Dada and Mimi are here!!!

Dada and Mimi (Matt's parents) just arrived at 2 am this morning. We have had a big day. The kids got new watches, new stuffed animals and LOTS of chocolate. (of course, the chocolate is for me and Matt, too!) They saw a little of our city today and then spent the evening with the kids. Dada helped Meredith with a power point project. Mimi and Matt did a devotion time with Madison and Matthew Ray. It was a great first day. I will try to post often over the next few days to show you all of our activities. We will be seeing a lot of the city...so it should be interesting!

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Fun in the Sun!

I am a little behind on our life. I will try to catch up in the next couple of days. This past week we got to go to our local water park. Yes, we have a water park..it is in the middle of the desert but it is a water park! Anyway, Matthew Ray was so excited that he was up at 6 am ready to go! He got dressed and then asked if he could eat his breakfast on our balcony. (Way cute!) We had a great day! Hopefully we will get to go many times in the next few months!

Funny Pharoah Land Moments..No. 3

No funny phrases this time...The pictures pretty much tell it all!! We caught both of these funny moments on camera this past week.

We guess Madison is itching to get summer started and get to a pool! She asked us if she could take a bath. We said yes and I passed by the bathroom several times to see her playing in the tub. On one of my trips by to check on her, this is what I found. She told me she was at the beach..guess she is missing a litte of home!




Before bed one night Matthew Ray said his head hurt and he wanted "orange medicine" (ibuprofen). Matt sat him up on the breakfast table and told him that he would be right back to give him his medicine. When he returned this is what he found. Matthew Ray was sound asleep!

Hangin Out in Dubai

I finally had a chance to sit down and put all of my pics from last week into a slide show. I had the chance to go to Dubai with some friends from here and meet some friends from Jacksonville, Florida. We had such a blast! It was so refreshing just hangin out and being crazy! We played games, had a pajama party, got massages, talked a lot, slept very little, goofed off even more and really enjoyed each other's company! There was a "chubby bunny" contest that I won...imagine that..the biggest mouth in the bunch! We also had an American Idol contest and my group won thanks to our excellent song writers! Our friends from Jacksonville also brought us presents and sent presents to our kids. It was great time! Thanks so much Jacksonville ladies for the REFRESHING time! We love you!

SEVEN Story MALL...A girl's dream..

Well, my pictures are still not all together to show you what I was up to last week. So, I thought I would show you a couple of pictures of our 7 story mall (City Stars Mall) that is just a 10 minute taxi ride from our apartment! We usually just go there to eat at some of the American restaurants. 'On The Border' is American, right? We rarely shop in the shops because it is WAYYYYYY too expensive! Well, we do shop at Claire's when they have a sale. Meredith loves that! We go to feel a little American. Sometimes the culture here can really get to us and we feel like it is a little getaway. As I am writing this I am laughing because I remember going to this mall within the first 2 weeks of living here and thinking how foreign it seemed at the time! I think I was just walking around in a fog during all of those cultural adjustments!
Soooo, if you like to shop (or window shop) come see us and I will take you to an amazing mall

Been Busy!

Sorry! I know it has been a week since I have posted! I (stacey) have been gone for a few days and then things have been a little crazy since I have been back! I will post my adventures from last week in the next couple of days!
I wanted to add a picture of me and my precious language helper! She is such a sweetie and helps me learn this monster language! Please pray for her as she deals with us in language and the difficulties of her own life!

Funny Phrases From Pharoah's Land...No.2

Liar, Liar...pants on fire!

Matthew: “Mom, can we say…liar, liar pants on fire?”
Mom:“Hmmm…why don’t you ask your dad that?”
So, Matthew Ray asked Dad who was busy working on his computer: "Daddy, can we say liar, liar pants on fire?"
Dad: “Yeah, just make sure you say it sweetly.”
Matthew Ray: "How do I say that sweetly??!!”


Meredith’s conversation to Madison and Matthew Ray about visiting a farm this week:

Meredith: Hey, guys we are going to a farm tomorrow. We will get to run around and there will be grass and maybe there will be some animals.

Madison: Hey!!! I didn’t think there was grass in Egypt!!!!

