Acord Family

Our Love Story: Link Up

2012-02-11T09:30:00.000+03:00

I was reading a blog that I follow, Blue Eyed Bride and she had this link up about your love story from another blog, From Mrs. to Mama, and I thought it would be a fun post for Valentine's Day.

How long have you and your significant other been together?
We met June 2003 and started officially dating August 9, 2003 so for 8 1/2 years.

How did you meet?
We met through a mutual friend who set us up. We both went to the same high school, knew the mutual friend from high school and I knew John's brothers in high school but yet we never crossed paths until just before my sophomore year at the University of Texas.

If married, how long have you been married?
We were married 5 1/2 years ago on Friday, October 13, 2006. We had to plan our wedding around Longhorn Football and the Texas vs OU football weekend.

If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding?
We had a medium sized wedding (108 people...to be exact....John remembered since he was four people over on the estimate and apparently that still gets to him). We were married at Ashton Gardens in North Houston. We fell in love with the location and liked that there was a chapel and the reception site all at once place and in order to have it fit in our budget we got married on a Friday and then had a post wedding party Saturday night at a local BBQ restaurant to spend more time with family that came in for the wedding.

Do you have any nick-names that you call one another?
John calls me, "bear," and I call him, "pants." I don't know exactly where that name came from but it started with my roommate in college saying it to him one time and it stuck.

Name 3 things you love most about your honey.
That he is loyal, trust worthy and works hard at everything...his job, our family, our marriage, relationships.

Tell us how he proposed?
This is such a long story but the abbreviated version is that he surprised me by flying up to Canada where I was visiting family, showed up, was on the dock on Morrison Lake with candles everywhere and asked me to marry him. It was everything I had wanted in a proposal and was perfect!

Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?

He is such a mixture. He can be super over the top romantic and then just chill and give me sentimental gifts/dates. It all depends on what we need at the time and it is a nice balance.

Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?
I love the beach so sunset dinner on the beach sounds wonderful but I enjoy quality time and if we can have that watching a movie then that is great as well. Living in Saudi has really made us stretch our idea of what an actual date looks like and see the main purpose...to spend intentional time pouring into each other!

Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?
If I could go anywhere it would be either Tahiti or Fiji. I want to stay in one of the huts over the water and just have a week of relaxing, being pampered and being alone with my love.

Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.
We have no plans besides John staying home and watching the kids in the morning while I go to the doctor for my routine breast cancer preventative screening...fun! We might pick up some food from or favorite Chinese or Indian food restaurant and download a movie and do dinner and a movie once the kids go to bed. We will probably do more for the kids and make cards and fun food for them.

Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?
To work on updating/redecorating our master bedroom...although I was reminded that the wooden buffet that we recently bought was supposed to be my present.

Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.
Manage your expectations of your spouse, yourself and your idea of what marriage is supposed to be like and there will be highs and lows. Be intentional and spend time together regularly and have real conversations...that do not consist of talking about kids, work or house stuff but about who you are, who you want to be, where you struggle.

Show us a picture of what love means to you.


Photo taken by Jessica Clarkson of Clarkson Photography

Movie Review Resource

2012-02-09T23:44:00.000+03:00

With traveling so much whether it is driving to get groceries (an hour each way), flying to Oman or flying to the States....we have to keep our movie selection pretty current otherwise we risk boredom by both parents and child. One thing that I have been mindful of is making sure the movies we do download from iTunes are suitable. I use a website called, Kids in Mind. I have found that they are very thorough in their reviews and will even address short films/previews or other things that are shown prior to the movie such as silly little cartoon sketches. Some of the things that they comment on are a little extreme such as a rock falling from a cliff hits a character and that is considered violent but I would rather have thorough than be surprised. So far it has been a huge help and also gives an overall theme and discussion topics for the movie which helps with discussing it with Peyton later. For example, we were dealing with kids being mean to each other and starting to say mean words or excluding kids and so I bought a Bugs Life for Peyton since the storyline is about standing up to bullies, being a member of a team and standing up for what is right. I figure if she is watching something, I want it make it as much of a teaching moment as possible.

Anyways...just wanted to pass along a resource that we have found incredibly helpful!

Midweek Ramblings

2012-02-08T12:40:00.000+03:00

Another end of a week here in the Kingdom!

This week Graham started making smacking noises with his mouth and saying "yum, yum, yum" whenever he is hungry. So cute. He is also into EVERYTHING and climbing on anything and everything. I found him in his new fort the other day....

Peyton received several "letters" from G which makes her day. My mom made these letters before we left and fills each envelope with a note, some stickers and then a picture of them either my mom or dad or both of them. Peyton LOVES them and they always help her when she is getting a little down and missing them. I am so appreciative of the time my mom put into doing them for her.

I booked our trip to Abu Dhabi at the end of the month to visit with my sister and also see my dad who is stopping there on his way back to the States from a worldwide business trip. When I told Peyton that I bought tickets to Abu Dhabi she was so excited to see Auntie Ashley, Max and her blue lovey (he left it there in September when we were there) and then when I told her Papa would be there as well her she was shocked and said, "I am so excited, I love Papa so much." I was really not wanting to fly by myself with them, deal with car rental and then being away from home but seeing her excitement is worth it.
I finished making some artwork for the kids bathroom. I brought the supplies back with my from the States, mainly scrapbook paper, and finally made some art to hang on the walls. I couldn't find anything to match/go with the ABC theme and this worked out great and a nice way to add color on the walls. I do have some wooden letters I want to paint and add in the toilet area and maybe I can finish that up this weekend.

Last weekend we visited our friends, The Perry's, who just had their third baby, and after two boys they have a baby girl! We were not able to see them while they were in the hospital but it worked out well since the kids got to play while we visited and held little Brooklyn.

Our weight loss challenge between John and I is in full swing and we have about three more weeks to go. So far I have lost 6 of the 10 lbs to my goal and am feeling great. I am starting to focus more on toning and am just feeling healthier, more energetic and my clothes are fitting better. I am not sure how John is doing or who is winning so we will see.
We build a tent with tunnels in the playroom and both of the kids loved it and played forever together. Peyton was the princess, and Graham alternated between the prince or the dragon depending on whether I was the dragon. It was lots of fun and something different. I don't know why the video will only upload a portion of it but you get the picture of what our fort looked like.

We are hoping to take a trip to Kuwait in a couple of weeks to explore another country around us and also visit Pottery Barn. I am wanting to update our master bedroom and move away from the cool tones of blues and greens to something warmer and more vibrant to give more color in there. And the closest Pottery Barn is in Kuwait....or Riyadh but I don't feel like going on vacation and having to cover more of myself as I would have to cover my hair if we went there.

This weekend I am going to take some newborn pictures of our friend's baby girl which I am excited and nervous about and hopefully eating at my favorite Indian restaurant in the area that they live and then just spend the rest of the weekend relaxing and working on getting things together for Graham's birthday party which will be shortly after we return from Abu Dhabi so I am trying to get as much done beforehand as possible. I still can't believe he is 11 months today!

One of those days.

2012-02-04T20:55:00.000+03:00

Today was one of those days when at the end of it you just doubt everything you did and your ability to parent and just pray that you are doing things right...and then your toddler tells you that you were "mean" and you feel like poop.

Here is how I earned the mean mommy award today...

I made Peyton go to school. She loves her school and has fun once she is there but EVERY SINGLE DAY she wakes up, tells me she is not going to school, fights me to get dressed, eat, putting her shoes on and complains the whole way there. She gets out of the car, whines walking to the door and as soon as the door opens hides behind my legs and starts to cling on for dear life. I start talking to her about what fun she will have, what do you want to do after school and eventually the teacher pries her off of me kicking and screaming and I leave. EVERY SINGLE DAY! The only day she ever walked into school with no crying and fits was the day she randomly woke up and said she wanted to go to school...she went because it was her idea.

Then tonight we had ballet. Peyton loves ballet. Loves her outfit, loves her friends and loves class. BUT EVERY SINGLE TIME she tells me how she doesn't want to go and how she wants to do ballet at home with mommy and only after I tell her we need to get ready for ballet. Since we have just started she has only done one class where I left the room like the mom's are supposed to. The teacher doesn't want parents in the class as it is distracting. The time that I did leave she was fine (for some random reason) but today...it was not good. She started whiny, crying, holding onto me. I tried to tell her how much fun she was going to have, bring her over to her friend, distract her and finally I just started counting and told her if we got to three then she was going home. We got to three. I took her out of the room and she flipped out. We talked, and I told her she could try again but no crying and she had to walk into ballet. We go to the door and she flipped out. That was one. We did it two more times and on three I just carried her screaming to the car. We came home, I told her to immediately get out her ballet clothes since she loves them so much and once she calmed down I explained why we left and what was the appropriate response for next time and how we will not participate in ballet if she can't follow the rules and let me leave. We hugged it out and then tonight she told me that she thought I was mean for taking her away from ballet. We talked it out again and she told me we were friends again. And then I left her room and just wanted to cry.

These two situations combined with the daily battles of eating lunch at the table, brushing your teeth, being nice to Graham and just battle of the wills on EVERYTHING...just make you want to cry. Why is it so hard with her? Why couldn't she just go in and sit in the square and be still and quiet like so many of the other girls at ballet? Why is every day non stop discipline and always getting to two or constant time outs? Why is she so DETERMINED, so INSISTENT on her way, and so INDEPENDENT....

And then I remembered a blog post that I read the other day on Kelly's Korner on how her oldest is also strong willed, opinionated and how as much as we both see our kids as tremendous blessings and sweet girls BUT they are challenging and daily make you hope and pray that we raise them to love God and others. Kelly linked to a post she read by Lysa TerKeurst called, "I Don't Want to Raise a Good Kid," and it was exactly what I needed to read that day, today and tomorrow and then in six months from now. I encourage any moms to read it and especially those moms who like me have spirited children that daily challenge you and your parenting.

So tonight like many nights...I am praying for God to HELP ME raise Peyton. I pray that I give her the right balance of firmness and grace to grow into an adult that loves God, serves Him, follows Him and is used in extra ordinary ways for His Glory!

Midweek Ramblings

2012-02-01T13:42:00.001+03:00

I haven't done these posts in awhile but it seemed appropriate for this week because so much random stuff has happened...

Sunday....Peyton went to a birthday party at the horse farm and was able to ride a horse. She LOVED it which made me feel horribly guilty that her former equestrian mommy is depriving her of this experience. I just don't think she is ready to understand that it is a serious thing and she needs to be still and listen BUT she listened incredibly well at the party and walked up to the horse, followed the grooms instructions and did great SO...maybe we need to look into riding lessons next fall?
Then after the party....things got interesting and not the good kind of interesting....Peyton had an potty accident and she was waiting for me in the bathroom, she decided to get her by herself and when I started walking towards the bathroom and saw her, I yelled at her to stop, she turned to look at me and then fell forward hitting her head on the soap dish and then fell backwards hitting the back of her head on the side of the tub and then was on the bottom of the tub just still with no response. She was conscious but I was screaming her name over and over and nothing. Finally, she responded and started screaming and crying and sat up and as soon as she did started bleeding out of her nose. I grabbed a towel, picked her up out of the tub, ran and found some pants since she was naked and then searched frantically for a phone (which of course were not in the right place), John came home at that moment and I just yelled that we needed to get to the ER. He asked why, Peyton looked at him and he saw the massive bruise on her forehead and the blood and he went and found Graham who was still playing in the playroom oblivious to what was happening and he drove us to the ER. The whole ER experience was great. The doctor and the nurses were calming, good with Peyton, good with me and very proactive and did everything that they could and should. I was really impressed. BUT the experience with Peyton was awful, she didn't want anyone to touch her or come near her, she was so scared and it was just awful. Finally we were able to calm her down to do some tests and an x-ray and by the time we were done with observation she was playing with me in the bed. We were released with instructions to wake her every 2-3 hours, keep her home from school and watch for all the serious head trauma signs. She did fine throughout the night and the rest of the day and was cleared at her 24 hour follow up. She does have a massive and nasty bruise on her forehead, on the top of her eye and a swollen nose/eye area. She finally agreed to get into the bathtub last night but only my bathtub and not the one in the kid's bathroom where she fell. It was awful and I still start to get teary and shaken up. When we got home from the hospital and she had fallen asleep for the night, I just sat there and started sobbing and shaking. I knew she was fine but I hadn't cried since it happened, I had to be strong for her, sing songs and be silly and it just hit me. I pray that we never have anything more serious with her. So thankful that she is fine and despite some nasty bruises will be alright.....I am still shaking thinking about all of it. Here is her bruise almost three days later...she still her funny silly self which makes me feel better.

So...we spent the rest of the week home from school and cuddling but we did manage to have a baby play date on Tuesday morning and it was nice to have Graham's friends here and for him to have some play time. Peyton was a wonderful hostess since she wasn't at school and was so sweet. She answered the door and said welcome to everyone and would tell Graham his friends were here, she would give the babies toys and then when people would leave she would walk them to the door. That afternoon a couple of her friends from school came over for ice cream sundaes and she loved being able to see friends after being stuck at home.

My left eye has been twitching for three weeks now and it is getting worse. I know it is sleep, stress related and I can't get it to stop. It is so annoying and draining.
Graham waves and says "bye bye" now and will also say "hey"
Swimming lesson sign ups have started and I am so excited! I am hoping Peyton can do the class without me in the water and if that is the case then I am going to try and do the Mommy and Me class with Graham.
Our house closes on Monday. My dad signs our papers as our power of attorney on Thursday and then it is all done on Monday. At first I was sad but now I am glad we are done and that it isn't just sitting there. It was a wonderful house but it is no longer our home...Saudi is our home and it is a nice feeling to know that we don't have one foot there and one foot here.

Peyton's class had a field trip to the duck pond. I didn't know that there was a duck pond here so it was a nice surprise. It was incredibly windy but the kids still had fun and then we went to the Golf House restaurant for french fries afterwards. I love her school and her teacher and am so thankful that we were able to find something here for her.

After months...we started when we moved....we finally found a buffet piece for our dining room. When we moved I purposely didn't bring something for the dining room because I wanted to buy something here and then when we got here our house had the perfect spot but I couldn't find something that I liked. Last weekend we were doing errands and decided to look at a store called Anteak Factory and as soon as I walked in I told John that I found what I was looking for....I also so an old wooden door from Afghanistan that I liked but I could only have one or the other! So, we bought the buffet and of course it was delivered while we were in the ER. Luckily it was after all the craziness, x-rays and John could leave with Graham and it worked out better so Graham wasn't having to sit there and just wait. The buffet has pieces of old Saudi doors on it but most of it is a new piece built to use the doors as accents. The flash made the glass look lighter but it is actually a really dark brown glass that blends in with the wood.

Not sure what we will be doing this weekend but I am looking forward to some rest! Hope everyone has a wonderful rest of your week or start of your weekend depending on where you are!

Taking care of Mommy

2012-01-28T06:00:00.000+03:00

I don't know about other moms but for me, I don't take care of myself as well as I do everyone else. I don't eat regularly, I don't get dressed regularly, I don't make sure I get enough sleep and don't exercise. I just don't make it a priority to take care of myself and as a result my family gets a mediocre version of me. I don't function to the best of my ability without a proper diet, rest, and exercise. And after awhile of neglecting your health you need an intervention which came in the form of my mom!

When I was in the States, I started as simply as making sure I was eating three meals a day. Yes, I know that sounds ridiculous but I was skipping breakfast or lunch and then getting cranky because I wasn't eating. My mom also helped me get started running again and being active and also just being away from all my daily responsibilities of housework, I actually was going to bed on time.

