Life in the USA

Look at this yummy cake! Will's birthday was December 5, and this was the cake he requested. My thoughts...I could make this in Turkey sometime! Yea! Add this to my "American things I can do in Turkey" list!


Two 4packs of Bubba teeth and what a sight we are! I wonder what our host culture would think of these things!


Driving home from a Thanksgiving camping trip in my parent's RV. These things are incredible. You can do so much while you are driving down the road. I sat there and ate a snack then went to the bathroom and washed my hands. All while my dad was driving. Amazing!


Sitting around the campfire singing Christmas songs. It was a wonderful time with family.

I love America! We have been in the states for almost 6 months. I can't believe it! The time here has been really good. We have enjoyed spending time with family and friends and just being able to relax. These pictures are a glimpse of us relaxing in the good ole USofA!

Substance

On November 2nd I asked my blog readers to help me come up with something to blog about by asking questions about things they wanted to know. Only 5 people responded and most of them with easy questions to answer. But, leave it to Mentanna to ask something that I really had to think about. So, after a few days of thought and a few weeks with not enough time to blog I am finally ready to answer. Here is her question and my answer.

Which American trait do you like least about yourself, and which Turkish trait would you most like to adopt?

I think the American trait I like least about myself is the feeling of entitlement I have. I have noticed that we as Americans want things our way and in our timing. We have rights, and we are good at making sure our demands are met. I have mentioned this before, but I think it is important enough to mention again. When I am in America and sometimes when I am overseas I find myself expecting people to do things my way and I get upset if they don't.

In restaurants we expect the cook to prepare the food the way we want because we are paying for it. We ask for substitutions and make changes to the items offered on the menu and expect the restaurants to accommodate us. In Turkey and I would venture to say in quite a few other places in the world, people go to restaurants and order the food the way it says on the menu. They expect it to come like is says on the menu. The restaurants tell you on the menu how they cook it and if you don't want it that way you don't order it. Now, there are some places that will make exceptions, but mostly they do it their way, not mine. One sidenote...most restaurants in America don't mind making substitutions to their menus. They are happy to accommodate their customers. I have taken advantage of this quite a bit since I have been here. I am not complaining about that. It is the customer who tells the cashier at McDonalds that the french fries better be fresh and hot or she will bring them back that I have a problem with.

I also have a great example of getting my haircut in Turkey. The first time I went to a kuafor...hair salon...to get my haircut I told them how I wanted it cut. They did an okay job at following my directions, but it wasn't exactly like I had in mind. Now there was probably something lost in translation so I didn't worry about it too much. The next time I went back to the same place and told them that I didn't want my hair to be the same as the first time. I wanted something different. What did I get? Exactly the same thing. The stylist figured that he must have done something right the first time or I wouldn't have come back. I learned then that if I wanted my hair to be cut differently I either needed to go to a different salon or have a different person from that salon cut my hair. So that I didn't offend the stylist by demanding that someone else cut my hair I went somewhere else the next time I wanted my haircut. I actually like that I can go to the same stylist in America and have her do my hair the way I want and that it can be different every time. Very easy!

I think that Americans feel like we have earned the right to complain, pass judgement, and basically demand that things go our way or else. It wasn't so much like this in the 1950's and before. People were used to hardship and things not going their way. I think that when we were dealing with progress and civil rights (both good things) in the late 60's and 70's we got off track and became demanding of our own rights. We do have rights. It's how we demand that they be met that I want to flee from.

And now...

The Turkish trait I would most like to adopt is their idea of hospitality. For example...

1. Turkish picnics - they are an all day affair. You bring most of the food in grocery sacks and prepare it at the picnic. Tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, onion, and pepper chopped up and mixed together with a little oil and lemon juice makes a shepherd's salad. Turkish bread, some grilled meatballs, chicken or lamb, grilled peppers or tomatoes, mixed nuts and seeds, and fresh fruit makes for some good eating.

2. Visiting in people's homes - When we first went to Turkey I had problems with this. We would go to someone's house for dinner at 5 and they wouldn't even serve dinner until 7:30 or so. By the time they served dessert, coffee or tea, and fruit (the final course) we had been at their house for 5 hours! It was amazing. There is no such thing as a short meal or a short visit.

