Well, we are getting near to the begining of our new journey.

There are a lot of things I would like to complain about, but I realize it could have been worse, I know that because I had a talk with God this morning and he made me aware of my blessings like the fact that K1 survived his dual surgeries and doing okay, K2 was not hospitalized because of his very high cholesterol(it was beyond the pale as the old folks say), Jewel was able to have her birthday sleep over, I was able to have my dental work done without having too much oral pain and Ashaunda is felling so much better and most of the packing is done so I will not complain but just thank God that it is as well as it is.
The contract on the house was signed and we are happy with the family that is buying the house. They are a beautiful young family.
We have only 5 more days in the house before we say goodbye to a home we have enjoyed so much. Well I must get up and finish the last bit of work. I wonder how will I feel on the last day we are here?
Our our new journey is near!!!!!  

What is going on with my password?!!!!

 I am not one for too much patience and this pass word mess is really bugging me to the last piece of what little nerves I have left! Why do you have to reset your pass word every time you try to get on your blog, will someone with good sense glue me in.
Jewels' sleep over for her 5th birthday party went very well, all the 7 girls  were well mannered so all had a good time. Pizza, cheese sticks and children drinks were served in an orderly manner it was just the adults going crazy with all the chatter that was going on between the girls, I wondered to myself if I was that crazy to have a slumber party when my daughter was growing, come to find out I was! Those little girls could chatter more than old women sitting around gossiping.They did not get tired until I told them no more movies. Ashaunda had throw blankets and pillowcases with new pillows made for each girl along with a crown and bracelets. The theme was about princesses, everyone was a princess. Games were played and prizes were awarded the funniest was the girls trying to burst the pinata, Keawe had to burst it and he had to use some muscles, everyone really seem to have had a good time gathering up all that candy. They ended the next morning with a breakfast of  chilled  orange juice, hot eggo's with syrup and crispy bacon. They were all full of energy  and thanked us for inviting them and I on the other hand  was thanking God we adults survived!! We took 3 of the girls back to Tyler and Marshall Tex where a family reunion was being held, but it was a good time, all 24 hrs of it. Keawes' sister is in the reserves and she was training in Louisiana so we picked her up and will take her back tomorrow, or shall I say they will, too much riding for me, that let me know I am not what I used to be Oh yes Jewel had a small princess cake and cup-cakes for her guess and herself and ice cream all was good.

Many things going on!

 Well my nephew made it , he graduated from high school and will be attending college in the fall, but of course I forget the name of the college. He was a honor student. The graduation was held outside at the high school stadium and we had good seats and was able to see everything and everybody, boy did we see some bodies! I just wanted to cry when I saw what some of the students were wearing and could have slapped some of the older women. The men were almost just as bad, undignified is all I can say. I am proud to report that this class of 2010-2011 had  90% of the students already accepted to a College or University! The administration surprised them with a great firework show, it was wonderful. The graduates cheered and most of them cried  and the crowd (us) cheered like crazy. Ashaunda led the graduates to their seats she sure did look nice, by the way she won The Lamplight Award for the year, she had more than 50% of the votes, what a year for her.
Marianne when I wrote about the book that was written, it was not Ashaunda that wrote the book it was me, therefore she will not have to worry about the contract. Thank you so much for bringing that to my attention.
Have to be out of the house by June 28th so you know we are going crazy, will be glad when we get everything in order, no trash just clothes everywhere.

Memorial Day Weekend

Ashaunda wanted to spend this holiday with her brothers so we all went to Marshall,Tex. where Byron and his wife Kourtney live. Darrick and his family came from Tyler, Tex. so she had her wish. We arrived about 2:30pm and Darrick about 30min. later. The party started and did we have a good time. We spent most of the evening sitting outside eating and drinking on the covered patio plus they had two fans on us and plenty of food that was prepared by Byron and Kourtney we also had plenty of soft drinks and bottled water, wine for those who wished something stronger. it was a wonderful day. Some of Kourtneys' family was also there, her mother who was a cook for years made a delicious pound cake,I should know because I had two slices, both with a cup of coffee.Darrick and his family left later that night and went back home.
 Some of us went to church with him in Tyler Sunday, which was our old home church, that was the first time we heard him play the guitar and we where shocked at how well he played! The message was delivered by First Lady Emma Granberry and she really did a good job. When service was over we went back to Marshall, and continued to enjoy ourselves.We arrived Sat. and returned home Mon.about 9pm. we had a good time!On the way home it hit me that we were all going to miss America when we make that move to UAE I got a little melancholy.

