I'm thankful for opportunities to travel

We have lived overseas for five years this November! It's been an adventure to say the least. I've been so thankful for many things over these last five years. I have loved being able to travel to different countries!! I've learned so much and experienced so much...I feel very blessed!

The funny thing is that now that I've done some overseas traveling, I have the desire to see more. I'm certainly not finished traveling and so I hope that God will give me more opportunities to see and experience new countries!

I have enjoyed looking at pictures of our overseas travels. I won't bore you with all of the pictures, just a few. I hope you enjoy seeing where we've been!





Jordan
I got to go to Jordan with Carie for about a week and we had so much fun! We laughed so much at each other! I have so may fun memories from this trip! We did some fun things, but there are a few things I didn't get to do and I want so badly to go back and see Mount Nebo and Petra. Hopefully we'll be able to go as a family next time! :)

Here's a picture of Carie and me at the Jordan River. Jesus was baptized somewhere around here, but I didn't see any doves...hehe!! I know, I'm a dork!

Here I am floating in the Dead Sea. I won't forget that experience...it's so weird to float like this because the water is so salty!

Muscat, Oman
For a while we were living just a few hours drive to Muscat, the capital city in the country Oman. It was so fun to go to this beautiful city!! We went a few times. I love so much about this place. The Omani people are so wonderful, some of the nicest people in the world! I also love the traditional souq there that is close to the water...it's beautiful! I love the forts and the old city gate. Just writing this makes me want to go back there. :)

This is a picture of Tim and me at the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. It has such amazing architecture. Totally worth going to!

This picture is the view from the old city gate.

Tim and I are standing at the old city gate in this picture. This picture was taken by my dad. He and my mom took a little trip over to Muscat when they visited!

Salalah, Oman
We drove for hours and hours and hours to get to Salalah in August one summer. It's the craziest thing...when it's about 120degrees throughout the Middle East, Salalah is rainy and cold. It was such a refreshing time to get away from the heat, see some lush green sights, and experience culture!

Frankincense comes from Salalah. Here is a picture of an Omani man preparing to burn some frankincense in his shop where he sells it. I think it smells so good!

Bahrain
We love Bahrain! Over the years we have been to Bahrain a few times before falling in love with this place! We love the people, the culture, and the beauty of God's creation in this place.

Egypt
We've been on two trips to Egypt and both trips were so much fun! We were thankful to have friends there to visit and fun places to see! We loved being in Alexandria on the Mediterranean Sea, it's so beautiful there! Cairo is a different world with 10 million people, it's one of the mega cities of the world. I'm so glad I got to go there before everything changed politically. We loved seeing the pyramids at Giza and taking a boat ride on the Nile River!

Ethiopia
I can't say enough about our time in Ethiopia! I left a piece of my heart behind in this place. We have been given two amazing gifts from this country. They're BEAUTIFUL people with wonderful hearts. I smile every time I think of Ethiopians. My heart hurts, though, when I think of the poverty here and I want so badly to do more. I know we will be back, at least so Joseph and Faith can see their birth home.

We took 4 trips to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. The first trip was to meet this bundle of joy:

A year and a half later, we went to meet this tiny little package:

Here are some more pictures from Ethiopia. We were there during the rainy season and everyone had umbrellas! We love how Ethiopians (and many Africans) carry their babies on their backs. Experiencing the coffee ceremony and eating Ethiopian food were also fun experiences.

Our favorite things from Ethiopia, though, are definitely Joseph and Faith!! :)

Musandum, Oman
I'm realizing how much I love Oman since this is the third Omani city in this post! Something I'm so glad that I got to experience was this boat trip at Musandum. It's beautiful with these rocky cliffs jetting out of the water. Such an awesome experience!

There is a village that we got to visit near Musandum. Some of our neighbors lived there, so we went to visit them during a festival that was happening. Another experience I will never forget!

Dubai
It isn't possible to go to Dubai and not go to one or more of the amazing malls there! It's a great place to visit and easy to get to. We've taken numerous trips to this city. It almost feels like home when we're there. ;)

Here's a picture of the kids by the Burj Al Arab, an icon for Dubai. It's a hotel that sits on it's own island. I'm sure I'll never be able to step foot in this hotel since you need to have reservations at one of the restaurants to go in.

Over the course of 4 years we got to watch the tallest building get higher and higher! We were so excited to get to finally go up and see the view from to top when we flew back last September. Here's a picture of the view...those buildings you see are very tall, but the Burj Khalifa towers over them.

Here we are at the top of the tallest building in the world:

Saudi Arabia
A year ago we drove through this mysterious country. It's not all that easy to get in or maneuver around  here. In this picture of McDonalds, you can see how the booths have curtains so that the families can have privacy and the women can be protected.

Here's a picture of the Saudi flag:

Women are required to wear the full covering in Saudi Arabia. Here you can see that Tim is dressed like normal and I am wearing the abaaya and sheilah.

Kuwait
I liked Kuwait! It has an American feel on the streets because America helped to rebuild it after Sadaam's troops invaded and took over Kuwait City. This tiny country has been through a lot and my heart goes out to them.

In this picture you can see the words "Praise God for your Safety" written in Arabic. It's a common greeting that you get when you've been traveling.

Here's some more pictures from Kuwait. The three towers are the famous icon for Kuwait. They're called Al Abraaj, meaning The Towers.