Learning to Trust and Lean: July 2020

July took a number of turns on us, some that we expected and some that we didn't.

It started with flights home being cancelled. This was expected. We were really just waiting for the official word.

We decided that for our family in our situation that we wanted/needed to get home by any means necessary. Stephen had people to meet in Houston and endless vacation to burn. We also had ailing family members and new family members that we hoped to see. So we opted for a repatriation flight that took us through Frankfurt for big bucks. Oman Air sold every single seat on that flight except 1 that I could see which really just hacked me off. Our flights on Delta from Frankfurt to Atlanta then to DFW weren't even near full. Much better experiences there.

Grammy and Grandpa greeting us at the airport.

After getting back Stateside, we were able to see family members from both sides of the family. We were not able to see Stephen's Nana, which was sad but also not unexpected. But we really enjoyed our week camping at Monte Sano near Huntsville, Alabama. Oh to be in the woods again! Turns out that I love nature no matter what form it comes in. And I love working out in nature. I'm really enjoying the greenery right now.

My grandma made us quite the tasty homemade meal when we visited.

Hiking at Monte Sano

A more adventurous trail. We came back with a sprained ankle, a scraped up knee, and missing 1 watch.

We also have been eating all the food. Mostly at home, though occasionally at a restaurant or on a patio. Lots of Tex-Mex and bacon.

Braum's bacon cheeseburger. They know how to cook bacon!

Taco Bueno tacos and burritos with a side of chips & queso and to-go drink from El Gabacho.

I call this a sin omelet: It has bacon, sausage, and ham!

Chick-fil-A on a non-Sunday.

Whataburger!!!

Cracker Barrel for some southern comfort food.

We celebrated J's birthday with just family and his favorite food as expected. The kid didn't want a party anyways.

Helping to choose donuts at Shipley's.

Brother enjoying the lunch choice of Taco Bueno.

Opening all the presents.

Whataburger dinner. I started letting them choose every meal because they don't get to celebrate their birthday at school with friends. But this was too much food. Next year, they can select dinner and donuts.

J wanted an Oreo cheesecake, so Grammy made him one.

Then we received the unexpected news that we would not be returning to Oman. Instead, Stephen will be changing departments and working from Houston, TX. Time to look into enrolling the kids in school, buying a house, buying cars, etc., etc., etc. This is a really good opportunity for him and a better fit for his skills. Bonus is that it will still utilize his Middle East experience as he'll be working on projects in Kuwait. It also turns out that this new department was trying to poach Stephen for years. They had even asked for him 3 time since December. And given the current oil field industry and COVID-19 economy and restrictions, it's a great time to get an expat off the company books.

New job lunch with Stephen at Mellow Mushroom.

This would be half of a sin calzone. Yum!

So we will be moving to the Jersey Village or Cypress area of Houston, TX. We will be in Arlington until November/December. My kids will be going to the same elementary school I attended, though they will be attending virtually. It's all very surreal and exciting.

I'm also sad that our expat time is over. We were supposed to be in Oman a minimum of 3 years, and we really expected 5. It is now finished at the 2 year mark. I'm so grateful for the adventures we had, especially our East Asia cruise over Christmas. It was so good we'd do it again even having to fly from the States. Not really... well, maybe. 😉

And now, because we are all still living in the time of Coronavirus, my favorite memes of the month: