Cade Walker Carpenter

Wednesday night, our best friends, The Carpenter's , lost their 4 year old son, Cade unexpectedly.  This was a huge shock to all and has left everyone stunned and just devastated.  

The Carpenter's are some of our best friends and Cade and Gavin have been best buds for years.  We are heartbroken over losing Cade and are filled with sadness for Susie and Darrell.  We hate that this has happened to them.  We're sad that we're not there with them during this time.  It breaks my heart to know that I'm not there to help comfort, hug, or love on my best friend.  I'm just sad.  We all are.  

Last week before we left, I decided to take one last trip to Houston to visit The Carpenter family before heading back to Saudi.  I wanted to let Gavin have another chance to play with Cade and hang out before we left for a few months.  I keep thinking how grateful I am that we made it work and fit with our schedules because I will cherish that time forever.  Even though it was a short visit, and we were only together a few hours, there are tons of memories that we can hold on to.  

I don't have the words yet to express the heart ache we are experiencing.  

I keep trying to focus on the things that we will remember about Cade and the memories we have of him.  

Gavin loved Cade.  He was his best friend.  Gavin looked up to Cade.  Anything Cade did, Gavin wanted to do.  It's because of Cade that Gavin stopped sitting in a high chair at restaurants, started wearing his crocs without straps, enjoyed wearing sunglasses outside, likes to play with tools, isn't afraid of playground equipment, wants to wear Superman and Batman t-shirts, likes to wrestle, will sit in timeout without getting up from his spot, would stop crying when we dropped him off at the babysitter's house, always wants BIG toy trucks, willingly wore his Halloween costume, was Buzz for Halloween, started liking Woody (from Toy Story), prefers lace up tennis shoes instead of velcro ones, wants to brush his teeth, needs a gummy vitamin everyday, isn't scared of remote control toy cars, and decided he'd rather pee standing up then sitting down.  These are just a few of the many things that Gavin has watched Cade do or did with Cade and decided he wanted to be like him.  

Gavin also got his love for trains from Cade.  Cade got a train table a few years ago and every time we went to Cade's house, Gavin always wanted to play trains with him.  Even last week when we visited, Gavin was playing on that train table.  He loved it and he loved pushing the trains around the track with Cade.  They would race each others trains, they'd trade trains together, and you could always hear them laughing when their trains would crash into each other.  

These are just a few of the things we'll keep tucked in our hearts and will share with Gavin as he gets older.  We're grateful for the friendship these two boys had together and we will forever remember Cade and Gavin's time together as best buds.  

One of the things I will remember the most about Cade was how much he liked to smile.  The kid LOVED life.  He was always happy, always smiling, always loving those around him.  Cade cared about other's feelings.  He was always quick to apologize, or make sure you were okay if something happened.  Very sweet.  Very loving.  Very special!

Please keep Susie and Darrell and their family in your prayers.  This is such a difficult time for everyone.  We're believing that the Lord will provide them everything they need to get through this time.

Here are a few pictures of Cade and Gavin that I LOVE!  They always had fun together no matter what they were doing.  I posted all the pics I had of the two boys together on Facebook, too.  

24 hours and finally reunited

We made it to Saudi last night (Tuesday evening) and had a very successful trip.

From the time we were at the Houston airport until we arrived in Damman, KSA was a 24 hour trip.  I can honestly say it was not bad at all.

For starters, I was nervous about how the boys would do traveling and me having to take care of both of them along with navigating our traveling between airports, etc.  Thankfully, I have a wonderful friend who apparently loves my kids a lot and likes me as a friend, because, Stephanie, graciously flew back to Saudi with me and boys so she could help me out when needed.  All I can say is I appreciate her beyond words and know that when the time comes... I will repay her in some way.  

My parents dropped me and the boys off in Houston and we had a tearful goodbye.  It's so hard leaving.  After crying a few minutes, I quickly realized I had to pull myself together because I was in charge of getting us checked in, through security, and to our gate.

