~Deputation in Iowa and Missouri~

~We had a nice house service at the Mitchems in Iowa! They fed us a delicious meal and Hannah made some delicious pumpkin pies.~ =)~Nathan, Kimberly, Hannah, and I had a fun time having a "hoe-down" and playing lots of fun music together.~
~It was nice to visit with Hannah and her family. Thank you goes to Chad for staying up late that night fixing our computer!~
~Bro. Mitchem cleaning the back window of the motorhome before we pulled out.~
~We had to replace a couple batteries on the motorhome. Phillip had to buy some tools to fix those and Noah was helping his Daddy put all of the little tools/pieces in their places.~
~On Saturday we took the kids to the Precious Moments Musuem. It was a fun day.~



~On Sunday morning we held a service in Eldorado Springs, MO. It was so nice to Phillip's cousin Mark Burley and his dear wife Jana and their children.~



~Sunday nights service was at Gaylerd Miller's church in Fordland, MO. It was so nice to be with the Millers. They treated us very special!~
~Bro. Miller took us to see the last house that Laura Ingalls Wilder lived in. Thank you, Bro. Miller, we really enjoyed seeing this and enjoyed our time with you and your dear wife!~

~Guess What?~

Serving Jesus is very rewarding...and can be filled with surprises! He has given our family several surprises in the last few years. The first one was when He called us to move to Colombia, South America. The second is that it looks we will be working in Argentina as well soon.

Now...just 9 days after returning back to Colombia from our deputation time in the USA, we have found out that.....we are expecting our 5th child. =D
We are still asking each other if it is really true. However, I know it's true for...I'm feeling a little "green around the gills" right now, and very tired. =) (I'm just sad because I brought 2 suitcases of clothes that I won't be able to wear this year...and all my maternity clothes are in storage in Ohio. ) We all are excited about our new little baby and everyone is working together to help around the house until Mommy gets better! Just a few days before I found out that we were expecting...I had been on 2 peoples' blogs. When seeing pictures of their families I had thought...That is neat that they have 5 children, but, I'm content with our 4. (Because of the way our lives are, we are constantly on the run, flying, etc....and because I'm very tired in life right now. ) God must've been smiling at my thoughts...knowing that I was tired because we have another baby on the way. =) Please pray that my sick days don't last too long, for now I'm teaching Noah kindergarten, and helping Kimberly and Sarah with their school work too. It looks like our baby is due at the end of September or first of October, Lord willing. =D And of course there is always little Elijah who is constantly thinking of something else to do. =)

Noah's first day of School, Sarah in 3rd grade, Kimberly in 6th grade~

~Since we were in the USA, I didn't really post pics from our "first day of school" this year. So, here are some fun pics of our kids first day of school back in Colombia. This is Noah's real FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, for there was NO WAY, that I could teach him while we drove "around the world" on deputation. =) This is their breakfast table. We bought each student a nice little choc. egg that had a little plastic container with a toy inside and had it setting beside their plate.~
~Noah (and Sarah) helped Mommy make the French toast.
~"Happy Face" French Toast~
~Look who started school...Noah~
~Sarah...3rd grade, Kimberly...6th grade~

~Phillip wanted a picture of the kids and I...and of course Elijah wanted to join us.=)~

Noah LOVES school. He was sooo excited that he was singing in bed the night before, couldn't get to sleep and called me every other second to ask me a question. =) The next morning he got up on his own and got dressed in the clothes that we had laid out for him. ~
~Kimberly and Sarah studying at their desks in their room.~
~This is the kids' teacher....Mommy. Below is a picture of my assitant....=D~

~Deputation in South Dakota~

Thank you for all of your sweet comments and prayers for Sarah. We talked to a doctor and he suggested that we get a blood sugar test that pricks her finger and check it several times a day for the next few days. This will let us know if her blood sugar is normal, or low. From all that have read and heard, it appears that she had low blood sugar. Please do pray for her as she HATES it when we check her blood sugar. She runs and hides, weeps, shakes, pleads for us not to do it, etc. Please pray that we can get this over fast for her sake. We hate to see her in pain. Thank you!
For those who have been praying for Elijah's ear infections, God is touching Him. He is improving! Thank the Lord, and y'all for praying!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~On October 25th we had a service in Rapid City, SD and got to meet the Woodard family. Our kids enjoyed being with theirs.~~Thank you, Woodards, for the nice stay at your home, the yummy meals, and the use of lots of your water! (Inside joke!) =D It was great meeting y'all!


~The Woodards loaned us their van to drive up and see Mt. Rushmore! You see my Daddy used to pastor in Oelrichs, SD which was only about 70 mins. away from Mt. Rushmore. When Phillip came home with me on our GBS Spring break, he brought me on a picnic and asked me to marry him only 10 mins. from Mt. Rushmore! So, this mountain holds a lot of memories for us! It was fun coming back with our children.~

~We drove around trying to find the exact spot wher he asked me, but due to a time frame we never could find the right place. After we came back to the Woodards, we decided that it must have been on a different road that we would've had to pay to go on. So, we had Kimberly snap this picture of us. If you had a magnifying glass you could see that Mt. Rushmore is in the background just to the left of my shoulder. The peak we and Kimberly were standing on was only a few feet wide, so Kimberly had to get a "fish photo" of us, (a super close photo!) 'cause if she would have backed up any further, she would have fallen over the side. =(
~The neat South Dakota Bad Lands!~

