Houston Going Away Party

4 years ago Brooks and I moved to Houston the week after our wedding/honeymoon and we knew NO ONE!!!!  We spent the summer just the two of us, getting adjusted to married life, unpacking our apartment, Brooks started working a "real" job, and we were just living in a new season of life.  We enjoyed that time and grew close together for sure.  That August I started teaching and was no longer sitting at home doing nothing.  We often talk about that time in our marriage and how we had no friends, never went and did anything, and we were just "boring".

Fast forward 4 years later.... and we're having to say goodbye to over 30 friends who we love and adore and our lives have been touched greatly by them.  We missed the people who couldn't join us Sunday evening, but are making plans to tell them all good bye before we leave.  We had a blast at our party!  Originally, we only had one evening available where we could host the party and a majority of our friends could attend, so we planned it on the night before the movers were suppose to come and pack our house us.... therefore, when we planned the party, we picked a local park as our location, we ordered Subway sandwich trays, a cookie cake, and got bags of chips and drinks to help with clean up.  My goal was to not need/have to clean anything up afterwards and get to call it a night.  I'll admit it was a little hard for me to not go all out and want to cook homemade desserts and appetizers or even have us grill burgers or something... i even considered making decorations.  However, all of that changed the closer the party got and I'm very grateful that we planned what we did.  The party was easy and we got to enjoy being with our friends.  

We went to the park and found that the pavilion wasn't being used and no one was there!  This was a huge blessing so we had some shade and a cool breeze throughout the evening.  Mostly, the girls hung out at the picnic tables and talked, the kids ran around, played, and got dirty.  We had bubbles, balls, kids baseball bats, kiddie golf clubs, etc for their entertainment.  At some point all the kids were on a swing set/playground with all the dads.  It was cute to watch.  The men ran around and played games (threw the football, played a game called corn hole (maybe?!?!), and were just guys.  It was a really fun evening.  When Brooks and I got in the car, we both said that was something we wish we would have done with our friends along time ago.  I think there was something for everyone at the park and was different then just hanging out at our houses.  

At some point during the party, Brooks and I sat back and looked at all our friends and were humbled by how blessed we are with everyone's friendships.  What an amazing experience it was to realize that we went from NO friends to an abundance of friends!  The relationships we've built have impacted our lives and we have been greatly blessed with all the conversations, prayers, words of wisdom that we've received over the years.  Houston will always have a place in our hearts because of our wonderful friends.  

Here are some pics from the evening!  Our cookie cake (that is suppose to be an airplane, not a sideways space shuttle).  I love that Cade is part of our family picture!  He really wanted some cake!

Hanging out and eating!

Girl Talk! Jessica, Sarah, Che

Dinner Time! 

Addison hanging out with her mommy!  She came to tell us goodbye!  Oh how I'm so grateful we got to meet her before we left!

Guy Time! Brooks, Micah, and Casey (yep, there's Micah!  Micah flew back to the states to come pick Stephanie up.  They flew to Saudi last night.  Oh how we're going to miss them) (until we get there)

The Southard's (yes, Nathan is totally posing in this pic). I love this picture of them!  It shows their personalities in so many ways! 

Sarah, Meredith, me, and Stephanie 

Jess got a new camera and was showing Kara all the neat functions!  

This picture is priceless.  Brooks was taking in all the fun and Cade ran over to him and wanted to hang out with him.  So cute!

At some point, the guys took a break from playing their games to relax.  What an amazing group of men!

To all our Houston Friends--- we love you!  You are all a true blessing in our lives and we will forever be grateful for your friendships!  

Updates

Just wanted to post a quick update for everyone.  We've been really busy the past few days getting ready for everything to "happen".  Brooks and I found out last week that Brooks' departure date got moved back a week.  We kind of had mixed emotions about this, but ultimately, it is out of our control so we just had to go with it.  We're thankful that we have a little more time to get the house ready for the movers, who are coming Thursday instead of today, we get an extra week to be together, and we feel like a little load has been lifted off our chests. However, there was a few con's... Brooks had to rearrange a lot of work stuff since Saudi was expecting him this Friday as well as reschedule flights and such.. it also meant that Gavin and I can't join my family for a week at the beach.  We were looking forward to that nice distraction while Brooks was gone and the reality was setting in that we were now without a home in Houston, moving, and leaving family and friends.  But, we're making it through.  I've been told this is the life of working internationally--- this won't be the first time something gets delayed and it won't be the last.

