The Journey Home

Yes I know this was over a week ago, but I'm just getting around to blogging again :)

At 4am on Friday morn we loaded up the taxi and our rental car with all our 8 pieces of luggage, plus 4 carry-ons, and headed to the airport. We met our good friend Chris at the airport, who helped us with our luggage and the girls while we checked in and returned rental cars. We couldn't have done it without him!

Flight to Amsterdam at 6am, then had a little over an hour there before the flight to Houston. We were all feeling, and looking, a little groggy. And had NO STROLLER! The flight crew checked it through to Houston, but the girls were happy to ride on the luggage trolleys, or run around free :)The flight from Amsterdam to Houston was 9 1/2 hours, but the girls were wonderful. Lydia was thrilled with all her business-class amenities, like the cozy socks and the sleeping mask. She slept so well - she was probably out for close to 3 hours.

Claire was happy to have the DVD player to herself while Lydia slept. She watched Princess and the Frog and Totoro, then took a looong nap herself.

This was probably the first international flight where I was able to get a good nap too, and get through at least one movie! I'm very proud of my girls, and other passengers made comments on how good they were as well.

In Houston...everything started going wrong. First, we lost 2 pieces of luggage. Then, there were 4 international flights arriving at the same time, so the line to get through customs was HORRIBLE. Then, the police dog sniffed out the plums I had in my carry-on...so we were escorted away to a screening area so they could scan all our luggage to see what other "foreign contaminants" we had brought into the US. THEN Josh had to leave us to go get the dogs and drive them to Midland, while me and the girls were left on our own to make it to our next flight. That was a little crazy, but I had a few doses of my "rescue remedy" to calm me down. I just let the girls run free until we had to board. Unfortunately on the flight - Claire fell asleep. SO when we arrived in Midland I had 3 carry-ons and a baby to carry....and I'm 8 months pregnant. It was 6pm, which was Midnight in Scotland. Then there was no one there to meet me at the airport, and I had to lie Claire on the floor while I filed paperwork for lost luggage and got my rental car.

But in the end...we made it.

Things are just getting better now.

That was hard

Moving away from Scotland was a lot more difficult than we expected. When we first found out that we were moving, many people asked us what we would miss the most about Scotland. I would always answer "the beautiful Scottish countryside."

(Firbogs)

It is truly beautiful and so different from anything in Texas. I will miss our Firbogs House, the deer, the pheasants, the foxes and rabbits, the stream beside the house, the castles and the stone walls.

At least we went out in style - we stayed at the Logie Country House for our last week in Scotland while the movers were packing our belongings. We had friends over, fed the chickens and jumped on the trampoline and enjoyed the beautiful Scottish scenery.

So yes, I miss the beauty of Scotland. But what I definitely miss the most are our friends. I didn't think it would be so hard until the last week, when we were saying goodbyes. Why was this so much harder than moving away from the US? I was an emotional wreck, and I just blamed it on stress and being so pregnant... but Josh was the same way! He was especially sad for his boys, the young men in church that he's worked with the past few years. We realized that what hit us hard was permanence of this move. We will most likely never live in Scotland again. We will never see these friends again. We tried to be optimistic, and talked about seeing eachother on vacations and such, and I'm sure we will...someday...but its just not the same as having them a phone call away for a playdate or a night out.

(Chapel of Garioch mums - my neighbors, friends, and best pals with my girls)

(expat friends - we know we'll see you in Houston someday!)

(mormon moms - always there for us :)

We're also sad for our girls' friends. Lydia and Claire don't understand the permanence of this move, but we did, and it is hard for me to explain to that we won't see their friends again. The girls have had such a ball with their church friends.

and boyfriends

and best girlfriends

We miss you all so much.

We also had a birthday bash

Today Lydia is 4. We moved to Scotland when she was only a few months old, and this is the 4th birthday she's celebrated in this country. She's our wee Scottish lass.



And as usual, we had a huge party to celebrate her special day. We booked it at the Paddock, an outdoor play center near our town.

They had swingsThe giant "jelly belly"A sandpitPedal-cartsAnd we had a pinata It was a good thing the weather cooperated, because there were nearly 30 kids!We came inside for lunch, and Birthday Cakeand ice cream And had loads of presents to bring home!Which we had to open immediately.

Then on Saturday, daddy treated us to dinner and a movie (Toy Story 3) with Lydia's best pal Laney.We had a fabulous birthday weekend. Thank you to everyone who came to the party and made it so much fun! Lydia is a lucky little girl. Happy 4th Birthday Lydia!

The Time Has Come

The Viets are moving back to the United States.
Back to TEXAS.
Back to Midland, where I grew up. And where my mom and dad still live.
At least here it's not so bad to work for an oil company.

But it's unfortunate that they don't care that your wife is 8 months pregnant when they ask you to move. We'll be home before September!