Christmas!

Christmas is almost here and it's exciting to think that this will be the last Christmas we spend as just the two of us. We are spending our time in Sharm with two other couples relaxing on the beach and having some quiet time. I'll be reading and catching up on all of Tullian's podcasts and Jordan will be practice his photography, so I'm sure I'll be posting some pics soon after!

Things in the Stone household have been busy as usual. Jordan's working a lot and helping out at school and around the house. Starting my 3rd trimester, my energy level has been dropping, but I'm hopeful that it will get back up to speed closer to my due date. I do have to be careful and not overdue it. My last doctor appointment was kind of scary. Annabelle's heart rate was too fast and didn't seem to be going back down. We ended up going to the hospital for a trace reading and her heart rate was back in the normal range. It was probably stress related, so thanks to doctor's orders, I'm going to enjoy some sleeping in and lounging around time.

We've got lots of guests coming into town! Entertaining always gives me an extra bounce in my step and gives me an excuse to cook everything in my recipe box:) In January, Danielle and her husband, and Ronnie and Jeremy will be here, in February, Jordan's parents will come, in March, my parents will visit, and in April, my sister will make her first visit to Cairo! Yay! Annabelle's excited too! She looks forward to meeting her two sets of grandparents and her aunt!

My goal this holiday season is to master the art of sewing on a machine. I have managed to break two needles, severely knot the bobbin twice, and use a whole roll of thread on one project. I've got a manual and I've been trying to follow it to the letter, but even after my sad attempts to sew, I just sit there and think, can it really be that hard or am I the factor that is messing up a perfectly well designed machine and it's potential! To be continued...

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the Stones!

10 things I'm thankful for:

10. Baking/Eating this



It's an oven pancake that I whip up the night before and just pop in the oven in the morning before work. Yum!

9. Jordan got me a Singer sewing maching!!! My mother-in law taught me how to get started! I am so thankful for her! She is a skilled quilter just like all the wonderful ladies in Jordan's family:)

8. Learning how to crochet...the right way:) Nanny taught me to crochet, but she was left handed, so I learned it backwards! I appreciate the internet videos and have now mastered the double crochet.

7. Mini-break on the weekend in beautiful Beirut and driving with the windows down in the mountains with hubby.



We are moving to Beirut! To get ready for our move, we did some "research". We went grocery shopping, looked at some furniture stores, and drove around some nice neighborhoods to get a feel for our surroundings. Jordan navigated around the city pretty well.

6. Having two wonderful baby showers in the states, reconnecting with friends and family, and having a mini-girls night with my three ladies and baby Molly, enjoying the drive from Texas to Oklahoma listening to Taylor Swift, having wonderful parents and in-laws that I didn't want to say goodbye to, and doing it all in 5 days:)









When Beth (my beautiful sister-in law) and I touched bellies, our baby girls kicked back at the same time!! It was incredible!

5. All our bags of baby gear made it back to Cairo:) On our flight from Cairo to the US, the airport people made me sit in a wheelchair and I got in front of everyone in line and lifted onto the plane in a ramp all because my sweet husband asked for help with carrying my bags!!:)

4. Having wonderful friends to share Thanksgiving with! We brought back some cooking staples from the states and had lots of traditional food that hit the spot!

Two pregnant ladies in the kitchen:)





15 people, turkey, lots of laughs:)

3. Knowing Annabelle is growing strong each and every day! Currently, I am 26 weeks (two more weeks away until my third trimester!)

2. Jordan, my sweet husband! His laugh fills my heart! I also love his awful attempt to make pancakes. It's nice to know I'm needed!!





1. Saved by grace!

Really?!

So, these are the kind of lame messages I get on fb from random Egyptian men. This one gave Jordan and I a good laugh! Enjoy!


hello kristina ,

i hope i am not bothering u with my messages , i saw your profile here by chance and i thought it would be nice to get to know u if u will be interested

i dont know if i can have such a chance to hear from u or not , but i hope it will happen , and i guess we are all here for a reason , which is mainly knowing people whom we can share either feelings or ideas or what ever together , and it such a good thing that we are able to do this on the web , as u can feel free to express your feelings without being shy of any thing , and in the same time u feel safe and relax , and its like a big gallery of people , u can choose whom to contact or to reply for with any obligation , and even if u choose to contact someone and then u found out that he is not same like u thought or not the right person to be in contact with, then u can shut him down any time u want and without any obligation .