We're sort of ready for the movers to come.... our attic has been completely emptied and everything from the attic is divided up in the garage by air shipment, sea shipment, and storage.  Today, my job is to complete an inventory of everything we own-- yes, you read that right.... an INVENTORY.  I've been dreading this part, but I figured out I'm just going to go from room to room and write down everything that I see using pen and paper.  I'll have to work on prices and cost later.  Brooks and I will be packing our bags this evening to see what we can take, make any decisions of what to leave behind, and make sure we can fit all of our stuff into our suitcases.  We'll be packing for at least 2 months-- it will take several weeks for our air shipment to get to Saudi and even longer for the sea shipment to make it.  Try packing for a 22 month old who is on the verge of wearing 2T clothes, but not quite yet and for me, being in that in between stage of being pregnant.  I've just about given up on all my normal shorts and pants and wear maternity ones, but I'm not fitting into my maternity shirts yet.  Hmm... this will be interesting.

With all the work we've been doing and with how busy we've been, we took a break on Friday and took Gavin to see Toy Story 3.  I'll post more about that experience once I find our camera that has the pictures from our day trip.

I had a doctors appointment on Friday. The appointment went great, the baby's heartbeat is strong and everything looks good.  We talked a lot about me preparing for a baby while overseas, the care I need to make sure I get, and she "prescribed" me some fancy, nice hose like socks to wear on the 14 hour plane ride to help prevent blood clots.  As I said earlier, I'm growing, I can't believe how much I'm showing and am only 3 months, it just seems crazy to me.  I've gained 9lbs so far, which is shocking (I'm not worried about it, just think it's funny).  I gained 20lbs total with Gavin's pregnancy so I'm already half way there with this one and still early on.  It was really sad because I told my doctor goodbye, too.  You may not think telling your OB doctor goodbye would be sad, but I saw that women every week for 5 months while on bed rest as well as for the past 3 years, not to mention through delivery, post delivery, etc.  AND, Gavin was delivered on her last day to deliver babies, she quit doing that part of OB two years ago, so she thought we were one of the "special ones" to her.  Anyways,  I LOVED her and am going to miss her a ton.

We had a going away party last night with our Houston friends'.  It was a blast!!  I was about to post about that, but Gavin's waking up so I better run.  Stay tuned. I HOPE to keep this up while going through the madness, just to help me stay calmed and have something that I enjoy doing to relax me!

Superman

I meant to post this video lsat month, but I just took it off my phone.  This is how we sometimes spend our evenings hanging out with Gavin. Hope you enjoy-- as you'll see, he surely did!

**Don't forget to pause the music at the bottom of the blog!

God Is Good

If you've been apart of our lives the past two years, then you have walked with Brooks and I as we have been preparing to move overseas to Saudi Arabia.  Brooks signed on to this project the week Gavin was born and we've been waiting to head over there for almost 2 years now.  Yet, we're still not there.  Many of our friends and family have had the opportunity to pray for us and encourage us as we get ready to leave the comfort of our home, our church, our friends and family, and our daily lives.  I think it's appropriate to say that this move has not always been the easiest thing for us.  It has taken a lot of prayer.  It has caused a lot of conversations.  It has been the source of excitement (for Brooks).  A source of fear (for me).  And I'm sure a source of worry and heartache (for family and friends).

I'm writing this post with a heavy heart (in a good way) realizing that this is actually happening and that our lives will be changing and we will be changed forever.  We have experienced various stages in this process, both mine and Brooks being very different stages, however, as our move gets closer, we have both praised God for his grace and love and mercy and comfort while HE has been the one that has gotten both of our hearts where they are and where they should be in order to make this move.   I remember last December thinking, there is NO WAY I'm going to do this anymore.  I'm done.  I quit.  We're not doing this.  Let's just forget it.  Then, I heard a sermon where the preacher said, "God is not going to send you somewhere that HE hasn't already been."  That's all I needed to know!  From that moment on, I have embraced this move, accepted it, and found it in my heart to see this as a huge opportunity for Brooks and I am supporting this FOR HIM.  We are both grateful for the past two years and how we can see past the struggles of making this decision and we have gained a vision for what we feel and believe is our purpose for the next 3-5 years.

