~Preparations for Kimberly's Quinceañera (15th birthday party)~

Thank the Lord, Bro. Joseph Smith and his daughter Stephanie arrived safely last night.  They brought lots of fun goodies from The Kemps, and my sweet parents!  =)
This morning we had a good season of prayer before Kimberly, Phillip, Bro. Smith, and Stephanie left to go to the our church for the Bible classes.  Bro. Smith will teach the classes on the book of Romans, and Stephanie will translate.  =)  Please PRAY for these classes.  We want God to use them for His glory!  Thank you!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Like I explained earlier, a girl's 15th birthday is VERY important here in this culture.  Kimberly won't turn 15 until Jan....and we plan to be in Argentina by then, Lord willing.   But...She has lived here in Colombia since she was just 8, so she really wanted to celebrate her special birthday here with these church people who have become like FAMILY to us these past 6 years.  We are also celebrating Kimberly graduating from 8th grade.  So, tomorrow night, we plan to celebrate...Kimberly!  =)
I called my sweet Sis-in-love Beth yesterday...and asked if she could scan me off a couple pics of Kimberly when she was little.  That's one of the things I miss is having all our older pics with us for occasions like this. (But thankfully... I have DEAR Family and Friends who are always willing to scan off pics and send them to me.=)
I have LOVED babies since I was 3.  I always wanted to have 12 kids...that is until I grew older and realized that I would have to deliver all of those.  Hee! Hee!  Now, I'm happy with the number of children Jesus has given us. =)  When I was little after each church service I would quickly run to the closet mother who had a baby and ask her if I could PLEASE hold her baby. =)  It was my dream since I was SMALL to become a wife and Mother.  In 1995, my sweetheart Phillip and I were married...then in Jan. 1998, our little Kimberly Anna was born, and my dreams had come true. =)   She looked like a little princess with her DARK hair, light skin, and BLUE eyes!  (She almost looked like an Indian baby when she was born because her hair was so DARK...and then her hair has lightened through the years.)
~This pic of Phillip's brother Michael and his sweet wife Beth, Phillip, Kimberly, and I...was taken in 1999 right before we moved to Phoenix, AZ for Phillip to pastor.  Kimberly would have been around 18 months or so.~

For those of you who don't know Kimberly well I have to tell you a fun thing about her.  Ever since she has been tiny...she has a very contagious giggle/laugh.  She laughs all the time...and especially when she is tired.  When I get tired I get even more sarcastic...So, we have great times together me saying goofy things, and her laughing.  =D  Her Daddy has quite the sense of humor too.  Phillip LOVES it when he gets Kimberly to laughing at his comments/jokes.  =)
~Here Kimberly was 3.~

~Dear Kimberly...is such a helpful young lady.  Since I have 2 older brothers, I always thought that when I had babies, I wanted to have a boy first.  But GOD KNEW BEST...(like ALWAYS =) and He KNEW I needed my girls first!  Kimberly thinks ahead and helps me as much as she can.  I have No CLUE what I would do without her (or Sarah).  We have such fun cooking, shopping, drinking coffee, laughing, playing/singing, praying, or just talking together.~

~God has blessed her with several talents which she is trying to use for Him.  She's very creative, loves to bake, loves to teach children, and loves to play the violin and piano.~

~She still has her same BLUE eyes that she had when she was little.  =)  We couldn't ask for a sweeter daughter...But the thing that makes us the MOST happy...is that Kimberly loves Jesus with her whole heart.~ 

Please pray for us as we get ready and have her party tomorrow evening. We have lots to do before then. We are expecting around 120 guests or so. Phillip has asked Bro. Jimmy, Bro. Smith, and Stephanie each to speak/give some words of wisdom to Kimberly/the young people there.  We want Kimberly's Quinceañera party/service to be a blessing to others as well.
Now, I must go and get busy for I have 144 banana muffins to make for her cupcakes.  (The cake mixes here call for butter, which would make it more expensive...and our people LOVE my banana muffins, so I'm "cheating" and making those for her cupcakes. The other night a man from our church "confessed to me" that my banana muffins were SO YUMMY that he ate 7!!!!!!!  =)
I had taken some of my muffin pans to Argentina and left them there.    So when I made the 160 muffins for the church's anniversary dinner last Friday...I could only bake 12 muffins at a time.  =(   Phillip wanted to help speed up the process for me...so went from store to store trying to find more muffin pans, and couldn't. =(
Thank the Lord I just found some more muffin pans at a store that was closed when Phillip went to look there.  So, now I can bake more at a time.  =)  Adios...I'm off to bake.  =)