The Rachael Ray of Egypt! :)

Anyone that knows Howard knows that he LOVES to take a million pictures and videos of EVERYTHING!!! (I had to get you one last time, Howard!) Today Howard leaves us to go back to the states. We are sure going to miss having him around. Anyway, back to the million pics and videos...After my language lesson the other day I asked my language teacher to stay a little longer and watch me try to make Egyptian rice. She has been making it for me for the past year and I thought it was about time that I learned. I tried once before and it turned out terrible...who knows why...but this time I did it and it turned out great. Howard took a lot of video of the process so I thought some of you may enjoy seeing (and laughing at)the Rachael Ray of Egypt in action!! I need to work a little on my cooking presentation like Rachael but I would like to see her try to have an Arabic lesson while cooking! It can drive a person CRAZY!! Take a look...

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Nile Stress Therapy

Howard has been visiting for the past week and we have had a blast! We ended our crazy race day and "mix-up" meeting day at the nursing home with a ride on the Nile. It was a beautiful evening with a beautiful sunset that relaxed all of us from the stresses of the day.

A Little Cultural/Language Mix-up

I had an appointment to see an orphanage after our 5K race on Saturday. I thought we would be done in plenty of time for me to go to a friend's house and change into "appointment clothes."(Egyptians dress up WAY more than we are accustomed to.) We got done much later than I had expected so I had to change in the back seat of another friend's car while Egyptian traffic wizzed by!:)


We arrived at the "orphanage" just in time, only to find out that it was a nursing home. The nursing home is for 16 elderly men that people found homeless on the streets. The people there were so sweet but it was NOT what we were expecting! I had been telling the kids all day that we were going to an orphanage and they were so excited. Needless to say, they were a little confused. We ended up staying for several hours to visit. I guess the most interesting part of the whole day was visiting with 2 Spanish speaking women that help with the nursing home. I didn't understand one word from them so an Egyptian man translated into Arabic for me! I have never been so relieved to hear Arabic!! Whoo! Hoo!!

Race in the Desert!

Meredith's school hosted a 5K and 2K race in the desert this past Saturday. Meredith ran the 5K and Matt, Madison and Matthew Ray ran the 2K while I cheered them all on! I would have run but I had a meeting right afterward and didn't have time to go home and shower first. (I will post that story next...it is VERY interesting!)
Anyway, we all had a great time. Meredith came in first in her division!!! Yeah, Meredith!!! Matt went with Madison and Matthew Ray. You can see in the slide show below that Matthew Ray lost his shoe within the first 10 steps so he was behind the whole time. Madison did a fabulous job! She didn't slow down (well, except when she chit-chatted a little with one of her friends along the way)! She did manage to finish the race strong! (see her video below) Finally, Matt and Matthew Ray made it to the finish line with Matthew Ray hitting his forehead the whole time. I asked him why he did that and he said, "It all made me so nervous!" He is too sweet! Howard went with us and was so sweet to take all of these pics for us! Thanks Howard!!

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Juliana is Coming SOON!!!!

The day is getting so close when Juliana will come and live with us for the summer!!! We are all so excited. Meredith, Madison and Matthew Ray love to spend time with their Aunt Juliana. She is so good to them and allows them to just "hang out" with her even when it hasn't always been "cool." I just thought I would put together a little slide show of times with Juliana. Some of these pictures are of the kids dressing up in different outfits in the mall (one of their favorite pass times to do with her!) Juliana, we can't wait!!!!

We have A LOT going on right now and have much to post soon! I will try to get the pictures uploaded to let you know of all of our recent adventures!

Meredith...A one of a kind Jewel!!!

I hope you are able to read these receipts from our 11 year old, Meredith. She has become quite responsible and is very good at "short-time" babysitting. The other night we went down to another apartment in our building to meet with some friends. Meredith babysat Madison and Matthew Ray while we were gone. She did an amazing job! When we got home, we found these receipts on the table.
The first paper has the list of activities which she entitled "Pre-Teen babysitting schedule." This is what it says if you are having a hard time reading it: watch tv, brush teeth, have devotion, punish Matthew(he through a pouting fit), play, read bedtime story, get them 2 bed. The second paper was our actual receipt we had to sign stating that we could pay her in one of two ways: we could pay her 20 Egyptian Pounds (our money) or we could just give her more minutes on her cell phone. The last paper just says it is our decision (thanks, Meredith!) and then the little "love ya" at the bottom.
I just had to blog this!!! Meredith is such a jewel and a joy to have! She definitely is one of a kind!

