Last Sunday morning, most of the people in our church were asking me how did my citizenship interview go? I told them that it went alright and I have answered all the questions and I passed it. They were all so happy and they congratulated me. I thanked them for all their prayers. If you have read in my previous post, I wrote there that I had requested my church to pray for me and they did. During the evening service last Sunday, Pastor Turner had announced in the church that I passed my citizenship interview and he congratulated me. I really didn’t expect that he will do that and I was elated. Bro. Allen told me to inform him when will be my oath ceremony because he wanted to attend. He said he will not go to work that day because he wanted to cheer for me when I will swear in and say the Oath Of Allegiance. My friend Ann told me that she already asked her mom-in-law to bake a cake for me for that day and decorate it with US flags. It’s so sweet of her.

Well, I’m still waiting for the USCIS to notify me when will be the schedule of my oath ceremony. The past few days I have been gathering information on how to acquire a dual citizenship. This will be the next step that I gonna do after I will get my US citizenship and US passport. I want to retain my Philippine citizenship because hubby and I are planning to go back there in God’s perfect time. I already printed the form in applying for a dual citizenship and when the time comes, I’ll file it to the Philippine Consulate in Houston. I’m glad that they honor dual citizenship in my country.

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Hey guys! I went for my citizenship test and interview this morning in Dallas. My interview time was scheduled at 9:55 AM. My hubby and I arrived in Dallas 45 minutes earlier because we spent the night at the house of our friends, Bro. Jesse and Ms. Sue in Alvarado. It was only a 48 minute drive to Dallas. There were many people who were waiting for their turn to be interviewed and tested when we arrived. It took me like forever waiting for my name to be called. Of course I was anxious of what would be the questions that they gonna asked me. But I have studied the reviewer that they gave me when I had my finger prints taken and I memorized all of it. I was confident that I can answer all the questions. By the way, weeks before my interview, I’ve been praying to God that I can pass the test and interview and that I will have a good and kind interviewing officer. I also requested my church to pray for my citizenship interview.

When it’s time for my name to be called, I went in and the interviewing officer looks like Asian. He was smiling to me and he looks so kind. While he was interviewing me, I saw his full name in his certificate hanging on the wall. I told him his name was a popular name in the Philippines. It was a name of one of our past presidents. He smiled and he said, maybe that’s his grandpa. Then he told me that he was born in the Philippines and he is a Filipino. A coincidence? No, I believe it’s an answer to my prayer that God will give me a good and kind interviewing officer. Then it’s time for the test and he asked me questions and I answered all of them correctly and quickly. After the 6th question, he stopped. Then he tested me to read and write. After that he told me, I passed the test. But he asked me to submit a police clearance through mail because my fingerprints was not processed. Remember I blogged here a few weeks ago that I had my fingerprints taken twice because the computer can’t read my fingerprints and still they weren’t able to process it the 2nd time. They said my fingerprints are worn out or better to say they’re not easy to see. So after I will send them the police clearance, then they will notify me when will be my oath ceremony.

So that’s it guys. I’m finally done with my citizenship interview and test and I passed it with flying colors. The test and interview lasted for twenty three minutes. Thank you Lord!!!

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This morning, hubby and I accompanied Mary Ann to Fort Worth for her biometrics. She had asked my hubby to drive for her because Jeff had to go to work. So the three of us went there and we arrived at La Gran Plaza Mall at 11:00 AM. She went in at the CIS office and asked if she can have her finger prints taken but they told her to wait for her scheduled time which is 12:00 noon. So we roamed around the mall and I saw a pair of sandals that caught my eye and I bought it. Whew! Me and my addiction of buying footwears. I’m still waiting for the 2 pairs of sandals and 1 pair of shoes that I bought online. There goes my blogging money again.


Then at exactly 12:00 noon they let in Mary Ann in and had her biometrics taken. It only took 15 minutes and she was done. Since we were already in Fort Worth, we decided to dropped by at Botanic Garden and have some picture taking. It was my 3rd time to go there and it was Ann’s 1st time to see the garden. The garden don’t have that much flowers as before. We just walked a little bit, took some photos and we left.

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Our friends Arlene and Raul are moving to Japan two weeks from now. They are good friends of ours and hubby and I will surely gonna miss them. I told them before that I will miss the supply of crappy fish from Raul and most of all their friendship. Arlene also had given me some of her clothes in the past and some of it are still brand new with the price tags still intact. She gave me signature bags and shoes too.

