Without the friends I have made through the Embassy family in Kuwait, I probably would have gone crazy here long ago. These women come from all walks of life, they are different races, religions and all have different reasons to have a connection to the U.S. Embassy. I can't say enough good about these ladies and there families. I am proud to be here in Kuwait with them and I am also thrilled to know that if push comes to shove"they have my back".

This sense of community reminds me of getting close to your fellow church members in the U.S. Baby showers are thrown for people, meals are provided for those in need, we check in on eachother and we know that if there is a need we have a helping hand. I have realized that life in the Foreign Service means making "fast friends". When you move to a new town or state in the U.S. it may take you awhile to find women with similar life experiences and interests. Here you are thrown right in to the mix with groups already meeting and invitations to things abundant. Without these women I would feel even farther away from "home".

Every month in Kuwait the women of our Embassy play BUNCO. You may have played it or heard of it. We have a fun loving group of ladies that chat about frustrations, make jokes and just have a bunch of fun! This has become a real time for me to take a night and just focus on something that can be pretty mindless, rolling dice. It is a time to chat about anything and everything, all while playing the game and sometimes keeping score. Yes, we women can multitask ; )

I would highly encourage you to start a group like this if you are needing a time with other women. It doesn't have to be Bunco, maybe a book club, cooking club, a breastfeeding mothers group or even a teenage parent commiseration group ; ) I know that this time has often kept me sane in some of my darkest moments here. It reminds me I am not here alone and that other women are sharing the same struggles and triumphs of living here.

I am looking forward to our next post of Bamako, Mali! I have made a couple friends there and I am already dreaming of hosting Bunco in my next home. Maybe there is already a group and I can join in. I have gotten quite good at keeping score! Get ready Bamako, here I come and please have the dice ready~

I hosted the last Bunco at my home and it was Easter themed. We all had at least one chocolate bunny : )

We had a great time this weekend at a six year old birthday party. Our great friends Ken, Tina and Matthew are also our neighbors, fellow Ju Jitsu parents and Ken teaches our children's T-ball team. We were excited to get invited to Matthew's Birthday party at the Ice Skating Rink in Kuwait City. We haven't been skating since we were in Michigan, so we knew the first 30 minutes of skating time would be a big learning curve. Honestly, I was dreading it and had prepared myself for large amounts of whining and frustration. I am so happy to report we had a great time and all the children didn't whine at all! Kelly and I would whine to each other on occasion about how much this was going to hurt tomorrow. After our trip to the ice rink all of our children now want skating lessons. I don't think there is an ice rink in Mali, so sadly no lessons for the next few years. Maybe we could all take up rolling blading as a family? : )

Mom and Dad Briden this post is for you : ) My amazingly sweet, father in law has been compiling my blog and printing it for the past three years now. Thank you Dad Briden, it is a great gift for us all to remember our life and times during these years.


My in laws are two of my biggest followers when it comes to my blog and I so appreciate it! Lately though, they have made several comments for me to blog more frequently. I enjoy blogging, but life in Kuwait has been busier and harder than I expected. I have not had the cross cultural exchange I was hoping for to blog about. I guess I need to at least keep up with our family activities of late on our blog. Before I start though I want to share some of what I am involved in currently, so you will all understand how I spend my time when not asleep.


First, and most excitingly, I am going back to school to get my Bachelors degree in Maternal Child Health: Lactation Consulting. I went into nursing with the dream of becoming a Lactation Consultant, one wonderful husband and five important children came along and life was wonderfully busy. I now have three kids in school full time and hoefully two in pre-school next year, so I was ready to complete what was begun many years ago.

Second, I am so addicted to knitting! It takes up a great deal of my free time. I love making things and sending them to friends and family. Knitting has taken over some of my blogging time. I love the challenge of a new pattern, the feel of new soft yarn in my hands and the satisfaction of completing a project.

Third, life here is much more work then back in the U.S. It takes me longer to shop and find all the things we need and want. There is no Wal-mart super center here. I am one the road much more in Kuwait. I have to pick up our oldest two from after school activities and transport them to sporting events. The other day I was in creeping traffic for forty five minutes!

Fourth, my husband travels very often. When he is traveling I have to be on 100% of the time and can't stop for fear of the children taking over the home, HA! I commonly go from before the sun rises to late in the evening making sure all are reading, read to, have homework completed, have bathed, have eaten, and have been talked to alone by me at one point during the day. I sleep just fine by about 9pm on those nights!

