Soccer Season

The boys are really enjoying their soccer league this season.  Nicholas played especially well last weekend and I even managed to capture a few good shots (although from a distance ... we need a better camera!)

Nicholas gets the ball out from the pack

Nicholas runs the ball down the field

Big kick and GOAL!!!

Since Nicholas' team had a few extra kids and were controlling most of the field, the coach tried to get Nicholas and his friend Jaydon to join the other team to help them out.  Neither of them wanted to switch teams, so Jaden (our Jaden) jumped in to play with the other team.  As a 1st grader on a team full of pre-school kids, Jaden quite literally ran circles around the kids.  I told him he could play but he couldn't score.  He could defend and carry the ball up the field but he had to pass if off to his team when ever possible.  He tried really hard to pass it off, but often there was no one for him to pass it too.  At first, some of the kids on Nicholas' team seemed a intimidated to play against Jaden, but not Nicholas - he used to playing against Jaden.  It was great to see them play against each other ...



Jaden joins the opposing team and runs the ball up the field ... that's Nicholas sprint to get in front of him and defend his goal





Nicholas is not afraid to get in there and get the ball away from Jaden

Brother vs. Brother

Game's over ... snack time!

Missed Opportunity

Funny story to share about a major missed opportunity at church this morning!  I just gained access to the gated lot at the church and we were parking in it for the first time.  As we were pulling in we noticed several police cars parked in the street and found it unusual.  Then we noticed several local men in their thobes and a lot of security in the parking lot.  We were most surprised to see all the Muslim men wandering around the Christian church compound, but I saw my friend heading inside and wanted to catch up with her.  We were early for church so Ken and the boys stayed in the car while I headed inside to help set up for children's church.

Once inside our helpers were all in a buzz and asked me if I saw him?  Saw who??  Prince Charles!!!  What??!!!!  Yes apparently I WALKED RIGHT PAST PRINCE CHARLES this morning!!!!  No idea why he was in Doha, but he attended the Anglican service that met right before our church service and then stuck around to shake hands with people and have pictures taken.  The one lady pulled out her cell phone and showed me the picture she snapped of Prince Charles.  I couldn't believe it!!

Since Ken was still in the car with the boys, I called and told him to keep his eyes open for Prince Charles and maybe they would see him before he left.  It took Ken a moment to realize which one was Prince Charles since he was looking for Prince William or Prince Harry, not their father!  Clearly Ken isn't into British royalty!!  But he thoughtfully grabbed his cell phone and switched it to video to take a video of Prince Charles standing in front of our church.  Wish I could share said video, but sadly Ken forgot to hit the start button.  So he videoed NOTHING!!! 

Don't you just love our clueless family??!!! 

At least I can always say I was this close to Prince Charles.  I literally walked right past him!!!

As we were leaving, I stopped to stand in the very spot Prince Charles was in when I walked past him!

ASD Sports Day and Favorite Book Character Day

Last week was another busy week at ASD. 

On Tuesday, the boys celebrated ASD Sports Day with an full morning of fun games outside.  I surprised them and stopped by to check it out and I was so glad I did!  What an amazing and fun day!  The entire school (preK through high school) is outside or in the gym playing various games.  The music is blasting and every few minutes the loudspeaker counts down and every one rotates to a new station.  It's really well organized and so much fun!  Plus there are 1-2 volunteers from the US Military Base that help at each station.  I think they enjoy spending the day outside with the kids as much as the kids enjoy it!!  I didn't get to stay for very long but I was able to snap a few pictures ...

I walked onto campus and saw Nicholas right away.  He was playing tug o war with his class.  FUN!

Jaden was harder to find, but I finally found his class ... egg relays

Keeping track of both classes as they rotated around all the different stations was a tough job, but I managed to find Nicholas again at the 3 legged race!

This was a fun hula hoop game with music.  Everyone dances to the music and when it stops, you have to find a hula hoop to stand in.  Just like musical chairs they kept taking one away until the entire class was trying to all stand in one hula hoop!  So funny!!!

