Christmas Eve

9 years ago today, Christ saved me through His grace alone! In the Fall of 2002, I was invited to attend church and I listened to a worship song proclaiming that Jesus loves us despite our sin. Not only that, He took away the punishment for sin by dying on the cross.  I was a sceptic and I wanted answers.  I needed to know more about this Jesus character. I started reading the Bible (the book of John) for the first time.  I learned about His promise of eternal life for all who seek His ways.  What I found changed everything. On Christmas Eve, Jesus revealed in my heart His truth. His promise became real. I knew my depravity and my need for a Savior. I was given the ability to have faith and my eyes were opened to His words. I knew that this would be a life changing, hope-filled journey. I can't imagine a better Christmas present than the gift of grace and mercy that Jesus gives. Yes, 2002, not a bad Christmas Eve!

Servant

Being a mom sometimes feels like being a servant. I am constantly cleaning up messes, fixing meals, and making sure that everyone is healthy, happy, fed, and rested. If I was sick, the whole house would fall apart! At least it seems that way because a servant’s life is performance-based. The definition of servant is a person who performs duties for others; a person employed in a house on domestic duties or as a personal attendant. I always thought that we were servants of the Lord. My performance for the Lord as His servant would be a failure. I would ultimately get sick and things would fall apart. The good news is He is the servant, not us. He died on the cross for us, He dwells in us, and our performance doesn’t matter because He has finished the work for us. Christ has done the work in our hearts, He has given us the Holy Spirit, and He has paid the price for our sins. It is finished. What good news to us! We don’t have to depend on our performance to be righteous in God’s presence.


If we ever hear the words from God, “Well done good and faithful servant,” He isn’t talking to us. God is talking to Christ who He sees in us. Remember, we are clothed in Christ, marked with His blood, our sins are covered in Him, and we are made in His image. Christ is standing before God in our place. He is the servant God is talking to because His performance was perfect. His performance pleases God. Christ is the Mighty Servant through whom we are able to gaze on the face of God and hear sweet words of adoration from our Father. Blessed are those in Christ.

A Praying Life...and then there's mine

Loving this Friday morning! Annabelle is taking her morning nap and I have some rare time to write!

Yesterday I had a migraine. I tend to get them with nausea and sensitivity to light and they always last for 8 hours or more despite medicine.  It messes with my vision right before the pain sets in, so I have about 30 minutes to prepare.  I got things "ready" for my incapacitation: Laundry done, baby fed, dinner ready. I called the babysitter, she showed up minutes later, I handed her a schedule and the baby and got in bed.  I prayed out loud (probably scared the sitter) that the Lord would heal my pain fast and then I fell asleep for an hour.  When I woke up, my migraine was gone. Praise the Lord!

I've been reading A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller.  Great book if you are like me and are allergic to praying out loud. It makes me SOOOO uncomfortable, even to the point where if someone asks me to pray out loud in a group, my husband jumps in and prays instead. He is a good man! Taking the bullet for me. Praying out loud shouldn't be like getting shot and it isn't about me or how I sound. Hence why this book is so helpful. :)

I need Jesus, what else can I say! I hope He uses me as a prayer warrior for all the folks out there that need healing, answers, and comfort from the Lord (I need it daily!!). Give grace to me as I stumble through my words, messy and undone, childlike and awkward. To Jesus, maybe it sounds just right.

Playtime

 

Cute as a button

 Annabelle and Jasmine










She did it!

Play time with Annabelle just got a little more awesome!

It's my birthday again...this seems to happen at least once a year:)

28! Made it. Thanks be to the Lord. This is my official "old" number.  When I was a kid, I always use to think 28 years old was really, really old. I was a really stupid kid.

So, I found this video on my computer that I made while I was pregnant, but didn't know it yet.  Two days after this video, I would find out the great news for myself! And ironically, I wanted my 5th grade class in Egypt to sing happy birthday in Arabic because I thought it was cool! What a nice birthday present one year later:)



Giggles & Tickles

Gift from G-ma!