I write all of this to share with you a video that was shown at our church this past weekend.  Brooks and I had the opportunity to share "our story" regarding us moving overseas.  We spent an hour and a half filming and we discussed numerous topics that focused on where we've come in making this decision, how this decision has and will effect our lives, as well as what our church has done for us in preparing us for our new vision and hope for our move.

We shared testimonies of our friends who go to the same church and the joy it's been to watch them come to know the Lord, rely on HIM, and believe in HIM and HIS word and that being the focus of our vision to reach the families who will live on our compound.  We want to share God's love with other believers and nonbelievers.

We expressed our sincere gratitude to our small group who has been a huge support system for us and the relationships we've created from our community...we need that and we want that while we're overseas.

We also discussed the sacrifice of knowing we have to leave our families and the difficulty of walking away from what we're accustomed to having and being around and our family traditions.  The adjustment alone of dealing with family not being around the corner or a few short hours away (either by car or plane) is tough to handle.

Brooks and I also shared our hearts individually on this move and it was truly a blessing for each one of us to hear the other's heart and motives for this move.  It deeply touched the two of us and created a unique bond towards this move, that we hadn't made yet.  We've also realized with this move that we won't have a "church" to walk into on Sunday mornings.  Gavin won't have a nursery to go into and play, sing songs, and hear God's word.  Brooks and I have learned and accepted that WE are going to be the church.  We have to be that for Gavin, for ourselves, for each other.   Our hope in sharing that part of our testimony was that other's would realize the importance of appreciating the church they have and the opportunities that the church can bring and provide for them.  It's so important that doesn't get taken advantage of.  So, we shared all of that and it was condensed down to a 3 minute video.  We're excited to see what God has in store for us and we can't wait to see in 3 or 5 years how God worked and used us.

We hope and pray you are blessed in some way by God this week.

**You will need to scroll down to the bottom of the blog and pause the music to hear the video.


Brooks and Lindsey Perry from Clear Creek Community Church on Vimeo.

A weekend with Daddy

This weekend, Brooks and Gavin got to spend A LOT of time together!  I can honestly say after hearing all the stories and watching them together, they bonded!!  They truly bonded!!  Gavin has always looked up to Brooks and that is something I admire so much!!  

Last week, Brooks had a busy week at work and has been trying to get a lot of his work done before he leaves for Saudi next week.  So, a few evenings last week for various reasons, Gavin was in bed before Brooks got home.  When Gavin finally saw his daddy, who he started calling for in the mornings to get him out of bed and would say his name every time my phone rang, he was super excited!! So, on Friday, when I drove to LC for my nephews birth, Brooks told me to leave Gavin with him so they could hang out for the day.  Brooks took Gavin to Chick Fil A for lunch, let him play in their playground, then they went to Home Depot where Brooks let Gavin WALK around in the store.  Brooks said Gavin touched everything and pointed out every tool that he himself has and then would show Brooks what some of the tools were used for.  They ended their evening Friday night by working on a project out in the garage together.  Saturday morning, they both went back into the garage together, Gavin with all of his play tools, would help Brooks on the project.  Any real tool that Brooks used, Gavin would find his tool and do the same thing with it.  It was priceless-- I just wish I would have taken a picture of it!  oops.  

So, then, Saturday evening, all the girls in our small group, decided for our last Girls Night Out together, we would have a slumber party (more about that later), but it meant I left Gavin with Brooks, again!  They were fine Saturday evening.  All the guys from our small group came to our house and hung out-- all the men had their kids so the kids got to play together while the men cooked brats and did "man stuff" (whatever that means!)  I met Brooks and Gavin at church Sunday morning-- Gavin was dressed, looked nice, had eaten breakfast, and his hair was combed!  Way to go babe!  You are the man!!

For Father's Day, Brooks wanted to go to the Kemah Boardwalk and eat lunch there.  We went to SaltGrass and got a table right by a window over looking the water.  Gavin LOVED it and got to see all the boats.  He has 2 new obsessions--- trains and boats... choo-choos and boats, to be more exact.  My parents drove in for the day so they got to spend some time playing with us on the boardwalk.  