Then last weekend, they came in our house and they gave us 2 balikbayan boxes and two bags full of clothes. I sorted it out yesterday and those clothes are still in very good condition and mostly signature clothes too for me and my hubby. Some are still brand new with the price tags still intact. There are also a couple of ladies shoes, hair iron and curl and a nice display frame. I will send some of it to my family in the Philippines. I told Arlene that it’s like I’ve been to a big garage
sale with all the stuffs that they gave us. They’re really a blessing to us and I pray that the good Lord will guide and protect them as they go to Japan. We told them to keep in touch with us even when they’re already in another country.

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Last Saturday, my hubby took me to the optometrist to have my eyes checked. I think my eyes were strained because of too much exposure in the computer. My vision is getting blurry now especially when I read my Bible. I have 2 eyeglasses which I brought here from the Philippines but they need to be upgraded. They’re not that clear no more. The optometrist was so fast in checking up my vision. He kept changing the glasses so quick that I didn’t even have enough time to see it clearly. It turned out that my left eye is blurry than my right eye. He prescribed a bifocal glasses for me.

I went to Eye Mart to buy my eyeglasses and they have a sale for $108 for 2 eyeglasses with plastic frames. I asked them if they can just replace the lenses of my old eyeglasses from the Philippines s so I can save money for the frame but they said they can’t replace it because they’re not the ones who made the frames. What an excuse! In the Philippines, any optometrist can replace the old lenses even they’re not the ones who made the frames. But here, they can’t? They just want to sell frames and make more money, huh!. So my eyeglasses were finished today and I got it this afternoon. When I tried it, I got a little dizzy. The lady told me that it would be for a while till my eyes will get used to it. I don’t know if I can wear this eyeglasses everyday. My eyes are not really used to wearing it. Maybe I will just have to lessen my time in the computer. This caused the strain in my eyes. But right now, I’m using it. See below my photos using my 2 new eyeglasses and my 2 old eyeglasses respectively.

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Today, hubby and I celebrated memorial day by cooking some foods and we invited one couple who are our friends from our church, Bro. Hugh and his wife Ms. Mareta. Bro. Hugh is our Sunday School teacher and he was the one who invited us to go with them on vacation last year in Oklahoma and we attended the Balloon Festival in Tahlequah. They paid the vacation house where we stayed and they were really a blessing to us. We had a good time with them there last year.

My hubby cooked roast beef in the slow cooker and also he prepared potato salad, dinner rolls and he made banana pudding for our dessert while I cooked pancit and lumpia. Hubby and I make a good cooking team! Well, our friends enjoyed the food that we prepared and we had a good time chatting with them after we ate. I gave them foods to take home afterwards. It’s a simple celebration but hubby and I enjoyed the company of our friends.
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It was Mother’s Day yesterday and we had a get together party here in our house. My friend Ging-Ging and her hubby Craig of Maryland came by here together with their friends Josephine and Jeffrey and there daughter. Ging and Craig drove all the way from San Antonio to Dallas to our place in Wichita Falls. It’s a long drive back and forth. Ann and I cooked the foods. Ann cooked pork and chicken adobo and sinigang na bangus and I cooked pancit, lumpia, meatloaf and pecan pie. My hubby made banana pudding. We invited our friends Arlene and Raul and they brought fruit salad, ripe mangoes, native cake and they also gave me some groceries. What a blessing! James and Sofia were still in the house and we really had a blast. We had a good time being with them and my hubby and I were so glad to meet them all. This is the second time that I met Ging and Craig and it’s my first time to meet Josie and Jeffrey and their daughter. They are very nice couple and I really like them. Their daughter is a cutie. It’s my hubby’s first time to meet the 2 said couples and he was really impress with them. He said he had a good talk to Craig and Jeffrey and he really likes them. We really had a blast yesterday and it’s been a good celebration of Mother’s Day with all the Filipino foods that we had. We’re looking forward to have Ging and Craig here again in a couple of months with Jeffrey and Josie and of course Ann and Jeff. Here are some photos that we took. I’ll post more in my friendster profile.

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My hubby and I attended the reunion party of his kinfolks in Burleson yesterday. We were not supposed to go because we were low on money for the gas but on Friday night, we decided to go. I told my hubby that’s it’s his opportunity to see his siblings and kinfolks that he haven’t seen in a long time. Maybe this is the only chance we can go because we might be in the Philippines next year already. So we drove there and the party started at 11:00 AM but the eating time started at past 1:00 PM. A lot of people attended the reunion and my hubby’s siblings were there except Glen and Junie. It was my first time to meet Janet, hubby’s youngest sister. Sherry was there too with Jason. I almost didn’t recognized George’s aunt June because she have a short hair cut now. Well, there were lots of foods and the weather was great. It was cool and windy and the cool breeze made me sleepy after we ate. Hubby and I had a good time and we drove back home after the party.

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