Do I Really Need A Title?

So I know so many of you have be wondering how things are going here in Bahrain. Thank you to all of you who see the news and think of us and hope we are safe. We are. It has been an interesting week due to the anti-government demonstrations that have been going on here. Most people I talked to before it all started were not very worried and we all expected it to not amount to much. We were surprised when we woke up on Wednesday morning to hear that more people outside the country knew what was going on (tanks in the streets) before we did! We still felt safe in our home-we are safe distance from the Pearl Roundabout where all of the demonstrating has been. Just to be prepared, I did go to the grocery store and stock up my fridge and cupboards so I didn't have to go out. So that's what I've been doing for the last three days- staying home. Right now things seem to be settling down and we are just waiting to see what the news says in the morning. It has been interesting talking to everyone we know to find out what they have heard and what they think will happen next. Some companies decided to let their employees leave the country, but most are not to that point. Brian will resume work on Sunday unless we wake to a message saying other wise. For all the excitement that has been going on I've been just watching and waiting and wondering... What an interesting thing to happen in my second month of being in Bahrain!
As for my updates being a bit slow I have an excuse. We didn't have internet until a week ago! So I've been like, living in the stone age! haha. However, I am going to have to leave you all with the small bit of information that I have given until I have more time! I'm going to bed now- never know if we will get a call that says we need to pack our bags!... just kidding... well... sort of...
Miss you all!

GUESS WHERE I AM!

(I wrote this post about a week ago, but I'm only now getting it up! I'm thinking positive about the next post being soon....) it has actually happened! The family and I are no longer in the United States. Last Monday, the 13^th of December, we flew the 26 hour flight to Bahrain! We decided to take the job in Bahrain and trust in the Lord. At first we didn’t think it was fool proof enough when the signed offer actually came, so we were going to turn it down, but then that just didn’t feel right. So thought about it and decided we didn’t have much to lose. So here we are. We moved out of the apartment in Caldwell and left half of our possessions in storage, and left some to be shipped to Bahrain soon, and took another six 50 lb boxes and two 50lb suitcases on the airplane.

The flight went well and the kids slept most of the long 12 hour flight. The boys were so excited to ride on an airplane, but I think they were glad when it was finally over. They are a little confused as to what is going on. We’ve told them that Dad got a new job so we are going to live here now. But we are currently in temporary housing. Brian’s work set us up with an apartment which I’ve posted some pictures of. It’s… quirky. But livable. However, Brian’s sister’s husband’s parents live here (which Brian knew in boarding school- Brian went to boarding school here), and they are in Hawaii until the first of the year, so they are letting us stay in their place which is quite nice and more fully furnished. So we are having Christmas here.

We went to church on Friday (Friday is the Sabbath here) and there we quite a few people, and some families with kids too. I’ve already made friends and several people gave me their contact info and said to call if I need anything.

The place we are staying at right now is right on a bay where people fish and boat. The buildings are built on “reclaimed land”- reclaimed from the sea. George, the owner of this apartment, showed me a spot across the parking lot where you can collect sea shells, and not like at the Oregon coast. You don’t even have to search, they are just there on the ground- nice, beautiful ones. Amazing.

So, I’ve been having a great time and loving the adventure. My first day here I met Brian’s coworker’s wife, who is from India. They brought out some food to try, and boy was it spicy! But Yummy! I’m having fun trying the new food. There is a huge grocery store where I’m doing my shopping, and it takes me forever. First I have to find the item I’m looking for, then there are like 10 different types to choose from- foods from all over- have you ever heard of “lebna”? Anyways, not many brands I’m familiar with to chose from, and it’s hard to know which one to chose. There is English and Arabic on the containers but they don’t always list the ingredients and the only nutrition facts are the calories, fat, carbs, and protein. Some things are supper cheap, like bread is only 50 cents, but milk is over two and a half dollars for 2 liters. Oh, and everything is the metric system. The fruits and vegetables all say where they are from- Saudi Arabia, Africa, Egypt, Holland, and all over.

So, I’m loving this new stuff, and trying to not get overwhelmed. Brian’s been on holiday every day since we got here, which has been awesome. So today is his first day at work.

So here are the pics:

All the luggage you see here is ours!



This is the kitchen in the apartment that Brian's work provided for us.

I had to learn how to put a round plug into a square socket!

This is where they store the water heater... on the wall in the bathroom...




I was so tired that I feel asleep holding Syler.

Palm trees decorated with Christmas lights!

It's everywhere...


Had to try it!



It was pretty good

This is the view off of the roof of the apartment Brian's work provided. It is a nice view but the air is a bit dusty on this day. There are also about 20 vacuums and a load of boxes on the roof too.
This is the view of the sunrise off the balcony of our friends place where we have been staying.

It sounds good, but most stuff is pretty spendy...

Christmas Cookies!

Oh, JUST MORE WAITING!

