~Oct. 31st~ BIBLE DAY!!~

(Mom D. you may not want to keep reading, there's more goodies pictured, SORRY. =)
Phillip was gone a lot of the day helping a man from one of our churches. God is helping us to touch one life at a time here, for which we praise Him. There are sooooo MANY NEEDS around us, but we try to take groceries to a family who needs them, find some roofing for another family who's roof is leaking into their home, etc. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS FOR US, WE WANT TO TOUCH AS MANY AS WE CAN FOR JESUS!
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Here in Colombia the Christian churches celebrate "Bible Day" on this day, and we like the idea. Our children kept looking out and seeing our neighbors kids all dressed up, leaving for school, or wherever. So, I told the girls that they could go and dress up in their princess' dresses, and that we would try to make some candy to make it a fun day for them too. (Kimberly made Noah a "mask" but I didn't get a picture of him in it.) ~From the couch, I took this pic of the kids making the candy~I have been SOOOO NAUSEATED yesterday and today, so I basically laid on the couch and told my kids how to make these "Pecan Caramel Clusters". Of course there were the normal share of disasters when kids cook alone. =D A plate dropped and broke into 4 pieces, some of the pecans which were being chopped got dumped on the floor, etc. ~Noah is ALWAYS willing to "help" make cookies, candy or cake! HA!~ But, we finally got these made, and they are rich, but yummy!
~Pecan Caramel Clusters~
Taste of Home Feb/March 2007
1 package (14 oz.) caramels
2 Tab. water
2 Tab. butter
2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
4 oz. white candy coating, coarsely chopped
4 oz. semi sweet choc. candy or choc. chips.
In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the caramels, water, and butter. Microwave, uncovered on high for 3 to 3 1/2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Stir in pecans.
Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets. Freeze or refrigerate for 15-20 minutes, or until set.
In a microwave-safe bowl, combine candy coatings. Microwave, uncovered on high for 1-2 minutes, stirring every 15 seconds, stir until smooth. Dip caramel clusters in coating, place back on greased pan and can chill until firm. Yield: about 2 pounds.
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Phillip came home and took our children with him to the mall and bought some candy and cookies and some zip lock bags and hurried home and the kids, Phillip and I hurriedly packed 35 bags for them to take to pass out after church tonight. Last year we did a very fun night, (that is when I made those 24 loaves of Banana bread, and 200 smiley face sugar cookies) but with me being "out of the picture" right now, I suggested that Phillip just tell a kids story, sing kids songs and pass out the goodies, and that would make it a simple fun night for those who come to church! =) Now here I sit in a VERY DIMLY lit house so that my neighbor children won't think I'm home, and ring my doorbell asking for candy. =) I do have some candy here, but it's all to make more goody bags to pass out at our other church tomorrow night. =)~Packing the goody bags to pass out at church~

~Our weekend, and a yummy recipe!~

~Since I still cannot go to church, our kids have to fend for themselves on Sunday mornings. 6 year old Sarah helped Noah get dressed for church yesterday morning, and she had him some cacki shorter pants on, a dressy shirt, this blue tie, and socks and tennis shoes on. So, Phillip and I intervened and had Noah take off his tie, telling him that he could wear his tie all afternoon when he came back home from church....so he did! =)~
Well, Thanks for your prayers, Jesus has given baby and I a pretty good weekend. I'm still nauseated some, but I was able to get some things done in our home, and I even cooked some food, and baked some Strawberry Scones for breakfast on Saturday, and on Sunday I made a decent meal for my poor family who have been living on canned soup and oatmeal. I made Spaghetti and sauce, homemade bread sticks, Harvard beets, and since my little Noah has been BEGGING me daily to make him a cake, I made him/us a quick apple cake! When my family returned home from church yesterday they were SOOOO EXCITED to have Mommy's cooking again! =D ~Poor Phillip laid down to have a Sunday afternoon nap on the couch, and he was joined by our 3 children...what a comfy rest! HA!~
God gave Phillip and the kids 2 good services yesterday. Kimberly had her Sunday school class but a lot of her students arrived late. She plans to have them start practicing for a simple Christmas program soon.
~Noah and "his" "Creamy Apple Cake" that Mommy finally made him!~
This is one of the best and most moist apple cakes I have ever eaten, and one of the quickest to make. I like it because it uses ingredients that most of us have on hands! When we were on deputation, Amy Bryant served it to us, and she had gotten the recipe from my good friend Kim Saylor. ENJOY!!
~Creamy Apple Cake~
4 cups peeled and diced tart apples
2 cups sugar (I use less) and 2 eggs.
Mix the above ingredients together in a bowl, this will be juicy.
In another bowl combine 2 cups flour, 2 1/2 teas. cinnamon, 1 teas. baking soda. Add dry ingredients to apple mixture, this mixture will be dry. Pat in a greased 9x13 dish and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.
Caramel Icing~
While your cake is baking, make this simple icing.
In a sauce pan on top of the stove combine 1/2 brown sugar, 1/2 white sugar, 1 cup water, and 2 Tab. flour. Cook on stove until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and add 1 stick of margarine and 1 teas. vanilla. Stir until marg. is melted. Poke cake with fork and pour sauce over cake. Serve while warm. (Note, if you want to make your cake ahead of time, but want to serve it warm to guests, just make your caramel icing right before you serve your cake, and when you pour this HOT icing over the cake, this will make it pretty warm.) You could serve this with cool whip or ice cream, but it doesn't need anything. Delicious!
~Like Father, Like Son! The other day at the park, Phillip was riding one of our girl's bikes backwards...and so last night Noah got on his bike to try it! =O ~

