~Have you hugged your car today?~

This post isn't to make you feel sorry for us...just rather to help you know how to pray for us! =) Our lives would be sooooo much easier if we had a car!!!!!!!!! But, we feel since most people use public transportation here, it's best for us to do so too. If you are like us (when we had our own car back in 2004) our van was our 2nd HOME! It's where you keep extra diapers, wipes, clothes for the kids, stroller, etc. When it looks like it will rain, you just get into your own car and go shopping, instead of walking a mile or so hauling your groceries in a cart, and hoping and praying that you make it home before it rains. (But you don't always make it! =) And when it IS raining you don't have to stand on a street corner gettig SOAKED (all 7 of you) PRAYING that a kind-hearted taxi driver will stop and pick y'all up. AND...If you forget anything in your car...you just walk out to the garage and get it! But, that isn't so easy when you accidently forget something in a taxi...one of the THOUSANDS of yellow taxis in the huge city of Bogota'!!!
Last week was my first time to take the trip from the church back to our new home, and I was by myself. We had quite the trip trying to tell the taxi driver how to get to our home. I was a little stressed because I had our only set of keys, and I knew that Phillip and our company was going to arrive before us, because everything I tried to tell the taxi driver, he would go a different way. We finally arrived, and greeted Phillip and our company, collected our things, paid the taxi driver and left to take our company to our home for dinner. It wasn't until MANY HOURS LATER that Kimberly realized that she had left her violin in the back window of the taxi!!!!! UGH! We prayed HARD that the driver would be honest and bring her violin back to the office of our houses, but he never did. Thank the Lord, God was already working in her behalf. I told her violin teacher about it, and when she came to teach Kimberly this past Friday, she brought a violin. She said that it is a used violin, but was never (or hardly ever) played. The rosin hadn't even been used. She said that it just arrived at a store where she shops THIS WEEK! It is a better sounding instrument than Kimberly had and is easier to play! We got it for a great deal! Thank the Lord!
(The Monday that Elijah got sooo sick, my cellphone must have fallen out of my coat pocket in a taxi, and I never got it back!) (Trust me, we always try to LOOK around and make sure we haven't forgotten anything...but it's EASY to miss something!)
~Here's Kimberly trying out the new violin, and Elijah with his "Violin and bow" (his toy guitar and a yard stick! =) ~
~Here's a funny picture that I took of Mary. I was trying to get a picture of her sporting her cute boots that Sis. Fulton got her, and her sweet outfit that the Jowers got her.~
~Aren't these boots so cute?~
~Our company and us.~
~My sweetheart helping lift my load by washing some dishes, with Elijah helping. =) He doesn't wash dishes too often, so I had to snap a picture. =) (He helps in other ways, but dishes aren't his favorite thing to do!)~
~Elijah wants to be "Just Like His Daddy!" He took a drink of his juice and said, "Look at my beard." (mustache =)
~My Phillip left to visit our Cartagena church (24 hours away) and Medellin church (11 or 12 hours away) last week. With alllll he had to do before he left one day he got me some pretty red roses. When they started dipping their little heads, I took off the rose petals and made this little arrangement!~

~When Elijah eats "Skyline chili"...he E-A-T-S Skyline chili! (It was even in his hair!) The whole house needs a bath when he gets done! =)~
~I'm trying to get caught up in my diary. (For some reason, I don't have a lot of time to just sit around sipping tea and writing....But I'm loving my life anyways! =)
I was writing furiously and Mary was starting to get fussy. So, I called Sarah and asked her to entertain Mary for a little while. She promptly propped her up and read her a story. It was cute! =D~
Please pray for Phillip while he is gone ministering to our churches and pastors. He plans on coming home next Thursday, Lord willing. We can't wait to have him home!