~DID YOU HEAR?~

God looked down from Heaven...
And saw our family...our family of 7.
He must've thought that we were missing one you see...
For He is sending ME along...another BABY!  =)

My brothers and sisters wouldn't mind if I were TWO...
One to wear pink and one to wear blue!
Wouldn't that be such a SURPRISE for my Gramp and Gram
Well...we'll just have to wait to see what I am. =D

It looks like I'll be coming some time this summer...
My family is Happy...they don't think I'm a bummer.  =)
They're still surprised about God's timing though, (with us going to Argentina and all)
But, God is all wise...and He already knows.  =)

~Kimberly snapped this pic of me today.  I've already got a baby bump.  =)

 And for the anonymous commenter I DID NOT think I was pregnant when I answered you.  I had just gone to the doctor for another reason and they took a pregnancy test before they prescribed my antibiotic and it showed up negative.  
But, I guess they took the test too early.  =)
This news is NEW to us too  =), so we are still processing it and trying to figure out what plans we will be making for Argentina.  I'm assuming we'll still go at the end of January and come back before I'm 7 months along and stay long enough to have baby.  (A pregnant lady is not allowed to fly past the 7 month mark.)
We're VERY Happy...and I'm very exhausted...so I'm going to lay down for a LONG winter's nap. =)

~Day 24 and Day 25 of Christmas~

~DAY 24~
~My sweet friend Connie brought me a hostess gift when she came to our Christmas gathering.  It was this neat Can Candle spray painted with "Rust" paint...and it smells heavenly!  Thank you, Connie! =) ~

~And She also gave me this fun burlap table runner that has old jingle bells on it. =) ~

~And I love this Scripture plaque that says,
"My Soul finds Rest in God alone.  Psalm 62:1"~

~This "Come Adore Him" chalkboard originally was a painting with bird houses on it.
I LOVED the distressed frame and got it for less than half off at a thrift store near the cabin and came home and chalk-boarded over the bird houses.~

~Let us all adore HIM (Jesus) this season.~

~I love this Christmas tea pot Phillip got me years ago.~

~Sis. Kemp gave me this Christmas tree chalkboard.  Kimberly wrote the sign on it for me.
"Feliz Navidad Prospero Año y Felicidad."

 ~Kimberly put a bath and body works gift inside a tiny box, then wrapped it and tied the string through a button.  =)  She made this for a youth party white elephant gift.~

 ~If you've never mixed Coke and Egg Nog half and half, it's a fun festive drink...sort of like a Coke float taste.~

 ~A cute little Box that Kimberly made  and then made into an "owl" to put some money in for a white elephant gift for a youth function. She liked the eyelashes she put on it. =)~

~DAY 25!!~
 When Phillip and I were at the cabin together I googled "Family Christmas pic ideas" and saw some fun things.
But, the more I looked, the more I noticed that the background wasn't all that important, the thing that made each pic neat was the people and the colors they wore.
So, instead of driving all over town to get our Christmas picture...I suggested that we step right outside our back door, bring my old bench from our entry way and my old sled and skates out and get our picture by our neighbors' falling down garage! =)
We Love the old window.
As you might be able to tell...it was very CHILLY out there!
We were happy with how our Christmas picture turned out! 
(and wouldn't you know THE NEXT DAY...it snowed, but we were too busy and tired to take our pics again. =)~

~And here it is on my "old" shutter in our dinning room.~

~A Verry Merry Christmas  

from our house to yours!~

(Yes...I misspelled "Verry" on purpose...it just looks cuter! =)
I've Loved going through the 25 days of Christmas with y'all!
Thanks for your super fun and Sweet comments on my blog. =)
 

~Day 23 of Christmas~

~Here's more Christmasy decor in my kitchen/dinning room.
Some red berries I got 50% at a thrift store when we were at the cabins. A red and white stripped candle, and some white winter berries in the white pitcher, and a red and white berry candle ring added to the normal old ice box decor.~

~The berries that Phillip picked me in November...dried in a white pitcher...and a bird cage.
A Lady gave me the bird cage and it was Green and covered with artificial green ivy.
I removed the ivy, spray painted it off-white-ish, added some fresh greenery in the bottom and placed 2 red love birds ~Phillip and I~ inside. =) ~

~Our Christmas stockings socks that I got new in a grab bag sale and I saved to be our stockings. You'll remember these from our Argentina and Colombia Christmas decor.~

