Moving

The movers are gone, and so is all our stuff, except for the small mountain of suitcases we have upstairs to take on the plane. These guys were very efficient, two days and they are done, and that includes taking an hour lunch break and stopping to pray every few hours. I was impressed, I didn't think I would be. Almost everything got wrapped in paper, and either boxed, wrapped in bubble wrap, or a combination of the two! They built boxes for things like Gregs grill and the rockers... I am glad that it is over, I am tired out, all that supervising running after Lily and Oliver, who were being watched by Chari most of the time, I only showed up to feed Oliver! It was great not to have to worry about them.

I had a wonderful going away coffee this morning, and like I said then, I don't think I am going to miss Saudi, but I am going to definitely miss my friends. Friends are what makes this place bearable, because all you have here is friends and shopping, and the shopping you have to do around prayer times!

Lily and her Daddy (with her Mum and Oliver in the background) We are waiting for the movers to show up

Greg took this cute picture of Oliver

Greg and his grill, like the pack job!

They had to pack the boxes on little trucks and take them out of the compound and then load them onto the big truck

They really load up the trucks

Just checking in

I am taking a minute to update everyone, the movers are here! YAY I am typing this blog to the sound of paper crinkling and tape being unrolled, what beautiful sounds :) Can you tell I am glad that they are here?!? The kids went over to the neighbors house for a while and the packers jumped right in! Hopefully it all wont take too long, they seem pretty efficient. When they got here it was like this is really happening, we are really out of here in three days! Can you believe it, I couldn't until now. Well I had better get back to overseeing! What Greg and I do best!

We are moving...again!

Hello Everyone who checks in with the traveling Mickles blog, you read it right, we are living up to our name and traveling again! Sometime in the next month or so (probably in the next 6-8 weeks) we are moving. Where are you going you might ask, and I will gladly tell you we are being transferred out of Saudi and into Australia! In a few months we will be calling Melborn home, and we are excited! Life here in Saudi is comfortable, yes, but there is so much that we miss out on here (not just the wine and pork!) We are looking forward to living in Australia, being able to go out whenever we want to without worrying about prayer times and things being closed. I will be able to drive again, go to the store when I want and leave when I am done (not before or after) We are looking forward to doing things as a family, zoos, parks, camping, pools... And not wearing an abaya for me! So needless to say we are excited. I think the thing I will miss the most from here (hands down) is Chari, who I wish we could take with us :) I have been delightfully spoiled here! So that is our latest and greatest news, We will keep you updated on how things develope from here.

A few cute pictures

Here are a few pictures recently taken in Saudi of our new home and of Lily.

Here is Lily sitting on the only step she can get to, she loves to sit there though!

Here is Lily in her crib, she loves standing and bouncing in here!  Thanks again Jeff and Sydney!

This is what Lilys room (and most of the other rooms in the house) looked like 2 weeks ago, I am happy to report it looks a lot better now.

Here is Lily playing with the gates, she likes to do this too, I need to make sure I remember to latch them!

This was my worst room/project, it lasted the longest, but now all but 2 boxes are gone!  

Now the time has come to ... organize!

We have finally heard from the moving company.  Our movers to take the stuff to Saudi are coming on Friday, and the movers to take our furniture to New Hampshire come on Monday.  It is good to finally know, but know I am looking at all the things that I need to separate and get ready.  We have two different shipments, this shouldn't be too hard to separate the different items going to the different places.  Almost all the furniture will be going to storage, a few books, we need to make sure all the Christmas stuff goes to the east coast, along with any Christian items that we are attached to.  The rest goes to Saudi, except for clothes and toys that Lily needs for the few months that we will be in Texas and awaiting the shipment in Saudi.  This will be a little hard because she is at a stage where she is growing out of one size and into another.  Plus I need to have colder weather clothes for texas still, obviously not freezing temps but still.  And warmer weather clothes for Saudi, as it is always hot there.  The same goes for me and my clothes, plus I want to be at a growing out of point with my clothes too, which I am not, and I guess if my clothes get too big in Texas from the workouts I plan to do then I can always go shopping!  I also need to keep a few items separate that go to my Mums house to live, like my live plants and a few of my sisters items that have been living here with me.  

Greg is ready to go, his departure date is January 6th.  He went to the doctors yesterday and got 7 shots, his arms are a bit sore.  They also took lots of blood, I am not looking forward to having to do any of that.  He will be around for the movers, and then he will help drive Lily and I down to Texas, then he will be gone.  

Our house is still on the market, but we haven't had anyone through in a few days.  This is okay, because we are down to one car, and it is too cold outside to take a walk if someone comes and we are still here.  The cold weather and the snow is why people aren't out looking, or so I think.  

Well I believe that is a thorough update.  Talk at you later.

Updates

So an update on the move, we still don't know when the movers are going to come and pack us up, hopefully we will know soon.  The house has been showing, which is really good, and makes me feel like I am keeping it spotless for a reason.  

An update on Lily, she is doing really well.  She is happy that her dad is home, someone else to play with and talk to.  Greg got back yesterday from the East coast.  Lily and I did pretty good on our own, but we missed Greg.  Lily ate peas for the first time tonight, she made quite the mess.  Greg fed her, which he doesn't usually do, so he was surprised at how messy she got!  Lucky for us she likes her baths.

Greg just needs to get his medical clearance and then he will be on his way to Saudi, and after the movers come Lily and I will be on our way to Houston to stay with my parents.  I am looking forward to spending the time with my Mum and Dad, and Jordyn, although I know that she is very busy being a teenager.  

Moving right along

Our move is starting to take shape now, the movers have come to give us an estimate on the move, and the realtors have come by as well.  Now we are waiting to hear which moving company we are going to use and find out dates for when they can come and pack us up.  We are going to have two shipments, one by land to New Hampshire, and one by sea to Saudi.  We are sending almost all of our furniture to Greg's parents house (they are going to store it for us in their garage and we are very grateful).  

Right now I am making lists of things that we need to get to put in our shipment to Saudi, things like rice cereal and formula for Lily.  

Lily is growing like a weed, and it seems like every other day I am putting clothes on her that are snug and almost too small.  She is doing very well, still sleeping through the night, and hardly taking naps during the day.  She is going to be our mover, she is eager to learn how to get around on her own.  Nana and Papa gave her a walker for Christmas, and she loves to be in it, even though she can't quite make it move yet.  She eats a serving of rice cereal every day, and seems to really enjoy it.  We haven't tried veggies yet, but that will be coming soon!  We are trying to mix formula into some  breast milk so that she can start getting used to it.  So far our mix is very little formula and a lot of milk, she doesn't seem too fond of half and half yet, but we will get there.