We are here.

We are finally here. We got here early afternoon today, Tuesday, July 31,2007. We were supposed to be here yesterday, but due to a thunderstorm in Miami, our flight was canceled and we had to rearrange our flight plans. I felt like we were on "Amazing Race" as we tried to finagle our way onto a flight out of Miami the first night. We somehow secured a spot on an 11:00pm flight. We ended up spending two nights on airplanes instead of one. The kids were troopers and didn't complain. Fortunately, ExxonMobil flew us first/business class and we were able to take advantage of the cushy lounge areas in the airports complete with snacks and showers. We flew Houston to Miami, Miami to London, London to Dubai, Dubai to Doha.

After arriving at our home (villa) and looking around a bit. Bill and I decided to take a nap. When I woke up all 5 of us were asleep in our bed.

We went to the mall this evening to get the kids a few clothing items, our luggage did not make it to Qatar, yet. It is a really nice, new mall called Villagio. It is designed to look like an open air mall (only indoors) with a river running through it and a full size ice skating rink. We had our first Qatari meal at....

McDonalds!! Bill and I ordered a #1 Big Mac meal and were surprised to find it was a chicken Big Mac. Interesting.

Only two more sleeps!

We are on the move. We are in The Woodlands enjoying seeing some friends and doing some fun things together as a family before we go (and doing the endless errands necessary for a crazy move like this). This morning I got to see two very special friends that were actually in our wedding 13 years ago. It had been way too long. But even though we hadn't seen each other we picked up right where we left off and it didn't take me long to remember why I liked them so much. Later, we met up with our friends the Carvers, who are moving back to the area almost exactly the same time we are moving away. We enjoyed being with them and Bill got to take all the kids, ours and theirs to see the movie, Transformers. Did you know in the movie the evil transformers attack the US air force base in Qatar?

Later, two more sweet friends and their girls joined A. and I for the Aly and AJ concert at the Woodlands Pavilion. We had a fun time watching the girls dance and be silly.

Everything has been smooth sailing so far and for that I give God the glory. We did have to buy 3 more suitcases today. Why did I keep all that stuff behind?

W. (my six year old little boy) asked how long until we fly to Qatar. I told him "two more sleeps" and he said "whooo hoooo".

A good sign.

Our Harvest

Here are the promised pictures. Pretty impressive, huh? We counted 30 tomatoes growing today. Unfortunately, we may never get to try them. We leave for Qatar in 9 days and counting. Tomorrow, the kids and I head out to Houston to pick up Bill from the airport. We can hardly wait to see him. We are going to spend a few days in town, tying up loose ends and a few days visiting friends and family. We also are going to see Toby Mac in concert and Abbey and I are going to see Disney stars Aly and AJ. We are going to pack in a lot in a few days. I am still trying to finish Bill's surprise. It won't be long until the world will know what I am making for him.

Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding Recipe: Recipes: Food Network

Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding Recipe: Recipes: Food Network

This is the recipe and it is a 5 star banana pudding recipe or "Nana Pudding" as Abbey called it. My sister in law is "Nana" to her precious one and only princess granddaughter.

Cucumbers and Banana Pudding

I haven't told you about our garden, yet. The kids really wanted to grow a garden this summer, so we went to WalMart and Lowes and ended up with 4 species of tomatoes, 2 bell peppers, 2 okras, and one cucumber plant. The plants have been doing amazingly well and have yielded 3 bell peppers so far. Imagine our surprise when we returned to find 2 fine cucumbers had magically grown in the five days we were away. Our one little cucumber plant is huge and has many blooms on it. I will post a picture tomorrow so you can see our garden.

We had a wonderful time visiting my brother and his crew. I definitely want to share a banana pudding recipe my sister-in-law made while we were there. It is one of Paula Deens recipe and it is delish. The link to the recipe should appear above. It is worth trying out during these hot summer months. Sometimes, I feel like we will never get good southern food like this when we move to Qatar. Hope I am wrong about that.

One more thing, my sister and her family are in Ecuador on a mission trip. You can check out what they are doing on www.servingecuador.blogspot.com It is pretty amazing to see what a big God we have and what he is doing all over the world.

Bittersweet

A couple of days ago the kids and I drove around to the local area businesses and put up "Free Puppies" signs on the bulletin boards and yesterday a very kind woman called and came to look at them. The puppies liked her and she liked them. It was a bittersweet goodbye. My kids really liked those puppies, but my mom couldn't take care of them. Next project

Painting Mom's bathroom.

Finishing a surprise I am making for Bill (my husband).

Visiting my brother and sister-in-law on Monday-Thursday.

Puppy Pics

Free Puppies!!

Today was simply great We woke up this morning to the sound of puppy barking. Outside the door were two of the cutest little hound dog puppies you have ever seen. My daughter Abbey loves dogs. She and Will, our youngest had fun playing with them all day. They even made them a little sleeping box with a beach towel inside. The puppies had macaroni and cheese for dinner. Unfortunately we can't keep them, so if you or anyone you know is interested in a free puppy let me know. The brown one is Miley and the black one is Leslie. They are both females. They are so very sweet. Pictures coming soon.

Second time for everything

I actually started my very first blog a couple of months ago. I was so proud! Somehow, I lost my blog after the first entry. I was discouraged, to say the least. So, after months of procrastinating, I am at it again. Doesn't sound hopeful, does it??

Our family of 5 is getting ready for a BIG move. My husband of 13 years has been "transferred" to a new job in Doha, Qatar. Qatar is located on the east side of Saudi Arabia. It is the little peninsula sticking off into the Persian Gulf. It is a very safe and (from what I've heard and read) a wonderful (but, hot) place to live. He has been living there since the end of March. My children and I stayed behind in Texas to finish the school year and visit family and friends. These last months have been trying as we dealt with selling our home, selling our cars, organizing, giving away, throwing a way, packing up and shipping all our worldly possessions. I am now at my Mom's home in my hometown, population <1000, living out of suitcases. My husband is returning in 14 days to tie up loose ends and we are all leaving for Doha on July 31. I am finally letting myself get excited about the move. I am so excited I haven't been able to sleep very well, thus I am here at 1:00am telling perfect strangers about my life.



I hope to keep my little blog updated with our new adventures living in the middle east. I know God has a plan for our lives and can hardly wait to see what this chapter will hold.