Thanks G-ma for the soft tiles for Annabelle's nursery! She is enjoying her playtime!   

 

Second try...

Much better! She still gets her vitamins, but in smaller amounts twice a day mixed with rice cereal, bananas and formula.

You fed her what?!

This is what it looks like to eat pureed bananas with poly-v-sol and iron supplement added in.

Poor thing! If anyone knows the secret to making vitamins taste good, let me know!

Journey of my Singer

My Singer sewing machine was last year's birthday gift from my wonderful husband to me:) I take it with me from Plano, Texas to Cairo, Egypt as my carry-on luggage. 
In Cairo, Singer and I have a love-hate relationship as I attempt to learn how to sew.  I break all the needles except for one, but I successfully accomplish three sewing projects!

The revolution happened and Singer is left behind with all of our other belongings.  I shed a tear over Singer.  Let me explain: I wanted to practice sewing so I could join Jordan's family on their quilting retreats. So, yes I cry over a $100 piece of plastic and metal.

Then, Jordan goes back to Cairo with his dad and brother to our Villa, untouched and just as we left it.  Singer goes in a box and onto a truck that survives it's way through Cairo traffic, up to Alexandria, on a ship over the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, to Miami, and then on a plane to Chicago to sit in a house of a friend of ours. 

Jordan flies up to Chicago this week and picks up the very box that Singer is in.  Singer is loaded on to a plane to Detroit as Jordan gets on to a plane to Atlanta.  Yes, Singer is on the wrong plane.  Singer finally makes it to Florida (again) and is brought to us by the airport people and placed on our porch in the middle of the night.  I discover it the next morning:) 

I open up the box and pull out Singer, place it on the kitchen table and marvel at the thought of a night of sewing.  I run errands all day, cook dinner, feed the baby, watch a movie with Jordan, put the baby to sleep, sit down at the table to spend time where I left off with Singer and realize that every piece of metal on that machine is snapped, twisted, torn, broken and dangling. Yup, that chunk of plastic that traveled more than most humans, that was cried over, that was lost and returned, that was a gift from my wonderful husband is broken. 

I need a reminder of the gospel every day.  I have started over many times, given up possessions many times, and realized each time the beauty and freedom of His saving grace. The Lord has seen us twisted, bent, broken and yet he still uses us and refines us as servants to bring glory to his kingdom.  He cherishes our journeys, cries over our separation, eagerly awaits our return, picks us up and places us high, only for us to be humbled in His perfect presence.  His gift to us cannot break, be lost, or damaged. What good news to those who know Jesus!   

Day trip

When my parents were in town, we drove up to Ft. Pierce to visit with Aunt Anna.  We got to take Annabelle swimming for the first time! She was a little unsure at first, then she seemed to enjoy it!



Aunt Anna



Check out that drool! Teething baby girl:)

Baby Annabelle in the pool!

Bathroom Remodel

 Before:

 After:

Quick update

I've been meaning to write on the blog, but it's been a whirlwind of activity in the Stone household. I'll keep it short:

Reno: Not done, but moving along at a slow pace. Before and after pics of the bathroom are coming soon.

Annabelle: She has rolled over three times already! When I put her on her tummy, she can flip herself on to her back:)  She also has been learning sign language.  Every day, I sign mommy, daddy, diaper, milk, eat, happy, play, bath, ceiling fan(her favorite thing to watch), tired, and nap. I've been introducing five new words a day and she watches me and giggles. Gma will be here soon to help her learn more sign language since she is a pro at it!!  And Papa Steve will be here too!! Annabelle is so excited! 

Jordan: He has been such a good daddy and has been taking walks with Annabelle in the evening.  She loves her daddy. Last night, Jordan prayed over me and Annabelle and she was squeaking along like she was adding her prayers. So precious! I love our family:)

Sister: Counting down to Jeanine's wedding! Four more months and I've got so much to do before the big day. It's going to be such a fun wedding and I am thrilled Scott will be officially part of the family!  

