Dubai with friends

In March we took a trip to Dubai with our close friends, the Sperlings and the Raileys and had a great time.  We had been planning this trip for months and originally wanted our entire group of friends to go, but with work schedules and other planned vacations, it just didn't work out.  Steph found our flights and hotels and we were told what to book and when to book it!  Huge help for planning with a group and I'd much rather be told what to do then have to research it all.   We flew out of Saudi since we're not allowed into Bahrain due to all the protests and managed the airport with 5 little ones under 5.  The flight to Dubai wasn't bad at all since it was around 2 hours.. That is a piece of cake in our world!  Steph blogged about our trip and has some different pictures then me, so check her post out, too, for more of our fun trip!  

We made it to Dubai late in the evening and ran into a few issues.  Not only did Brooks leave our travel wallet filled with our passports and visas at the ticket counter, which we realized 10 minutes after we made it through customs... thankfully, it was still there when he ran back.   We also spent 30 minutes on the phone with our bank notifying them where we were and not to block our account once we tried pulling money out of the ATM.  After being told we were in a high risk security country, and there were stipulations to getting funds (ummm.. we live in Saudi Arabia and get money all the time.  you can't tell me the UAE is more dangerous then the KSA, but whatever) and after attempting to retrieve funds from 4 different ATM's and speak to 3 different bank representatives, Micah and Steph gave us money for the cab and off we went to our hotel.   I swear, we feel like it's always us who has issues when traveling.   

Steph found a great place right next to the Dubai Mall and our view was the Dubai Fountains.  AMAZING!  It was great to be able to walk to all the nearby places and not get into taxi's.  Our hotel wasn't ready for 3 families with 3 little ones and we all needed baby beds, which they did not have our first night.  We all had to make due and it was extremely entertaining.  I think Brooklyn slept half the night in our bed and the boys had to share a cot.  Note to self... even when a hotel says it can fit 4 people, they may not have enough beds for 4 people!  Haha.  We made due and it was a fun night of memories for our little family!!  

Steph and I brought our Got Addi-tude shirts and took a picture in front of the world's tallest building in honor of our friends, Susie and Darrell's little girl, Addi.  

The next day we headed to the Dubai Mall to do some shopping and eating.  We found a PotBelly's for lunch and PF Chang's for dinner.  Delicious!  We may or may not have gotten ice cream from Marble Slab and spent $30 for two bags of Easter Candy.  While we were there we enjoyed the Dubai Aquarium, from the outside, shopped and tried on clothes in tons of US type stores.  After lunch, we ended up splitting up guys and girls and shopped on our own.  I think that was the best decision for everyone involved.  It gave us girls some time to do some serious shopping without having to worry about how bored our husbands may be.  One of the bathrooms was amazing and had this awesome mom's room.  There was a built in play pen for Brooklyn while I used the restroom.  

During another bathroom break I accidentally left my purse hanging on the hook in the stall.  I didn't realize it until 45 minutes later when I went to buy my kids Easter outfits at Gap.  I panicked when my purse wasn't on the stroller hook and immediately remembered where it was.  Thankfully, we were extremely close by the restroom and I ran as fast as I could and dumped Brooklyn and the stroller with the other girls.  When I arrived in the bathroom, the purse was gone.  I almost lost it.  The bathroom attendant kept telling me, while she was fixing her hair, " that it was okay, it's okay!"  I was freaking out.  After some misunderstanding and miscommunication I asked a woman nearby what she was saying and she told me guest services.  So off we went to guest services, who directed us to lost and found.  After the 5 -10 minute journey in the huge mall to lost and found, I determined at some point, what's done is done and there's nothing I can do about it.  I was just grateful my passport was in our hotel room safe and that I'd left my Saudi Igama in Saudi.  I would have just lost a Louis Vuitton purse, Iphone, Coach sunglasses, and all my cake money, but we were all safe and those things are replaceable.  When we walked in the room, there was the bathroom attendant and several security people.  I asked for a purse, they asked me a million questions and then I saw my purse sitting on the counter behind a computer.  I squealed with excitement and then was asked to show some ID, which I then realized I HAD NONE ON ME.  They did not want to give me my purse, since there was no way of proving that was my purse.  I then listed EVERY SINGLE THING INSIDE of it, showed that my insurance card name matched my credit card names, I showed my last name matched Brooks' name listed in my phone, and made every attempt to prove that was my purse.  They eventually gave it over to me and we were finished.  At this point, the bathroom attendant had been released since I declared nothing was missing from my purse.  However, before she left, she told me "you people tempt us too much with your money" (which made me realize she did look into my purse and saw the cash I had and probably could have taken some if she wanted).  I then decided to go back to the bathroom and find her and gave her a reward for being honest.  She was grateful!  We finished our shopping and I was relieved that things turned out the way they did!   

