Dear Madeline,
You are now 20 months old and this is probably going to be the longest “Monthly Message” I have ever written you, so be warned – get some nice herbal tea, a blanket, and a comfy chair. Welcome to the Monthly Message NOVEL edition.
This is my second Mother’s Day with you and I cannot express how much I love being your mother in words. You are so unbelievably wonderful. We have had our moments, good and bad, but through it all you are nothing to me but the most cherished and precious gift I could ever have imagined in my life. I love your energy, your smile, your affection toward everyone and every thing, your sweet, simple spirit, your impressive brain – absolutely everything about you. You make my life fun and happy and I cannot imagine a day without seeing your soft face with your great big sparkly brown eyes and getting a delicious hug and kiss from you.
The day you turned 19 months old was our very first day in Saudi Arabia. It still sort of feels like we are just on vacation and will soon go back to our familiar world. We started our journey on the evening of April 8th. It was an exciting, happy couple of days and a scary couple of days all at the same time. I want you to know that your Dad and I chose to make this move for you and we believe with all of our hearts that it will have been a great decision. This job that your Dad found is providing us with the opportunity to spend more time with you and for us to provide a better life for you in pretty much every way possible. I cannot wait to see how you grow and change living here in Dhahran with all of these amazing possibilities.
April 7th, 2010, the night before we left and because our house was empty, we spent the night at the Embassy Suites hotel on Poplar Avenue near my old work. We ordered room service for dinner and you had a good time eating fresh strawberries and watching The Office with me. You like that show now because there were so many late nights when you would be up and we would sit and watch it together. You always dance when the beginning credits start.
On April 8th, we stopped by the house one last time to pick up our suitcases and Kitty and to have our last meal together in Memphis – McDonalds. Before we left the first home you have ever known, we took a moment, as a family, to say goodbye. We spent some time in each room of the house talking about the things we used to do there and the special moments we had. You willingly and adorably obliged and waved your tiny hand at each room while saying “bye-bye” in a sweet, high-pitched tone. I almost cried, but instead smiled because there is really nothing to be sad about. You will probably see as you grow, sometimes I am so happy my body cannot handle the emotions so it cries out of joy. It’s always been an annoying thing for me, the uncontrollable crying.
The rooms in our first house that meant the most to me were your room – where my mom and my sister, Amber, and Paul and me gathered around your tiny little body to give you a bath and watch you coo when you first arrived; where you first crawled and took your first real steps; where we played and read books for hours and hours; where you and I had countless moments in silence as you nursed and I held you close to my heart trying desperately to soak in every moment as I felt your soft skin and smelled your delicious baby smell. My bedroom – where you have probably slept most the nights of your life because we just couldn’t bear listening to you cry from wanting to be with us, and really, it was okay because we loved and wanted to be with you too; where you used to laugh this addictive chortle as your dad would play with kitty; where you loved to play peek-a-boo in the curtains. And probably the main area where the kitchen, nook, and living room were because we have spent so much time together watching you speed by in your walker, or crawl, and then walk and finally run and jump; where you loved climbing into the cupboards and drawers sorting cheerios and playing with the pots and pans. It was a special moment for me to release this home, our first home, so it could be available for a new family to have their own special memories in.
You fell asleep on the way to the airport and slept until we got to security when we had to get you out of the stroller so all of our things could be scanned. Your dad paid some guy $30 to take our bags 20 feet (from the entrance to the ticket counter) - a little excited and nervous maybe? Not normal Paul behavior. I thought it was funny. It was probably why the bag boy later came back and told us where to find other carts and offer advice with such a nice, desperate smile on his face.
Going through security with 3 very heavy carry-ons, 3 personal items (the size of carry-ons), a gigantic car seat, a stroller, you, who hates to be tied down, and a meowing, nervous kitty in a soft, odd-shaped kitty carrier is not what you would call an easy or fun thing to do. The company paid for us to be in business-class seating, which normally is allowed to get in a speedy line, but because of all our “baggage” we didn’t get to go in the speedy line, which was okay, I guess. I mean I can see why someone would not want to be behind us. At this point my attitude and patience were level
green. I have never liked traveling, but I sort of knew what to expect so I was practicing inner peace chants and breathing techniques the entire time.
