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Sunday, November 15, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Grandma's Here!
This is a video of Elianna in her PJ's right before bedtime. My mother-in-law, Ruth Stevens, just arrived today for a 2 week visit. We are so excited she is here and it's been like second Christmas. We have gotten lots of good food from home like hot chocolate mixes, Reece's Peanut Butter Cups, Candy Corn, and Dr. Pepper. Ellie got a lot of clothes and toys from family members. The pink vest she is wearing is from Ruth's sister, Aunt Janet. It's so soft. Aunt Janet also gave her this interactive book and she LOVES it. I thought this video was cute of her wearing and discovering her new toys from America. Hey family, thanks for all the gifts!! We love them.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Anniversary Pictures
Isn't she cute? Angie took this the night of our Anniversary date. She is in her PJs, ready for bed.
Here we are: The happy couple on their 5th wedding anniversary. Being 25 weeks pregnant, I feel like I look so bloated in this picture! The horror of it all is that my passport needs renewed so Angie was gracious enough to take my head shot that night too. The horror comes in knowing that for the next 10 years the photo on my passport will be me 25 weeks pregnant. Not fair, but praise God for the pregnancy!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Lavishly Loved
For about 3 years, I've had the joy of hosting a expatriate women's bible study in my house. It's a time for us to let down our hair (sometimes literally) and keep spiritually fresh in an environment that isn't always friendly to Christians. We get to support one another in the midst of facing challenges that overseas living can bring. It is just nice to know you aren't the only one walking down this road and the thoughts and feelings you have are normal.
This semester we are in the books of 1,2,3 John. Our passage last week was 1 John 3:1 "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are....". My friend Jen lead the discussion and she gave us paper crowns to wear to remind us that we are daughters of the KING. She also "lavished" us by bringing a pumpkin shaped and decorated cake made from an American cake mix. Nothing says "lavish" over here like American food products!! We had a really good time and laughed a lot while looking a bit silly in our crowns. For those of us with kids the crowns got put to good use. Elianna loved mine and wore it the next day. It was a little big on her, but that didn't stop my little princess from wearing her crown. Isn't it good to be the daughter/son of the KING!
Here we are wearing our crowns. Only 1/2 showed up that night due to traveling and other issues. Notice the beautiful pumpkin cake:
Here are a few pictures of my little princess wearing her crown:
Poor thing, she looks so sad. That's what you get when you take pictures early in the morning! A princess needs time to wake-up before the photo shoot begins :). Side note: Look at all that hair and she is still only a one year old. Well she is only a month away from two.
This semester we are in the books of 1,2,3 John. Our passage last week was 1 John 3:1 "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are....". My friend Jen lead the discussion and she gave us paper crowns to wear to remind us that we are daughters of the KING. She also "lavished" us by bringing a pumpkin shaped and decorated cake made from an American cake mix. Nothing says "lavish" over here like American food products!! We had a really good time and laughed a lot while looking a bit silly in our crowns. For those of us with kids the crowns got put to good use. Elianna loved mine and wore it the next day. It was a little big on her, but that didn't stop my little princess from wearing her crown. Isn't it good to be the daughter/son of the KING!
Here we are wearing our crowns. Only 1/2 showed up that night due to traveling and other issues. Notice the beautiful pumpkin cake:
Here are a few pictures of my little princess wearing her crown:
Poor thing, she looks so sad. That's what you get when you take pictures early in the morning! A princess needs time to wake-up before the photo shoot begins :). Side note: Look at all that hair and she is still only a one year old. Well she is only a month away from two.
Monday, October 26, 2009
It's been way to long!
About a month after we arrived back in North Africa, I got pregnant and have since fallen off the face of the blogging world. BUT here I am, back again, and ready for more blogging entries. I just have about 6 months to catch-up on!
So maybe I should start with one of our biggest joys this year; we are expecting a baby boy! I'm almost 25 weeks along and the baby is doing great. Some friends of ours have given us some boy clothes (2-4T) and we are slowly getting things ready for his delivery in early-mid Feb. Sometimes I can't believe we will have both a boy and a girl in a few short months, but Justin couldn't be more excited about having boy. It's really neat to see the smile on his face when he puts his hand on my belly to feel his baby boy move. As far as a name goes, we haven't chosen one yet, but hopefully soon. I like Alex or Joel, but Justin likes more modern names like Parker, Carson, or Hunter. You can see we have some work to do to agree on one name together. We both like Justin's middle name, Lance, for the baby's middle name so at least we have that picked out. If any of you have ideas, we are open for suggestions!