~We let our kids get out and do some climbing on the bad lands, which they thoroughly enjoyed!~
~Little Elijah thought that it wasn't fair 'cause he couldn't climb as high as his brother and sisters. =)~
~It was such a delight to be with the Ron Arnolds and KennethBryants again!~
~We ladies enjoyed a yummy breakfast and coffee out together.~
~Kimberly and Sarah enjoyed seeing Olivia again.~
~My good friends Ashlea, and Clarrisa. (I got to be with their sister Julianna at the tea room in AZ in Sep./Oct.)~
~We held a service at the Faith Missionary Church in Mitchell, SD where Bro. Winfield Poe and his wife are pastoring. It was nice to see them again. We've known them since we were younger.~

~Sarah's SCARY day~

(I normally do not post such LONG post...but this is how our flight went back to Colombia!)
~As the title of the book written by Clyde and Margeret Gouge says…GOD WAS THERE~
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR PRAYING FOR OUR FAMILY AS WE FLEW BACK TO COLOMBIA!!!! It turned out to be one of the SCARIEST DAYS of our entire lives, and we would NOT have made it without God and your prayers!! After going to bed around 10:30 PM on Monday, Jan. 25th, we awakened our children at 3:00 AM to head to the airport to fly to Colombia. When Sarah got up she told me that she felt very weak! I hugged her and told her that we all felt weak and that we were EXHAUSTED from deputation, and from running, packing, sorting, and cleaning in the days before! I told her that we would just all work together to get back to Colombia and then we could rest up for a few days before “real life” began. We arrived at the airport at 3:45 AM and checked in all of our luggage, said those sad goodbyes to Gram and Gramp (and to Laura on the phone) and all started pulling our carry-ons and heading to the first of 3 planes we had to take that day. Sarah kept telling me that she could hardly pull her suitcase because she felt so weak, so most of the time I was pulling hers and mine, plus carrying some bags. (Phillip had his arms full with the diaper bag, his computer, Elijah and pulling a HEAVY suitcase filled with books!) A lot of time Sarah gets motion sickness, especially in the mornings, so I didn’t make her eat anything, for fear she would loose it later. We got on the first plane and we all slept. Before I went to sleep I got the muffin that they were giving out, but Sarah slept, and got no drinks or muffin. We arrived in Houston and made our way to our next plane and right before we got on I gave Sarah ¼ a sandwich out of the yummy lunch that Gram had packed for our family. We got into the airplane and Sarah wanted to sit beside me. Shortly after we started the 3 ½ hour flight they served us breakfast. When she saw the breakfast she shuttered and said, “No Thank you!” and laid down on my lap and went to sleep. Elijah came over to my lap and accidently bumped Sarah whom I thought was just sleeping. I saw that Sarah sat up and looked disoriented and so I said, “Sarah, this is Mommy, we are in an airplane, and Elijah just accidently bumped into you. You can go back to sleep now!” THAT IS WHEN I REALIZED THAT SARAH WASN’T JUST SLEEPING! I told Kimberly to get Daddy that something was wrong with Sarah. Kimberly thought she was upset to her stomach and handed me a bag. I said, “NO, GET DADDY NOW…SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH SARAH!!” Sarah was non-responsive and her head was jerking to the left and her eyes were twitching to the left too. She couldn’t talk, couldn’t look us in the eye, and her whole body was drawing up toward the left. Phillip ran and got help and for the next hour and ½ we were surrounded by all of the stewardess and stewards on the plane and another dear man and everyone was so helpful!! They called for any doctors or nurses on board, and there were none! So, they tried to contact a medical team by phone to ask their advice but we were out of range. A man named Joseph was on the plane and he had taken a class to become an EMT. He hesitated to get involved, thinking that we already had a doctor or nurse with us. But when he realized that we had no one he came, was a HUGE HELP and stayed with us for the rest of the time. The pilot sped up the plane and considered an emergency landing in Managua, Nicaragua, but we were nearly as far from there as we were to Panama City. So, he made the choice to continue to Panama City, since we had tail winds. (We got there a half an hour early!) At first we had NO CLUE what was going on, but then one of the stewardesses brought out a medical book about seizures and the more she read it sounded like what Sarah was having. All of this time I am holding Sarah and looking into those HORRIBLY SAD eyes that are jerking to the left and talking to her telling her that I loved her and wanting to WEEP!! I was dying for her to hug me back and say ANYTHING! Thank the Lord for Kimberly and Phillip, for Elijah was crying and wanting Mommy too, but they were able to rock him to sleep. Phillip was PRAYING and comforting Kimberly and Noah who were crying and WORRIED about their sister. Phillip kept his composure (though his heart was breaking). I decided that I was NOT going to pray silently. But that I was going to do what I do with every situation that I face in life…I was going to talk to my Heavenly Father in a quiet but audible voice!!! So, with this Joseph sitting beside me with a wild long hairdo, shaved on the sides with big tribal tattoos on his scalp…I began to Thank God for “loaning” us Sarah and that she was truly His and that we were trusting Him to heal her from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet. The stewardess kept reading