Meredith with Coptic Friends

Meredith was invited to our neighbor's apartment this week for a birthday party. She had a great time with the girls singing with interactive TV and speaking with them in Arabic while mom had a great time talking with their moms! We are so glad she loves to make friends anywhere she goes! Here she is right in the middle of these precious girls.


The interactive songs were in English. The girls were impressed that Meredith could sing them so well!

Father/Daughter Dance

Meredith is now an official Girl Scout. She loves her troop and her troop leader! Last week the girl scouts sponsored a Father/Daughter Dance. Here's a picture of Father and Daughter on their way out to the dance. I don't have pics of the actual dance but you can just imagine the fun they had!(: Meredith said it was the most fun she had ever had and Matt said that 99% of the dances were fast dances and the music was a lot faster than when we were young! (hmmm....do you think the music is faster or the dancer is slower???)

Saying Goodbye to Mr. S

Last week was sad for our family. We said goodbye to a dear man, Mr. S. He has been our taxi driver during this past year. He was offered a job in a nearby country and decided it would be a good move for he and his family. He came by the night before he left to say goodbye. He told Matt that he dreaded coming by. He just didn't think he could do it. The kids all hugged him and then he started to cry. Then we all cried. We pray he finds just the friends he needs in his new country.

Portraits Made in the States

When we went back to the states we were only suppposed to be there for a couple of weeks. Those couple of weeks turned into 6 weeks. One thing we had time to do was have the kid's pictures made by a great photographer, Marty Sikes! My mom and I took the kids while Matt and my dad did "guy" things. While we were at the studio Marty made me get into one of the pictures with the kids. I feel like I look like a single mom in this picture! What do you think? Matt jokingly named it "The Day Daddy Died!" Not very funny at all! Anyway, he loves it. I just wish he were in it, too! :)

Arabic Video Archive

I was looking back over some of our "study videos" from this last year and ran across this hilarious one of Matt. I really don't try to find all of the funny videos of Matt and post them but he is just so funny!!! AND.....since he never blogs I have the priveledge of showing you his funny moments and NOT mine! Hee..Hee!

Anyway, this video was taken earlier last year. Our teacher is using the verb 'to wash' over and over. Matt is acting out what she says. "He is washing his hair. He is washing his face." etc..

During this last year of language we have discovered that Matt and I are more opposite than we ever thought we were. I am good with just hearing our teacher say a new thing a few times and then allowing me to use the new vocab(kinda boring, huh?) but Matt always puts an interesting twist in each lesson! Our differences caused MUCH conflict at first but now he just takes the lead and decides how he wants the lesson to run. So, the teacher and I are surprised each day to see what Matt will pull out of his funny hat next! :)

By the way...we are just a LITTLE further along in Arabic since this video! :) In Sha Allah we will speak this language!!!! Uggggg!!!!

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Bama Girl's New Flat!!!!

We have a friend coming here to live and we have been looking for a flat for her. We found one that we think is great! I have been talking with her on the phone and we tried to send pictures for her to see by skype but the computer was not cooperating. So, this is the method I chose for her to be able to see where she is going to live in just a few short weeks!! WE CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO GET HERE BAMA GIRL!!!!!

Eric and Chris Visit....

Here's the slide show I promised. We did so much more than you can see in these pics! It was a great time. Now maybe we can all catch up on some sleep! (:

Overlook of the City

We have had some friends, Chris and Eric, here visiting us this week. We were not sure how things would go since we returned from the states about 48 hours before our guests arrived. It turns out that this is the way to return. Having them here made us just jump right back into the culture and language. We did so much in these last ten days. I will post a slide show in the next few days with many pictures of our touring of the city. It has been a blast! This is a picture of me and Matt at a famous mosque that overlooks the city. What an amazing view!!!!

Santa telling the True Meaning of Christmas

We love this clown and Santa. This is a clip of part of their skit. The song says that I have joy because Jesus is in my heart!!! How cool is that? Santa knows Jesus!!!

