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.

Arkansas Part 1

Howdy ya'll!!!  That's me saying Hi Arkansas style.  We're spending the week with Brooks' mom and her family one last time before we leave.  So far, our days have been jam packed and our trip isn't even over yet.  

Brooks had to work late Monday night at work so we didn't leave Houston until much later than expected, which put us getting into Arkansas at 2am.  We were able to sleep in and then spent the entire day outside in Brooks' mom's pool.  It was so nice just relaxing and swimming.  We all got some sun, which our poor bodies haven't seen in months.  Gavin has found all the gadgets that are around their house such as the lawn mower, swing sets, brooms (he's a little obsessed with them), and his red wagon he got from Grammy and Papa J at Christmas.  He just loves riding around in it.   He has helped Papa J drive around on the lawn mower, mowing grass and has a very hard time getting off of it when they're done.   On another day, we went to a lake nearby and hung out in the water, had a picnic lunch, and even did some jet skiing.   Gavin loved getting to ride the jet ski just as much as he enjoyed sitting on it, alone, while it was parked in the water.  He even liked when they went fast on it.  He thought he was driving it.  So cute!  I'm so glad I bought him a life jacket the other day while we were out and about.  It has come in handy so much.   Brooks took the jet ski out for a couple of spins alone so he could have a "little boy" moment.  He would come back to us, wearing his hat backwards and saying, "that was awesome!"  

Missie and John have a pond in the back of their land that is stocked with fish.  I went and met some camp friends of mine for dinner one night while the rest of the family went fishing.  Gavin caught his first fish!  How exciting is that.  We don't have any pics from that go around, but I'm sure we'll go fishing again before we leave, hopefully, there will be a picture giving proof of their fish catching skills! 

On our last night at Brooks mom and husbands house, we had a going away party thrown for us with all our Arkansas family!  We did a cook out and had a pool party.  The kids swam and had a blast.  I didn't take any pics of outside, because it was raining off and on.  I did get pictures of the festivities inside, but they are on my other camera.  I'll post those later.  The party was a blast!  We just love being surrounded by people we love!   

We're off now the ranch to visit Brooks' grandparents and cousins and their kids.  I'll post all those details when we get home!  

Happy Birthday David

Happy Birthday David! I can't believe it's already been a year since we first met you!  

Our friends' baby

Welcome Addison Ray Carpenter!  Our friends, Susie and Darrell, had a baby girl last week and she is precious.  Addison has a super cool older brother, Cade, who just so happens to be Gavin's best buddy!  I was really excited I was in town for her birth (she was due on Thursday- when we were going to Colorado), I actually made it to the hospital 20 minutes before she arrived-- just in time.   Congratulations Susie and Darrell!  We're so excited for ya'll!

The happy family of four!

What a blessing to experience this with her! 

Look at all that hair! 

Susie has mentioned before how much she loves my cookies, and since she sent us a cookie bouquet when we had Gavin, I figured the only thing to do was give her some cookies as well!  I made a lot of cookies for all her and her visitors to enjoy! 

Colorado

Part of us moving overseas soon, is having to say good bye to all of our friends and family.  We took a trip to Colorado this past week to spend some time with Brooks' dad and his family.  We really enjoyed being out there and had lots of fun-- eating out, playing at the park, watching movies, and visiting.  The weather was HOT out there, something I'm not use to in Colorado, but it sure makes things much easier with a toddler.  

Gavin did GREAT on the plane ride up there, unfortunately, he did not have his own seat, but thankfully, he made friends with the young man sitting next to us and by the end of the trip, they were pounding fist back and forth.  

While we were in Colorado, we took advantage of getting to see Brooks' grandparents.  It was such a joy to spend some time with them before we leave.  We thought Thanksgiving was the last time we were going to see them so this was a special treat!  A lot has happened since the last time we've seen them so this visit was different, but good.  Brooks grandmother had a stroke a few months ago and has made some tremendous progress.  She goofed off with Gavin and tried tickling him.   

Since Colorado is an hour behind us, Gavin was a little messed up with his time.  He'd wake up EARLY in the mornings, thinking it was later, and at night, he'd be sleeping early because his body thought it was later.  Wow-- that was a little tough to handle but we managed and he did great.  One morning, Gavin woke up at 6am and was wide awake.  In order to keep him from waking the rest of the house, we loaded him in the car and took him to McDonald's to play on their playground.  He loved it!  It was a brilliant idea on our part if I do say so myself.   Brooks and I enjoyed our coffee while Gavin ran around.  He's still too young to handle these types of play houses alone, so Brooks and I took turns going in with him.  Part of entertaining Gavin while we were there, was letting him water all the flowers and plants in the backyard.  In order to do that, it required taking his clothes off and running through the sprinkler.  As you can see, he preferred just the hose part!   Another opportunity to entertain Gavin came with the piano.  He played it often and made some great "sounds" with it!   

We miss you guys already!

This is really happening...

Well, it's official.  Our house is on the market.  We put it up for sale last Wednesday after a really long process.  It's amazing the amount of stuff you have to do when you are selling your home through a relocation company.  It has been a really busy few weeks for us as we've been working very hard at getting the house "show" ready as well as maintaining it daily because you never know who is going to come by and see it.  We're praying and hoping our house sells soon!