Funny Phrases From Pharoah's Land...No.1

We have decided that our children live to crack us up! There is so much that goes on in our lives that I never take the time to write down (or type down or blog down) any of the hilarious things they say. So, this is my first attempt to blog down a few of the funny moments from this week. We'll see if I can keep up with their comedy!!

These first two stories seem to reflect how much my children think of my cooking!
1. One of our family devotions this week was on the story of Peter's Mother-in-law, sick with a fever. Madison and Matthew Ray still have to be quizzed over what we are actually reading about so Matt stops frequently and asks questions to make sure they are listening. This is how the devotion went:
Matt began reading, "Simon Peter's mother-in-law was sick with a fever."
Matt: "What was she sick with?"
Madison: "She had the flu or something like that."
Matt continues reading, "When Jesus healed her she got up and PREPARED a meal for them."
Matt: "What did she do when Jesus healed her?"
Madison: "She got up and ORDERED them something to eat."

**Some of you may not be familiar with where we live but ORDERING food is very common here! Everyone orders from everywhere here because almost every place delivers! (even McDonald's)

2. I was sitting with Madison and Matthew Ray in the kitchen one morning before school. We were talking about some of our favorite things. I asked them, "What is the most favorite thing mommy cooks for you?" There was silence...more silence (which is so uncommon for these two!) Then Matthew Ray looks over at the fruit bowl and says, "Momma, I really like your fruit!"

3. Meredith is becoming quite the "teen-agery type" these days and comes out with some "teen-agery" sayings. She called her Grammie today to tell her Aunt Juliana to bring her two things when she comes to visit this summer. This is how the conversation went.
Meredith: "Grammie, I need Juliana to bring in some very RANDOM things for me this summer. Now, they are really RANDOM. There are only two things and they don't have anything to do with one another. They are really RANDOM!"
Grammie: "What do you need her to bring?"
Meredith: "Now they are RANDOM...but I need a teen-girl devotion book and some string cheese. They are RANDOM, aren't they?"
Grammie: "Yes, I guess they are."
Meredith: "Well, I guess I could read the devotional book while I eat string cheese!!"

4. Matthew Ray was helping me put things up after supper tonight. He opened the refrigerator and saw a bag of marshmallows. He said, "Now mom....this is only a marshmallow. I know it is for camping but you don't have to be afraid of it!" It quickly dawned on me that I have told my kids many times that we don't camp as a family because I am scared of all of the creepy things that could get me. Anyway, I continued with his conversation and said, "Well, camping really does scare me because I don't like all of those creepy things." He said, "Mom..REMEMBER, you don't have to be afraid!! God is always with you!!!" Then there was a pause followed by, "Now can we go camping??!!!"

Need a Laugh? I do!!!

Matt and some of his "goofy" friends! The video says it all!

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Sad Day

We went to a mass last week while our friend Mariah was here. We sat in sadness as we watched them try to have their sins taken away. Mariah was brave enough to catch some of the ritual on video:

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A Little Time Away

We were able to get away for a few days from the craziness of city life and take a trip to the Mediterranean. Some dear friends came with us from the states and spent LOTS AND LOTS of TIME with our children. They taught them stories, songs, games, made many crafts with them and LOVED on them. It was a breath of fresh air in more ways than one! The last night the kids performed for the adults all that they had learned from the week. They even brought new clothes and shoes for the kids, presents for the parents and U.S. snacks!! Yummy! Thanks so much guys for EVERYTHING!!! YOU ARE AWESOME!!

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Meredith and the Beaded Bracelet

Mariah came to visit this past week and we had such a great time!! While she was here we did several things. One place we decided to visit was garbage city. She had gone there with us last year and that is the only place she wanted to re-visit this year!! The recycling center is a great place to see Coptic girls and visit with them. They are so sweet and very talented!! Meredith had decided before we went that she would take one of her "beaded bracelets" and tell the story with it to one of the girls. As soon as we entered the loom room, Meredith spotted a girl and began to show her the "colored bracelet". She was able to do all of it in Arabic!! It was a great day. We will post more of our fun times with Mariah and our trip to the Mediterranean in the next couple of days.