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Surprise Duet

After all of the children sang together at the Christmas party, they left the room. I put my camera away because I thought the program was coming to a close. Suddenly, the teachers put Madison and Matthew Ray up on the stage and announced that they would be singing a song together!! (Surprise to me and to them as well!) I quickly got out my camera again so we could capture this wonderful talent! (:

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Belated Christmas Party

Two days after returning here Madison and Matthew Ray had a Christmas party at their school. The school had planned it for the week before while we were in the states but one of the owners had a death in her family. So, we returned for the exciting event!!! Here are a few pics of the kids singing, Santa giving Matthew Ray a present and Madison as the angel in the Nativity. Stay tuned for the next couple of posts to see Madison and Matthew Ray sing a duet and an Egyptian Santa sing a song about the true meaning of Christmas!!

Madison was not very thrilled with this angel costume.


Matthew Ray with Santa.


Singing Arabic Christmas songs.

Always a Party at Grammy, Granddaddy and Juliana's!

We just returned back to North Africa from our visit to the states. We finished up our time at Grammy and Granddaddy's house in Arkansas. They were so sweet to let us literally "crash" their house for weeks! Below is a slide show of some of the fun we had there. Grammy, Granddaddy and Juliana always allow the kids to do so many fun and messy things at their house. We were sad to leave but we think Grammy, Granddaddy and Juliana were singing the Hallelujah chorus as we headed to the airplane! Thanks Grammy, Granddaddy and Juliana for everything!! WE LOVE YOU!!

Meredith and Catherine

We took a short trip to Tulsa to spend some time with the Himayas. Meredith and Catherine love playing together when we get to see each other. They had a blast swimming at the hotel pool. Meredith even got to teach Catherine some more Arabic. Catherine, come visit us soon!!!

Time with Friends

Some of our dearest friends, the Cupples, allowed us to use their SUV while we have been in the states. We finally returned the car and got to spend one more night visiting with them. We love those friendships that just "pick up" right where you left them the last time you were together!!! We love you Bobby, Marianne, Ashli and Mallory!!!

"I GOT MUCH THAN YOU!!!"

Despite what this video shows, we had a wonderful time on Christmas morning. (Notice the loving attitude between Madison and Matthew Ray.) We were able to spend time with "just us." Santa mangaged to find small gifts that would fit into our suitcases for when we head back home in a couple of weeks.
God's blessings to us continue to AMAZE us!!! We do get MUCH from HIM! May HE be glorified in ALL THINGS!

Pre-Christmas Fun

We were able to spend some time with family in Tennessee 2 days before Christmas. It was such a fun time and blessing especially since we didn't think we would see them for 3 years! Here's a taste of our time together!

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Beach Fun!

The great thing about Florida in December is that it is still great weather for some beach fun! Instead of snow, you get sand! The Kings joined us for some beach fun this week. Here's another slide... (there are many pics of Madison in this because she seems to like to pose the most for the camera! :)

Christmas Cookie Fun!!!

Some VERY DEAR people have allowed us to stay at their beach house while we are visiting Pensacola. We arrived a few nights ago. When we walked in the door it was just like Christmas morning!! The owners had stocked the kitchen with all kinds of food and had left TONS of goodies for all of us!! They also left sugar cookies with icing and sprinkles for the kids to decorate. We had some friends over to help us decorate. Thanks "Stubs" for EVERYTHING!!! Here's a few pics of some of the fun!

Matthew Ray is the Star for a few days

When we found out we would be in the states for longer than we had planned, the girls wanted to go see friends in Pensacola for a few days. So, Matthew Ray got to spend a few days with momma and daddy all by himself. He loved it and we loved the "one-on-one" time with him. Here are some highlights...

Catching you up on life....