So, coming back to Saudi I wanted to make sure I continued and built upon what I started. I started by exercising. When we moved here I had a thousand excuses on why I couldn't work out, mainly because I had no time or no one to watch the kids...and well, I didn't want to and felt overwhelmed with losing all of the weight from my pregnancy and so I found excuses. Instead of allowing myself to see all the reasons why I can't go to the gym, I sat down and looked at what I do have and that is four days a week that Peyton is at school in the mornings and Graham naps. Take out one day for breakfast group and I have three mornings free. What was I doing with those mornings...a whole lot of nothing! Time to change that....now, I put on my workout clothes first thing when I wake up, take Peyton to school, come home, put Graham to sleep for his morning nap and start P90X and workout! Perfect! I make sure all of my stuff is set up in the morning so I have no excuses. And by doing it in the mornings, I have more energy and it is the first thing I do instead of leaving it to the end of the day after everything and when I would rather just go to sleep.

I also implemented a 10:00 PM bedtime for me. I need sleep and I have learned that I need 9 hours of sleep at a minimum to be a happy, functioning and patient mommy. So, I need to go to bed. No excuses. If it can't get done by 10 PM, it probably wasn't that important or I needed to reprioritize and be purposeful with my time.

Also, we needed to sleep train Graham. With moving, traveling, more traveling and more traveling...his life has never been consistent and so we just continued to let him eat when he woke up to help us even make it through. That leaves us with a baby who wakes up constantly to eat and two tired parents. John is about to start a turnaround which leaves me alone with the kids 95% of the time and if I am a person who needs sleep then I need to make sure that Graham is sleeping through the night. We have been reducing the amount of formula we give him ate night for the past couple of weeks and then we started sleep training/no more food at night on Sunday night and the first time he cried a bunch and it was a long night but since then he has slept through the night consistently. We have been switching nights in case he does wake up but we are hoping this is the end of middle of the night waking!

Finally, although it seems the simplest, it is the hardest for me...eating three well balanced and healthy meals. Since I have been back I have been trying to eat better but it is so hard. I don't ever have an appetite for what I make the kids, I don't feel like making something different for everyone and I just don't eat as well as I would like. And if I am wanting to lose the last little bit of pregnancy weight and am doing all this work with P90X, I can't eat trash. So, I looked into a new program here on camp with the Carlton Nutrition Center. It is essentially like Jenny Craig but for us. I met with a nutritionist and was surprised how little weight I have left to go to my goal and we went over my calorie needs and sample menus. I picked out my menu for 15 days (I am not doing weekends) and they start delivering my food today! It gets delivered to my house every morning from 5:30-6:00 AM and it contains my breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks for the day. I am hoping this will help me eat regularly, retrain me the right portions and types of food to be eating and help me reach my weight loss goals so I can focus on maintaining and not the daunting task of losing weight. After 15 days, I go back and evaluate what I liked, didn't like, adjust my meal and decide if I want to continue.

Hoping that all of this helps kick me off in the right direction and I can find the motivation, desire and feeling of significance to continue to take care of myself so I can be a much better wife, mommy and friend!

So excited...

2012-01-27T19:16:00.002+03:00

...Pottery Barn is coming to the mall that is about 40 minutes away from us...where we do most of our shopping! I am so excited! You should have seen my face when I saw the sign...John just laughed....and then started setting budget limits and rules!

I was just thinking earlier in the day how much I wanted new bedding for my birthday (which is a long ways away) and how I didn't want to pay for shipping for Pottery Barn all the way to Saudi....and now I don't have to!

Ballet class

2012-01-26T13:44:00.000+03:00

While we were back in the States, I went to a dance store with Peyton and bought her ballet shoes, a leotard and tights. I knew that there were ballet classes in Saudi and I didn't put her in them in the fall because we had swimming and I wasn't sure if she was ready to be a class setting like ballet since we were having issues at swimming and also I didn't want to overload us with first being there. Well, I thought she would be ready now and so when we got back I talked to the teacher and she went to her first class the Monday before we left for Oman.

Here she is all ready for class....

Although normally parents are not supposed to stay during the class, I asked if I could stay during the first one to get a feel for how she did in there and if this was something we would want to continue. As soon as she got in there two of her friends told her to come sit with them which I thought was adorable and they both helped her with what to do and when. It was pretty sweet. Peyton did great, followed instructions and did really well. She also had a blast and I could just see her light up with joy while she was dancing around.

She missed this week because she was sick but we are excited about Saturday and lessons then. They also have a performance middle of March and I had a coworker of John's bring over a white leotard and tights for her since it is part of the required costume for Swan Lake....yes, they are doing Swan Lake! How cute is that!

Sick days....Pajama days

2012-01-25T21:28:00.001+03:00

Both kids have been sick the past couple of days. Peyton with a awful sounding cough and Graham with a constant runny nose. So, we have been stuck at home....BORED!

I will say that I am incredibly thankful for our large playroom that contains all of the chaos and mess in one room. We have spent most of our time playing in there, watching movies, eating at the play table, playing with Play Dough, playing Candy Land and just hanging out...then at the end of the day, I just have that one room to deal with! This is what the playroom looked like just 90 minutes into the morning and honestly the pictures don't show the true extent of the madness. We normally don't have the ball pit out which is good because I might go crazy picking up those balls all day long but since this was day three of being home I thought it provide some new entertainment and it did...both kids loved it and played all day in there!

Other activities have included Peyton jumping into Graham's bed when she went in to see him after his nap and they played in his crib for about 45 minutes which worked out great because I was able to organize his drawers and closet and put away laundry! They are so silly together. Graham ADORES his sister and just is in awe of her!

I am hoping that after this weekend they will have kicked whatever is going on. We have both humidifiers going and have tried to convince Peyton to do the breathing mask with no luck. Thankfully I have backup this weekend and then hoping we can resume normal activities and get out of house arrest on Saturday and play with friends...mommy's friends and Peyton's!

Oman Day 3- Nizwa, Riyam Park and more

2012-01-20T13:41:00.000+03:00

We were planning again on being up early to drive out to the town of Nizwa and be there early for the Livestock Market/Souq. Nizwa is one of the oldest cities in Oman. The whole souq/town closes around 11 AM for prayer and then opens up again that night so we needed to be there early. Of course....we slept through our alarms. We managed to get there with about 40 minutes left and were able to walk around the market and the souq area which is actually inside the walls of the old fort. Peyton loved seeing all of the animals...and I didn't explain why they were all there and what was about to happen to them!

I loved the huge wooden doors leading into the fort, there were all so intricately designed and massive and while I was taking pictures an Omani man told me I should take his picture...and then he brought his friend over. Yes, he is carrying a sprite...and a gun. Many of the stores inside the souq sold Khanjars and guns and swords and many people were wearing some sort of weapon.

After we were done with exploring the town and taking in the atomsphere we went to Lulu's Grocery store and picked up supplies to make a picnic lunch. We ate lunch and then headed a little farther to the town of Bahla which is known for its pottery. We arrived too late to shop for pottery but we did just drive around and explore. There is a beautiful fort undergoing perservation by the World Heritage Society and is a UNESCO protected site. The fort was built in the 13th and 14th centuries. Since it is still undergoing work you can't go in which I was sad about because it was such an impressive site. Here is a picture from Wikipedia....

Picture taken from Wikipedia

Since the kids were asleep we decided to head just a little farther and see Jabreen Castle. I knew it would be closed but we thought we would give it a try. I really wish we were able to make it in time to go in because I have read that it really beautiful inside. We wandered around the grounds a little before heading back towards Muscat.

On the way back to Muscat we passsed by the Sultan Qaboos Grande Mosque. I really want to go inside a mosque while we live here but since you can't take kids in with you, that is proving to be a challenge. Maybe when I go to Abu Dhabi to see my sister this Spring I can work out a way to go to the mosque there.

We headed to Riyam Park to let the kids play and stretch after driving so much during the day. The play structure there was great and Peyton had a blast climbing, sliding and playing. This is one of the many different slides they had.

After we left the park we had dinner and then decided since everyone was happy and doing well to visit the souq one last time before we headed back to the hotel for the night and we are so glad we did. The souq was so lively on Friday night and we loved experiencing the sounds, smells and just the excitement.

We finally headed back to the hotel and got the kids asleep. Then while John and I were spending time talking on the balcony we witnessed an Omani wedding processional arriving at the hotel to drop of the bride and groom. It was so loud and such a neat thing to watch! We finally went to sleep and then headed out to the airport the next morning and back to Saudi.

We loved our time in Oman and wish we could have been there for another two weeks. There was so much we wish we could have seen and look forward to going back someday!

Oman Day 2- Dolphins and forts

2012-01-19T13:39:00.000+03:00

On our second full day in Oman we made a reservation for a dolphin watching boat ride along the coast. Our original plan was to just have John and Peyton go and enjoy some time together. But when we realized how far our hotel was from the marina and how there was nothing to do in the areas surrounding our hotel we decided to do a shorter boat ride trip that didn't include swimming and go ahead and take Graham as well. The boat ride was only going to be two hours so we figured that we could make it work with him.

We woke up incredibly early to drive to the marina and we just kept the kids in their pajamas and let them sleep in the car on the way. The boat company we were originally going to go with never showed up....so we really were not sure what we we were going doing since this was the one thing that Peyton was the most excited about. Another boat company was about to leave and had space and so we went ahead and went with them. I am so glad that we had decided to bring Peyton's lifejacket with us because they didn't have one that would have been appropriate for him.

Graham did great on the boat..he ate, looked around and then had a little nap. Peyton was fussy and a little whiny throughout partially because she didn't have enough sleep and we gave her life jacket to Graham BUT once we saw the dolphins she was beyond excited. She kept wanting to run from one side of the boat to another and to the front. I was worried that it would be hard for her to see the dolphins but there were so many of them that everywhere you looked there were tons of dolphins and they were jumping and it was beautiful.

After watching the dolphins we had a brief tour of the coast line and sites along there. It was beautiful seeing the cliffs against the water and then the buildings hidden in little coves off the ocean.

Peyton was pretty tired after an early morning and then the excitement of the dolphins and she just cuddled with daddy on the ride back to the marina and Graham slept in my arms.

After our boat ride we got everyone dressed and then headed to get some lunch and off to see a fort in the town of Nakhal on the way back to the hotel. It took us about an hour to get there so of course the kids napped in the car and everyone was ready to get out for some exercise when we got there.

The fort was surronded by palm orchards and wonderfully restored. It was a little hard carrying Graham around in the Bjorn and I was pretty tired by the end of it! After we walked throughout the fort and saw all the various rooms we headed back to the hotel and ordered room service and then we all went to bed pretty early.

Peyton refused to take her picture with me and was being little Miss Attitude so this is the picture I got....she also came up with a hilarious story about how Princess Anooza was trapped in the fort and we needed to climb to the tallest tower and rescue her from the dragon with two heads. Her imagination is so much fun to hear and I love the stories she comes up.

This was the ceiling in one of the rooms. The patterns continued throughout the whole room.

Oman Day 1- Mutrah Souq

2012-01-18T11:17:00.000+03:00

Although we headed out to the Souq later than we had hoped, it worked out well because most of the cruise ship passengers had already left for the day and we could wander around just before the shops closed with less people around.

The souq was beautiful and we loved the ceilings. Every main intersection in the souq had a different design. There were a wide variety of stores and we enjoyed looking around and just taking in the sights.

John found a khanjar (a curved dagger) at one store and started bartering and after some negotiating bought one with a camel bone handle. He has been wanting one for awhile so I am glad he was able to find one he liked.

We wandered around the souqs a little more and I found a scarf that I liked and then got some lunch at a restaurant in the souq. Graham was very excited to be eating lunch....

Following lunch we decided to drive around the city and surrounding areas while the kids napped in the car. We drove through Old Muscat, along the Corniche and by the Sultan's Palace and then went and found a Mexican restaurant for dinner. We enjoyed enchiladas and Peyton enjoyed her usual rice and beans and then we headed back to the hotel and everyone went straight to bed because we had an early morning the next day!

Travel to Oman

2012-01-18T09:56:00.000+03:00

We left Saudi on Tuesday night to head to Oman. This was the first time we have flown within the Middle East as all of our other trips have been driving. So, we were not sure what the best route/plan would end up being and we had some lessons learned!

We flew from the Dammam airport to Bahrain and then to Muscat. Our first flight was just 20 minutes and then we had to RUN to our next flight. We ran to security, had to have John's bag searched because a pen he had look questionable and then we RAN to our flight and boarded just before we were about to be left. The next flight was just over an hour. Looking back we wish we just drove to Bahrain and flew out of there instead of dealing with two planes (and on the way back layovers in Bahrain). We arrived in Muscat around 10:30 PM, got our Visas, went through customs and then headed to the car rental place to get our car. We arrived and they told us that they gave our car away because the arrival time on our reservation was wrong and had already passed. When we asked if they had another car, they reached under the counter and pulled out a grocery bag full of keys and started looking through. I just laughed...to myself of course! Very different experience. We finally found a key to a Ford hatchback something and so he went to find his driver to bring the car around to the front. They don't have a rental car park area or anything like that. Muscat is building a new airport which looks beautiful but for now the current airport which was built before they had such tremendous growth in industry and tourism is what they are working with. We wait for the driver, find him in the parking lot and start loading up the car. Both the guy at the counter and the driver were so helpful and accommodating and gave us great customer experience which doesn't happen often over here! We managed to get car seats (and since Graham just moved up to a bigger car seat we traveled with both our Britax Marathons), and suitcases and the stroller into the car and then were about to head out to our hotel and realized we had no idea where we were going. The Garmin wasn't picking it up, the address search feature wasn't working and then our cell phones weren't working to call. I finally found some sort of information on the reservation paper that registered with the Garmin and we set of hoping we were going in the right direction.

We were staying at the Millennium Hotel, the reviews were good, breakfast was included and it was cheaper so we thought it would be a good option however it was a whole lot farther from Muscat than it looked online! It was about a 75 minute drive and in the middle of nowhere. Luckily the kids fell asleep and we finally got settled in our room closer to 2 AM. We were all exhausted and slept until 10:30 AM the next day....missing that free breakfast! We called for room service and they told us that breakfast would be free and we would only be charged the delivery fee since it was included in our room price so it all worked out and after a good night sleep, showers and breakfast we were ready to explore!

Off to Oman!!

2012-01-17T12:41:00.000+03:00

Tonight we leave today for 4 nights in beautiful Oman!

We are so excited that we took the opportunity of adding an extra day to what was already a long weekend. We will be staying just outside of Muscat and have a busy itinerary. There is so much to do and choose from that I had a hard time narrowing it down. I really think you could spend several weeks there and still not see everything. There were also so many hiking/adventure sites that I would have loved to go to but wouldn't work with two little kids.

Also, as preparation for our trip I have been reading about the history of the country and it is fascinating. Here is a link to Wikipedia on Oman if you interested but what struck me was how well they have balanced modernization while preserving so much of their culture and traditions. The love they have for their current Sultan is impressive and how much he has done for the country is commendable especially given that they don't have the oil revenues like their neighboring countries to rely on. I really enjoyed reading all about the history of the country and the various places we are visiting.

Here is what we have planned so far....however....as it is when you travel with kids, it is kind of up to them and how they are doing....

Wednesday - Explore Muscat, the Old Muttrah Souk, the Sultan's Palace and walk along the Coriniche to see the old Portuguese forts

Thursday- In the morning Peyton and John will taking a glass bottom boat tour of the coastline and looking for dolphins. Then that afternoon we will go to the Nakhal Fort which is 350 years old and is set in a gorge, surrounded by mountains. The carved master gate is believed to date back to the 1830's.

Friday- We are driving to the town of Nizwa and going to the market there in the morning where they have a famous livestock market by the souk. We are then going to visit the fort there, and one of the falajs (a water irrigation system) that were recently endorsed by the World Heritage Committee and then if we are up to it heading to a castle just outside of the town.

Saturday- We are hoping to visit a museum (either the heritage or modern art museum) before we head to the airport.

Look forward to sharing loads of pictures when we return!

Childrens Book Reviews

2012-01-16T00:30:00.000+03:00

For Christmas my parents got the kids two books that we LOVE. They are by far the favorite books in our house!

The Tickle Monster by Josie Bissett is so much fun! Graham loves it and he will actually sit through the whole book which has proven to be difficult with other books. The interactive part makes it fun and silly and we just love reading it. The illustrations are bright, fun and silly. It is such a good kids book. There is also a dance monster series with silly monster feet.

