~"We have THIS Moment"~

The other day I made this little sign and put it in a frame.
~My sign reads, "We have Today!" ~

That sign reminds me of several things.
#1 I HAVE TODAY!
#2 I only have to worry about Live TODAY!
#3 God has promised New STRENGTH for each day! :-)

When Phillip saw my sign he said, "That reminds me of the song, "We have This Moment!"
So, I looked up that song and Loved it.  It made me cry!
 

"We have This Moment" 

(Click song title to enjoy the song)

~Then I put that saying on one of my chalkboards.  ~

 

 ~Here recently, since I have sweet Baby Abigail who can't seem to get the concept that normal people SLEEP at night ;-), Phillip has been "carrying me."
Since our days and nights are mixed up right now...There are days when I probably look like Cinderella ...BEFORE her Fairy showed up, ;-)  
but my Sweet Phillip LOVES ME BECAUSE HE LOVES ME, and not because I'm all dressed up, have it all together, or perfect.
THANK YOU, SWEETHEART!  I LOVE YOU TO THE MOON AND BACK!!!~

One of these days when it is JUST PHILLIP AND I...I will Sweep the floor, because it's the thing to do, and NOT Because the floor REALLY NEEDS swept. :-)

But NOW-A-DAYS....
when I sweep my floor, there's enough DIRT to use, to create another ADAM ;-) ,
and there's always a LEGO or 7,
a pony tail,
a rubber band,  
and a car in my dirt pile too. :-)
And When You pull out a chair at our table, your hand permanently STICKS to the chair. :-)
And NO MATTER HOW HARD I TRY, with 8 of us, there's ALWAYS some clothes and dishes to wash!

But...

WE HAVE THIS MOMENT To hold in our Hands 

and to Touch as it slip through our fingers like Sand.

Yesterday's gone and tomorrow may never come,

But we have this moment today!

Mrs. Regina Stetler put it this way,
"The DAYS are L.O.N.G., but the YEARS are SHORT!"

So, I'll hug my baby tight, 

and treasure her ENDLESS little FINGERPRINTS on the glass tables and doors.

And hang the 39th PIECE OF ARTWORK from Elijah and Mary on the refrigerator,

And scrub Noah and Elijah's jeans for the BILLIONTH TIME,

Realizing that I'm BLESSED to have TODAY

And that These MOMENTS pass by so Rapidly (I can hardly believe that our Sarah will be 15 in Dec. and our Kimberly will be 18 in Jan!)  

~Mary drew this picture for me.
When I asked her what it was, she said,
"IT'S A MOSQUITO EATING A BANANA!"  I howled laughing! :-) ~

With Jesus' Help...I plan to ENJOY THESE MOMENTS that He has given to me with my sweetheart of a Husband and our 6 wonderful children! 

(all the while trying not worry about this not-as-spiffy-as-I'd-like-it... house!:-) 

~HEATHER~

~I have a new friend!~

I met a new friend.
A friend of Aunt Yoli's, Irene came over to our house and brought her boys.
We had a nice visit together.
She and I chatted a lot about being a Mommy and Needing God's help for this Big task that Jesus has given us. :-)
~Irene brought some Sprite and these yummy cookies.~

~For lunch Phillip bought some Raviolis from a carry-out place in front of us (Pasta is BIG here in Argentina) and I served them with my round loaf of homemade bread, and for dessert we had jello and Irene's cookies she brought. ~

 ~Our kids enjoyed playing with her boys, Leo and Rafael.~

 ~Irene is such a dear lady; we enjoyed having her and her boys at our house.
If Irene crosses your mind please keep her and her sweet family in your prayers.~

 ~We enjoyed my Pumpkin muffins with coffee in the afternoon.~

~HEATHER~

~Fun Food Friday...DELICIOUS ONE-BOWL BROWNIES!

...a day late!
CAUTION: CURVES AHEAD! ;-)
IF YOU ARE ON A DIET...DON'T READ ANY FURTHER!  :-)

 ~I made these Brownies around Father's day and they were to DIE for, or nearly!~ :-)

This recipe is so DELICIOUS!
Kimberly wanted a different Brownie recipe than I normally have used, so I went searching and found this one.
It has ENDED my search for a yummy Easy Brownie recipe!
I hope you enjoy it as much as our family does! :-)

A Perfect Dark Chocolate Brownie Recipe

(Click on name of recipe to go to blog where I found this recipe.) 

 

This recipe takes one bowl. I know that’s important to some of you. 

Being able to whip it up in about as much time as it takes to make the boxed version (Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate is exactly what this tastes like). I’m not even kidding.

