Catching up

Ryan says: We're home!! I don't really remember it but I'm just generally happy and smiley about everything!! I love my suitcase!

Here is a bit about what is going on around here for those of you feeling out of the loop.

1. We returned from Germany about 9 days ago. Settling back in has been wonderful and a bit weary at the same time. Lots of small repairs around the house which are a bit dicey to do since:

2. It is Ramadan and our first one to experience during the summer months. The other previous 5 have been in the cooler months. Because it is hotter there are almost NO shops and business open until after the sunset Iftar meal when they break the fast. Some things are open but it is random.

3. Both kids have been/are sick. None of us had even a drippy nose all summer and the night we got back, Ryan's nose started to act up. I am more and more convinced that the local lore of air conditioning making you sick has a lot of truth in it! I'm sure the SIGNIFICANT amount of dust in the air has something to do with it too!

4. We had another surprise office inspection for our visa process. This is our 3rd inspection. And yes, we hauled all the appropriate furniture to the studio apartment we have been renting as Tom's office for the sake of the visa. And yes, they never bothered to go see the office for the 3rd time (= Our living room carpet and wing back chairs have been going back and forth across Buraimi each time.

5. The AMAZING news is that we now actually have our visa approvals!!!! We would have gotten our stamps etc, but the Eid holiday puts everything on hold for one week. But it would be reasonable to assume we could have our visas and border crossing cards in the next two weeks!

6. Tom probably will continue to be a sales rep for the American company selling specialty wall and ceiling products. To that end, he flew to Doha for the airport job for a quick overnight. It was very encouraging and has been a big learning curve! He has lots of other contacts for jobs but who knows if they will end up as an actual sale. He is still very much learning this field at the moment.

7. Most of our friends connected to the language school are beginning to return which means that Layla's main playmates are almost all home. Not soon enough is all I can say!

8. We are evaluating preschool options for Layla now. There are two options, both of which are very different from each other. We need to decide by about September 10th which is the start date for both schools...supposedly (= Both schools have already postponed once!

9. We've had a bit of internet problems since we've been back to trying to Skype or do much on line for any length of time has been a bit irritating. That is part of the reason I haven't done much. Nothing like watching your photos load three times in a row....

10. We are super grateful for our summer and for returning home! We feel very blessed to have our lovely, familiar home to return to (=