Wherever you are, my love will find you by Nancy Tillman is by far Peyton's favorite book. Here is what was written about it on Barnes and Noble to give an idea about the book....

. . . I wanted you more than you’ll ever know,

so I sent love to follow wherever you go. . . .

Love is the greatest gift we have to give our children. It’s the one thing they can carry with them each and every day.

If love could take shape it might look something like these heartfelt words and images from the inimitable Nancy Tillman. Here is a book to share with your loved ones, no matter how near or far, young or old, they are.

It is such a sweet book and has beautiful images and words. My parents wrote a note to both of the kids in the front about how no matter where we are, near or far, their love will always be there with us. Peyton just loves it and the first time we read it made me stay still so we could feel G and Papa's love in the room. She told me that it came with us in our suitcases and is all over Saudi Arabia! When I read it with her and Graham she tried to make him sit still as well and gave up shortly afterwards and just gave him a hug saying, "Here Graham, here is G and Papa's love for you." So sweet!

Thanks G and Papa for the books! We are enjoying them!

Adjusting perspective

2012-01-15T08:00:00.000+03:00

It is no secret that the move to Saudi has been hard. Prior to going back to the States in November I honestly didn't know how I was going to make it here another six months let alone the five years we wanted to be here. After our time home it is still hard, I still know that my strength and determination alone will not carry us through our time here and that this is all in His hands and we are dependent on Him daily but I feel like the time away from here lifted some big burdens off of me and taught me some important lessons.

One thing I have struggled with tremendously since arriving in Saudi is feeling a sense of uselessness. I felt unfulfilled in my role as a mom and a wife and felt like I wasn't being purposeful. I was discontent. I was a stay at home mom prior to coming so I struggled with understanding why this move all of the sudden made my job less important. For the first six months we were here I struggled with finding joy in folding laundry and making dinners or doing finger painting with Peyton. During our time in the States and being able to be away from the other challenges of living here, have more time to think, gain perspective and through wonderful conversations with different friends, God began to reveal how I needed to adjust my thinking.

Before we moved, although I was a stay at home mom, I was also a group leader for a small group and I served in our church. I felt like I was serving people around me like I was called to do. Then when we moved, I thought that the only way to be "successful" here would be to start a group, pour into my community daily and when that was not happening or when I realized it would take more time that I thought, instead of seeing how I was being used in the moment and how I had the opportunity to succeed differently, I got down.

What I was failing to see (and what I wish I realized long before now) was that my greatest mission, greatest job is serving my family. That this time in my life is to serve, pour into, encourage and teach my family more than I ever have before. We don't have a strong children's church like we did and it is my job to teach, show, demonstrate and engage my children in learning about their Savior. My job is to serve my family by doing all the seemingly unimportant chores. My ministry is my husband and supporting him, encouraging him and serving him so he can succeed at work.

I was starting to be convicted of this before we came back from holidays and then since we have been back it has been affirmed time and time again. I was reading a friends blog and she wrote about and article she wrote about the "Myth of ME Time...."

Me Time is a myth. It is an unattainable, always interruptible, never satisfying piece of junk psychology. Me Time, by its very name, suggests that who we are during the daily grind is not who we truly are. It begs us to search for fulfillment outside of the titles of “wife” and “mother.” It accuses precious little ones and God-given spouses for suppressing us. It reduces motherhood to a disease in which little dirty faces and endless monotonous tasks slowly suck the life out of us. It says we can never be refreshed by spending time in the presence of those we care for day in and day out. It points out a perceived hole in our world that needs to be filled, a tank that must be refueled, a monster that will swallow us if we neglect to feed it Me Time.

You can read the full article here. I do think that "Me Time" is much needed whether you are a mom or a dad and it is an important part of doing my job as a mom well. Someone recently said that time away provides you with emotional resilience, it is like the lubricant for the gears and without it things start to grind together or break down. But what challenged me was how much of my focus during the day was on getting that time for myself and how I looked forward only to when John was home and I could get a break. I thought that I could only be fulfilled, recharge is when I was away. I failed to see how much joy and fulfillment can come from serving your kids, your family and your spouse by caring for them, providing meals for them, a clean house, cuddles and focused time on them.

The best way to capture everything that has been going on in my head is in the last couple of paragraphs of the article...

We must cease to see the role of wife and mother as a job we put aside at the end of the day. We must do our daily tasks cheerfully, as unto the Lord. We must learn to enjoy being home with our families. We must find contentment in serving others. We should spend more time drinking in the beauty of our children, searching their eyes, holding their hands, being Mom. When we do feel neglected or overworked, we must immediately seek the Lord to refresh us and keep us from sin.

There will be days when we are afforded opportunities to do things alone or with other women, but if we are content in our God-given role, we will no longer cling so tightly to these moments as the only way to save our sanity. Our need for Me Time will fade as we begin to see motherhood as a blessing not to be escaped, but embraced.

I love that right when I got back to Saudi and when I was starting to sort through what I was being taught, that my friend wrote her blog post. It seemed to just put together all the pieces for me and give me the little extra clarity. I look forward to the next six months, year and longer finding the blessings and contentment in serving my children, husband and my family.

Stop Growing....Please

2012-01-14T09:19:00.000+03:00

Although I know we were on vacation for nearly two months, it is still crazy to me how much both Peyton and Graham have changed and grown up.....and it makes me sad. I know all parents say they just don't know where the time goes and it is so true. Time flies by and what was once your little baby girl is now a spirited toddler and your little baby boy that you just brought home from the hospital is now crawling and getting into everything.

About a year ago, Peyton and I really started to find our grove with discipline, expectations and started to have a good system. It has continued and although we have moments and sometimes brief phases, I feel like she has good, consistent structure and discipline and I have a routine that works and therefore we are a happy family. She is so opinionated, thinks she knows everything, will tell you that she knows best and loves to attempt to negotiate with me. She is a firecracker! She makes me want to scream and pull my hair out often and yet makes me laugh with her very lengthy (and often creative) explanations on why she should do things. She questions everything.

She is also so sweet, friendly and I am amazed at her ability to just go and make friends wherever. She has no fear and just runs up to any kids her age, says her names and starts playing. Peyton has wonderful manners and often says, "no thanks," to questions, always says "please and thank you," orders her food and is so polite. She has learned how to talk on the phone well and will walk off with the phone and talk in "private." She is incredibly silly, has a great imagination and loves to just be silly and goof off with me. We often play the most random games...like silly goose poses, duck cat and other random animal combinations and she just has so much fun. I love her laugh!

Peyton loves quality time and cuddles. She adores her family and always needs to know where everyone is. She has a wonderful relationship with her extended family and knows that they love her and she adores them. She loves her brother and whenever she hears him waking up in the morning or from his nap she runs in there immediately and tells him good morning. She often asks where Graham is and when he is crying will start singing to him. She is a good big sister but she gets frustrated when he touches her stuff and is having to learn to share with her brother!

Peyton likes routine, things done the same way at the same time and does not do well with unexpected change. She has a strong opinion on how things should be done and doesn't handle it well when you do it differently. And did I mention that she looks (and acts) just like her daddy....

The biggest milestone lately for Peyton is finally becoming potty trained! When we were in Washington my mom had her throw her diaper over the deck of her house and yell, "no more diapers." Peyton thought it was hilarious and we would joke about it over the next few days and it worked! She still sleeps at night time in her diaper but other than that we are diaper free. Another example of how she will do things when she wants to. Might have taken over a year but hey...she decided she was ready and here we are!

As for Graham....I can't even begin to list the amount of milestones he has hit in two months...he is such a happy, smiling, go with the flow baby and he is such a big boy! My dad nicknamed him "the Rock," because he is just solid!

These past two months you have....crawled, said Mama and Dada, started pulling up, drinking from a cup, feeding yourself table food, clapping your hands, playing peek-a-boo with your hands and blankets, said "Dog," making kissing sounds......

You are definitely a boy and are into everything, have no fear and I am pretty sure you have had a bruise or scratch on you since you started sitting up on your own. You ADORE your sister and love to wrestle with her, follow her, annoy her and just want to be around her. You get sad when she is crying and when she is in timeout you crawl after her and try to give her hugs which normally result in her laughing. You don't like me telling you "no" or "don't touch" and typically don't try it more than once. You LOVE outlets and despite many "don't touch" you still go for them and it drives me crazy!

Your favorite time of the day is lunch time. You are a little cranky by dinner but at lunch you are happy and ready to eat and you EAT! You are starting to eat pretty much whatever we have for lunch or dinner and then some baby food on the side. You are not picky at all and I love that you will eat anything. You are getting frustrated if you can't do it yourself and would rather pick up food than be fed. You also LOVE to give the dog food and don't seem to understand why you can't.

You are a sweet boy and although you move a thousand times more than your sister did and rarely sit still you still cuddle mommy now and again. You won't sit still for story and even when you get your bottles you don't want to be too cuddled but when you are sleepy or get hurt you will immediately come to your mommy and will cuddle in my arms.

I am so thankful that I get to be mommy to these two precious children. It is by far the hardest job I have ever had but the most rewarding!

Beach day....in January

2012-01-13T16:01:00.003+03:00

It was beautiful outside today! 74 degrees, just the right amount of sun and a light wind! So, we went and had lunch at the Golf House and then headed to the beach afterwards to play for a little bit and so I could do my photography homework for a class I am taking on metering. Peyton has been asking since we got home to go to the beach so she was incredibly excited. She was also being a little sassy all morning long....

She immediately wanted to go swimming and was off towards the water....

And then she realized it was actually pretty cold....

I saw a woman in her abaya fishing down the beach. I was so scared to try and get a picture but I had Peyton run in that direction to play and pretend like I was taking a picture of her and instead was able to catch the woman. It is pretty normal to see women on the beach in their abayas even in the summer and often we see women swimming. I don't know how they stand the heat and then swimming in it.

Graham was my subject for my homework and he LOVED the beach. He was crawling everywhere. Trying to eat sand and thought it was the best place ever. He had a blast and is currently napping hard from exhaustion.

Then I finally was able to get a picture of me and Peyton! I love it and I can't even begin to count how many bad pictures I have with that silly girl!

Easy Dog Puppet Craft

2012-01-11T09:21:00.001+03:00

In an attempt to not go as stir crazy and be more purposeful with the time that we do have at home. I decided to make a craft/activity box. One night a week is my planning night where I look for, print off and prepare various crafts to store in the box. I put each one in a large ziploc bag with all of the materials needed including glue sticks, crayons....pretty much anything we will need so I don't have to take the time to gather all the materials. I have an assortment of things in there from preschool worksheets, simple crafts, games, crafts related to our bible lesson for the week and pretty much anything that I would be happy about doing at anytime of the day regardless if Graham is awake etc. So, the idea is that when we are bored out of our mind and have nothing to do I just pull something out and we have an activity to last about 15-30 minutes and help us get out of our "we are bored" mood.

This morning we did our first craft which I got off of DLTK's website which has a wealth of ideas for preschool crafts. The paper bag dog craft was super easy to prepare...all I did was print off the pieces from the website, gather a glue stick, and paper bag. Peyton did the whole thing by herself and loved it. She had the idea to give him a collar, leash and a name tag so I did run around and get some construction paper, ribbon and a hole punch while she was gluing the pieces on. It was lots of fun, a break from the normal and once we were finished she went around to look for things to make him a cage, a bed and food which resulted in an additional 30 minutes of play time!

New Year...New Hopes...New Goals...

2012-01-10T10:21:00.000+03:00

I can not say that 2011 was a bad year because it was the year that we welcomed Graham into our family and he is such a precious blessing and we are so thankful for him....but I will say that I am glad 2011 is over and past us!

It was such a difficult year, so many ups and downs, changes, challenges and I am thankful we made it through. With having a difficult pregnancy, birth of a baby and adjusting to having two kids, moving across the world, John changing jobs, putting our house on the market (hoping it sells soon) and adjusting to life in the Middle East...it has been rough! I looked back at my post for the goals for 2011 and I happy to say that we kept our resolutions...we made it through the year and are at a good place as a family, in our marriage and in our relationships with God.

And now it is time have new goals and hopes for 2012....

To continue to date, pursue and put my marriage first. As hard as this year has been we have continued to grow and are in a very good place. I am so thankful that our marriage has been protected from all the ups and downs.
To be more intentional in instructing our kids in the ways of the Lord. Being purposeful with our time, activities and opportunities to teach, show and demonstrate God's love for them.
Pursue my interest in photography more through courses, time, practice and allow it to be my creative outlet....without feeling guilty for the time and money it takes!
Establish a healthy, manageable routine and balance that allows me to care for myself physically, mentally and emotionally so I can be in the best position/shape to care my husband, family and others.
To protect my thoughts and my mind from the negative by living in the moment and finding the blessings in my life daily and thanking God for where we are now, how I am serving Him now, what my job looks like today, and what is happening today in my life.

Hope and pray that everyone has a wonderful 2012 and that God continues to richly bless you and your families!

Where has the time gone?

2012-01-02T14:50:00.000+03:00

A whole lot has happened since I was able to sit down and blog way back in November. We traveled some more (trip to Texas) and spent more time with family and then enjoyed showing John around Washington when he came and now we are all back in Saudi and trying to get back into a routine and looking forward to what the next six months or so here look like. Now that I have more of a routine I am going to try to update so at least I have a record of what we have been doing!

Stay tuned for lots of pictures and videos....and other tidbits about our life!

New Years Eve

2011-12-31T09:19:00.000+03:00

We spend New Year's Eve traveling back to Saudi! We flew out of Washington on the 30th and arrived in Saudi the evening of the 31st. We successfully made it back with all 8 of our suitcases...each weighing 50lbs...our car seats, stroller and two kids and looked like a traveling circus! I was so thankful to have John on the way home and really don't know how I would have handled all the bags and kids and car returns etc without him. We made it through customs again without any issue (the guy was playing on his iPhone while the bags were going through the xray), got all our bags into the car and headed back home to celebrate New Years sitting on our couch with two very wide awake kids!

John took off to additional days to help with unpacking, jet lag and getting us settled which was much needed and appreciated! We tried to go and pick up our dog a day early and drove all the way there to realize that they were closed on New Years Day which resulted in Peyton getting very upset (totally our fault and we felt awful). We finally got him the next day and everyone was very happy to see each other and Peyton hasn't left his side.

It has taken about a week but everyone is finally sleeping in and back to our normal schedule and we are getting back into our routine and ready to kick off the year here in Saudi!

Christmas Day

2011-12-25T10:00:00.000+03:00

I can't even begin to explain how thankful I was to be spending Christmas with my family and that John was also able to be there with us. When we moved we began preparing ourselves for not being able to come home since we would have only been there such a short time and we were so happy that we could come back. It was such a nice time with family and it felt so good to have the normalcy of family traditions and the familiarity of our Christmas celebrations when these past six months have been so chaotic. And since it was Graham's first Christmas I was happy that he could celebrate with everyone!

Peyton was so excited the night before and had a hard time going to sleep and then the next morning we had to wake her up! She was shocked that the stockings were filled and that there was soot on the fireplace!

Peyton was a little angry that Santa ate ALL of her cookies! She was so excited to leave them the night before and I guess she either didn't believe us or thought he would just eat one or two.

I have hardly any pictures of opening presents :( There were six adults, two kids and a dog all trying to open their presents so it was a little chaotic. Graham loved the wrapping paper and the craziness and we spent most of the morning trying to keep him from eating paper!

Peyton had been asking for a piggy bank for ages. She asked shortly after we moved and well...that is the last thing I would be able to find here in Saudi. So, she got one from Santa and was so excited! She also got numerous games and books and some new light up shoes and just loved the excitement of Christmas morning.

John and I didn't get gifts for each since we had spent so much on travel, buying things to bring back to Saudi etc....well....John was supposed to not get me a gift but instead surprised me with a Couch purse. He gave it to me shortly after he got there so I could use it out on our date nights and not carry a diaper bag! I had seen it in Saudi awhile ago and said it was nice but didn't think he would ever buy it. It is a special edition purse to commemorate the 70th Anniversary. Now if I could just reduce how much stuff I have to carry everyday...I could use it more!