We got through security rather quickly and to our gate. We figured out how to push everything by ourselves – Your Dad had the stroller with 2 carry-ons, the car seat and kitty stacked on it. He also wore the backpack. I held the diaper bag, carried the other personal item (very heavy) and carried you – who of course wanted to walk by yourself because you love to do everything by yourself. Not the most pleasant journey but it worked, we made it with baby steps and more baby steps. It didn’t seem long before we were boarding.
Business class is another world. If we were rich, business class would be the only way we would ever go. The seats were two-by-two, very cushioned, and wide; they reclined in several different ways…you could adjust the pressure on your calves; the length of the foot holder to fit your height, the arch of your back… it was amazing. Each seat had a built-in TV with a nice selection of FREE movies, music, TV shows, etc. Well, I guess if you could see what the tickets cost it wouldn't be free, but we didn’t pay for it. I myself watched
It’s Complicated and
New Moon on the first flight and played a few games of bejeweled while you slept.
As soon as we sat down we were offered cold water, orange juice, or champagne in a small wine glass and once in the air we were offered a hot towel to put on our faces – just like in the movies! I even got one for you and once it cooled a bit, I let you do whatever you wanted with it. You decided to copy your dad who was wiping his face with it. Each seat had a little travel pack which contained a comb, chap stick, those things you can put over your eyes to darken the room so you can sleep, and a small tube of tooth paste with a neat little tooth brush. You had a great time playing with that. We were also each given our own pillow and soft flannel blanket –The ONLY way to fly. You had a wonderful time waving at all the poor folks who had to fly in coach as they walked back to the crowded seats. I am sure they must have admired such a spoiled little girl.
I'm quite angry with myself because with all the ruckus I forgot to take
any pictures of you on the airplane, and I know I will never get that chance again.
Since our first flight was in the evening, most of the people on the plane slept through the flight. About an hour into the flight they started the meal service. We were presented with a menu at the start of the flight so we could choose our main course and dessert. Before the meal began, the flight attendant pulled out the tray and laid a cloth over it. The appetizer was some jelly mold of pureed avocado covered with some tiny slices of raw fish and surrounded by some small cooked asparagus. It had a fruity sauce on it. There was some kind of flavored, shredded beet thingy… let me just say, ick, and
No Thank You. I can’t believe people think this stuff is good. The meal itself was rather nice. They served seeded rolls, and there was a selection of crab cakes, steak, chicken, or some kind of fish. I had the chicken. I ordered the chicken for you too, but you were not interested. The meal came with some wild rice and a beet, walnut, blue cheese, spinach salad – which surprisingly was really quite good. I have never liked blue cheese crumbles on anything but it, mixed with the beets, which added sweetness to the salad, and the nuttiness of the walnut was really good. For dessert, an ice cream sundae with chocolate sauce and whip cream and nuts… can you believe this was all on an airplane? Later, we were served nuts… but not just any nuts. These nuts were a mixed selection of the most loved nuts and they were in a small white glass dish and had been warmed.
You and I were right smack dab in the middle of the business class seating area so nursing wasn’t easy, but I used a sweater I had brought along to cover up. Of course you don’t like anything touching your head or face when you’re nursing so it wasn’t the easiest thing to do. You fell asleep about an hour into the flight and slept pretty much the rest of the time, which was really nice. I should have done the same, but for some reason I watched a couple of movies. My eyes were stinging I was so tired.
The flight to Amsterdam, with all the movies and quietness and meal service, didn’t seem like it was 9 hours long. Before we left, the woman at the airport in Memphis said she would make sure there was one of those motorized carts waiting for us at the gate when we arrived in Amsterdam so all we were concerned about was getting all of our stuff off of the plane. But when we finally got there a woman who was greeting passengers directed me to this tiny cart that you have to push and nothing more. She told me where our gate was and then said, “It’s not that far”. I don’t know… it looked about 500 miles away to me, and it was. We just piled everything up like we did before and made it to our gate.