 

Nicholas' turn at the egg relay

 

The boys had a blast at ASD Sports Day and they came home and spent the entire afternoon playing soccer and street hockey outside.  It was a long day outside ... thank goodness this is the nice time of year!  :-)

It was also Reading Week at ASD and they had several special activities to encourage reading.  On Thursday, they got to dress up as their favorite book character.  I thought we did a brilliant(ly easy) job with Nicholas ... he loves the "Fly Guy" book series.  They are about a boy named Buzz who has a fly for a pet.  Nicholas just happens to have a tiny fly stuffed animal, so we found a little jar and drew a little bed to put inside (just like the books) and he wore a yellow shirt, blue shorts, and a ball cap (just like the main character always wears in the books).  It was super cute! 

Jaden couldn't decide who to go as (he doesn't ever have favorites ... he always likes everything).  So in the end he wanted to wear his karate gi.  So we decided to make him Sensei Wu from the Ninjago books and we made a hat and a beard to go with it.  He was happy.

Favorite book characters ... Sensei Wu from Ninjago and Buzz from Fly Guy

Crazy hair day

The boys had crazy hair day at school on Thursday and since I volunteer in their classes on Thursdays, I surprised them by making my hair crazy too!  A fun day!! 

Crazy Santa hats on crazy hair day.  (Nicholas insisted his hat be on a diagonal because "that's the way Santa wears it".)

Off came the hats for the big reveal ... crazy hair!!!

Yes, I went to school like this.  Nicholas and I even went out to lunch afterwards. 

This coming week, the boys have Sports Day (outside games all day at school), screen free day (entire family encouraged to give up all screens - TV, computer, video games, ipads, etc for the entire day) and Favorite Book Character Day (dress up like your favorite book character).  It's going to be a busy week!!! 

Another Adventure Begins!

Before we even get settled into our new routine with me working, we have added to the family!  Welcome Maps! 



This adorable little kitten was found in one of the backyards on our compound and some friends of ours have been caring for her while looking for a permanent home.  They approached Ken at church last Friday to see if we were interested in adopting her.  We met her the following day and brought her home the day after that.  She really is the cutest and sweetest little thing!  All black with just a bit of white on her chest and belly.  She can be crazy playful which the boys love, although we need to trim her claws!  We've had a blast playing with her and getting to know her this week!  Jaden and Nicholas are trying to teach her how to sit on command.  Love it! 

I'm not really certain why our friends gave her the name Maps, but the boys don't seem interested in changing her name, so Maps it is!  It works for our map loving family!  :-)

A new adventure begins!

After 7 wonderful years of staying home with my boys, I have decided to accept a job outside the home!!  I am really excited to see where God leads me in this new adventure and I feel confident that this is His plan for my life.

I always thought I would return to work at ExxonMobil after the boys were both in school full time.  Nicholas is in pre-K this year (half days) and will be full day kindergarten next year.  It's been on my heart for quite some time wondering if I'm really ready to return to work.  There were times I thought yes and times I thought no. 

Then maybe 3 or 4 weeks ago, I woke up one morning with a clear message from my dreams, "It's time to return to work."  I am not one who ever remembers my dreams and so it really stuck out.  I even told Ken and we kind of laughed and said, maybe it's my turn to work and Ken's turn to stay home.  Of course Ken asked if I really thought I was up for returning to all the demands and stress that come along with ExxonMobil.  I just assumed this message meant to find a job at ExxonMobil ... I thought that was the only skillset I had to offer.

The very next week, Vicky Stacy (Children's Ministry Leader at our church here in Doha) approached me and asked me if I would be willing to taking over the position as Friday School Coordinator.  The current (and might I add, amazing) Friday School Coordinator is rather un-expectantly moving back to the UK.  This is a common occurrence in Doha where people are always moving in and moving away.  Originally I thought Vicky was crazy, but the memory of that dream kept tugging on my heart.  So I talked to the Friday School Coordinator and learned all about the position ... roughly 20 hours per week, responsible for all of the children's programs on Friday mornings including curriculum, teachers, materials, staff, etc, etc, etc.