I was able to check in being a Silver Privileged Member, which gives us special attention!   The lady at the counter could tell I was a little frazzled and started our conversation by saying, "okay, 3 non stop tickets to Bahrain!" AGGHHH-- what?!?!? what did she just say??? Bahrain?!?  No!  Not Bahrain!!  I panicked inside.  She quickly saw the terror on my face and said she was kidding.  She thought that statement would get my attention and help me focus on what we were doing. She accomplished her mission.  

She started checking all our bags for weight, which I got 4 out of 5 bags at exactly 50 lbs, thank you very much.  1 of the bags was 70lbs and I said I'd pay the $50 fee.  Next, she asked me for the "permission slip" from my husband allowing me to take his children out of the country without him.  Um--- what?!?!  I did NOT have that.  Once again, I panicked.  She showed me the form, told what was required, then we discussed options for getting it filled out and turned in.  At this point, major panic set in.  I was a wreck.  It was night time here in Saudi, Brooks was asleep.  The only way of getting in touch with him was via Skype, but even then, Brooks wouldn't hear the computer ringing so we were stuck not knowing how to get in touch with Brooks.  The even better part about that was even if we did get in touch with him, they were going to need to fax/scan the form to him and have him fax it back to them.  Um, we don't exactly have a fax machine in our house and again... it's in the middle of the night over there.  I called my mom trying to see if she still had International Calling on her phone from when they were here in Saudi, then found Brooks' Saudi cell number, and was having her try to get in touch with Brooks.  About that time, the manager came over and was told of our situation and that I did not have the form.  Her first response was, "so what do you want me to do about it?"  My heart sank.  All I kept thinking was we weren't going to get on that plane, Stephanie was going to leave, and I'd have to wait a day or two, get the form filled out, then travel to Saudi alone with both the boys.  

During these conversations and my panicking I was just praying.  I prayed and asked God for favor in this situation.  I prayed that he would resolve this in a way that couldn't normally be resolved.  Within minutes, my prayer was answered.  The manager's comment actually meant, well, if they don't have it let them fly.  Who cares!  WHOA... wasn't expecting that one!  It was an answered prayer.  

So, just when I thought we were done, the lady saw my carryon and made me weigh it- I was kinda hiding it for the purpose of not wanting it to get weighed.  But, it did and I was over and was asked to remove some of my items.  After the lady saw my carryon was filled with diapers, wipes, bottles, formula, and kid stuff.... and after I "attempted" to put some items in other suitcases, she finally said, "mam, close your carryon and be on your way".  Yes mam!  That won't be a problem!  

So, after the hour ordeal of checking in, Steph and I were on our way.  We went to the Business Lounge (there are nice perks of traveling across the world-- your miles add up quickly), grabbed a small snack, regrouped, then boarded our plane.  Stephanie was able to get her seat moved right next to ours, instead of the row behind me, which was awesome.  Then, we realized our flight wasn't full, so Steph went and sat on the row beside us to give us more room.  It was awesome!  

Gavin was ecstatic to be on the plane and couldn't wait to get to see his Daddy.  He was pretty wired the first 3 hours of the flight, but did good playing in his seat, eating snacks, and watching a movie.  The extra seats we had allowed us to lift up one of the arm rests and we made a little bed for Gavin.  Once he was tired, I laid him down, we said our prayers, and we went to sleep.  He slept for 8 hours straight!  Woo Hoo!  Thank you Jesus!  

Miles did great too.  I was really worried about him.  Sunday night he was up ALL night crying so I knew something was wrong.  I took him to the doctor first thing Monday morning and found out he had a double ear infection.  Not the best thing to have when you're about to spend 16 hours on a plane.  Anyways, Miles had his nighttime bottle, I put his pajama's on him, swaddled him, and he went right to sleep.  He slept for 7 hours, woke up, got a  bottle then slept on Stephanie for another 3 hours til his next feeding!  It was awesome!  