Amsterdam….sigh. I don’t know very much about Amsterdam, but I do know that I HATE their airport. First of all there is NO ONE ANYWHERE to answer any of your questions or help you out. Second, there is no order. Business class and people with small children are supposed to be able to go first, but it was set up in a way that anyone could just run up and go. The bathrooms in Amsterdam’s airport are downstairs. There are no doors on the actual bathroom, but there are doors on the stalls where the toilets are. There are no places to change a baby’s diaper or change clothes because the stalls are the size of the bathrooms on the airplane. The bathrooms were also really dirty. I ended up changing your diaper while you stood up on the wash counter.
Because it is another country, and because we were going to another country from there, they had an area you could wait in and then when it was time, you had to go through some windy mouse maze into the security area where they scanned your things - again. So we had to take everything apart and run them through the machines once more. Then, when we got through that, the woman at the desk proceeded to tell us to stand to the side while she figured out what to do about Kitty, which I didn’t understand. The man in the security line didn’t ask me for the cat’s paperwork – we had already paid for her and gotten every last signature, stamp, and letter of approval there is for traveling with a cat – so, with all that hub-bub, we missed the first and only boarding call to the plane. When we finally got a chance to ask them what was going on we showed them all of our stuff and they were like…. “Oh, okay, you can go...durrrrrrrrr” UGH it made me angry – patience level
orange.
So, we got on the plane. You weren’t excited to be tied down again and were quite fussy the entire trip – when you were awake. I understood your anxiety and irritation. You wouldn’t eat anything either. I offered you so many things constantly and all you wanted to do was nurse. Then, I would take you out of your chair to nurse and you would want to do something else. We let you watch a few movies on the laptop, but there wasn’t anywhere to set it because your monstrous car seat took up all the room and made it too difficult to get the tray out of the chair to set it on. After a while, you actually fell asleep again! I was not expecting this, but it happened and it was a relief for me.
The second flight itself was pretty nice. We had another meal, this time a really gross chicken in some fruit sauce with some little sardines and olives and weird crap. It was so slimy and gross and tasted like puke mixed with salt. Apparently some woman across the way found it “exquisite” – I heard her mention it to the flight attendant. Wow – she must have grown up eating poop.
When we finally arrived in Saudi Arabia at the Dammam airport, I felt nervous. Up until that point I had no anxiety at all. No real concern about the move. But now, all of the sudden, we were here. They were spouting warning messages about customs and how strict security is here in Saudi, which didn’t help my emotional state. We were asked by the flight attendant to please wait until everyone else who was getting off the plane was off so she could help us with our things. I thought that was nice of her, but I sure wanted to get out of there.
When we finally exited the plane, we found your stroller and piled up our things. We were directed toward a wide, long hallway at the end of which was some glass doors that went up really high and one, lone guard with a gun strapped to his leg and a frown strapped to his face. I thought he was going to stop us and say something but he just pointed toward the door and mumbled something. Then we finally got to the area we needed to be.
It was an open area with about eight different lines each for the different type of people trying to get into the country. A man who was sitting next to your Dad on the last flight said the best and fastest way to get through and onto your baggage was to go to the far right line. So we did just that. I noticed that the line to the very left of us was full of families - lots of children and husbands with wives and babies. In the line we were in, there were only single men. I mentioned this to your Dad and he seemed to think we would be okay. All of the sudden this man near us starts arguing with several of the men in front of us because he couldn’t believe they weren’t letting us butt in line – being that we had you and Kitty and lots of luggage. He finally asked us if we wanted to stand in front of him. I was ecstatic and relieved that we were not going to have to wait very long at all. We walked up to the counter and the dark, unhappy Saudi man at the desk motioned for us to return to the line, but not the line we were in, the other line where all the families were… the line I mentioned to your Dad we should go get in before… the line that stretched 100 miles back. Patience level
RED.
So, we had to go all the way back to the end of this line. I. Was. Livid. As we walked back I heard mumbles… “Hey look. They have to go back”, “He told them to go to that line instead “, “ah ha-la ishck ma foo eeera” and “good, they have to wait just like us.” Etc. etc. etc. blah blah blahhhh!! One man was even laughing at us… I almost punched him in the face and I would have if it wouldn’t have given me a life sentence in prison or lashings or something. I did give him a very serious, very ugly stare though. So back in the line we went.