3. Neighbors who bring food - I love this! When Turks bring food to their neighbors they bring a real dish not a disposable one. When the dish is returned it is returned with food on it. My problem is I never know what to put on the dish when I return it. My neighbors will bring stuffed peppers, bulgur pilaf or cheese pastries (not a sweet dish) and I always wonder what they do with the muffins or cookies I put on the plate when I return it. They bring real food and I return dessert. I'm sure it says something about me, but I don't think they will like most of the American food I cook and I can't cook Turkish food nearly as well as they can.

Sorry for such a long post. Mentanna must have been tired of my fluff blogs and wanted some substance. Most of Mentanna's posts are long and full of substance and I guess she wanted some company. You can click on the link to her blog on the right side of your screen (you may have to scroll down to find her name) and read some really good stuff if you are looking for more substance! Thanks, MLG, for the great question!

'Tis the Season

I just wanted to post some pictures of our neighbor's yard. They have decorated for every holiday since we have been back. They had several inflatables in their yard for 4th of July and halloween, but their Christmas decorations take the cake. They have 12 inflatable decorations in their yard. Six of them are quite large and the other six are smaller. One is a snow globe with actual white stuff blowing around in it. You can see it to the left of the archway over the sidewalk. They also have a blow-up carousel that actually turns...on the right of the archway. Not seen in this picture is a huge santa Mickey Mouse, and you can barely make out a Christmas tree, and a snowman on the far right. The smaller inflatables are Christmas ornaments and Winnie the Pooh characters. There are lights on their house, a candy cane lined sidewalk, a flag on the side of the fence, a santa hanging from their garage roof, and signs that say "Reindeer Crossing" and "Santa stops here." Incredible. These inflatable things must be fairly new; because, I don't remember them from before we went overseas. And they aren't cheap either. To decorate this yard this much must have cost a small fortune! I took these pictures at night so you could see the lights, but during the day the inflatables really show up.


I guess there is so much electricity going through their yard they had to put up the following sign!

Will's hair....

I'm not sure what all to say about Will's hair except that it is a far cry from the pictures of his hair posted here on May 4! He loved the long shaggy hair look when we arrived back in the states, and he had just gotten his haircut. He decided to grow it out then. That was June 12, and he hasn't had a haircut since! He wanted me to email these pictures to his friends, but I decided to just post them here instead. That way you can all enjoy goldilocks!



This picture looks a little distorted, but it was the only one I took with a view from the front!

The great outdoors!

Some friends and I went away for a girls' weekend this past weekend. It was so nice to get away from the kids and the responsibilities of home and just relax! We played dominoes, ate, talked about being godly wives, ate, talked about raising godly daughters, ate, talked about heart friends and accountability, and ate some more. I don't think I felt even a tiny hunger pain the whole weekend!

As you can see from this picture we took advantage of the campfire and moved the TV outside. We watched a video called Your Girl which gave us lots of advice on how to raise godly daughters.


The girls! This picture looks a little more feminine than some I took! At least we had our legs crossed! We decided after no showers and smoky campfires for two days we looked and smelled a little manly!

Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

I realize it is a couple of weeks early, but Anna Grace has gotten us thinking about what we are thankful for. She was given a piece of paper with the same title as this blog. There were 105 empty blanks for her to fill in with things she is thankful for. This is what she came up with. I won't subject you to the spelling mistakes she made...you should be thankful for that!

family, mom, dad, Will, Jacob, Erica, friends, me, Eric, Tyler, Harley, teacher, Mrs. Fisher, church, school, Mrs. Campbell, Mrs. Lundy, Mikah, Mary Erin, Andrew, Nicholas, animals, squirrels, dog, cat, hamster, chipmunk, zebra, giraffe, body, food, drink, clothes, God, Jesus, us, grapes, bananas, pears, apples, house, everyone, TV, shirts, pants, mittens, gloves, scarf, candles, couches, chairs, pictures, camera, coconut, windows, girls, boys, cup, mug, plate, play, toys, people, Turkey, New York, Texas, Egypt, monkey, gorilla, fireplaces, computers, bible, cheetah girls, High School Musical, Zac Ephron, The Little Princess, jewelry, water, books, pillows, movies, furniture, cars, trophies, music, showers, baths, stop signs, stop lights, rocks, spirits, flowers, moon, sun, stars, earth, electricity, toilets, Jupiter, planets, coats, snow, closets, rugs, carpets

Interesting list...I know! She was proud of herself for coming up with that many.
So what are you thankful for?

