~Merry Christmas!~

~From our family to yours...Have a Christ-filled Christmas and a Wonderful 2011!!~

~Christmas decorations and ministering for Jesus~

~I decided to hang baby Mary's initials on her crib. I had purchased them to hang in her nursery in our home, but it doesn't look like I'll get to set up her nursery there. I've enjoyed getting to have her nice white crib and baby changing station set up, even though I had wanted VERY BADLY to set it all up in our own home.~~I got 2 matching Christmas wreaths at a yard sale this past summer for $2.50 each. Here is one of them as a center piece on our table.~
~Our Sarah went outside and cut this greenery and found pine cones and brought them in and made this arrangement.~
~Kimberly bought me this "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree. It's the only tree we have up in the home where we are staying. =) ~
~The home schooling group from our church went caroling and played some specials at a nursing home. Here the girls are playing "Away in a Manger" on their violins.~
~Kimberly, Sarah, and I singing "Feliz Navidad" at the nursing home.~
~The whole home school group singing.~
~Kimberly had fun playing a piano trio with her cousins Natasha and Brittany.~

~Our Sarah turns 10~

~Stephanie and her girls made this fun birthday cookie for our Sarah!~
It was so fun having Grandpa and Grandma D. here visiting from AZ. Grandpa and Grandma were a big help in the kitchen.
~Kimberly and Grandpa washing and drying dishes.~
~Much to my brother-in-law Michael's dismay we try to take a Dickinson family picture every time we are together. (It's a good thing for it seems that every time we take a new picture, there's a new baby. =D This time there are 2. Our little Mary Grace, and Beth is expecting a little boy in May. =) We nearly froze to death taking this family picture, but I was happy with how it turned out. (I didn't shrink this one so you can click it to see it bigger.)~

~Sarah's birthday table~
~Both sets of Grandparents, and Michael, Beth and family got to be with Sarah on her special day. =)~
~Her fun DQ ice cream cake that she requested.~

~Gramp holding little Mary, and Grandpa having a nice visit.~
~The Hausmans got to join us for a fun snack later on that day.~
Lord willing, I'll post pics of Baby Mary's dedication soon. =)

~Our House at Christmas, my ER visit and Dad and Mom's visit~

To the ladies that commented on the Tres Leche cake recipe post...I'm glad that your cakes turned out great. Thanks for the nice comments!
~I decided to decorate our home in Cinci for Christmas, even if the walls are still just studs. I made these little red and white stockings when I was a teenager. Little did I dream that I would be using them in my own home some day. =) ~~You can see all the plaster dust on the floor.~
~Phillip being silly after he hung the stockings for us.~

~I'm so proud of my man. He has put in untold HOURS working on our home. We had hoped to get to live in our home for several months while we were here in the USA, but it looks like we might only get to stay in it a couple weeks before we return to Colombia in January. We are hoping to dry wall this coming week. PLEASE PRAY that all will go well! Thanks!~
~The last Sunday of November we went to Shelbyville, IN for a deputation service. Unfortunately that is when the kidney infection hit me and I didn't get to be at our service. Thanks, Bro. and Sis. Smith, for all you did to take care of my family and I. We enjoyed our stay with y'all!~
~Phillip spoke to the Spanish Sunday School there in Shelbyville, IN in the morning and then he spoke to the youth that afternoon. Kimberly and I thought it was cute that some of his notes he had written on a piece of a board (laying on the desk right in front of the lamp) while working on our house. =)~
~We went straight from the Smith's house to my midwives' office, who sent me straight to the ER where I was treated for my kidney infection. Our dear Mission's director came by while I was in the ER.~
~Where I hung out for a few hours in the ER.~
~The best husband in the world. He did a lot to take care of sick little me on Sunday while trying to prepare for speaking 3 times that day in Shelbyville, IN. We kept baby Mary with us in the ER. All the nurses that came in to help me loved her.~
~Grandma D. meets baby Mary.~
~Beth and I with our matching earmuffs.~
~Our house in the snow. We had hoped to hang icecicle lights on the porch, but then I got sick and never got back down to our house to hang them.~
~Dad and Mom, Michael and Beth and family, Bro. and Sis. Kemp and our family went to Skyline. Yummy!~
Stay tuned to see pics of Sarah's birthday, Baby Mary's dedication and more!

