I've always done the carrying, etc along with Tim and others and this was such a treat. This way I could concentrate on unpacking and cleaning...we also had Logos kids (from school) who live in this neighborhood show up to help clean, unpack, etc. It went so fast!! Of course, it helps that we don't have lots of things! :)

By Sat night late afternoon we were unpacked. That evening Tim and I arranged, made our bed, unpacked our clothes, etc. What a blessing it was to have the help after moving our stuff in! Some of the boys even cleaned windows for me!!!

We are just amazed how God opened up this opportunity and provided this home for us and we moved on faith that He would provide the funds for our monthly payment, which is double what the other apt was. But we believe God wants us here. Already, He is using us in this neighborhood. The boys' home is on the same street as we are. The boys and girls homes are ministries of Asian Hope, as is Logos School, where we teach. These are kids that are orphans or the parents aren't able to care for them. Each home has "parents" that live with the kids. We feel at home here and it feels like a community. It is so nice to have people around that speak English and that we know. Logos families live on the same street or the next street down. The students, and adults, walk by and yell out, "Hi Mr. and Mrs. Jones." So cool! :) We felt so isolated over at the apts. Oh, and there are no rats and no sewer smell here! When we get back after the summer, one of the missionary kids is going to live with us. Her parents live about 6 hrs from here. She attends Logos. The plan is for her to finish out her last two years at Logos and to live with us during that time. So, we'll have a teenager around the house again!! Scary...just kidding. She is currently one of Tim's students, but she won't be next year. She is such a sweet, easy-going young lady. :) There will be adjustments of course, but we are excited for this new ministry God has sent our way. We want this home to be a haven, a safe place for kids to come visit and to learn about His love and acceptance. We know this house will be filled with love and laughter, because as many of you know, if you have one teenager living with you their friends show up too and hang out! LOL

It is so quiet and peaceful here. Already it has been healing to my soul and heart. Tim and I just can't believe that God provided such a NICE place to live here in Cambodia!! We feel so luxurious. :) Sure there are repairs and things need fixing, but it's so worth it!

As you look at the pictures below, yes it's huge and beautiful. It seems like it would be sooo expensive. But it's only $450 a month. There is no way you're going to get something like this in the States, but it is quite expensive for here! :) There are 3 stories - 4 bedrooms (2 on the second floor and 2 on the third floor). Each bedroom has it's own connecting bathroom! And there is a half bath downstairs. Amazing huh?

So, here's the BEFORE pics. Below is a picture of the street we are on. Notice the CLEAN streets. No piles of garbage lining the streets. We pay a monthly trash fee for them to keep the streets clean and pick up garbage 2 xs a week.


Some of the pretty houses on the other side of the streets. These are bigger than ours. Notice the basket - that's what you put your garbage bags in and they empty it. :)

Below is our new home. It's a duplex, this is our side. Yes, there are 3 stories, including the ground level!! That satelite dish has been removed, it belonged to the previous owners. We still don't have a t.v. but may get one after we get back. We've been informed by the students who live in this neighborhood (most of them are Tim's students) that we need a t.v. so they can come over and watch it! LOL :)

The front patio/courtyard - don't you just love that Mexican tile?

Another view of the front patio - that's our side wall dividing the duplex on the other side and that's our front metal gate which rolls open if necessary and if we had a car, which we don't. :)

Huge, wide front door (with a screen)! and front windows

Living room, you can see the front door. Those are marble tiles - yes, big 24" marble tiles! Beautiful!

another view of living room with barren walls. We'll paint and decorate later.

I love the ground floor; it has a great room. The living area is off to the left there - you can see the back of the rattan couch. That's the dining room in the background. You can see the start of the kitchen to the left of the dining room, see the black and white tile?

The kitchen. Those are lighted balls which I need to properly stream still...working on that...

Look at this staircase!! Isn't it absolutely amazing?!

Here's a close up of the staircase. See the balls. They will light up when I find an extension cord and plug them in. Those colors are what we'll be painting and decorating with. We decided to go with Mexican/Carribean colors - it fits the house. Bright, bold colors - lime green, bright medium blue, bright orange.
Here's the master bedroom. Umm...the curtains are orange striped - these are in all the bedrooms. Not thrilled about the colors, but hey they are free, came with the house and they are nice and thick to help keep the hot sun out!

Our huge bed (which we already had). We found a mint green cotton comforter at the market. It's comfy and light enough not to be too hot, but warm enough for me, cuz our new aircon is terrific and blasts out cold air!! :)

Here's our wardrobe closets. Everything looks so small, cuz the bdrm is sooo big! Obviously we have some painting and decorating to do in this room too! :)

Here's the master bdrm bathroom - notice the bathtub, a luxury here!! Don't you love our colorful towels? Those are what we used before it's all that we have right now...:)