~Our last week with Dad and Mom, then in Colorado and Nebraska with Friends, and then Home!!~

In case you missed my last AZ post you can CLICK HERE to see it.

I forgot to tell you an Elijah story.
Elijah hasn't done many mission's services for 3 years, and he may not have ever known the concept that our family normally gets the offering when we have a mission's service.
SO, After Our FIRST SERVICE, I LOOKED BACK TO SEE THE LADY COUNTED THE OFFERING...AND SEE ELIJAH LEANING OVER WATCHING HER!
THEN TO MY HORROR, I HEAR HIM ASK,

"Did you get A LOT of offering this morning?" 

I COULD HAVE DIED!!!  :-)
Of course, in the truck....we gave him the "YOU DON'T WATCH THEM COUNT THE OFFERING AND FOR SURE DON'T ASK ANY QUESTIONS" TALK!!!" :-D
(He was just concerned that they got a lot of offering, I don't think he knew it was coming to us. :-)

So, here's our last week in Phoenix with Dad and Mom.  After we left Phoenix, AZ, we drove to Paonia, CO, and stayed the night with dear friends Mike and Kim Sayler and their children.  Then onto Nebraska for Sunday.  Here's some pics for you to enjoy!
~U. John and A. Helen came for a fun visit.~

 ~Grandma making us all tea...like A. Helen from England taught her to do.~

 ~Grandma's lemon tree.~

 ~Daisey Mae letting Noah be beside him.~

 ~Carolina's Mexican food!!~

 ~Look who took selfies on my phone.~

 ~Sarah, Katie, and Kimberly.~

 ~Camelback Mountain in Phoenix.~

 ~Squaw Peak (Piestewa Peak) that Phillip and the kids climbed.~

~Mrs. Betty Sheldon, whom Kimberly was saved under at 3 years old.~

 ~Mrs. Brewer and I.~

 ~We got to attend a service of Wesleyan Holiness Camp and hear these ladies sing.  We wish we could have attended more, but we stayed busy doing things that Dad and Mom wanted to get done before we left.~

 ~On Monday morning we went over to Bryan and Julianna's.~

 ~Yummy muffins and coffee at their house.~

 ~Sarah and Abigail looking at their twin girls.~

 ~Phillip enjoying one of their sweet twin girls.~

 ~Kimberly and a twin.~

 ~Sarah and their baby.~

 ~They bought Pizza Hut for lunch.~

 ~Grayson and Elijah.~

 ~Phillip still has the touch.~

 ~Julianna, baby and I.  These babies are sooo cute and expressive.  They always smile.~

 ~Out to an antique mall and then to Wendy's with Grandpa and Grandma.~

 ~Grandpa, Abigail, and Daisey Mae.~

 ~Abigail and Grandpa.~

 ~I made Fire crackers.~

 ~On Tuesday morning, Phillip and the kids (minus Abigail) climbed the Squaw Peak Mountain.~

 ~Squaw Peak.~

 ~Abigail and I had a tea party together.~

 ~And she got to "walk the dog." ~

 ~Phoenix has a new train.~

 ~Heading to see South Mountain.~

 ~Noah in his new to him hat and fun hoodie from Caleb King in Fordland, MO.~

 ~Grandpa, Grandma, and Kimberly and Phoenix behind them.~

 ~Camelback Mountain.~

 ~Sarah, Grandpa, and I.~

 ~Sarah and Grandpa.~

 ~Squaw Peak Mountain.~

 ~Grandpa and Grandma.~

~Phillip and I on South Mountain.~

 ~Pretty sky over Phoenix.~

 ~Then we went "Sing High" Chinese restaurant for supper.  (I always WONDERED why they chose the name, "Sing HIGH!"  While we were there we read the story.
Years ago, when the owner asked a painter to paint "Shanghai" the painter painted, "Sing High!"  The owner couldn't read English, so always thought it said what he wanted it to say. :-) ~

 ~Wednesday morning we met my dear friend Angie Wiseman and her girls at the Chick-fil-a where her daughter Shania works, for breakfast.~

 ~The girls had a nice time visiting.~

 ~Angie and her husband have really been SUFFERING and going through lots of TRAILS!  So, Angie and I had a wonderful time crying together, praying together, encouraging one another in Jesus, laughing together, and eating together, etc.  (They wanted to buy our breakfast.  The first order (we were there for Hours) the manager gave Angie the order FREE!  It was so special.