It's been a little busy in our family since we arrived back in the states. We have seen a lot of friends and family and have traveled to several states. So, the next few posts are going to be slide shows of what's been happening. We will be in the states at least for the next few weeks until we can find a flight back home. Until then, we are traveling and living out of suitcases!

The Funny Story I Promised!

Air conditioners, Hot Peppers, High pillows and the Psychiatrist

If you had a headache that started with a major pop in the neck near the base of the skull, followed by the worst pain you had ever had in your head, followed by complete blood in the whites of your eyes, what would be your diagnosis? What kind of doctor would you see for these symptoms? What kind of tests would you have done?

Here’s our story. Serious but sooooo funny in soooo many ways!

Two weeks ago my husband, Matt was doing some pushups as part of his exercise routine. (oh, what a buff man he is!) As he came up on his last one, he heard and felt a pop in the right side of his neck, followed by the worst pain he had ever had in his head, followed by the whites of his eyes completely turning blood red. When it happened it was kind of one of those surreal moments that you just think, “Well, that was strange.” He continued to have a headache for the next day, so we thought we should probably ask a medical person’s opinion. Before I go into the rest of the story, let me tell you that we live in a major city in Africa. In this culture it is easy to get appointments with doctors and all visits are done in the evenings.
We first saw an orthopedic doctor at our schedule appointment for 9 pm. He told us that he didn’t know what had happened but that it was not a muscle in his neck. He then told us that if it were him, he would get and MRI and MRA brain. We left his office at 9:30 and called the scan lab and they had an appointment at 10:15 pm. We headed across the city to a scan lab to have an MRI and MRA brain. The technician came out and said all looked good and sent us home.
The headache continued and with the advice of a medical friend here we made an appointment to see a neurologist. This appointment was scheduled for 10 pm that evening in downtown. We entered a moldy smelling office with a friend and were greeted by the doctor 15 minutes later. We told the doctor the whole story, he asked to see the scans and then he looked at Matt for a minute or two having him touch his nose and follow his finger. He then said, “You have what we call a tension headache.” We went over the incident again to make sure he understood what had happened and that we could not see the whites of Matt’s eyes when this happened. His reply was, “You know when you get angry your eyes can turn red.” “You can also get a headache from sleeping on a high pillow.” Then he proceeded to say that the headache was probably from studying Arabic so long in the air conditioner. I have no idea what he said after that because there was no need!!! 
The headaches continued with the pain going from severe to mild. By this point we had been on the phone with doctors and radiologists in the states trying to get their opinion. Their concern was that Matt had had a subarachnoid hemorrhage. No one knew what we should do-all were researching. In the mean time, we had some of our local friends offering to talk to doctors that they knew. One of our local friends talked to a doctor that she highly respects and he said, “Some people that eat hot peppers can have really bad headaches.”
Then some more friends had some relatives who knew a “good” neurologist. He agreed to make a “house call.” He arrived with his little black bag, heard the story, took Matt’s blood pressure, had him touch his nose and looked in his eyes. He also flipped through the scans much like you would a stack of cards. He then said, “You have a headache. You are perfect. You may just be anxious.” He left and we still had no answers for what had happened. We started to feel a little helpless and at the same time silly. We know people have headaches and we know there are many reasons for them. We could not find answers to the initial incident.
An hour after the “house call”, our Arabic language teacher came by to say hi and check on Matt. She looked down at the receipt that was written in Arabic from the “house call” doctor on the table and said, “Why did you see a psychiatrist for your headache.” Hmmm…guess that wasn’t the right doctor.
Needless to say, we were done seeing doctors here for answers.

Side note: We have seen doctors here for other minor things and Stacey has even had gall-bladder surgery here. All of our medical care has been excellent. But for some reason, there are not too many experts for the brain.


So, the doctors in the states thought that they needed to have Matt evaluated in the states. The fear was that he had a subarachnoid hemorrhage. After seeing a couple of doctors in the states and having more tests run, it turns out that he had an “exercise induced” migraine. We are told that theses two things look very similar and the only way to tell one from the other is a spinal tap. Of course, nothing can be easy….Matt had a reaction to the spinal tap and it made him worse than before!