Brooks and Gavin rode the carousel together!  Gavin kept saying, "horse" the entire ride and pointing to every horse around him.  

The Kemah Boardwalk has a train that goes around the "park" that you can ride on.  Gavin kept seeing it while we were eating lunch and kept calling out for the "choo choo".  We decided to let him ride it since he couldn't take his eyes off of it.  

He also found what he called a "tractor" parked on the side walk that he felt the need to get in and drive. No one stopped us so we let him play in it for a minute (after making sure the keys weren't in it-- we learned last weekend that Gavin knows how to start the car by putting the keys INTO the ignition and turning it on!! wow!)

It was a little warm outside so we kept walking under the cool zone spots to get some relief.  

He rode the train with Captain and Kimmie.  He sat down the entire time, which wasn't something we thought he'd do, but he watched everything that went by and kept waving to the people walking by us.  

On to the next thing!

Overall, Brooks had a great Father's Day.  He was left with Gavin again Sunday night, because I got really sick and got in bed around 7pm.  I felt awful not getting to cook him his favorite meal, Chicken Enchiladas, but he and Gavin enjoyed their peanut butter sandwiches.  They also "worked on" Gavin's play slide outside so Gavin wasn't distracted by wanting his mommy who was inside.  I woke up Monday morning to see all Gavin's toys spread out in the play room, which means Gavin and his daddy played a lot Sunday evening!  There is no doubt they weren't bored!  

Brooks Lee, you are an amazing father. It is a blessing to watch you with Gavin and see all the things you are instilling into his heart everyday.  He loves you and adores you and I hope you see that!  You are going to be an amazing daddy to two kids and I have no doubt in my mind you will love them both with everything in you.  We appreciate the man you are and all that you do for us!  Thanks for being the best dad to our little boy!  We love you!!

A new nephew

Liam Rome Vigo Williams was born June 18th to my brother and sister in law, Kyle and Liz.  He weighed 7lbs 2oz.  HE IS BEAUTIFUL!!!  

Last Thursday, we found out Liz was going to be induced on Friday morning so I made plans to drive into Lake Charles to be there for the birth.  When I got to the hospital, I had thought they already had the baby (she was already in full labor), but little Liam accidentally turned his head a little and Liz did her best to get him here!  We all waited in the waiting room and entertained Neve, Liam's big sister.

Here's Captain and Kimmie "waiting".

Neve had a blast playing and talking with all her family.  She searched every single one of our purses, multiple times, and took the contents of it all out and then would put it back in.  She found all of our lipstick and as you can see in the pictures, she put it on.  Neve LOVES lipstick and makeup!  She wanted to put her arms around Captain and Kimmie in this pic-- how cute is that?

After a while of labor, Liz had Liam by C-section.  Kyle was waiting patiently outside the OR so my brother, Bryan and Liz dad went to keep him company.  

A little while later--- here he is!!

Kyle introduced us all to Liam for the first time.  Neve is meeting her brother for the first time, too right here.  Now, don't be fooled, she saw him and called out his name.  However, she was a little interested in why her daddy was wearing a "costume".  It took her a minute to sort things out, but she was fine with it!  

We all went tot he nursery to see Liam and to say that Neve was excited would have been an under statement.  She was beside herself and filled with enthusiasm when she saw Liam.  She couldn't contain it!  It was a priceless memory-- very sweet!!

She just kept staring at him.  

Her daddy came and joined us at the nursery windows so he could bring Neve back to see her mommy.  I wish I had a picture of the new family, but I'll get that in a few weeks.  You can see here, Kyle and Neve were both glowing!  

Congratulations Kyle and Liz!!  We're so excited for you guys!  Liam is precious and we can't wait to get to hold him.  