Jewel's Graduation

Family from San Antonio came for the big day, after all how often do one go from Pre-k to Kindergarden while wearing a gray cap with tassel  and gown? We all had a good time and enjoyed our meal that was held in honor of the Grads and their Families. You all know my little angle Jewel was the prettiest one there, you can just bet on it. June 19,2011 was a very good day for the family, even her Auntie and Uncle attended the special occasion. June 20,2011 was another day for the Graduation people, we were all invited back to Fellowship Christian Academy for cake and ice cream and was able to recap the graduation they did not have to wear their cap and gown this time because they wanted the students to have a good time. Her parents took everyone out to dinner that Sunday evening, so we had a busy and fun weekend.

Mothers Day

My daughter and I had a wonderful Mothers Day weekend. We both received a bouquet of flowers from Keawe and he told us he would get anything we wanted, he also told his mother the same thing. We went to San Antonio for an overnight trip so he could spend this last Mothers Day with her and we really had a nice time, we also saw his daddy and step-mother. Before leaving for SA we went to the baby shower and everything was nice, the food was good so were the games. We had to leave early because Ashaunda and Keawe had to chaperone the Senior prom that night. The little angles and I settled down for a quiet night (do you  believe that tale).

What about the book?

I have not decided what to do about the book that I have written, titled What The Hell! I will get the copyright but it looks as if I will not get it published before we leave. I have been encouraged to get it published but it takes a dime or too, if you know what I mean. It took me almost 4yrs to finish this book and it looks as if it is going to take me another 4yrs to get it published, is that not a mess! I know that I am going to leave my family a copy and they will enjoy it because they are FAMILY. I will give it to them the week we leave the country, that's the way you do it. Anyway I will decide later what to do.
Will be going to a baby shower this Sat, I will be a new great auntie and I know we will have a good time.

Good day

The day started out a little dull for me,but ended up very well. We went to the Whole Food store and of course I bought  a few items since I am going to lose weight, needless to say you almost have to own a bank to really get what you need so I just got a few of the things I wanted. I will do some healthy cooking but that is not the problem, its the stuff I put on my healthy food.
Keawe( my son-in- law who we call El cheapo) took us all out to eat at this new place, well it may not be new but we have never been there,  called Red Hot and Blue they had some of the best food there. Me and Ashaunda had the Ribwich which included 2 nice size St. Louis ribs and any one of 4 choices of  bar-b-que meats, I had brisket and she had chicken, the sides were baked beans and coleslaw and for the drink we all had a small pitcher of sweet tea each! When we tasted the baked beans we both laid back in our seats and Ashaunda stated she started to hit me and I told her I started to hit her back because it was soo good. Everything we ordered was so very good, Keawe ordered the the meal that I believe had a choice of 4meats and 2 sides also hush puppies, he died and went to heaven right before our very eyes! The little angles had corny dogs and fries., which they enjoyed. What a good bar-b-que place and the music was great, they only played the blues so I really enjoyed myself, those songs brought back some good memories. We now have a new Bar-B-Que place.

Working a little.

Got the laundry room done yesterday and it only took about a hour, it wasn't dirty just stuff everywhere. Now everything is in its' own spot and every spot has a reason. I am one of those people who has to think beforehand what they are going to do next or it just does not follow through as it should I must admit it took several days this time to get to the laundry room. Now I must think about the linen closet and my second closet which has all my summer clothes in it. Should I or should I not just leave enough sheets for a change on all three beds which would cause me to wash more or just let that be my last thing to do and leave the linen closet alone. I will think just a while longer.
I am thinking about buying me another large suitcase because I don't need the whole set, that way two large suitcases will just right for the things I want to take without going over weight limit, but if  one large suitcase will cost more than a set I will get the whole set. Oops, the dryer has stopped let me get to work.

