~Post #1 for today, the kids' music recital!~

~I've got a million things to do, but I have to post all these pics before I leave TODAY for Iguazu. (Iguazu is the neat water Falls on the border of Arg./Brazil that some of our dear friends are paying for us to go and see.  When one of our president's wives saw it years ago, she said, "Poor Niagara Falls!)
Next week, I won't have time to post much our last 2 days here, nor will I have time when I arrive in the U.S.A. (For, I'm sure I'll sleep for a WEEK once I get to our U.S.A. house.:-)
~Last Saturday our kids had a music recital.  Jesus helped them and it was a nice evening.
Here are Noah, Elijah, and Mary with the Christmas Tins of Panettone bread/cake for their teachers.~

~Mary with her teacher.  These teachers have been such a God-send to our children.  They are GREAT piano and guitar teachers and we Thank Jesus for allowing our children to have the privilege to study under them for this time.~

~CLICK HERE to see a short video of Mary playing.~

 ~Valen (who attended our English classes) playing~

~William (who attended our English classes some)

~Tom playing~

~Elijah getting ready to play his guitar.~

~Elijah and his teacher playing. CLICK HERE to see a short video of Elijah playing his guitar.~

~Noah and his teacher playing.~

~CLICK HERE to see a short video of Noah playing his guitar.~

~Jonathan playing.~

~Sarah~

~CLICK HERE to see a short video of Sarah playing the piano.~

~Sarah and Kimberly's cute piano duet. ~
 CLICK HERE to watch Kimberly and Sarah playing, and Kimberly and her piano teacher play a duet as well.

~CLICK HERE TO SEE Kimberly playing the Moon light sonata.~

~Kimberly and her teacher playing a fun duet.
 CLICK HERE TO WATCH Kimberly's teacher play an very neat Tango with another student!~

~The picture Noah drew for his teacher.~

~What Elijah drew for his teacher.~

~Elijah and his teacher.~

~Then we stopped by McDonald's to celebrate the kids diligent efforts in practicing and playing their instruments.
(My parents always did something special for us after our music recitals, and it always made me feel so special, so I carried on the tradition. :-) ~

~Heather~

~It's the MOST WONDERFUL TIME of the Year!~

Phillip and Jesus got my computer to read my camera card!  YAY!  
So, there's another post below this one you might have missed!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Even tho' we are leaving Argentina on Dec. 17th for the U.S.A., I still HAD to decorate a tiny bit for Christmas!  :-)
It's simple, but it has made my heart Happy! So, here is my Argentine Christmas decor.

~My big chalkboard with pine cones and ribbon.~

 ~Above the buffet. A fun red and white gingham swag and a sparkly snow flake swag that I hung on top of the Chinese letters.~

 ~My "cupcake stand Christmas tree" and my white chalkboard with JESUS.~

 ~My sweetheart wrote this verse for me for my birthday.
It means a lot to me as a Mommy of 6 children.
"He shall gently lead those that are with young.  Isaiah 40:116~

 ~Chalkboards...Celebrate "J-E-S-U-S."

~My little metal "milk sign" that my Noah got me for my birthday.I used a common jar here, painted the inside cream, and then hung the Milk sign on the jar.~

 ~Phillip got me this "Currier and Ives" plate.~

 ~And above the cabinet near the kitchen,
Sarah's fun rain boots with some poinsettias, my fun chalkboard, and a gold Christmas tree. ~

~I prefer white Christmas lights, but when I unpacked our Christmas things from 2011,
there was only colored lights. 
Phillip and the kid love colored lights, so we made it a colorful tree for them. :-)
Actually, the colorful lights and this tree have reminded me a lot of my
Grandmother's tree when I was a little girl. ~

Now, with just 1 day until we leave to visit Iguazu falls on Friday (Voted as one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World, and one of the most intriguing natural attractions in Argentina and the World,)...

I must RUN!  

Thank you for your prayers!  God is helping!

If I arrive in the U.S. alive, I'll KNOW it's because YOU prayed. :-) 
Phillip and Jesus just got my computer to read my camera card!  YAY!  
So, there's another post below this one you might have missed!

~Heather~

~Sarah and her friends bake goodies!~

Sunday night late after our service at Fernando's house, right before we got on the train to come home, Mary tripped and fell and KILLED her cheek (RIGHT NEXT TO HER EYE) on the corner of a concrete bench.  :-(  We thank the LORD it wasn't worse.