After dinner we enjoyed watching the Dubai Fountains and spent some time playing in a close "park" and let the kids run around and play.  The sights were truly breath taking and it was a great way to end a fun day!  We had all toured the Burj Khalifa before and didn't feel the need to do it again, but still loved being there and seeing it all lit up at night!  I love the idea in years we get to say we've been there and seen these sights! 

The next day we headed to our other hotel... The Atlantis.  We love the Atlantis and LOVE that it's so kid friendly, there's so much to do, and our plans were to stay there the remainder of our trip.  We walked around for a bit, letting the kids see the Aquarium, then we went to our rooms, changed clothes and headed for the water park.  Some of the kids needed naps, so we let them sleep outside, while we all played.  It was a fun afternoon swimming, sliding, and even the guys went and did some of the big rides!  Gavin remembered being here from a year ago and was so excited to play in the water!  For Steph's birthday, she got to swim dolphins at the resort, and being the good friend that I am, I decided she could not do that alone, so I went with her!  We got to hold, kiss, touch, play, and swim with dolphins.  They pushed us on a boogie board across the water, and we "rode" two of them holding on to their top fins.  It was an awesome experience and something we had a lot of fun doing.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to take pictures and none of the pics we could have purchase for $30 a piece were worth buying.  Oh well, we have our memories!

For dinner we ate at an Italian restaurant that had some interesting food choices.  I think we all ordered the only meals that had familiar ingredients or names in them.  Although, that didn't work for all of us since my meal looked like a bowl of green beans.  Yikes.  When dinner was over, Brooks and Micah went and got massages (that was Brooks' birthday present from me) and we stayed and visited some more at the restaurant.  Brooklyn and Gavin were asleep in our strollers while Miles was hanging out with our waiter right next to our table.  At one point, I realized I didn't see Miles and asked everyone where he was.  They all thought he was right next to us, and then quickly realized he wasn't.  I can't really go into much detail about the next 10 minutes, because while I remember every moment, it all seems like a blur, but just know that we ALL searched for Miles, I was doing everything I could to stay calm and coherent.  We all split up in the restaurant, went outside the restaurant, stopped and asked every single waiter and restaurant employee, we asked the tables next to us and at some point I started yelling and screaming Miles name.  I went into the kitchen, I went out onto the terrace, I went around and around that entire restaurant yelling my child's name and at some point was on the verge of breaking down.  I remember thinking 3 things to myself: #1. what was Miles wearing? #2. What was the last moment I had with him? because I wanted to remember that for the rest of my life and #3. I just lost my child in a foreign country.  I remember the moment when I let out my biggest scream for Miles and then watching our waiter, who was standing at the waiter station 5 feet from our table, move back and Miles was sitting right in front of him on the counter!  Miles was right next to us the entire time and NONE of us saw him, not even once.  Not sure why our waiter never saw any of the chaos from us searching everywhere, our why he hadn't heard us all yelling Miles name, but none the less, Miles wasn't lost and was right next to us the entire time!  Thank you Jesus.

The next day we rented a cabana on the beach and had our own reserved place for us to all gather and play together.  We had our own waiter, unlimited supply of  bottled waters, got fruit trays and more throughout the day!   There was a table to eat on, plenty of lounge chairs, and even a hammock.   We all played on the beach, in the sand, laid out, kids took naps, and we took turns going to the water park.  It was such a fun day at the beach.  The kids did AWESOME and were busy playing their hearts out.

After the beach, it was time for an adults only dinner!  We all got nannies through the hotel and we sent Gavin to the Kids Club for the evening.  It was such a great dinner getting to visit with friends and have some uninterrupted conversations without kids.  Loved the time together!  At some point during our meal, a waiter brought us some chocolate lollipops.  We have no idea why or what it was for, but we enjoyed them none the less.