Pickles, Skittles, and French Fries

Pickles, Skittles, and French Fries seem to be three foods I can't seem to get enough of these days...... because I'm pregnant!! Yes, you read that right!  I'm 11 weeks today!  Brooks and I found out early on and have just been beside ourselves.  We are due January 6th, 2011.  Things are going great this pregnancy!  We had an interesting first few weeks, but things are normal now.  I haven't had any morning sickness, which I'm so thankful for!  When I was pregnant with Gavin, I was sick everyday up until week 14.  Not being sick has definitely made things enjoyable and allows me to continue giving Gavin all the attention he wants and needs!  We had an ultrasound at 6 weeks and got to see our baby (boy, was he/she tiny!).  This past Tuesday, I got to hear the baby's heartbeat.  After 10 minutes of searching for it.... we could hear it go in and out, it finally came through.  It was strong, 168!  I teared up hearing the heartbeat!  What a special moment!  

Now, I'm sure you are all wondering, wait... aren't ya'll moving in a few weeks clear across the world?  and probably asking yourself, "where are we having the baby?"  Let me start off by saying that we did not come to the decision to expand our family with out praying about it first.  Brooks and I knew that we did not want to wait another 3-5 years before having another child and we knew there would never be what seemed like a "good time" while we're over there.  We've accepted and realize that our "normal" is changing for us and we may have to make new experiences for us, even if that means having a baby in a foreign country-- however, we have decided that we will decide where we will have the baby once we move over to Saudi.  There are a lot of things we need to find out about their hospitals, doctors, and health care system before making a decision.  We always have the option of coming home and will come back to the states if we fill that is the best thing for our family.  

Please keep us, this pregnancy, and our baby in your prayers.  We are believing that my preterm labor with Gavin was a one time thing and hope we don't have a repeat situation on our hands!  We're truly excited for this new time in our lives and are looking forward to the many changes we will be experiencing over the next few months (and years).  

Here is a picture of my belly at 11 weeks- I can't believe I'm already showing!!  I didn't show with Gavin until 20 weeks and I've already been wearing my shorts unbuttoned (with a bella band of course) for 2 weeks now!  

Getting Our Stuff Together

It hit me Sunday evening while we were driving home from Arkansas that I had exactly 2 weeks to get all of our stuff together for when the movers come to pack us up for Saudi.  I spent 2 long, exhausting days shopping and spending lots of money making sure we have all of our "necessities.  Basically, I walked up and down every single aisle of Walmart and thought to myself, "If I've ever bought it before, I was buying 4 of them now", and that's what I did.  I realize that I may have gone overboard, however, in order to help make this transition easy, I decided I wanted to have some of my regular stuff.  I'm hoping that I have enough items to last us until our first trip home/or second trip and then refill a suitcase and bring more stuff.  Also, I'm sure some of these items they have over in Saudi, but just in case.  Like, I wanted decorative bandaids for Gavin to have when he scrapes up his knees so I bought 4 boxes of them.  I love my loofas when taking a shower so I got 10 of them.  I'm obsessed with Q-tips (it's a little weird, I know) but I probably use 10-20 a day, so I loaded up on those!  I also thought ahead and got items that we may need in the future, but not right now.  

I went to Sam's as part of my shopping spree and purchased larger quantities of needed items that we use!  Diapers, wipes, decaffeinated tea, goldfish, mac and cheese, ranch, chocolate nesquik (for Gavin), and lots of spices.

Yesterday, I also went and picked up an abaya at a store downtown.  This will be the outfit I wear when I'm walking around the city, going grocery shopping, going to markets, restaurants, hospitals, anywhere except on our compound.  What do you think?  It's really not that bad to wear, although I'm not wearing it in 117 degree weather right now.  I'm also excited that it has a little bit of pink on it.  Now, just so you know, the head covering I'm wearing in this first picture is something we were told we had to wear, but now that families are living there, they haven't had to wear them at all.  The scarf came with my abaya and we are told to keep it on us at all times, incase one of the religious "police" ask us to put it on.

Otherwise, I'll be wearing just the abaya.  

It won't be long until we're there.  Everything is happening so fast and time is flying by.

Tonight, at bible study, our small group surprised Brooks and I and instead of discussing this weeks chapter in our book, Sacred Marriage, they compiled a book of letters together for us.  They shared their letters with us and gave us some encouraging words.  We shed some tears and had some laughs.  They are such a special group of people who we love and adore and our lives have been touched by them in so many ways.  We decided tonight, we weren't going to say "goodbye" to each other, rather we'd say, "see you later!"  I like that idea!  We love you guys!  Thanks again for blessing us and for praying over our move, the transition, and for our hearts to be prepared as much as possible.