 ~Angie gave me a nice gift bag FULL of scrapbooking/crafting goodies!!  AND TO TOP IT ALL OFF...in her card, she gave Phillip and I a gift card to Cracker Barrel!!!! :-)  #Blessedbeyondmeasure!!~

 ~The girls and this sweet server at Chick-fil-a that kept coming to refill our drinks.~

 ~Love you bunches, Angie.~

 ~Sarah in front of Grandpa and Grandma's signature Front door.~

 ~I forgot to unbutton Abigail's blouse before trying to take it off...so this made me laugh.~

 ~Sarah helping Grandma pack her china.~

 ~Mary drew this sweet picture of our family for Daddy.~

 ~Grandma surprised the girls and I with fun gifts from Bath and Body works.~

 ~Our last afternoon Grandpa took us to Whataburger for lunch.~

 ~Grandpa and Abigail.~

 ~In Flagstaff, Phillip glanced to the side of the road, and when he looked back there was a DEEP pothole RIGHT IN OUR PATH!  We hit both our truck and trailer tires with it.  Soon afterwards we saw TWO cars on the side of the road with flat tires!!! :-(  OURS CAME LATER THAT NIGHT!! :-( ~

 ~Saying Goodbye to San Fransico Peaks in Flagstaff.~

~Heading to Paonia, Colorado.~

 ~From here on, I had my phone a smokin'...taking pics left and right of God's beautiful creation!!!~

 ~This sign said, "Mutton Stew"...and was taken for our nieces Natasha and Brittany who have some vivid memories of that.~

 ~Literally, every 5 minutes the scenery was different.~

 ~Look at all the layers!

 ~And when driving thru Arizona WHAT ELSE DOES ONE DRINK BUT "ARIZONA TEA?" :-)~

 ~Four Corners...where 4 states meet. (they were already closed for the day by the time we got there...but we didn't have time to stop anyway.)~

 ~And there's our shadow ...our Suburban pulling our trailer.~

 ~Beautiful sunset and Snowy Mountains that we were fixin' to cross.~

 ~Then we went across a Mountain pass and it was quite snowy.  We were going 50 or less for miles.~

 ~As you can see there was either mountains or snow piled up on BOTH sides of the road.  The snow covered the mile markers.~

 ~We went thru this for Hours!~

 ~And RIGHT when we got out of the SNOW PILED ON BOTH SIDES...NO PLACE TO PULL OVER...We had a FLAT TIRE on our trailer! :-(
But, we Praise the Lord that we were not going 70 miles an hour down the interstate, and that God let it happen at a place where we could pull off.  AND Praise Godthat a State Trooper came by, and shone his light for Phillip to see better, and stayed with us the whole time!!  (It was 6 BELOW 0...so FREEZING for poor Phillip.) ~

 ~Abigail "driving" while Phillip was getting the tire fixed.~

 ~Near the end Elijah and Noah got out to visit with the State Trooper.~ 

 ~After Phillip got the tire fixed.... we REALLY needed a bathroom, and were excited to see the next town we arrived in had 2 gas stations.  Only to discover that they were both CLOSED at 9:40 P.M. (We're from the big city, Folks, where things stay open 24/7)
The gas pumps were still working at one of the gas stations if you used your card, so I asked a nice lady wearing a cute hat if there was ANYTHING open for our kids to use the restroom, before we went over the next Mountain pass.
At first she said "the bar!"  Then, she said, "Hey, my parents have a guitar shop and apt. near by and I called her and she said we could TAKE YOU TO THEIR HOUSE TO USE THE RESTROOM!  WE'RE TALKING SMALL TOWN FOLKS HERE!!!  So, that's what we did.  We walked thru her Dad's guitar shop, took our shoes off, walked up the stairs and used her parent's restrooms...and SHE THEN OFFERED US A PLACE TO STAY FOR THE NIGHT!!!  She was a Christian and must have seen our family and knew she could trust us.  We exchanged numbers and THANKED HER PROFUSELY and went on our way!!!  :-)We arrived at Mike and Kim Sayler's house...just before midnight... at 11:50 or so.  But, then the kids played games and talked, and we talked until 2:00 A.M.~

