Our Pumpkin Wore a Watermelon Costume!

The only thing I can think of is... "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade!" Here we say, "when you have no pumpkins, use a watermelon!" We just don't know what to do with all the seeds! Being Sadie's first Halloween and our family tradition is to carve a pumpkin... we had to make due. We all enjoyed carving Sadie's first watermelon and know that when she goes back to America and people are carving pumpkins, she is going to be really confused. But regardless, we had a great time... no dressing up or going to the neighbors for trick or treating... just watermelon carving. Hope everybody had a great one and Matthew had a good birthday!

Weight Watchers... at 3 Months?!?

Well, Sadie Mac is now 3 months old and we are proud of how she is growing. Since we live in the sandbox and doctors and "official means to measure" are scarce, we have to do the best we can to measure her!! (We are doing the best to "watch her weight"!) We have decided to keep track of her weight by using a luggage weigher and her "kangaroo sling". She loves it! Check out her little feet kicking. We measure her length by the quilt squares on our bed. :-) We're not big on exact measurements :-), but we are keeping a chart! She is healthy and happy and that is all we could ask for. She is now holding her head up and giggling often! A precious little treasure that discovers new things every day and we love discovering them with her!

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!