All this time Kitty was now silent, sitting in a pile of cat pee and pooh with her face smooshed against her carrier – bored, tired, confused, and desperate. You were yelling and screaming because I was holding you and I didn’t want you going anywhere without me in that place and we had to stay in line. The atmosphere was dark, muggy, humid, hot, and smoky. There was a no smoking sign on the wall and just below it were three young men smoking - nice. You were tired, bored, very hungry and thirsty and needed a diaper change badly. And then, of course, we had all of that stuff!
Then some young Saudi man comes up and takes a picture of you with his cell phone. I was freaking out! Apparently, and we are learning this each day we are here, Saudi men like little babies a lot. How was I supposed to know that? They wanted to hold you constantly. Perfect strangers came up and picked you up with no hesitancy or tried to kiss your face. It freaked me out the first time it happened, and I am still cautious. Now, I just tell them NO! and to please get away as soon as I see even a glance in your direction.
After almost 2 hours, we finally made it to the front. It was finally our turn to get our picture taken and get our fingerprints done. Thank the heavens above! Then we were on to baggage claim to pick up our luggage. We were immediately greeted by two bag boys who desperately wanted to carry our bags for us – I was all for it! They both grabbed some carts and helped us pile them up and took our bags to customs for us. They even loaded the bags onto the conveyor belt for us and loaded the bags BACK onto the carts afterward. Having our suitcases scanned took all but 2 minutes. It was now finally time to show our paperwork for kitty, and I was nervous. The first man who looked at the papers stared at them for a while and then called another man over. As soon as the other man saw the import permit, he immediately let us through. If it weren’t for Traci at Air Animal we would not have had that permit. I am SOOOO glad we went with her and that she worked so hard to get it for us. If they asked me to do a commercial for them I totally would, “Traci and the folks at air animal took care of all the paperwork so we didn’t have to and we got through customs like a breeze on a sunny spring day… I would recommend them to anyone traveling with an animal *cheesy grin*.”
When we got through there was a huge crowd of people lined up holding signs for people they were picking up. I was frantically scanning the crowd for our name and right at the climax of hesitancy and nervousness Jim appeared. Jim is the man who told your Dad about the job - a nice, tall, white American man amongst a sea of the unknown. He was like a breath of fresh air. It was nice for your Dad to see a familiar face and as soon as I saw him it almost felt like a huge steel weight had been lifted off of my soul. I almost began to cry. I didn’t let it go too far because I know once I start sometimes I can’t stop.
Jim took us to the Aramco lounge and office where we met a man who gave us our temporary IDs and some other paperwork for your Dad. We each had a cold bottle of water and you tore apart some coffee cups and took a bunch of dishes out of some cupboard. We then walked to the parking area to Jim’s large suburban (devoted bag boys still in toe) and you and I got comfortable in the backseat with kitty while they finished up loading our things.
So there we were… tired, dirty, our hair all greasy and pulled back, no make-up on me... I did not give a hunk of fudge; I just wanted to go home. We were finally in Saudi Arabia on our way to our new home.
The drive to the compound didn't seem that long. You and I had a good time looking outside at the dark, sandy desert while your Dad and Jim talked about random things. When we arrived a sand storm was in progress, which further obstructed our view of anything interesting. I remember when the plane landed thinking it was bizarre that all the buildings and airplanes were covered in sand.
After about 45 minutes we reached the entrance gates of the Dhahran Saudi Aramco compound. Jim is a familiar face so we weren’t stopped long by security. Then, we approached the second, then third, and finally the fourth gates. This place is safe. It is protected. It was hard to see anything because there was some sand in the sky and every building is the same color, but the palm trees and the landscaping were very nice.
When we arrived we unpacked our things and Jim took your Dad for a quick trip to the commissary for some grocery-type items. I stayed at the house and gave you a bath and unpacked some things, changed my clothes… we relaxed a bit. Then we made a quick trip to Jim’s to call your Grandma’s and let them know we made it safe. It was nice to talk to family for a minute. When we finally got home and settled down enough to go to bed it was about four in the morning. You were not very tired, but finally fell asleep. Thankfully, the next day was a rest day for us and we didn’t have to be anywhere.