Happy July!

updates are fun

I'm not going to talk about the house and renovations even though that has been consuming most of the day and my thoughts. It reminds me of when I was engaged and I was in "wedding mode" without an off switch. Well, I'm in "house renovation mode"...super annoying.

I've been soaking in the theologically sound teachings of Tullian in the flesh. Yes, I get to watch him speak from across the room now instead of listening to him on podcast in Egypt. I can't get enough!!

Annabelle has been keeping me busy.  I've got a pretty good routine for her when we aren't running errands buying things like ceiling fans and insulation. She likes to sit up and enjoy the view. I hold her in a sitting position on my stomach and do crunches and every time my face meets hers she laughs!! I gave her a tour of a kitchen today and she really listened! I saw her reflection in things as I was pointing them out and explaining their use and her eyes were following as I pointed.  She giggled when I turned on the water in the kitchen sink and she jumped when I opened the freezer.  Tomorrow I will show her around the bathroom.

Pics of my sister's bridal shower will soon be making their appearance on the blog and fb.  I can't wait to share those!

Please no hurricanes!

Well, we are off to South Florida to move back near the beach. Annabelle has had quite the story to tell of her first four months of life: Being born in a blizzard in Texas to dodging tornados in Oklahoma...please no hurricanes in Florida! See what I mean?!!



Annabelle and me near the beach last month



We are related for sure!

Like mother:

Like daughter:

Bath Time

Annabelle usually screams her head off during bath time, but not today. She seemed to enjoy the scrub down.  This is her right after her bath.  We made it with no tears...until I started dressing her. :(





Look at those chub-chubs!!! 

April with Annabelle

Baby girl is asleep in my arms. Time for some one handed typing:) Annabelle is 2 months today. She can now track objects with her eyes, hold in her binky up to her mouth with her hand, and smile. She makes life sweeter, softer, and more beautiful! What an amazing blessing!!

Annabelle smiling

I can already tell you that April has been quite a busy month. This weekend, we made a day trip to Dallas to celebrate my Nanny and Papa's birthday. It was great to see them and Annabelle loved spending the time in the presence of her great-grandparents!

Me with Nanny and Papa on their birthday

We are back at the lake hosue and we've got a photo shoot in a couple days. Annabelle gets her first professional baby pictures taken. I can't wait to see what creativity Regan (photographer) comes up with.

Annabelle will also go on her first domestic flight (this time out of the womb) this month as we travel to Florida to find a place to live. I'm looking forward to the beach although I'm not sure how much time we will be spending just laying around. I do hope to go to Coral Ridge (our church) and hear Tullian preach in person again. The palm trees, incredible scenery, and warm, sunny weather will be a refreshing change to April showers.

Happy April:)

Time to diet, sort of

Yesterday, Jordan and I started the South Beach Diet to kick out some bad food habits that come along with traveling and being pregnant :).  I'm not supposed to diet since I'm the supplier of milk for my darling daughter, but I started looking at what they have as a menu and it has more food than what I would normally eat and TONS of vegetables. The only thing I need to add are nuts and yogurt(more protein and good fat to keep my calorie count higher).

We bought a BMI scale the other day and I'm pretty happy with my weight(It's slowly going back to what I weighed before Annabelle), but my BMI is too close to the overweight percentage for me to be comfortable with.  It's in the normal range, but still something to keep an eye on.  I guess my muscle turned into fat when I stopped exercising 9 months ago.  I've been taking walks, but the weather has been cold and rainy lately.  I guess I will have to do what I've done in the past: SHOP!! No, seriously...have you walked the length of the mall carrying shopping bags and an oversized purse?! In heels?! It's hard work!   

I hope to report back in 6 months of being on this diet and see if things have changed. I'm sure I will start to morph into a giant broccoli.

Annabelle-6 weeks old

Life with Annabelle has been amazing!  She is such a sweet baby and makes the cutest squeaks and squeals.  I'm loving motherhood :) I feel so blessed to have been given a beautiful daughter. I'm ready to get her new Florida nursery set up.  We will be moving back to Florida in May.  Another move-another home- I'm an old pro at this! 