 

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 22 minutes

Yield: 12 brownies

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup dark chocolate unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup semi-sweet morsels (optional)

Instructions

1. In a glass bowl, melt butter in microwave for 30 seconds to one minute. Add sugar, flour, cocoa and eggs. Stir with a spoon until well combined. Fold in morsels.
2. Line a 9inch square baking dish with parchment paper. Pour batter into dish, spreading evenly. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 22-25 minutes. I like my brownies a little under done and fudgy. You can add about 3-5 minutes for more well done, if desired.
3. Cool completely. Top with powdered sugar or your favorite frosting recipe. ENJOY.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
 ~Pure yumminess!!~

 

~Heather~

~Abigail is 11 months!~

~Our little precious Abigail girl is ON THE MOVE!~

 

She is constantly CLIMBING everything!!
She has learned how to crawl OUT of her walker...so her days in the walker are OVER!
~She is constantly making messes.~

 

 ~And she is constantly CLIMBING THE HARD STAIRS and giving this mother a heart attack.~

 ~Almost to the first landing!~

 ~On the first landing headed up the last few steps!
Your prayers are APPRECIATED that she LEARNS HOW TO BACK DOWN THE STAIRS SOON!!~

Before Kara B. left I asked her to take these pics of Abigail's feet! 

I thought the pics turned out so cute! 

(Kimberly wrote the words, "...fearfully and wonderfully made" on the bottom of Abigail's little foot.
 Each time Kimberly wrote another letter, it would TICKLE Abigail's foot and she would giggle and Move her little foot! :-)

 ~And here's the Black and White version.~

Today Jesus and our kids helped me take 

Abigail's 11 month pics!

~Gram, See how TALL I am?~

 ~So Sweet!~

 ~This picture shows you how ORNERY Abigail is.  

Grandpa and Grandpa, do you see that ONE RAISED EYEBROW that looks JUST LIKE HER GRANDPA D. when he's teasing someone? :-)

(In this pic you can also see her 3  (T.H.R.E.E.) teeth on the bottom which makes her cute smile look crooked. :-)~

 ~Love her BLUE eyes!~

 ~When Abigail wakes up...ALL THE KIDS RUN TO SEE WHO CAN GET TO THE BABY FIRST! :-) ~

 ~Love this little dolly!~

Thank you, Dear Jesus, for sending us Sweet Baby Abigail...Now, IF YOU COULD JUST P.L.E.A.S.E. TEACH HER HOW TO SLEEP! ;-) 

~Heather~

~Happy Independence Day, Colombia!~

In June 2006 we moved to Bogota, Colombia to serve Jesus as missionaries. 
We spent the next nearly 7 years of our lives in that beautiful country!  We grew to LOVE Colombia. 
We Love it's yummy food, beautiful mountains and scenery, and fell in love with Colombia's very PRECIOUS people!! 
Colombians are a very happy hospitable people who OPENED their arms and hearts and LOVED our family!  :-)
Yesterday was our Beloved Colombia's Independence day.  This is how we celebrated!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
En Junio 2006 nos mudamos a Bogota, Colombia para ser misioneros.
Dedicamos casi 7 años de nuestras vidas a ese hermoso pais!
Nos Enamoramos de Colombia!
La gente de Colombia es una gente bien alegre y es muy hospedables.
Ellos abrieron sus brazos y sus corazones a nuestra familia. :-)
Ayer era el dia de Independencia de nuestra amada Colombia.  Asi lo celebramos.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
 ~To our family, there's no better coffee in the world than COLOMBIAN coffee! :-) ~

 ~Just the SMELL of this coffee makes my heart SMILE!~

 ~Since we didn't have a Colombian flag with us, We hung one of the boys Colombia shirts and yellow, red, and blue balloons. :-) ~

 ~I made a Colombian flag for our centerpiece. 
When I got it on the table, Elijah said,
"THAT IS THE BEST FLAG...(and then before I could swell with happiness he ADDED) 
THAT I'VE EVER SEEN MOMMY MAKE!" 
(I laughed and asked him, "Have you EVER seen me make a flag?" ;-) ~

 ~These 3 are at least HALF Colombian!  :-)  They were 8, 5, and 2 when we moved there! :-) ~

~I was OUT OF ENERGY this day...so I just made simple red jello.~

 ~Elijah made this this cute little "Colombian heart!"~

 ~And we enjoyed Oreos with our jello dessert.~

 ~3 "Colombian kids."~

 ~And I made "Pumpkin Latte" with Colombian coffee!~

 ~OoH...La...LA!  :-) ~

 ~HEATHER~

~Living For Jesus!~

I just recently learned this beautiful hymn! What great words!
"Living for Jesus"...OH! What A BLESSED LIFE! ~Heather~

~"LIVING FOR JESUS"~

 (Click on title to hear a sweet African choir sing this.
Song starts about 15 seconds into video.)