Some answers.

Here are the answers to some of the questions posted by my blog readers.

1. Am I going to the craft fair tomorrow? Well, I went to the craft fair with Amy...thanks for asking...and I bought soup and dip mixes. I looked at all of the other items, but couldn't bring myself to buy anything that I was going to have to figure out how to get it back to Turkey. I kept thinking about the weight limit my bags were going to have and it was a good shopping deterant. I did see some pretty jewelry that wouldn't have taken up too much room, but we are saving for a new laptop so I just looked longingly at it and walked away.

2. Crunchy or creamy peanut butter? I am a crunchy girl myself. We usually buy both because the kids prefer the creamy, but give me some peanut butter with a little substance to it so I can justify the fat and calories.

3. When do we go back to Turkey? Well now, that is a good question. Our plan is to go back mid-January...like maybe the 11 or 12. We are still waiting on medical clearance from our company, but shouldn't have any problems.

4. Are we excited about going back? Yes and no. Erica is loving junior high in America, but will be fine once we get going. The other kids are all saying that they are ready to go back to their friends. Brian is really ready to go back, and I can do whatever. I am okay being in the states right now, but when the time comes I will be okay going back. One confession though....I might cry. I have never cried leaving America...not the first time or any of the times I have visited. This time I think I might be emotional about it. We will see.

5. What kinds of things have the kids noticed written on the bathroom stalls? Will came out of the restroom at a restaurant the other day and told Erica that if she was looking for a good time she could call Hannah at 281-***-****. We just about died. He thought that if a girl was looking for a good time she should have written her number in the girls bathroom where potential friends could read it. Oh, the innocence of youth.

6. Which country do I like better, America or Turkey? Now Abby, you know my answer. "They are very different from each other. They both have great things about them that I love. I like them equally well." Never commit to one or the other. It isn't good to bad mouth your home country or your host country.

7. Do I still make library cards for my personal books and then check them out to people? Why? Are you interested in borrrowing one? No, of course not. That is so high school! But, we do have a lot of DVD's in Turkey that we check out to people. They have to write their name in a little book along with the titles of the DVD's they are "checking out". Does that count? Those things are expensive, and after losing a few we got smart! Now we know who has what! And we are popular too...lots of people check out our movies! If you would come visit us, Mentanna, you could see if you approve of the system.

There were a couple of other serious questions that will take serious answers so I am waiting until I am in a more serious state of mind to answer them. Seriously!

Are there any questions?

I need to write a blog. I feel it. But, I don't know what to say. I keep having these moments that cause me to comment, "I am going to write a blog about that." But, when I sit down to write about them no words will come. Or I will have forgotten what it was I wanted to write about. Like now. I am thinking that I need to write a blog about how I am getting old. I am taking 6 different pills every night. All but one of them is a supplement. All have been recommended by doctors. That's it. Nothing funny or enlightening about that. It sounds good when I think about it but typed up on the computer it doesn't seem like much.

Another idea I had...when is it that your kids go from thinking you know everything to thinking you know nothing. With 4 kids in different stages of that thinking I just was wondering. And it isn't like Erica, the 13 year old, thinks I don't know what I am talking about. Deep down she realizes that I am almost always right. It's Anna Grace, the 7 year old, that seems to think that I don't have a clue. The boys don't seem to have a problem in this area. Jacob questions when he thinks I might possibly be wrong about something but usually takes my word for it. And Will, well who knows what he thinks! He seems to be pretty sure of what he thinks and doesn't ask for our opinion or advice much. Okay...so that is it for that topic.

I have also thought about writing about how while in America I am expecting more of people than I do in Turkey. I ask more of waiters...sauce on the side, no eggs even though the meal comes with them, substitutions. I don't know if it is because I know that they are used to it and expect to serve me or if it is because I can speak their language. In Turkey I might ask for sauce on the side except that would mean I would need to know how to say it in Turkish. And then I would wonder if they would be happy to get it for me or just think I am a demanding American.