~An hour out in the sun, helped us and was fun!~

Yesterday, Phillip insisted that the kids and I get dressed and GET OUT OF THE HOUSE and get some fresh air and sun. After being cooped up in our home and being sick for about a week, and Kimberly and I were still fighting the virus, we NEEDED to get out. So, we walked (and the kids rode their bikes) to a park 1/2 mile away. We bought some drinks, enjoyed some fresh avocado with salt, and let the kids play. I just sat in the wonderful WARM sun, and then I laid a coat down and laid down in the nice warm grass and watched my family enjoy this park. (It's hard to tell in this picture, but one of these swings was broken.)
~Phillip found some wire and fixed the broken swing. It worked, for he even tried it out, and it held him. =)
~Our children were playing with some of the broken playground equipment, "making a house". Sarah and Noah were enjoying "building"
~The girls and Phillip laid down and looked at clouds, to see if they could find clouds in the shapes of different things.

~After we came home, I told Phillip that while I was laying down in the grass at the park that I had snapped a few pics of he and the kids. He said, "Oh, I wanted a picture of you there too." I told him that I DID NOT want a picture of me, for I was in my SAME jean dress, and he's a little turkey (a very SWEET turkey) for he then snapped this picture while I was checking email. =D~

On the way home, we were crossing a large foot bridge that crosses 6 lanes of traffic to get to our home, and we happened to see the lady that helps me a couple times a week, walking away from our house. We knew she was coming, and were trying to get home to meet her. Phillip started whistling trying to get her attention, and I yelled her name. We finally got her attention, and I was walking across the bridge and Noah was riding his bike in front of me. I was watching her, and didn't notice (UNTIL IT WAS TOO LATE) that Noah had decided to go down the VERY STEEP ramp of the bridge by himself, and he isn't strong enough to use his hand brakes (that's all they have on bikes here) on his bike yet. HELP! So, I was trying to decide what to do, for I knew he was probably going to crash and and BURN any minute. Thank the Lord, he hadn't gone far before he crashed into the railing of the bridge ramp. He hurt his knee, but I was VERY relieved that he didn't go all the way to the bottom, for he would've been going VERY fast by the time he would have gotten to the bottom and then if he would have crashed, it would have been VERY BAD! My helper really cleaned up my house, did laundry and folded clean laundry, so that really encouraged my heart, and I know that that hour out in the fresh air and sun really did the kids and I a lot of good. PRAISE THE LORD, Our kids seem to be over the virus. I did have sort of a rough evening, but God is helping me today. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS, If you don't mind, keep them up! =) (Every other month, I LONGINGLY AWAIT my Taste Of Home Magazine to arrive in the mail. Thank the Lord my new issue just arrived, BUT NOW I'M TO NAUSEATED TO LOOK AT IT! =)

