Home Again, Home Again

The following pics are of what awaited us when we got home to Cambodia! :)
The Welcome sign was done by a son of good friends of ours. This is from a new 1st grader - look at the great handwriting! :) Great job Cameron!
Some of our wonderful kids tped our house as a welcome. :) We thought it was funny that it being the first time we've ever been tped and it was in Cambodia! ha ha

They also took our furniture outside

My new little munchkins in 3rd grade! And some of them are literally little! So cute :)

Summer gone by...

Well, only 2 more days 'till we head back to Cambodia! Can't believe how quick our summer has gone by!

It has been a terrific summer full of visiting family and friends. I really needed this time with my family especially and I leave feeling full of love and warmth. :)

We spent our first two weeks in Tucson, Arizona where Tim's mom and my mom lives, along with other family members. It was great to see our family again and catch up.

Next on the agenda was a quick jaunt over to North Carolina to see my nephew married. While there, I got to see 2 of my 3 sisters, and my youngest son (who was an usher in the wedding). It was wonderful to also see family there. Oh yes, I also got to spend the night with my youngest sis in LA, at the beginning of our trip into the US. :)

Killeen, Texas came next where we played with and cuddled with our two granddaughters for 3 weeks!! That was Heaven on earth! And of course we got to see our oldest son and his wife. :) Our son had just returned from Afghanistan (Army). There are tons of pics on my fb page!! :)

Then off we flew to Wichita, KS where our youngest son lives with his wife and dog, Winston. We had a fabulous time visiting with them :) They treated us to a fancy restaurant and we got to see their new apt and hear about their life! It gave me good memories to take with me! We also got to spend time at our home church there in Wichita. We were so blessed by their love and generosity while we were there. It was great to touch base with them and share what we have learned in our first year in Cambodia. We showed funny and interesting pictures and videos of our life in Phnom Penh, including the exotic foods and crazy traffic! :)

The end our journey finds us back in Tucson, AZ for 2 days to regroup, try to rest, and do last minute shopping and finish packing 4 plastic bins, and 4 carry-ons!!

Friday, July 29, we shuttle to Phoenix, fly from Phoenix into LA, then catch a plane to China and then Cambodia. Two days later (due to lay overs and time zones) we arrive in Phnom Penh!

Teacher inservice begins August 3 and school starts August 8. We are excited for the upcoming year. Tim will be teaching 10th grade English and History and will the Jr.High/Sr. High school counselor. He'll also be helping with devotionals and chapels. He is very excited about this new job change. He loves the relationships with the kids and this will be right up his alley.

I will continue to teach 3rd grade. I will be training a new TA (teacher assistant) and will also have a student teacher in my class from the US! I'm excited about the training aspect of my job and meeting my new 3rd graders! It'll be a great year!

All for now! We'll catch you on the other side of the world!

July 4, 2011

I hope everyone had a terrific 4th of July!

We spent ours on post at Ford Hood Army Base. Wow! What fun we had. It reminded me of a State Fair we used to go to in Hutchinson, KS, only a mini one. :) The best part is we got to spend it with our grandkids! We spent the afternoon and evening there. First we had to do some rides. Lillia was frustrated because she was too little for most of the rides. :(

The fireworks were the best ones I've ever seen! And it was the longest show I've ever seen - about 25 - 30 minutes, awesome. The girls were troopers; though exhausted, they stayed awake the whole time.

Here's Josh (our oldest son) and his daughter Lillia
Our daughter-in-law with Allana

Lillia on a car ride

They loved the jumping castle!

Eating Hawaiian shaved ice!

Lana biting the ice :)

AH-1 Cobra

Josh & Erica :)

Gigi (me) & Allana

A few minutes after getting into the car - crashed! It was a long day with no nap and this was after 10 p.m.!

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 :)