In the mean time, Jordan and I are staying at the lake house, enjoying time with family, and adjusting to as little sleep as possible.  Annabelle is keeping me busy with her big appetite! She is growing so fast and is surprising us all with how strong she is.  My buggie is 6lb 10 oz and she can already lift her head up and turn it from side to side.  I need to put up a video of this.  It's just too cute!

I need lots of grace during this time too! Annabelle cries every night starting from around 8pm-12am.  It's her fussy time and pretty much no amount of milk, burping, or bouncing can calm her down. This is just a season and even through her crying fits, I'm still treasuring each moment because I know how quickly she will grow up. 

Hopefully I can settle into a routine of blogging in my already hectic day.  Since my parents have been visiting,  I've been working out in the mornings and loving every minute of it!  Annabelle goes on walks and runs with me in the stroller when the weather is good.  It puts her to sleep :) My high blood pressure FINALLY dropped down to a normal, healthy level probably due to my increase in mobility.  So thankful for that! I'm also avoiding salty and processed foods which helps a lot! 

I make an awesome sandwich filler using chickpeas.  Here is the recipe:
1 can chickpeas-mashed with a fork or potato masher
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped vidalia onion
juice from half a lemon
3 tbsp mayonnaise (I use the olive oil kind)
salt to taste (I go light on the salt)

Mix it all up and spread it on some toasted wheat bread (yum), crackers, or place into pita bread.
Enjoy!

It's Valentine's Day today:) Our baby girl is ten days old today!  It's hard to imagine that a little over two weeks ago, I was pregnant and in Cairo.  So to recap, here are the highlights to the busiest, scariest, most amazing two weeks of my life:

Jan. 25th: First day of riots in Tahrir Square (we were just there on Monday, the 24th for a doctor's appointment-crazy to think about!)
Jan. 26th: Decided to leave Cairo so we could avoid having issues with Annabelle's passport if the government collapsed.
Jan. 27th: Ended up going to the hospital at 2am because of pain in my chest and back (early symptoms of HELLP Syndrome, but didn't know it). Got released from the hospital ten hours later. Had our last doctor appointment at 8pm to get a note saying I could travel.
Jan. 28th: Tahrir sqaure riots became really intense and communication was cut.
Jan. 29th: Left for Cairo airport at 4pm to get on a flight.
Jan. 30th: Made it on the last flight out on Entihad to Abu Dhabi at 4am.
Jan. 31st: Flight to Amsterdam, then to Dallas.
Feb. 1st-2nd: In Plano, snowed in.  Noticed a huge bruise on my lower back (another early sign of HELLP Syndrome) and my back/chest pain was constant.
Feb. 3rd: Browsing in Borders, the pain was so intense that people started asking me if I was okay.  I knew I needed to go to the hospital when I couldn't hide the pain anymore. Doctors found protein in my urine, low platelets in my blood, and high blood pressure.  My face, arms, and legs were abnormally swollen and my liver was in bad shape.
Feb. 4th: Delivered Annabelle Grace Stone.
Feb. 5th: Held my daughter for the first time.

The Lord is to thank! He worked out every detail and got us through it all!  We are truly blessed!

Week in pictures



There has been so much going on this week that I decided to put it in pictures.  Here we go:

I stayed in the American Hospital in Egypt for chest pains, back pains, and timed contractions last night, but I feel much better now. This pic isn't mine, but it looks the most similar to what the workers looked like.  Just paint the walls lime green, add floral wall paper border, some old furniture and it would look like my hospital room.



Large protests in Egypt this week.  It's been crazy downtown for sure, but it's still quiet in our neighborhood and we are thankful for that!  Thanks CNN for this picture!

 

Lebanon (our second home) decided to have protests too! Thanks Newsweek for picture!

Beth (my sister-in-law) had her baby! Jasmine Alexus is my newest niece! Isn't she a beauty!