Another wonderful event that just happened is that Justin and I just had our 5th wedding anniversary on Oct. 23rd. We went out for a really nice dinner and I played sappy love songs all day in the house. I just love celebrating anniversaries!
Ellie will turn 2 on Nov. 21st and my mother-in-law will be here for that. She is coming to visit in 2 weeks, and I can't wait! It's like second Christmas when she comes and she acts more like a maid than a guest. She really blesses us. This trip we are going to a resort for a few days to give her a taste of relaxation North African style. It will be fun to relax together: without cooking, cleaning, or doing laundry.
A lot of other great things have happened this summer, and more good memories to come. I'm just glad to be back online, journaling (blogging) those memories as they come.
We hope you all are doing well. Let us know what you are up to when time allows. This is one tired mommy signing out for now.
So maybe I should start with one of our biggest joys this year; we are expecting a baby boy! I'm almost 25 weeks along and the baby is doing great. Some friends of ours have given us some boy clothes (2-4T) and we are slowly getting things ready for his delivery in early-mid Feb. Sometimes I can't believe we will have both a boy and a girl in a few short months, but Justin couldn't be more excited about having boy. It's really neat to see the smile on his face when he puts his hand on my belly to feel his baby boy move. As far as a name goes, we haven't chosen one yet, but hopefully soon. I like Alex or Joel, but Justin likes more modern names like Parker, Carson, or Hunter. You can see we have some work to do to agree on one name together. We both like Justin's middle name, Lance, for the baby's middle name so at least we have that picked out. If any of you have ideas, we are open for suggestions!
Another wonderful event that just happened is that Justin and I just had our 5th wedding anniversary on Oct. 23rd. We went out for a really nice dinner and I played sappy love songs all day in the house. I just love celebrating anniversaries!
Ellie will turn 2 on Nov. 21st and my mother-in-law will be here for that. She is coming to visit in 2 weeks, and I can't wait! It's like second Christmas when she comes and she acts more like a maid than a guest. She really blesses us. This trip we are going to a resort for a few days to give her a taste of relaxation North African style. It will be fun to relax together: without cooking, cleaning, or doing laundry.
A lot of other great things have happened this summer, and more good memories to come. I'm just glad to be back online, journaling (blogging) those memories as they come.
We hope you all are doing well. Let us know what you are up to when time allows. This is one tired mommy signing out for now.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Our Trip to America
Us on Easter at Justin's mom's house. My mom made Ellie's dress.
Bridesmaids:
Left to Right: Friend of the Bride, Destini Hoyt (Justin's cousin), Suzanne Shaw (Justin's youngest sister)
Justin's sister, Heather: THE BRIDE
We just got back 2 weeks ago from America. We had such a wonderful time seeing family and friends. It was great to see Elianna play and bond with her grandparents. No one loves your children like their grandparents. She also got to play with some really cute kids. Amanda and Christina, your kids are sooo adorable! Thanks for sharing them. Ellie enjoyed getting some kido action.
A quick overview of the trip would be: Justin's sister got married (photos included), we ate way too much food (how can you say "no" to Panara Bread), and stocked-up on things for the next couple years. It's hard to believe we will have been in North Africa for 4 years in Sept. The time has really flown by. BUT, it has taken 4 years to feel comfortable here. For some reason coming home this time feels more like home to me. Maybe it's because we have a child and all her things are here. Maybe it's because we have some amazing friends here. Or maybe it is just because it takes that long to adjust to another world. It's probably all of the above.
Here are some random photos of our trip to America. God Bless America!
Bridesmaids:
Left to Right: Friend of the Bride, Destini Hoyt (Justin's cousin), Suzanne Shaw (Justin's youngest sister)
Justin's sister, Heather: THE BRIDE
We just got back 2 weeks ago from America. We had such a wonderful time seeing family and friends. It was great to see Elianna play and bond with her grandparents. No one loves your children like their grandparents. She also got to play with some really cute kids. Amanda and Christina, your kids are sooo adorable! Thanks for sharing them. Ellie enjoyed getting some kido action.
A quick overview of the trip would be: Justin's sister got married (photos included), we ate way too much food (how can you say "no" to Panara Bread), and stocked-up on things for the next couple years. It's hard to believe we will have been in North Africa for 4 years in Sept. The time has really flown by. BUT, it has taken 4 years to feel comfortable here. For some reason coming home this time feels more like home to me. Maybe it's because we have a child and all her things are here. Maybe it's because we have some amazing friends here. Or maybe it is just because it takes that long to adjust to another world. It's probably all of the above.
Here are some random photos of our trip to America. God Bless America!
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