All of these and many more thoughts have been floating around in my head. I just don't know how to write about them. I think I am in a slump. I was speaking to a group about our experiences overseas, and when I was done with what I had to say I took questions. Maybe that is what I need to do now. While I am in this slump....not able to come up with much to say myself...what do you want want me to write about? What do you want to know? Please...I am taking questions!

South Carolina

Brian and I were priviledged to spend several days last week in Lexington, South Carolina. We went to a conference at Lexington Baptist Church and ended up getting much more than we ever anticipated. Our host family, Bryan and Cindy Herring, was great! They are big Clemson Tiger fans as the following pictures will show. A fellow conference attendee told me that when she moved to SC she was told she had to decide if she was going to be a South Carolina fan or a Clemson fan. It was true! We were only there 5 days, and we, too, had to make that choice! Of course it was much easier because of who we were living with!
. I had to take a picture the second day we were with the Herrings because for the second day in a row they were dressed in Clemson clothing! Notice the paw prints on the pants! That night we went to a family member's television store and watched the Clemson game on a big screen TV. They won 63-9! At least we chose a winning team! The chairs, plates, and cups were all orange! Their great niece was also there dressed as a Clemson cheerleader!

The next night I took a picture of the Herrings and Brian who was wearing as close to orange as he wanted. Being a Baylor alumni it was a major step to wear burnt orange, but he figured it was closer to Clemson's colors than green and gold.

Not satisfied with the burnt orange, Bryan Herring bought Brian a Clemson shirt and cap to wear the next day! It only took three days to win him over!


While we were driving around on Saturday afternoon we saw a stand that sold boiled peanuts. I mentioned to Cindy that one of the guys on our team in Turkey loves boiled peanuts and even got some in a package that he shared with us. That night for a snack she made some for us to try...fresh, hot, boiled peanuts anyone? These pictures are for you, Patrick!

OOB

I keep thinking about needing to write a new blog, but the problem is I am not in town. I can write a blog from out of town obviously, but we have been really busy so I haven't had the time to do it. We actually go home tomorrow, Oct. 15, and I have plans for a blog. It will have pictures. So for now I leave you with what we call an OOB in Turkey. An OOB is what we send in to our supervisors when we go out of town. OOB stands for Out of Bed.

OOB
Who - Brian and Natalie
Where - Lexington, South Carolina
Dates - October 11-15
Why - M conference
How can I be reached? (insert telephone number here) I don't want everyone in cyberspace to know my phone number so I won't insert it myself!

Stay tuned for pictures from Lexington!

Yummy!

I was reading the newspaper this morning and saw a picture of this yummy fruit basket. I looked them up online and was really impressed with how pretty these baskets look. They even had a veggie version. I guess this is the health conscience person's version of the cookie bouquet! One could do this himself if one wanted...Abby, next time someone tells you to bring the fruit this is what I expect to see! No fruit on toothpicks allowed! And so I don't get in trouble for taking these pictures from someone else's website I'll tell you where I found them! www.fruitflowers.com and www.gourmet-cookie-bouquets.com. I don't know anyone who works at these places...I'm just impressed with their artistic abilities!
I think they almost look too good to eat! I said almost....

Did you know...

Did you know...

CSI is currently filming in 15 different cities including Las Vegas, New York, and Miami. CSI:Waco coming to a television near you!

Everything really is bigger in Texas. The mosquitos look like small birds!

You seldom get asked to read your bible in church if all you carry is a Turkish bible.

The restaurant service industry expects you to complain so they replace foods that look too well done or are not substantial enough, and bring refills on drinks before you can even drink 1/3 of them. e.g. "Here are some more pancakes. The others I brought looked too done." "This bloomin' onion is too small. I ordered another one for you."

Watching poker on TV is much more exciting than playing it in real life.

American products such as nacho cheese, bacon bits, peanut butter, crunchy cheetos, and shredded wheat taste better when someone brings them to us in Turkey than they do when we buy them ourselves from the stores here.

You can email your digital photos to Walmart and they will print them in an hour!

Being able to choose from 8 different college football games on TV is not as exciting as Brian thought it would be, and trying to watch all of them at the same time gives his thumb a workout!

A 24 count box of crayola crayons only costs a quarter during back to school sales!

When you have nothing to do and lots of time to do it in going fire ant hunting is a noteworthy event!

Ask me!

