Weekend Change-Up

Living in a country ruled by a monarchy is quite an adjustment to living in the States.  In the US it takes  lots of time, numerous committees, and discussion to decide on big changes.  This is different in Saudi. When a person in charge wants to change something, boom- it's done.  Here's an example, during my first two years teaching here we had two different instances when a holiday was declared the morning of for various reasons (one was the return of the king to the country).  

Right before I left to go home for Olivia's birth, a major change was declared in the kingdom.  The weekend here has always been on Thursday and Friday, as of next weekend, it will shift to Friday and Saturday.  This will allow businesses to have more overlap days with the West and should be very beneficial.  It took me at least six months to get used to the weekend being on Thursday and Friday, so I know it's going to take a while for me to adjust it once again.  Haha!  Only in the Kingdom!

A Quick Visit to Pawpaw's House

When Savannah and I arrived in Houston, my parents picked us up and we headed straight to my grandfather's house in West Columbia, TX.  We haven't seen Pawpaw since our last visit in January, so I was really looking forward to hugging his sweet neck!  Our time together is never long enough.  We were only able to stay the night and had to leave the next morning, but we made our visit count!

We of course made two visits to Lucy's Mexican Restaurant (dinner and then lunch the next day).  Savannah is definitely a fan of their Mexican rice and beans!

We spent the rest of our time hanging out and enjoying Pawpaw and even got a visit in with my great Aunt Vivian.

All of the homegrown tomatoes harvested from Pawpaw's garden!  Delicious!

Counting squash with Pawpaw!

Basketball Fun!

Hugs! 

We LOVE you Pawpaw!!!

Heading back to the USA

Late Tuesday night/early Wednesday morning Savannah and I made the great trek from Saudi to the USA.  The day before I had my last doctor's appointment in Saudi where I got the ok to fly and picked up my medical records.  Olivia weighed in at 5 lbs. and looked great!  Here's the best picture we could get.

If you look in the top left hand corner you can see a little bit of her face (eyes, nose).
Her arms and legs were in front of her face so it made it difficult to get a good picture.  

When Tuesday came it was emotional for me.  I knew that I was going to be seeing several of my close friends for the last time because they would be moving to new things while we were gone.  I also knew that it would be our last day to spend with Brent for six weeks.  I will miss my hubby tremendously!  Here was our last family picture right before we walked out the door to get in the car heading for the airport.  It's crazy to think that this could be our last picture as a family of three, but I'm hoping Olivia stays put for us to get several more!

Last family picture before our trip!  Blessed!

Our luggage with everything we need for the next three months.

On top of the emotions, the idea of traveling for 28 hours (door to door) at 33 weeks  with a two year old was quite intimidating and daunting. During our last trip to the States, Savannah was awake for hours and had such a difficult time going to sleep, so I was worried about this because the amount of sleep that I get is directly related to when she goes to sleep and wakes up.  I asked friends and family for their prayers, and let me tell you the Lord was so gracious to us!!!! As soon as we got on the plane, Savannah tried to lay down and go to sleep!  I had to keep her awake through take off because she had to be upright in her seat, but as soon as we had reached cruising altitude she was able to go down. Praise the Lord!  She slept for most of the flight (which meant I did too), and woke up in a great mood.  

Our first flight was delayed an hour, so Savannah had fun looking out the window waiting for our plane to arrive.  

Conked out- Praise the Lord!

In Amsterdam, I discovered that the airline attendant at the Saudi check-in counter had failed to properly tag our stroller and it was checked all the way to Houston.  This meant no stroller for us during our layover and arrival.  Normally I would have been very flustered at the idea of having to do a 4 hour layover without an easy way to tote Savannah through the airport, but the Lord's peace again provided. The captain of the plane personally carried our luggage through the airport and tried to get us a replacement stroller that we could borrow.  When we learned that they were all out, I told him that we would be fine, and found a luggage cart.  Savannah was more than happy to take a ride in the top rack of the luggage cart and thus all our problems were solved. :)

The Lord's blessings continued during the second leg of the trip when Savannah went to sleep for the first four hours of the flight, which meant I got to sleep again!!!  Once she woke up, she was easily occupied and entertained the rest of the flight.  When we landed in Houston she patiently waited during passport control and luggage pick up (no stroller, remember).  Praise God- seriously!!!!!  It was our best traveling experience we have had to date!

The Lord's blessings have continued over the past few days, because Savannah's jet lag has been almost non-existent.  She woke up for 45 minutes our first night in the US, but never got out of bed and went back to sleep quickly.  Since then, she has been sleeping great!  I still see other signs of jet lag (getting tired easily, taking longer naps than usual, etc), but this has been so much easier than what it is usually like.  I cannot attribute this to anything special that I did, but solely to the grace and mercy of God.  He truly provided safe and easy passage to us on the way as well as an easy time once we got here.  The good Lord knew exactly what this pregnant momma needed!  Thank you to those of you who lifted us up!