Yeah, so I'm not in Saudi Arabia now like I thought I would be. Big surprise... not really. If I've learned anything about our situation it's that nothing is final until it has happened. *Ahem* Yeah, Brian is here in Caldwell with me know, and no, he is not going back soon. Oh, where to begin? Let's see, last time I posted I was busy getting ready to go to move, finally, because Brian's boss agreed to mobilize us into the country. BUT when it came time to process the visas , the guy turned around and told Brian that he wanted him to sign an agreement for him to do ANOTHER 90 days probation, and to change his contract to single status (which means that company would never bring his family into the country at all). So Brian was like, HECK NO (not in those particular words). And of coarse since he wouldn't agree to that his supervisor was told to give him his termination notice. His supervisor was nice enough to give him a week before he gave him the notice, and 60 days, instead of 30, of severance pay. So Brian spent a few days looking into some potential transfers and other jobs, but things didn't work out or were moving too slowly, so he decided to fly home. Two days before he left he was offered a job for the same company if Bahrain, a little island just off the the Persian Gulf next to Khobar. However, we have to wait for a signed offer letter to arrive in his email before we can count on the job. In addition to that, we couldn't completely sit around waiting for this letter, so Brian interviewed with a different office for the same company in Houston, Texas. Then they gave him a job offer too! The office in Houston agreed to give Brian some time to see if the job in Bahrain will work out. So.... the status now is that I'm loving having Brian back in my presence, and Syler is getting to know his daddy finally, and the boys have their wrestling buddy back... and my adopted ipod has its true owner... I also appreciate having my companion back and someone to share in the responsibilities of parenting again. We are waiting until the 30th of November , then if we don't get the offer letter from Bahrain, we will be moving to Texas! Whew!

IT IS REALLY GOING TO HAPPEN!

Okay. I know. I've got to be one of the worst bloggers ever. But I was waiting around for the moment when I actually knew where our lives were headed. FINALLY! Brian's boss said he could mobilize us into the country! Whew! It only took what... 23 weeks? However, we wont be over there until October still. Right now it is Ramadan and the Saudi Government is closed, so no paper work on Visas can be done. But I might as well continue to enjoy Idaho and family until then. It has actually been a blessing that 1) got to spend so much time with family, and 2) that I didn't have to go to the dessert during the summer months- I just didn't realize it until now. Funny how that works. Now it's back to business with all the planning. I'm really excited and already have friends there waiting my arrival!

On another note, some thing else amazing happened this week...

Terron FINALLY decided to be a big boy and use the potty! He's known how to for almost a year now, but just didn't want to do it full time until HE decided it was time. One night he just decided he was going to use the potty and then has ever since- with minimal accidents I might add. Geez- KIDS! I'm so proud of him though. He is not going to let anyone push him around! So next week we are going to have a Lightening McQueen Potty Party! It will be for both boys since we didn't have a party for Ashton when he was potty trained.

Okay- I really will post pics of what we have done this summer. I just need to get them on the computer. Hopefully it wont take me another two months...

This is a short summary of my life right now.

Brian is in Al Kohbar Saudi Arabia. He started working on March 20^th and we were supposed to join him six weeks after Syler’s birth. However there are a lot of strange "office politics" that are making things difficult. A particular group of people which I will not name, decided that they were going to “watch” Brian for his 90 day probation and evaluate him. For this reason we had not left when we thought we were. Brian’s 90 days were up on Thursday and they told him that they didn’t think they had enough proof that Brian was doing his job well enough (though they could not cite any specific items that he didn’t do or do well). So they said he could take a new position or go home. This means he would also be on probation for another 90 days, which means even after working for them for another 90 days they still might not keep him, plus his family has to keep waiting… He decided taking the other job was better than going home with no job. However we hope he will find another job to switch to before 90 days. He also asked if he could mobilize his family into the country, but the guy just said he’d think about it. So we wait.

Syler is going to be 10 weeks in two more days. He seems to be very good tempered and loves to smile at everyone. The last few days he has been sleeping a lot so every night I go to bed I hope that he will keep sleeping and not decide that he is finally going to have a long awake time! He is almost 15 pounds! Terron and Ashton constantly “ahw” at him, and Syler watches and smiles back at them. A couple of times a day he gets mauled by one of them.

Ashton is getting very fast at peddling Grandma’s tricycle. Terron has also learned how to use the peddles and the two sometimes argue who’s turn it is. They also have started the super hero phase. We watched some Superman a few weeks ago. Now Ashton puts on Syler’s blanket and Terron puts on my nursing cover and they wear them as capes and put their arm up to the air and say “Super-Man!” It is quite cute and entertaining.

A few days ago Ashton came to the back door at Grandma’s and said he picked some carrots. I went out and saw a pile of tiny little carrots sitting on the ground. He had picked them from Grandma’s garden. I had to tell him it wasn’t okay, but I knew that he was so proud. He has been wanting to pick carrots for a while and has trouble waiting. At least it was only about 15 and Grandma wasn’t too mad. I have to keep reminding him that they aren’t ready yet. Then yesterday the boys announced they were looking for worms (snakes according to Terron) in Grandma’s garden. Grandma went to look and Ashton was digging a nice deep hole (about a foot or so) in the same place that he had picked the carrots. Luckily he didn’t dig up any vegetables.

My Sis from Wisconsin came to visit in May.

We went on a picnic a few weeks ago to Ten Mile out side of Idaho City.

Blessing Picture:

I forgot I was going to put this one on too. It is his blessing picture. I know it is funny, but it's the only thing I had that was some what dressy that fit him!

More Pictures

Here are some better pictures of Syler. He is now over 8 pounds! I think his eyes might be blue, but I guess it's still too early to tell.