~SARAH'S BAKING PARTY!~

 Since some of Sarah's friends couldn't be a part of her birthday party, we invited them over to have a fun day of baking yesterday.
They had a fun day.  Here's some pics to enjoy.
~Shortly after they arrived we had Medialunas (a croissants with sweetener on top) and coffee with milk.~

~An us-ie~

 ~Jenny brought lots of Christmas cutters, and so the girls had fun making and decorating fun Christmas cookies. (Sarah liked her all white Rudolph on the right with his red nose.)~

 ~And some fun colorful stockings.~

 ~Cute gingerbread boys and sleds.~

 ~They let Mary decorate some of these.~

~The girls also made these cute watermelon cookies which we enjoyed with some coffee.~

 ~Paola brought lots of nice gifts for us. 
She crocheted this adorable rabbit for Sarah.
(She also got a CUTE vest for Abigail, a pretty scarf for me, and a little smiling acorn that she crocheted for Elijah, and a fun little change purse for Kimberly. :-) ~

 ~They got this pic after Paola had to leave. :-( ~

 Jesus gave Sarah and her friends a very fun day of baking!  It was the last time she will see 2 of these girls. :-(

~HEATHER~

~Our last Lord's day in Buenos Aires, Argentina!~

Sarah is having a great "birthday week" and is still celebrating today, so I'll post those pics soon. :-) Thank you for all your sweet comments on my blog and FB! :-)

A few weeks ago, some of our Dear friends told our family that they wanted to pay our way for us to go and see another part of beautiful Argentina before we went back to the U.S.A.  
So Lord willing, this Friday we plan to fly to Iguazu (Voted as one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World, Iguazu Falls is undoubtedly the most visited place in Misiones and one of the most intriguing natural attractions in Argentina and the World) ...... and return on Tuesday night, Dec. 15th. 
Then we will get everything ready and leave for the airport Thursday night, Dec. 17th.
We will fly all night and land in the U.S.A. on Friday, Dec. 18th.
 (I think I'm going to DIE with the STRESS of trying to get it all done. :-)  If so, I guess, I'd spend Christmas in Heaven! ;-)

PRAYERS APPRECIATED AS WE CONTINUE TO TRY TO GET EVERYTHING WRAPPED UP!!!

So saying, this past Sunday was our last Lord's day here in Buenos Aires.  :-( I had lots of pics to download, but our computer won't pull up my SD card from my camera. :-(
Thankfully, I was able to get some copies of some pics from my friends.

Bro. Tayang at our Chinese church asked our family to come forward, read some Scripture to us and gave a nice talk / blessing, and then had the whole church pray for us, then had everyone come around and say goodbye.
We WEPT!!!  :-(  It was soooo HARD saying goodbye to our dear friends.
~Our family listening to the pastor.~

 ~Noah, Mary, and Elijah.~

 ~Our family up front while they prayed for us.
Afterwards everyone filed by and said goodbye.
There were LOT OF TEARS!!!
WE LOVE THE DEAR PEOPLE IN THIS CHURCH!!!
They have opened up their arms and hearts, done all they could to help us, and have been SUCH A BLESSING!! They have become FAMILY to us!! ~

 ~All the Sunday school kids.~

 ~Dear Alicia, her daughter Hailey and I.
I gave Alicia a "cake stand" that Phillip had made for me, for she makes lots of lovely cakes.
Alicia's husband and our friend Nico, is a dentist that has treated our family royally while we have been here!  They have been such a BLESSING to us.~

 After a yummy Chinese lunch, the 2 young people groups surprised us by asking us to come upstairs.
They sat our family down and went around the room with a lot of the young people telling their FIRST impression of our family. :-)
Their comments were hilarious and very sweet and touching!
Of course most of them thought it was funny when they first saw us... that an American family would attend a Chinese church.
There were lots of comments about them first seeing us and being SHOCKED with how many "kids" we have. :-)
There were lots of sweet comments too, that made us want to cry. :-)
~Mary and a friend.~

 ~That is Our feet...Our family is sitting on the bench behind Abigail.  She was eating a sucker, getting very STICKY, EVEN IN HER HAIR, and getting very TIRED! :-) ~

~Mary with 2 friends.~

 ~Abigail...in the last few waking moments... before she fell asleep in the bus.~

~The whole group of us after the young people's fun talk.  

It was such a special afternoon together and meant A LOT to our family!!  

These young people have a lot of potential for Jesus and are very kind and DEAR!  

We love each one of them!!!~

~Then we rode the bus home, I took a quick nap, then we got things ready, took the bus, and then a train to Fernando's house.  

We had a beautiful time saying what we appreciated about each other, Phillip giving some Spiritual challenges, God's presence settled down as we were singing LOTS of hymns, then as we took communion together.

A friend of Fernando and Mariela's was there with her 3 girls.  It was so nice having her there.~

 ~The little goblets with the grape juice and the "bread."~

 ~Fernando is a walking MIRACLE!  God has brought him so far after his SCARY motorcycle wreck.
We didn't know if he'd ever play his guitar again, but he is using his right arm (that got broken badly in the wreck) more and more!  It was soooo NEAT hearing him play the guitar again last night. THANK YOU, DEAR JESUS!~

 ~Then we shared a snack of Mariela's yummy juice and hot tea, some sweet desserts, and "picada" (squares of ham and cheese), crackers, my homemade French bread, my Strawberry freezer jam, and slices of cheese. ~

~Mary met a new friend... Sophia!~

 ~The kids right before we got on the train to go home.~

 ~Us ladies.~

 ~Noah and Elijah with their dear Jeremiah.~

 ~An us-ie.~ 

We got home at midnight, happy in the Lord for such a special Last Lord's day here in Buenos Aires, Argentina!

~HEATHER~