Prayer Request

As most of you know, Lil N was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis last fall. She had steroid injections before we made the trip to Qatar and has been doing wonderful ever since. We continue to pray that God will take the arthritis from her body and that once the steroid injections wear off, she will be fully healed.

Unfortunately, Lil H has begun having some problems. I noticed about a week and a half ago that she was not walking so smoothly in the morning. However, a blister on her foot from a new shoe allowed me to hopefully believe that was what was bothering her. She showed no signs of being uncomfortable or in pain, just walking a little abruptly. On Sunday, I finally decided to make an appointment with the doctor after examining her ankle. It was very swollen and puffy. We left for the doctor Monday morning and the day included seeing 2 different doctors, X-rays, and blood samples 3 times! The Pediatrician initially thought bacterial infection or septic arthritis; however, all her blood work came back normal. Somewhat baffled, the Pediatrician called Lil N's Rheumatologist here and requested that he aspirate Lil H's ankle so that we could learn more from the liquid that had built up around it. We met with the Rheumatologist last night and he did not think aspiration was necessary and thinks it looks more like tenosynovitis. Tenosynovitis is the inflammation of the fluid-filled sheath that surrounds a tendon. It is sometimes caused by rheumatism or arthritis and may be caused by infection. We are obviously hoping that this was caused by an infection, and not anything dealing with rheumatism or arthritis. One important blood test that we do not have back yet is the ANA test. With Lil N, this test was positive. We need Lil H's to come back negative, or it is almost a sure sign that she will have problems with arthritis too. We should have the results of that test in a week or so. For now, Lil H has been prescribed some anti-inflammatory medicine. The doctor says that if this is tenosynovitis, then it should go away in 2-6 weeks. Please pray for both Lil H and Lil N that God will give them comfort and restore their health.

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11:24

Ten on Tuesday

Because of the lack of pork in Doha, and the fact that the beef is just a little different ( I think they get it from Australia), you eat chicken -- a LOT of chicken. Here are the ten ways that we've had chicken since we've been here:

1. Chicken Meat Loaf
2. Chicken Shawarma
3. Fried Chicken / Chicken Strips
4. Chicken Spaghetti
5. Chicken Tortilla Soup
6. BBQ Chicken
7. Chicken Almondine
8. Baked Chicken
9. Grilled Chicken
10. Chicken Tacos

Now that's a lot of chicken!

Wordless Wednesday

Ten on Tuesday

Top Ten Things I miss about home:

1. Family
2. Friends
3. Church
4. Our dogs
5. Oak Trees and St. Augustine Grass
6. Steak from Texas Roadhouse and Chicken Fried Steak from the Longhorn
7. Target, Walmart, and Krogers
8. Red Lights and Stop Signs
9. Our Doctors
10. That the majority of people speak the English language

Thankful Thursday

Today we went on an adventure. Steven was off work so we went with some friends to the west coast of Qatar to visit an old Arab movie set and have a picnic at the beach. It was quite the experience!

I am thankful that our friends included us in this great adventure.
I am thankful that our friends had a GPS that made things much easier.
I am thankful for the DVD player that keeps our girls happy when we travel.
I am thankful that my husband knows how to change a flat tire.
I am thankful that we found the movie set even though it was hidden in the middle of the desert.
I am thankful that our girls got to see a beautiful beach for the first time.
I am thankful that I packed enough food for a week's stay. (because the sun makes me really hungry)
I am thankful that we only saw the "Restricted, Military Area" sign when we were safely leaving the premises and not when we first arrived.
I am thankful for the precious moments our girls give us -- they were holding hands on the way home.
I am thankful that God listened to our prayers and got us there and back home safely.
I am thankful that we should all get a really good night's sleep tonight.

Wordless Wednesday

Lil H and Lil N

Ten on Tuesday

Looking over my past posts, it seems that I've been a bit negative about Doha. So today, I will focus on the great things about this place. Since I stay at home with the girls and just make the occasional trip to the store, these 10 things are limited to those activities. Hopefully once I venture out a little more, I will be able to share some more significant discoveries. So here goes...

Ten things I LOVE about living in Doha:

1. The extra living space
2. Having a maid
3. That the following items are very reasonably priced: fresh fruits and veggies, organic milk, fresh baked bread and croissants (10 huge, freshly baked buttered croissants for $2.75)
4. The new friends we've made
5. No sales tax
6. The clubhouse swimming pool and playground
7. Our new Tahoe and 75 cents per gallon gasoline
8. The automatic exercise I get from going up and down the stairs all day (Unfortunately I'm not losing any weight because of #3 above)
9. That I can get my car washed at the grocery store parking lot while I shop--very convenient
10. That someone else is in charge of the maintenance on this place (no more nagging Mr. D to fix things!)

Well, that was easy. There are actually many more things that I love about living here, but I will save them for another day....