Fifth, I have had the amazing opportunity to take family photos of families who live and work at the Embassy in Kuwait. I am really enjoying photograpy more and more : ) I love capturing moments of people's lives, it is truly an honor! I love editing all the photos and getting an image just how I want it. This has taken up my time as well, but it has become a huge creative outlet for me!


Sixth, I still have Timmy and Hope with me at home all day. Back in the U.S. Timmy and Hope would both go to a little pre-school up the road from our home, but here it is very expensive for them to go even a couple days a week. Ultimately we had to decide, do we want to pay for college or pre-school! The choice is college in the future. I also love being with Timmy and Hope at this time. Before I know it all the kids will be in school and I can tell already I will miss those crazy little buddies : )

So, this is the view of my life currently. I will try to update the blog as often as I can. Kelly may add his thoughts sometimes as well. We are getting very excited for our next big move to Mali and our visit in the U.S. this summer! Mom and Dad Briden, I love you and this post is for you :)

We went on a road trip in the beginning of December through Arabia. It was very interesting. Our stops included Abu Dhabi, UAE; Muscat, Oman; Dubai, UAE; Doha, Qatar; and driving in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was a LONG trip! We had a great time and were so glad we purchased used Zune MP3 players for our children. The Zunes came through for us throughout the whole trip, especially at border crossings while we waited to get approval to go on to our next desitination. The poor men at the border crossings were always confused, if they looked closely at our passports, about the make-up of our family. I am sure they thought, where are these boys from and how did they get into this family? All border guards and personnel were very accomodating and kind, except in Kuwait. After living in Kuwait for over a year now I am comfortable with how they treat me. I was shocked by the kindness and accomodation of the Saudi Arabians, Qataris and Emiraties.

Oman is our absolute FAVORITE place to visit in all of Arabia. It is quaint, uniquely it's own, clean, filled with mountains, and very kind people. In fact we have told all living in Kuwait and around the world to visit Oman if ever they find themselves in Arabia.

Kelly has had some time off from work lately and we have been enjoying the cool weather in Kuwait. The other day the whole family went up to the viewing floor of the Kuwait towers. We are now beginning to check things to do in Kuwait of our list. The kids were able to ride camels at a U.S. army base that we have access to. Now we can also check that off our list ; )

In other BIG news we have gotten our orders for our next post. In late summer of 2011 we will moving to Bamako, Mali. We are so thirlled, as living in Africa is truly a dream. I am already in contact several people in Bamako to learn what to bring and what is readily available. I am excited already with the prospect of seeing Timbuktu which is in northern Mali. Our last six months in Kuwait will be filled with continuing to check "must do" items off our list and preparing to visit our homeland, the U.S. of A : )

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all~~~~~~~~

We were enjoying our morning coffee and conversation, when Francisca said " Come, Ma'am. They are slaughtering a sheep outside for Eid!" We all filtered outside and found this, near where we park our cars. If you have a weak stomach this is not a post for you ; ) Happy Eid Mubarek to all and enjoy you animals slaughtered Halal style or per Islamic laws. The kids were fascinated. If you wonder if they are getting a good education, they are!!! They know more about many things at this age then most Americans, including the correct way to slaughter a sheep and a goat : )

Wow, what a night!!! I was blessed with an invitation from my neighbor to her nephew's wedding. Weddings are very different than a standard American wedding here in Kuwait. I knew this would be all female, I knew the Abayas would be off and I was told from another Kuwaiti to understand that this is the women's chance to dress up and party. My friend told me the best way to describe the wedding scene is "if you got it flaunt it". I tried to do just that, but I was still alittle to monochromatic!

When I arrived at the basement of a large hotel here in Kuwait, my neighbor and her daughter immediately uncovered and entered a large ballroom. We were greeted by the female family members of both the bride and the groom. My neighbors family was so genersous and kind to me. making sure I had tea, chocolates, juice, and sharing with me who all the highlighted guests were. Let me describe the scene as best I can.

The ballroom is longer than it is wide. Upon entering on both the left and right sides are rows of theatre style seating facing a long strip of floor in the middle (it looked similar to a modeling runway). For the first hour or so we awaited the bride's entrance. During this time the DJ is literally blasting many popular Arabic love songs. Women are greeting one another and dancing. At the opposite end of the door to the ballroom is a large lavishly decorated stage and a huge sofa. For this young women she choose oodles of pink, flowers, pillows, beads and large curtains draped in the background.