Here we are two weeks after returning to the states and he is feeling great! We are so thankful for the good diagnosis. The doctor told him that it could happen again and if it did to “STOP IT!” (Not much different advice from the doctors here! )

Now we are waiting to return home. We thought it would be this week but have learned that there are no flights available until after Christmas. So, we will enjoy our time with family and friends during this holiday season! We are so thankful for many things….Matt’s brain is good (even though some of his friend may argue that!), we can return to our home in Africa, we got to spend Thanksgiving with family, we get to spend Christmas with family, Matt can now go back to eating hot peppers, studying Arabic in the air-conditioning and sleeping on the pillow he loves. He is even cleared to exercise again!LOL! One thing we do know for sure... when things get crazy and life seems “up in the air” we know THE ONE we trust in! HE is so faithful! May HE be GLORIFIED in our lives in ALL THINGS!

More fun with family and friends

Aren't my niece and nephews the cutest?????

Fun at the mall!

Calling Santa

We went for a trip to the mall to visit Santa to tell him all we wanted for Christmas. After we saw him, Madison and Matthew Ray discovered they forgot to tell Santa everything they want. So, Aunt Micah picked up her handy cell phone and made a call to Santa. Her first call accidentally reached an elf so we had to make another call to get to Santa. Here's a video of the Santa call and some pictures of our visit with Santa.

Decorating at Uncle Jeff's and Aunt Micah's House

Since we are still in the states and it is getting closer to Christmas, we are getting to help decorate at our family's houses. It has been so much fun for all of us but we are itching to get back to our house to decorate. Here's the fun we had at Uncle Jeff's and Aunt Micah's house.

Thanksgiving Day

Here's a slide of how we spent Thanksgiving Day. We made the trip to Jackson, TN from Arkansas with Stacey's mom and sister taking the kids in one car and meeting Matt's sister and brother-in-law half-way to get the kids and Stacey driving another car with Matt lying flat in the back seat. (What would we do without family!!?? :)) We tried riding with Matt reclined in the front seat but he was too sick to travel like that. Now I know some of you are thinking, "Why in the world would they drive all of that way with Matt so sick???" Well, we had to make the trip before Friday morning's doctor appointment in Tennessee. So, we took our time, got to Jackson and moved Matt from lying down in the car to lying down on Ryan and Sara's couch. He didn't feel like eating all day but was grateful to be able to see everyone standing over him. By 9 that night Matt was hungry so I fed him leftover Thanksgiving dinner while he laid down on the couch! (Boy, he has his work cut out for him when this is all over!!LOL)

Kickin' Back with the Kings

Well, it's been a week or so since we have been with a strong internet connection. Now it is time to catch you up on what's been going on.
The day after we arrived in the states some of our dearest friends, the Kings, drove all the way from Pensacola to Cabot, Arkansas to see us. They were on their way to see family in VIRGINIA for Thanksgiving and decided to drop by here first. (SOOOOO NOT ON THE WAY!!!) It meant so much to us for them to make that long trip with their 3 kids. All of these pics were taken outside because that is all the kids wanted to do the whole time! Our kids miss the grass and leaves and the day was just beautiful for them to catch up on some good-ole playin'. Thanks guys!!! We love you!!

Update on Matt

I took Matt to a neurologist yesterday. The good news is that they ran the test that ruled out the hemmorhage we had feared. The bad news is that they still are not 100% sure what is wrong. They suspect an "exercise induced migraine" but are going to run other tests to make sure. We will take a migraine over a brain bleed any day! He was scheduled for another test today but he was too sick to even get out of bed. The doctor has now given him some major drugs to help with the pain and he will re-schedule for another day. Until then, please keep praying for his recovery. I am really starting to feel sorry for him! LOL (For all of you who know me and know I don't have the gift of compassion and mercy, you can go ahead and laugh!)