Anytime we walked to the restaurants or outside to the pools, we would pass the Aquarium.  Our kids were mesmerized with all the fish and sharks and loved watching them swim around.  I was able to catch some priceless shots of their faces!

Our last day, our flight wasn't until mid afternoon, so we had some time in the morning to have breakfast and spend a few hours at the pool.  We all were able to get late check outs, which helped make the morning more enjoyable.  It was the first time we had been to the pool and found a shallow area where the little kids could play, but that was right next to the big pool where the adults could swim and play with the kids.  Brooklyn had her first chance to swim without being in a baby raft and loved it.    Miles continued to show his fearless side by continuously jumping off the sides of the pool regardless of who was around!  Gavin wanted to wear the big life jacket just for fun, so we let him!

After heading back to our rooms, showering, packing we went to lunch at a french bakery and ate some delicious food!  After lunch, we actually went inside the Aquarium and saw even more sharks and fish.  The kids LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it and it was so fun to watch them get excited and oohh and ahhh over the animals!  Even Jacob got into it!

Miles wanted to know what that thing was..

I think Brooklyn was having a conversation with him.

Then, it was time to leave.  While we weren't ready to head back to reality, it was such a fun get away and great time to be with friends.

More BIrthdays

Miles was so tired from partying it up at his daddy's bday party the night before, he couldn't stay awake before we left to go to his friend, Graham's birthday party!!  Thankfully, he slept in the car the entire hour and half drive and was excited to go to another party!

Graham and Miles are a few months apart and have had the opportunity to "grow up" together while living in Saudi.  We were excited to spend the day with our friends, The Acords.  Che had lots of fun activities planned for the kids with the Surf's Up theme!  Gavin and Miles loved making cereal necklaces, going fishing, coloring, and eating some yummy snacks! It was precious and lots of fun for everyone.  I was able to make the cake for Graham's party, too and happy the surfboards and palm trees withstood our weather!  The kids got to play outside at the beach, even though the wind was blowing hard, they didn't mind.

 

Happy Birthday Graham!

Happy 29th Birthday

Brooks turned 29 on March 8th and we had a busy weekend celebrating him!!  For years, I think we've celebrated Brooks' and Micah's birthdays together so this year was no different.  We had a group dinner at our house, Steph and I cooked and had all our friends over.  A Great American Cookie Company opened up in the town an hour away from us so Steph and I decided to do something different then having me make a cake and we ordered one.  After viewing some of the cake places' custom samples, we opted to choose a generic one that was pre approved for the decorators.  Thus, the football themed cake.  These guys can be competitive with one another so we felt the Brooks vs. Micah theme worked!  We had a fun time with all our friends celebrating birthdays!    

Happy Birthday Brooks!  

Having a Vision & Commitments

I feel extremely vulnerable sharing this blog post, but am excited and hopeful that it has the potential to help me strive to meet my goals, keep my commitments, and continue holding onto a vision that I have.

At the beginning of the year, Brooks and I sat down and shared with each other our vision for this year, individually and as a couple.  We talked about:
- goals we have
- things the Lord has laid on our hearts and that we feel called to do
- specific areas in our lives we want to change and work on
- scripture we want to pray over for ourselves, our family, and our kids
- tentative plans for the year -- not that what we plan will always happen, but we can HOPE! 
- trips we want to take
- new things we want to try

We wanted to be open with one another and show each other what's been on our hearts so that we can help support each other and hold each other accountable.  It's really been an amazing experience to walk through some of this together and to see how far we've come in a matter of months.

One of my commitments was to not yell at our kids in anger when disciplining them.  This is something I've struggled with, what mom doesn't?  But, I honestly wanted to make a change and speak to my kids out of love and to teach and train them without yelling.  I've only slipped twice in the last 82 days, which I'm quite proud of, but the best thing I've noticed is how my kids have been interacting with one another.   Gavin has stopped screaming at Miles when he gets mad and their overall conversations together or towards us when they get upset have drastically changed. It's so true how our kids react based on what they see or observe from us.  I've also been extremely encouraged to know that our kids are still learning right from wrong and life lessons even without me having to yell.  So far my commitment has produced some positive things!  I feel like I like myself more when I'm calm and observant of my actions.