 ~Mary's silly hair.~

 ~Mike is quite the hunter! (And Kim is too!)~

 ~My sweet friend Kim and I.  She had a yummy supper of hot soup, homemade bread, and salad waiting for us at midnight...and a delicious breakfast of homemade cinnamon rolls, and fruit parfaits and coffee for us the next morning.  :-) ~

 ~Hunter, Noah, and Elijah had fun with Hunter's air soft guns.~

 ~And this picture is to show you what a pretty VIEW they have from their front porch.~

 ~Kimberly, Abigail, Katie, and Sarah.~

 ~Dear Mike went with Phillip to get 2 new trailer tires before we went over the next mountain pass.  While Phillip was outside talking to the guy, Mike quickly paid for our tires.  THANK YOU, Mike and Kim!!~

 ~Mike and Phillip with the Elk that KIM shot.  (with her GREAT GUIDE Mike by her side.) ~

 ~Kim reading the girls a book before we left.  We had such a nice visit.  We all agreed that we need to come back when we can stay a little longer.~

 ~Loading up and ready to leave for Nebraska.~

 ~Again, my phone was BUSY taking pretty pictures of GOD'S BEAUTIFUL CREATION!!~

 ~The train waiting to get coal in each car...from the mine below.~

 ~Mountain Goat.~

 ~Noah wanted to climb the snowy mountain.~

 ~Our road followed a winding creek for miles.  This was a HOT SPRINGS...so that's why the water wasn't ice.~

 ~Abigail's "Drink-carrier HAT." :-) ~

 ~We got to Nebraska LATE Saturday night (our flat tire and having to buy 2 tires put us behind schedule.)  But Thankfully I had texted Andrea that they could just hide a key to the parsonage, so we didn't have to disturb anyone.
WHEN WE GOT INSIDE...THESE SPECIAL GIFTS WERE AWAITING OUR FAMILY FROM DEAN AND ANDREA AND FAMILY!!!  It brought tears to my eyes.  I was so SURPRISED!!~

 ~Phillip and I shared the WONDERFUL contents of this basket...Reeses, yummy drinks, delicious chocolates, fun trail mix, THREE fun magazines for me to look at going down the road...and to TOP IT ALL OFF...A GIFT CARD TO CRACKER BARREL!!~

 ~Each child was soooo happy with their gifts as well!!  Elijah and Mary were asleep so they didn't know about their gifts until the next morning.  When Elijah saw his gift he was SO EXCITED AND SAID, "I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF!!!"~

 ~These pretty flowers, sweet note and homemade goodies (along with LOTS of other food and goodies) awaited us as well!  They spoiled us rotten!! :-) ~

 ~Having spent 3 summers in the West when my Daddy pastored Oelrichs, SD, and then having spent 5 years in Phoenix when Phillip pastored The Gospel Center Church....I LOVE the West.
I love this little Nebraska church and it's DEAR people!!~

 ~Sunday School time. Abigail is standing by Mary.~

 ~Sunday morning we had a mission's service.  Sunday night Phillip preached and we provided the special music.~

 ~Phillip and Bro. Lloyd Bley.  Bro. Bley was Phillip's principal when Phillip was in kindergarten.~