i hope that u got my message , i dont want to make it long for u , but i hope i will get a reply soon and we can get to know each other,u can also add me to your m s n if u would witch is a much easier way to communicate or if u have a better way of communication please let me know about it :) ehab.sh2@hotmail.com , and please if u dont want me to contact you again please let me know .

waiting for your reply

ehab

Trusting

This week was a rough one! I couldn't seem to get a break from being attacked. One thing after another just seemed to crumble and I'm not sure if this is a time of being tested or if God is closing some doors and opening others. I know for sure my husband will stand by me and support me through anything we face as a family. He is so encouraging and I cannot thank him enough!!! It's the weekend and I surprised him with french toast in bed for taking the time out of his day to be there by my side this week. He deserves breakfast in bed every day!

We have two trips to look forward to. Beirut next weekend and the states in two weeks. I am ready to be somewhere else!!! I feel so different in these two places..it's freedom! I just feel trapped in Cairo...more like cornered and my instincts are to fight or flight. Well, I'm done fighting.

Just being honest, but I'm not sure what the future has in store for us. We have so much to consider with Annabelle's arrival and with Jordan's job. I'm off in the spring for maternity leave, so that gives us some flexibility to make decisions on what's next. Just be in prayer over these changes. I can't see what's in store, but the Lord can!

Annabelle has been keeping me up at night with all the squirming she is doing! It is really exciting to feel her moving around! Every time I sleep on my stomach(which is most comfortable for me), she wakes me up. She is much bigger now! Almost the size of a ruler. My belly is officially a hand magnet and the kids love to put their ear up to it thinking they can hear Annabelle. It's funny!! They are so protective and tell me that I shouldn't bend over or move anything in the class. I'm thankful the kids are being so helpful and nurturing! They will make great parents in the future!

I am excited to have some people coming into town this weekend and later in the week. I think that they will help take my mind off things. I really don't need to be sitting around worrying! I need to be spending time in fellowship.

My goal this week: Trust in the Lord.

Anxious!!!

I was at the doctor yesterday and I was explaining to her that I have been very anxious about everything and not able to sleep well at night. We were asking her a ton of questions like we do every session and I found myself interrupting mid-sentence to ask another question. She then turned to Jordan and asked if I was anxious before getting pregnant. Sadly, yes!

I figured it would help to write out exactly what I am anxious about and pray over one area at a time. Thank goodness I am not in control and the Lord is! I need Him to remind me every time I start to worry that He has a plan!

Here is my list. Please pray that I would not have these burdens on my heart for very long:

1. Terrified of labor (watched some real birth videos and they just look so painful!)
2. Not being able to feel the baby move yet
3. Trying not to get sick from all the germs at school
4. Not doing enough around the house
5. Overdoing it at work
6. The empty nursery (more like a storage room)
7. The stuff we have to do in the states in one week
8. The mess of paperwork it takes to get our child a passport
9. Convincing Jordan that I need new shoes (my feet are seriously getting bigger)
10. My never-ending to-do list (this is before a baby...ahhhh)

Our daughter!

We are thrilled to be having a baby girl: Annabelle Grace will be here in the spring! I can't stop thinking about how fun having a girl will be! She already has a personality on the ultrasound videos. Every time we find a good position to take a picture she turns around and faces the other direction or covers her face with her hands. Even the doctor starts to laugh!

We are so blessed!!!

Belly pics and ultrasounds:

I already got my birthday wish!

Today I'm 27 and pregnant (11 weeks 5 days to be exact)! What a great present from the Lord!!!! I'm beginning to sense that my years of quiet birthday mornings are going to be a fleeting memory. I will have to document so I can compare: Today I leisurly ate breakfast while watching the news, planned out the day with confidence that I will stick to the plans, and caught a few more Z's.

I can't help but imagine how different our lives will be by this time next year. I wait in anticipation for new sounds to invade the stillness! My mornings will be filled with feedings, changings, soothing, singing, kisses and hugs, baby talk, rocking, and scratching my head in confusion to what the baby needs and wants and wondering how everyone else deciphers crys and shreiks. I'm sure I will hear Jordan make the second or third batch of coffee, trip on a toy that conjures up a tune, and watch as the baby notices his every move as he walks around. I will probably be asking for a nap for my birthday instead of gift certificates and I won't be able to remember the last time I slept more than four consecutive hours...so I've been told.