~DELICIOUS Tres Leches (3 milk cake!)~

TRES LECHES CAKE....THREE (or 4) MILK CAKE --HEATHER

4 eggs / 1 cup sugar / 1 cup flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
4 Tablespoons of ICE COLD WATER

Preparation:
Seperate the 4 egg whites from the 4 egg yolks. In a large bowl (WITH AN ELECTRIC MIXER ON HIGH) BEAT the 4 egg whites until they are very fluffy. (Like snow.) Then add the egg yolks ONE AT A TIME and keep beating. Keep beating and add the SUGAR 1 TABLESPOON AT A TIME!!!!
In a sep. small bowl, mix the Tablespoon of baking powder in with the 1 cup of flour. LOWER THE SPEED OF THE MIXER AND add the FLOUR/Baking powder MIXTURE... 1 TABLESPOON AT A TIME. Add the 4 Tablespoons of ICE WATER...1 TABLESPOON AT A TIME, ADDING SLOWLY! When all is mixed well, pour this into a 9X13 pyrex dish that has BEEN GREASED AND FLOURED WELL. Bake at 350 for 20-30 min. depending on the oven. (can check with a toothpick.)

THE THREE OR FOUR MILKS: (BLEND THESE TOGETHER)
1 can of evaporated milk
1 can of sweetened condensced milk
1 cup of half and half
1/4 cup of reg. milk
Blend these milks together in the blender and POUR OVER THE HOT CAKE, making sure that the sides and corners get some too. (You can poke holes in the cake if you want to.) Cover and Place in Refrigerator until COLD. Then put Coolwhip on top right before you serve. SERVE IT COLD!!!
If you have any questions just email me back. Sure, it sounds like a lot of work....BUT IT'S WORTH IT!!!

~Pics from our Thanksgiving!~

Thank you for your prayers for me. I'm feeling MUCH better!!
Here recently we did 3 deputation services. One here in Cinci, then drove all night to Tennessee. We spent a couple days with my Grandmother (whom we call GG, which is short for Great Grandmother), then went on to our service in North Carolina. Then we had Thanksgiving with my family, and the following Sunday we had a service in Shelybyville, IN. We surely enjoyed getting to spend some time with GG, Uncle Dan and Aunt Carole, and Derek and Esther and family in Tennessee.
~Here is GG with our children.~

We had a Happy Thanksgiving! Here are a few pics from our time at Daddy and Moma's!
It was so nice to get to be home for Thanksgiving. We loved getting to see Uncle Andrew and Heidi. (We missed the rest of their family who were in AK). We haven't seen their family since 2006. Uncle Andrew had never met our Elijah nor our Mary. Our Noah who will soon be 7 was only 2 the last time we saw them. We surely enjoyed getting to be with Andrew and Heidi, Daddy and Moma, the Hausmans, and Great Grandma Bryan. (We really missed the AK Bryans, Lincoln, Lyn and family, and GG!)
~Uncle Andrew meets Elijah.~~Uncle Andrew meets little Mary.~
~We had a blast being together. And it's all because THESE TWO PEOPLE fell in LOVE...and still are in Love!~ (Moma would want me to tell you that she was too busy feeding everyone and being together to think about what the back of her hair looked like. =)
~Our men "Solving the worlds problems." =D (Missed you, Lincoln, Keith, and Drew!)
~Daddy carving the turkey~
~Great Grandma Bryan making the oyster dressing, which is a Bryan tradition.~
~Phillip enjoying visiting with Grandma Bryan. (who is 103 and 1/2 years old.)
~Moma's pretty table~
~Part of the Bryan family enjoying an absolutely delicious meal and LOVING being together!~
Dad and Mom Dickinson are here with us right now. We are enjoying time with them and Michael, Beth and kids. I'll post some pics of their visit soon!

~Prayer Needed for ME~

Thank you for your sweet comment on Baby Mary's pictures.
I would appreciate your prayers as I try to heal from a serious kidney infection. I spent over 5 hours in the ER last night, (a fever of 102.8, vomiting, sore flank (kidney area), etc.) and was sent home with meds and strict instruction to REST!!! I've already decorated our own home in Cinci for Christmas (the walls are still studs) but my heart had to decorate for Christmas anyways. Phillip has been/is working HOURS and has done TONS, but fixing up an old home is LOTS of work.
Please pray that I can completely mend from this infection. When I feel better I'll post more pics.

~"Mary" Christmas~

~My friend Deanna gave me this cute sleigh and I decided to take some of Mary's Christmas pictures in it. Jesus helped me and I'm happy with how they turned out. =)~
~"Mmmm...I wonder when this thing will take off?"~
~"WAIT...Not sooo FAST!" =)~

~"Pardon me as I yawn!"~

~"Am I cute with my grumpy face too?" =)




~"If I smile for you...can we be done with these pictures?" =D