lately

"What have we been up to lately?", you may ask. Hangin' out with our precious daughter, that's what! We have also been getting little sleep at night but catching up during the day, thanks to my Mom who takes over during the day light hours. Really, Isabelle is not a fussy baby (unless she's having her diaper changed or taking a bath) but she loves to throw us a curve ball around 11 pm - 1 am when she is WIDE awake!

We've also been trying to get her passport taken care of which has included applying for a Senegal birth certificate and then applying for a Certificate of Birth Abroad from the USA before even applying for the passport. After her passport comes (in about 2 weeks), we'll have to apply and wait for a Niger visa before going home. We're not 100% comfortable on outings yet with Izzy but she's done SO good when we've had to go out into the crazy, hot, humid traffic of Dakar to get all this started over the past 3 days. If all goes well, we should be back in Niger on June 16 and then on to home in Ayorou!

We also have taken her for a 2 week check up at the doctor's office. This is something that they normally do not do but we asked for one nonetheless. The doc says she is doing great - gaining weight, grown a whole centimeter, belly button healing, reflexes good, and all that good stuff!


Daddy-daughter time! Check out her new cloth diapers - a little big right now, but she'll grow into them.


Mommy & babe before heading out to the grocery store!

Isabelle's blog

We decided to create a blog just for Isabelle. We know that some people want to see the thousands of photos we will take of her & some may only want to see a few. Instead of crowding our blog with the enormous amounts of pictures of her, we created her own. We will continue to post on here about life, ministry & all the stuff in between. And, yes, we'll post a few pictures of Isabelle on here too!

www.izzyrue.blogspot.com

Welcome

Hey, don't have long but wanted you to get a quick glimpse at Isabelle Ruth Phillips!

Everything is going well. Parker had a quick and painful delivery but did amazing. She is recovering but please continue to pray for her body to heal quickly. Isabelle is doing great and getting the hang of feeding! Thanks for your prayers!


May 15 7:30 pm


May 15 10:35 pm (what a difference 3 hours makes!)


The amazing mom!


The proud dad!


Three generations.


Izzy

hanging out in dakar

A lot of you have asked what we've been doing since we got to Dakar. Well, truth be told, not much of anything! Dakar, Senegal is a big city (over 1 million people) & is a peninsula (surrounded by the Atlantic ocean on 3 sides). As for things to do, there's not much to offer unless you want to drive outside the city for an hour or more - not the best idea with an 8 1/2 month pregnant lady. There are beaches but most of the shoreline is rocky and the few sandy parts are private. So, we've filled our days with relaxing, watching satellite TV, Skyping friends & family, getting around to a few "touristy" areas & grabbing some good eats. Here are a few pictures of our time since we've been here ...


Rachael Ray with Arabic subtitles. It's not Paula Deen, but it'll do!

The rest of this sign says "Caesar's Fried Chicken" & yummy fried chicken they do have! I'm not sure if it's worthy of being labeled "Kentucky" but it's nice to see that state name in a foreign country!

Mark sitting at the western most point of the entire continent of Africa.

A view of one area of Dakar from atop a lighthouse. See that point jutting out at the top of the picture? That's where Mark was siting in the picture above.

One of 2 lighthouses in Dakar. The other is on an island. See how exciting Dakar is?

Yeah, it was a wee bit windy on top of that lighthouse. But I am not complaining one bit - anything is better than the weather in Niger at this time of year!

ready whenever you are

Dear Isabelle Ruth,

Your dad's finally here. Your grandmother is here, too. Your mom's belly is HUGE & her belly button is sticking out like a done turkey. And your bags are all packed for the hospital. So, we are ready for you to enter this world whenever you are!

Love,

The ever-expecting parents

brothers unite!

Mark's brother, Jon, came to spend 10 days with him after I left for Senegal. I am so glad that Mark didn't have to spend his remaining time in Niger all alone! The fellas had actually been counting down the days to see each other & giggling like school girls just anticipating their reunion. If you know Mark & his brother at all, they are the best of friends & love to hang out together. What better place to do that than Ayorou, Niger! I'm sure Mark will tell more stories of their adventures together after he gets here to the land of fast internet but I just wanted to post a few pictures of their time together.

Jon & Yacouba acting goofy. The kids fell in love with Jon (aka Boubacar) and vice versa!


Mark & Sakina. Who doesn't love this girl?


The brothers hiked Mt Kendaji. Woo hoo, you may be thinking. But let me remind you that it is the HOTTEST part of the year - temps between 120-130 on a good day & that's not the heat index either. You are looking at 2 courageous souls!


Jon had the privilege of baptizing Yacouba. Yacouba became a believer a year ago but had not yet followed through with baptism. Mark & Yacouba had been talking about it lately, especially after Isa & Hama's baptisms, and they discussed it with Yacouba's parents. With approval from his parents, Yacouba was baptized in the Niger River!


Doing our normal afternoon activity - hanging out with the kiddos! I'm glad someone could take my place & offer their laps as a jungle gym since I haven't been able to do it for the past few months.


All in all, Jon fell in love with Ayorou & the people. It's really hard not to! Like their mom says, "There’s not a day goes by that I don’t think about Africa—it really does do something to you." For the few of you who've been here, you know what she's talking about & what Jon's feeling!