I just realized that I haven't posted in two months!  WOW!  Time just flew by in Saudi as we were preparing to leave!  I will update the past two months...

Janie graduated!  WOOHOO!  Not that we were worried, but the homeschooling portion of our year did not go as smoothly as we thought it would.  There were numerous technical difficulties that proved to be very frustrating given the eight hour time difference and the fact that Saudi weekends don't coincide with American weekends!  Well, after much angst and effort on Janie's part to resolve the various issues, she finished her coursework and graduated from the University of Texas High School.  Thank goodness that is over.  After seeing pictures last night of the Bahrain School graduation it made me kind of sad that she missed out on a normal graduation with her friends.  But, God has a plan and we are going with it!  When Janie finished school she got to spend a while in Bahrain staying with our friends so she got to hang out with her friends and say her good-byes.  I know it was so hard for her because she loves Bahrain and her friends, but she will be back to visit this Christmas.  She starts classes at A&M at the end of the month so she will be very busy getting acclimated!

Janie has grown in to an amazing young woman...we couldn't be prouder of the person that she is!  She seriously has been such an easy child to raise...she kept me sane this year when we moved to Saudi...we spent hours doing nothing but watch TV and Pinterest crafts.  I don't know what I would have done without her.  I will miss her immensely, but I know that it is time for her to go off on her own and become something even MORE incredible than she already is!

Madeline had a very busy last few months.  They had their Performing Arts Spring Concert and she is in both choir and rock band.  The band and choirs did such an incredible job!  She loved both choir and rock band.  After they finished their spring concert, the production she and her cast mates had been practicing for for months kind of fell apart, but a great core group of six committed to getting it produced.  For the last several weeks of school she spent 25 hours with her 5 other cast mates practicing this hilarious adaptation of sleeping beauty.  The finished product was absolutely fabulous!  We just absolutely loved it!  She had her last performance on her last day at the school so it was a happy and sad occasion.

The Misadventures of Bubbles (Sleeping Beauty)...the awesome Mr. White (drama God) on the left!

Madeline as Bubbles

The CORE 6 that salvaged this hilarious and wonderful production!  Love these kids!

Maddie and Patrick....The Best Friend!

Maddie and Alex...The OTHER Best Friend!

Madeline had a few other challenges in the last few months.  She started getting sick again with similar issues that she had earlier in the school year along with new symptoms.  She started getting migraines and stomach pains.  Thank God that he brought us to a country that had someone who could help us because modern medicine couldn't figure it out!  Madeline is still suffering from Epstein-Barr and now we have found that she is allergic to wheat.  If you know Madeline, you know that this is a devastating diagnosis as she mostly subsists off of wheat and bread products.  It has been a very challenging few weeks to try and find food in the Middle East that was gluten free that she would eat.  It is somewhat easier in America (although not where we live), but the challenge here isn't buying the gluten free food, but getting her to eat it.  It takes Madeline quite a bit of time to change her palate...if at all...so you can imagine my challenges!  She goes to camp this week and is very scared that there will be no food for her to eat.  She has back up food (with little to no nutritional value) just in case.

In spite of Madeline's year long battle with this horrible virus and allergy, she had an AMAZING year.  She made some awesome friends, did two productions (adaptations of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty), performed in choir and rock band, wrote like crazy for her favorite English teacher EVER (Mr. B), sang and performed in our compound choir, took a song writing class along with guitar lessons, and managed to go to Bahrain to see all of her friends over there as well!  She will miss Saudi dearly, but she is excited about her move to New York in September to attend The Masters School!

Alison has been working at a law firm in Houston since May.  She will be working all summer so we won't get to see as much of her as we would like!  We are so proud of her...she had another AWESOME year at Texas A&M...WHOOP!  She and Janie will be living together next year and I know they are going to have a blast together!  I am glad that Ali is there to help her get situated.

WE SOLD THE HOUSE!  After seven days on the market and a negotiation period that was nearly double that, we are scheduled to close this Friday.  John was supposed to be here to help me close and move, but circumstances at the plant forced him to postpone his trip home....but just until July!  He will be here for a month, but unfortunately for me (and fortunately for him) not in time to help me close and move.  We are downsizing our furniture because we are losing 600 SqFt AND a two car garage so it is a necessity...it also helps me with the moving!  I still have a dining table and 6 chairs, a washing machine, a coffee table, and a lawn mower for sale if anyone is interested ;)

Maddie and Janie leave for Super Summer tomorrow morning...Alison is a Team Leader again this year so she has been gone since Friday evening preparing for the students to come to camp.  The girls will be gone for five days and will be back in Sweeny just long enough to get Alison's car and drive to College Station.  I am sure that it is a little bittersweet because we have lived here in the same house for fifteen years.  I don't think that they are attached to the house or the town so much as the people.  Because we have had to move four times in the last three years, they have learned to adapt and change.  God is good.  He saw what was coming and provided a way.

This has been such an incredible year.  As we flew in to Houston this week and I was filling out our U.S. Customs form, there was a place that asked me to list all of the countries that we visited since our last visit to the U.S. and I realized how truly blessed we are.  We visited Saudi Arabia (obviously), Bahrain (the country we LOVE), Istanbul (Turkey), Bulgaria, and The United Kingdom.  What an amazing ride we have had this year.  We are so truly blessed and are loving every minute of our adventures!

Skiing in Bulgaria

The Blue Mosque...Istanbul

Tower of London, UK

As we close this chapter of our lives, I want to tell those of you that have been our friends and extended family how much we appreciate you.  My children were raised in an amazing town with amazing people.  They were surrounded by friends, family, and mentors...they were raised in an incredibly Godly church with people who loved us enough to pray for us.  We will always consider Sweeny our home and we will miss the people very much.