Brian went to the eye doctor today to see what could be done about his hazy PRK eye. He has one eye that sees fine up close and at a distance, but the other eye can't see very well at a distance. The doctor told him that he could get glasses if he wanted but that it really wasn't necessary. He opted to get them and just use them for driving and other activities when clarity is nice...golf, baseball games, etc. This isn't what I want you to ask me about or why I am writing; however, the visit reminded me of a funny story about Anna Grace getting her eyes checked in January. The problem is the story is only funny if I tell it to you. I can't describe it well enough on this blog to do it justice. Then I was at church tonight and a friend reminded me of a story about Jacob questioning our job. Again, not something I can share on this blog. So I thought I would write a blog to tell you that I have these funny stories to tell. If you see me and want to hear funny kid stories ask. There is also one about Will learning how to spell words in English....only funny if you hear it. I'm sure I can probably come up with something funny that Erica has done as well, but I need to think about it! And....she is 13 so she might die of humiliation if I share stories about her!

Other Discoveries

I was at the grocery store yesterday and noticed more new items I hadn't seen before. First of all I saw brown marshmallows. They weren't a yummy looking chocolate brown...kind of a dirty brown. They were called Toasted marshmallows and they were covered with toasted coconut. They actually looked pretty gross but would probably taste great in a s'more. I didn't buy them...maybe next time.

There was also an item called Cottonelle for Kids. I had seen a coupon for it and couldn't imagine why they would make a special toilet paper for kids. The package said that it helps kids learn how much to use. Evidently kids follow paw prints printed on the paper to a puppy and then tear it off there. It looks like about 5 squares. I thought this sounded silly, but wonder if I should buy some for Jacob! That boy uses more toilet paper than anyone I know!

Until next time...

What's new?

I have watched a lot of TV over the last few weeks, and I have been to the grocery store quite a bit since we have been in the states. I can't believe how many different food choices we have! It is amazing! I noticed on a commercial for TGI Fridays they have a couple of new appetizers. Fried macaroni and cheese bites...what?!? How do you make macaroni and cheese more fattening...fry it! It actually sounds interesting to me, and I wouldn't mind tasting it. I just can't imagine it. They also have green bean fries. They must not have liked the fact that green beans were so healthy. I guess it would be similar to fried zuchini. Sounds kinda yummy to me.

We have also noticed that almost every kind of candy bar has an ice cream with the same name. They also come in super size, regular size, miniatures, and bite size. You can have your chocolate in any size or shape you want!

Another thing I found interesting is how all of the snack items come in the old package sizes and new 100 calorie packages. I guess they are trying to control our portion sizes for us since we haven't been too good at it ourselves. They have cookies, crackers, gummy snacks, and other fun things in the new 100 calorie packs.

Lastly, we are somewhat concerned about Olive Garden's never-ending pasta bowl. You can create as many pasta and sauce combinations as you want. Those people who only had a 100 calorie snack pack at snack time must be starving when dinnertime comes! Olive Garden knows this and is coming through for them! I think the commercial said there were 42 different combinations!

So what do you think? Have you heard of any new food items that I might have missed? Let me know!

Football...Texas Style!

Will's one request when we came back to the states was to be able to play American football. We signed him up for the local team and he started practicing. Practices are three evenings a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday and the games are on Saturdays! Who knew we were making such a time committment? Then last week they had a pep rally on Friday night. This week they have to go on Tuesday evening for team pictures! I had no idea what we were getting ourselves into! Right after football started they had a parent meeting to let us know what all we could expect. One thing that the coach said really shocked us. He said that the kids would be weighed every week before the game to make sure they "made weight". He said that he did not want kids starving themselves before the games to be able to make weight. Then he said the limit was 145 lbs! For a 10 year old! I could not believe that some kids would have to starve themselves to be under 145 lbs! So after a couple of weeks of practices they did their first weigh-in. This wasn't for a game but just to let the kids know where they stood. After weighing Will there was much discussion about him being too light to play. He weighed 62 pounds in full pads! The coaches decided to move him to the 9 year old team...I have no idea what their weight limit is! He was a little disappointed but he is no longer the smallest on the team and as a mom, I am thankful that 145 lbs kids won't have the opportunity to tackle him! These pictures are from his first game. During the first quarter Will recovered a fumble by the other team while being surrounded by their guys. The announcer said..."Fumble recovered by the panthers number 87 Willlllll Dixonnnnnnnnnnnn. He heard it and loved it! We cheered like crazy people!