~At the ladies' retreat I got this neat little sign.  It's SO TRUE!
"Mine are the kind of parents everyone wishes they had." 
I love my DEAR Daddy and Moma!!!  They are the BEST!~

~Back in 2009 while traveling on deputation, someone gave me this ADORABLE kitchen snowman with wooden spoon arms, and measuring cups for a hat.
And then my sis-in-law Beth saw my GOURD left over from Fall sitting around my kitchen.
She told me that he'd make a CUTE snowman.
So, I took her advice and he now proudly stands beside my other kitchen snowman. =)  ~

~Day 22 of Christmas~

More Christmas decor
~A few pics of our Master Bedroom.
We have a whole village to set up, but we didn't really have room, nor time to set it up and tear it down this year, since we leave in Jan. (Lord willing) for Argentina.
These 3 happened to be out where I could reach them, so knowing that Phillip LOVES to see these houses lit up, I put these in our bedroom.~

 ~I grew up with my GG and my Moma having an antique tree like this.  So, I was delighted when Jesus helped us to find this one a few years ago.~

 ~My dear sister Laura gave me this Christmasy colored quilt several years ago.  I love pulling it out (when I'm here in the USA for Christmas =) and making our bed all cozy and Christmasy.~

 ~Here's some of our Aqua and brown in our upstairs bathroom, and on the shelf just outside the door.~

 ~I found that cute little gold Christmas tree on the top shelf at Goodwill 50% off the other night. =) ~

 ~Inside the bathroom.~

~In a recent post I told you about the store Pizazz.  When we first visited that store we saw such a NEAT sign...but they wanted $40.00 for the sign.
So, I asked Kimberly if she could make me one for my birthday.  She said that she could.  So, I used a large chalkboard sheet that I got at the Dollar Tree and she blew up the letters on her computer, traced and cut them out, and then traced them on the board. 
I Love it!  It's so encouraging for me to read the saying:

"Peace is not the Absence of Trouble 

but the Presence of Christ"

~I got the black frame at Michaels on Sale...and then I put this on the cabinet in our 2nd floor bathroom.~

~I took a close-up of the cabinet on the wall, 'cause the light from the window made it not show up very well in the above picture.  =) ~

May each of you have a VERY BLESSED Christmas Lord's day!!
 

~Day 21 of Christmas~

~So, let me tell you what Jesus did for us recently.
Our house originally had 4 fireplaces.  One in the L.R., one in the dinning room under where the old gas stove is, one in our room, and one in the girls' room.  But, I was SAD for one of the former owners of our house tore out ALL the mantels.
So, I breathed a prayer a few months ago and asked Jesus to PLEASE send me a mantel before Christmas...for I wanted one with which to decorate!!
I sort of forgot that I had prayed that prayer.
One day before Thanksgiving Phillip and Kimberly went on a walk, and knowing they were gone I was a little NERVOUS when I heard a knock at our BACK door just a few minutes later.
I looked out my burlap curtains ....and there stood my Phillip holding A MANTEL!!! 
I was SO HAPPY!!!  It was already off-white like I wanted it.  =)
So, we put it in our living room.  I was so EXCITED that as usual I testified in our church about what Jesus had done by sending us a mantel.
The next day, someone SURPRISED us by showing up at our house with a brand new Quartz heater that has a flame.   They wanted us to have a "fireplace" to go with our mantel. 
That person had no way of knowing that we REALLY wanted a heater with a flame.  We had just been at the store the night before and even though we looked and Dreamed of buying one of those, Phillip knew we couldn't afford it, so we walked away without it.
Isn't Jesus so AWESOME!?!~

~The off-white frame to the right was that Home Interior picture that I got as a White Elephant gift.
I took the picture and glass out, spray painted the oval frame and added the off-white beads and tied the bow to make a "wreath out of the frame."  =) ~

~I did burlap and white pearly balls and snowflakes on our tree this year.  Most of the Christmas bulbs are the original ones that Phillip and I bought our first year of marriage.~

~As I told you earlier I made the mini burlap stockings.  I stuffed them for a 3D look.  =) ~

~I have 6 little picture frames on our tree with pics of Phillip and I, and each of our kids.~