The dancing is difficult to describe, but here goes. After hours of watching the dynamic on the dance floor I did end up taking a twirl. The dancing takes place in front of the "crowd" in the theatre seating to watch the action. The women dance around thrusting their pelvis and holding their arms elevated openly in front of them. Is that as clear as mud? TI have found some good videos on youtube, but I can't link to them for some reason. At one point the ladies that were dancing put on belly dancing wraps around their hips and they were also belly dancing. It was so fascinating to see and observe. You could tell certain women liked other women and snubbed others while dancing past them. I imagine I missed many social cues as this is not my culture, but I think I picked up on quite a bit of the body language.

Kuwaiti women also really like to have very extreme eyes for formal occasions. Here is an image of an example of the popular eye make up style here in Kuwait. About one hour into the party the bride appears and the excited yelling hits a crescendo. She is photographed with her family and her friends while watching the action on the dance florr from the comfort of her sofa. After an hour of watching the bride all the sudden the tone of the room changed. I noticed all the women pull out their black Abayas and Hijabs(head scarf). I knew instantly the men are coming. Sure enough once all women were safely covered the men arrived. I covered myself with my pashmina I had, not my hair but my chest and shoulders. My neighbor and her sisters all looked at me and said "Good girl!"

The groom arrives with his brothers and cousins. They come in to applause and the women throwing money over their heads. The groom and his brothers come on the stage greet all the important females and stay for about one song. The groom stays in the room of all women well after his brothers have left. He and his bride smile over and over again with every female that wants a photo with the happy couple. You could see their smile muscles were hurting toward the end of the photo session. After the photos the bride dances on the floor alone in front of her husband and then she goes back to his side on stage. Lastly the couple exits the ballroom together to the screams of the many excited women.

The last part of the evening is a huge meal served for all attendees at about 12:00 midnight. I enjoyed many of the Arabic and Lebanese foods offered. The desert table was overwhelming, so many choices!!! I was honored to get a peek into this private world. It was one of the best experiences I have had in Kuwait so far.

Hello, do you remember me? I am so sorry for my absence in the blogosphere. I will be very honest in this post. This summer that is just ending was the LONGEST of my life!

Do you remember when you were in grade school and you couldn't wait for the school year to end and summer vacation to begin. I loved my summers as a child. We spent from Memorial day to Labor day "up north" at my grandparents cottage on lake Huron. I dreamed of those long lazy summer days and prayed that the summer would never end. In Michigan summers are very short and Labor day weekend seems to arrive so quickly.

In Kuwait summer is the exact opposite. I knew it would be HOT and long, but it seemed to never end. This summer all five of our children were home with me trapped in a big house, with no green space and temperatures commonly exceeding 120 degrees. I couldn't blog because I had no free time. I have learned over my eight years of parenting five children that if you don't engage your children while shut up in the house, they can plot to vote you out of leadership and try to take over the house.

I worked hard this summer, playing, swimming, making crafts, joking, wrestling, reading, playing Wii, and most importantly breaking up fights. Summer in Kuwait is so different then winter in Michigan. I thought I would be prepared because my whole life I have been shut up inside for our long, cold winters. Let me tell you, I was not prepared. During the winter months you are able to add layers of clothing and get outside to play in the snow. In the desert, there is no option for being outside in such deadly hot conditions. Imagine having nine (myself, the kids, my in-laws and our housekeeper)people in your home for months with little outside time. I am so glad that my ONE full summer in Kuwait is over. I survived and so did the kids!!! It was truly an exercise in patience and endurance. I never want to do that again!!!!!

I have included some of my favorite photos from our Kuwaiti summer. We visited the Sea of Galilee, felt the grass on our toesin Israel, enjoyed the Mediterranean in Cyprus, learned at the Kuwait Scientific Center, enjoyed our new used clothes from the Friday market in Kuwait, and went to the Heritage Souk downtown often to see all the Kuwaiti men socializing. I will try to post more frequently and give you glimpses into our everyday life. I can now say I lived through a Kuwaiti summer! As the weather "cools" in Kuwait, we look forward to many adventures to come. Blessings to you~

This is our friend, Abdullahim. He is our local street cleaner that I have been sharing lunch with for many months now. He is from Bangladesh. He misses his wife and daughter back in Bangladesh. The other day I was going through some old magazines to give away and I stumbled upon this Christianity Today on the bottom of the pile. I looked at it and had chills. This image of Jesus looked just like my friend Abdullahim to me. I stared at for a long time thinking about what God was showing me in this. you may not see any resemblance, but I think it wasn't necessarily about that. I believe it was God showing me who I was sharing cold water with and God revealing to me to not lose hope. Today I said to the children "Say Masalaama (goodbye) to Abdullahim." He spoke in Hindi to our housekeeper, Francisca, "Ma'am remembers my name!" I did not get the translation until he had smiled broadly. I assured him that I indeed remembered his name, in fact I may never forget him and pray for him and his family for the rest of my days. Please pray for Abdullahim and his family. Pray that I will be able to show Christ's love to him. God is working even in Kuwait, may he alone be glorified!!!

