Merry Christmas 2013

From our family to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas...

As for our French Christmas, for all of you wondering....

This is us at 6:45 a.m. (Sadie had waited patiently for about 30 minutes while Stephen and I tried to get ourselves out of the bed.) Noah, was hard to wake... VERY hard to wake. This is Sadie and I up on his bed (top bunk)... saying his name, lightly tickling, teasing. NOTHING, until I said, 

"Noah, there is chocolate downstairs..." To this, he responds and wakes up saying,

"Chocolate?!?!"

Buzz Lighyear was sitting on the chair excited to see the rest of the gang, 

Woody, Jessie, and Bullseye arrived for Christmas morning!

 Bullseye was Eli's... and he liked him!

Noah's super cute, super tired, super excited smile! 

He didn't care about the rest of the stocking when he saw Woody!

Stockings all made by NanNan and Auntie Heather!!! 

Playing...

Playing with fun toys from NanNan!!! 

Aunt Krissy is here too!!!!

Thank you for this Grandmommie!

And Noah loved his Jake!!!

New Jammies... This is what Sadie LIVES IN, pj's!

"What Santa doesn't bring me, Grandma will!!"

(wonder where he got this?!?!)

Eli playing in his Christmas bouncer!!! He loves this thing!

Aunt Krissy brought us "Christmas Crackers" from the UK... with fun toys inside! 

This is her and Noah playing the penguin race game.

Happy boy on Christmas morning!

Happy mama in her Carolina scarf!

Christmas table set with the sunlight coming through. 

Thankful for a fun Christmas dinner around the table with our French family

Elijah Stephen Rhyne is Here!!!

Well, April 27, 2013 will always have great meaning to our family... that is when Elijah decided to come! What an amazing story he has!! We thank God for His grace through the delivery and giving Elijah a safe arrival here in France! Here is a little bit of his story:

That Saturday, started out like most others... dad went to work and Noah, Sadie and I... played, cleaned, rested, did projects... etc. Pretty normal Saturday. We had plans to go to dinner with some dear friends and were making it somewhere easy for the kids... a KFC with a play place!!! 

It was about 7 pm and we were hanging out after dinner letting the kids play and headed to the cars to go to another store to do some walking around when I had a pretty strong contraction and my water broke, in the parking lot at KFC! We decided we should head home and see what would happen, knowing he would be here in the next 24 hours! 

I'm so thankful we decided to go ahead and do the 15 min drive home as contractions started coming 3-4 min. apart. As soon as we got home Stephen ran in, grabbed our hospital bag, got the kids settled in 2 seconds for our friends who were with us... and we headed off to the hospital. We walked. Yes... we did... it was only 3 blocks from our house and so to me, I'd rather Stephen be with me than dropping me off, driving back to the house, parking, and walking back! It's about a 5 min. walk and we definitely saw several people move out of the way as they could tell where we were headed... and why! 

My last pic of Elijah's pregnancy... 

and a contraction (thanks Stephen! haha)

We got to the hospital about 7:45 pm and they quickly moved me into the delivery room and got ready. They asked if I wanted an epidural and after a few more contractions I said yes, but they didn't have my paperwork for the anesthesiologist. It was Saturday night, so the labs were closed, but they worked on it. By the time they got all the paper work in order, and he came in to give me the epidural,  I was at 10 cm and I was ready for little guy to come!! The anesthesiologist gave me a "sorry" kinda smile, however I did not smile back! 

Elijah arrived at 9:03pm, two hours after the process began in the KFC parking lot!!! Quick for sure! 

God was so gracious and Stephen was an amazing support and encouragement! The whole thing was in French, so wow... that was a great language learning experience! 

My midwife is on the left and her "team" is on the right! 

All 7 pounds of him and 20 inches long!

Happy as a clam being close to mama!

Meeting big brother 

and big sister

Happy boy at home!

Baby 3, "It's A...."

It's a BOY and as you can see (thanks to the idea of my sister-in-law with the balloons), Sadie Mac was not really excited about it. She was really, really, REALLY wanting a sister! After the video was shut down, there was a total and complete M.E.L.T -- D.O.W.N!!!! But since, she has recovered and tonight she had a ball up her shirt (being "pregnant") with A GIRL!!! She may be in denial... I think it's better she knows now and can prepare herself. A friend emailed me a few days after we found out with much wisdom and said, "I think Noah and another boy are a better match for Sadie Mac than her and another girl!!" SOOO true!

Date Day with Daddy!

I'm at home with Noah on this cold, gray, winter day here in Paris and I get a text with two pics from daddy and Sadie who are out... in Paris, near Notre Dame... getting ice cream. 

Daddy and his princess, for sure. 

Yummy Chocolate (flower shaped) ice cream!

"Thing Three"

Well, an have an Egyptian Baby and an American baby... so we thought we needed a French baby. Thing One and Thing Two are excited to announce they will be big sister (again) and big brother! "Thing Three" will be arriving in May 2013! 

A Side of Moroccan Bread...

Last week I was going to make cupcakes for a friend's birthday and ran out of flour. So, I went downstairs to my neighbors to see if she had any. She was almost out too, but gave me the last 3/4 C. that she had AND that I needed. Perfect! She is so sweet and I'm so blessed to have a friend so close where we can share, visit, enjoy our lives and children together. Next day, cupcakes delivered and I was a happy girl. 

On the way home I decided to pick up 2 bags of flour (one for me and one for her, as a thank you!). She laughed when I brought it and said, it's way too much. But I said, well, for next time I run out, I'll borrow more! She was grateful and I went on home. About two hours later, it was dinner time and we were sitting down to taco salads when I heard a knock at the door. Her little girl had brought up some freshly made, still warm Moroccan Bread. It was delicious!!! So, that night we enjoyed our taco salads with a side of tasty round bread!!! 