and started mentioning problems with high or low blood sugar…and that is when I realized that that was probably what was happening to Sarah. We all were exhausted, we were running on no sleep, and had had nothing to eat. Sarah was also on the verge of getting sick. (sore throat, tired, etc.) and had been pushing herself to walk through all of the airports. They gave her oxygen thinking maybe it was because of the high altitude. They also checked her pulse and all of that was fine. We began trying to drip Sweetened orange juice through a coffee stirrer into Sarah’s mouth and were relived to see that she was swallowing it, though she was still unresponsive to us calling her name or giving her commands, couldn’t look us in the eye and was still drawing up. She had quit shaking so much and had relaxed and closed her eyes and was laying in my arms, but would still swallow the orange juice. I hugged her and talked to her the whole time telling her that Jesus and we were going to help her get better, in case she could hear us! Finally Joseph asked for a larger straw or a spoon and hand-fed Sarah an entire cup of orange juice with extra sugar added. She began to jerk her legs and Joseph told me that that was her body trying to respond to the sugar. He asked for a flashlight and opened Sarah’s eye and shined in into it to see if her pupils dilated and they did! And…that is when (after a LONG SCARY HOUR AND A HALF) Sarah stirred and sat up and tried to take off the oxygen mask. I hugged her and told her what was going on and she started smiling and responding and doing everything Joseph and the steward asked her to do. (shake my hand, Can you wiggle the toes of the leg I am touching, etc.) Daddy asked her if she remembered anything, or if she just felt like she had taken a long nap, and she said that she just felt like she had slept awhile. Then she drank some more orange juice and said she needed to go to the bathroom. She was able to walk, with my support back to the restroom and the whole plane full of people were THRILLED to see Sarah doing good again. Right before we landed she lost her orange juice. All of that acid and sugar was too much for her, and flying too. We were descending into Panama and Sarah began to weep with ear pain from the pressure. (Our kids normally have LOTS of ear pain when flying! We were concerned about Elijah’s ears, since he had just come through a double ear infection and a burst ear drum! That is one thing that our kids DREAD about flying!) When the steward welcomed us to Panama City airport, He also “WELCOMED SARAH BACK!!!” Several people walked by Phillip as they were exiting the plane and nodded, or told them they were glad she was ok, wished her luck, etc. (What does one say when they can’t say, “I’m praying for her and y’all?”=) I rushed off following Sarah in a wheel chair to take her to the clinic there in the airport, just to make sure that everything was fine. (Phillip and our other kids gathered our things, waited while our passports were scanned and then met Sarah and I at the clinic.) God must have a sense of humor to have this horrible thing happen on the first day that I had to speak Spanish in 6 months. I’m sure I made my share of mistakes, but God helped me to communicate. They checked everything including her sugar and it all was fine. (After 2 cups of SWEETENED orange juice and a sucker, it should have been fine. Smile!) They checked to see if she had bitten her tongue and she had not! We went to our next gate to catch our plane to Colombia, but thankfully we had a several hour lay-over. There were several people in the Panama City airport who were so kind to us and kept coming to check on Sarah or to see if we needed anything. We let Sarah rest, got her some more orange juice, and she ate some more of the lunch Gram had packed. I took her to the restroom in the wheelchair and she told me that she couldn’t wait to talk to her cousin Darla and tell her how sick she had been. She started singing again, and I wanted to cry I was sooo happy to have my normally bubbly Sarah back. She took another nap (Joseph told us that besides her being exhausted from no sleep the night before, and the stress of traveling, that her body would be tired from the convulsions or whatever she had been doing.) Before we boarded the last plane I told her we needed to go to the restroom one more time and asked her if she wanted to ride the wheel chair or walk, and she wanted to walk. We came back and I got a picture of her drinking more juice and eating something. She looked at our camera and said, “I don’t remember our camera having a black strap!” And I said, “You are right, Daddy changed the strap right before we left the USA!”. We do plan on talking to a doctor and getting his advice about what happened to Sarah, but after rest and food, she seems fine. Had she had a normal nights sleep, and then a normal breakfast, we believe that day would have been different. On our last flight we begged Jesus to please help our children’s ears for they normally WEEP with pain descending in the airplanes. God did touch them and 3 of them slept right through landing, and Kimberly’s ears were fine too. We PRAISE God for HIS CARE, His TOUCH ON SARAH, and for all the concerned people He sent our way to help us. Sarah doesn't have diabetes, but we as a family are changing our diet so that she does not get it. Eating several small meals a day, cutting out most sugar, and making sure she has protein.
Everything we experienced on the plane with Sarah reminded me of something that one would read in Readers’ Digest or somewhere. I think next time, I’d rather READ the story, rather than LIVE the story. SMILE!

