Only a chair...

In a field...

This is a typical evening... without a house...

Guido Gullo

To be perfectly honest, this is one of those couples that make you love more just being around them. Thank you Sparky and Debbie for being such an amazing example of true love. 

:)

Chris surrounded by love!!!

When it comes to Fathers, Chris makes it to the tip top!

I can't tell you all the diapers he changed, baths he gave and kisses and hugs he still gives and receives.

Thank you honey for all the shoes you tied and training wheels you took on and off, catches you made at the bottom of the slide and instructions on swimming, spelling, golfing and everything else that you have taught them.


So far only one really likes square roots though.... :)


What you really taught them was love and compassion, faith and gentleness, kindness and honestly all of which you stand for. You have been a wonderful Dad, Father and Teacher.


We love you...


Nicholas, Amanda, Alexandra, Ashlynn

via MOM's BLOG

Fabulous people in my world lately...

Sheikha Elisabeth!!!

Beautiful Elisabeth graduated from Georgetown University in Doha. She attracted alot of attention with that fabulous blond hair wearing an abia!! She had her picture taken with several cell phones as the Egyptian cooks and workers came barreling out of the restaurants... It was somewhat flattering, even to me.
There is something amazingly pure about this praying shot, something on the lines of biblical times. It gave me goose bumps when I took it.

Then I went to the horse farm... with another fabulous Elizabeth.
Words are not necessary... I named the file WOW... That's appropriate!A little bit of a Texas girl in Doha...
YEE HAW!!!I am in love with this FABULOUS FINE ART PORTRAIT of two precious sisters...
I love it when the locals participate in my photoshoots and the customer buy it!! How cute is that?

There was this handsome Aussie MVP rugby player of the year, Lochlan!!!
Should be supermodel...
Fabulous huh?
And then there was Jack... He wasn't having anything to do with me or my camera, until magically we found "Spiderman" chocolate muffins at the Belgium coffee shop... I drooled while he ate two... Then, WAAH LA ~ He loved me!! and I loved him...
YEP! Those are camels...
Graduate in Doha, and you too can have this shot!
Every moment lately is celebrations... Celebrating fabulous families, babies, graduations. Then there is the "not so celebrating stuff ", like one of our great friends for 5 years leaving Doha... It is part of our world of the expat life, no matter how much we do it, saying goodbye is never easy... May our paths cross again Wardle Family...
Best of luck in your new destination!

Hearts everyday...

I love heart shaped things.

Especially when they just jump out in front of you while you are walking down the street in Milan, on the beach, or you notice a heart shaped piece of trash when you are in a bad mood and know that is a sign to cheer up!

I used to think it was a coincidence that heart shapes just appeared in my world now and then...
But now I am positive they are sent down by angels, different ones.
Some that know me and are making a point
and some that are just there to help every human on earth
snap back to the reality of
LOVE!!!

NOTICE THEM!!!
It is all around us every day, every minute.
And the best part is they are FREE!!
ROCKS are free, and so are images of them!!!

Sometimes you have to make your own!!!

After all a heart means love.
That is really all that matters in the world is "love" right?

After my fetish with heart shaped rocks over the years, it has now turned into just anything heart shaped. Mainly natural God made things that are sending a message to us to be loved and to love!!!

Alex found this one... A Mother/Daughter love...

It has created a family tradition as well as other people and children collecting them for me. That is special. My girls, all three of them and Nicholas will always notice a heart shaped rock in the cobblestone street, or a smashed piece of gum on the sidewalk shaped like a squashed heart.

I'm really not sure what it means to them....
I just hope they think about me
and how much I love them!!!

The next time you notice a heart shaped object in your path ~ don't ignore it. Smile inside your self, enjoy it's presence in your world.
It's the Earth saying "You are loved!!"

Where has the time gone?

I have tried to get this blog in English instead for Arabic for a few months now. Today I suceeded.. This is way over due...

2011 has brought a new

understanding to me of "TIME"

I will start off by saying we lost our cousin

Meghan Patrizi on her 30th Birthday in February to cancer. It was a prayerful 9 months and I feel blessed to have been able to spend the last few days with her and her family whom I adore. After the service they let free, a box of gorgeous Butterflies and read this poem:

"A butterfly lights beside us

like a sunbeam,

and for a brief moment

it's beauty and glory

belong to our world.

But, then it flies on again.

And although we wished

it could have stayed,

We feel blessed

to have seen it."

It was a wonderful way to celebrate such an amazing young woman.

Then I have had another life change... We had to put my 83 year old Mother in a Nursing home. You have heard people talk about how hard it is to care for the elderly and it is all very true. As I sat there in that hall all by myself, looking at my Momma as she stares into space, I realized she was no longer the lady that raised me. The one that taught me how to use a camera and take pictures... The woman who was adamant about never saying the word "hate", now uses it often. She only answers questions now, her soul was empty. A lady who in any given moment could have told you the batting average of every single Astros player until last year. Now she doesn't even care who the Astros are. I miss my Momma already ~ even before she is physically gone and that's terribly hard.

I value myself as usually being a really upbeat positve person, but there comes times in your circle of life where there is a time for love, a time for life and a time to cry and a time for death.

I really dislike those last two.

I sat at the pool yesterday with a Flat Stanley I had dressed like an Arab for a first grader in California. Now he is Ali bin Ali Abduellah Stanley... We watched a 3 year old boy jump into the cold water and squeel a shrill little squeel and jump up and down a few times waving his arms in the air, then he said "Momma, Momma, watch me!! watch me!!!" I thought of all those times I watched Nicholas jump in the pool and put his face in the water and I would clap and be so proud. And today I sat there alone with a paperdoll dressed in a thobe.

Where has the time gone?

30 something years ago David Patrizi was a fabulous Rugby player, he was honored this past month and inducted into the Rugby Hall of Fame at his college. Nicholas and Amanda were able to attend with David's parents and we were all proud of him too.

Where has time gone?

To some of the new angels and stars in heaven it has gone way too soon, to my Momma it has been a long road, to that little boy in the water he has a lot of jumps to make and that new Momma has so many praises to say... I am still very proud of Nicholas but he doesn't ask me to watch anymore. I miss that.

Where has time gone?

I met a cute gal at lunch this week and although I am not a fan of tatoos, I LOVED hers. On the inside of her arm it read "live now".

I am trying my best to do that.

But sometimes we all need to be reminded.

I am not going to get a tat,

but do remind me now and then when things get in the way and we forget.

"LIVE NOW!!!"