~I will bless the Lord at ALL times!~

Hello, from the Dickinson "hospital". All 3 of our kids came down with some kind of virus this week, and they are still fighting it. My Sarah, who is ill, and who listens to a lot of Bible stories just asked me if it was ok to "CURSE THE DAY I WAS BORN?" I told her no, that I BLESS the day that she was born. =) Besides my normal nausea, I must have some kind of other virus, so can't keep much down. =( I tell you what, I'm in the DEPTHS OF DESPAIR....to quote Anne of Green Gables! =) There is NOTHING that sounds good to eat. My helper, that comes to help me a couple days a week, doesn't know how to cook, and I am NOT in the mood for Colombian food anyways. Normally I like their food, but right now I want some of my Moma's GOOD SOUTHERN home cooking, or at least some good ole USA food! Please pray that I can get better enough to cook for my family, or that God will send me an angel to cook for us. Noah, who has never seen his mother sick like this, and is used to me making good meals and goodies quite often, just asked me if I could PLEASE make some cookies. He said, " I want some cookies with oatmeal and choc.," (no bake cookies.) I told him that I couldn't right now, and he said, "Well, Kimberly can or Sarah, or even I know how to." Bless his heart! Phillip, understandably, is gone a lot with having 2 churches here, and it's hard for 3 children under the age of 9 to run the house and cook decent meals. I never dreamed how desperate I would feel being sick and pregnant and not able to cook, so far away from the USA and my family. I mean if I lived in the USA, most of the time I would have someone close that could come over and cook for me and help me, but if I have any Colombians over to cook, THEY WILL COOK FOOD THAT SOUNDS SO NASTY TO ME RIGHT NOW! Today, my lunch was INSTANT MASHED POTATOES! I'm not trying to complain, I think that if I didn't know that y'all were all praying for us, I would despair. I don't know how long I can keep up feeling sick and not being able to cook for my family and I. We have to eat, but right now we are surviving on quick packaged soups or oatmeal, etc. UGH! Sorry I'm not blogging fun blogs right now, but this is where I'm living, so I'm giving y'all an update. =) I'm VERY happy that I have a precious little baby and that is the reason for my sickness, and that I don't have a terminal disease, like others are having to face. I'm trying to pray for those dear people while I lay in my bed, I cannot imagine how they are suffering. So, Thanks for those prayers, and PLEASE keep them up. I know that God has not forsaken me and our family, and I'm still praising Him in the midst of it all. Thanks for being there for me!

~A surprise visit~

On Wednesday morning we got a phone call from a Tim Brubeck from the USA. He was visiting Bogota for a few days and he said that he had some things for us. I couldn't figure out what in the world he had for us, for we didn't know him. He arrived, along with a Colombian couple, and we had a nice visit. His wife, Chelle, is from my parents new church in Westfield, IN. So Chelle had called my Mother and my Moma gave her some ideas of what we would like or need and then Chelle and her children went shopping and sent us a goody package with her husband Tim. She sent me a lot of NICE and pretty Maternity clothes, and a couple nice maternity patterns. Since I sold most of my maternity clothes before we went on missionary deputation, I'm thrilled to have some new ones. There was also some PACES for Sarah, and some nice toys for our children in the package! We were very pleasantly surprised with this care package! THANK YOU VERY MUCH, BRUBECKS!!! You made our week very special! =)
~Tim Brubeck, a Colombian couple and us. (Please excuse my jean dress. When I have the energy to get dressed now-a-days, I live in that dress, for it is more comfortable on my nauseated tummy. Notice the stack of "new to me" maternity clothes on the couch at the bottom left hand corner of this picture. =)~

Thanks for your prayers for Baby and I. God has given me a good Saturday. I'm feeling some better today, and I've gotten a lot of things done, and I'm very thankful! =)

~It could be worse!~ =)