We arrived safely in Bogota, collected our 17 suitcases (12 under, 5 carry-ons) and were met by a VERY HAPPY pastor Jimmy, Farly, Lady, Gaby, and Jimmy’s parents, Jaime and Sofia. We were THRILLED to see them too and we got chocked up! They brought us home to our home that they had cleaned for us, we had a snack together and then they left. We still have some packed suitcases which need to be unpacked. Thank the Lord, we got internet in our home today, and we got Phillip’s cell phone fixed today too. On Tuesday we are to have a technican come to look at our refrigerator which quit working while we were gone! It’s so nice to be back in our little home. Our children are thrilled to walk around and see their things that they had forgotten they had. Smile! Please pray that we can get settled in quickly, so our kids can start school again. We are looking forward to seeing a lot of our Colombian friends at church on Sunday.
"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." Psalm 91:1

~Christmas post #4~

PLEASE PRAY FOR US AS WE FLY BACK TO COLOMBIA TODAY!!! FLYING INTERNATIONALLY (ESPECIALLY WITH ALL THE REGULATIONS NOW) IS A NIGHTMARE! PLEASE PRAY THAT THINGS WILL GO SMOOTHLY, THAT WE WILL MAKE ALL OF OUR CONNECTIONS, AND THAT WE WILL BE SAFE. THANK YOU!!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~Little Sleeping Elijah all wrapped up for Winter!~~We enjoyed a delicious supper with the Hoschars in December.~
~We decided to do our family Christmas after we came back from Daddy and Moma's house. It gave us something to look forward to since our hearts were sad saying goodbye to them. So, on Thursday, Dec. 31st we had our family Christmas. Several people had given us money for Christmas so we decided to get our each of our kids an heirloom gift that they could pass down to their kids or use in their home someday. God gave us good deals on these gifts and our children were happy with their gifts!~

~Kimberly got her own dresser to use in her home someday.~

~Sarah got a doll pram and has been enjoying using it with her baby dolls.~

~We had seen this neat antique wagon at a flea market, but didn't get it not knowing that it was such a GOOD deal. Later our dear friends the Kemps purchased it for Noah and brought it to us. THANK YOU, Kemps!!~

~One day I went to Goodwill with my "shopping list" and on that list was a rocky horse for Elijah for Christmas. I had looked all over Goodwill and they didn't have one. But then, when we went to check out there was this hand-carved antique rocky horse up front by the cash register. We were thrilled to find this!!~ ~Little Elijah wearing an outfit that Noah wore posing for a picture with his horse.
(Poor baby, he had a double ear infection when we took this picture.)
~Our family having a Very Merry Christmas! Please excuse the morning "square eyes". =)~


~We filled the kids stockings, and they bought gifts to fill ours. =)~

~Noah wanted to sit beside us when we opened our stockings because he was eager to see us see the gifts that they had purchased for Daddy and I.~
~It was fun finding this lawnmower for our boys at Goodwill for $1.99. =)~
~After unwrappig all of his toys Elijah headed to the kitchen to play with my cans. =)~
~Phillip took our kids on a wintery walk. Here is Elijah all bundled up looking like a ghord or something.=)~

~Christmas post #3~

Having been out of the USA for 3 Christmases now...brings a whole new meaning to the song, "I'll be Home for Christmas!" We were soooo HAPPY to get to be "HOME FOR CHRISTMAS" with my family for the first time since 2004! It was a very SPECIAL time being with my family. Our hearts were VERY SAD that Andrew and Vonnie and family couldn't be there, but we understood fully! (We haven't seen them since 2006, they've never seen Elijah, and we might not get to see them for another 2 years. SNIFFLE! SNIFFLE! SOB! SOB!) But, we were grateful to God that we got to be with Lincoln, Lyn, Keith and Kelsea, Daryl, Laura, Natasha, Brittany, Darla and Bryan and their dog Diesel, Daddy and Moma, and my Grandma Bryan who is 102! We had a blast being together. We cried together, laughed together, recalled memories, shopped at our favorite store--GOODWILL =), wept while we listened to our dear 102 year old Grandma talk to Jesus in such a sweet child-like way, put together puzzles, played games, ate, had family devotions, and just soaked up being together as a family...Special Memories we will have for a LONG TIME!
~Our kids don't get to see snow in Colombia, so they had been asking Jesus to send us some snow so that they could build a snowman. The morning after we arrived at Gram and Gramps house, Jesus sent in this snow. Thank you, Lord!~


~Natasha was a HUGE help with our baby Elijah.~

~Sarah...the snow angel!~
~Brittany and Kimberly "kissing" their snowman. =)~
~Helping Aunt Laura bake lots of yummy Christmas cookies and goodies.~
~The wonderful finished product.~
~We were so glad to get to go caroling with the Union Friends Church. It was fun caroling and the refreshments and fellowship afterwards were special.~
~Caroling upstairs in Grandma Bryan's room.~
~Kelsea loved her cousin Elijah.~

~Putting together a puzzle. They completed (2) 1,000 piece puzzles in just a few days.~
~Family altar.~

~I had purchased matching shirts for our kids and then I made Elijah's into a romper.
~Christmas day.~
~Grandma Bryan opening her Christmas gift.~
~Gramp and Gram got these matching shirts for Sarah and Darla, Bryan and Noah.~
~My Sweetheart and I. Phillip bought me this neat Christmasy handmade apron at an Amish store during our Christmas get-away in Hillsboro, OH.
~Grandma and Elijah...101 years difference in age. =)~
~The girls Christmas table.~
~The kids Christmas table.~
~Our Christmas table.~

~Keith, the oldest Grandchild, holding Elijah, the youngest grandchild.~
~Our family on Christmas day at Gramp and Gram's house.~
~Gramp had some coupons and took us all to Old Country Buffet for a yummy meal. Thank you, Gramp.~
~On the Sunday after Christmas it snowed so beautifully. We got pictures of all our families out in front of the parsonage there at Westfield, IN.
~All because these 2 people fell in love.~
~Lincoln and Lyn Keith and Kelsea.~

~Daryl and Laura, Natasha, Brittany, Darla, Bryan and Diesel.
Sorry, this is so hard to see, the setting was wrong on my camera.~


~Gramp took the kids on a afternoon nature walk.~

~Gram found this cute shirt for Elijah that said, "It's Always Christmas at Grandma's house." Please ignore Elijah's nose he had a bad cold.~We were very blessed this CHRIST-mas!