Number 87, Willlllllllll Dixonnnnnnnnnn



Will went in and out every other play to deliver the play to the huddle. It was so fun to watch the coach interact with him. The coach told him "stay with me" then would tell him the play and he would run in to deliver it.

Just as good as we remember!

As most of you know we were really looking forward to the food in America. Now don't get me wrong, the food in Turkey is really good but they are missing some of our favorites. We love seafood, and their seafood pretty much consists of fresh fish and mussels. You can get some other seafood dishes, but they aren't prepared the same as in America. We were especially looking forward to eating at one of our favorite restaurants, Pappadeaux's. Many people warned us that it probably wouldn't be as good as we remembered it to be. They said that they were disappointed in their favorite places when they came back for a visit because they had built them up so much in their minds, and then they didn't taste as good as they remembered. We didn't believe that we could be disappointed. We had already been back to the states for visits twice, and both times we ate at Pappadeaux's and it was still good! Soon after arriving in America, Brian and I went to Pappadeaux's for lunch. It was still yummy! Here are our favorite dishes!


Brian loves the crawfish platter! On the right you see fried crawfish tails. On the left is crawfish ettouffe, and in the middle is dirty rice. He always eats the fried crawfish first and then mixes the rice with the ettouffe and eats that. He says he eats it this way because if he can't finish his meal the fried crawfish doesn't taste very good reheated but the ettouffe does! Planning ahead so as not to waste good food...good thinking!

This is a shrimp po-boy...my favorite...basically a fried shrimp sandwich. According to my brother-in-law the pickles are the best part! The other day we went to lunch at Pappadeaux's and I decided to branch out a little. The meals always come with french bread so I decided to get the fried seafood platter. That is basically 3 fried shrimp, a decent portion of fried crawfish tails, and a piece of fried catfish. I had the great idea of making three different small sandwiches by using the bread that came with the meal. It was missing the lettuce and pickles, but that wasn't a big deal to me. I made a little sandwich with the shrimp first and ate that then could barely eat anything else! I had to have the server pack up the rest of the meal so I could take it home to eat later. My mistake had been eating a piece of bread with butter while we were waiting for our food to come. I had filled up on bread! I don't know how many times I have heard Brian say, "Don't fill up on bread." The waitress asked if I liked my meal when I asked her to pack it up, and I told her that I was really full because I had eaten too much bread. I don't know if she believed me or not! I had left the whole piece of catfish, all of the french fries, and almost all of the crawfish on my plate! If she only knew how much I love Pappadeaux's! Before coming back to America I had dreams about it, and this is the second blog I've written about it! The only disappointment in the whole experience was that my stomach couldn't hold all the food on my plate so I had to eat the rest later. Oh, and I agree with Brian. The fried crawfish didn't taste as good when I reheated it for lunch the next day. He is so smart!

Straight up...or almost!

I just wanted to write a quick little post to let everyone know that I am doing well. The surgery went fine and I am recovering. The doctor said that during surgery they removed 12 pounds of skin and fat. I am really fascinated by the whole thing. They removed all the skin from my belly button to just below my c-section scar. The c-section scar may gone but now I will have one from hipbone to hipbone. Brian says it looks like a magic trick gone wrong...like someone tried to cut me in half or something. Then they used the existing belly button but cut a new opening for it. I can't really tell a difference yet because I am pretty swollen and I am wearing bandages, a piece of foam for support and a really tight girdle like thing to help hold things in. When I got home I couldn't even tell by getting on the scale. I weighed the same as I did the morning of my surgery. Now it looks like I have dropped a few pounds but certainly not 12. I am getting tired of sleeping on my back, and it is still too uncomfortable to sleep on my side. I haven't even tried my stomach yet! I can stand up pretty straight but the muscles are really tight and sore if I stretch them too much. They say that it takes a couple of weeks to be able to walk upright again. The doctor said that I had quite a gap between the muscles in my stomach. He basically sewed the right side back to the left side. Again. I am fascinated. I know that diet and exercise would not have been able to rid me of the flap but would it have made the muscles move back together? I can't imagine how.

Thanks for praying for me and for the encouraging notes!

To tell or not to tell...

