QATAR Total Open 2008: Feb. 18 thru 24 - AND THE WINNER IS.....

TENNIS ANYONE? Well, not against these ladies! Doha brought in some big names for this year's tennis open. One of the bigger names amongst the group was Venus Williams. We were lucky enough to get in to see some matches (for FREE!), get a t-shirt, and have the chance to take these awesome action shots! Let's just say Maria S. was not playing around! She made it look so easy...as if she were simply dancing around..... (see sequence of pics).

....AND THE WINNER IS: Maria Sharapova of Russia! She took home a new Harley-Davidson motobike and grand total of $414,000. Awesome!

Fruit and Vegetable Market

Once the storms had cleared, it was time to get out and get some fresh air...and fresh fruits and veggies! We had never been there before, but when we remembered the pics we had seen before, Roland and I said "why not?"

Well, it was a real treat. Not only did we come home with some great items at a very economical price (when compared to what we normally pay for them at the local supermarket), but Nick enjoyed a very leisure ride on the trolley driven by our nice little helper. Can you say mango?!?!?!? YUM...

Another Sandstorm!!!

It was last Wednesday afternoon when the kids and I felt the wind picking up. We were on our way home from ice-skating lessons, and were having a pretty difficult time just making it from the mall to our truck. This time, the sand storm lasted a full three days.....which was way too long for us, with the weekend quickly approaching. Yes, you are seeing correctly, that is about three inches of sand piled up against the curbs, blowing over the roads making it hard to see the already almost invisible lane lines, and clouding the skies just enough to hurt your eyes if you were foolish enough to stay outdoors for too long! ;)

St. Valentine's "Fiesta" at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel (SSLG)

On Friday, Febraury 15th, Roland and I spent the evening celebrating our very own Valentine's Day by attending a Latin Fiesta at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel sponsored by the Spanish Speaking Ladies Group. After weeks of planning our formal attire, we were very eager to arrive at the function, but we could not do so before taking pictures at home with the children, of course. They were so happy to be a part of this...and were, also, very well behaved for our friend, Gina, who was sweet enough to come over and "play" with them while we were gone. THANKS A MIL, GINA!!!! Afterwards, and once we had made it through the rough 30plus minute commute to the hotel (thanks to a vicous sand storm that night), the evening's events quickly got under way with the best Latin Music - Live Latin Band & DJ, Latin dance performances and dance contest, and excellent door prizes. Unfortunately, between being on the dance floor and engaging in interesting conversation with other guests, we did not remember to take pictures. Yes, the quantity of pictures in this post leaves something to be desired, I know. Even we were dissapointed that we did not take more.

We do include, however, pictures of two very delightful couples we had the pleasure of sitting with. The first couple is a Colombian wife and American military husband who have been living here for the past 6 years with their 2 young daughters. The other couple is engaged to be married. The lady is also Colombiana, but the gentleman is a Qatari - born and raised. He is a motor bike racer in the Losail circuit that is hosted yearly here in Doha. The final picture attached is of Lucy with the President of the SSLG, Rocio Fielder.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Happiest of Valentine's Day to all our family and dear friends back home. We are happy to share these pictures of Nicholas' attempt at expressing himself in the 4th language he has been exposed to - SIGN language. Notice in the picture above how hard he is concentrating on the proper positioning of his little fingers; and then, look at how happy he is when he finally masters it (picture to the left). "You go, boy!"

We love you and miss you all!!

Olympic Day at the American School of Doha - Feb. 9th

Another fun activity planned by Gabrielle's school this year was "Olympic Day." This event consisted of students coming together for a day of excercise and fun by taking part in a series of games from different parts of the world. Nicholas was more than happy to join his big sister in pretty much every relay. Watch how they so easily scale those big humps. Way to go kids!!! One of the games that was very popular last year,but did not make it on this year's agenda was three-man jump roping. The main difference was that as the middle person jumped, they had to hold a full glass of cold water over their heads. Wonder why they didn't include it in this year's games!?!?

Thank you ASD for a super, fun-filled and exhausting day!