~Christmas time at the Creation Museum~

~For some time Michael and Beth and our family had planned a trip to Creation Museum. However, on the morning we were supposed to go, when we woke up this is what we saw. But the Lord gave us a safe trip there and it was a fun and pretty day to be together.~


~Noah pulled his first tooth on Friday night, and then lost his 2nd tooth on Saturday at the Creation Museum. So he really could sing, "All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth! =)~

~It was so fun being with Michael and Beth, Isaiah and Sophia again!~


~After saying goodbye to Michael and Beth and kids...there was a neat little reptile show that our kids wanted to see. Here Noah and Sarah are making friends with Mr. Turtle.~
~Ugh! Look at this HUGE snake! I HATE snakes!~
~Our kids holding/looking at a baby alligator. It's a good thing that his mouth is taped, or Elijah might be missing a finger. =) ~
~Then we did the walk through Bethlehem. It was a COLD walk, but it was beautiful.~
~One of the soldiers in the marketplace.~
~Kimberly and I were walking along when she whispered to me, "Mommy, turn around and look at that man. It's Mr. Ken Ham." So, I turned around and sure enough it was him. So, I asked him if I could take a picture of him with my family. He agreed. And then we thanked him for all he has done to make the creation museum the neat place it is! He was very humble and complemented the people who had put together the walk through Bethlehem.~

~Our kids looking at Mr. Camel~
~We had had a fun day and were glad we had gone to the Creation Museum. Thank you, Michael and Beth for meeting us there. We had a blast being with y'all!~

~Our Christmas get-a-way~

Phillip and I got to go spend some time at a one of the nice Serenity Cabins in Hillsboro, OH! My Daddy and Moma kept our 4 earthly treasures (our children) and we enjoyed some days to Christmas shop (without telling kids to close their eyes so they wouldn't see their gifts =), catch up in my journal, spend time with each other and with Jesus. We had a wonderful time! If you are looking for a neat place to stay, I would suggest Serenity. I have put info at the bottom of this post.
~Here are some pictures of the cabin and the Thank you poem I wrote in the guest book. =)~


'Twas 2 weeks before Christmas and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
Because we had left our home all alone you see
To spend time at "Country Charm" at Serenity.

The lights how they twinkled and glowed in the dark night.
The cabin in the woods was a breath-taking sight.
The Christmas tree inside and lights were a pretty view.
The welcome basket with it's goodies was nice too.

Everything was wonderful and we loved our stay.
We were so tired and needed this get-away!
What detail! Everywhere we looked there was a surprise!
Wherever we go we will for you advertise!
~Heather 12/09


For whatever reason this will not let me link the link to the cabin. If you go to www.serenitylogcabins.com you can get more info on these delightful cabins! I can assure you, you won't be disappointed! =)

~Christmas post #2~

~It was so fun getting to see my good friend Laura at Daddy and Moma's church. This is where we had our last Sunday morning's deputation service. It's always good to worship with our dear friends at the Union Friends Church.~
~Our very last deputation service was at the Tim Wiford's church in Anderson, IN. It was great meeting the Wifords and seeing my good friend Mary Beth and the Evans. We spent the night with our dear friends the Evans. The Wifords and the Evans put together a yummy snack.~

~What a surprise to wake up to SNOW! Our kids and the Evans' kids had fun playing together in the snow.~

~David snapped this fun picture of our Elijah.
(David is also the one that took our snowy family picture in front of the log cabins that I posted for my Christmas post.)

~After deputation was all complete we came back to Ohio and got to attend the neat celebration for our DEAR pastor and wife: Carl and Gayle Eisenhart! They have been the world's BEST pastor and wife of Christian Nation Church for 25 years! It was such a wonderful touching evening! (This picture was obviously taken at another time, but I wanted to show you a picture of our DEAR pastor and wife.)

Here I am with my dear friends Susanna and Stephanie.~
~Our family at the pastor's celebration~
~The CNC Christmas program was very special and our children were so excited to get to sing in the kids' choir.~

~Another reason that I am thrilled getting to use this home is that I can entertain company and set pretty tables. I was soooo HAPPY to get to use my Christmas China again! I got my China at the dollar store back in 2004!~


~After the CNC Christmas program, we invited our pastor and wife (Eisenharts), our mission director and family (The Beckers), and the Hausmans over for a cranberry appetizer, a Dickinson family recipe of Italian Spaggheti, my french bread, cesear salad, and our dessert was these 2 fruit pizzas that I made.~
~The Hausmans, Becker young people, Brandon and Mrs. Joan. The house we are staying in is the home that Bro. Becker and Mrs. Joan grew up in, so they have lots of memories there.~
~The Beckers, Eisenharts, and Phillip and I.~
~Elijah, Jessica, and Levi were all born within 2 months of each other.~
~Enjoying more time with friends and family at "our" home. Some of our friends brought some snacks to add to mine and we had a great evening together. (Thanks, MaryBeth, for my fun blouse!)~
~I was happy to find this cupcake Christmas tree.~
~The Christmasy mice that our kids made.~
~As usual my dear friend/"enemy" Rob was feeding his face. HA!! (We have picked on each other since college days.) The guys enjoying the snack in "our" living room.
~Sharing an evening of fun, food and friends.~