Meredith showing the bracelet:

Meredith and the girls cutting material to make rugs, blankets and bags:

Stacks and stacks of beautiful bags!

Mariah, Stacey and Meredith in front of the compost garden the recycling has created in garbage city:
The girls loved teaching Meredith to use the loom. They are all right around her age.

Ya'll Come Back Now, Ya' hear!!

Sorry everyone...I know it has been a few days since the last post. We do have things to share but it has been just a little busy around here. I took some great shots today in garbage city. I even got some video of Meredith working on a loom with some of the girls in the sewing center. But...can't do that right now. We are headed out very early in the morning for a trip to the Mediteranean Sea. It should be a great time getting away from the city life for a few days! I will post as soon as we return!
Thanks for visiting...ya'll come back now, ya'hear!!!

Stacey Joined a Mom's Blog

I recently was asked to join a mom's blog (www.prayerofhannah.blogspot.com). I had to write an introduction to our family and my life as a mom so far. Below is what I posted to that blog. I wanted to include it on our family blog because I have never written down the whole story and I wanted to be able to keep it in this "computer scrapbooking!"

I have been married to my high school sweetheart, Matt, for 16 years and we have 3 beautiful (and very animated :) children. Twenty years ago Matt and I began our romance. We married during our sophomore year of college and immediately began ministry together. Oh if we had known what God had in store for our journey together!!! It is so comforting to look back and know that even when we don’t know what our future holds, we can have confidence in Christ who “began a good work in us and will carry it to completion.” When Matt and I had been married for 3 years we decided to start our family. We thought that would be an easy and painless task. It turned out to be just the opposite. After trying for a year we finally conceived and soon miscarried. Two months later…a second miscarriage. We had so much sorrow and grief over the loss of these precious babies and wondered if God had children planned for us. Eight more months of trying and waiting brought us to the great news that we were expecting for a third time. At last, God saw fit to allow the pregnancy to be healthy with no complications!! Nine months and 70 POUNDS  later we gave birth to our first born, Meredith! Obviously after losing two babies and gaining 70 lbs with the third, we were ready for a break.

When Meredith turned three we were ready for another newborn in the house. Again…waiting…waiting…third miscarriage…more grief…many doctor visits…waiting. At this point we thought, “Well God, do You just want Meredith to be an only child?” We decided that that may be the plan of God for our family but a bigger family was always a desire in the back of our minds. When Meredith was 5 ½ we conceived for the 5th time. This pregnancy was healthy, easy and caused only a 30 lb. weight gain which resulted in our second born, Madison. At this point in our journey to build our family, we became very relaxed in our thoughts of conceiving quickly. This relaxation turned out a surprise conception! I had been working out diligently and eating very little to lose all of the baby weight because we were planning a trip to Brazil when Madison was three months old. After returning from Brazil, I became very sick and thought I had some kind of parasite from bad food. Oh no…this was no parasite! Baby number 3 was on his way! First, shock…followed by more joy…followed by cancer resulting in more uncertainty in our lives. When I was 7 ½ months pregnant, Matt was diagnosed with liposarcoma in his thigh. The last two months of the pregnancy were spent with him in two surgeries and radiation. During this difficult time in our lives, God gave us such peace and reminded us that He is in control and our lives are in His hands. Our third child and only boy, Matthew Ray, came along just one year and two days after the birth of Madison! Whew! What a roller coaster ride!!!

These last four years as a family of five have been a whirlwind and a joy! And God has continued to lead us on new adventures with Him. Just 15 months ago, we began a new chapter in our lives as He led our family to move overseas. Being a mom overseas has its difficulties, but I love getting to see my kids learn and grow to love another culture.