I also got some photography books and a Kelly Moore camera bag and then John got a iPod touch and Apple TV. A good Christmas indeed!

My mom decided to make us wear matching PJ's again and so we took a family picture.....

Then later that day my mom hosted Christmas dinner and my Aunts and Uncles and Cousins all came down from Canada and we had 20 people around the table! I have never (to my knowledge) spent Christmas Day with my dad's side of the family and it was so nice to be able to spend the holidays with them. The food was delicious and it was such a wonderful night! Truly my favorite gift of the day....lots of family!

Lost in the Forest

2011-12-22T08:47:00.000+03:00

I almost forgot to blog about our wild hike through the trails behind my parents house!

We decided one morning to go out and explore the trails so we got everyone (my parents, my two sisters, the kids, and my sisters dog Max) dressed and put Graham in the Baby Bjorn and set off. There is a huge trail system behind their house and there are actually rumors that it might be made into a state park someday which would be awesome. Right now it is just some former logging property. It was a beautiful hike and we had a great time.

We followed the marked trails all the way to the top and had an amazing view of the Canadian mountain ranges and then of Lake Whatcom and Bellingham. It was such a nice spot and flat too! John and I joked that we should built a house right there and we could hike down to my parents everyday.

Then we headed back and that is when things got interesting! We decided to go a different way and were doing great staying on the trails and heading along and then...depending on who you ask....we went off the trails and that is when we got lost. We started wandering around, around and around and after awhile started getting nervous.

Graham hadn't eaten in four hours which was amazing for him and I didn't know how much longer he would last. We kept being silly so Peyton wouldn't think something was wrong and we kept just going down and hoping we would find something. We finally started hearing the road and headed towards there. We then did what you probably aren't supposed to do...we split up. My two sisters and the dog headed towards the road with instructions to walk back to the house and get the car and then head back and pick us up. Then the rest of us would find a safer way to the road.

Well, we started heading down to the road and came across and house and their fence. We couldn't figure a way around the fence. All of the sudden we hear a woman calling and asking us if we needed help. We went into her yard and she invited us into her house and once we explained our situation she offered to take me and my dad back to the house (pick up my sisters along the way) to get the car while my mom, John, Peyton and Graham stayed at her house. We got in her car, found my sisters who made it a pretty good distance and then went to the house and I drove back (with a bottle) to get the rest. Then Peyton cried how she didn't want to leave the house because of all the cool toys (the woman had two little boys).

When we got home we realized that we had been gone for hours and once we got a map and looked at was probably our path we figured that we walked over three miles. I was super impressed with Peyton for walking that much and not getting upset. We all slept well that night for sure!

Letter to Santa

2011-12-21T13:45:00.000+03:00

Peyton was very much into the whole Santa thing this year! Lots of questions and waiting anxiously for Christmas to come. One day she wrote a letter to Santa with my mom's help and we went off to Macy's to mail it. I loved that in her letter she asked Santa to bring Graham a truck and some baby food!

After mailing the letter we went and had lunch and then went to finish up some Christmas shopping. While we were walking in the mall, Peyton saw Santa. She was so excited and kept asking to see him. I really didn't want to wait in line but there was no stopping her. She didn't care and just wanted to talk to Santa. So, we waited in line...and while were waiting I started to realize that we should get the kids pictures done and that this would be Graham's first time seeing Santa....and well....I probably should have dressed them to match...or more Christmas like....or at least in nice clothes. Then I thought to myself...maybe I have time to run into Gymboree and buy something....oh, but then John would kill me for buying unnecessary clothes. I just continued to take deep breathes and remember that it didn't matter what they were wearing and that this was just about the experience and we made it to the front of the line and Peyton ran into Santa's lap and started chatting away. She even made sure that Graham was sitting with her and that Santa knew what he wanted. Graham thought Santa was awesome. And well, Mommy just went with it.....trying to not think about how nicer the picture would be with Christmas outfits because this isn't the real meaning of Christmas, it doesn't matter and well, Jesus was born in a stable and didn't have a perfect little outfit picked out.

Cookie Decorating

2011-12-20T09:30:00.000+03:00

Every year my family decorates sugar cookies and it has been fun to watch Peyton get into it more and more each passing year. This year she helped my mom bake them one afternoon and then she did great decorating. Such a fun family memory and I loved that despite all the miles between us and all the different states and countries we live in...we were able to continue this tradition this year!

Finally.....DADDY!

2011-12-18T22:30:00.000+03:00

Just a couple of days after we made it back up to Washington, John arrived! I could not have been more excited to see him and have an extra pair of hands with the kids. Even if you are with family and they are helping you out it just isn't the same without your partner!

I surprised him by bringing the kids with me to the airport to pick him up. It was a two hour drive so I had mentioned that it might be too much for them. He was so happy to see them and they were both happy to see their daddy. Peyton had made signs and was over the moon happy and wanted only daddy. Graham was smiling and was happy to finally see him in person as opposed to hearing him on Skype and wondering where he was. After we left the airport we went and ate lunch in Seattle and walked around the market and then headed to my parents.

While John was in town we showed him all our favorite eating spots, trails and also various neighborhoods and houses....hoping to convince him that we should move there!

We went to Vancouver for the day, drove around and also visited the aquarium. When we were leaving we told Peyton that whatever animal was her favorite that we would go back one more time and see it....after much thought she replied....the monkeys! Seriously! Out of all the amazing fish, whales, dolphins etc she picked the monkeys!

John also managed to go snowboarding with my dad and my sister one day and reports were that he did pretty well! I had the chance to go one day and didn't...don't know why but I just wasn't up for it and didn't feel like falling constantly and beating my body up and then having to do mommy duty! John was sore for days and it didn't seem worth it!

John and I also managed to get out on a few dates which was wonderful! Although we are pretty consistent on having a weekly date night at home here in Saudi, it is not the same as being able to go out somewhere nice! My sister flew into Seattle from Abu Dhabi and her flight arrived at midnight so....one afternoon/evening we went to Seattle and went shopping (at Nordstroms...happy!!!), then went and had drinks and appetizers at the Four Seasons, dinner (at 10:30 PM) at the Pink Door and then dessert at the Purple Cafe! When we made reservations for dinner and all they had was 10:30 PM I just had to laugh! I don't remember the last time we were out that late and 10:30 PM is normally bed time for us...not go out for dinner! John surprised me by going to Nordstroms at the beginning of the night and getting me a new fun date outfit and then we just enjoyed walking around Seattle, sitting at restrarants, holiding hands and spennding time together!

Another night while in Bellingham we went to Hearthfire Grill and had the most AMAZING food! I have never finished my entire plate at dinner and I devoured my food. It was delicious! We have also never asked to tell the chef how great our dinner was and we had to just compliment him! I had a salmon dish and John had a tuna steak and it was wonderful! We got there just before nine and had amazing service and another late night of wonderful conversation, lots of discussions about the past six months and then looking forward to our future! So beyond thankful for the time we go to have together!

Deep in the Heart of Texas

2011-12-13T19:15:00.000+03:00

I decided to brave another solo travel experience with the kids the beginning of December and we headed down to Texas to visit with John's mom and our friends that we left in League City. We were gone for around 10 days and had so much fun, many wonderful memories and conversations and I loved all the time we had with everyone and was overwhelmed with friend's hospitality.

This travel experience was a little more complicated and overwhelming and I would even say that flying solo from Saudi to Seattle was almost easier than the whole Seattle to Houston round trip experience mostly because I didn't buy a seat for Graham and thought I could handle him in my lap and I was adding a car rental on each end. The seat thing was annoying and certainly made it so much harder to manage two kids alone when I only had one hand available and trying to hold Graham with the other and he is just too big and doesn't fit in my lap. Lesson learned that just because he is under two doesn't mean he should be in my lap especially on a five hour flight and alone! As for the bags and having to deal with moving baggage from the airport to the car rental place (of course off site both times) along with two kids, car seats and a stroller. We survived mainly due to extremely helpful porters and the car rental bus driver in Houston and then the rental car people in Seattle. We rented from Enterprise in both places and they went above and beyond to help me out and I was so thankful!

Because I was solo and moving between three houses, visiting lots of people...it turns out that I was pretty bad about taking pictures :(

We started out the trip staying at our friends house and enjoyed spending time with them and visiting. We then got together with our old small group...from before we were even married...for lunch and play time at another friend's house, The Shelton's. It was such a wonderful morning of visiting with dear friends who have gone through life with us...from marriage to babies to people moving. I am so thankful for our first small group and the instrumental part they have been and continue to be in our life. We haven't done small group with them for about four years yet they all remain dear friends. And....as a side note.....when we started small group we had zero kids in our group....now between all of us...there are six kids and another one on the way!

Peyton loved playing with her friend Emma and they played so well together! They just clicked and played constantly. It was so much fun to watch them talk and hear their imagination running wild! Lots of fun! And Graham watched their little one who is about three months older than him intently and learned some new skills from Henry and shortly after coming back from Texas started crawling and pulling up on things.

After a couple of days we headed to Beaumont to visit with my college roommate and maid of honor. She had her son just a couple of weeks after I had Graham and although we did make a quick trip out to see her before we moved I haven't really been able to see her as a mommy and it was so fun to watch her in her new role! I love that we are both in this stage of life and it is so much fun that our little boys are the same age. They loved each other and just we fascinated with each other and Peyton did great playing with two babies! We only wished we had more than a couple of nights with them! It was so much fun to catch up, pick up right where we left of and have fun, silly, meaningful, challenging and great girl talk together...over a glass or two of wine of course!

And doesn't Peyton look ecstatic to be having her picture taken?

Following Beaumont we headed back to League City and met up with friends from a Mommy group I was in for dinner and crammed in some Christmas activities the next few days....we had Christmas with Grandma Martha at her house.

Grandma was able to take off both Fridays I was there to spend the day with us and we were able to spend the days shopping, eating and hanging out. Peyton was so happy to see her Grandma Martha and Graham warmed up pretty quick. I only wish we had more time to spend with her and just hang out as opposed to having to run and go.

We also went to the Festival of Lights with friends and enjoyed walking around and getting into the Christmas spirit.

Also while we were back we attended our church home in their newest campus and I was so thankful to be able to be there worshiping freely! And I was so happy to see our church growing and reaching more people in the area. It was pretty awesome! The preschoolers were singing on stage that day and I had known about it so I had practiced the song on the plane with Peyton and talked to her about it and so she ended up singing on stage! She did so well and did some of the hand movements and singing! It helped that the song was one she knew from school last year.

I had wanted to go to church the next weekend which was one of the reasons I planned my trip so I could have two Sundays in Texas but me and the kids were both sick :(

We also had a breakfast morning with the girls from the last small group we had and loved catching up and hearing how God is using them in the new groups they are all leading or the way they are serving in a church plant. I am thankful for that girl time we had!

We did so much during our trip and I loved every moment we had with friends and their families. I only wish we had more time with everyone and time to relax in between. I didn't get to see everyone I wanted to and I was pretty tired by the end of it but it was so nice to go back to what used to be our home. Hopefully next time John can come with me...we can see more family and more friends and just have more time. Miss all of you and thank you so much for everyone's wonderful hospitality.

Check Up

2011-12-06T20:00:00.000+03:00

Another reason we headed to Texas is to have a pediatrician appointment for both of the kids as a check up/make sure nothing serious is going on with a trusted doctor that we know. I don't suggest doing two kids well child check ups at the same time for the sake of your sanity and the staffs sanity but I didn't have a choice and thankfully everyone was very helpful, patient and it all worked out.

Here are the stats.....

Peyton*

Height: 38 3/4" (73%)

Weight: 32 lbs 8 oz (57%)

*at 3 years 3 months

She was full of questions that day and was asking the doctor about everything and anything. She even asked him how he became a doctor, where he went to school, where was his school, where does he live....and on and on and on! So...there is no real concern on her language development and he didn't have any real concerns developmentally. He did observe that her hair was not healthy looking and her skin a little pale and suggested a multi vitamin rich in Omegas and adding more fatty acids to her diet considering she rarely eats fish, she doesn't like the milk here in Saudi and since being here her diet has gotten worse. We started her on a daily vitamin rich in Omegas and already I see a difference in her hair.

Graham

Height: 31" (99%)

Weight: 25 lbs 5 oz (98%)

Head Circumference: 18 3/4" (98%)

So the doctor comes in and says, "I hope you like football...because you will be watching many games with this kid." Pretty much Graham is a big kid! He probably won't thin out and I should continue to expect him to be just a big baby! He is healthy, not overweight and doing great but is just a big boy! The doctor was very happy with his development, eating and sleeping habits and said he is a healthy and very happy boy (which I knew)! All he said was for me to remember that although he looks older and like he should be doing certain things that he isn't. He had some blood work done and it was all fine. He had some vaccinations and was a champ. Such a sweet and happy boy!

Mt Baker

2011-11-30T08:46:00.000+03:00

Before we left for Texas we decided to drive up to Mt Baker and see if we could find some places to sled. We didn't do too well on finding a suitable place and we left too late in the day but we did get to play in the snow for a little bit!

Who needs snow?

2011-11-29T08:25:00.001+03:00

When it snowed I bought a couple of sleds to use on the hills in front of my parents house and of course we have had no snow since then.

Well, today we had a gorgeous day and so Peyton was outside with my mom while I was finishing up lunch with Graham. When I came out she asked for her sled, I was confused, she explained in greater and louder detail and I found the sled and of we went and we had so much fun! We seriously just went down the wet hills and had a blast. She was soaked but it was worth it!

And of course after awhile just Peyton going by herself was not enough fun and somehow Mommy was convinced to join in the fun. Although I am not as brave as Peyton and was scared and felt like a baby.

Then we both decided to go which was a bad idea...I was scared by myself and so when I added Peyton I was even more scared because I didn't want anything to happen to her. We ended up falling and I have a bruise on my hip and Peyton thought it was hilarious!

I bought some ski pants for Peyton today at Target for $15 so she won't be soaked when we go out again and also when we head out to Mt Baker eventually. Peyton is already asking to go tomorrow!

Christmas Tree Farm

2011-11-27T07:46:00.000+03:00

On Saturday we headed to a Christmas Tree Farm to find the perfect tree. I was so excited to have the chance to have a real tree this year and also for the fun experience to look around and find that perfect tree. And I can even think of a better setting a view to be looking for Christmas trees in! I loved it! It was such a fun memory and although according to my mom, we got way too big of a tree, I love the tree and it is starting to feel like Christmas!

Mt Baker in the background....I just love being surronded by mountains!

Graham chilling in the baby Bjorn with mommy!

Peyton hunting for the perfect tree! She wanted a "giant' one!

Found it...now time to help Papa cut it down!

The tree is home and we are working on putting the lights on! Isn't it a perfect, big, fat tree! I love it!

Thanksgiving Recap

2011-11-26T07:23:00.000+03:00

This Thanksgiving might not have had the largest gathering of people, or the most glamorous of locations or gourmet meal but it was full of love, thankfulness and just joy for being around people that I love and have missed so much. I have missed my family more than I knew. Maybe I just turned that off and didn't think about it while I was away but now that I have them around I realize how much I miss them, the loudness, craziness and dynamic that my family has. It really all hit me when I saw my youngest sister walk in the door from flying up from Lubbock and realizing how much I missed her. I don't talk to her on Skype everyday or on the phone because she is in college and busy and has a weird college schedule and so I have missed her. So, this Thanksgiving when we went around and said what we were thankful for...I was thankful for family, and that I was sitting around the table with my family near complete (and at Christmas we will finally be all together for the first time since May). The table was full of love, and an undeniable family bond complete with my parents, sister and Aunt and Uncle and my precious kids and I was full of thankfulness....and turkey!

And true to form...Graham tried everything and LOVED it and Peyton ate nothing besides bread...although she tried the cranberries.

