Fun times

We went to Greenville this weekend to meet our new nephew, Evan. Holly, meanwhile, did a lot of showing off for her Grammy and Pappy. Here is a quick sample of the hyperness that was Holly this weekend...

Are we ready for this?

The results are in - it's a girl! Two daughters... three women under one roof... poor Matt! Actually, I think right now all he is thinking about are the two weddings we'll be responsible for one day. When talking about the uneven distribution of estrogen in our house, my mom said it best - we'll just have to get a male dog.

Seriously, I'm super excited that Holly will have a sister. I can't imagine not growing up with my own sweet sister, and am so glad Holly will get to experience that as well. I look forward to years of playing house, dance lessons, sister bonding, catfights, tea parties, and yes, even soccer games.

Here's to our house of chicks!

Boy or Girl??

Tomorrow is the big day... the day we find out the sex of Baby #2. I don't know why, but I think I'm more curious this time than with Holly. I guess it's because with your first child, your life changes so drastically regardless of the sex. But so many family dynamics change with the birth of the second. There is a 50% chance that Holly will have a sister that will be her best friend and with whom she will never argue or fight, and a 50% chance she'll have a brother who will set her up with all his cute friends (in her 20s, of course, when Matt decides to let her date). Fortunately, there is 100% chance that the baby is one or the other. We'll be thrilled either way!

Holly's first cousin!

Matt's brother, Kelly and his wife, Megan welcomed Evan Austin Rife into the world Sunday, June 22nd at 5:38 pm. He was about 9 days early, but weighed in at a healthy 7 pounds 5 ounces. Everything went smoothly and the new family is now resting (sort of...) at home. We are so thrilled for Kelly and Megan - and selfishly excited that Holly now has her first cousin.

Welcome to our family, Evan!

A day at the park

I've been bummed that the last three times Matt's company outing has been at Six Flags, I have been out of commission. I LOVE riding rides, especially rickety wooden roller coasters. Three years ago I had thrown my back out and the next year I was pregnant with Holly. Last year I was healthy and non-pregnant...and they decided to make the outing a Braves game. So this year it was back to Six Flags...and I'm pregnant again.

Still, I was excited to take Holly to the park and see if she shares my love for thrill rides and corn dogs. I had no idea what to expect. I think I was more concerned about how Matt would handle it than Holly - heat, crowds, lines, in-your-face commercialism - not exactly his idea of a good time. But he made me proud and took it all in stride (probably because the $95 parking, $400 park admission, and $150 food/drinks were all taken care of by Manhattan Associates).

Holly had a blast. She only got to ride one ride (did I mention the lines? One and a half year olds don't have the longest attention spans), but she loved "driving" her tractor trailer around the track. The larger than life cartoon characters were a big hit as well... you never know how little ones are going to react to a giant Elmer Fudd. She was very curious and kept wanting to pet them. We spent a lot of time at the Thomas the Train playground, where she ran around, danced to the music blasting on the speakers, and showed off for anyone who would pay her any attention.

Needless to say she was wiped out as soon as we got in the car. That didn't bode well for the barbecue we attended later that afternoon, but it was worth every minute!

Hello!

Welcome Aiden!

So in my last post I mentioned that Sunday night we shared Father's Day dinner with the Fortners at The Brick Store Pub. Well, just a few hours later, Beth went into labor. At 12:05 pm June 16th, Aiden Whitman Fortner entered the world! What a miracle in so many ways... Because she was in her 9th month, Beth was unable to travel to Paris for Passion (despite doing more than her share of the planning!) and we were all praying that Aiden stayed put until we (mainly, her husband Aaron) returned home. This was certainly not a guarantee, as their first son, Ian, was 2 weeks early. Beth had Ian by emergency C-section, but she really wanted to avoid a C-section this time and experience the actual birthing process. I think even her doctors were nervous, but she did it! And did it beautifully... dilated quickly, 20 minutes of pushing, and there he was. Even the doctor told her she was born to have babies.

So today we celebrate this new little life and thank God for a healthy baby, mom, and this sweet growing family.

Happy Father's Day, Matthew!

We had a good Father's Day in the Rife house, I think. We spent Saturday with our good friends Matt and Candy Stevens, having what Matt R. called "Brewmaster training." I got him a beer kit for Christmas that has been sitting in the garage all these months, waiting to be brewed into the delicious pale ale it was meant to be. So yesterday, Matt S. shared his brewing wisdom and now we have a 5 gallon carboy of beer fermenting in the crawl space. What have I started? Today we had lots of family time, which felt long overdue. Church in the morning, an afternoon at home and playing in the yard with Holly, and then a spontaneous dinner at the Brick Store with Beth, Aaron, and Ian Fortner. It wasn't extravagant, but hopefully the little things added up to make Matt feel loved, special, and appreciated.

How blessed I am to have such wonderful fathers in my life - my own wonderful dad, a terrific father-in-law in Lew, my sweet husband, and my loving Heavenly Father. I love this Hallmark holiday.

Au Revoir

We arrived home last night after a whirlwind of non-stop days and sleepless nights in Paris. It's hard to believe I'm sitting in my kitchen right now, soon to pick Holly up from Nana's and Papa's.

Thank you, thank you to those who prayed for us and for Passion Paris. Because of your prayers, and the heart of our Father who desperately loves this dark city, the lights of Paris shone brighter than ever on Tuesday night. We had no idea what to expect, but as students started lining up around the building to enter, we knew that something special was about to happen.

As soon as the lights went down and the room erupted in loud applause, all the stresses of the day and the days (months!) before melted away. We watched as the students of Paris worshipped openly among their peers - many for the first time in their lives. The French are very private and reserved in nature, especially when it comes to their faith. I completely understand that...this is a place where it is illegal to have campus ministry or even advertise religious events on university campuses. In fact, this year is the 40th anniversary of the student riots of 1968 in which the nation's motto became "No God, No Law." These students are the same people that are the country's leaders and politicans today.

But Tuesday night, this new generation of believing students expressed their love for Jesus openly and powerfully. They jumped up and down with Chris Tomlin, went crazy when Matt Redman walked on stage, and danced in the aisles to David Crowder*Band's "I Law the Light" (yes, these Texas boys brought bluegrass to Paris!).

In the end, I am so thankful that the planning and waiting for Passion Paris was as difficult as it was. Our team was forced to be on our knees, totally dependant on our God to make this happen. When our registration numbers were low, there was the temptation to open it up to all ages, or to market it through mainstream media (which Passion avoids in favor of grassroots, word-of-mouth marketing). But our prayers were always answered with "Just trust Me." So we did. And God's faithfulness blew us away. God gets all the glory, and our faith grew immeasurably. Perfect combination.

(These photos were taken from the Passion blog.)