Our oldest, Meredith, is now eleven. She is such a joy and always has been. She has always been quick to obey and has such a tender heart. It has been amazing to watch her approach these pre-teen years with such spiritual maturity and consistency! Our middle child, Madison, is five. She shows leadership qualities, is creative, verbal, photogenic, and our most strong-willed child. :) Our 4-year-old baby is Matthew Ray. He is a typical boy who loves running, jumping, climbing, sword fighting, boxing, sports, and making every sound to go with all of the activities listed above. He also holds his mother’s heart in his hands and can make her melt! :)

Happy Mother's Day

Yes, you have read the title correctly...Friday is Mother's Day in Egypt! Mother's Day here is BIG!! All children are expected to visit their mom, bring gifts and make this day VERY special for her. As we have been walking and riding around the city over the last two weeks we have seen so many "Mother's Day" signs all over store windows.
McDonalds has even gotten involved in the celebration. I called one night last week to order McDonalds for supper (yes, they deliver here and yes I know this is not the healthy meal that I NORMALLY cook for my family :). Anyway, I ordered a combo meal for Meredith and the man on the phone congratulated me and said, "With every combo meal you receive a McDonald's make-up bag!" I said, "Excuse me? You said MAKEUP BAG???" He responded, "Yes, a McDonald's makeup bag." Tooooo funny!!! We all had a great laugh over that one and knew that the story had to be added to the blog!

I believe the McDonald's makeup bag has to be one of the most unique gifts I have ever received for Mother's Day but I never get tired of the unique creations that my children make for me! "I love you, my sweet little ones! You are such GREAT GIFTS from God to me!"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADA!!!

WE LOVE YOU DADA!!!! HAVE A WONDERFUL BIRTHDAY!! WE CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU!!!

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Maybe This is How They Built the Pyramids

The weather is so nice right now so we are able to open our balcony doors and feel the nice breeze the desert air brings. Tonight we opened our door to see something we had never seen before. Below you will see several men pulling a new sign to the top of the building with a rope to advertise a dermatologist's office. You will hear commentary when you watch the video that explains it all. We were watching this event with one of our Egyptian friends and she thought it was so funny that this sight was new and amazing to us. We explained that we come from cities with few tall buildings, much less cities where men pull signs up with old ropes for advertisment. I guess seeing such a thing gives us a slight peek into how Egyptians might have worked together to build the ancient pyramids!

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We didn't stay up to see the finished product(they work late around here!) but we did wake up to see a nice, shiney new sign on an old, dusty building. (:

A Preacher in the Making

As many of you know our kids love to pretend and use their imaginations. Tonight's imagination time was centered around Matthew Ray preaching. We just happened to catch it on video. I am not quite sure what Madison's sign was about but I did notice that she had drawn a clock on the board. (Ha! All preachers need a clock nearby so they don't preach too long!!!) He was preaching from the book of Matthew where Jesus calms the storm. I think he might make a great preacher one day! What do you think? BTW: the music sound in the background is the "call" that we hear 5 times every day!

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One of our favorite things to do....

We have a Chili's Restaurant at the end of street. We love walking down there when we feel the need for an American moment. However, we really don't feel very American on our walk there because we have to walk down a PACKED street of honking cars, people loudly speaking Arabic and we often dodge a donkey cart or two. Once we are there we love sitting in the outside eating area near the Chili's playground. The kids love the playground and usually make many Egyptian friends. Here they are with a group of little girls having a birthday party. No, they weren't invited but they were asked to be in every picture and Meredith ended up with several cell phone numbers of the girls she met! So, we call it an American night but now that I have written about it, it doesn't seem very American????

My Two Handsome Men!!!

I just love these two handsome guys! Everyday it is a joy to wake up and see these two precious men in my life. What makes it even better is that they both love me so much and love to tell me all of the time! What more could a woman want???
Matthew Ray is the spitting image of his daddy. This top picture is Matt when he was 3 and the bottom picture is Matthew Ray at the same age. It is remarkable to me how much they look alike! If I hadn't actually birthed Matthew Ray I would wonder if I had anything to do with him!! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAMMIE!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRAMMIE!! We miss you and wish we could be with you on this special day. As you can see, we can still give LOTS OF KISSES from this far away! WE LOVE YOU! Have a wonderful day!

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Nile Cruise Babysitting Services Part 4

A Day at the park! The slide tells it all:

Nile Cruise Weekend Part 3-Raining in North Africa

Kids have great imaginations. As most people know, it hardly ever rains where we live. The kids played so well together all day long. One thing that they loved to play today was "raining where we live." Here is a video of the exciting time:



Tomorrow we are going to the park! We will post those pics then!