Ash Wednesday at Our Lady of the Rosary

On March 15th, Doha, Qatar will be truly blessed. It has been announced that two Bishops will be visiting this small Middle Eastern country for the opening of the new Catholic Church. The present facility has simply become too small for the growing number of faithfuls that continue to come to this area. The current population of Catholics consists mainly of people from India and the Philippines, with Americans being the minority. The local paper recently published that an invitation to this opening has been extended to the Pope himself, but that it had not yet been accepted. How amazing would that be??!!! If the Pope WERE to bless us with his presence here in Doha, it would be an extreme privilege to be amongst that crowd. But, regardless of what may happen, our family is planning to be there that day, to give thanks again for the many blessings we have received and continue to receive daily. As you can see from the pictures, we attended the Ash Wednesday services this year, as we did last year. Both children are a bit older now and can better understand, to a certain extent, the meaning of the ashes. Gabrielle is even happily observing her sacrifice for this Lenten Season. ;)

"Thank you!" Tia MiMi

As you may or may not know, part of the deal with moving out here was knowing that it WOULD be hard for us to find certain favorite food items on ANY of the local supermarket's shelves. There have been many times that we have had to subsititute a different brand for our preferred name brand. Well, with 2 small and VERY picky children, this has been somewhat of a hard to accept. But, "where there's a will, there's a way!" I always say. So, we would like to take this oppportunity to send a very big "THANK YOU" to Aunt MiMi (Roland's sister) in Dayton, Texas. Let us tell you why.

A few months ago, Roland learned that one of his co-workers, Big Dave as he is most affectionately known, would be coming to Qatar to work this year. After speaking with Dave about the food "situation", we were given the super generous opportunity to put some of our personal items into his sea shipment - which was destined for Doha! The only problem was that WE were already here!!!! Well, that's where Aunt Mimi comes into play. She selflessly went shopping for us, packed up our hundreds of US$ items nicely, and met with Dave to arrange the pickup to have our buckets included in his sea shipment. How awesome!!

To be completely honest, by the time we finally did receive our buckets full of goodies, so much time had passed that we had sort of forgotten what might be included. So, it was truly like Christmas all over again...and then some! The buckets included many of the products that have become so hard to find out here in lovely Doha. Take a look at the pictures. Don't the kids' smiles say it all? Oh, and even Roland had a toy of his own included in the mix. (See below for some real La-Z-Boys! JJ)

Thank you so much Dave and Becky, and you too, Aunt Mimi......our home is a little happier today, and will be for many, many months to come!

Ice Skating Lessons for the kids - Villagio Mall

Nicholas and Gabrielle have both been enrolled by their Dad in ice-skating lessons at our local mall. You must know that neither of them have ever been off firm ground before, much less been on ice with skates; so, needless to say, Momma (who is the one with the difficult task of taking them to class) was quite nervous! Surprisingly, they have both done very well. Nick is no longer grabbing on for dear life to his coach's hand any more; and Gabrielle has even gone off on her own for most of her lessons. They both have truly been having so much fun! Even Mom has to admit, she loves to see them having fun on that ice and trying hard. And even when they fall down, which is more often than not, they have learned to just get right back up....we're so proud! The only complaint they have had is that their poor little legs hurt....I wonder why! Pictured with Nick are two of his fans: Hannah Jackson (Todd's wife) and Becky Holmes (Big Dave's wife).

Our Visit to Krispy Kreme!

While we didn't brave the crowd on the evening of Krispy Kreme's grand opening, we DID wake up early the very next morning to get our fair share (2 dozen, to be exact)! Here are some pics from our first visit to "our new favorite place".....notice the sign in Arabic!!

Spanish Speaking Ladies Group of Doha, Qatar

Lucy has become one of the newest members of the "Amigas de Habla Hispana" (SSLG). It seems only fitting that here in Doha, each of our family members find the one social thing they love to do most and participate in it to the fullest. Lucy seems to have been able to do that by joining this group that she already totally loves. The SS Ladies Group is comprised of women from all Latino countries: Argentina, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Peru, Spain, Venezuela, and of course, Mexico, to name a few. Their purpose in Doha is to be a social and educational group, providing much needed support and resources to Latinas, giving them the ability to be a strength within their own families, as well as to be able to give back to the comminuty in which we are all now living. Understanding the culture in Doha is their main objective; which is how they believe we will all be able to survive it better.

Having said all that, one of the first cultural events Lucy has taken advantage of with the group was the tour of the local TV station known as AL-JAZEERA (which means 'The Island"). The station was an only Arabic speaking station until about 2 or more years ago when they saw a great need for an English Speaking station. All of their English language episodes are available for viewing on the infamous YouTube internet site. In Lucy's own words, "It was a most enlightening experience; one that I was very proud to have been a part of."

The group's member that organized this function is named Nina Perez. She was born and raised in Mexico City, moved to the states as an adult to get a higher education, and met and married her husband, a Qatari. They both are now back and living in Qatar and have a one year old daughter. Her husband was the tour guide for the TV station, as he has been working for them for several years now. They are truly a very intriguing couple, one we are hoping to become very good friends with.

The group was able to tour inside one of the rooms they currently use for filming, were present during a live taping at the studio, heard about it's history and viewed articles in the station's museum, and saw the longest TV screen in the world, located in none other than the English AL-JAZEERA station in Doha, Qatar! Isn't their logo elegant?