~Christmas post #1~

I have more deputation pics to post, but first.....
~Welcome to our "home" for a peek at our lives this past Christmas.~
Jesus has been soooo good to us! I told you earlier that a dear lady is letting us use her nice home for Dec. and Jan. It has been so healing to my heart to get to use my Christmas tree and decorations again for the first time since 2004. And then it's been fun also getting to use some of the Christmas decorations that Jesus gave me while I was on deputation.
~While on deputation I was really WANTING and searching for an antique child's sled to decorate with for Christmas. For some years I had had these children's white iceskates that I wanted to use with it. God and My dear friend Becca in PA provided me this adorable children's sled. Thank you, Becca it has made my backdoor and me very happy this Christmas! =)~
~The front door all decorated for Christmas.~
~While in OK I got to shop at a neat store called "Cheapo Depot" and with some birthday money I got some fancy stockings and hangers like I have wanted for quite some time. =) (Thanks, Sis Lila for the neat white sprig you gave me!! I used it behind the stoking holders.) I love old suitcases, so was happy that my Moma gave us one and we found the other one at a junk store. Wasn't God good to let the house we are using have a fireplace where I could hang the stockings? ~
~I love the color of dark maroon and have had this Christmas color scheme for years. Again, I will say that God is amazing! The living room in the home we are using is done in that same color. =) ~
~I had fun using snowmen and red and white in the kitchen. I love this little Christmasy sign that I got at the Roop's store that asked, "Is it too late to be good?" ~

~It was fun using the Christmasy quilt that Laura had given me years ago. Kimberly found this cute little pillow for me at a Salvation Army that says, "May the peace of Christmas bless you always . (I was happy to find the red and green pillow here in the house that we are staying in to borrow to put with my pillow.)~
~Our last Wednesday service on deputation was at John and Janelle Manley's church in Dayton, OH. After service they, Michael and Beth and us all enjoyed some Skyline and some laughs together. =)~
~We got to spend a couple of fun days with Michael and Beth and family. Since it was near Sarah's birthday we went and got some Mexican food (Can't find much of that in Colombia) .~
~They brought out a free fried icecream for Sarah-the birthday girl-(and us) to share! ~
~We were soooo DELIGHTED that the Lord worked it out that we got to be at the God's Bible School Christmas program. You see, when we are on the field those events are things that we REALLY MISS! Both Phillip and I sang in the GBS choir and have wonderful memories of doing several of these programs under the direction of dear Bro. Wolf! This is the first GBS program we have attended in 10 years!! We had no way of knowing that since this is Bro. Wolf's last year, that night that we were there was his VERY LAST TIME to direct the GBS choir for a Christmas program. (On Sat. and Sun. he let someone else direct!)
It was so fun being there with my Daddy and Moma and with the Hausmans.~
~The choir and drama as usual was splendid! Their songs ministered to our hearts very much!~
~In this picture I tried to capture Bro. Wolf directing to the left and my neice Natasha singing on the front row on the right!~
~Dear Laura and family invited Daddy and Moma, the Pilmores and us over for a yummy, fun and festive Christmasy snack.~

~The next morning after a VERY late night I tried to put together a fun Birthday breakfast for our Sarah. She was delighted that her cousin Darla got to spend the night with her.~
~Then we met the Hausmans and Pilmores at a neat horse drawn sleigh parade in Lebanon, OH.~


~And yes...we really were as COLD as we look in this picture. Our toes froze!~

~Kissing cousins sharing a candy stick!~
Then we ran home and packed to head for our last 2 deputation services in IN.

~New JCPenny's pictures~

~In the fall of 1992 I met a young lady named Kelly on the campus of God's Bible School. When we met neither Kelly nor I had any way of knowing that we would end up being best friends for the next 3 years, and room mates for 2 of those years. (At the end of those 3 years, we both got married and so our husbands became our "best friends" and our "roommates". =). A few weeks ago I was standing and chatting with Kelly and one of her boys came by with a cute hat on. I asked Kelly where I could get one of those hats and she told me that she had made that hat. You see I was fixin' to take our children to JCPenny's and I wanted a hat like that for Elijah. Well, much to my delight Kelly told me that she would loan Noah and Elijah the matching outfits that she had made for her boys so that they could wear them for their pictures. Thank you, Kelly, for loaning me these precious outfits! I'm THRILLED with how these pictures turned out, and I Thank the Lord for His help!~
~This was an un-posed picture that I saw and asked the photographer to snap. It was supposed to be a picture of Sarah and her violin and Elijah walked up and was watching her. I love it that one of Elijah's socks is falling down.~
~Elijah reading a 'tory~
~Kimberly and Sarah and their violins~
~Sisters~
~Brothers~
~We took in these 2 old suitcases to JCP to use with the boys pictures. Elijah had been sitting on the stool but after the photographer had repeatedly said "Boo" to Elijah...Elijah got off of the stool and walked up and said "boo" to the photographer then backed up to sit down on the stool and totally missed it and landed on the floor and that is when the photographer snapped this picture.~
~All packed up with no where to go.~
~Quite the "case" sitting on a suitcase. =)~
~Kimberly who will turn 12 this month. Happy Birthday!~
~Sarah who turned 9 in December. Happy Belated Birthday.~
~Noah and Kimberly share a birthday so he will soon turn 6. Happy Birthday!~
~A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!~