Thankful Thursdays

2011-11-24T21:09:00.000+03:00

This is a continuation from my first post of reflecting on our blessings and reasons to give thanks during the month of November...

Psalm 106:1 "Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!" I am thankful in the promise that no matter where I am... that I am loved by an amazing Savior!
I am thankful that my husband has a job. Although he is now working 12 hour shifts up until we leave to go home to the states...I am focusing on the positive that he has a well paying job and can provide for us.
I am thankful for my two kids and the laughter they provide in my day!
I am thankful for my little sister Shannon! Happy Birthday! I am thankful for the time that I had while we were living in Texas to spend with her and the growth that we had in our relationship. I am thankful for the direction her life is going and the positive and great things going on in her life. I am thankful for the love she has for my kids.
Thankful for the Texas vs. Texas Tech football game (big family rivalry with one sister a Tech alumni and the other attending) being broadcasted live in Saudi and that I got to watch half of it cuddling with my husband before he had to go back to work! And that the Longhorns won!!! Hook 'Em Horns!
I am thankful for the beautiful beach we live right next to (seriously a five minute walk at that) and for a wonderful morning eating breakfast with friends and playing at the beach! Thankful for God's amazing creation!
I am thankful that I am able to fly back to the States and spend seven wonderful weeks with family and friends!
Thankful for a wonderful day with G and that Peyton and her have picked up right where they left off. Thankful for the relationship they have and how much my mom loves my kids and is such an important and wonderful influence in their lives!
Thankful for God's creation and the amazing beauty of it. Love seeing the mountains, lake and gorgeous view every morning when we wake up here in Washington. Amazing!
Thankful for technology and how it makes the distance across the world seem smaller!
Thankful for those who have served and continue to serve to protect the freedoms we have in the States and in Canada. So many people live without the freedom to vote, drive, have an opinion, freedom of speech and I am forever grateful for those who have served and died for those freedoms for us. I am even more thankful for my Grandpa and his service to Canada during WWII.
Thankful that Papa had a safe flight up from Houston and the time that Peyton is spending with her friend. Thankful that he is patient with her and lets her help him with all kinds of projects.
Thankful for my parents and their commitment to one another and 30 years of marriage!
Thankful for the freedom to drive and go where I please and whenever I please! So thankful!
I am thankful that I can drive to Barnes and Noble and buy Christian books! Thankful for the freedom of religion!
Thankful for my mom who watched my kids while I enjoyed a 3 mile run through the trails of Whatcom Creek Falls. A great run in beautiful weather and gorgeous surrondings!
Thankful for my friends in Texas who have continued to stay in touch with me and are planning time to visit while we are there. I am thankful for their hospitality and excitment to see me and my family! I am so looking forward to seeing them!
Thankful for real water and not having to shower in salt water! My hair is very appreciative!
Thankful for the opportunity to freely attend church and sing praises to my Saviour with hundreds of other people.
Thankful for my husband who is working hard while we are gone at his job and at finishing up unpacking and things I wanted to get done around the house.
Thankful for rain, the change in seasons and nature!
Thankful for two healthy kids who continue to grow and thrive.
Thankful that we have a bountiful feast to enjoy tomorrow and for our blessings.
Thankful to be spending Thanksgiving with family!

On the move...

2011-11-23T19:59:00.000+03:00

Graham finally figured out how to coordinate all his legs and arms and get moving in a forward direction and he is one happy guy!

Last week (I think around the 16th) he started pushing himself back into a sitting position which is almost better in crawling in my opinion. I have a feeling I will be doing lots of chasing with him! I already forgot he was able to crawl when I was in Barnes and Noble and just sat him down to help Peyton with a book and within a minute he was off and Peyton was telling me that Graham was running away.

He just screams with excitment when he is on the move and I know he is just going to be trouble! Fun times!

Snow, Donuts and Cars

2011-11-20T03:51:00.001+03:00

Peyton is living the good life and being spoiled left and right by G and Papa and enjoying Washington as much as her mother!

She went outside to play in the snow the other morning. However she was dissapointed that there wasn't enough to make a snowman.

Then this morning she woke up early and went off with Papa to Rocket Donuts for a special breakfast. She woke up at 5 AM and asked me if it was time and I told her to go to bed, she did and apparently just went down at 6 AM to Papa and G's room in hopes she could get a different answer, they got her to go back to sleeep for another hour and then they were finally off. She had 2 donuts there and then they came home with some for us including the "monster donut."

After our sugar filled morning they surprised her with her very own set of wheels. Seriously, they had her go out and opened the garage door to reveal her very own car. It felt kind of like the Price is Right. What makes this even more fun is that this is something that my sisters and I wanted so badly growing up and of course we never got one! She was so surprised and loved it! I was surprised at how well she did driving and so I spent the morning chasing her around the driveway and she is already asking to go back out but the battery takes awhile to recharge.

We are having a good time at G and Papa's and Mommy is being spoiled with extra hands to take care of babies, ability to go and run on bautiful trails and relax with my family!

My little ballerina

2011-11-18T23:30:00.000+03:00

Yesterday turned out to be such a fun day. We went to eat lunch at a fun organic food cafe downtown and then Peyton started going on and on about how much she wanted ballet shoes. She talked about it the other day as well. There is a ballet instructor in Saudi on our camp and I just haven't put Peyton in it because I didn't think she would be interested or ready and she also was doing swimming and didn't want to overwhelm her. But with swimming being put on hold and Peyton starting to express an interest in dancing/ballet/princesses, I am hoping to get her started in ballet lessons when we return.

Since I knew that there is no way we would find what she would need in Saudi to start so we found an amazing dance store in downtown Bellingham. It is run by a husband and wife and they were so helpful and sweet. They had this adorable pink couch for Peyton to sit on to try on her shoes and it was such a fun experience buying Peyton's first ballet shoes. I only did ballet for a little bit when I was young but it was still surreal and fun to buy my daughter her first ballet shoes!

After shoes we needed to pick out a leotard and skirt and tights. I would have keep getting more and more and the girly side in me was coming out and surprisngly Peyton was all about it! We stuck with a simple leotard and skirt instead of the relaly cute and over the top outfits and I told myself if she likes ballet and keeps with it then this summer we will have to come back and get some of the more elaborate outfits!

When I did ballet when I was younger there was an instructor who gave me her ballet sweater after a class. My sister was in that class as well and was so jealous that I got the sweater and not her. My mom reminded me about that story while we were there and I was so tempted to buy Peyton a sweater and didn't. I figured I should look around in the various boxes in storage and find the special sweater and pass it onto her!

Then when we came home it was time for our ballerina to show us her moves! She is so adorable and wouldn't take off her outfit. She was so excited to show Papa over skype and twirl around for us. I can't wait for her to actually be able to do her lessons and see my little girl do ballet! I can't believe she is old enough to have ballet shoes. I think the only thing that I would have a harder time with our have a more surreal moment would be buying her a horse riding helmet/gear. Now that would be very overwhelming!

Not in Saudi anymore...Snow!!!!

2011-11-18T07:48:00.001+03:00

Looks like we might have a snow day in the morning...we were expecting possible snow the next couple of days and it already started tonight just after Peyton went to sleep so I am hoping that it is still here in the morning for her...but then melt so we can go out to a Christmas market!

Thankful Thursday

2011-11-17T21:21:00.000+03:00

This is a continuation from my first post of reflecting on our blessings and reasons to give thanks during the month of November...

Psalm 106:1 "Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!" I am thankful in the promise that no matter where I am... that I am loved by an amazing Savior!
I am thankful that my husband has a job. Although he is now working 12 hour shifts up until we leave to go home to the states...I am focusing on the positive that he has a well paying job and can provide for us.
I am thankful for my two kids and the laughter they provide in my day!
I am thankful for my little sister Shannon! Happy Birthday! I am thankful for the time that I had while we were living in Texas to spend with her and the growth that we had in our relationship. I am thankful for the direction her life is going and the positive and great things going on in her life. I am thankful for the love she has for my kids.
Thankful for the Texas vs. Texas Tech football game (big family rivalry with one sister a Tech alumni and the other attending) being broadcasted live in Saudi and that I got to watch half of it cuddling with my husband before he had to go back to work! And that the Longhorns won!!! Hook 'Em Horns!
I am thankful for the beautiful beach we live right next to (seriously a five minute walk at that) and for a wonderful morning eating breakfast with friends and playing at the beach! Thankful for God's amazing creation!
I am thankful that I am able to fly back to the States and spend seven wonderful weeks with family and friends!
Thankful for a wonderful day with G and that Peyton and her have picked up right where they left off. Thankful for the relationship they have and how much my mom loves my kids and is such an important and wonderful influence in their lives!
Thankful for God's creation and the amazing beauty of it. Love seeing the mountains, lake and gorgeous view every morning when we wake up here in Washington. Amazing!
Thankful for technology and how it makes the distance across the world seem smaller!
Thankful for those who have served and continue to serve to protect the freedoms we have in the States and in Canada. So many people live without the freedom to vote, drive, have an opinion, freedom of speech and I am forever grateful for those who have served and died for those freedoms for us. I am even more thankful for my Grandpa and his service to Canada during WWII.
Thankful that Papa had a safe flight up from Houston and the time that Peyton is spending with her friend. Thankful that he is patient with her and lets her help him with all kinds of projects.
Thankful for my parents and their commitment to one another and 30 years of marriage!
Thankful for the freedom to drive and go where I please and whenever I please! So thankful!
I am thankful that I can drive to Barnes and Noble and buy Christian books! Thankful for the freedom of religion!
Thankful for my mom who watched my kids while I enjoyed a 3 mile run through the trails of Whatcom Creek Falls. A great run in beautiful weather and gorgeous surrondings!
Thankful for my friends in Texas who have continued to stay in touch with me and are planning time to visit while we are there. I am thankful for their hospitality and excitment to see me and my family! I am so looking forward to seeing them!

Midweek Ramblings

2011-11-16T21:33:00.001+03:00

I am so bad about updating the blog! We have been loving Washington and I have pretty much decided that if I could have it my way we would be moving here right after Saudi. I have been looking at houses as we drive around and already have a stack of ones that I think would be just perfect for us...and they are all within a reasonable price range! I will have to do a post sometime of all my favorite houses.

Here are some ramblings about what we have been up to...

We have been enjoying the trails a bunch! We have gone several times to feed the ducks and walk around and love the trails here. There are so many that I am sure we will never get bored and there will always be a new one to explore. One day when we went to the park I overheard a couple of moms who were leaving talking about how they were off to run some errands. I was just thinking how wonderful it would be to go for a walk along the trails in the morning with the kids before you started your day. Love!

I was able to go for a run today! I went down to the trails and ran with Max..my sisters lab that my mom is watching...and we did a 3 mile run through the trails along the Whatcom Creek Falls. It was a wonderful run! 35 degrees and beautiful scenery and just the right amount of hills. Such a wonderful, relaxing and refreshing way to start the day.

We have been exploring some of the towns around Bellingham and walked through the town of Fairhaven and all the shops. I found some gifts for friends babies back in Texas, some stuff for Peyton for Christmas and also a great Christmas present for her that I think I will need to go back and get...a fairy tree house doll house thing!
Graham is finally sleeping through the night again and same with Peyton so we are starting to get some rest!
The other night I drove (so thankful for that freedom here) to Barnes and Noble and bought some travel books and a Beth Moore book (so thankful that I can have the freedom to buy a Christian book) and I spent the evening drinking coffee, writing in my journal and enjoying time away from the kids. It was wonderful!
John was approved for a couple days off in late January so I am starting to plan where we can all go for a quick family trip before he starts the big turnaround and long days/hours. So far the top choices are Oman or Turkey. I picked up a book on Turkey and they are ordering one on Oman for me so I can read those while I have some time here.
I am also thinking about taking the kids on a trip somewhere by myself to help break up the time that John is in turnaround. It is currently supposed to last 60-90 days and I know I will need a break and I am planning on visiting my sister and the UAE but I am thinking about a trip to somewhere in Europe. I am starting to look into it and we will see how brave I will be and if I ended up doing it.
I am looking forward to a week with my dad in Washington and then my youngest sister off for Thanksgiving and spending time up here! So excited about having family around and enjoying the Thanksgiving holidays!

Happy Anniversary G and Papa!

2011-11-13T05:52:00.000+03:00

Today is my parents 30th wedding anniversary! Thirty years ago they pledged their love and commitment to each other and to God.

Growing up I never truly appreciated how much work they put into the marriage and their commitment to remain together. Now that I am married I can only imagine the time, effort, and determination to work at their marriage and I am so appreciative and grateful that I had didn't have to experience a divorce and I have an example to follow. Congrats on 30 years of marriage and may God continue to richly bless you guys! Thank you for the wonderful legacy you have and are providing for your kids and grandkids!

I also noticed the severe lack of pictures I have of my parents together. I found the above two on my mom's facebook and then the below from Easter this past year. I need to work on that while I am home!

Some pictures so far..

2011-11-12T22:35:00.001+03:00

Here are some pictures of our time here in Washington so far....

Shopping with Peyton's Papa at Home Depot. She has been attached to my dad's side since she saw him. She goes everywhere with him and is all about Papa...I no longer exist!

Thankful Thursday

2011-11-10T23:30:00.000+03:00

This is a continuation from my first post of reflecting on our blessings and reasons to give thanks during the month of November...

Psalm 106:1 "Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!" I am thankful in the promise that no matter where I am... that I am loved by an amazing Savior!
I am thankful that my husband has a job. Although he is now working 12 hour shifts up until we leave to go home to the states...I am focusing on the positive that he has a well paying job and can provide for us.
I am thankful for my two kids and the laughter they provide in my day!
I am thankful for my little sister Shannon! Happy Birthday! I am thankful for the time that I had while we were living in Texas to spend with her and the growth that we had in our relationship. I am thankful for the direction her life is going and the positive and great things going on in her life. I am thankful for the love she has for my kids.
Thankful for the Texas vs. Texas Tech football game (big family rivalry with one sister a Tech alumni and the other attending) being broadcasted live in Saudi and that I got to watch half of it cuddling with my husband before he had to go back to work! And that the Longhorns won!!! Hook 'Em Horns!
I am thankful for the beautiful beach we live right next to (seriously a five minute walk at that) and for a wonderful morning eating breakfast with friends and playing at the beach! Thankful for God's amazing creation!
I am thankful that I am able to fly back to the States and spend seven wonderful weeks with family and friends!
Thankful for a wonderful day with G and that Peyton and her have picked up right where they left off. Thankful for the relationship they have and how much my mom loves my kids and is such an important and wonderful influence in their lives!
Thankful for God's creation and the amazing beauty of it. Love seeing the mountains, lake and gorgeous view every morning when we wake up here in Washington. Amazing!
Thankful for technology and how it makes the distance across the world seem smaller!

Midweek Ramblings

2011-11-09T17:04:00.000+03:00

What a busy week this has been...a week ago we were in Saudi and now in the United States...what a crazy life I lead...

The night we left to fly back to the States we had our first rainstorm in Saudi in the five months we have lived there! John and I both heard the thunder and saw some lighting and looked at each other in disbelief. Thankfully it was nothing big but our dog was a little scared...I guess he has forgotten what thunderstorms are! Also...of course as soon as we leave we have awesome temperatures with highs in the upper 70's...hopefully that wonderful weather will be there when I return....certainly nicer than the 135 we saw in the summer!

Forgot to post awhile ago that Graham got his first tooth (October 23) and another one is close to appearing.
Speaking of Graham...he is so determined to crawl! He is practicing/trying non stop to figure it out. He is so persistent and doesn't get frustrated when he fails, he just keeps going. So cute and he is very close and I am excited to see his look of excitement when he figures it out.
It was a very long week with John unexpectedly working 12 hour shifts and then some but I am unbelievably thankful that he was able to spend some time with the kids and me on Saturday and Sunday in between shifts before we left.
Much to our surprise the Texas Longhorns game was being broadcasted live on TV in Saudi on Saturday night! We enjoyed watching the Longhorns beat the Texas Tech Raiders which is huge in our house considering my two younger sisters are Tech fans (one is an alumni and the other currently attends Tech). I had to laugh that my sister who lives in Abu Dhabi called to talk smack at the start of the game when Tech was up but was pretty silent the rest of the game. I am so excited about being in the States for the end of the season and start of bowl season. I have been missing my college football!

