Interview

I’ve been interviewed by Daja.

1. What's one dream you had when you were younger that you are now glad never came true?

To be a jet-setting corporate business woman. I can’t even imagine how stressed I would be! I’m so glad God changed my priorities before I got too far along in that endeavor!

2. What's the best part of growing up?

Gaining wisdom. Hopefully, I grow up a bit each day.

3. What is your favorite pair of shoes and why? (Show a picture!)

Okay, this is a really hard question! I love shoes.

I think it would be this pair. They are the ones I wore to Sarah-Kate’s wedding. They are getting a little worn. I saw one rhinestone was out of one corner of the buckle. :-(



4. What is the scariest thing you've ever done?

Testified in court. Enough said about that!

5. Name your top three pet-peeves.

I’m not sure these are my top three. They are, though, the first three I thought of.

a. Child-run adults. They are unhappy and they make everyone around them unhappy, too. (I was going to change this sentence to emphasize that I was referring to the children being unhappy, but then realized that most child-run adults are unhappy too. At least frazzled, if not unhappy!)

b. Immodest clothing – whether that means too much skin or too tight. A good guideline is “tight enough to show that you are a woman, loose enough to show that you are a lady.”

c. A woman saying that she gets along better with men than with women. Might be true, but why? That’s the question that bears some personal study and reflection.

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Now that you’ve read my interview, you can all play along! All you need is a blog!

Here’s what you do:

1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.” (If I don’t have your email address already, either leave it in the comment or email me at abdelaziz@tcsn.net.

2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.

3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.

4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.

5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Ihbeleg's Dedication Reception

Over the last (almost) six years, I have given various types of receptions for each of my grandchildren. It is one of my joys to celebrate everything with a party. On Mother’s Day afternoon, I gave a reception for my newest grandson, Ihbeleg Dale Gombojav. He was dedicated to the Lord at Harvest Rock Church in Pasadena, California, in their morning service.

This was a dessert reception. I served Coconut Cream Cake with Lemon & Lime Filling, Brownie Fudge Bites, Greek Butter Cookies, and Caramel Cream Cookies. I also had a cheese and fruit platter that included grapes, strawberries, dried apricots, Chèvre, Brie, and Cheddar. Hazelnut coffee, red tea, and limeade were our beverages.

Meg performed a worship dance to “Be Thou My Vision” with her Titi (Auntie Sarah-Kate).


I was amazed at how many people showed up. Remember, Gana and Daja have only been in Pasadena for less than five months. Represented that day were members of their church home group, a co-worker of Gana’s, couples from their community group, Fuller students, relatives, pastors of a Mongolian church in Los Angeles, Mongolians, a doctor (and her brother) from the Ivory Coast, and friends from childhood that now live in Pasadena. They are definitely surrounding themselves with a community of friends.

Little Belgee (one of his many nicknames) was handsome in the cute white outfit his godmother, Carey Plowman, bought him. I think he enjoyed basking in all the attention.


It was a good day.

I'm a little bugged.......

I’ll tell you why.

My daughter’s mother-in-law, Googormaa, lives in Mongolia. She has never been to the United States and was hoping to come visit this summer. She has never met her two youngest grandsons, Caesar and Ihbeleg. She jumped through all the legal hoops and properly applied for a U.S. visa. She was denied. They said there wasn’t enough evidence that she would return to her own country. She has no desire to remain in the U.S. She doesn’t even speak English! She owns her own home, has very long-term employment and is the highest ranking research doctor in the country. She is close to 60 years old. What would she do here? She couldn’t practice medicine! She has traveled abroad before and has, of course, returned every time. She cried when she called with the news.

The young girl who lived next to Googormaa is in the United States. She has an expired visa and is living with her boyfriend whose visa is also expired. She is pregnant. Her mother has just been issued a visa to come to the U.S. to visit her!

We also seem to be bending over backwards to figure out a way to let millions of Mexican citizens stay in our country who didn’t even try to apply for a visa.

So, why would our government be so concerned over one grandma with a wonderful track record, professional background, and homeowner? Their reasoning is that since she owns her home, she could rent it out and have income. Since she is intelligent and has a career, she could more easily get a job in the U.S.

So, what’s the idea? We will let you into our country as long as you are not educated or self-sufficient? If you come to our county and apply for food stamps, health care, and demand we educate your children according to your standards, you can come? If you will only do the menial work we don’t want to, you can come?

It seems to me that we need to have a more consistent standard. Nah, I think our standard is that if you do the right thing, you won’t be allowed. If you do the sneaky thing, we will reward you. As you can tell……..

I’m bugged.

Not Just Any Clouds

Today is Abishai's third birthday. He and his mother are out celebrating. First lunch at his favorite restaurant, La Mexicana, and then to the zoo! Maybe even a haircut, which he asked for! Happy Birthday, Abishai!

Yesterday, he was being a little quiet in his room. As all mothers know, that can sometimes be worrisome. So, Serena calls out to him as she is going to his room, "Abishai, what are you doing?" He yells back, "I'm making cumulus clouds!"