~Merry Christmas and Happy New Year~

I am wishing you and your family a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and a Christ-filled New Year! So many things have happened in this past year. Some were wonderful, while others were tragic. We who are serving Jesus are not to live in fear of or dread the future; It is my goal more than ever to live with Heaven in mind and ready to make my flight at any time. I want to spend more time with Jesus and my wonderful family in 2010! See you next year! =)

~Idaho, old friends, and Glacier Nat. Park~

~We had a nice time with our dear friends the Darwin Edwards who used to attend the church that Phillip pastored in AZ. They are now living in Idaho. We enjoyed having them into our motor home for Sunday dinner. ~

Jonathan and Stephanie Phillips were such a gracious host to us. Years ago Jonthan and I would have attended the same youth camp, and we went to GBS with Stephanie. We had a service at their church in ID. They served us a delicious snack and we had a great time with them and with Dixie and Andy too.~~As you can see from the pics below we enjoyed seeing some of God's GORGEOUS scenery while traveling out west!~
~We stopped for the night having no idea that when we awoke the next morning this is the view that we would see out our window!~



~We held a service in Libby, MT with the Rasmussens and the Ron Millers. We had a good service and time of fellowship with them. Here is Elijah and his new friend Anthony R.~

~After leaving Libby, MT we got to drive and see parts of Glacier National park. We spent the night in the park.~
~The next morning we went out to take some pictures and it was BITTER cold with a wind that nearly knocked us over!~

~Leaving AZ and heading to ID.~

I will try to post the rest of our deputation pictures. Obviously we have TONS of pictures so I will just post some of them, hoping to post at least one from every church/location we visited.
~Our dear friend Janet took the kids hiking in AZ with she and her dog Jake. Thanks, Janet, the kids had a blast!~~The Lord helped us to get a nice Dickinson family picture the last day we were together...in spite of the fact that 5 of us had the flu.~
~Grandma and Grandpa and their GRAND kids!~
~Mom D. wanted me to make some cinnamon rolls for her before I left AZ. We LOVED our days that we got to spend with Dad and Mom D. and Michael and Beth and family! It was hard telling Dad and Mom D. goodbye...not knowing when we will get to see them next!~
~Elijah and Noah with Uncle Mark's old car.~
~Kimberly and Sarah saying those HARD goodbyes to their dog Bridget. Grandpa and Grandma are keeping Bridget for them while we are serving Jesus in another country. Thank you, Grandpa and Grandma you'll NEVER know how much it means to our kids' hearts to know Bridget is in your good hands!~
~We held a service in Cottonwood, AZ. Early the next morning the Peaks made us a delicious breakfast. As we were heading out of our motor home to go to their home I saw these beautiful mountains and wanted to take a picture. My dear man stuck his head in the picture and crossed his eyes wanting to show you that none of us were ready to be up that early in the morning (after such a late night.) He's crazy!~
~It was neat to get to meet the Thomas Peaks who are the new pastor and wife of the church in Cottonwood, AZ. They were missionaries to Peru for many years, so we had a lot in common with them. We had a great visit together!~

~It was nice to see the Smiths from the Cottonwood, AZ church, as well as Mrs. Clifton, and Mrs. Harrington.~

~We stopped at Jazminne's house and she fed us a DELICIOUS mexican meal.~
~It was so neat to see our good friends Jazminne and Christine again.~

~Deputation Memories~

Hello, Hello, Hello! I have not fallen off of the end of the earth, but I'm trying to re-coup and re-group after traveling thousands of miles for 4 months, meeting and greeting many precious people, homeschooling 2 girls, and keeping up with Noah and Elijah. =) Now, I'm sitting here by the lights of our tree after enjoying a cup of yummy hot coffee with eggnog creamer hoping to catch up on my blog and with y'all! A dear friend is letting our family use her home for Dec./Jan. and it is being a HUGE blessing to us! One thing that has been healing to my heart is that this year I have gotten to set up my Christmas tree and use my Christmas china again for the first time since 2004! We are taking a few days to rest up before we go back to Colombia at the end of Jan., Lord willing. I have lots of pictures to post from the rest of our deputation, just don't know if I'll get to post them all. But, for now, I'll leave you with a song that the kids and I wrote, sung to the tune of:
"These are a few of my Favorite things."

~These are a few Deputation Memories~
Playing on playgrounds and Thank you notes written,
Seeing our dog Bridget and Sarah's toy kitten.
Bright colored fall leaves on the trees,
These are a few deputation memories.

Grandma and Grandpa and Gram and Gramp
Getting to go to our Comargo camp.
Roast beef dinners, candy, cakes and treats,
And many more yummy things to eat.

When the tire goes flat,
When we catch the flu,
When we're feeling sad,
We simply remember the good times we've had
and then we don't feel so bad.

Bright city lights at night made us smile.
DeMints loaned us a motorhome to travel in "style". =)
Meeting new dear people in God's family,
These are a few deputation memories.

Being out west and enjoying God's creation.
Seeing points of interest- like a mini vacation.
Hugging aunts and uncles and kissing cousins too.
Looking at snow capped mountains-what a view.

When we grow weary,
When we're sick of school,
When we're feeling sad,
We simply give Thanks to God above,
And then we don't feel so bad.

Taking our pictures out in the freezing cold,
Seeing our dear friends both young and old.
Sharing and receiving new recipes.
These are a few deputation memories.

Fall decorations and visitors in our motorhome
Great Christian fellowship where'er we did roam.
Camping by the river in Glacier National park,
And Going out to see the stars in the dark.