Keeping all this in mind, my birthday wish for next year will be to have grace in times of change and to keep my expectations of parenthood great because I've heard they will be greater!!

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." -Matthew 11:28

Hospital visits

Jordan and I visited two more hospitals last night. Since we were in Korba, we decided to check out El Hayat, a christian hospital with good references from friends of ours who have delivered there and Cleopatra, a hospital I've been hearing about since day 1 from Americans living in Cairo. El Hayat is small, but very busy and crowded. They list their services in the front entrance and we were glad to see that they had a NICU, u/s, and Obgyn. The front staff seemed to be overwhelmed and they weren't able to help us. They told us to go to the 2nd floor and ask the receptionists there. We did and after some language barriers, we were told that they only have basic rooms, no suites. We saw one and it was definitely basic...it had 4 walls. Delivery happens in the OR. They didn't know if family members like my husband would be able to go into the OR with me. We did see the NICU which had two babies in beds and one in an incubator. The baby was a preterm and seemed to be doing fine. It was scary that they let us walk in to that area. Jordan and I tried to keep it quick so as not to spread germs.

The second hospital, Cleopatra, seemed much more "Americanized". Receptionists were helpful, it didn't feel overcrowded, and we have heard only good things about this hospital. We toured two suites which were big and much more patient friendly with a fridge, closet, and an electronic bed that looked very new. I felt comfortable because it was more like a hospital then a hotel. We got to see into the nursery and they had lots of beds, but no incubators. There is another room on the floor above just for preterm babies. There were flat screens everywhere listing the doctors and their hours for every service the hospital offered which was very helpful. We also walked away with a brochure of the doctors names and hours in Arabic which is fine. Luckily, we have friends from Broken Arrow, OK that live a couple buildings down from Cleopatra. It's nice not to feel so far away from people we know.

We plan to tour the famous El-Nada birthing center on an island on the Nile. Lots of foreigners have delivered there and we are anxious to compare it to Cleopatra which is currently at the top of our list. Unfortunately, it is so far away!! It could take us a couple hours to get there if the traffic is bad. To be continued I guess!

"4" Stones in Cairo

The Stones are back in Cairo! Jordan's dad is with us to help us move to our new place. It is his first international trip and we are thrilled to have him!! I still can't believe he is here. Cairo can be crazy, frustrating, and ridiculous, but with family here it becomes a little more manageable when your apartment doesn't have water during the day, your stove and dishwasher are broken, you can't eat out until the sun goes down(Ramadan), and every errand has about 2 hours of traffic built into it!

Luckily, we are using some of this craziness to our benefit. We are all still jet-lagged and we are staying up all hours of the night when the city is awake and the water is back on! At midnight we toured one of the hospitals called the American Hospital. Trust me when I say it looks nothing like America. It was cleaner than I expected and the Royal Suite was pretty spacious with enough room for Jordan and his parents and any other visitors to spend the night. I was already aware that I would need to provide everything like bed sheets, pillows, blankets, buckets, everything...so the emptiness of the room wasn't such a shock. We saw the Nursery NICU and saw babies who seemed to be surviving their Egyptian birth. They had incubators for babies in need, but they weren't being used. It was nice to see they had them just in case. The lady giving us the tour didn't speak English, but some how we managed to find out that they will do blood transfusions and they do both c-section and natural births. That was great to hear since 80% of doctors only do c-sections. We plan to tour El Nada hospital and Cleopatra hospital, but the American hospital is the closest to us.

Our house might be ready to move into by the end of this week or early next week!! I will take some pics and post them as soon as I can stand to be around the paint and bug spray fumes. There are so many bugs and they are HUGE! I will be at war with them for the first couple of months, but I will win!

Baby is doing great! I keep on getting sick and nauseous so that is a good sign! I still can't stomach raw vegetables very well which is crazy because I normally love them!! Our doctor in the states was really concerned with my diet and needs me to buckle down and get those veggies and protein in. I've just started showing a bit, so at least the baby is growing!! More milk and dark green veggies and the baby will be the world's healthiest unborn!

Nick on the camel

Nick's Egyptian Adventure!

Counting down

4 more days of Kodaly classes!!!! Pray that this week goes by quick! With the combination of being sick all the time and having to sit in class for 8 hours, it has been quite challenging. We do get to put on a choir performance which has been a blast working on!!

