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!