When we're tired of singing,
When we need some sleep,
When we're feeling sad,
We simply Thank God for His help so far,
and then we don't feel so bad.

Going horseback riding, hiking in AZ.
Having a cough that drove us crazy.
Getting some gift bags full of special goodies.
These are a few deputation memories.

Getting to see historic Mt. Rushmore,
Riding 4-wheelers, wagons and more.
Seeing Laura Ingalls Wilders home- how neat.
Spending Thanksgiving with family-HOW SWEET!

When we say goodbye,
When we want to cry,
When we are feeling sad.
We simply remember the good times we've had,
And then we don't feel so bad.

~written by Heather 2009~

~Our Thanksgiving day.~

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! It was a special day being with family and praising God for alllll He has done for us. Here are some pictures of our day. =)
~Everybody pitched in and helped get ready for Thanksgiving dinner. Here Gramp is cutting up the bread for the homemade dressing while Elijah drags a bear around the kitchen. =)~
~Even Grandma Bryan...102 (plus) helpd to get ready for Thanksgiving dinner. Kimberly was Gram's right hand lady in getting ready for company on Tuesday and the Hausman's arrival on Wednesday...and then Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday.~
~Setting up and playing with Gram's train.~
~A sweet lady from Daddy and Moma's church baked this beautiful choc. cake and brought it in for our Thanksgiving dinner! Thank you, Pam, it was delicious!!~
~It is always a blast to be with the cousins.~
~UNCLE PHILLIP MADE US SMILE! He found these edible wax mustache and lips on sale for a few cents a piece and bought them for our kids to have some fun with.~
~Sarah blowing a kiss.~
~Gramp reading the grandkids a story.~
~The girl cousins enjoyed spending the night together in the motor home.~
~Having fun...giggling and talking late into the night. I came to the motor home and knocked on their window and scared them half to death. It was fun. =D~
~The pretty centerpiece. Sis. Kemp got me these adorable fall candle holders years ago, and I have been letting Moma borrow them.~
~The pretty Thanksgiving table. I was thrilled to get these placemates for 80% off at Hobby Lobby, and so I offered that we could use them for our Thanksgiving table.~
~Natasha, Brittany, and Kimberly playing a game of scrabble~
~Elijah "playing a piano duet" with Aunt Laura. (I think he was asking her what note he should play next. =)~
~How many blessings we have! Our family...getting to with them for Thanksgiving...and serving Jesus, to name a few!~
~Moma and I made the yummy pumpkin pies.~
~Elijah agreed that the pumpkin pie was delicious! He picked up someone's pie that he found and licked the filling out of the crust and then ate the crust. =)~
~Gram bought fun Christmas coloring books for the kids and gave them to them after Thanksgiving dinner.~
~It was special to get to celebrate Thanksgiving with Grandma Bryan who is 102 plus!~
~Darla and Sarah, Bryan and Noah did a little program for us.~
~Gram and Gramp listening to the little program.~
~I trust that y'all had a very Happy Thanksgiving as well!~

~We packed a lot into our short visit together.~

Could you please pray for Rigoberto and Ilce...serving Jesus in Cartagena, Colombia? Thank you!
More of our trip with Dad and Mom, Michael and Beth and family.
We surely enjoyed getting to see the beautiful mountains, cactus, and western landscape in AZ again.

~Then Phillip and Michael came back and took Beth and I (and Elijah) to see the neat desert.~


~The shells that Noah picked up in the desert.~
~While in AZ we were happy to eat a neat treat again called a "Big Hunk". Here's my Big hunk--Phillip-- holding a "Big Hunk". =D

~Catching the Gratitude Attitude~

I want to wish each of you a Happy Thanksgiving! While the world thinks of this day as nothing but "Turkey day", football, and another day off of work, we Christians love this Holiday for it reminds us to catch the Gratitude Attitude! To stop and count our blessings and name them one by one!
God has been VERY good to me! God could have saved us and sancitified us and then said that that was all He was going to do for us for there is NO WAY that we could ever repay Him for those! But...He didn't do that...He cares for every one of our needs (and even some of our wants.=) I Thank Him for ALLLLLLL He has done for Me. Below are pictures of my 3 main praises. (I THANK GOD for my family as well, but I don't have any recent pictures of them! =(
~One of the main blessings I have is my WONDERFUL man that Jesus gave me. He's the best husband in the world!!!! (I'm glad if you don't agree...for I WANT you to think that yours is the best!! =) I Thank the Lord for Phillip!~
~And when I married Phillip I got the best in-laws that a lady could ever get! I love Dad and Mom D. and Michael and Beth (and family) Tons!~
~Then I am extremely GRATEFUL that God "loaned" us 4 precious children to love and raise for Him.~~Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!~

~Even more AZ pics~

~Since we all were together for a week, we decided to take a trip in the motor home and go see family we hadn't seen in years. Dad and Mom, and Michael, Beth, and family loved the motor home that the Demint's have loaned us.






~Little Elijah in the dessert.~
~On the way we had a blowout in the motorhome. But God helped us and it happened near a town that had a nice tire shop that changed it for us.~


~Trying to take pictures of the neat Western mountains while going down the road. =)~

~Dad and Mom wanted to show us this neat train in Kingman, AZ.~
~Our family at the train.~

~Michael and Beth and kids with the train. Michael LOVES being goofy in pictures....so if you look closely you will notice his eyes crossed.~
~Grandpa and Grandma and their 6 GRANDkids. =)~