Well, I wish I had a nice and cheery post to post today, but I don't. Last evening I got sooo SICK, but thought it was just my normal pregnancy nausea. Then I had a HORRIBLE night and was sick all night long, then Noah woke up sick. The only thing that we can figure is that the soup that Noah and I ate from a restaurant yesterday, was rotten, and we got food poison from it. UGH! So, needless to say, I had a terrible night, and though my stomach is feeling some better, I'm just plain exhausted. My Phillip has pink eye! (`~`) And Our kids went to one of our churches and got fleas in their clothes, which hopped into their beds, and so now all 3 are COVERED with ITCHY flea bites. Sarah has 31 bites on just one part of her leg. =( So, we stripped the girls bedding and washed it all yesterday trying to kill the fleas, and I was going to wash Noah's bedding today. Last night He woke up and got sick all over his bedding, so now it REALLY needs to be washed. =( So, we could use an extra prayer or 2 today. Pray I can think of some good things to eat, for nothing sounds good to eat, after being sick all night long, but I have to eat for baby and I. I'll try to write a much more cheery post soon, when I get the strength.
Trying to count our blessings! ~Heather

~Happy Birthday, Brittany!~

My dear niece Brittany Hausman turns 12 today! YEA! Brittany I hope that you have a WONDERFUL day! Brittany has always been a sweet girl, that loves Jesus and LOVES to work and clean and help her Mother. (She takes after her GG, Grandma Bryan, Gram, her Mommy and her Aunt Heather...and of course many more of her family who LOVE to work! =) Brittany we are sooo happy for y'all's home that God provided for y'all to rent in Ohio. We cannot wait to come and visit you and your family!!!! Have a great birthday!! We love and miss you and your family tons!

~Happy 20th wedding anniversary, Andrew and Vonnie!~

~Andrew and Vonnie had 4 children and thought they were done, and then God gave them SURPRISE twin boys. Aren't they such a sweet, nice looking family?~
My dear oldest brother Andrew, and his precious wife, Vonnie, whom live in Alaska, have now been married for 20 happy years! YEA! Andrew and Vonnie, we are proud of y'all for being married that long. Today we live in a world where people hardly even get married, just sinfully live together, but when they do get married, most of them have the mindset that when problems come, they will leave. Isn't it wonderful to be a part of a Happy Christian home, where the word "divorce" is NEVER mentioned, and not even allowed in our homes? We love you and Andrew bunches and miss y'all and your wonderful family. I trust that y'all have a GREAT day!

~Our Sunday and our Family Day~

Here's a picture of Phillip and our children heading off to church last Sunday morning. They all looked so nice, that I wanted a picture of them. Phillip and our children had good services on Sunday and God helped them. God gave us a beautiful sunny Sunday morning, and then later it poured the rain. I'm sad that I cannot go to church with them right now, but it shouldn't be too many more weeks and I should be able to endure the 1 hour bus ride THERE AND BACK and the horrible smells (both inside the bus and out...FOR WE PASS A PLACE WHERE THEY SKIN DEAD ANIMALS AND IT SMELLS WORSE THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE IN THAT AREA!) I had a ROUGH day at home Sunday but later that evening God helped me get my dishes done and mix up some of our friend Aunt Nesi's pumpkin bread for a little snack for my family. So for now until I get over my nausea I "attend" Hobe Sound Bible Church services in my home each Sunday via live streaming video. I love it that since I cannot go to church I have a good Holiness service to watch and on top of that it's in English, and I know LOTS of people there too, so that makes it fun. I feel God's presence while I'm watching those services and many times I'm crying and blessed along with the people that are there in the service. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today was our family day, and we ENJOYED getting a phone call from Mom and Dad D. this morning. Thanks Dad and Mom! =) We didn't do much until this afternoon and we decided to take our kids to a nearby park. It was all sunny and then all of the sudden on the way there it started raining. UGH! So when we got to the park, we hid under a bridge and PRAYED that it would stop, and then when it pretty much quit we let our kids play for a little while. The Lord gave me a pretty good day today, which made me happy. I forgot the camera, but we had a nice little time in the park. I don't get out too much right now, so all the walking we did was good exercise for baby and I. =) We found out that this was a holiday today (it seems that every other Monday is a holiday here), and that the little boat rentals at that park were opened today (normally only open on Sat. and Sun.), but we got there about 10 minutes after the boat rentals closed. Oh well, I guess we can do that another day, for our children are dying to do that. =D We got some snacks while we were out, and just enjoyed being together.
My little Sarah made me this cup of hot tea, got out a little tray, put the roll on it, and wrote me a little note. She was SOOOO EXCITED to be doing this, that she was jumping with joy and clapping as she was getting it ready for me. =) She's a sweetheart.
I'm posting this yummy salad that our Nicaraguan friend Rosita made for us while we lived in Costa Rica. It may sound disgusting, but we really enjoy it.
Happy Healthy Eating!
~Raw Cauliflower Salad~
In large bowl combine the following:
Wash and chop up one whole head of Cauliflower into very SMALL pieces.
Wash and chop up one or two fresh tomatoes into 1/4 inch pieces
Finely Chop up one green onion (or more to your taste)
Squeeze one lemon or two small limes into salad
Salt to taste.
Mix well and allow to stand for at least one hour before serving, stirring often to let flavors blend. If your family is like mine, there probably won't be too much salad left over to put away. We love the blend of the salt and lemon juice and the fresh veggies. =)

