Moving Out, Moving On
October 6, 2005

Friends:

It's been a while since my last blog because I have been so busy. So much has been going on!

First, the good stuff. Yesterday, I had a performance at the Pasadena Library. Linda Befeld, the children's librarian and an excellent storyteller, hired me. She arranged with the local cable station to film my show so it will appear on Channel 16 on Monday, October 10, 2005 if you are in the Pasadena, TX area. At first, I had a small group of kids but as the show progressed, the room filled up. We had so much fun. We sang, they played instruments, we danced, and the children and grown-ups participated in my stories. I performed a Potpourri of stories including my popular "Rockin' 3 Billy Goats," "La Hormiguita" (in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month), and "The Viper," a cool spooky story with a surprise ending to celebrate Halloween. At the end, the kids stood up and played instruments and danced while I performed my song "World Fiesta." It was a blast. Linda was impressed and hired me to perform again at her library. It was a great day.

Then my brother and I found out that we were selected to receive some funds from a local foundation to help us get back on our feet. We are going to use the funds to help us furnish an apartment. We are anxious to get beds for the kids, who for the first few weeks, were sleeping on the floor. Now they have air mattresses but we would like to get them in real beds
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I just finished teaching the last of my four-part Story Biz telecourse through Storyteller.net. It was a great experience and all the participants enjoyed the classes thoroughly. Sean Buvala wants to work with me again to host more telecourses next year. Yay!

Eliana, my kindergartener, received her report card and scored all excellent marks. She is at first grade level on most of her skills and even scored fourth grade level on some of her skills. She has adjusted quite well to her new school academically. Her teacher called me the other night and told me that I didn't need to participate in the parent-teacher conference because Eliana had adjusted so well in her class, both academically and emotionally. Needless to say, that makes me very happy.

Now the other stuff. Clay (my stepdad) has permanently moved out, splitting his time between trying to get the house fixed and staying with my mom in Fort Worth. Antonio and his parents have gone back home. Gary and I are now alone with the kids, relying on each other for help. He has asked me for a tutorial on how to fix his girls' hair (so important especially once we get our own place).

After an extensive search for new housing, it seemed as though things were going so well because my brother and I found two bedroom town houses near our kids' school. It was perfect, with a private carport, lots of storage, a washer and dryer included, and a large swimming pool. We were supposed to be receiving housing assistance from the City of Houston with a voucher system. We were approved for the apartments and even had the electricity accounts set up when the apartment manager called us and gave us bad news. They didn't participate in that particular voucher program. We were back to square one. Housing in Houston is hard to come by because of the numbers of evacuees still here.

So Gary began searching again and found another complex. These were duplexes in Stafford, Texas which is about 25 minutes from where we are. It's still the Houston metro area but a lot further than we had originally wanted to relocate. But the duplexes turned out to be very nice with three bedrooms, washer and dryers included, and lots of space. They are relatively new and have lots of modern amenities. There are playground areas for the kids all over the complex. The complex is very kid-friendly. Gary and I found out that they did participate in the voucher program and we scooped up the last two units available. Then, as we sat down to fill out the paperwork, we discovered that we were provided the wrong paperwork and didn't have the voucher the complex needed to process our application and award us the housing. (The City of Houston is working with FEMA to provide evacuees with 6 months of free housing). The apartment manager was very nice and told us he would hold the two units for us, giving us a chance to secure the vouchers we need.

So now, we have an appointment with FEMA at the Disaster Relief Center in Houston to expedite our housing application and provide us with the voucher. I am on pins and needles hoping and praying that this will go through and we can move in. Please say a prayer for us that this housing situation will work out in our favor. Thank you.

So that is where we are now. I am excited to be moving out and moving on, yet sad at the same time. Though our house was crowded and chaotic at times, my whole family was there. Now, it's a lot quieter and my brother said, "I kind of got used to having everybody around. Now I'm bored so I sleep early." I will miss everyone, especially my husband. Eliana cried on and off since she arrived home from school. She teared up talking to him on the phone. And today, she wouldn't let go of my hand when we went out. Soleil talks it out with her friends on the computer, instant messaging with her friends.

We have a new life now. We have to move on.

Until next time...