Kangaroo!

Because it's so hot here, the best way to carry a cute little baby is to sling her up! Thankfully a friend gave me a sewing machine and I learned online how to make a sling for my Sadie Mac. (www.slingyourbaby.blogspot.com)



A few days ago I was planning on going shopping with my neighbor for curtains and she asked if I was going to bring Sadie Mac and if I had a "kangaroo". It took me a second, but I knew exactly what she was talking about. So, now I carry around my little kangaroo everywhere I go and the people here love it... and so does she (check out that smile) !

Getting back in the swing of things...

We are back home and are all getting adjusted to the average 105+ temperatures. Sadie Mac has done great and is enjoying her little "johnny jumper". She is a bit small for it, but will at least stay in it for about 4 minutes. Then, she gets tired of holding her head up, so we call it quits! We also took her to school for the first time so she could meet our teachers. Sadie Mac did great on her first rickshaw ride! She enjoyed the soothing motor and slept through it!

Back home in the Sandbox

Well, everything is looking good and are back home in the Sandbox. When we started our packing Sadie Mac seemed ready to go! We went for her two month check up and she is doing great. She has grown 2 more inches (now 23”) and has gained 3 more lbs. (11 lbs.). The doctor said she looks great.
All this means we could go home. Everyone is ready to meet little Miss Sadie McLean and we are ready to get back to studying “our Arabic”. We have lots of new things in our suitcase thanks to grandparents and others who came to visit and sent packages.

We have had a wonderful time here in Egypt and are so thankful for time with friends and the birth of our little angel. The Lord is so good to us and we see His hand all over her. The day she was born the only thing I could think of to sing to her was the Chris Tomlin song, You Do All Things Well. This is the chorus:

You made it all –
Said, “Let there be… “
…and there was all that we see.
The sound of Your voice,
the works of Your hands,
You do all things well
You do all things well.

As we look at the gift God has blessed us with we cannot deny that He is amazing and His works reflect Him beauty. Sadie Mac is a work of His Hand… and He sure did a wonderful job.

Family Pics...

Recently a friend of ours took several pictures of our family and these are some of our favorites. Sadie Mac is doing great and has now started to give us big smiles. We are so thankful for each day we have together.


Safe in daddy's arms...


Kisses from mama...

Dreaming of...

Dear Eli,
When my mom and dad showed me your blog and your new outfit, I thought you were very handsome. I’m glad our parents became friends before we were born. How neat that our parents would get pregnant at the same time and it is really cool that now, you and I have the same birthday! We are destined to be together! Thanks for your pictures and I am excited to meet you one day. And, until then, I will dream of my prince Eli and wonder when he will come.
Love,
Sadie Mac

One Month!!!

It is hard to believe our little angel is one month old! Wow, how time flies. She has grown 2 inches and gained 2 lbs.! Watching her grow is amazing and we see her change so much every day. She has had quite an adventurous life in the one month she has been alive. For a one month old, we think it’s impressive she has:

Seen the Egyptian Pyramids (although she slept through most of it!)


Been registered with the Egyptian Government! (how official!?!?)


Dipped her feet in the Mediterranean Sea!


And became an American Citizen (hands raised in excitement!)

We are soaking in every moment as we know that this season will quickly pass and she’ll be off to college before we know it! (ok... that is a bit dramatic!) We are ready for the time of sleeping through the night to be here, but until then we are just enjoying the journey.

Newness of a little treasure...

Well... it has been an adventurous three weeks with our precious little girl. She is growing for sure... I forgot to post that at birth, she weighed 6 lbs. 2 oz. and was 19 inches long. She is growing and we will soon have an update when she goes for her one month appointment. Time has gone so fast and we are enjoying every second. Grand Mommy and Papa were here visiting from NC for two weeks and we had several adventures with them including many firsts (for them and Sadie Mac). Life has changed quite a bit and we are learning new things every day. We know sometimes she is probably thinking... "What are you guys doing?" (see picture below!) We see God's grace all over her and are amazed He would give us this little treasure to care for and raise. We are having the time of our lives (when we are not having to take naps and recover from long nights!) Such a sweet gift!


The lazy days of Sadie Mac.

Sadie McLean Rhyne is here!

Waiting Game...

I am now at 38 weeks and we are playing the waiting game. We seem to wake up every day and wonder “Is today the day?” We are excited and anticipating Baby Girl Rhyne’s arrival and have been preparing and practicing our relaxing and breathing techniques. This is a new world for us! We have enjoyed learning some new Arabic words as it is different dialect here. We have also been enjoying the beach and spending time with friends. We are excited that Stephen’s parents will be joining us around the first of August and spending two weeks with us here in Egypt. We are so thankful for their willingness to help us learn about being parents and I’m sure they are excited about seeing their newest grandbaby.

Our Current Home...

Well we have now been in Egypt for a little over a week and are enjoying the American food and time with friends, soaking up every second we can. We absolutely love Alexandria and are learning how much we love the ocean breeze as we go walking each morning. You can’t beat walking up and down the Cornish by the Mediterranean Sea when you are 8 months pregnant and are use to 120 heat. We for sure have traded heat for humidity. For now… we’ll take it! Here are a few pictures from what we’ve seen since we’ve been here. For the 4th of July we went down to Cairo and celebrated with all the other people who had American passports. It was really fun, but a bit strange being in Egypt singing the Star Spangled Banner! But, you gotta love pork hot dogs and grill fired hamburgers served by the US Marines when you are here! They also did door prizes and Stephen won one of the biggest ones! A free safari in Tanzania!! But, there were a couple of “catches” to the prize. Like recruiting 4 friends to pay for the trip and the safari which would be over $2000/person. We wish we had more rich friends! It was exciting though! We are anticipating our little Pumpkin’s arrival and watching my belly grow every day, and watching her run out of room. She is a little mover and shaker already! The doctor says she is doing great and everything looks fine. We are getting more and more excited and seeking the Lord’s guidance in this special and unique time in our lives. It’s a bit overwhelming, but we are thankful that He has chosen us to raise this little girl and teach her about Him and life. Isn’t life such a gift!?!