Stephanie and I were both able to sleep uninterrupted and got a decent amount of rest.  By the time we woke up and so did the boys, we only had 4 1/2 hours left of the plane ride.... that was a piece of cake.  The kids did great. Gavin was entertained.  Miles played a little, then took another nap.  Stephanie bought Gavin a surprise so he loved playing with his new toy-- it was a stuffed horse, Bullseye from Toy Store.  I also surprised Gavin with a toy (since I felt guilty for taking him away from his family and bringing him back to this side of the world) and it was a figurine of Woody from Toy Story.  He had double the fun!  

Our flight ended, we went to the Business Lounge in Doho for a (CLEAN) restroom break, grabbed a snack, then boarded our next flight.  That flight was a piece of cake. Miles played then fell asleep.  Gavin slept.  The flight was only 45 minutes so that's nothing for us.  We got off the plane and stood in line at customs.  There were 6 lines going, 1 worker for each line and the lines were LONG.  We've always been told be prepared to just wait, so we were.  Then, a customs worker walked by our line, saw me and the boys, and motioned for us to go to the front of the line!!  Thank you Jesus!  I looked at Stephanie and she said, we're sisters, I'm coming with you!  Haha.  We turned our passports in, got our papers stamped, and we were on our way.

We got all our bags, went through security without anything getting touched or searched then we went looking for Brooks.  We went through everything so fast he was just getting to the airport.  We waited a minute or two and there he was.  Gavin actually saw him first and let out a LOUD squeal!  He was so excited to see Brooks.  He ran after him and jumped into his arms.  It was THE.SWEETEST.THING.EVER!  

We got to our house late, unloaded the car, bathed the boys, had a little bit of play time, then we all went to bed.  All 3 of us slept through the night and other then Miles waking up for a bottle at 6am, then going back to sleep, everyone was able to sleep in! 

Brooks took half a day off so that he could spend some time with us this morning.  We ate breakfast, visited, and played.  Needless to say, we're all very happy that we're back together and were REUNITED!  

Time Went Too Fast

The boys and I are leaving tomorrow night to head back to Saudi, and we are very excited about getting home to Brooks.  It's been way too long that we've all been apart and it's time we gain some normalcy back into our lives.  As excited and ready as we are to get back to Brooks, we're sad that we're leaving the states and our family and friends.

The past four weeks, we've been in Lake Charles, staying with my parents and we have had some jam packed days filled with lots of different activities and running around town.  While we've been here, we've visited family and friends.  It's been great being surrounded by our loved ones.  Living away, makes you realize how much you take family for granted.  I've loved getting to spend time with my parents, brothers, their wives, and their kids!  Every morning, my mom gave Miles his bottle and my dad would fix Gavin his breakfast (except the mornings when Gavin actually slept in).  At least twice a week, we'd meet up with my nieces and nephews and play with them.  We spent a lot of time at an indoor playground where Gavin could run around and play!  We've gone shopping, eaten out, took a weekend trip to Houston to hit up some outlet malls.  I've also been able to meet up with close friends and have some girl time! Yipppee for that!

Gavin's been having a blast here in LC.  My parents taught him how to golf-- like really golf.  He has a real golf club and he goes to the driving range and hits balls.  He's really good at it, too.  My dad takes Gavin and Miles riding around in the golf cart pretty much every day and it became a must for Gavin!  My dad also taught Gavin how to hit baseballs from a tee and he's even better at that.  The kid is good! He seems to be a natural!  Check him out!  Gavin's learning to say his ABC's, thanks to my parents using repetition with him.  He's been obsessed with seeing school buses around town and prefers to ride in the car with his window rolled down- something he doesn't get to do in Saudi.

My mom has been a huge help for me taking care of the kids "alone".  I couldn't have made it this long without Brooks if she wouldn't have been around.  Gavin and my mom would feed the fish in our fountain everyday together, he'd help my mom around the house, they'd go to the store together, they were big buddies.  I enjoyed getting to have the company everyday.  It can get lonely over in Saudi when people aren't around all the time.

