So it has been a while since my last update. It isn't that it has been quiet but that we are kind of busy with life and stuff. My first 4 weeks I spent pining for home and missing my friends and family while trying to adjust and help the girls adjust. The last three weeks I have just been enjoying my life here.
John comes home every Wednesday night and leaves on Saturday and/or Sunday morning at 5:00 a.m. depending on the week. Saudi Arabia's weekend is Thursday and Friday and Bahrain's weekend is Friday and Saturday so we get to spend all day Thursday together while the girls are in school. Last week we drove all around Bahrain with the camera, came home and went swimming in the pool, and the got the girls from school. It was such a fun day.
Janie made the varsity volleyball team. They are getting ready to go to a tournament in Germany at the beginning of November. John, Maddie, and I are planning on going as well...hopefully we will get to do some sightseeing as well.
Many of you know that our transition to the Middle East was NOT easy. We missed our friends and family, endured weeks of drama, John was stuck in Saudi for weeks without being able to come home...it was just not fun. We have started to adjust more and more. Janie and Maddie have both made a lot of good friends. Janie resisted embracing life here and had a rough start emotionally and physically (she has been sick for weeks), but in the last few weeks she has become a new kid. I am just so proud of her and how she has handled her situation. Her character is amazing and I hope to be a little like her when I grow up. LOL. Maddie made friends quickly when we got here. She is such a funny, smart and beautiful girl.
We miss Alison every minute of every day, but she tells me she is doing well. She seems to have adjusted well to life on her own at A&M. I still have guilt for leaving her, but she is so smart and resilient...I just love her! She is going to visit my family in Louisiana this month...so she has a new found freedom as well.
I have made new friends as well. I joined the American Women's Association and have met tons of dynamic and interesting people. We joined a church, Saar Fellowship, and really like the new Pastor and Associate Pastor. I joined a Beth Moore bible study that my friend, Lisa Bengal, teaches on Sunday mornings. I joined a book club and a bunco group through the AWA. I have a great group of women, mostly OXY wives, that I do stuff with daily. And, those of you who know me and my family will understand this next statement, "I have found my Uncle Janice here in Bahrain." Her name is Diane and she is JUST like Uncle Janice. She knows where everything is...she comes over to help me decide where to put furniture, she listens to me cry about my kiddos, she gives great advice, she lends me stuff I need immediately and can't get, she IS Uncle Janice only she is "Uncle Diane." I have even told her all about Uncle Janice and I think she is honored by her new title "Uncle Janice Bahrain." LOL!
I miss Uncle Janice DESPERATELY as do the girls. Madeline says at least a couple of times a week how much she misses her. I know she is in the States taking care of Alison and I am so incredibly thankful for that.
The 8 hour time difference is killing me in regards to communication with my friends and family. I have not talked to Amy P. in weeks. At first I didn't call because the transition was so difficult that all I would have done was cry on the phone and not been able to talk...as proven by my ONE conversation with my brother-in-law where all I did was cry....Now I don't call because of the time difference. I can't seem to stay awake long enough to call at a decent hour. I did get to skype with Alison and Susan last weekend and that was awesome. I miss big Al soooo much!
Alison and Sarah are coming at Christmas and we are counting the days! Can't wait to see them both! We plan to take a quick trip to Dubai for Christmas....a quick little vacation to explore and shop!
Time to go and attempt to call Amy P...this blog post made me miss her even more! TTFN!
If you stay at the Hilton Dubai Resort on the beach every other evening or so there is a guy who sits in the lobby (had been going on for a year before we were even there) that has some really cool stuff! if you go and he is there let me know I'd love another runner for my table :-) Glad you are doing well, NC is ok, still working on getting settled here, life isnt the same without coffee and lunches with Binky though! Glad you are all getting adjusted and settled! Miss you!
ReplyDelete~Andrea