Big Helpers!

Madison and Matthew Ray are becoming quite the big helpers these days. Not only do they do regular chores but they help out when we really need them around here! :) Here's two videos back to back...the first is of them helping with the paint project and the second is a clip of them washing dishes together. (Notice their conversation...Madison KNEW I was videoing and Matthew Ray did NOT know I was videoing). Madison asks soooo nicely, "Matthew can I have the sponge PLEASE?" Matthew Ray says, "Nah, I'm usin' it." I wish they acted like they were on video all of the time!:)

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Some Re-decorating at 10 PM!!!!

Meredith felt that she needed a "more grown up-ish" room (with a little help from Juliana and Ashli). As many know, I am a planner but I didn't marry a planner and I also have a sister who is not a planner! Matt and Juliana began the project of painting Meredith's room on Saturday afternoon. Matt, Juliana, Ashli and Meredith left our house at 8 pm to go buy paint and supplies. They returned at 9 pm and we began the "family project" at 10 PM!!! CRAZY! Anyway, everyone got involved and we had a great time!
We decided to paint her walls a sage-ish color and we have ordered pink polka dots to stick on her wall. Dada will be bringing us the polka dots so we don't have the finished product to show you but so far, it looks pretty good!

Future Mates???

Maybe we could pre-arrange these cuties for marriage one day!

Juliana's Photography

I really think Juliana has a future in photography. She has a gift of capturing moments. And she even does it with just a regular camera, no fancy equipment, and sometimes some uncooperative kids! Here's a slide show of some of her work:

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Red Sea Relaxation!

We took another trip to the Red Sea this year for a few days of relaxation. It was so much fun to get away from the city and just do NOTHING! Juliana and Ashli also got to go with us. They needed a break for sure!! We lived in the pool, played some on the beach, rode some jet ski's, ate and slept. It was great! Juliana took lots of pictures of us. She is a great photographer! I have so many to share. I will try to get a slide show posted in the next couple of days so you can see all of the fun! Here are a few until I can get some uploaded:

My BAAAAAABY!

Matthew Ray is LOVING the presence of Juliana in our home this summer! He no longer calls her Juliana...he calls her "my baaaaby!" It is the cutest thing ever but I am kind of sad that I have been replaced! :)
Here they are at the July 4th celebration dancing together:

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Funny Pharoah Land Moments...No. 5 on the 4th

Today we celebrated the 4th of July by going to the big celebration here in our city with all of the other Americans who live here! It was a great time of visiting with friends, games, dancing, door prizes, hamburgers and PORK hot dogs!! We told the kids last night that we were going to the 4th celebration today. Madison ran into the room to inform Ashli of what we were going to do:

"Ashli, Ashli!!! We are going to the big party tomorrow and there is going to be...be....be...WIRE FORKS!!!!" (well, we didn't get to see any WIRE FORKS or FIREWORKS tonight but it was still a grand time!:)

One more funny Madison moment:
At the end of the evening we were trying to gather everyone up to leave and we couldn't find Madison. I (Stacey) finally found her in the dark beside the trampoline/bungee jump. She was hysterically crying. I asked her what was wrong and she told me that a girl called her little and told her she was a baby. I told her not to worry about it and then we headed home. After she had been in bed tonight for at least 30 minutes she called me in her room and said, "That makes me sad about that girl calling me little and a baby!" I told her, "You don't need to worry about it. You are almost 6 and you really are big." She said, "If I see that girl again and she says that, can I just pinch her???!!" (I think we have our work cut out for us with this one!!)

FUN FUNFETTI!!

Can you believe this??? EIGHT boxes of funfetti cake and the icing to go with it!!! We have some dear people in Tulsa, OK who love us and love to see our kids smile! We had a friend from there come here for a visit and we opened a suitcase full of funfetti, cookie mixes, brownie mixes, and lots of fun spa stuff for me! (they knew I needed to be taking it easy, I guess!) So, I baked cupcakes tonight, just ate one, and now I am off to take a bubble bath!!

Thanks guys! We love you!

Coptic Cave Church with Ashli and Juliana

The Plagues Have Returned to Egypt!

Do you remember the story in the Old Testament where God brought judgement on the Egyptians for their sins by inflicting them with different plagues? Well, we feel like the plagues have returned to Egypt and are appearing in the Dunavant household! But I don't think we have any really big sins out there! :)
Plague one:
I, Stacey have had a terrible month and we could not figure out what was wrong with me. I was crying all of the time, couldn't focus, was confused and had terrible headaches. This all started happening a few days before Juliana and Ashli arrived. Finally, the doctor has discovered that I have a bad thyroid and that was what was causing all of these symptoms. I have been ordered to rest for about a month to try and allow the meds to catch up with my stressed out body! That would sound great to a lot of folks but it is driving me crazy! I am a tasker and it is not normal for me to just lay around.

