Christmas in Shreveport

After visiting Pawpaw in Houston, we made our way up to Shreveport to spend some time with Honey and Papa.  We had the most wonderful visit with them and made lots of memories.  The day after we arrived, the girls were able to open their Christmas presents and all of their goodies from Honey and Papa.

Had to throw this next picture in there for laughs.  Olivia was tired of the pictures and Savannah was eyeing her Christmas presents.  :)

We were also able to hang out with close friends while we were there, although I didn't do a good job of getting very many pictures.  Here are a few shots of Savannah and Luke playing and sweet baby Caleb snoozing.

Perhaps one of the greatest highlights of the trip was a set of special visitors.  We were so disappointed that Savannah and Olivia were not able to visit Santa Claus again this year because we were in Saudi, but he must have heard!  Right before we left Shreveport, we were so surprised to have Santa and Mrs. Claus walk through my parent's door!!!  We were so excited that the girls would get to meet him and have their picture taken with him after all!  I wasn't quite sure if Savannah would be afraid of them or not, but my fears were completely unjustified.  She was absolutely MESMERIZED by Santa!  Of course, Santa and Mrs. Claus were so friendly and kind as well.  It was truly a spectacular surprise!  Thanks for making a special trip Santa and Mrs. Claus!

We had a fabulous Christmas in Shreveport and enjoyed every minute with Honey and Papa!

Heading Home and a Visit with Pawpaw

The day after Christmas we packed our bags and got ready to head back to the US for a visit.  While going home is always exciting, it is a lot of work.  Here's a look at what we brought back with us, and believe it or not. this is packing light for a 3 week vacation.

We waited in the Dammam airport lounge for our flights and the girls did great!

We were able to get a good bit of sleep on our first leg- thank the Lord!

Our layover in Amsterdam went well and gave us a much needed opportunity to stretch our legs and walk around!

Once we made it to Houston the girls were absolutely exhausted!  Fortunately they slept almost the entire time from landing to getting our rental car, so that made passport control and luggage so much easier!  These pictures make me laugh, especially when Savannah decided to sleep on her stomach.

After we got settled in our rental, we headed straight to my grandfather's house in West Columbia.  My parents had spent Christmas with him and were also there waiting for our arrival.  It was wonderful to be back together as a family!

The next day we enjoyed visiting with Pawpaw and my cousin Laura and other cousin Kimberly came over with Kimberly's kids.  Laura and Brent took the kids out on the mule and they had a blast!  We had a fantastic time visiting together- which doesn't happen often enough!  :)

It was so nice to be back home, and we had a fantastic time at Pawpaw's!