Super Quick Update

This will be as Peyton tells me "super fast," because I am in the library about a mile walk from our house, it is 7:05 PM and it is dark outside and my husband is trying to feed Graham a bottle and watch Peyton play on the playground just so I can have my Internet fix!

Update on our prayer requests from when we left....

• Travel went amazingly well! We had a major fit in the Houston airport regarding putting our Dora shoes through security but other than that we did great. Peyton picked mommy as her travel buddy and we did great together. She fell asleep around 11:00 PM Houston time and slept until we were about a hour away from Dubai. Graham was perfect and didn't cry at all. He was either eating or sleeping the whole time and many people didn't even know he was on the plane. Flying business class was sweet and I loved the fully reclining seats and it certainly helped with getting Peyton to sleep. We made it to Dubai, made it to our hotel room, showered, ate, let Peyton run around the room and be crazy and then packed up and went to our next flight which was only an hour into Saudi. We arrived and made it into the passport area to find a HUGE line. I was about to cry because I knew how long it would take and how little patience and energy I had and how much my kids were about to lose it. Well...prayers were answered because we were ushered into a smaller line by some official and then it took half of the people out of that line and moved them somewhere else which left us as number 2! It took a little over 30 minutes to get through the whole process. We then got all of our bags...yes, all 12 made it! I was amazed! And the porters helped us get through customs/baggage screening where another answered prayer...NO bags were checked. Not one of our 12 had to be opened! We then quickly found our Aramco representative, did some paperwork at the airport and were on our way home and made it home around 2:00 AM which was about 3 hours after landing which was pretty good considering it takes around 45 minutes to get to our house from the airport.
• As for Titus...another huge answered prayer! He made all of his flights, connections and arrived in Saudi Monday night. A couple that we had been put in contact with prior to moving and have been spending time with since being here and are another huge answered prayer offered to drive John to the airport to get Titus so they set out Monday night and came home with Titus! He was so happy to see us and did really well on the flight. By the next morning he seemed himself and it didn't phase him at all. There were no issues at customs and everything went smoothly. I know it was expensive hiring the pet relocation company and having him here safely and without issue made it so worth it!
• Our first night went well. We were able to call our family, we were able to get some sleep and we got to our house without any major issues. We love what our house has the potential of becoming but not so much what it is now. It is bare, has ugly and uncomfortable furniture and the double bed for John and I just isn't cutting it. I do love the floor plan, it has tons of space, the location in camp, the backyard and I am excited about how it will look with our stuff in it!
• As for our first week....we are making friends and have been blessed by a wonderful family here who have been amazing! They filled our house with food, helped with getting Titus, showed us around, had us over for lunch, been a wealth of knowledge and are a sweet family that we are beyond excited to get to know more and more. We are getting satellite tomorrow and are borrowing a television from a friend of Johns who had an extra one until we can make it out to buy one. Internet was finally able to be requested today so hopefully soon we will have it our house. We have gone out into the shopping area of Khobar (about a hour away) once and went to Ikea, the grocery store and Toys R Us and I went shopping with my friend Lindsey another day. I also ventured out an took a taxi by myself to go swimming at the Perry's. Peyton and Gavin had such a good day!

So, all in all, it has been a good week. I am missing home, my old house, my friends, my church, my family and the familiarity. I am excited what can be here and I am looking forward to all the possibilities and new adventures we will have here but it is hard to focus on those at times. I am beyond thankful and humbled by the generosity of the Boggan family (people I was talking about earlier) and our friends from League City the Perry family. They have both gone above and beyond in giving us information, welcoming us, helping us, serving us and encouraging us. I am excited about knowing that these are types of relationships we are building here.

Since I have no idea when I will be able to get on Internet again here are some things we do need prayer for in the meantime...

• I need Internet. I know it sounds silly but beyond Facebook, it will allow me to use Skype and our Vonage phone which means I can call home more frequently and won't be racking up an insane long distance bill which I am currently doing. It is very isolating not being able to read the news and call loved ones.
• Pray for our shipments to arrive soon. Our air shipment has most of the kitchen/cooking stuff I am missing and our vacuum. Pray it arrives soon! Also pray that our sea shipment arrives quickly and before the start of Ramadan in August because if it doesn't it probably won't be here until after Ramadan. I feel silly praying for my stuff especially since they are just worldly things but it will help make our house feel like a home and have a place to serve others and feel comfortable.
• Pray for Peyton to sleep longer in the mornings. She is waking up at 5 AM and not sleeping well at night still and it is wearing us out.
• Pray that I get better soon. I came down with a cold yesterday and feel pretty awful.
• Pray for our residence permit or iqama is processed quickly. This will allow us to open a bank account and also buy a car which is a huge need for us.
• Also, please pray for Peyton to be accepted to a preschool/mothers day out here. She is on the waiting list and I am really hoping she will make it. It will be a huge help to me and a good thing for her to have here.
• Continue to pray for our adjustment and that we are purposeful with building relationships and with what God has called us to be here.
  

Miss you all and hope to blog again soon!