Arkansas Part 2

I've finally had a chance to sit down and post about the rest of our time in Arkansas.  I'm going to jump through lots of moments because there were so many, I didn't want to leave any out.

After all the kids were done swimming at our going away party, everyone headed inside for cake and coffee.  The kids played and goofed off the whole time.  It was precious watching them play together and run around the house.  Gavin was pulling the girls in the wagon he got for Christmas (we kept it in Arkansas so he could use it when we visit).  Brooks also had a fun time with all the kids tackling him.  What a trooper he is!!

Gavin couldn't decide which toy he wanted to ride so Papa John came up with this brilliant idea.  Gavin loved it and rode around the house like this for 2 days!

On the morning of our last day, Gavin got to go fishing in the pack pond!  Look, there's Maggie-- oh how we miss her being at our house!!  Gavin enjoyed the water and learning how to use a fishing pole (maybe next time we'll have one his size).  He got to see a big turtle and even helped Brooks reel in a fish.  However, he didn't care for the fish that much, but he still had a fun time!

Less than a mile from Grammy and Papa John's house are some train tracks.  Throughout our visit, Gavin kept hearing the train's horn and would stop what he was doing, point, and say, "choo choo!"  One time, he even asked us to hold him up so he could see it, however, the train tracks aren't in their backyard so he wasn't able to see one.  We were really hoping the few times that we did drive past the tracks there would be one going by, but there never was.... UNTIL, we were leaving.  We saw the lights flashing and got Gavin out of the car as fast as we could so he could see it going by!  He loved it.  He kept yelling "choo choo!" and pointing.  Oh, it was a priceless moment!  I think he was shocked by how big it was.

We had a blast at the ranch and as always it was way too short of a visit.  Camp was going on so we got to stop by and say hello to some of our old campers (who are now Senior Counselors-- wow, we felt old!)  Brookhill is where Brooks and I met and is also the place that helped influence who we are today.  We love going there and getting to reminisce.    We also love getting to spend time with family.  Mim (Brooks' grandmother, Hettie) bought a soccer goal so Brooks put it together and Gavin went to town with that thing.  We spent several hours watching him kick the ball all around their front yard.  He'd make it into the goal every once in a while.

Some of our really good friends from camp, Mali and Mitchell, who we grew up going to Brookhill with as well as worked several summers together drove up to the ranch to see us before we leave for Saudi.  They have a little boy, Rivers and another baby on the way.  We went to lunch at a local favorite, The Shack, then let the boys play together before having to say goodbye.  We were so grateful and appreciative of them taking time out of their day to come see us!  We love you guys!

Once Uncle Bran finished camp he hung out with us as much as he could.  Gavin loves his Bran-Bran.  I do believe I have a picture of them together and Gavin is eating a Twizzler-- Brandon.... what were you thinking?  They played together outside and goofed around.  

After Sunday lunch, all the kids went outside to play with their Mimmy who encouraged them to get dirty and play!  Now, I've never seen ANYTHING like this, but it was a swimming pool, filled with purple sand mixed with water.  What a lovely mixture, huh!?!?  However, it provided an hour or more of entertainment for the kids who didn't seem to mind AT ALL the gritty, dirty, smelly sand.  It was really funny when Eli decided to lay in it and roll around.  These are fun memories!

I can honestly say, I don't think Gavin has ever seen anything like this before either, but he enjoyed it!  

Of course, after the sand playing was over with it required a hose down of all the kids.  MeLisa went to leave but Gavin felt the need to drive her four wheeler.  This is his newest thing-- driving.  Brooks would let Gavin sit on his lap in our car while we drove on the ranch from one place to another and now Gavin thinks he can drive anything and everything.  I did watch him put my car keys into my car ignition and start the car.  I almost flipped out and was thankful I was in the car when he did it, however, it was scary to know he is capable of doing this.  Yikes!

As always, Gavin loves the water hose and decided to water Mim and Pop's grass.  Isn't he so cute!??!  

He takes his job of water plants very serious.  This is a new thing for him, but something he loves and is very observant of.  

Overall, we loved our time in Arkansas and were very sad to leave.  We made some fun and special memories and will miss our family dearly.