Once Upon a Time...

January 4, 2017

2 weeks old

1 month and still a bit shell shocked...

2 months

3 months and SO serious...

4 months

5 months and it's hard to keep a straight face with dino toes...

6 months strong...

7 months with so much to ponder...

8 months...finally caught a smile!

9 months

10 months

11 months

12 months

A whole lot of love...

...ONE handsome, sweet Little Prince...

Birth Plan

We use the word plan rather loosely these days in all areas of life. The words patience and flexibility are much more reliable on our little edge of the world...

We are planning on having baby Moriah right here in our seaside town. She will likely be the first American to make her entrance here, and we are earnestly hoping her debut will come with much less labor time than her sister's 36 hours. 

We are thankful for our doctor, an older, grandfather type who seems to always have a twinkle in his eye and for our friend Cheryl, a nurse who has delivered many a baby in her time, speaks fluent Arabic and French and has so graciously been with us through doctors appointments and has agreed to be right beside us at the birth. 

We will deliver in a private clinic that has two delivery rooms. They are quite clean and appear to have the necessary equipment for the task, but we are hoping to spend little time there as they do not have luxuries such as a bathroom...

This Saturday our original due date (Feb. 21st) went by and so we wait.
We don't know exactly when she will come, but we are eagerly anticipating Moriah Ann: seen by Yahweh, full of grace.

We trust in the One who is full of grace. He sees us, and His plan is more than enough. 

Four Scoops

I scream! 

You scream! 

     We ALL scream... 

...for ice cream!

We are HAPPY  to announce that the Baileys are now a FOUR scoop family...

...Two scoops for Mommy until February 2015.

Simple Life

The other day we were swinging after school. There's a little plastic swing set tucked behind our center with concrete/tile-ish floors and walls surrounding it and just enough space for a toddler to go "really high".
Though I try not to let my mind go there, sometimes I find myself wishing for green grass and space to run and climb for our little girl and every other child here. Just as I caught myself going down this not so helpful path, sweet words from this darling girl, reminded me of the privilege of this place and our lives here.

"Mommy are we at the park?"

 I'm amazed at how this little 2 year old teaches me. "Out of the mouths of babes..." She doesn't have to say much, and it's not even so much what she says as how she says it: twinkling eyes, sweet smile, a tone that says there's nowhere else I'd rather be...

"Yes, honey, we are at the park!"

And I'm so happy to be here with you. Grateful for this swing set, grateful for simplicity and grateful for your little thankful heart...may God continue to make it grow and grow and grow and continue to grow mine too.

2.25

Since turning TWO it seems Felicity is changing at turbo speed.
She finally has hair! Beautiful, blonde curls like her daddy...

She's still reading stories...

And starting to tell them too: "Mommy, can you please listen?" "Yes, of course, Felicity." (Did she really just ask me to listen?)
"Once upon a time there was a Mamma Bear, a Papa bear, and a baby in a manger..." A little confusion there, but still a great story :)

One of her N. African teachers declared that our girl is really becoming one of them because she LOVES cheese, baguette, and OLIVES most of all. She once ate so many olives at our friend's house that the dear girl gifted Fliss with whole bottle of homemade Zetoons which made for one happy girl...

Talking: We love the moments we have with her before she goes to sleep. The new big girl bed set-up has been a catalyst for great conversation. Almost every night she says, "Mommy and Daddy, I want to talk. Can we talk?" The first time this happened was when we were staying in a hotel for a conference, all in the same room. She and Dan went on talking and talking...when we finally said it was time to go to sleep she said, "I love you Daddy." It was the sweetest thing, and I think we've discovered one of her love languages: Talking.
Playing: She is definitely coming into her own in the area of play. She is actually playing WITH other kids sometimes instead of just doing her own thing, and she has lots of her own ideas about how things should be done in her little kitchen. Pot pie, pancakes, cake, and pink cookies are her favorite things to "make". We've also done the same animal puzzle so many times that she can actually put pieces in on her own now.

Grateful: Dan was afraid the kitchen we got Fliss for Christmas was too tiny when he got it (on Christmas Eve as he watched the person in front of him buy the last kitchen we had intended to get for Fliss), and in fact, Felicity can actually pick it up and move it around her little room. But one day while playing with daddy, she looked at her kitchen and declared, "I have everything I need!" Bless her heart.

She also has an obsession with knowing "Who got this for me?" She even asks it about everyday things like her breakfast...a great opportunity to teach her gratitude for others and the One who is the giver of every good and perfect gift. The giver of one of our favorite gifts, Felicity.
As this little two-year-old girl asserts herself and tests limits more and more, we know all too well that she's definitely not perfect, but we remind her all the time that we love the way God made her, and she's definitely perfect for us:

February Fun Day

One of our New Year's goals is to do one fun thing with our family each month. We want to be intentional about discovering this place, building memories as a family, and just having FUN.

In America our fun days were usually spent at a forest preserve, park, or enjoying some yummy food. We're quickly finding out that fun days here have a different feel to them. I still find it hard to believe that just thirty minutes away we can enter a whole new world...well, new to us but ancient, really: 

The remains of a Roman city...

 The temple and aqueducts:

Checking out the Columns:

The Bath House:

Mosaics: 

Amphitheater:

A not-so-ancient donkey:

And Felicity's favorite, spring flowers just right for picking and sniffing:

Fluent Fliss

Today Felicity's teachers sent us this...

We are so proud of our little Arabic speaker. Keep up the good work Fliss so at least one of us in this family will really know this language :)
Ok, ok...maybe two...

And a shout out to all of our teachers...we could not be learning this crazy language without you! You are Tie-ar-ra!

Ten Ways You Know You're Not in "Kansas" Anymore

10. At least 2 times per night you awake to what you think might be your screaming toddler but realize it's the stray cats fighting again.

9.  You get emotional, to the point of tearing up, when the U.S. customer service agent wishes you  "Happy Holidays".

8. Finding dental floss on your monthly run to the BIG store is a HUGE deal. Humdullah!

7. Your students have been known to give you bites of their cake, kisses and make-overs.

6. When you walk past the pet shop you live above, your toddler asks, "That's my peacock?"

5. Most people assume you are French and continue to speak to you en francais even after you tell them you don't speak it.

4. January is amazing because you finally have a dryer. Warm towel? Yes, please.

3. If someone came to your front door selling a Chipotle barbacoa burrito for 100 dinar, you wouldn't hesitate to pay up.

2. You're still confused at how anyone manages to string Christmas lights (and make them look good) whey they are in a circle and have a white cord.

1. "There's no place like home"is much more complex than three clicks of the heels. Missing home, making this place home, and looking forward to our true home. always.