We made it back to the States and are trying to get over jet lag. Night one consisted of Graham waking up every 2 hours and then me giving up at 4:30 AM and taking him in the living room to play. This part is not fun!
The customs/immigration officer in Seattle asked me if I was returning from during the Haj in Saudi when he found out I was coming from there. I was kind of dumb founded...really...if I was muslim and did the Haj would I be wearing a lower cut shirt and my hair not covered and tight yoga pants. Made me laugh! And how everytime I get my passport checked the question I get is if I can drive.
While we were driving up to my parents we stopped for a Starbucks run. It was kind of sad the joy and excitment I felt as I walked up to any door I wanted and ordered my Pumpkin Spice Latte! Delicious!
The view is BEAUTIFUL from my parents! I have always felt more connected with God when I am in nature and seeing His awesome creation and it is pretty amazing to wake up and look out your window and see mountains and water and the beauty of nature!
Then yesterday we went to Target and I was in love! I could have spent hours in there! Peyton came home with some new toys and even she was overwhelmed with the toy aisle. I picked up some baby stuff that I needed and then looked around at other stuff and just was in awe of all the choices. We couldn't spend that long because Peyton was falling asleep in the cart but it was a nice trip and I am sure we will be making more trips soon!

We are looking forward to a wonderful week in Washington state and enjoying time with G and Papa and the wonderful scenery and looking for my future house...just kidding John...kind of! We are so happy and feel so blessed to be here!

We made it!

2011-11-09T06:18:00.000+03:00

We made it to Washington! And I am so happy that the whole flight experience is behind us for now. All I have is a quick and compared to the last flight, four hour flight down to Texas in December and when I head back to Saudi I will gain another parent which will help tremendously.

Our first flight went amazingly well. Peyton was exicted and very helpful and I got Graham to sleep pretty early on and he slept the majority of the six hours. Peyton had a hard time falling asleep due to the seating arrangement. Graham's car seat is not allowed to occupy an aisle seat and I had a row of only three seats so he was in the middle between me and Peyton. She couldn't put her head on me and couldn't fall asleep. After trying everything she ended up in my lap and fell asleep which worked great.

We landed and the Amsterdam airport is so kid friendly. We found a baby care area where they have a pretty sweet indoor play ground designed like a forest. Peyton found some friends and played tag, hide and seek and ran around. We then went and got her some breakfast/lunch and went to the baby room where they have mini rooms that have a crib, changing area and chairs to rest. I also able to get Graham done for a nap, get Peyton to have some quiet relaxing time, disinfect bottles in the microwave (they had steam sanitizer bags available to use) and repack our bags/organize. It was great! Very nice airport and helped tremendously.

Our next flight was long and a little rougher. We boarded and sat on the plane for just over an hour due to delays with the flight plan. I had gotten Graham asleep so I wasted an hour of him sleeping just on the tarmac and Peyton was starting to get whiny. We finally were airborne and I got everyone asleep but as soon as beverage service started Peyton was up and didn't sleep the rest of the fligh...8 hours until just before landing when I told her she HAD to have a nap.Graham didn't sleep for any long stretch of time since this was essentially during our day time in Saudi and so he was hard to entertain. But we made it through and landed with Peyton finally sleeping. And then the fun began...Peyton started crying because I woke her up and she cried the whole way through off the plane, through customs, through baggage, through a train and finally stopped when she was scooped up into G's arms. I felt so bad for her and nothing would fix it besides her G. Her meltdown did earn me an express lane pass through customs which was a huge praise but the whole airport/arrival experience was tiring!

We made it home with G....while making a stop at Starbucks and Peyton has been glued to her side ever since. She is so happy to see my mom and is constantly wanting G to do it and nothing to do with mommy! The kids slept relatively well last night with Peyton only waking up once and then going straight back to bed and Graham waking up every three hours. Hopefully we can get turned around pretty soon! Overall the whole travel experience went well and I will do it again which is a positive!

We are just happy to be spending time with family and relaxing and enjoying beautiful Washington state....I might start looking for houses while I am here!

Flying Home...Prayer Requests

2011-11-06T01:33:00.000+03:00

Tonight I leave for the airport with these two cuties to fly home to the States and get lots of kisses and hugs from their G and Papa!

Our flight leaves at 1:00 AM Monday morning and we arrive at 12:30 PM Seattle time...I think total travel time from driving to the airport to landing is around 28 hours.

When we came to Saudi I posted a specific prayer request list and so many friends and family prayed over our journey and it went so smoothly so I wanted to go ahead and do the same.

So, please pray over the following...we would appreciate it so much!

For safe travels and protection over the planes and the pilots and crew.
That on each flight my seats are together. Currently I have requested that they be together and I am praying that this doesn't get changed.
That the kids and I get settled at the airport in Saudi safely and easily and that I don't feel too uncomfortable waiting around by myself without John.
That the car seat for Graham is easy to get on and off the plane and down the aisles and I don't encounter any opposition from flight attendants. It is approved by FAA and all the airlines say it is fine to use but I have heard stories from other friends.
That the transitions onto and off of each flight are smooth. That I can manage all our bags, stroller and car seat and get us into our seat and then off the plane and onto the next easily and without losing anything or anyone.
Over the first flight from Saudi to Amsterdam and that the kids sleep. It is six hours long and flying through the night. Please pray they both sleep the majority of the flight so we are well rested.
Our layover in Amsterdam. That we can find food, a play ground and regroup for our next and final flight. Pray that I handle exiting the plane, security and any other stops with ease and that everything flows. Pray that we have no delays and our next flight leaves on time.
For our flight from Amsterdam to Seattle. Pray that I can entertain Peyton and care for Graham efficiently and with a cheerful and patient spirit and the time passes quickly.
That Graham handles flying, sleeping in his car seat and the change in pressure etc with ease and with the normal easy going attitude that he has.
That Peyton handles leaving John without too much drama and feels comforted that she will see him soon and the excitement of seeing her G takes precedence. Pray that she understands what is expected of her, and is adaptable. Pray that she sleeps as much as she needs to in order to be pleasant.
Pray for me...that I am patient, don't get overwhelmed, have strength to carry our bags, car seat etc and have energy to last the whole trip. Pray that I am clear in articulating my expectations of Peyton and she hears and receives my direction well.
For the people around us and that we come in contact with. Pray that they have compassion and we don't ruin their trip!
That we are arrive in good spirits and can say the whole experience was better than we could have imagined!

Midweek Ramblings...Weekend Recap

2011-11-05T09:09:00.000+03:00

I didn't do a midweek ramblings post because not much went on during the week so I really didn't have much to write about...and not much has gone on during the weekend but here is what has been going on...

Wednesday Peyton went to play at a friends house. They have been become really close and always look for each other at school. They played well...like the always do...and when we went to leave his mom told him she would be gone for awhile and to give her a "cuddle" (they are British and that is what she calls hugs) and he just broke down sobbing. He was so sad she wouldn't be at school next week and was distraught. I felt awful but am thankful that Peyton has made good friends here.
Also on Wednesday we found out that John would be working 12 hour shifts until further notice due to a leak at the refinery. Boo! This meant our family weekend trip to Bahrain was canceled and the family time we were hoping to have before we left for the states wouldn't happen.
Since John was working I decided to take the kids on the shoppers bus to the mall. We all had a good time and the kids were amazingly well behaved. We got some crafts and small games for the plane, a baby gift for a friend back in Texas and I managed to find four shirts at Zara and we I got home to try the on...they all fit and look cute! I am getting pretty good at buying clothes without trying them on.
While at the mall Peyton had a funny conversation with some Saudi women sitting waiting for Chili's to open after prayer..

Women: "What is your name?"

Peyton: "My name Peyton, what is your name?

W: "Sawhalya"

P: "Hmmm, please repeat"

W: "Sawhalya"

P: "Oh.. Sawhalya...that a hard name"

W: "Yes...you have very pretty hair."

P: "Thanks...I can't see your hair."

The women laugh and we all talk some more about where we are from and about them and it was a really nice conversation. It was also the first time that I really was able to talk with some Saudi women. I am sure it was because John wasn't with me and they were alone as well. It was nice.

Yesterday was my sister's 20th birthday! I can't believe she is turning 20! Since she is 8 years younger than me, I remember when she was born and when she was Peyton's age. I wish I could celebrate her birthday with her. Happy Birthday Shannon! We love you so much and I am so thankful for where our relationship is and how much it has grown over the years. Thank you for loving my kids as much as you do. I am so proud of you and where you are right now. You have so many good things in your life right now. I am also so proud of all the work you have done this past year to get where you are from following your dreams and releasing your CD to pursuing your education and starting college life. You are a strong woman and I love that I get to see you pursue your dreams! Love you so much!
Today starts the second Eid...not sure what it is exactly for but it is another Eid celebration with parties and a holiday for John...well it was supposed to be but he is sill at work and will be for several more days.

Hope everyone in the western world has a wonderful weekend! I am off to pack...

Thankful Thursdays

2011-11-03T20:32:00.000+03:00

I LOVE Thanksgiving!

Ever since moving to Texas I fell in love with the whole holiday....good food, family, parades, football, feeling of Fall and the kick off of Christmas. Then when I met my husband I enjoyed it even more because he had a large extended family that gathered every year and they welcomed me in from the beginning. I looked forward to Thanksgiving every year! John always thought it was kind of funny that a Canadian would have such a love for an American holiday! But I enjoy having a day to reflect on our blessings to sing praises of thanks and to appreciate what truly matters...our hope and promise we have in Him and family!

For November and Thanksgiving You might have seen on Facebook various status updates of what everyone is thankful for on that day. I didn't want to be tied to Facebook and feeling like I had to make a status update for everyday this month but I do really like the idea of expressing thankfulness for the blessings in my life.

And since living here I have understood more than ever the importance on focusing on what is good and recognizing the blessings that I do have.

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

1 Thessalonians 5:18.

Shortly after moving here my sister suggested writing down a gratitude journal to track what I am thankful for that day and although I didn't follow through with writing it down I do reflect every morning what I am thankful for that day. It might be something from the night before or something we are doing that day but I hold onto that and when the day gets rough I give thanks for what is good in my life.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."

James 1:17

So I am going to do a Thankful Thursday post every week to capture what I am thankful for each day of the past week!

Psalm 106:1 "Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!" I am thankful in the promise that no matter where I am... that I am loved by an amazing Savior!
I am thankful that my husband has a job. Although he is now working 12 hour shifts up until we leave to go home to the states...I am focusing on the positive that he has a well paying job and can provide for us.
I am thankful for my two kids and the laughter they provide in my day!

Stay tuned for next week and I encourage you to write down what you are thankful this month!

Trick or Treat

2011-10-31T21:33:00.000+03:00

Happy Halloween!

Our first Halloween in Saudi and our first Halloween with this adorable and cuddly bear....

That was Graham's original Halloween costume but it is a little tight so I was only able to squeeze him into it for about ten minutes before he started complaining. I bought while I was in Abu Dhabi (9-12 month size) thinking it would fit but in six weeks it was way too small. He is so cuddly though!

Since I can't find a pumpkin to do pumpkin carving...well, I found one but it was $50 for something that looked like it came from the pumpkin family but not really....I tried to think of a fun thing to do with Peyton. We tried making paper bag jack-o-laterns and well...they turned out kind of scary and weird. But it was fun and Peyton didn't know the difference!

I managed to convince Peyton to wear a new Halloween costume since she has worn her mermaid to every other event and it worked and so she was a pirate tonight! She kept telling me she was Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates on Disney.

We then loaded up the other pirate and set out for Trick or Treating! I wish I planned better and made the wagon into a boat with a sail but I didn't think of it until we had already started! I need to plan better next year especially since everyone here goes all out and even decorates their golf carts (what a lot of people use as their primary transportation around camp).

Peyton went house to house and did great with saying "Trick or Treat" and "thank you" and "Happy Halloween." She loved it and was full of energy and all about "getting more candy." She was so independent and went to every house "by myself."

This little pirate stayed in the ship and took in the sights. He lasted about 30 minutes or so and then headed back with Daddy to get his treat...some milk! They handed out candy at our house while Peyton and I stayed with a group of her friends and went to some more houses.

We ended up with tons of candy and had a great time with friends. I loved seeing how much our community got into Halloween and was so impressed with how many people were out handing out candy. It was nice to see that community feel.

And...this is a picture I found in Peyton's backpack that she did at school. I was so impressed with how well she did staying in lines, coloring things the appropriate colors...it is my new favorite picture!

Halloween Party

2011-10-27T22:10:00.003+03:00

We headed to a Halloween party tonight and had so much fun!

Since everyone has kids around the same age it was a kid friendly party but we still decided to get a sitter for Graham so he could stick to his routine and mostly so John and I could just have fun and not worry about him since Peyton would be playing with her friends!

Peyton wore her mermaid costume...

John pulled together some stuff and was a farmer.....

I made a dark fairy costume from stuff I found at a craft store.....including a tutu that took much longer than anticipated!

We had a blast hanging out with friends, meeting people's spouses and just relaxing! I have been hanging out with a bunch of ladies for awhile and we never end up meeting each others spouses so it is nice to get together, meet everyone and hang out. We laughed that we were one of the few American/Canadian couples and were largely out numbered by our Scottish and British friends! Funny how it has ended up that those are the friends that I spend a large amount of my time with! It was also strange that being here, I am primarily responsible for picking friends/people to be around as opposed to back in Texas where we would meet people as couples and then hang out individually. I have so much time during the day and meet people more easily due to convenience than John so I tend to be the one to make social plans for us. So, when he hasn't gotten to meet everyone and this is the first time...I get kind of nervous and hope he likes my friends! He did and had tons of fun but for sure a new dynamic!

I also had to laugh at how silly I felt in my costume! It is one thing to be an adult walking around in a costume in the states but in Saudi I am sure it looks even more strange! When the babysitter came to the door I quickly explained why we were all dressed up. She laughed and told us to have a good time but I am sure she thought we were crazy.

The host made amazing food....she had eye ball rice crispy treats, finger shortbread cookies, dips in the shape of brains and she went all out! So crafty and well done! And tons of scary decorations! A fun way to kick off Halloween!

Midweek Ramblings...

2011-10-26T22:30:00.000+03:00

Some random moments from our week.....

This week has been better than last which was needed. We are learning that we need to find contentment and joy with where we are and are praying for that! I am also praying and looking for ways to feel purposeful with the time I have. Part of it will be pursuing interests such as photography but I need a place to serve and love on people. And it might not look like it did in the past or in the way I though it would but something has come up which I am excited about...see below for more details!
Friday night we went for a walk and then to the grocery store and while we walking we noticed the barber shop was still open. John needed a trim and so he went in and instead of just a cut he went ahead and took off a whole lot more. He had been talking about doing it for awhile and finally just went ahead with it. Graham took several looks at him when he came out and about the third look finally smiled. I love it and think he looks so handsome!

John and I have been talking about how we have been struggling with contentment and finding joy in where you are in life. We would like to do a study together. Anyone have any suggestions on a good study we could do together? I was thinking about ordering something to be waiting for me at my moms and then I could scan and send John the pages for the week or maybe he could get the ebook and we could do it together (through skype, email etc) while I was away. It would be nice to have that time apart to contemplate but would also be good to have something to do together and grow together even if we are apart. Any suggestions?
Peyton had a cough over the weekend and woke up sounding worse so I ended up keeping her home from school on Saturday and took her to the clinic. The pediatrician is out on vacation so we saw another doctor and I was surprised how well he did with her. She has a slight bronchial infection, got some antibiotics and we were on our way...paying nothing! It is always nice to leave with a doctor's visit, antibiotics and not have to pay.
This is the weather report for today but it is pretty representative of what it has been lately...check out those lows! It has been amazing! I never thought that highs in the mid 90's would feel so good!