I prayed a lot.  I talked to the boys.  I talked to Ken.  I knew I needed to seek counsel from the scriptures, but didn't know where to turn.  God answered that for me.  I read the Bible with the boys every morning and don't you know that morning we read a section from Proverbs about not being lazy!  I'm not saying that staying home with the kids is a lazy life, it is anything but lazy!  But it seemed to reveal a message to me that I should not be afraid to take this on, to not be afraid of serving the Lord in this capacity. So I updated my (ancient) resume and applied for the job. 

The interview was far more formal than I expected, but apparently it went well.  Instead of offering me the Friday School Coordinator position that I applied for, they offered me the Children's Ministry Leader!!!  This is the Friday School Coordinator's boss.  I was shocked!!!  The current (and also amazing) Children's Ministry Leader is 8 months pregnant and when she returns from her leave of absence, she was planning to start looking for a replacement as her husband's assignment in Doha comes to an end this June.

So after learning more about the job and talking to Ken and the boys and spending more time in prayer and the scriptures, I have accepted the position of Children's Ministry Leader.  I'm really excited about the opportunity, but also a little bit scared.  It's been a long time since I've had such a large responsibility outside the home.  Plus I don't have a teaching background so children's ministry is NOT where I expected God to lead me.  Officially I begin in Feb and the hours vary from 20-30 hours a week.  I will be responsible for overseeing children's programming for Friday School (although most of the week to week work is handled by the coordinator), regular mid week activities (ladies Bible study meets weekly and a mom's group meets monthly), and any other ad hoc children's program requirements and concerns.  I'm certain that it will be both a challenge and a joy to be part of this growing ministry at our church.

I appreciate your prayers for our family, our church, and all the children at Grace Fellowship during this time of transition! 

Jaden turned 7 ... what?!!!

I really struggled with Jaden's birthday this year.  I don't know why 7 was so rough, but I'm still in shock that I have a 5 and 7 year old!!!  How did that happen?  Time goes so fast!!!  I tried to make Jaden and Nicholas promise me that they would stop growing up, but they just laughed at me.  Seven seems so "big" to me.  He's not an infant or toddler ... not a pre-schooler or even a kindergartener ... he's just a "big kid."  I'm a mom to a "big kid."  Wow!! 

But what a blessing he is!!  I can't say enough wonderful things about my children ... I adore everything about them!!  Even the parts that are hard to love, I love!  Jaden has the biggest heart ... so gentle and loving and sweet natured.  He is an amazing big brother always looking out for Nicholas and helping him.  He loves to try new things and he has the most amazing little dimples when he smiles! 

Ken's parents were here for Jaden's actual birthday and they brought tons of presents!!!  It was a combination of Christmas and birthday presents for both boys, but we waited and opened them all on Jaden's birthday.  It was a great treat for them both!!

New baseball bats for the boys to practice their swing ... look out mom!!!

Nerf guns to battle each other ... I remember when they were little and I was so "anti weapon."  Clearly that didn't last ... we have entirely too many swords, knives, and guns!!  But the boys always want more!!  I have to admit, even I enjoyed playing with these Nerf guns.  Next time we might have to get 4 so we can have a family battle!  :-)

 

We planned to have Jaden's birthday party at this giant park by our house, but it was gray and overcast and starting to drizzle so we made a last minute change and had everyone come over to our compound.  We used a large empty room that opened up to a small covered playground.  We had about 20 kids and they all seemed to have a lot of fun.  They went crazy with pool noodle swords (left over from Nicholas' ninja party) and Ken got pretty anxious ... afraid someone would get hurt.  But they all settled down after some pizza and cake and they enjoyed a game of soccer.  It was too bad we didn't have more space, but we had a great time!

 

Enjoying pizza and cupcakes with friends

Happy birthday dear Jaden! (we sang in English and then Nicholas led us in Arabic too!)

This was by far the most casual and relaxed party I've thrown.  Since it was supposed to be at the playground, I didn't prepare any kind of party game or entertainment.  And since it was supposed to be at the park, we didn't want flies all over the cake, so I didn't make an elaborate cake for the party either ... just cupcakes!  Easy peasy!!  Might have to be our new tradition!  :-)