 ~This pic is to show Scott that Abigail let his Daddy hold her too.~

 ~Sarah, Carissa, and Kimberly.~

 ~My dear friend Andrea and I.~

 ~They kept Abigail while we sang our 2nd special.~

 ~After church we all went over to Dean and Andrea's nice home and had a delicious snack!!  Afterwards, as I was standing on the runner board to get in our suburban, the Nebraska wind caught my door and slammed it closed onto the side of my eye.
Within 2 minutes...I had this nice little EGG!  And I knew that I was going to get a BLACK EYE in the days to come!~

 ~The next morning we got the kids up early and left by 8:00.  Mary was so exhausted she nearly fell back asleep on the chair before we left.
WE HAD A L.O.N.G. 19 1/2 HOUR TRIP AHEAD OF US....BEFORE WE GOT TO OUR HOME AT CINCI!!!~

 ~Elijah was using his FAVORITE GIFT from Dean and Andrea...while Noah was eating his cereal.
Elijah told Noah, "Noah, you sit still, and I'm going to try aim past you and hit Daddy in the kitchen."
Noah leaned close to his bowl of cereal to get out of the way...when the "arrow" went ASTRAY...and hit Noah's bowl of cereal...SPLATTERING milk and cereal all over his face, the tablecloth, the chair, and the floor.  :-)  We couldn't help but laugh.  ELIJAH WAS GREATLY RELIEVED when we all burst out laughing. :-) ~

 ~As we were coming up on this trailer hauling bales of hay...from a distance it looked liked, "Mickey Mouse's ears."~

 ~We drove thru "PHILLIPsburg"   AND....~

 ~"MARYsville."

 ~After so many times eating at McD's, Wendys, etc.  one is READY for a change.  So, when we pulled into a town that didn't have a lot of the regular choices, and we saw a Sonic...we were excited to eat that food for a change.  The kids had fun getting some MUCH NEEDED exercise while we waited for our food.~

 ~Hard to see, but my eye was turning black and blue.~

 ~Pretty Crescent Moon.  Abigail calls the MOON, the "MOON-A" which is a cross between MOON AND "LUNA" in Spanish. :-) ~

 ~Sweet Laura had these waiting for us when we got home!!  I can't remember, But I think it was around 3:00 A.M. when we got home, so we didn't see these until later that afternoon!~

 ~My Black eye.~

~Look who got her Driver's license?!!!  She's PRETTY HAPPY about it too. :-) Congrats!!! Kimberly!!!!~

 ~Youth night out.  We missed being with our church folks..and are happy to be home.~

 ~My eye turning all kinds of colors...#Healingishappening!!~

 ~Since we got 2 Cracker Barrel gift cards given to us...My Sweetheart and I got to go on a date before he went to Colombia and Peru...and we can take another Cracker Barrel date, when he gets back, Lord willing.  :-) ~

 ~Yumminess.  Phillip took me to Cracker Barrel while we were dating...'cause I LOVE Cracker Barrel....FOOD, ATMOSPHERE, and STORE! :-) ~

  ~I've wanted an old ladder for YEARS...and finally found one as my Phoenix souvenir.  I was happy how it matched our bathroom colors to a T.~

 ~I put the kids bath toys in the galvanized bucket.~

 ~The girls got Starbucks gift cards from Dean and Andrea...so we took Darla with us.~

 ~Mary, Abigail, and I got a Strawberries and Creme to share.~

 ~It was a tad Overwhelming coming home....to unpack the truck and trailer, and put all that away...get all the laundry caught up, and TAKE DOWN CHRISTMAS too....But Jesus helped us get 'er all done!
(I love Elijah's red truck with this tree on it. :-) ~

 Some of My Bryan family is here right now, so I am enjoying being with them.
Pics of my Valentine Decor coming soon.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED PRAYERS FOR PHILLIP!!!  Due to being gone for 24 days and having LOTS he needed to get done before he left, Phillip only got 1 hour and 40 mins. of SLEEP the night before he left. :-(
The morning after he left, our whole family began to feel "under the weather" with a cold. 
I heard from him today and both he and Bro. Becker are feeling the same way.  :-(  
PLEASE PRAY that this will be short-lived and that God will continue to help them in their classes and services.  
THANK YOU!!!!
~HEATHER~