I will try to start my belly photos this week. I don't think I start showing until around when school starts in September, but some of my friends started showing as early as 7 weeks. I'm on week 6! We will see. Grow baby stone!!

Jordan is enjoying Florida and soaking in the sun. He comes back in less than a week! I can't wait to hug my handsome!!

Our precious Stone

The Lord has blessed us so much! He is so merciful and sovereign! Jordan and I will be welcoming a lil' Stone next year! I ask that you pray for a safe and healthy pregnancy over this time. Pray that the Lord gives us the strength and protection!

Psalm 8:9 "O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!"

Day of Resting

I am at home today after injuring myself in the kitchen and causing whiplash to my neck all in pursuit of a fly. Note: When trying to swat at a fly, never bend down with your neck still up and do a sudden motion with your arm unless you want an explosion of pain down your spine. Now I am literally the walking zombie, unable to swing my arms, lift them, look left or right, up or down. Currently, I have the ice pack perched on my neck and shoulder like a telephone, there are 4 pillows supporting me to sit up. Jordan was there for me, helping and reassuring me that a few days of bed rest will be the cure.

Despite my injury, I've been blessed these past couple of weeks. We met some friends that are from the same area Jordan is from and they are living in Cairo too...with kids!!! They are super awesome and if I gain more mobility, we plan to see them this weekend too! :)

My sister got engaged and I got to hear all about it at 3am, but I was awake for this news for sure! I am so happy for Jeanine and Scott (my future brother-in-law)! I think they are planning their wedding for Fall 2011. I can't wait! She will be a beautiful bride!

Two more weeks until I am back in Dallas! I am excited to see the family. I am also looking forward to being in a place were I don't stick out all the time. No more random people following us everywhere or stopping their conversations to look at us, or standing up in the back of a moving vehicle to check out the foreigners. Oh to blend in again!

Speaking of Egypt, we are looking at extending our stay a little while longer...possibly one more year, if God wills. I really like the gig I have at the school and Jordan likes the free rent. Plus, we are only a 4 hour flight away from Italy and that is hard to give up!

"I will praise the Lord, who counsels me, even at night, my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken." Psalm 16:7-8

K

Busy week

We have been busy this week trying to finish preparations for Jordan's birthday celebration next weekend. So far we've changed up our apartment quite a bit and it's starting to resemble a cozy home:)

Our cozy Egyptian home:

1. Kitchen Cabinets

2. Desk

3. Decorated walls

4. Completed guest bedroom

5. Party decorations with a Mexican theme!!

Three day weekend!

Jordan and I drove to Alexandria last night. I am glad to have a weekend to relax! Last time, we had a great time! We stayed at the Windsor Hotel which has great views of the coast. This time we are staying at Le Metropole which happens to be featured in our travel book. I like it better than the other hotel, although they are very similar! This hotel offers lots of little things such as bathrobes and slippers, a sitting area that you walk into rather than a bedroom you walk into first, and there is a park and the sea outside my window rather than a busy street and the sea. The food is a little nicer and the best Chinese food in all of Egypt is across the park tempting me!! The best part: There is a famous bakery next door! I can smell fresh bread and chocolate when I open my window:)

I am looking forward to walking around leisurely and spending time with Jordan. I think we are headed to the mall tonight which always makes me giddy for some reason. I know the shops are all going to be the same as the mall in Cairo, but I guess now I have time to look and I am not running errands. Tomorrow I want to go have coffee at the bakery, sit and read with Jordan and then head to the palace gardens since last time we went I was so dizzy I could barely walk.

My sister is in Galveston for her big race this weekend! I tried to convince Jordan to fly me to Houston so I could surprise her, but he wouldn't budge! I REALLY wish I was there.

Jordan and I were laughing at the fact that there are parts of this country which remind us of the states. Here are some of the locations we kept pinpointing along the way: Alexandria's roads=Houston, the open desert=West Texas driving to Lubbock, farms=Oklahoma, palm tree oasis=California, oh and Sharm El Sheik=Arizona. I guess we are both homesick. Two more months!!!!!! I can't wait!

The Stone Weekly Report

Cairo news:
Jordan was so sweet and cooked dinner for us last night. He is quite the chef! The food was very well seasoned and perfectly cooked. I think I will let him cook more often!