Now that we are in the US the countdown to Olivia's birth begins, six and a half weeks and counting! Brent will arrive in the US on August 4th and then drive up to Shreveport on the 5th.  Please pray for us as we spend six weeks apart.  That's a long time to be away from your best friend!  Please pray for Savannah in particular as she is away from Brent.  She is quite attached to her daddy, and has asked many times when he is coming home from work. :(  Please pray for Brent as he braves six weeks in Saudi on his own.  He definitely has it harder than we do.  Lastly, please pray that he makes it to the US in time for Olivia's birth!  

The Lord's provident hand has taken care of us thus far, and we have faith that He will continue to provide and guide events and timing over the next two months.  :)

Red, White, and Boom!

After a great visit with Pawpaw, Savannah, my parents, and I headed up to Shreveport.  The next day, the church I grew up in, Ellerbe Road Baptist, had their annual fourth of July celebration.  Red, White, and Boom!  This celebration has become quite the amazing event over the past six years, but this was the first time I had been able to attend.  We had a fantastic time!!  The band played some fantastic music, there were great tasty treats, and lots of fun activities.  Savannah got her groove thing on and did lots of dancing while the band played.  She also had fun running around with the other little kids.

Once the sun went down, the main event was up- the fireworks show!  This isn't a mediocre fireworks event, it is a full blown show and it was amazing!  Savannah has never seen fireworks, so we were a bit nervous about how she would do.  To our delight she absolutely loved them!   :)

We had a great time at Red, White, and Boom and so enjoyed Savannah's first fireworks show!

Saying Goodbye to the McGuires

The first year that Brent and I lived in Saudi, our company had not expatriated many families yet (they came during our second year).  Our compound was pretty empty at the time and there were no people our age living nearby.  When I was blessed with the opportunity to work at ISG Jubail, I met the McGuires on my first day.  Right off the bat, I knew that these two were believers and I was excited to have another couple that we could possibly connect with.  I could not have imagined how important this friendship would be to us over the past four years!!  The Lord was truly blessing us when he allowed us to cross paths with the McGuires.  

That first year we hung out quite a lot a went through Dave Ramsey's "Financial Peace University" together.  During the next three years we watched each other's families grow and blossom.  Aden was born in January 2011 and Avery was born in April 2013.  Aden and Savannah are the best of friends, and have spent countless hours playing happily together.  We have lived a lot of "life" together and consider them as family more than friends. This family is truly exceptional!

The time has come for the McGuires to start on a new adventure that leads them away from Saudi.  They are repatriating back to Wisconsin where Jamie will be teaching middle school social studies, and Tara will be able to be a stay at home mom!  Tuesday, we had to say goodbye to our dear friends.  Selfishly, I am crushed that they won't be here in the fall, but at the same time I am so happy for them as they start down this new journey.  Tara and Jamie, thank you for four years of wonderful friendship and time together!  We can't wait to hear all about life back in the States and look forward to many skype sessions!

Our Wonderful Friends

What a sweet family, and look at that great big brother!

Their last meal together.  :(

Buddies!

I love you Uncle Jamie! Miss you!

I love you Aunt Tara!  Miss you!

We love you McGuires, and we will miss you!!

Last Day of Play School

Tuesday was Savannah's last day of play school for the 2012-2013 academic year.  It is so hard to believe how much she has changed since last September.  I remember her first day; she seemed like such a little baby!  I had such a difficult time leaving her, but soon discovered that wonderful Mrs. May would be taking care of her.

Riding on the bus to Savannah's first day of Play School.

Walking into the school on the first day.

That first week was so hard for me, and I worried about her a lot; however, she did awesome!  She soon came to love going to play school for a short time each day.  Savannah had a fantastic time during play school and really enjoyed her teachers and friends!  Since September she has gone from barely walking to running, just starting to speak to talking up a storm.  She has learned her ABC's, many songs, and can count from 1-10!  Our sweet pea has made so many great strides!  Here are a few funny pictures from her last day of school.

Savannah with her teachers and some of her friends.  

Savannah and wonderful Mrs. May!

Savannah was trying out her new "Cheese" face.  LOL!

It has been a fantastic year and we greatly appreciate the love and care Savannah has received from her teachers!  :)

Olivia's Room!

Olivia's nursery is mostly done so I wanted to snap some pictures and document it before Savannah and I leave for the US.  We are using the same bedding that we had with Savannah but added some new elements just for Olivia! I still need to replace the curtains, but haven't been able to find exactly what I wanted for the price I wanted to pay here in Saudi.  I'm planning to get them while I'm in the US and send them back with Brent before I return with the girls.  Once he gets those in, the room will be mostly complete!

We can't wait to bring home our little girl to her new room! A special thanks to Lindsey Perry, Amber Jones, and Heather Feimster for making some of the personalized decor for Olivia's room.  I love each piece!  :)

View from the door

Olivia's bow holder made with love by Lindsey Perry!

The quilt on Olivia's bed made with love by Amber Jones! 

Pom poms!

Nameplate on Olivia's door made with love by Heather Feimster! 

This frame was part of the decoration from Olivia's baby shower.
I pulled off the words they had put on and put a Bible
verse on that Brent and I really love.

Olivia, we can't wait to bring you home!