This past month in Saudi Arabia has been a pleasant surprise. It is hard living in a house with no familiar things, in a place where you are unfamiliar with your surroundings, with no family, no friends, no car, no Internet, no TV, and no immediate way of contacting your family and friends (unless you want to spend a couple thousand dollars a phone call). But thankfully, here at Aramco, everywhere you turn there is someone offering assistance. Someone offering their friendship, their internet access, their phone, their car, their TV… someone who wants to know who you are and wants you to know they understand what you are going through and that it is all going to be okay.
We knew when we signed up for this what it was going to be like at first. We knew that progress with all of our paperwork and access to the world would be slow. There have been days when we have been grumpy and tired and depressed, but there have mostly been days of discovery and happiness. The weekend here is on Thursday and Friday so that has taken some getting used it. So now instead of TGIF it’s TGIW and Saturday and Sunday are regular days of the week.
Our new house is smaller, but it is just what we need. It is an adobe style townhouse with two floors. It is beige outside with an orange roof. The floors downstairs are a white tile and upstairs is a nice new cinnamon colored carpet. The closets are all covered with shutter-type doors and the storage space is massive and unbelievable. All the closets have wooden shelves, which I like so much better than the cheap wire shelves we had in our old house. There are three bathrooms – 2 full, 1 half; two bedrooms and one office, which could be a bedroom; a big dining room, which is open to a living room; a nice nook dining room and a small, hall-like kitchen. We have a small garage and a nice back patio with a small area of grass. It’s nice. The street we live on is full of young families with small children, many of them close to your same age. Our neighbors have a 19-month old girl and the people next to them have a 2-year-old.
The first week we were here new friends brought you toys and offered to let you come play at their house. This month we joined a playgroup and have been swimming a couple of times. You like when I hold you as you lie in the water on your back and you love to kick in the water. We have attended a baby gym where you can jump on big bouncy things and climb and roll around with other little kids around your age. We’ve gone on several play dates with new friends. When you and I have nowhere to go or nothing to do we spend time together playing in our house or in the backyard. You can still have fun with not much stuff. For example – you love to spin and run in circles. I sing a little song “spin, spin, spin, spinning all around, she loves to spin around she loves it so much!” and you just run and run and run. You like to stand on the counters and jump into my arms. We also have fun rolling a roll of duct tape on the floor and seeing how far we can get it to go. We chase each other around the house; we dance and watch movies; we color and draw pictures; if it’s not too hot we go on walks and visit the many beautiful parks they have here.
You have become quite the little mommy to your dollies and to Kitty. You like to wrap them in blankets or in one of my scarves and then rock them back and forth. You always give them kisses and hugs and sometimes mutter a “shhhhh” as they go to sleep. Kitty doesn’t really like being wrapped in a blanket, but surprisingly sometimes she lets you do it. Every morning you go to the pantry and get kitty’s cat food and you fill her dish. You also like to give her kitty treats on a regular basis. You love trying to pick her up and you constantly chase her around the house and laugh as she runs away.
We now have a gardener who waters our grass each day and rakes and mows and a houseboy who comes once a week to clean the floors and windows and bathrooms and anything else that looks dirty. They both do a great job and it costs us little to nothing for these services. Something like this in the States would require both your Dad and I to work full-time, two to three jobs. So we are grateful for this extra help. You like to try and help the houseboy clean. Your Dad wants to invest in a Nanny too, but I don’t see how this is necessary with me not working. He thinks it would be nice so I can run errands and do some things for myself a couple hours a day. I can see his point, but for now I want to get more comfortable with my surroundings. I have never liked the idea of someone else taking care of you. We will see how it goes.
It wasn’t long after we arrived that a new friend took you and me outside the compound to go grocery shopping at the Safeway here in Khobar. She brought an abaya for me to wear – because all women are required to be covered – and her and her driver came and picked us up. Driving in Saudi Arabia is everything I have heard and more. The people are crazy. They pull in front of each other without any concern or care and they honk and go crazy. I am actually quite glad I can’t drive outside the compound. Who would want to?