Sunday afternoon we went to Moms and Tots which is an organization here. They have there own meeting house provided by the company and it is run by volunteers. I have become friends with both of the moms that run it and they have been looking for some more people to step up and become leaders. They approached me and I am really looking forward to being involved with something meaningful and have something to fill my time. I feel so useless here. What I love about getting involved with Moms and Tots is that it is the first place new moms go when they move here and where they start to meet people. I know how hard it is when you move here and would love to be able to serve these moms at that time in their life. I am excited and look forward to when I come back getting involved, being accountable for something and just having some more purpose!
Here are some random photos I forgot I had on my phone though....I found this hat at the H&M Qatar and tried it on Graham...he is so handsome! Daddy didn't let us get it though and said we could look in Saudi and of course...Saudi doesn't have it..boo!

Tuesday I was supposed to have a riding lesson and the baby sitter never showed which was really upsetting. I was looking forward to that all week and really sad when I didn't get to go. And it made me feel like maybe this is something that just needs to wait until the kids are older and in school.
Because I was down about the missed lesson, Tuesday night I just needed to get out so we went into Khobar. I went to find some ring to use as a faux wedding ring since I realized the other day that the prong on my engagement ring is really bent and then my wedding ring (which I have been missing a diamond from for awhile) feels like the stones are loose. So, to prevent losing more stones I took them off but I don't want to be without any ring for the two months I am away so I found something at the silver museum for a whole $13 that will work in the meantime.

We went to eat at Outback! They just opened one here and it tasted just as wonderful as back home! They were really great with the kids which made a huge difference. They brought Peyton's food first, brought her a balloon when they noticed her getting restless, coloring books and it was such a nice time out. Graham sat on the bench side and enjoyed some bread...

After dinner we went to our favorite grocery store and picked up some snacks for the trip home, some meat to last us until I leave and then some more veggies/fruits to make Graham baby food to last until we leave. Peyton and Graham sat in the police car shopping cart and played together the whole time. They play so well together now and I love it! They entertain each other constantly and it is wonderful to watch. Graham adores Peyton and thinks she is hilarious and she just does so well interacting with him.

I started to pack/gather/organize for our trip home and realized that Graham has hardly anything for our trip home and all my sweaters etc don't fit so looks like I will be ordering some stuff online to be sent to my moms house waiting for us. Old Navy is having a sale though which helps. Peyton hasn't grown much from last year so she has stuff left from last year and I got her a couple of things the other week so she is set which is nice.
This weekend we have a Halloween party to attend which I still haven't finished my costume for and then Peyton has a birthday party to attend.
Then one more week...a Halloween party at school, a pre trick or treat party at our house, hopefully a trip to see friends in Jubail and then one more weekend (which we will hopefully be spending lounging by the pool with a margarita in Bahrain) and we leave to see G and Papa!

My new driver...

2011-10-25T10:18:00.001+03:00

Shopping, Shopping and More Shopping...

2011-10-21T22:10:00.001+03:00

This weekend was a very busy weekend which is sometimes nice because it helps pass the time and it also means I have just two more weekends until I am back in the States!

My weekend started off with a Indian Night hosted by the Indian Women's Group here on camp. It was an evening of presentations about India, their culture, traditional outfits and dances and my favorite...homemade Indian dishes! I LOVE Indian food and it was delicious! It was a nice Girls Night Out as I went with a group of ladies and enjoyed something different. I wish I took more pictures but I only brought my little point and shoot camera and it was not working well with flash and I just got frustrated. I should have brought my camera. It was a nice night out and it made me very appreciative of the group of people I have found here and get to hang out with!

The Thursday morning we headed down to Khobar to do lots of errands. We had a very detailed plan (written out to every 30 minutes) to make sure to hit every store we needed to before 11:26 AM when prayer starts and everything (besides a select few stores and the grocery stores) close until 4:00 PM.

So this is how our day went...and how most shopping trips have to go...speedy, in and out and no time for relaxing!

7:30 AM - Load up car with everything we put together the night before including a cooler in case we decide to get groceries. Start loading up everyone. Get Graham to sleep, Peyton her movie and I find my abaya and get settled

8:00 AM - Leave the house...I had the keys in my hand at one point and Peyton sternly reminded me that daddy drive us...Mommy "no drive in Saudi." Thanks for that reminder...I am pretty sure the security guards at the gate would have reminded me and not allowed me to pass through.

9:00 AM- Arrive at Silver Museum in the souks to pick up Christmas presents I ordered a couple of weeks ago. Store isn't open yet...wait....finally around 9:15 AM they open. I run in, John stays in the car with the kids. I get the gifts, buy two more and then run out...we are already behind schedule.

9:25 AM - Program GPS for next stop, Zamils craft store. It isn't far away but it is on the outer parts of the souk and kind of tricky to get to.
9:35 AM- Get to Zamils and start to look for supplies to make a fairy costume for me for a Halloween party we have next week. I managed to find wings, spray paint, different colors of tulle to make a tutu and we are set. I am going to be a dark fairy so lots of black, glitter and hints off dark purple. Also pick up fabric to make an bandana and a straw hat for John's farmer costume. Total cost for everything $35!
10:15 AM- Run back to car, jump in and off to Toys R Us to try and shop before prayer.
10:25 AM- Run into Toys R Us, shop for new toys for Peyton. She hasn't gotten new toys in forever and I really wanted to get some more age appropriate toys. We find some stuff but like always are disappointed in the selection/quality so I will be shopping again in either Bahrain or back in the states.
11:00 AM- Head out of Toys R Us and run down to a wrapping paper store. Picked up some wrapping paper/boxes and walk to Ikea.
11:15 AM - Realized we made it to Ikea before prayer so we run upstairs and grab some food before they close down.
11:26 AM - Ate during prayer and then picked up a toy shelf/storage thing and headed out.

12:00 PM - Decided to not go to the grocery store and headed home for a quick change before heading back out shopping to a bazaar at a friends camp.

That afternoon/evening we went to a bazaar at our friends the Perry's camp and got to shop, play with Gavin and chat with friends. I found a beautiful drawing/etching of a woman in traditional bedouin dress riding a camel which I am excited about getting framed and up in our house (I will try to remember to add a picture of it later). We also got cute personalized cups that my friend Lindsey was selling. Peyton of course picked a dinosaur to be on hers and wanted nothing to do with the flowers and girl stuff. It turned out really cute as she got a blue dinosaur and her name in pink and it totally suits her. Lindsey made one for me to use as a display so I got one for free and then John got a Longhorn one.

And yes....when we came home and put them out we realized we should have gotten one for Graham. But we are working on getting one for him so he won't feel left out!

Then towards the end of the night we managed to end up in the carpet room. We didn't intend on buying a carpet but decided to look around and see what was there. I started to look at runners since we don't have one and we have a long hallway we could put one in. The guy kept showing all these persians and silk blends that I didn't like and then finally came to the hand knotted wool carpets. He showed me one and I loved it! I showed John, he liked it, they bartered...a whole lot and we came away with a great deal on a carpet! We decided it would be our 5 year anniversary gift which has even more meaning because my parents bought us a carpet for our enagagement/wedding that has our name on it and has various symbols in it related to a prosperous, long and blessed marriage. They bought it while in Azerbaijan. Well, now five years later we were able to buy our own carpet! We have several other carpets from my parents and their time in Azerbaijan but it is excitig and fun to buy your own!

I was even more excited when I showed my mom who has plently of experience shopping for carpets and she she loved it and said that we got a good deal and told me more about the details in the carpet and why some carpets are more than others and what to look for and apparently I picked a good one!

I tried to get pictures of all the kids in the carpets but I was not having much luck. I remember shopping for carpets all the time and my parents taking me to these random carpet shops down alleys and sitting in there drinking tea and having a blast. I look forward to exploring the souks and creating similar memories with my kids....but I decided to ease them into it by starting at a very westernized bazaar!

Oh...and when we got it home...Peyton saw it leading to her room and exclaimed, "wow, it is so pretty, thanks mom and dad, I love my rug." John almost died!

A busy but good weekend....two more to go and then I will be spending my weekends browsing Target while sipping a Pumpkin Spice Latte! Mmmmm...

Midweek Ramblings...

2011-10-19T02:10:00.000+03:00

This week has been such a roller coaster. With being excited and feeling great about riding again to the very next day just crying with frustration and hatred (yes I know that is a strong word) for where we are right now. As dramatic as it sounds, unfortunately I feel like that roller coaster and constant up and down is way too much of the norm here.

Lets recap some random moments of the week and document the highs and lows....

High- I did a photo shoot of triplets about a week and half ago. I finished up the edits and sent the gallery to the mom and she LOVED them. Tons of praise and I was so pleased with how they turned out considering it was only my second shoot and my first doing babies...and there were three of them!
Low- we no longer have swimming lessons as the coach is taking some personal leave. Which means nothing to do two afternoons a week. I was planning on just taking Peyton myself and keeping with the consistent routine of having a babysitter come for Graham and we go but the first time we tried, she said she didn't want to swim without her teacher and she was scared of the big pool which is so far from the truth. In the end we left early, frustrated because she wouldn't even play and I told the babysitter we would call her when we got back because I didn't want to pay her and have the hassle of all of it if Peyton wouldn't even play at the pool.
Low- I locked myself out of the house while I was leaving to get Peyton from school which meant I couldn't get in the car to drive to the other side of camp. John also left his keys at home that day so he got a ride to the lock out office while I walked to get Peyton from school. A friend saw me walking and gave me and Graham a ride which was a huge help but it didn't help my already bad...I have had it with Saudi...day.
High- Riding on Sunday day night for the first time forever and then my lesson on Tuesday. My lesson was so much fun and both the riding instructor and I had a blast. She teaches a lot of beginners/kids here so she had fun teaching me and able to use "real" horse riding words. We had fun! I am amazed at how easily it has come back and I just love being out at the stable and soaking it all in.
Low...really, really big and consistent low- Childcare or the lack of it. I stayed home before we came so I know what it is like but I don't know if it is the addition of another baby, living here, the removal of conveniences such as quick outings to give you a break, grandparents or maybe it is a combination of everything but I am going crazy. I am so drained and so worn out from parenting....yes, feel free to say that all parents are. I am also frustrated with the availability of all these great amenities such as great exercise classes, horse riding but yet I can't do them because I have Graham in the mornings while Peyton is at school. Or I can't ease the burden of grocery shopping during the week because I have both of them and there is no bus that leaves to get me back before Peyton gets out of school or leaves after school. It has worked out great with a consistent person for when we do swimming but now if I want to ride in the mornings which is when my lesson was this week because the riding instructor has no availability at night time and the babysitter can't come in the mornings, I have to find a different person. So, now I have two different people coming for a total 6 hours a week and it takes to much coordination and reliance on too many different people and schedules. I also hate that Graham is just the one that just is passed off. I never have a break from being mom. I have no where to go by myself or go do something by myself and now with the possibility of riding being that outlet the whole childcare issue comes back up. And honestly some things that are supposed to be "fun" and breaks such as play dates/coffee gatherings are not all that fun when you are dealing with a toddler and a baby while everyone else just has one child (either they are only children or the other one is off somewhere at a friends house, their husbands work weird schedules so they are home for two weeks and then gone for three nights (pilots) or at home with the nanny). I don't ever get to visit, relax and so it is really hard to get to know people without always looking like the frazzled/overwhelmed/crazy lady....which is pretty much a true description.
High- We had two really fun play dates. One was a Halloween party we went to and then yesterday we had some friends over to play. Since I had everyone over here it was easier on me for sure. I was able to get Graham to nap before they came and he woke up about half way through but I had all my toys/stuff to entertain him. It was a fun afternoon and I love hosting/setting up the table with fun decor and it was a nice afternoon.
Low- I am frustrated with losing weight from my pregnancy with Graham. Not so much the lack of progress because honestly I haven't put much effort into it. Not because I don't want to but because I don't have the time. I learned from Peyton that I have to work hard to lose the weight and I don't have the time to do it here. Well, I do have the time...lots of time in the mornings while Peyton is at school...I actually spend two to three mornings a week bored at home because I have nothing to do BUT I can't do anything because I have Graham. There is no childcare at the gym, too hot to run and so I don't work out and sit at home being down. And the afternoons get filled up with play dates and by the time John gets home I am so worn out from dealing with kids at play dates, swimming etc (and Peyton is no longer napping) that I just want to curl up in bed and forget about the day.
High - I get to see G and Papa and spend lots of time away from Saudi in 18 more days! And we are pretty busy with some stuff these next couple of weekends which is good. At this point I would leave early if it wasn't for some of the plans coming up and I know they will only help us feel more connected and make this feel more like home...some of the things I am looking forward to are ladies night with the Indian Women's Group who are hosting a "Night in India," an adult Halloween party, Halloween with Peyton and Graham, a baby shower, more riding lessons, a bazaar and one last trip to Bahrain to spend time as a family relaxing before I fly out.

I hate being so down and blah about living here and I keep praying that I find peace in where we are. None of this makes sense right now to John and I and we love to plan, know the answers and so this unknown...and five months of unknown...is so hard. Why are we here? How can we make this work better because right now it isn't. And of course the same day that I just about lost it (the lock out day) was also the day that John was feeling the same way and just wanted to throw in the towel....coincidence? I think not....but we are stronger than that and we both are trusting in Him, clinging to His promises that He is control of this because right now that is all I have.

Halloween Cuteness

2011-10-18T08:13:00.000+03:00

We went to a Halloween play date yesterday and had lots of fun...well as much fun as you can have when supervising your toddler doing arts and crafts and her resisting any assistance while your baby is sitting on the floor crying....but we did come home with two fun crafts and some play time with new friends.

And...I came home with the most beautiful mermaid and fiercest pirate ever!

Just like riding a bike...kind of

2011-10-17T09:39:00.000+03:00

After nine years pretending that horses didn't exist, that I didn't miss riding, convincing myself that I didn't need or want that in my life again....I rode a horse!

Some background...when I was young and we were living overseas, I started riding. We moved to Texas, I started riding more and more. My parents bought me a horse for Christmas one year....yes, I really was one of those kids that got a horse for Christmas. He was delivered to my door (in a large subdivision) on Christmas Day with a bow on him. Pretty much the BEST present ever! I loved my horse Glory so much...and I wish I had a picture of him on my computer or one I could scan but they are all in storage. He became more than just a horse. He was a friend, part of our family and like my first child. We spent so much time together between lessons, hanging out and taking care of him. I would spend endless hours just sitting in his stall and talking with him, brushing him. Well, unlike children, there came a time when I had to sell him. We sold him just before I left for college and then I stopped riding. It was weird to go from riding constantly to nothing. It was a hard time but eventually I just saw that as a part of my life that no longer exists. I moved past it. I stayed away from anything involving horses and found other hobbies such as running and started running half marathons and filled my time with new interests.

So...now we live 3 minutes away from a riding stable. Until now I avoided the whole place and just told myself that it was something we couldn't do right now. Well the other day while having breakfast I started a conversation with a lady and it turned out to us talking about riding and my history. She is looking for someone to lease her horse and asked if I was interested and if so to try him out for a couple weeks and to see if we are a good fit. There is lots to think about whether we want to go forward with the responsibility of a lease and there is a whole lot to discuss about whether that is a good option for us but I am starting out small with taking some lessons before I leave and tonight I was able to ride just for fun. I was supposed to just go out and discuss the lease options/details but while I was there she asked if I wanted to go ahead and ride.

It was so much fun! I was nervous but within minutes I felt like I never stopped. I had a blast! It was such a relaxing, fun, refreshing time. It all came back so easily and I loved it. I always hoped that it would be easy to pick up and all those years I put into training, lessons and countless hours at the barn but there was a small part of me that was so worried that I would forget it. But thankfully it came back and I felt comfortable and natural.

I have my first lesson on Tuesday morning and then I will try and have a couple more before we leave to help see if this is something I can fit into our lives and what it would look like. I don't know what the future looks like but tonight was just amazing!