~Some help, and some quotes from Noah!~

Thank you ladies for praying. God helped me to have a GOOD DAY YESTERDAY, THURSDAY, and I got a lot of my work done that I needed to get done. ALSO, a dear lady from one of our churches came over and helped me for 6 hours, and she got A LOT done too! She worked like a busy beaver and was literally running some of the time for she wanted to get as much done as possible before she left. So, now I have all clean laundry, and a clean house! YEA!
We've asked her to come and help me once a week for now until I can get feeling better. She is thrilled to have this job, for she is a single Mother and has been praying that God would give her some work where she wouldn't have to work on Sunday, and where she could wear skirts. We told her that next time she can bring her children with her, so that our girls can watch them, and she doesn't have to pay a babysitter while she's working here. She's very Thankful for this answer to prayer, and SO AM I! =)~Her youngest daughter, whom my girls LOVE to pieces!~
Today we had Cracked wheat cereal for breakfast, and I put some hot chocolate powder in it, to make it more yummy (and less healthy =). I put Noah's STEAMING bowl in front of him, and he tried to take a VERY HOT BITE.... SPITTING IT BACK OUT! I then told my kids that I had put HOT chocolate in it. Noah said, "OH, is that why it's soooo HOT?" =D~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The other night Sarah and Noah were sleeping in Noah's bed together. I came into their room to make sure they were covered up and to kiss them. Noah (who had had a nap) was still lying there awake. When I leaned over Noah to tell him goodnight and kiss his cheek he pointed at Sarah, and said, "The other one's asleep!" It cracked us up for he didn't say, "Sarah is asleep, or my sister is already asleep," but he said, "THE OTHER ONE'S asleep!" He's crazy.~~~~~~~~~~~
Poor Noah is not used to his mother being sick all of the time. In the last few days he has heard me say, "I'm sooo sick," or "I'm sick as a DOG," A LOT. He also hears me ask for special things like GUM saying, "I'm soooo sick!" So, he's learned that if he says he's soooo sick, he might get little favors too. =D Late one Saturday night I was lying in bed and was sooo nauseated. I knew I needed to eat something, but couldn't figure out what I wanted to eat. Finally, I thought of it...I wanted some sliced cucumbers with salt! So, since Phillip was still awake downstairs I asked him if he could PLEASE peel and slice a cucumber for me. Noah who was still awake, agreed that he wanted a cucumber too! So, I covered my head with my blankets (for it's chilly here and I always sleep that way) and then a few minutes later I happened to uncover my head and there stood a very quiet Noah holding a pink plate full of sliced/salted cucumbers, looking around wondering WHERE he should put them. I sat up and asked him if he wanted to join Mommy in my bed and eat some cucumbers and he said, "YES, because I AM SICK AS A DOG!" =)