Plague two:
Matt was being such a sweet husband as he entered the room quietly last night so he wouldn't wake me. As he was tip toeing through the bedroom he slammed his pinky toe into our elliptical machine and immediately began to scream. It soon turned blue.
Plague three:
One of the airconditioner fuses went out last night in Meredith's room (immediately after the toe stubbing incident). So, Matt hobbled into her room to fix it. He and Juliana had to move the bed before he could get to the fuse box. While moving the bed Matt cut the bottom of his other foot and blood starting gushing everywhere! The poor guy came hobbling into our room to show me and I was too sick to even care! So, he had to bandage his foot all alone.
Plague four:
Matt was walking out of our room tonight and stumped ANOTHER toe on his office chair! At that point, we knew these event really needed a blog!



Plague five:
I almost forgot that 3 of the people in our household are battling summer colds. It seems so minor compared to everything else! :)

Even though all of this has been a bit trying, we are still very thankful that we are not being overtaken by a bunch of frogs...ewwwww....gross!!!!
We are also very thankful that Juliana and Ashli have been here during this time! They are really a God-send and we couldn't have done it without them!

Here's Ashli reading Junie B. Jones with the kids before bedtime. This has been a nightly event and Madison and Matthew Ray LOVE it!


Here's me and Juliana in our "all natural" look! Isn't she beautiful..it is sickening to look that good without make-up!

New Do's..

Juliana is loving the way Egyptians are pampered at the coiffure! She and Meredith decided to go and get "new do's" a few days ago. Juliana added a few highlights and Meredith is sporting a new cut. My hairdresser, Mohammed, was afraid I was going to kill him for giving Meredith such a grown up look. Meredith told us that there was a woman at the coiffure that asked if it was okay with her mom for her to get such a cut. Egyptians make me laugh! Anyhoo, here are the new looks:

Daddy Takes the Stage Today!!!

Daddy,
We love you! We thought of all of the reasons why you are so special to us and decided to make you a slide show! Today is YOUR DAY!!! We are so thankful for you!

Of all of the things that we are thankful for, we are MOST thankful that you are a picture of Jesus to us and you show us the unconditional love of our Heavenly Father!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DADDY!

Hey Daddy! I know you are traveling and not home right now. I figured you wouldn't be checking your email so I downloaded your Father's Day Slideshow for you (and everyone else) to see! I love you! You really are the GREATEST DAD! I love you so much!
Love,
Stacey

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

The Video I Promised...

I forgot that I said I would post a sweet video of Madison and Matthew Ray singing at the graduation ceremony! So, here you have it. We are so proud of them...they have really made improvements in their Arabic and seem "right at home" at their school.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Park, Playing, Pals and Pizza!

As I said in the last post, I haven't been feeling well in the last couple of weeks...because of this, Matt has been really busy keeping things going around the house...because of this he has been exhausted! Thankfully our neighbor-friends invited Madison and Matthew Ray to go with them to the park and to eat pizza. They had such a great time and we were able to catch up on a little rest. We are so thankful to have friends to help out when we really need a break! Thanks guys!

Pharoah Funny Moment and Funny Phrase..Madison

MADISON....what else can I say...she is such a character!!

Funny Phrase:

I (Stacey) have been having a difficult time the last couple of weeks and my mood has not been the most pleasant to be around. Anyway, yesterday Madison decided that it would be fun to use an entire bottle of new shampoo for a bubble bath. I came into the bathroom only to see enough bubbles for 100 bubble baths!! I immediately started yelling and told her "she knew better than that!!!" Then in tears Madison replied, "YOUR FACE LOOKS LIKE YOU NEVER EVER WANT A DAUGHTER ANYMORE!!!" (FYI to all of you who are feeling sorry for her..I loved on her a few minutes later and let her know how much I loved her!)

Funny Moment

Juliana, Madison's COUNTRY Aunt, has great influence on her little personality! Take a look at the following music video...performance by Madison, produced by Juliana. (If Madison is going to have a future in country music singing, we think she needs to learn to stay a little more focused...notice her brushing the floor toward the end of her performance!)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Time for some pampering at the Coiffure

One of my favorite things about Egypt is the Coiffure! Juliana, Ashli and I decided that we needed some pampering so we had our hair washed, dryed and straightened, pedicures and manicures. The best thing about all of it was the price! My total was $8!!!!

Madison Graduates Pre-school!

This past week it was graduation time from pre-school! Madison will be starting Kindergarten in August. We can't believe how big and smart she is now! She is such a joy! Stacey got to speak to the parents at the program and Matt ended our time in prayer for the graduates and their parents. It was a great day!

Ashli and Juliana are here!!! Yippy!

Ashli and Juliana arrived this past Friday morning. We are so happy to have them with us this summer! They brought goodies and presents for everyone!!! Thanks guys..we love you so much! A few hours after they arrived, we got them up and took them to Madison and Matthew Ray's pre-school where they will be teaching this summer. The special event was a graduation party for Madison's class. It was a great time...stay tuned for a sweet video of Madison and Matthew Ray singing!












Guess who????

Crazy Week

Meredith had CRAZY WEEK at her school this past week. She had backwards day, crazy outift and hair day, alien day and school color day. Here she is sporting her crazy outfit and hair. She absolutley loves events like this!!


Here she is as an alien.