The Trip to America

We made it to America without any glitches. Matt had to ride with a medic and they got to ride in first class while the kids and I sat in economy! But really, all went well and the kids were great. The medic, Mr. Rob, even let me sit up in first class with Matt for a little while. He was such a sweet man and the kids thought he was the greatest! Here's some pics of the trip and some "sticker fun" the kids had with Mr. Rob.

The kids travel so well! Mr. Rob playing with the kids! He even let them put stickers all over his face.

Matt and Rob became great friends. We finally made it to Little Rock!

Unexpected trip to America!!!!

Well, we leave in 7 hours on an unexpected trip back home to America! Just look at this view of my parent's house! Oh, it looks so clean, homey and peaceful! I can't wait! I think I am just going to roll around in that grass!(ha) Maybe I will leave that for the kids!

We have so many emotions going through us, we don't know quite what to expect. We will be going home for a doctor's visit for Matt. We are anxious about the trip and about the tests he will be having while there but we are also sad to leave our friends (really family) here and then we are so excited to see our family and friends in America! Matt has had his roller coaster of feeling good and then feeling bad while I have the roller coaster of every emotion you could dream of!

For all of you who check our blog regularly and for those who have emailed and called giving your prayers and support, we THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts. I will be posting again in just a few days to update you on Matt's test results. When this is all over, I have one more story to post for you! You won't believe it when you read it!

The McDonald's Birthday Bash!

Everyone in Harmony! :)

Listen to this harmonious Birthday singing! :)

Birthday Week!

This week is the week for birthdays at our house. Stacey, Madison and Matthew Ray all have birthdays the first week of November. The festivities began with a party at the pre-school for Madison and Matthew Ray, followed by a party at our house with Mr. Siede and his family (shown above). We will have the final party this weekend at McDonalds! It is sure to be a great event. I have heard that McDonald's parties here are AMAZING!!! We will post the great PIRATES AND PRINCESS PARTY in a few more days!

Snappin' Beans

I have done some snappin' in my past but nothing like I have done since living here! There is so much available here but so many of our "ready foods" are so much more expensive. For example, I found velveeta the other day and saw that it cost $11. Oreos were $10! And a can of good tasting green beans can run $3-5. So, needless to say we are learning how to buy, cook and eat without breaking our budget. One way we do this is buying fresh green beans. I can buy a kilo (2 lbs) for about 25 cents!!! Pretty cheap, huh? One of Madison and Matthew Ray's new chores is snappin' beans. So far, they love it! We will see how long that lasts! :)

Matthew Ray Gets Glasses

Last week we made an appointment for Stacey and Meredith to see the eye doctor. We have never had Meredith's eyes checked so we thought it was about time. We went as a family to meet our new eye doctor here. We were told to come to our appointment at 7:30 PM (yes, that is normal here in Egypt!) We arrived a few minutes late (which is also normal here) and we saw the doctor at 9:15 PM (again, normal!) We entered the office and just planned for Meredith and Stacey to be checked but the doctor said it was good to start checking children's eyes at around 3 or 4 years of age. So, Matthew Ray volunteered to go first. The doctor checked his eyes and then gave a sigh...He said, "We will have to give him glasses." We were shocked! He never complained! But apparently he has a condition where he is farsighted and doesn't see well up-close. The doctor said that putting glasses on him now will keep him from becoming "cross-eyed" and then he might not need them in a few years. At first, Matthew Ray was a little worried about people laughing at him but he has been a real trooper! And of course, we think he looks adorable! (kinda like that little boy on Jerry McGuire, don't ya think?)