~An Update!~

~A couple weeks ago I showed you a picture of 10 jean skirts that I made for some girls in one of our churches. The Lord helped me get those skirts done just 2 DAYS before I started getting nauseated with this pregnancy. This is the picture that was taken the very next Sunday. There's only 6 of the 10 skirts that I made in this picture, but it's a cute picture! Please pray for the little girl on the RIGHT, SHE FELL AND LANDED ON A PIECE OF REBAR (A ROUND PIECE OF METAL THAT THEY USE TO STABILIZE CONCRETE.) THE REBAR WENT IN THROUGH THE BOTTOM OF HER CHIN, THROUGH THE ROOF OF HER MOUTH AND THE POINT NEARLY CAME OUT IN BETWEEN HER EYES!!! THEY'VE DONE SURGERY AND SHE'S DOING OK, BUT THEY STILL HAVE TO PEEL HER FACE OFF, AND PULL OUT THE BONE THAT THE REBAR SHOVED INTO HER BRAIN. SHE AND HER FAMILY NEED PRAYER!!!
~Kimberly decided to paint her sibblings and her face. We didn't get a picture of Sarah. =(
I am not able to to to church right now in my condition, but Thank the Lord, He sent in some money to buy a little "Gloria Player" which is a little machine that you just punch in the number of any of the Spanish hymns in our Spanish book, and it will play all of the songs. YEA! So, God helped us get that machine for Phillip to take to church, the VERY DAY that I started getting really sick with this pregnancy. God knew that I wouldn't be able to go to church and play the piano for a few weeks, so He provided music for Phillip just in time! It is VERY Necessary to have music when you sing for almost an HOUR EACH SERVICE, and most of your congregation cannot carry a tune!
~Kimberly made Noah into a "Kitty Cat". Dear Noah, put a bunch of GLUE on this piece of paper, AND GLUED IT TO OUR LIVING ROOM WALL!
Today while the girls were having their violin lesson and were playing their violins together, Noah was strumming his guitar. It was cute, but not on tune! =)

Thank you for your prayers for baby and I! I'm not bragging nor complaining, but I'm soooooo nauseated and tired that I am NOT getting anything done in life right now. My laundry is overflowing, and I have a bunch that needs ironed, and my house looks like a hurricane just came through it. =D It is very discouraging to me right now, but I know that this time will soon pass, and I'll feel better soon, (HOPEFULLY), and I'm just trying to relax in the midst of the MESS, and help the little "bun" in my oven to grow into a "loaf". =) PLEASE KNOW THAT I'm sooooo HAPPY about this baby, just feel like I'll never get caught up on my work.
Thanks for your prayers, I NEED THEM VERY MUCH!

~Bragging on my oldest brother, Andrew!~

Ladies, you may not normally be into reading hunting stories, but this is a hunting story of my brother, Andrew, who lives in AK, and I think that the pics are NEAT! EVEN THOUGH I KNOW THAT MY BROTHER IS AN AWESOME HUNTER...this story kept me on the edge of my seat, and made me nervous. Some of you may have seen it on my sis-n-law, Vonnie's blog, but she gave me permission to put it on mine! (The rest below is from Vonnie's blog! The captions for each pic are BELOW the pics! If you double click on each pic, they should get bigger!) ~BUCKLE YOUR SEAT BELTS AND ENJOY! =)
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Well, Andrew, Drew, Max and Tom went hunting. Tom and Max left Saturday morning from Ft. Yukon, in the boat. Andrew and Drew flew in the Cub on Monday, found Max and Tom and flew them further into the hunting territory. I don't know what day Tom got a moose, but he and Andrew packed out meat until it was too late to do any more and then went in the next day about 8:30 in the morning. As they were approaching the site where the moose was they heard a rustling. Andrew told Tom to get his rifle ready and they kept looking to see what was coming at them. Then they saw it, a GRIZZLY that had claimed Tom's moose for his own. He was coming to get whatever was getting too close to his meat. Andrew had left his rifle with Drew, it was then that he became aware that his .454 Casull had better do the trick. He fired three times. Immediately after the first shot the bear started turning around and around. The first two shots probably got him, Andrew thinks the third shot was a little high.

This is the monster. It squared 7'6" or 7'8", which is really big for an interior grizzly. We took it by Fish and Game this morning and had the head measured - it was 24 5/16" which would put it in the Boone and Crockett record book if Andrew wanted to go to the trouble to do it. He doesn't think he will but it is nice to know that it would get in.
Drew got a picture taken by it, although he wasn't there when it was shot. He thought it was pretty neat that his dad got such a big bear.

Here is the paw/claws of the bear. [HAVE A HUGE PAW AND CLAWS!!!] The .454 shell is about 2 inches long. Fish and Game said it was about a 15 yr old bear.

