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.  :)