Gratitude

Okay everybody, I am just going to put this out there! I am struggling.... I am trying so hard to focus on all the blessings that me and my family have BUT, there is a piece of me that is empty. I know that it is that boy in Utah that is trying to manage his world without his mom and dad in the room next door. Last week Laken went to the sweet hearts dance with his friend Sophie.  They looked so cute! I am sorry that I am missing those once in a lifetime events. I hope that Laken never doubts my love or my gratitude for him. I hope that none of my kiddos do. I love being their mother. I am grateful and trying to make it enough :) We are so blessed... Here are some peeks at our last few weeks of life in the MIDDLE! 

Laken and Sophie Gardner on their way to the Sweethearts dance. Laken doesn't usually give a smile so these pictures are special :) 

In this picture we are having dinner at the Hobby Farm. I got out of the car and remarked "oh I love that smell!" It was the smell of horse poop. I know I am weird but it just reminds me of home and being a little girl on a farm. 

 A couple of ladies walking on the path. I am running behind them and can't imagine wearing the full abaya and burka in the heat. 

Mr. Mason at his first baseball game. He is enjoying it so much and hit a home run!!

 Pre- tonsillectomy . They allow the mother to go into the operating room with their child. I opted to give it a try(nevermind the lovely outfit). I only lasted until they had put him to sleep and them happily left. The staff was very nice and helpful. They love little kids. 

Mason is a great patient... Movies and gatorade slush are the best!

Some of our recent purchases and fixing up the yard... I was frustrated that I had taken cash in lieu of shipping but I am beginning to find some beautiful pieces of furniture that we will have forever. 

 Ashlyn and Allie playing in a soccer tournament. It is great to have them both on the same team.  :)

Missing Home...

I titled this post missing home and then started to wonder and think where is home? Honestly when I think of home I think of two places. The first place is My mom and dads in Teton Valley and the second is Sandy Utah. Home to me is not necessarily defined by a place of residence though. I think it is where your loved ones are. Where you have memories and know the neighbors. I miss my family and friends and want them to know how much I love them. 

Happy Birthday Sayler! good thing your not this old yet :) Ashlyn had this picture on her ipod. We miss you.

Love you and hope you have an awesome day!

Sayler, Grandpa H. and Marina all share the same birthday on the 17th! Happy birthday with love :)

Snack bar and bowling Alley. Ashlyn really likes hanging out there and being with her new friends. 

Love these pictures that I found on Ashlyns touch. :)

 

Ashlyn and Allie are playing on the same team... We are having fun watching them.

  

Mason and some fruit loops we found on clearance at the commissary. They are so expensive that we haven't bought any until now. Yeah for expired fruit loops :)

And just in case you can't pull yourself off the couch to go and get your Big Mac..... Never fear they deliver!!!

A new car, McDonalds and simple things...

This last week we purchased our car... This was such a different experience for us. We wrestled with the options for quite a while. Most all people that we asked about car buying here gave us the same answer. First, don't buy a used car from anyone other than an expat and second, buy big! Cars hold their value really well here and so we decided to buy a new car and yes, we bought big. This nice man sold us the car and we fell in love with him. He was so kind and fun to work with. As we got ready to leave he said, "my heart feels very happy for your family." Oh, and its made in the USA!!! :)

 

Now that we have a little more freedom and can get around we made a stop at the McDonald's.. I am sure that french fries have never tasted so good to us. I had the McArabia Chicken. It was a chicken patty in a flat bread. I liked it. Tim stuck with the Big Mac because he likes stomach aches!

  

The restaurants have different seating sections. This is the family section. Its great you can close the curtain and no one else gets to watch you get greasy! 

The stop lights are on timers. This was an especially long light and that man is selling cotton candy. I had never seen that before! 

 The fruit/veg market in Dammam. It is great! You can stock up on fresh produce for a very good price. I was laughing because the man helping me with my stuff was taking the picture... He cracked me up. I went with a new friend. Her name is Kristi. This is the funny man. His smile was from ear to ear and he kept trying to get Kristi to eat a hot pepper. 

It is a process to make the house feel like a home. Everyone says it will be so much better when your shipment comes. Oh wait, we don't have a shipment coming!!!! (we took cash in lieu of shipping) Today we finished with the painting and lights. It is feeling much warmer and more comfortable. We had the whole house painted and recess lighting installed. YAY!!

They are putting in new grass and sprinklers in the yard. When people leave Aramco they remove all bushes and plants, except for trees. Then when new hires move in they will let you choose your plants and flowers and give you new grass if you want. 

I started playing on a softball team. Tonight we had our first game. It was fun to be playing again. This is a picture of the field. The facilities here are very nice.

like manna from heaven, I have 3 teenagers, shopping

Waiting for the bus to go to Ikea. These are the buses the kids ride to school.

Pretty flowers from the gardener.. I was watering them with the sprinkler and the gardener came hustling down the street. "no madam no, you will kill them." Apparently they must be watered with the "sweet" water and not the "salt" water. He had a jug hanging in a near by bush that he had been filling up somewhere to water them. Learn something new everyday... 

 Pretty impressive.. trimming a palm tree in his bare feet!

Yesterday we received the best present in the mail! Grandma Henrie saved the day with 10 boxes of tapioca pudding and 3 bags of twizzlers :) It's the little things people... as Mason was walking to the bus stop with fists full of licorice the kids swarmed around him. "Hey, where did you get that..?" "Licorice?..No fair!" We didn't even offer to share, how rude! 

 Yes, I ate nearly a whole bag in one day :)

Happy Birthday to Allie!! She played hookie from school and we went and did a little shopping. She wanted  strawberry shortcake for her cake... When we found the strawberries they cost as much as a pretty cake from the bakery and so we bought a cake. In the end we should have bought the strawberries and had strawberry shortcake. The cake was pretty yuck!

We were considering buying some fish until we walked to the fish counter and saw these lovely creatures. I am sure they are called "dead as a door nail fish." 

The deli counter. The things on the left are gigantic beans. The picture doesn't really show how big they were but they were at least 2 inches long. Meat mix salad anyone?

Happy Birthday Allie!