Here is a picture of Andrew and Drew in the plane. Andrew got in about 18 hours of flying while on this hunt. I'm really glad he's getting in time.... the more experience he gets, the less nervous I'll be when he takes me up. :) ~Vonnie!~

~FALL~

~Hey! Glad you stopped by for a visit, I LIVE for the fellowship that I get from my blog, for I miss all of my family and friends in the wonderful USA. Please take a fresh pumpkin cookie with cream cheese frosting. They are DELICIOUS and I found the recipe off of my friend, Kim's blog. On her blog, scroll down until you come to the SECOND smileybox ON OLDER POSTS (on the next page), and you'll find the recipe there. ENJOY!~
~Phillip had an appointment on Thursday and was gone from our home for several hours, so since my Kimberly has been wanting me to decorate our home for fall, the Lord helped me to get it done while Phillip was gone, to surprise him when he came home. I LOVE TO DECORATE FOR FALL, AND FOR CHRISTMAS TOO, but in these first few months of pregnancy it is HARD to get the "umph" to do much of anything. =) Here's a peak into our home. We are very blessed for last year, my dear friend Roseanne and our dear Aunt Libby sent us some VERY nice fall decorations!! Since I'm a basket lover, I also enjoyed finding 2 sets of fun Fall baskets at a store here.~
~Our "front door" is actually a Garage door, so this is our official front door. Roseanne sent these pretty fall leaves, and Aunt Libby sent us these fun plastic Pilgrims and Indians to hang for our children to enjoy.~
~Our dinning room table. I thought these "pumpkin" baskets were so cute, and was happy to find them here. They are just a orange round basket with a green handle to make them look like pumpkins. There were 5 different sizes that came as a set. I'm letting my girls use the 2 smallest baskets to decorate their desks and room for fall. I LOVE the neat fall leaf salt and pepper shakers that Roseanne sent me. I was happy to find this pretty fall ribbon here too.~~One of the few things I brought with me to Colombia are these nice fruit and fall looking place mats and these cloth napkins and fun fall napkin rings.~
~I also found these cute yellow baskets here. They have a lining of orange material with darker orange or red dots.~
~Since we don't have fall leaves here in Bogota, Aunt Libby sent us 2 neat bunches of REAL dried fall leaves. So I hung one bunch above each of my mirrors in my living room. They smell soooo nice!~
~Another bunch of the yummy smelling real fall leaves!~~Our family loves to snack on fruit. So after I got back from the market this morning, I made this fresh fruit basket in our living room.~~I tried to take a picture of my china cabinet to show the fall touches on there, but they wouldn't show up, so I took some individual shots.~~On the china cabinet~~On the china cabinet!~
~I'm a morning person, except when I'm pregnant, and then I don't function until noon. =) This morning I slept in, and I noticed that I was smelling cantaloupe every time I turned over. When I awakened I found that my dear Kimberly had made me a bowl of freshly cut-up fruits, and some hot tea and placed those and a SWEET note beside my bed. =) I tried to take a picture of the note, but it didn't work. The note said something like: "Dear Mommy, I love you soooooo much. I'm so sorry you are sick, but I am VERY HAPPY we are going to have a baby! Love, Kimberly!" My dear girls are so thoughtful and helpful, I have NO CLUE what I would do without their help!~
One of the things that we do in the Fall, is COUNT OUR BLESSINGS! I have soooo many blessings that I won't name them for you right now, but I do want to THANK JESUS for a specific answer to prayer! My DEAR Mother-in-law, Mom D., whom I LOVE DEARLY, has been SOOOO VERY Sick and even died three times, but the hospital and God brought her back. We have been begging Jesus to please HEAL Mom D. for she has been sooo miserable. God has been touching her, and she is feeling much better, though NOT out of the woods yet. My heart is soooo blessed and THANKFUL TO OUR DEAR GOD FOR THE TOUCH HE HAS GIVEN TO MOM!!!!! If you think of Mom, please pray for her, THANKS!
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Thanks for stopping by, and come back soon! (but please don't mind me if my house isn't really clean and I'm in my nightgown, that's sort of life these days. =) Thanks for your prayers for baby and me, we REALLY APPRECIATE THEM!!!