How I got involved

It all started with a desire my daughter, Ashaunda, had last year. She wanted to to work for the Department of Defense Educational Division in their overseas branch, because she wanted to teach children of other cultures She and her husband, Keawe,  filled out all of the necessary applications and forms and as you know you all but have to give them your life story, I almost thought I was going to have to fill out an application myself and all I was going to do was keep the children in whatever country they would be assigned to. I must say Ashaunda is the type of person who does her research in whatever she really want to do, so the research session was on and I was involved. We researched the country she wanted to teach in and their communities, it was a fun time.
She waited patiently for the D.O.D. to call, she stayed in contact with them for several months but to no avail, we knew they received many thousands of applications a year, so after 8 or 9 months she decided to call another agency. We had to research them also, I was beginning to think I was the one looking for a job!
She contacted Teach Away and on the application  both she and Keawe requested to work in Japan, there seem to be no openings there so she decided to ask for Asia, the largest continent in the world, of course they responded right away and the wheels began to roll, we went into overdrive once she was offered the job in the United Arabic Emirates(where in the world is that?). Actually it is a young country and also an ally to the United States. I understand we have an Embassy there and  an American base located there. (Do I have to learn Arabic?). I really do not want to hurt that language with my southern accent.
Sixty-seven years old and I am headed to another country on the other side of the world, isn't that a blessing! Excitement is just brewing in my body because I am just praying  God let me live to enjoy this new chapter in my live.
Keawe does not have a job at this time but we know he will get one soon because Ashaunda prayed long and hard before applying to this type of job, she waited patiently on her answer due to the fact they have two children 18mo. old son and a 4yr. old daughter, so she had to be very sure of her choices. When she received her answer she sprinted to the finish line and we have been in the fast lane every since. We are stepping out on faith and that is not a bad thing. I say to you where is the airplane?
I begin packing right away, six months before it was time to leave. I packed so much until we both wondered what was I going to wear for the next 6mos, needless to say I had to unpack a few things. We have been told by a few people and by our own research that it is very hot weather over there most of the year and that there is very mild winters also that the shoe of choice is sandals. I thought to myself why in the world did I pack all of my suits and my heels plus all of my winter clothes, where was I going to wear them? I will not weigh down my suitcase with things I can not use. Summer clothes, one suit and one pair of heels will be all I need for a while.

Easter Day

Our Easter dinner at Lila and Marcus home was a great occasion, everyone except three relatives that were invited showed up. The idea of the dinner was made by my sister Pam and if you knew her you would know why it was special to all of us. She choose the menu which consisted of sea food items and soul food, and guess what, it worked! We had sea food boil, which consisted of shrimp, crab meat, sausage, potatoes,corn and some type of hot as the dickens seasoning (it tasted good but was too hot for me), fried fish that was done by Ashaunda( I had a taste or two while they were talking)collard greens cooked with seasoned neck bones and fatback ( I had to taste that in order to make they were seasoned just right), a very tasty ham, ( so what if I got a small slice) mac and cheese ( I had to taste that to make sure it was not dry),  hot cornbread (that I ate a piece of when no one was looking) mixed salad with an assortment of mixed lettuce and tomatoes and of course different types of dressings for the salad (had to make sure the lettuce and spinach mixed well together), for dessert we had a pound cake (which I took just a little slice in case it did not taste good) cupcakes ( the icing was good), a delicious banana pudding which is a speciality of Marquita ( I had to taste the pudding part)and ended with an assortment of edible fruit kabobs that was arranged so beautifully and designed by Menique and her baby son Karter ( all the fruits were sweet), When we sat down to eat I was already full, We also had a variety of soft drinks ( which I did not taste, afer all I am on a diet), it was hard but all I drank was water. Pam had several Easter baskets decorated for the little angles. We all had a good time and  the little angles had their Easter egg hunt and had fun looking for the eggs. This will be our last Easter for a while with the family, for once we did not go for Easter sunday services.

Thank God For Oldest Son And His Bride!