The Performance

It's short but VERY SWEET...Madison and Matthew Ray were a hit during the pre-school performance. We have no idea why Madison got to hold her own mic. We think everyone was so amazed that these two little "white kids" were singing their little hearts out in Arabic! We are so thankful for their school. They are taught in Arabic all day and the best part is that they are learning Bible stories and songs and learning how to pray in Arabic. (Oh, to have their young minds!!!) :)

School Party

Madison and Matthew Ray had a program at their school today. It was actually a graduation program for those going to k-5. Matt got to teach on the subject of raising children to the Coptic parents that attended. He started with one sentence in Arabic and then used a translator! :) Here are a few pictures of this special day. Stay tuned for the video of them singing in Arabic with their friends!

Matthew Ray Learns to Whistle!

Matthew Ray is growing up so fast! One of his friends at school taught him to whistle. Notice how he licks his bottom lip before each whistle. His friend told him that licking the bottom lip is the key to a good whistle. Aren't three year old's smart??
You will also notice how Madison loves teasing him. Don't worry-he gets his share of teasing in with her, too!

Dog Sitting Part 2

Gameela showing her tricks!

Dog Sitting

A friend of ours had to go away for the weekend and she asked us to dog-sit for her. The kids were so excited to be able to have a pet for a few days. We have had our history of pets but they never seem to work out. I just can't see having to feed and clean up someone else's poopy around here!!!! But the last two days with Gameela (meaning "beautiful" in Arabic) have been a lot of fun. She is really a neat dog. She is so smart and can do so many tricks. Thanks "H" for letting us keep her!

Hollywood...Here We Come!!!

It is a holiday weekend here so we have had some "down time" and it has been a lot of fun. One of the favorite pass times for the kids is dressing up and making up plays. The title of this particular play is "The Prince and the Princess." As you can see, Madison loves the camera (note her looking straight into the camera.) You can't see Madison when the witch said she was going to kill her but she was clapping her hands and when I asked her why, she said, "Oh, that is Matthew Ray's hint that it is his time to come out and save me!" We had a long laugh about that one! Arent' kids fun???

Kid's Performing

We have been so busy with language lately that we have had little time to blog. We did get to go to a wonderful conference last week in the middle of the desert. It was a fun time. Here are some pictures of the kids singing some songs at the conference. They sang some in English and some in Arabic. Their Arabic is amazing!! We are so proud of them.

A Little Language Confusion

Retreat...Trick or Treat...Happy Holidays...Happy Pumpkin Day...Throwing Leaves at friends...How do you think a three year old little boy can lump all of these in one very long conversation that has lasted for 2 days now. It all started yesterday morning when I got out some fall decorations for our dining room table. We were having some friends over that evening so we thought it was time to get some fall things out since the air is a little cooler now. The kids were so excited to help decorate. We put 3 pumpkins, fall leaves, candy corn (sent to me by some GREAT people!! thanks, guys!) and a table cloth on the table. After the whole 5 minutes it took to decorate was complete, Matthew Ray ran and turned out all of the lights, closed the curtains, and hid behind the couch. I said, "What are you doing, Matthew Ray?" He said, "I am hiding here and I will jump out and yell at our friends "Happy Pumpkin Day" when they get here!!!" I explained to him that they would not be arriving for another 5 hours. After being a little disappointed, he played for the rest of the afternoon. The door bell rang when our friends arrived and Matthew Ray wanted to help answer the door. When I opened the door, he yelled, "Happy Holidays!!" We all laughed and I tried to explain to our friends what had been going on in his little mind.
This morning we were getting the kids ready for school. We were telling them that they only had 2 days of school this week and then we leave for a retreat. Matthew Ray started jumping up and down and said, "Yeah!!! We get to go to the RE-Trick or Treat!!! I am going to throw leaves on all of my friends and jump around!!!" Of course, we tried to explain the difference between retreat and trick or treat and we also tried to explain that we didn't think there would be any leaves to throw on his friends but all of that didn't seem to bother him a bit. He's just glad to get a break from school and in his little mind all of these phrases put together make perfect sense. I am beginning to understand him so much more because this is exactly what my brain is doing with ARABIC!!!!
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