Who Needs Pottery Barn?

When you live where there is no Pottery Barn and you just want cute stuff for your new bundle of joy, you just have to be creative. So, I went shopping at "The Used Furniture Market" at Soog Shabby (Soog in Arabic is like a big market). You could consider this one or two steps down from a GoodWill. Here you can find all sorts of neat things (or junky things)... you just have to sort through the endless piles of clutter. On a good day, you can be sure to find a keep sake. So, last week, a friend and I went shopping looking for a baby changing table and that is just what we found! So, after Stephen and I washed, bleached, and painted it... we have a beautiful changing table! Later in the week we were shopping for furniture and I found a wonderful glider rocker (at a real furniture store :-)) and Stephen bought me an early Anniversary present. Next week is TWO YEARS and we couldn't be happier. What a blessing to wake up every day beside the one God has made for you!

Ain't Life Grand...

We just returned from a wonderful and amazing vacation to Egypt. We saw new places and sights... tasted new (and good 'ol American) food which we had been missing... and enjoyed a lot of rest and relaxation. One of the most exciting things that we did was to learn that we are having a GIRL!! After months of waiting and wondering, we now know pink will be our color. But, she will be a Tar Heel fan, so there will be some Carolina Blue in the mix!

First we enjoyed a little over a week in Sharm el Sheikh with the beauty of the Red Sea and Snorkeling. In Sharm we had lazy days on the beach and by the pool. We went on a boat ride and enjoyed the beauty of Egypt. After that we went to Alexandria to see the hospital where we will deliver and meet the doctor. It was a wonderful experience. After a few days there, we headed to Cairo to do the tourist thing and enjoyed the Pyramids and other exciting places there. We were thankful to see friends and enjoy a break from the heat. We laughed when we got back and we thought Egypt had been hot... No, hot is here!!! 120+ it seems to be. But, we were thankful to return home. All in all we had an amazing time and were truly thankful for the time together.

Enjoying Vacation

Growing Belly

I am now in my 7th month of pregnancy and people are always surprised to hear it. Little one is growing, but I'm not very big. Most nights this is good as I can still sleep pretty well and my tummy is not in the way too much! :-) I am thankful to be feeling good and we are trying to get out of the heat by going on vacation next week! Hope you enjoy the pictures of the belly.

April Showers Bring Less Power

And... Hotter Days. The Temperature continues to rise and we are doing our best to stay in the shade! We have experienced a new weather phenomenon which everyone here calls a "Haboob", also known as a dust storm. It is crazy! What seems to be a wall of dust and dirt comes across the sky and through town, which leaves everything looking orange and only dust in every crack in the house. These are pictures of our first Haboob, and they are not the greatest pictures because we were trying to escape before we got loaded down with the grit! Yes, the next day we are left doing nothing but cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning. People here find it hard to believe that we don't have these back home! It's a way of life here... one we must learn to adjust to. :-)

The Amazing World of Technology

How the Internet never ceases to amaze me… One is very thankful for it’s advancements when you are living ½ way around the world from your family. Being pregnant away from family can be hard some days. You want to experience all the things you would back home and it’s just not possible. But, we were brought one step closer to our families and to experiencing something as special as a baby shower through skype! Stephen’s aunt and uncle put on a baby shower for us and we were able to see and talk to our family and friends through the computer. They enjoyed BBQ and all the fixin’s (and boy, do we wish we could have gotten our hands on some of that!) We were so thankful and blessed for their support and so excited to see everyone who was there! Thank you so much for all who shared in this time!

Rollin'... Rollin' down the River

Last week we had some friends come from the States and treat us to a wonderful "joy ride" down the Nile. It was so relaxing and beautiful. We enjoyed seeing the fisherman out looking for a daily catch, swimmers enjoying the coolness of the water (or bathing... we're not sure!), and the beautiful sunset.

It's a... BABY!!

Well, we have been very excited to find out what our little bundle of joy will be, and have been anxiously awaiting the doctor's ultrasound to know for sure. We are thankful for all who took part in our "Baby Rhyne" poll and the results were: 27 of you think BOY, and 20 of you think GIRL.
When we were in Jordan in January, I was only 11 weeks along in the pregnancy. But, the doctor was confident in his percentage (90-something % sure) it was a BOY!! So, for the past 10 weeks we have been thinking and planning for little baby boy Rhyne to arrive in early August. I even bought some clothes that were *Tar-Heel* blue! So, we went this past week to the doctor here and were very surprised when the doctor said he was 90-something % sure it is a GIRL! My new theory is that we are actually having twins, one boy and one girl, and they just like to take turns being in the picture! (Doubtful... but why not?) So, we have started down the "neutral path" of picking baby clothes... not convinced of either boy or girl yet!
I'm thankful to be feeling much better and to be past what seems to have been a very long few months of morning (or all day) sickness and nausea. My tummy is starting to stick out more and more and, in recent weeks felt little one kick! We are so thankful and praise the Lord for the life he is forming inside of me. We will keep you posted on any new results or details we find out in coming weeks!

Pyramids

For Valentine’s Day we were able to enjoy a nice sandy day in the desert site seeing. Our beautiful country has several pyramids that are located just a few hours from our city. There were about a dozen pyramids and all the tops had been blown off. The story goes that someone believed there was gold and riches in the pyramids so they used dynamite to try to get in. Who knows if this is true… but that’s what we were told. Stephen also had the amazing experience of riding a camel and now wants to go into camel racing! Amanda just sat for a photo opp!