I think I've gone to Sonic and Chick Fil A almost twice a week since we've been home, and Target.  It's amazing how much you care about something when you can't have it.   It's been wonderful getting to enjoy everyday pleasures and normal situations... I'm definitely going to miss being able to jump in the car and go somewhere anytime I want to as well as be with different people.  I'm also going to miss having toilet paper in the public restrooms.

There are so many other fun things that we've been doing that I'll have to write more about once I get back to Saudi and am settled in.  Until then, check out pictures on my facebook page from our time here!

We've been to a wedding, birthday parties, the Children's Museum, had family meals (my brother whose a chef fixed my favorite meal of his tonight and it was DELICIOUS!).

We'll keep everyone posted on our trip back!  

Three Months Already

Miles is 3 months already.  Can you believe it?  I can't!  So much seems to have gone on in the past 3 months so it's making time fly even faster then it usually does.  

Miles is growing up.  He's getting bigger every day.  This kid is LONG.  We thought Gavin was long, Miles is LONGER.  His eyes are still blue and his hair seems to be growing as fast as his body is.  

He's a very happy and content baby a majority of the time.  If he's crying, it's because he's either hungry, tired, or has a wet diaper.  If you fix one of those three things, things are all good from there.

Miles has started showing more of a personality these days.  He spends a lot more time  awake and generally smiles the entire time.  He loves to "laugh" at his big brother and smiles anytime he walks in the room.

Miles is able to see people and watch them move around the room.  He's pretty strong and stands up when you support him and he tends to like that position.  He also is able to hold his head up for an extended period of time.

He's eating between 4oz and 5oz during his feeding and has been consistent with wanting to eat every 3 hours, on the dot! 

He loves being outside and he loves taking baths.  If for some reason he gets fussy and nothing seems to calm him down, I can take him outside and he stops crying within seconds.  

Miles also had a HUGE accomplishment this month-- he rolled over for the first time. At first, I thought he had fallen over forgetting that babies do roll over, I just thought it was really soon for that.  So, I put him back on his tummy and it wasn't long before he rolled over again.  He's actually been "toying" with the idea of rolling over from his back to his tummy.  He gets his entire body laying side ways and tries to turn over, but can't get his shoulder over all the way.  It won't be long now!  Check it out!

I'd love to say that Miles sleeps through the night, and sometimes he does, but he is NOT consistent at all.  Gavin was sleeping through the night at 6 weeks so this is a HUGE difference for us.  However, Miles can and does make it from 9pm to 5/6am, it's just different every night.  He dropped his 11pm late night bottle this past week and can make it to 6/7am when he chooses to sleep, but you never know what kind of night it's going to be.  I'm not really worried about it.  The poor kids' schedule is going to change once again next week when we go back to Saudi so I'm not really forcing anything on him at this point.  We'll get on a new routine and new schedule once we're back in Saudi and then of course, that will change when we come back to the USA for the summer. Who knows, maybe by the time he turns 1, he'll get on some kind of normal routine.

We love having Miles in our family!  He's a perfect new addition and has brought so much more joy into our lives!  

 

Miles Baby Dedication

I'm so excited to share with you all that while we've been in town, we decided to have Miles dedicated and we did it at the same church that we got married in.  It's important to Brooks and I that we raise our kids to know the Lord and our prayer has always been that they would have a relationship with Him.  It's our job as Miles' parents to teach him who Jesus is and the importance of living our life for Him.  Brooks and I made the commitment to lead, guide, and direct Miles life towards following Jesus and that our home would be the center of him learning about Jesus Christ.  

The dedication was sweet and Gavin got to be apart of it, too.  My whole family was there to share in the celebration.  It was a sweet time for us to realize that the life our parents choose to give us that's focus was to know the Lord is something we are instilling in our kids lives!  We can't wait to see who Miles becomes and the life that he is going to live!  