The grocery stores here are nicer than I imagined they would be, but the selection is interesting. American products are much more expensive, and many of the women have told me that if I see something I like I should hoard it because I probably won’t see it for several months. I have found this to be true. They did have the soy nuggets I used to get you in the States, which totally surprised me so I got a couple extra boxes.
Apparently the Safeway is also the pick-up joint for many Saudi men. All many of these men know about American women is what they see in Soap Operas and on Bay watch. It is also the place where young Saudi women and men will meet to flirt and talk – this is normally against the law because marriages here are arranged. We happened to witness BOTH of these things (the flirting and the raunchy Saudi men) occurring in the store. A young couple was talking and flirting near the frozen meat. And as I was picking out a toilet scrub brush, a very strange looking Saudi man in tight jeans, a satin button up shirt and slicked back curly hair approached me. He kept “accidentally” bumping into me and standing in my way. He then paid an unusual amount of time looking at some stupid bathroom soap set in front of me. He was carrying a small hand carried basket, so as to look like he was shopping, and would not get out of my way. After a minute I just backed far away from him so he could finish looking at whatever he was looking at – he left. The reason why I know he was trying to get my attention is because about 45 minutes later on the other end of the store he was doing the same exact thing to another American woman in the yogurt section. He still had his little basket and he still had nothing in it. She did the same thing… just ignored him and moved away. I couldn’t help but laugh to myself.
We have eaten out a couple of times while we have been here. We went to the Applebee’s near the IKEA one night and we have tried the Fudruckers in the mall. All of the fast food joints – like McDonalds, KFC, and Pizza hut – will deliver; so one night we tried KFC delivery. Here at the compound you just have to meet them at Gate #6 to pick up your food. It took a while because we didn’t understand the guy very well and he kept calling us and asking the same questions over and over, but we finally got our food. The chicken tasted exactly the same as in the States. I thought it was hilarious that the “biscuits” were just a six-pack of hamburger buns.
Since we have arrived we have watched a lot of movies. In fact, we probably watched a movie on our laptop every night the first 3 weeks we were here. Before we left your Dad put all our movies in a CD book so you have gotten used to going to the book and flipping through the pages to look at the movies. You favorite movie of all time this month is… Tae-Bo. And every time we go to the movie book you immediately start tilting your head to the side and saying, “Bi-bo?” in this cute tone. When we oblige, you excitedly watch and do most of the moves instructed by Billy Blanks. I don’t know what it is about the movie… the upbeat music? Billy in his bright blue, spandex body suit that shows every bump on his body, and those stylish leg warmers? The yelling of “Oh yeah!”, or the counting from one to eight and then from eight to one? We don’t know what it is, but you love it and we get a thrill watching you. I often wonder if God wants me to start exercising again and that’s why you love it so much. So sometimes, I will actually do it while you watch it.
Another movie you love watching is the Little Einstein sign language DVD. You have watched it so many times this month you now know several of the signs and regularly do them. You are very good at communicating the words: eat, more, all done, mommy, daddy, drink, milk, ball, friend, story, and cereal among other words.
You also love dressing up a lot now. A friend brought you some princess hats and some wings to play with and you have a good time running around the house in those outfits. Also, I brought several scarves with me in case I ever need to cover my head while out in public and you have enjoyed wrapping yourself in them and covering your head. I think you see the Saudi women here in the compound, all dressed in their black abayas with their faces covered and nothing showing but the whites of their eyes and you try to be like them.
You love the water, and tubby time is more fun now. You enjoy just laying in the water moving your arms and legs. You also lay on your belly and swim like a fish. You have a new dolly for the bath and you like to help me clean her each time you take a bath.
The past couple of months now you recognize when you have a dirty diaper. Whenever you pee or pooh you point to your diaper and say “pee” or “poop” and sometimes, if I don’t get to you fast enough, you will even go get a new diaper and lay down in front of me so I can change you. I bought you a training potty, but it is in our shipment that should arrive some time late June, so in the meantime, I give you some potty time each morning, and every few hours during the day.