~Sarah's Sentiments~

First, a note from my Mommy and baby brother or sister! =) Thank y'all for all of your nice congratulations and nice comments on our baby. I'm nearly 2 months along, due near the end of May. I DON'T THINK I'm carrying twins, it's just that Noah made my tummy stretch to Mexico, so this baby is trying to keep up with his/her big brother. =) Since Noah was 12 days late and weighed 10 lbs and 6.7 oz,(AND I HAD NO PAIN MEDICATION AND NO EPIDURAL!!!) I'm praying that this baby will BE ON TIME, and weigh no more than my Sarah did, 7.4! =D Last week, my girls violin teacher didn't know that I was expecting a baby and soooo sick and invited our girls to a violin festival and ASKED US TO MAKE 70 VIOLIN SHAPED COOKIES TO BRING TO PASS OUT THERE! I didn't want to disappoint her for she knows how much I NORMALLY love to BAKE, so not knowing HOW I would do it now that I'm sooo sick and tired with this pregnancy, I agreed. WHEW! I was soooo sick while I was making those cookies, but the Lord and Kimberly helped me and we got them done, and our teacher was very pleased. When she came to pick us up I told her about our baby and that I was sooo sick while making those cookies, but the Lord helped me get them done. The teacher is very excited about our baby!~Our 70 violin shaped cookies, that we cut out and decorated too. All of the students and teachers at the violin festival seemed to enjoy them. ~Heather~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Now, here is Sarah!~~
~Hi! I want to show you some fun pictures of our violin festival and of some food that I made this week. Mommy took this picture at the violin festival. There were a lot of violinist there! Our teacher is the lady with the white shirt, and that is ME on the front row in the very left corner of this picture!~~This is my sister Kimberly and I at the violin festival!~~This is our violin teacher (Adriana) on the left and Kimberly playing a violin duet in front of everyone. Adriana had asked that all of the kids get into pairs to play this song, but Kimberly didn't know anyone there, (and I can't play that song yet) so our teacher played with her, and they did good. This violin festival was a good experience for my sister and I.~~After the violin festival our teacher walked to the mall with us and bought our supper. We had a fun time with her, she is sweet! (Mommy took this picture!)~
~Mommy let me use the left over cookie dough after she made the 70 violin cookies and I had fun cutting out cookies, baking them, and decorating them, and my brother Noah "helped" me!~
~The finished product! (with a little red icing on my face, that my Mommy thought was so cute, and I DIDN'T LIKE!)~~Since Mommy is sooo sick right now, I decided to make her and we kids a Strawberry smoothie. Mommy told me how, and I made it all by myself. It was fun, and yummy! =) ~

~A BABY! =)~

Our Lord told us to pray that the Lord of Harvest would call forth laborers into His fields, and we try to do that daily. We also try to pray that God will send us someone to help us here in Colombia. It appears that God has answered our prayers by sending us ANOTHER MISSIONARY to help us next May or June. Now, this missionary won't know the language right away, won't be very big, so won't be able to do much at first, EXCEPT CRY, EAT, AND SLEEP but we are VERY excited that God is sending us this missionary, even though we don't know if it will be a lady or a man. Yes, I think you have caught on by now, that the LORD WILLING we are to have our precious baby #4 next May or June! YEA!!!! We have been wanting and praying for a baby for 2 years now, so we are very HAPPY that God has answered our prayers! Our kids are sooo excited and want the baby to come NOW! Noah keeps patting his round tummy and telling me that he has a baby in his tummy too. Lord willing, we hope to go back to the states in March or April 2008 and have our baby there in Ohio somewhere, then later on come back to Colombia. (We had thought of having a "Colombian" and having the baby here, but the one emergency room trip that we took with Kimberly who had hurt her wrist, scared us soooo badly about how things are done here in the hospitals, that we changed our minds!)~Since this is my 4th baby, and I'm slim, that baby is already showing.~
I'm soooo nauseated with this little baby (I've been this way with all of mine) that all of my normal baking and sewing projects have come to a SCREECHING HALT and my new task at hand is to TRY TO FIND SOMETHING THAT I CAN EAT THAT WON'T MAKE ME SICK! I'm sick BEFORE I eat and sick AFTER I eat, and tired all of the time! =) How can a precious baby so TINY, make a Mommy soooo sick? =) We're soooo excited about our baby. Please pray that this sickness passes fast, for it's not my personality to lay in bed and not be doing things, but right now my "job" is to grow a healthy baby! Please pray for a healthy BABY and a Healthy MOMMY! It is NOT easy be pregnant in a foreign country, I miss all of the comforts of familiar things in the Good ole' USA, and I miss my Moma and my family! =) Thanks for praying!