Tractors, Horses, Fishing Poles, & Bee Bee Guns

I'm finally having some time to sit down and blog about our life the past few weeks in the states.  Sorry for not keeping up with it, we've been busy and have been spending a lot of time with family and friends; shopping; going places; etc that when we are at home, I'm tired or have my hands full taking care of the boys.  Anyways, it may take me a few days to get caught up with the happening's of our life, but I'll do my best!

Brooks and the boys and I drove to Arkansas three weeks ago to spend time at Brooks' moms house with her and her husband.  We had a blast.  Everyday was filled with lots of outings for all of us on their property, called Sweet Grass.  We arrived in Arkansas late at night so Gavin and Miles were sleeping when we got to their house, but that didn't stop Grammy and Papa John from seeing the boys.  They loved meeting Miles and seeing him for the first time and Gavin woke up for a little while for them to love and hug on him.

Our first day there, Gavin had some presents to open and got his first set of play doh along with some fun books and toy cars.  He loved it all and played with them during his visit.  John, Missie's husband, has a riding lawn mower, which Gavin calls a tractor.  He remembered riding it last summer when we visited them and was OBSESSED with wanting to ride it again.  From the moment he woke up he was asking Papa John to take him on the "tractor".  John was always willing so for the first few days that's all Gavin was interested in doing, even in 50 degree weather, with a little rain (that didn't stop him).

Gavin spent a lot of time outside.  He played in a sand box, would swing on the swing set, he rode in his red wagon, which John eventually attached to the back of his lawn mower and pulled Gavin around.  Anything Grammy was willing to do for Gavin, he got to do it, too!  It was too cold to swim while we were there, but we did fish in a pond they have in the back of their house that's stocked with fish and Gavin LOVED that!  I went to Wal Mart and got him his own little fishing pole (mainly b/c I was nervous he was going to throw one of their nice one's in) but it was a perfect size for him and he seemed to last longer while fishing.  He even had his own little bait put on the end of his hook so every time he reeled his line in, he'd say, " I did it! I caught a fish!" Too cute!  We enjoyed relaxing outdoors while fishing and Brooks and everyone else caught several fish.

John and Missie's neighbors have a horse and a donkey and it just so happened they were nearby one day so Gavin got to touch the horse and donkey.... he even fed them apples!  That became a job for him to do everyday.  He'd bring them an apple and feed each one of them several slices of it.  He was never scared of them, which was pretty cool to watch.

Brandon, Brooks brother came in town while we were in Arkansas so we could have some more time to visit with him and as always, we loved it.  We even got to spend some quality time, out to eat, with him and his girlfriend, Kate, who was a camper of mine years ago at Brookhill.... must say.... LOVE HER!  Bran fished with us, took Gavin to the horse and donkey, played games, and more.  Gavin got to hold a bee bee gun for the first time and he even went turtle hunting.  I have pics of this, but they are on Brooks computer so I'll upload those once I'm back in Saudi.  Brooks' aunt and uncle and their two boys came to visit us as well.  We ate a delicious meal and the boys (cousins) all got to play together.

We loved being with the family and spending some nice, relaxing days just hanging out.  Lots of memories were made.

While we were in Arkansas, we also visited Brooks' extended family at the Ranch (Brookhill) and were able to make more memories with them.  Miles got to meet the rest of the family and we hung out with Brooks grandparents and cousins.  There were 6 kids under the age of 6 together and they played so well.  Gavin was given a cowboy hat and from the moment he got it, he wouldn't go anywhere with out it.  One time, I called his name and he said no mom, I'm a cowboy!  Too cute for words.  We rode four wheelers, visited the horses and cows that were on the ranch, and just played around.  Brooks and I even got to go to the movies and went on a date, along with his cousins who we love being with.  It was a nice treat and allowed Grammy to babysit the boys, which she LOVED!

We're so glad we were able to make the trip to visit family.  We all had a fun time and miss seeing our family!

Stay tuned.. more posts to come!