Jordan bought some chairs for the balcony and has been taking advantage of the perfect weather. Unfortunately, it is mosquito season here and I am being eaten alive!

I am determined to find a sewing class! I think there is one in Maadi. Anyone know where I can get a sewing machine in Cairo? I don't need anything fancy, just something to get me started. I am so ready to get my craftiness on!

Florida news:
I miss Coral Ridge church, I miss our lookout pier in Hollywood Beach, I miss everything!!!

Did I mention we own a house there? We now have renters which rocks and now I can live vicariously through them.

Family news:
Jeanine won a place in the ING NYC Marathon this November!! She claims she never won anything, but I was there when she won a band award in 7th grade and employee of the month in her after school part-time job. :) I am so excited that she won this and she is going to rock in NYC!

Took on the cinnamon rolls

I decided to document making cinnamon rolls in our Egyptian apartment. Our kitchen doesn't have countertop space, so whenever I cook something that takes up room, the kitchen table becomes my countertop.

Our oven doesn't have temperature settings so I have to guess when it says 350 degrees F. That makes it a little too easy to burn or destroy my baking creations. This time the outer layers of the cinnamon roll were a little tough and the center layers were just right. I'll take it!!

Update on last week's broken brush:

I got a new one, better than the previous one, still Italian made, and a fraction of the price I paid in the states.

Update on my hatred for heels:

I got a pair of black flats that I can wear with my work clothes. Yessssss!!!!

The Good and the Bad

Jordan is back from his time in Lebanon which I am grateful for!! He brought with him lots of goodies such as Lebanese roasted nuts! They are amazing.

Good news this week:

My friend Anna and her hubby Mark had their first baby! Molly is adorable!

Jordan surprised me with tickets to Turkey in May. What a blessing it is to be alongside my hubby when he travels!

I have a four day weekend for Coptic Easter and a much needed break!

Silk soy milk was at the store and I purchased enough to last me 3 months!

Had an Avocado Fruit Cocktail at the grocery store that was heavenly!

Bad news this week:

I broke my brush trying to swat at a mosquito.

I have turned against my high heels...they are so annoying in Egypt!

My recent baking has been disappointing. I am great at cooking, but baking...I don't know what happened. I guess I am turning into Rachel Ray(she claims she can't bake). I plan to change this with some cinnamon rolls this weekend!

Good week or bad week, it just doesn't matter! The Lord is and always will be steadfast!

"The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statues of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward."

Psalm 19:7-11

Weekend Update

The weekend is here. I love that I have time to take a bubble bath, read my books, write, and just relax. Jordan is in Lebanon so the apartment is empty. I miss him a ton. He seems to be traveling a lot lately and I don't like it one bit. I would really like to travel with him. Occupation: Traveling Wife. Perfect. Here are my fav pics of Lebanon that I took in Sept. 09:

At least one person is getting things done in this family. I am being particularly lethargic. I think it is by choice though. I did take random pictures of things in my apartment up close last night to see if my camera does the adjusting for me or if it comes out blurry.

My job is going good and I am putting exhausting amounts of work into the end of the year plans. The kids are going to be little stars in the Talent Show in May. We've got one more performance, graduation ceremony and then I have three weeks of being a college student again at UNT.

In early May I travel to Dubai for a weekend. Jordan's been there, but this will be a first for me. I guess from what I have heard it is very Vegas in that everything is a facade. I just can't forget that I am still in the Middle East. There are laws about PDA and I'm not even sure if I can hold hands with my hubby in public. I am excited to see the tallest building in the world.

My parents came to visit Egypt. My Dad's first words when he saw us were "Culture Shock!" They had some good Cairo experiences. We got lost on Salah Salem street and went into some interesting market areas full of people so they had a taste of the "real" Cairo. They enjoyed their Nile Cruise, the museum and the restaurants. It was nice to have them around. My Dad is intimidatingly tall compared to the Egyptian men and I had no problems with harassment when he was around. It was actually the way I wish Cairo was all the time. Comfortable.

My sister has her 1/2 Iron Man race in April and I wish I could be there to watch her at the finish line. She is the coolest woman I know. I am super proud of her!

I am super blessed. Awesome family, check. Job, check. Adventures, check. Savior Jesus Christ, check. Blueberry smoothie in my hand, check. Happy Weekend!