Last weekend we had some friends and their families over for lunch:

We are so thankful to have awesome friends and get to hang out with their super fun kiddos!  It's been great to see what we get to look forward to as new parents.
 

Decaf please

{Virtual Coffee}

The initial meet and greet:

If we were meeting for coffee together, I would start off by apologizing that I am two days late for our coffee date and then I would model my baby bump and giggle as I ask, "Can you believe how big I've gotton?" Don't worry, you can say, "Yes, you're enormous" without hurting my feelings.

Getting our drinks:

What are you ordering? I really want what you are ordering and if you don't mind, can I have a sip? I'll order decaf coffee for me since I'm not really supposed to be having caffeine. I'm almost 35 weeks and baby Annabelle's ticker is always fast. I will have cream and two sugars though.

The conversation:

How are you? I genuinely want to know and will make it a point to hear about you first.

Time to admit that I'm already a bad momma! I've eaten chocolate, cookies and peanut butter today and not much else. I need to force myself to eat the salad in the fridge. Speaking of food, fruits and vegetables are currently in season in Egypt. They are so colorful and lush. I would probably take you to the souk after our coffee date to show you how the Egyptians stack the produce in mini pyramids. I wonder where they got that idea from...

What have you been doing today?

I've spent most of today listening to songs on iTunes. Jordan and I have been driving around listening to the same songs for months. We have harmonized along with every song in every vocal range. Time for new material. I love these albums and couldn't resist purchasing the top 3:
The House You're Building-Audrey Assad
Alive Again-Matt Maher
The Light Meets the Dark-Tenth Avenue North
As Long As It Takes-Meredith Andrews

How is your family?

I miss mine! They are coming to Egypt in February, March, and April! My grandmother isn't doing well and it makes me sad that I can't be there to help and visit with her. Jordan's brother is also struggling with some health issues and we are praying for him and his family. I've been learning a lot about God's sovereignty and that's been a blessing during this season. I would encourage you to listen to the podcasts, The Gospel of Suffering by Tullian Tchividijian.

What is it like to live in America, I've forgotten?

Jordan says he can tell I've been adjusting to life in Egypt better. He said I seem to have more confidence. Truth is the men don't harass me like they did before thanks to my new figure. I just need to stay 9 months pregnant. That would be painful!

Saying goodbye:

Hug! I would probably invite you over this Saturday since Jordan will be ordering Arabiata (yummy Egyptian fast food) and we will be having some friends over. Coffee next week for sure!

Click here to have virtual coffee...

Annabelle's Nursery

Here are the nursery photos like I promised :) When the doctor puts you on home rest, this is what you turn into: A blogging, picture-taking, cooking, laundry-doing monster! Scary, I know!







Not bad for Egypt, right?! We walked into the store and all the baby furniture was ridiculously expensive and ugly. Just when we decided to give up and buy our furniture from the states, the sales man brought us to the back room to a giant box and told us it's the last model and has been discounted. He said they must get rid of the box to make room in the back...kind of shady sounding! He described us the contents of the box and showed us a picture of the set, but we weren't able to actually see if it was the same set until it was delivered. Turns out, we got a great deal and it was all worth the risk...and let me tell you, it was heart-pounding risky not knowing what we would be getting! We've seen neon green and salmon colored furniture sets for 8,000 LE....barf!

The picture with the suitcase and diaper bag on top is what we are taking to the hospital. I'm not quite sure I'm done with her nursery. I would love to get a book shelf for that wall where the suitcase is, but hubby says he is done furniture shopping until we move to Lebanon. I would also like a skinny night stand to put next to the chair so I can set things on top of it when I'm feeding Annabelle, but unless I find one sitting alongside a curb, I think I will have to manage without. We do have a rotting wooden children's desk sitting on our roof that I am hoping to refinish, so maybe I'm in luck! I also might be on the hunt for a rug. Egypt is full of awesome, cheap textiles and I might be able to convince Jordan to spare $5.

Getting excited!!! 2 more weeks until I'm in my 9th month!