Comforts of Home

2011-10-16T14:10:00.000+03:00

Moving over here I foolishly thought that there wouldn't be much in terms of food or other similar objects that I would miss. I knew I would miss Target but since I shopped there constantly before we left I thought I would be good. Oh...and of course I knew I would miss and do miss really good Mexican food, margaritas, guacamole and fish tacos.

Well, funny thing happens when you can't have something...you start to crave things you didn't want or need before.

For example...

I never ate Reese's Pieces before. I had Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (RPBC) but only seldom. Well, now I crave them constantly! I only find the large RPBC which is just not the same as the individual sized and I also crave the pieces. I found one bag several weeks ago and savored every bite and then my mom sent me some Halloween individual cups and I am savoring/treasuring/rationing those.

Other things that I never realized I would miss is MUSIC! We have no music in stores, only one radio station with awful 1990's music and I just miss hearing music while you are shopping. The only "music" I hear is the call to prayer. I call it music because when trying to explain it to Peyton when we first got here we called it "their song".

I miss USDA beef. The beef here (we buy Brazilian, Australian or New Zealand) just doesn't taste the same and I hate to pay $4o plus for a pound of good beef.

I miss magazines! I did buy some while we were in Qatar and paid $20 USD for 2 magazines...US Weekly and People. Kind of silly but it was so worth it....then I let Graham play with them one morning and he had a blast ripping pages and hearing the sounds. Probably one of the most expensive 20 minutes of free time I have had.

Another thing that is surprising is commercials! Being in advertising I never hated commercials but thought I could do without it. Well, the other night I was watching Private Practice on Hulu.com and saw some commercials and I was mesmerized and in no way annoyed. I feel like I am so out of the loop of marketing/what is in/ what is going on. In some ways that could be good but it was nice to see real advertising!

And I was having TV withdrawals...we have a pretty good satellite provider and get a lot of movies, cartoons and comedy shows, E! and other stuff and I record lots of random stuff to watch. But I feel like it is easy to pick up a comedy show like Modern Family whenever you see an episode come up on the schedule but for my dramas and favorite shows...I needed more!

And especially with all the shows starting up for the season I was having withdrawals not seeing them. They do eventually get broadcasted here but about a month behind and to combat that I was paying iTunes for each episode every week. Which was expensive and annoying having to wait for it to download all the time.

Well we have a solution now...VPN! Which allows me to watch them on Hulu.com or Abc.com since I have a VPN that says I am in the States. Before it would recognize that I was overseas and not let me watch. This is also going to be a big help with downloading books for my Nook. Before my mom would just do it for me which wasn't a big deal but I hated having to burden her and as silly as it sounds, one extra email to her of which ones I wanted seemed like too much work and never got done! Over the weekend I was able to catch up on Private Practice, Grey's Anatomy and I also decided I am going to start watching Pan Am and Revenge. I am excited and it makes me feel like I am not in the middle of nowhere!

Overall I guess it isn't too much that I am missing....oh and add...HEB Texas Coffee Blend, real Starbucks with variety and real baristas who don't mess up your order, Chick Fil A....and I am for sure looking forward to sampling everything when I am back. Maybe I should start a list of things to do like Peyton has?

Love my Saturdays

2011-10-15T13:03:00.004+03:00

I don't know why I love our Saturdays here...it is pretty much a Monday and I never loved Mondays back home. Maybe it is because it still feels like a weekend day in my mind even if John is back to work and we are starting a new week. I have a pretty set routine on Saturdays and it is the only day that I am pretty set on maintaing a consistent schedule. I have found that it helps us have a much better week.

This Saturday started off with finishing up our Halloween decor at our door! My mom sent us a package with lots of Halloween goodies and we had fun decorating and also have lots of fun things for a Halloween party I hope to have for Peyton and her friends. Feels kind of weird to be having Halloween decorations up in the middle of the desert when it is upper 90's but it is fun!

I always start of Saturday with dropping Peyton off at school. Her school is about a three minute drive and not far at all and maybe when it gets cooler we will walk but for now we drive. She actually asked to go to school so we left too early and I let her and Graham come sit in the front seat while we were waiting. I don't let her sit in the front...or Graham ...even if that is what all the Saudi kids do...seriously...there is no such thing as car seats and it is a common sight to see a baby sitting in the front seat in someone's lap. I will never get used to seeing that or not get angry every time. Anyways...while we were waiting we played with the camera...got a picture of Peyton and Graham, Peyton showing me her show and tell object for "C" day and then she took some pictures of me. It was kind of nice to just chat and be silly together.

After school drop off, Graham and I go and drop off my dry cleaning. The water for our washing machine is hard, salt water and ruins clothes. I have learned to just dry clean nice jeans, pants, dark dresses or shirts and pay the tiny bit and have them done right than have ruined clothes with bleach marks. Pretty much it is only darks that get streaked so my dry cleaning is limited and at $5 for 8 shirts and 2 pairs of pants...I don't think it is breaking the bank.

After we drop of the dry cleaning and pick up a copy of our community newsletter that has everything going on for the week we head over to our dining hall for Saturday morning breakfast/coffee time that happens every week.

We have a group of 15 ladies but each week it is only around 5-6 there and it is always a joy to sit around a chat and catch up with a variety of women. These women have meant so much to me and are always a source of encouragement, comfort and just a fun to be around. Such a mixture of ages, nationalities, stages of life but we all find commonality in something and can sit around for hours. It is always a great way to start the week and the weeks I am not there I find the rest of the week just kind of drags on by and is not the same.

I then pick up Peyton, Graham goes down for a long nap and I get her lunch and she watches some cartoons while I pick up, do dishes, start any laundry we didn't get to on the weekend and just make sure the house is in order for the week and we have meals planned. I try very hard to stay home the remaining part of Saturdays because if I am out here and there or having coffee/play dates all afternoon I find myself feeling overwhelmed and it carries over to the rest of the week. Throughout the day I will plan some play dates for the week, plan the next week meals (I do it a week ahead since it is so much work to get groceries) look at our grocery situation/to do list and determine if we need to make a trip into Khobar and if so when would be the best and finally just catch up on emails and other things to do. It always ends up being a busy day and such a nice way to start my week..productive!

So...happy Saturday and looking forward to a wonderful week with a play date at a friends house, play date at our house, Graham immunization appointment (we do delayed vaccinations so he has one a month), hopefully a horse riding lesson, Mommy and Me Yoga, swimming, a bazaar at a friends camp and I am sure more things will pop up!

Show Us Your Life- International Day

2011-10-14T20:17:00.004+03:00

A blog that I followed prior to moving to Saudi has weekly "Show Us Your Life," topics and today is International Day and I figured I would do a post about Saudi!

Anyone who has been reading our blog knows that we live in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We arrived in Kingdom May 20, 2011 from Texas with our then 10 week baby boy, our 2 1/2 year old daughter and our black lab. We came because my husband wanted a different job opportunity, has always wanted to live overseas and as we went through the process of interviewing, waiting and deciding whether to come we really felt like this was the next step for our family and that it was where we were to go and that there would be a purpose greater than a job for us here.

We have been in Saudi for almost 5 months now and it has not been easy. By far it has been the hardest thing we have ever done as a husband and wife and as a family. Adjusting to the culture, restrictions, being away from friends and family, leaving our amazing church home and community and leaving the comforts and conveniences of life in the States has been so difficult and often leaves us questioning why we are here. But...we are getting more and more settled everyday and can see this working. We hold fast to the peace and comfort we felt of why we came and the peace we had in His plan we accepted the offer to move.

Some typical questions we got when we told people we were moving....

Where are you moving? We live in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Eastern Province off the Arabian Gulf. We literally can walk three minutes to the ocean. We live on a Western style compound and our house is a nice three bedroom home that is larger than what we had in Texas. We have pools, a beach, schools, a small grocery store and a clinic all on camp.

What is it like living on a compound? It is more difficult than I thought. You feel very claustrophobic or at least I feel that way. It is weird knowing you can't leave the confines of the walls and security guards around you. We have everything we need and it is nice but it is small and just more of an adjustment.

Do you have to cover up? I wear an abaya (the traditional long black cloak looking thing) and do not have to cover my head unless the muttawa (religious police) come up and ask me. Even then some of the more brave expats don't and walk off. I however haven't been in that situation yet and if I was would just cover and walk off.

Can you drive as a woman? I can drive around the compound that we live on which helps with taking the kids to swimming, play dates etc but I can not drive off camp which is a PAIN! The driving here is scary and they drive way too fast and reckless so I don't know if I would want to drive but I would like the option. It would be nice to drive down the road to the pharmacy or a grocery store however the main shopping area is about 45 minutes away and I would probably never drive down there even if I could.

What are some of the other restrictions you have on your daily life? Well...shops/restaurants/everything close during prayer. They kick you out, close everything down, have prayer and then open 30 minutes later. Also, store are only open from 8-11 AM and then again from 4 PM to midnight. Obviously there is no pork or alcohol. There are men and women's/family sections for everything...from eating to ordering fast food to getting your pineapple cut...there is no mingling of opposite sexes.

What do your kids think of it? Well my baby doesn't notice anything besides the tons of attention he gets from everyone and my daughter...she hates that everyone wants to touch her head. They have a fascination with blonde kids and constantly touches her head. She often will tell them to "stop touching my head."

Well.....that is a brief synopsis of what life is like here as an expat in Saudi! Certainly an adventure!

5 years!

2011-10-13T19:57:00.000+03:00

Today is our five year anniversary! I can not even begin to explain how surreal it is to be celebrating five years of marriage!

Many times it feels like it was just yesterday that we were married yet most of the time it feels like ages ago with so much that has happened in our marriage. In five years we were married, I started a job, bought a house, had a baby, quit my job and lived off one income, started a part time job, quit that part time job, had another baby, moved to Saudi and so much more in between all those big events.

To say that these past years has been wedded bliss and so easy would be far from the truth but I am so thankful for where we are in marriage, what we have learned and how we have grown in our individual faith and as a family and where we are now. We are in a good place, have learned more about each other and marriage than I ever thought we would five years in and feel so blessed to have a husband who is committed to the sacred covenant of marriage.

I remember so clearly the excitement, anticipation, joy, bliss that I felt on our wedding day. Our wedding was everything I wanted and I am so thankful for that day where we were able to celebrate with our family and friends and pledge our love and devotion to each other in front of God.

Thank you for being by my side and I am so thankful for you and the life we have together, I look forward with anticipation to the future and feel blessed to be able to have John by my side. I wouldn't want to do life and all the craziness with anyone else!

Midweek Ramblings

2011-10-13T16:16:00.000+03:00

A day late but it has been a long week....

Graham caught his first cold. Nothing too bad but it was the first time he was sick and it was draining on everyone. Did find out that he weighs 24 lbs. Seriously.....he weighs almost as much as Peyton.
We have started preparations for our trip back to the States. I love having H&M here especially for really cute boy clothes and so we went and found a coat for Graham and some other winter gear just so I wasn't having to run out as soon as we landed to look for appropriate gear for my kids.
A pretty awesome and unexpected opportunity (I still am not sure what I am going to do about it) fell into my lap yesterday regarding possibly getting back into horse riding. We have a hobby farm but it is hard to get lesson (few lesson horses/spots) and essentially adults need to lease/buy a horse to be able to ride. I have stayed away because I wasn't sure if this was something I wanted to jump back into. Well, when I was eating breakfast at the hobby farm yesterday, I ran into a lady I met at Fellowship and at boot camp and just started a casual conversation. She asked me if I had ever ridden, we talked about my past around horses and she said she was looking for someone with some experience to lease one of her horses. She told me to think about it and I am thinking and just not sure why I am not 100% about moving forward...I don't know if it is the time commitment, jumping into something I loved doing and was so sad to give it up, or that I am worried that I am going to not be good at it this time around. Anyways....I am planning on calling her and talking to her some more about it and we will see.
We really did a whole lot of nothing this week. With Graham being sick it put us into a kind of funk and we stayed home a bunch
Both kids have been really draining on me. The hardest part of living here has been the lack of a break for me. I am around them constantly and don't have a rest. Even if John watches them...where can I go? It is very draining, tiring and just hard being mom all the time. I miss the days of running to the store by myself, doing errands, having G and Papa down the street, dates with my husband, dependable babysitters. I need a rest!
We were out shopping at the souks the other day and it felt cool. We commented how nice it felt, how we must have gotten a cold front and then realized when we got home it was still 90! I guess when you go from 135 to 90 that could be considered a cool front! Today it was back to being miserable.

Hoping for a sick free week ahead and being a whole lot more productive around the house and in spending time with friends!

Swimming Lessons

2011-10-11T02:25:00.000+03:00

Since we arrived we have been taking swim lessons twice a week. The instructor is certified by the Australian Swim Coach Association and is wonderful. She is very educated and passionate about swimming. She spends four days a week doing lessons plus several evenings with the swim team. It is something she loves and it shows.

Peyton has been improving significantly and I am very fortunate for the opportunity to do lessons with her. She is now able to swim to the bottom of the pool and get a toy, can turn around under water and kick back to the wall in case she falls in, paddle/kick with head down to the wall from about 2 ft away, do streamline off the wall for a little bit and overall has a LOVE for swimming and is very comfortable in the water.

However...structured swimming lessons and the strong willed child don't go very well together at times.....actually most of the time. I am doing Mom and Tots lessons with her not because she is at that level but because she has a hard time focusing, doing what she is asked at the time she is asked and she needs me in there to discipline her. We spend a large amount of swimming sitting on the wall, counting to three and working through learning to follow instructions. It is beyond tiring for me. The past three lessons no one else showed up which has been great because I have been able to get more tips, suggestions and next things to work on with her from her teacher and push her to the next level that some of the other kids might not be at yet I have been able to really work on the discipline issue without worrying about disrupting the class. Peyton loves swimming, and I love seeing her progress and I know this could be a great outlet for her but it has been so difficult and discouraging every day when I am fighting to get her to kick etc and she is just being silly. But we are sticking with it until we leave to head back to the States...so 6 more weeks of swimming...

Maybe I will get my reward when I am sitting in the stands at the Olympics watching her.....I can dream.....

Oh....and someday I will have pictures of us at swimming but during our lessons that is the last thing I am thinking about trying to get.

Countdown.....

2011-10-10T01:00:00.000+03:00

We are flying back to the states in 27 days and Peyton is so excited! She is ready for the plane ride, to see family and see all her people. She is constantly looking for airplanes in the sky, talking about the whole trip (and how we will be sleeping on the plane), who she wants to see (she even remembers friends names like...Emma), and also everything she wants to do with all her family members! She is very excited but also getting antsy! She is also starting to ask questions about when we go back to the "old house" and although I told her someone bought it and a new family lives there (not true since it is still for sale but easier than explaining the truth) and we can't go...she still wants to.

So, the other day I helped her make a calendar to cross of the days until we leave to visualize how many days we have left....and we started making a list of things she wants to do with G and Papa when we get there. I told her to tell me when she thinks of something and we can put it on the list which hopefully will limit how many times I get to hear the list!

It is an impressive list and only growing by the day...

Part of all the discussions and planning has resulted in me starting to have some concerns and would appreciate prayer over the following...

That I find the appropriate words and explanations for Peyton to understand that this is a visit and that we are coming back. I know she is so excited about seeing everyone but I know she doesn't realize it is temporary and given how hard of a time she has had with missing everyone I know the good bye is going to be awful and I want to prepare her as much as possible
For understanding that Daddy is not coming with us initially and will be flying later. As much as I tell her the process, she always includes Daddy in our trip and stories
That I adequately prep her for G and Papa's new house and that we are not going to what she knows as their house, then when we go to League City...we are not being at our house. I am worried it will be very confusing for her when she has associations with certain places but none of those places are the same.
Oh....and me flying home with two kids...I just got an email saying that the airline changed my seats so I am no longer sitting next to my two kids...although that could be nice for me, I am sure the other passengers would not be too pleased. I am planning on calling them this week and hoping to get it settled prior to getting to the airport for my 1:00 AM flight.