You are very affectionate. You give your dad and Kitty and me kisses all the time. You will run up and grab our legs and kiss us. Sometimes you get so into kissing things that you will kiss the wall or the door. Since you were born I have kissed your boo boo’s when you fall or get hurt. Now you kiss all of your boo boo’s regularly and you kiss any red mark or scar you might see on me or your dad.
You are doing really well with talking. Some of your favorite words are Mommy, Daddy, Kitty-cat, eat, thanks, walk, book, and no. Sometimes we sit and ask you a million questions and even if it’s something you want you still say “no”. You also will say the ABC’s. If we say each letter first then you will repeat it.
We are almost settled now. We have our residency permit (our iqama), our permanent IDs, and our multiple exit/entry Visas so we can travel. Your dad is getting his driver’s license and we should soon have our own Internet access and phone with Vonage. Amazingly, after only one month, we have a contract on our house back in Memphis, so we will have money to buy a car of our own soon. Our land shipment is supposed to arrive at the end of June. In the next couple of months we should be set in a schedule of some sort, and I am so excited to see where our lives go from this point.
In this first month here in Dhahran, which has gone by extremely fast, you have grown so much Madeline. And honestly, although “things” make life a little easier, it is nice to know that as long as you have someone you love with you each day is just as wonderful as any other day and is a blessing and a gift. We love you so much and we hope you are always happy and healthy. We thank God for you every single day and truly cherish every moment.
Love,
Momma
So we made the drive to Bahrain. A little about the country for those of you who don't know...
I thought this was interesting... there was a McDonalds at the beginning of the causeway and then at the end of it after you got through customs. That place is friggin' EVERYWHERE!!
I was a bit hesitant to stay where we did, only because it was so expensive, but Paul has a couple friends here who recommended it and we felt like it would be fun to splurge a little - since it was just one night. So we stayed at the Ritz Carlton. It. Was. Nice.
Although the view was great and the swimming pool VERY inviting, it was getting late and we wanted to have some dinner. We also thought it would be fun to take Madeline to her very first movie in a movie theatre. She LOVES Shrek 1 and Shrek 2 - we watch it probably every day - so we decided to try and take her to see Shrek 4. Unfortunately, that night, we got there too late. So we played at the mall some more, had some dinner, and planned on seeing the movie the next day before we came home.
The Seef Mall
And Madeline and I had fun climbing this huge netted climbing thing with slides and cushions and tunnels.
Paul took Madeline on the Future Train and almost threw up it was so fast and exciting - just kidding. Madeline had a good time on it though. It basically went in a circle about 10 times through a tunnel.
I thought they'd be outside for a few minutes but they were gone quite a while.
So I went out looking for them. They were no where to be found so I went back in and watched the movie by myself. They didn't get back until the very end of the movie, literally right before the credits. So that was disappointing, but I liked the movie so that was good.
Although the view was great and the swimming pool VERY inviting, it was getting late and we wanted to have some dinner. We also thought it would be fun to take Madeline to her very first movie in a movie theatre. She LOVES Shrek 1 and Shrek 2 - we watch it probably every day - so we decided to try and take her to see Shrek 4. Unfortunately, that night, we got there too late. So we played at the mall some more, had some dinner, and planned on seeing the movie the next day before we came home.
The Seef Mall
And Madeline and I had fun climbing this huge netted climbing thing with slides and cushions and tunnels.
Paul took Madeline on the Future Train and almost threw up it was so fast and exciting - just kidding. Madeline had a good time on it though. It basically went in a circle about 10 times through a tunnel.
I thought they'd be outside for a few minutes but they were gone quite a while.
So I went out looking for them. They were no where to be found so I went back in and watched the movie by myself. They didn't get back until the very end of the movie, literally right before the credits. So that was disappointing, but I liked the movie so that was good.
It will make a great "camp car" and allow us to get around without having to call a taxi or ride a bus or ask our nice neighbors if we can borrow thier car or get a ride somewhere. The feeling of knowing that car is in my driveway is a feeling of wonderment!! And that little feeling of confinement I have been having just got a little bit smaller. 