Thank you Grandmothers!!!

Sorry for the long delay in writing!!! We've been swamped in French school, but I'll try to do a few updates sooner than later!!! We LOVE getting packages and here are some recent fun things from the grandmothers!!!....

Window markers!!! This is great and Sadie Mac is learning to write her name...

Practice makes perfect!
Been loving the Little Red Riding Hood cape from NanNan... purse included!!!
It's a bird, it's a plane... no NanNan sent Super Noah a cape!!!
Thank you NanNan and Grandmommie for the fun and love you send us!!! XOXO!!!

Christmas Parade... Lighting the City Lights!

Everybody loves a good Christmas parade! I was excited l to be able to take Sadie Mac and have a special (surprise) friend join us from out of town!! It was really neat as the parade brought in by music, bubbles, stick-men, Père Noël himself (!!) and fire breathers... (which Sadie continues to talk about all the time!). These festivities all led up to the lighting of the town lights! (In all actuality, this part took too long for us and we headed home before the lights came on! Long day + tired mom with toddler on her shoulders= short night of festivities!) We had a great time... enjoying the cold of winter here in France and all the festivities that go with it.

The man that breathes fire!!!!
"Stick-men" (on stilts!)

Père Noël so close we can touch him!!


*Special thanks to my friend who took the pics and let us use them!!!

Chick-Fil-A Night!

We are SUPER excited that we now live in a place where we can receive MAIL!!! We have taken full advantage of this from family and were so thankful to get a BIRTHDAY PACKAGE from my mom which included an essential life need: Chick-Fil-A sauce!! So, one night we decided to do a little friend chicken nuggets and dippin' in the good stuff!!! It was a great night!! (Thanks MOM!!!)

His Perfect Timing

Recently we found out that we are going to be delayed longer on our move to France and that was quite disappointing to us. We LOVE being here with family and friends and are thankful for the time with them. It is a blessing, truly. Sadie Mac and Noah are soaking up each day... as are we with the beautiful weather and all. But, when you know you are ready to move on... have planned on it... counted on it... anticipated it... our hearts are a wee bit tired of the waiting... because we are ready to move on to this next adventure.
Some dear friends of mine gave me this book recently and I'm so thankful they did. Sarah Young is the author of this devotional book, "Jesus Calling" and God has an amazing way of using it to speak to me. If you don't have it, I highly recommend it!
(Thank you Sarah Young for letting God use you to speak to me... and so many others)
This week, the Lord again used this book to speak to me on the day of June 10.


Devotional for that day:
"REST IN ME, MY CHILD. Give your mind a break from planning and trying to anticipate what will happen. PRAY CONTINUALLY, asking My Spirit to take charge of the details of this day. Remember that you are on a journey with ME. When you try to peer into the future and plan for every possibility, you ignore your constant Companion who sustains you moment by moment. As you gaze anxiously into the distance, you don't even feel the strong grip of My hand holding yours. How foolish are you, My child!
Remembrance of Me is a daily discipline. Never lose sight of My Presence with you. This will keep you resting in Me all day, every day. (1 Thessalonians 5:17, Psalm 62:5)"

Tiaras and Tea Parties

I LOVE being a mom. I can't just leave it at that though, I love being a mom to Sadie Mac (and Noah of course.) Sadie Mac is so funny and full of life. Her imagination and "drama" make me laugh, cry, scream, and bring me more joy than I ever thought I could know. I love that girl.


Today, while Stephen was working on French, I was trying to put Noah down to sleep and I had asked her to play quietly in her room, by herself (which she hates). I told her I would play with her after Noah was asleep. She kept coming to me, yelling for me, doing everything I had asked her NOT to do. Alas, we had to have a mother/daughter "talk". After a few tears on her part and having to play in her room for a while on her own, I decided to fix us a surprise tea party.
First, I went into her room and had her dress up... and she dressed me in her tutu, on my head... while she was all decked out with a purple crown, down to the glittery shoes on her toes! We enjoyed our tea party, full with "tea", fruit, and cookies. I am so thankful for that gift. As many moms can relate (and I'm sure my own can too...) as frustrated in one moment as I can be at her... I love her that much more in the next.

Noah's Story

Watching and waiting for Noah was one where we all had great expectations! When we woke up and went to our doctor's appointment on Monday, November 8th... we had no idea that night we'd have our second child and finally know that "it" was a he!!
During my 37 week appointment, the doctor noted that the baby seemed small and so after an ultrasound and some fetal monitoring, the doctor saw that his heart rate would drop every few minutes and then go back up. They decided to admit me to the hospital for further monitoring. As I was checking in, Stephen said, "Maybe we should go ahead and finalize the name!!" After a little more monitoring of the baby's heartbeat and seeing that his heartbeat continued to drop, my doctor decided to induce labor around 3 pm that afternoon.
Our little guy came storming into the world at 8:25 pm with a knot in his umbilical cord and a few other complications that showed us how the Lord was watching over him. The nurses were calling him "miracle baby" and the doctor said that the timing of my appointment was amazing because potentially if I had gone in 24 hours later, he could have been still-born. We are so thankful and amazed that all is well with our little bundle weighing 4 pounds and 1 oz. at birth and gaining oz. by oz.
Thanks for joining us on the journey!


Telling Sadie Mac that she had a brother, so she could announce it to the family who was in the waiting room

Sporting her "big sister" sticker

Little brother

All 4 pounds 1 ounce of him, safe in daddy's arm

Little guy resting soundly