I have been contemplating for a while now sharing a secret with you. Actually most of my really close friends already know this secret so I guess it really isn't a secret. Just something that I am not sure how to share because I don't know what kinds of reactions I will get. But then I thought people will soon begin to guess the secret so rather than having gossip go around about me I should be the one to spill the beans. So here goes...

I am having surgery...an elective procedure. Many of you know that I have been working on losing weight. The grand total at one point was 44 pounds over a 2 1/2 year period. I must admit I have gained back 8-10 pounds just since I have been in the states though! Too much TexMex and ice cream! Anyway...after losing the weight I have been plagued by excess skin...maybe too much information for some folks! So after meeting with a plastic surgeon I have decided to undergo a tummy tuck. This will remove the extra skin from my stomach plus they will repair the stomach muscles and do some liposuction to even things out. This surgery does NOT shrink my stomach or involve any gastic bypass whatsoever. It is not designed to help me eat less. I am not doing this to lose weight but that will be a benefit. I am doing it so that the pants that fit around my stomach also fit around my waist without having to be taken in. I am doing this because after 4 c-sections no amount of dieting was going to rid me of "the flap" as we so affectionally call it. I am doing this because I want to, not because anyone else thinks I should. I am not ashamed to tell anyone, just worried that people will judge my motives or think less of me. I don't want people to be disappointed in me. I am telling you this so you can be comfortable and so I will be comfortable. I have been really open in small circles and think that people deserve to know and not wonder. If you have any questions feel free to ask. I would be happy to talk about it. And pray for me! My surgery is scheduled for August 14, at 7:30am central time. The recovery period is supposed to be about 8 weeks, but I will still have nerve damage and some slight swelling for up to 6 months! The first two weeks will be the hardest and most painful according to my doctor so I probably won't be online or out much if any. When you see me don't be shy. If you want to know something...ask!

It ain't so easy!

Okay...did I say living in America is easy? I think after the last couple of days I have changed my mind! I have been trying to register the kids for school but it hasn't happened yet! We went to Erica's new school the other day and started the process. We got to the form that said something about "proof of residency" and that is where we had to stop. I can't prove that I live in this house! The address on my driver's license is my parent's address since we consider that our permanent stateside address. I don't want to change it and then have to change it back in 3 months. There are no bills in my name. I don't have a lease agreement. I just am. How does this work? On one form I thought about checking the box that said we were living in a temporary shelter. That could include a car or an abandoned building according to the paper. I thought I could say we are living in this abandoned house...that my parents happen to own. Or we are living in our car which is parked in the driveway of a house my parents happen to own. I thought that might cause more problems so instead we went today to get approval from the head honcho on admissions and he said we could go to school. Yea! I was starting to sweat thinking about homeschooling the kids. Instead of going back to finish Erica's school registration we decided to go to the the other kids' school first. We got all of our copies made and then got stuck on the shot records. The nurse did seem a little puzzled when she saw that all of our kids have had rabies shots. She must have been envisioning a pack of rabid dogs attacking us. I explained our situation and we now need to have approval for all of the shots we had before we left. I compiled all of our records onto these nice yellow cards we got from our company but we never had any nurse or doctor sign it. The records aren't valid until I have a doctor sign them. This actually makes sense to me so we went to the old pediatrician office where we discovered that in our 4 1/2 year absence from America our records have been put in storage. Well, all but Will's, but I think we just got lucky there! So we now have to pay $35 per child to have the records pulled so we can get a copy of the shot records in them. We are supposed to go back next week and pick them up and hopefully at that point be able to complete the registration process. One thing I am figuring out is that we are weird. I guess I already knew that, but I never thought so much about it. We don't fit anyone's criteria or into anyone's box. People hear that we are in the states for a few months and don't know what to do with us. Who knew that we would cause such problems just trying to go to school?

On a side note...Will went to the doctor today because he has a cough and hasn't been feeling well. He has a bronchial infection and was given a prescription for an antibiotic. When I took it to the pharmacy the pharmacist asked when I would like to come back to pick up the prescription. I asked her how long it would take to fill it and she said if I wanted to wait it would only be about 15 minutes. I waited. All I could think was I am not coming back later! I haven't accomplished anything at all because I keep having to come back later. I wanted to be able to say that I had at least finished something!