Brooks and I both discussed the calling we had on our hearts about building up our marriage and speaking into the lives of others' marriages.  Over time we watched the Lord orchestrate the opportunity for Brooks and I to speak at one of our weekly meetings.  Due to the large response we had from attenders and other schedule conflicts, it ended up being a 3 week series that we lead and were able to incorporate some great messages from our home church, CCCC, from a Redeeming Marriage series they had.  God really had his hand over that entire situation as Brooks and I learned even more about ourselves and our marriage was strengthened.  While we were preparing for the messages a few "issues" came up and we were forced gently reminded on a continuous basis

While I've been tackling issues inwardly, I decided to make some commitments for me that had to do with taking care of myself.  Besides learning how to fix, curl, and style my hair, which has gotten really long; I've started doing some strength training work outs every morning at the gym (my sweet hubby created a small program for me), AND I've cut out eating sweets.  I never realized how much sweets I consume on a daily basis and it was just adding up.  I've actually kept up with this commitment for the past month and allow myself one sweet treat on the weekend, if I made it all week not cheating.  It really hasn't been that hard-- but I've become much more aware of when I do want to snack on some chocolate and have been eating fruit, yogurt, or nuts instead.  I'm hopeful I can keep this up and eventually want to make other decisions to decrease the amount of fried foods or starches that are in my diet.  I, non intentionally, gave up soft drinks, but that's more because I'd rather have another cup of coffee in the middle of the day then a diet coke.

So far, I'm loving the results from my commitments and have the motivation to keep up with these things!! It's all because I grabbed onto a vision I had and am following through to make that vision happen!

Saudi Heart Walk

For the last 2 1/2 years of living here, I've always dealt with and struggled with all the things we miss out on by not living back in the states.  It's a very hard place to be when you want more then anything to celebrate a birthday, go to a wedding, attend a funeral, be with friends and family during both good and trying times.  I've had to come to the place where I've accepted not being there, and have tried finding ways to still feel apart.  

You all know our friends, The Carpenter's, and you know their story.  They were able to participate in  Keep the Beat Heart Walk in Houston to raise awareness and funds for those who have CHD.  I was so sad that we weren't home to walk with them, that I had the idea to have our own Heart Walk here in the KSA.  Steph and I planned a big fundraiser style walk where we accepted donations, sold t-shirts & pizza, and asked all those on our compound to come out and support Susie and Darrell and to remember Cade and Addi.  Our goal was to allow whatever donations from the walk, t-shirts, and food to help Susie and Darrell as they prepare for their next journey in having children.  We were incredibly amazed and humbled by the amount of love and support we received from our community.  People who have never met the Carpenters were eager to donate and offered up their thoughts and prayers for them.  The night was a huge success.  We raised over $3,000!  Simply amazing!!!!  

Everyone met at our rec center at sunset and we made the walk around our compound alongside a beautiful beach!  It was the same beach that we met together and remembered Cade and Addi and got to say our goodbyes to them, since we weren't home when they passed away.  The entire walk I kept remembering those precious kids; their laughs; their silliness; their caring hearts; and their loving personalities.  Not a day goes by where we don't think about Cade and Addi.  We miss them so much.  

Valentine's Day

Valentine's day this year was a fun and memorable one.  To start things off, I actually made a holiday style decoration AND finished the project before Valentine's day.  I found some wooden hearts at our local book store, painted them, then used my Silhouette machine to put our names on the hearts.  It's still hanging up inside the house since it didn't get to hangout that long before Valentine's day.   Brooks surprised me the night before V-Day and we went out to dinner just the two of us.  He  took care of all the planning- arranged 3 baby sitters, prepared our kids dinners, took care of transportation, and got the kids off to their houses for the evening!  Sometimes, it's just nice to not have to take care of all the details.  We ate at a local Chinese restaurant we've yet to go to since we moved here over 2 1/2 years ago and we really enjoyed it.  The atmosphere was neat, the place was clean, we were secluded inside a curtain (I actually opened my abaya up during dinner), and the food was pretty good!  We really enjoyed the time away and getting to celebrate together!!  

Since Valentine's day was on a Thursday, which is our weekend, but Brooks had to work, I decided to make it a day full of celebrating.  I blew up red balloons and put around the house for the kids to play with, we had heart shaped pancakes for breakfast, heart shaped suckers for a snack, heart shaped grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, red & pink yogurt for afternoon snacks, then a heart shaped strawberry cake for dessert after dinner.  The kids and I played together all day and made some sweet memories.