~Playing with the functions on our camera. =) ~

~Jesus gave us our 7 foot Christmas tree at a Thrift Store back in March...
FOR $1.99 PLUS 25% OFF...So we paid around $1.50 for it!  =) 
Since we have over 9 foot ceilings in our 100 year old house, I'm happy to have a taller tree.~

I'm SO HAPPY with our Living room Christmas decor and mantel.~

 

~Day 19 and 20 of Christmas~

~Day 19~ 
Back in April I was at my friend Becky's house in PA and saw these adorable red and white polka dotted dishes. She told me that she got them at the Christmas Tree shops.  Having been out of the USA for the last several years, I had never even heard of the Christmas Tree shops.  
Then when I was at her house again in Aug. I told her that I had gone to the Christmas Tree shops and that I had looked for the red and white dishes and they didn't have them at that time when I went.  She then said, "I was planning on getting rid of mine...do you want them?  
I was SHOCKED!!  I was in NO WAY HINTING...for I had no way of knowing that she was ready to pass them on to someone else.  So, of course I readily agreed that I would LOVE to have them.  =)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
This past Sunday (the first Sunday in our new church) I had our friends the Shirks from AL, the Hausmans, Jeffrey, Daddy and Moma, along with our family for Sunday dinner.  Laura and Moma helped make food too, and it was all yummy!  
~I had so MUCH FUN setting my table with the new dishes from Becky.  I had forgotten that I had a fun Cookie jar that just matched her dishes too to put in the center.~

~I love the red and white round peppermint paper napkins that I found at Hobby Lobby.~

~I LOVE red and white at Christmas!!!~

~Near my birthday I found these white lanterns ~3 for the price of one~ at our Kroger Marketplace. =)~

~And I love using my little Christmas ornament place card holders.~

~I didn't get a lot of pics of our new church (Which we have built debt-free over a period of 10 years!)  but here's part of the entry way.~

~Mary and part of the entry way.~

~In the girls' bathroom.  The decor was so CUTE I had to have a pic.  So, I asked Brittany to hold Mary so I could get them in the mirror. =)  My friend Connie did a great job decorating the new church.~

~Pastor E. opening the service!~

~Part of the front of the church.~

~Then on Sunday night Elijah and Mary fell sleep on the way to church.  Phillip brought them inside and they slept most of the service. =) ~

~There was a singspiration Sunday evening.  Our family sang a special.
Here Kimberly joined Bethany Kline in playing her violin for the Mills special.  It was a song that Sis. Mills wrote.  It was beautiful.~

 ~I didn't get many pics of the Shirks being here.  But we had a fun time eating supper together on Saturday evening, playing a quick game of Mad Gab...in which we HOWLED laughing, and just being together.
Here's a pic of Kimberly, Bryanna, and Katrina together Sunday evening in the new church.~

 ~Day 20~ 
Wow!  I need a FEW More days in December to get all of my Christmas posting in.=) I still have lots I want to post. We'll see how I can Squeeze it all in in the few days I have left.  =)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
For Sarah's 13th birthday...she invited a handful of girls from our church (her parents couldn't afford to invite more =) and she and I took them 5 different places that afternoon.
We started off with supper at Wendy's.
It was a quick one, for we knew we only had 3 hours in which to get all the running and shopping done we wanted to do.  ('Cause one of the girls had a violin recital at 7:00 so we could only "Have girls' time" till 6:00 =)
But, Jesus helped us and we got it all in and had a BLAST being together!~

 ~Our next stop was Starbucks! ~

 ~I tried to give them a few minutes to enjoy their Starbucks...before we ran to our last 3 stops shops. =D ~

 ~They wanted a funny picture.~

 ~I think we got 2 of those funny pics.  =) ~

 ~Chatting and laughing and having Girl time!~

 ~Then I ran them to a FUN store called Pizazz in downtown Loveland.  SO CUTE!  Such FUN things for sale there. ~

 ~This is what I got my Sweetheart Phillip there at Pizazz. =) ~

  ~After we left Pizazz we ran to Goodwill and had about an hour to shop!  It's a great Goodwill and always has GREAT stuff and WONDERFUL prices.
Like that day they had 3 different colored tags of clothes on Sale for 50. each!!!  YEA!
The girls got to do some of their own Christmas shopping for their family, and I got some treasures too.  =)
We had a lot of fun together and Sarah had a HAPPY Birthday party with her friends!~