Living for Jesus a life that is true,

Striving to Please Him in All that I do;

Yielding allegiance, glad hearted and free,

This is the pathway of blessing for me.

Chorus:

O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee;

For Thou in Thy atonement, Didst give Thyself for me.

I own no other Master, My heart shall be Thy Throne.

My Life I give, hence forth to live, 

O Christ, for Thee alone!

Living for Jesus who die in my place,

Bearing on Calv'ry my sin and disgrace;

Such love constrains me to answer His call,

Follow His leading and give Him my all.

Living for Jesus Wherever I am,

Doing each duty in His Holy Name;

Willing to suffer affliction and loss,

Deeming each trial a part of my cross.

Living for Jesus through earth's little while,

My Dearest treasure, the light of His smile!

Seeking the lost ones He died to Redeem,

Bringing the weary to find rest in Him.

(emphasis mine! :-)

~Fun Food Friday...Quick DELICIOUS Choc. Sheet cake! (And pics of our friend Wei's wedding.)~

Thank you, Audrey for the tip you left about helping Baby Abigail sleep! We've tried it for a couple nights, and I think it it might be helping her.  :-) 
Blessings,
~Heather~

Pics of our friend Wei's wedding are following this recipe.

Here is my favorite Choc. Sheet cake recipe from my Sweet Moma!
(Well, I can't remember who found this recipe first, Laura, or Moma.  All I know is it is YUMMY! :-)
I did post this WAY back in 2007, but here it is again!

~ENJOY~

~Quick, Delicious, and EASY Choc. Sheet cake~ 

~Heather~

Mix in med/large bowl:
1 3/4 cups flour
2 cups sugar (I used 1 1/2)
1 teas. salt and 1 teas. baking soda. (set aside!)

Heat to boiling in microwave:
1 stick butter
8 T. cocoa
1 cup water
Pour over dry ingredients.

In small bowl beat:
2 eggs, 1/2 cup buttermilk, and 1 teas. vanilla
Mix together and pour into a greased jelly roll pan and bake at 350 for about 30 mins.

Frosting:
Mix the following ingredients in a pan and bring to a BOIL.
(I always have a little extra...)
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa
3/4 cup evaporated milk (I used reg.)
3 cups powder sugar
1 teas. vanilla
Spread on top of HOT cake.
Top cake and icing with 1 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts if you desire. This can be cut into about 16-24 pieces so is great to feed a crowd.
NOTE: You need to know that my Phillip is NOT a choc. cake eater...but he told me when I served this...while helping himself to another piece... that this choc. cake was very good! =)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Our Friend Wei got married recently.  Kimberly played her violin for a choir to sing a song.  Here are some pics of Wei's wedding.
~Here Comes the Bride~ (It was an outside wedding.)

 ~The Bride and the Groom~

 ~The young people from the church sang a song for the Bride and Groom.~

 ~Our friends Jonathan and Jayden were in the wedding.~

 ~I loved this pretty lamppost~

 ~Our friend Valen was in the wedding too.  She is in the cream dress.~

 ~Aunt Yoli led the choir with her left hand and with her right hand, she held the music for Kimberly as Kimberly played the violin to accompany the choir. :-) ~

 ~The choir singing to the Bride and Groom~

 ~Our sweet friend Wu-Ma, Wei's Mom talking to the bride and groom.~

 ~The young people and the bride and groom.~

 ~Kimberly, Abigail and I with the Bride and Groom~

 ~Since quarters were small, only TWO of our family could go to the wedding...but since she doesn't take up much room, we SNUCK Abigail in with us. :-) ~

 ~Our Friends Leo, Caro, Jonathan, and Valen with the Bride and Groom.~

~Wei's wedding was in the garden of this pretty building. 
The reception was inside this building. 
Kimberly and some friends from the Chinese Church.~ 

 ~Everything was beautiful; pretty tables like I LOVE!! :-) ~

 ~Sarah's friend Paola and I at the reception.~

~Our dear Friends Leo, Caro and family!~

 ~The food was Yummy!~

 ~Thank the Lord for Uncle Leo!  Since Phillip wasn't with me, U. Leo helped hold Baby Abigail while I ate.~

  ~The dessert was delish...a coffee dessert.~

If you think of it, please pray for Wei and his wife as they began their new home.

 ~Heather~