MATTHEW 10:40-42

40 He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. 41 Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. 42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.

We have the opportunity to visit a U.S. Army base in Kuwait. What an amazing blessing that is! We have had the best experiences while there. Our U.S. service men and women seem to always have a nice word and a smile for our family. I have had random service men at the PX helping me with grocery shopping and chatting with the children. It is clean at the base, orderly and they have a Taco Bell : )

We get to spend U.S. dollars at the base. I am shocked at how quickly I have transitioned over to KD (Kuwaiti Dinar) being the currency I speak of, I have to pause and think what am I spending? I have looked at it and thought and "how many dollars does that equal?" Lucky for me, last time I checked one U.S. dollar was still equal one U.S. dollar : ) That makes the conversion very easy for me while on the base.

But this post is a post to say how proud and grateful I am for our U.S. service men and women! Thank you for serving our country and keeping us safe. Thank you for coming to the hottest place on earth and sacrificing yourself for our freedoms. You truly amaze me! I see you walking in your full fatigues in the 110 degree heat (and it gets MUCH hotter, I just have yet to experience it) smiling and waving at my children. I am thankful when you tell me to "take your time, Ma'am", when I am struggling to get screaming children into my car that is parked next to yours and you need to get into your car. Thank you for showing me respect and such patience. It is rarely seen when I am off the base in Kuwait. This is most likely because I am women living in a society where women are commonly overlooked.

I am honored that you who have given your life so I can vote, drive an automobile, own property, worship who I want and truly be free as a bird. Can you tell I am proud of our military? I wish I had the names and addresses of some of the men and women we have seen in our time at the base. I would love to write their mothers, fathers or that special person in their life who raised them. I would tell them they should always be proud of their sacrifice and respect for other people. I would tell them that the life they have chosen is hard, often times thankless and undervalued. I would tell them that I pray for them after I interact with them. I would tell them that they are my heroes! But, alas I am forced out of my dream letter writing to care for my own children wanting this or that. I leave the base thinking what a blessing it was to be among Americans and to have witnessed such respect and honor. Thank you again for welcoming us on your base and for the kindness you have shown us. Keep up the hard, good work and may God bless you and your families for your self sacrifice always. I am so proud to be a fellow American~

Today we went to one of my favorite stores in all of Kuwait. It is under a large grocery store and has many things for very inexpensive. We call it the 100 fils store. KD (Kuwaiti Dinars) are broken down this way. KD 1/500 would be a price tag you would see on an item at a store. That item would cost 1 KD and 500 fils. 1 KD equals 1000 fils. 1 KD also equals about $ 3.65. Is that as clear as mud?

Back to the 100 fils store. This has been my best find in Kuwait as of now. We can go and get many cheap toys for 100, 250 or 500 fils. I used to enjoy taking my kids to the good dollar stores in the U.S. I miss dollar stores in Kuwait. So many things in Kuwait are extremely expensive. This is a great place to get birthday decorations, balloons and cheap Chinese toys.

I have started to become more aware of purchasing things here that we would NEVER find in the U.S. One example being a "Barbie" doll called Fulla. I found her in a store locally all decked out in her Abaya. I knew I needed a photo of that! On my shopping trip today I found two items that stand out as items not regularly available on U.S. shelves. First, is the man riding a camel and playing his guitar. I had to buy a few of these to send to friends back home. The camel is battery powered, it walks and the man strums his guitar and sings. The camels eyes also glow red. I don't know why a camel would have glowing red eyes. maybe his eyes are red because, he can't sleep while the man is singing? Maybe he is a robotic camel like "Kit" from "Knight Rider"
only the Arabic version of the show "Knight Racer".

My other favorite find for the day is a "Fulla" coloring book. The book contains many images of Fulla posing with her Abaya or Hijab. Now I know there are many different ways for women to cover themselves in Islam and frankly at times it does get confusing. Here in Kuwait, many women wear the full black Abayas. So what color are little girls supposed to color, Fulla? It makes for an interesting thought. Have a good weekend! I am off to Oman and Qatar next week. I have heard Oman is amazingly beautiful. I will try to get you many photos in Oman and share them as soon as I can~