My oldest son and his bride spoke to Ashaunda, and decided that I needed to stay at his home for approximately 2mo. after Ashaunda and Keawe leave for the U.A.E.( isn't that sweet). They are taking on me,who is set in my own ways and my two grandchildren, who are little angles...... when they want to be. What a job, what a job! Bless them is all I can say, but after we leave they will really know how much they enjoy just the two of them living by themselves. If the truth be told one can really say we are helping them to decide if they want children. We hope it will only take about two months before ADAC issue Ashaunda her Visa, then the way will be clear for me to get the residency Visa. I can't hardly wait for the adventure to begin. When we fly out of DFW  they say there will be a 6hr. layover in Chicago and if that is true Tamara,a life long friend whom I consider as one of my own children, will accompany me and the little angles(I love em) to Chicago and when we board our flight she will return to Dallas, that's a blessing for me to have her help! I can just imagine me and the angles waddling through the airport and Jewel wanting to stop and see everything and Keawe2 wanting to follow her and me having them tied on to me with a light weight rope just long enough for them to walk and me looking like I just had a stroke because I will be pulling the carry on suitcase and trying to look as if I have good sense. That is not a pretty image!
I hope to keep a dairy of everything we do with the hope the little angles will read it one day.
Easter Sunday the family will go to my baby sisters house and have a big dinner, of course the other little angles and our little angles will hunt Easter eggs in the yard and I will be relaxing in the house, I have already served my time doing those hunts when my three were young, bless their old hearts. Age has some rewards!

Good News

Ashaunda is Teacher Of The Year for Lancaster Hi.!!!!!! I am very proud of her, she as usual gave her all and all to the students. There was never a task to large or too small for her to do,I use to worry because she was always very busy during and after school, she wanted to do her best and she did. When I would get on her about doing so much she would always remind me of how I worked hard on two jobs and still found the time to always be at their school functions, so therefore she was following in my footsteps, so I knew I had nothing more to say. Keawe brought her a dozen of the most beautiful Red Roses, a fruit platter that was out of this world and then took us all to dinner, it was a wonderful evening for us all. Yesterday was a great day!

Things I need to do

I am taking medications that will need to have prescriptions written, I understand there are certain types of medications that are not allowed to enter the U.A.E., even over the counter drugs has to have a prescription. When I go to see my doctor in July I must remind him what I need because I do not plan to be handcuffed at the airport and hauled off to only God know where. We must do the same thing for the children,they both suffer with asthma, so they are on plenty of medications. I hope the weather there will not be to rough on them
I looked around my bedroom today and realized I am going to miss it because I just had it painted to my ideal colors and almost had it the way I want it to be for myself, you know everything had its own spot, had my favorite chair where I could lean back and rock the little boy to sleep and hold his big sister as she call herself. Pictures on the wall that I like and had my beautiful chandelier(?) my room has a high ceiling so it hung just right, and with the French doors it made everything come together. It was the kind of room that made everyone feel welcome, maybe that's why they usually gather in my room without asking, and then start talking as if I was not watching my soaps or the news, I mean they flop down on my bed as if its right and if I let them they will take a nap! Yes I am going to miss my room and they are too. They told me my new room in the U.A.E. will be a small room but it will have its own private bathroom, I thought to myself God is on His throne, then they burst my joy by telling me they were still coming to my room! I wonder can I fix their room up?
Tomorrow I must pack a few more things to put in storage, I don't intend to still be packing when we board the airplane!!

MY NEW JOURNEY

Well,Well,Well! My daughter came home today and announced we will probably be leaving with them when they leave in  the next couple of months. I know this will most likely change within the next few days, so I will continue on with my plans, you see all plans I make can be changed in just a matter of minutes, a call here and a call there, so what, its life and life can change with ever breath. Well I take that back because if you are in pain life seem as if it never change.
Today I am  seeing things that still need to be done and I will do it in my own time, for instance we still need to get my granddaughters room packed up, we have already packed a lot of books that will be given to her Pre-K class, she has so many books and DVDs. We will take a few books and DVDs with us and buy more later.Most of her clothes has been given away because she has out grown them, but she still has a few more clothes we can give away. Maybe I will go through her closet again this weekend, who knows.
We have already given away so many of the little boys toys until I just feel like taking a big bag and just give them to the first person walking down the street, its just that many left! Really we are going to give those to the Outreach Center, his toys are to nice to throw away when some other child can enjoy them. We have most of his large clothes already packed, those that were too small has already been taken care of a few weeks ago.
Everyday is more exciting to me, I keep saying its now time to loose that weight that I keep saying I need to loose since it is a very hot climate in the U.A.E., but when I think about the food that I will be missing for a while until we get situated where I can cook, I just take another bite! I will worry about my weight when I get there.
Later on today  I will read about getting my Visa once I arrive in the U.A.E. at the airport they say, that's what I read.

My new journey

Sorry about the spelling of United Arab Emirates will try to do better the next time, by the way I am sure there are other misspelt words.