~Our MeMoRiAl Day! =)~

We had a very Memorable Memorial day.  I hope y'all's was happy as well!
~We were going to go and see our DEAR Colombian friends Carlos and Gloria and their kids on this day.  Before we ran out the door, we quickly made some choc. cupcakes to take with us.  We frosted them with Coolwhip, and decorated the tops red, white, and blue .  Here Mary is helping me put some sprinkles on a cupcake.~

~Thanks, Laura, for the fun "American sprinkles" you bought for me.  We're enjoying them.~

~Here is little Mary all dressed in her RED, WHITE, and BLUE!  I think she looks so much like her cousin Sophia in this picture.~

~Here's her adorable jean skirt (that our pastor and wife in Medellin made her)...and her cute red and white polka dotted "Old Navy" tennis shoes (that her little friend in Argentina gave her.  =) ~

~My sweetheart and I.~

~When we got to Carlos and Gloria's church/music school, their little Joel was sound asleep.~

~We went to a nearby restaurant to eat lunch.~

~It was a D.E.L.C.I.O.U.S. Colombian lunch for a great price!!!~

~Then we came back to their church and got the cupcakes and went to their house.~

~Their Joel and our Elijah.  2 adorable, VERY ACTIVE, dirty-faced boys, who are VERY LOVED!~

We had no clue that they were moving out of their church that day.  Phillip was able to help them a lot.  I stayed at their apt. and helped watched their children, while they and Phillip finished up at the church.    They said that we always decide to come to visit them during "crisis times" in their lives, and that makes them happy, for they feel peaceful and content when we are around.    =)
I think they sort of look at Phillip as their "pastor."  They and Phillip love to talk about the Bible when we are together.  They always ask Phillip lots of questions, which he does his very best to answer.
~Here we are in their apt. visiting with some of their church people.  We got home at nearly midnight that night, but we had had a very delightful day with our friends.~

I had my friend Marisol over for a "Tea party" yesterday. We had a wonderful time. I showed her our pics from our time in Argentina.  
 Lord willing, I'll post those pics with my Fun Food Friday post some time tomorrow!

~Please pray for little Donna Sofia~

~This is a pic of Donna Sofie in her cast.~

Please pray for our dear friends Carlos and Gloria...and their precious little baby girl Donna Sofia. They just found out that their little Donna's hips are not in their sockets...so she has to wear this HORRIBLE cast for 4 WHOLE MONTHS! Because of the cast, she does not fit in her crib, car seat, and stroller, so her Mother has to hold her a lot! She is already a chunk (I love chunky babies) but THIS MAKES HER WEIGH A TON! She is so uncomfortable with this, and has to wear it until the end of August!!! UGH! Please pray for her, her Mommy and her Daddy during this rough time. And please pray that when she gets this taken off, that her hips will be fine. THANKS for helping us pray!!
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I don't know about y'all, but I don't always have the "fancy" ingredients like Parmesan cheese on hands. Yesterday, I needed to make a quick lunch for the kids and I, and I didn't have the cheese...NOR THE CHICKEN on hands...but I went ahead and tried this dish from T.O.H. (Aug/Sep.2006) and we loved it. It was Delicious, but I'm sure it would be better with the chicken and cheese. OK, by the time you get done reading all the CHANGES I made, the author wouldn't recognize the recipe...but it was still great. =)...Served with fresh homemade bread, and fresh lemonade...with sugar on the glasses and a lemon wedge...you have a great meal. =)

(When we were on deputation, we went to Mrs. LuRhe Edwards house and she put the sugar on the glasses and I loved the idea...and I like to add fruit to the glass too =) Just dip the VERY TOP EDGE of your glass in a bowl of water, and then in a bowl of sugar...or cut a lemon slice and put it on the glass and slide it around, then take the lemon off, dip the glass top in sugar, and put the lemon back on. I like to use different fruits. When serving Strawberry juice, Strawberry lemonade, or Strawberry tea, I like to use a fresh Strawberry...with the stem for color. In the Fall, I put an apple slice on each glass, etc. It's fun, pretty, tasty, and takes hardly any time at all. =) And my guests, my family and even I...like the sugar! =)
~Colorful Chicken Fettuccine~
10 ounces uncooked Fettuccine (I used Spag. noodles)
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips (I didn't have)
1 Tab. oil
1 cup julienned carrots
1 medium sweet red pepper, julienned
1 med. green pepper, julienned (I didn't have this)
2 cups fresh broccoli (I used fresh, chopped green beans)
4 teasp. cornstarch
1 can (14 1/2 oz) chicken broth (I used 1 cup HOT WATER and 2 bullion cubes) 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teas. salt
1/2 teas. dried thyme (I don't have here)
2 Tablespoons sour cream
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese.
Cook noodles. Meanwhile in large skillet, saute chicken in oil until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm. In the same pan saute the carrots for 1 minute. Add peppers and broccoli; saute 3-4 minutes longer until the vegetables are crisp-tender.
In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch, broth,lemon juice, salt and thyme until blended; stir into vegetables. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream.
Drain Fettuccine; place in large bowl. Add the chicken, vegetable mixture and Parmesan cheese; toss to coat. Yield: 4-6 servings.

Our first Colombian wedding!

Our 2nd month here in Colombia, God brought into our lives 2 dear Colombian friends, Carlos and Gloria. We met Carlos in a music shop where he worked. Carlos was so helpful the first day we met him, and he and his precious wife Gloria, have taken us under their wing to help us get settled in Colombia.


Gloria's brother (whom we really did not know) got married this past week and they invited us to the wedding. Carlos was asked to play for the wedding, and he in turn asked me to play, but I told him that I have never been to a Colombian wedding and I would have no clue what to expect. (But I did practice and had my music with me, in case he INSISTED that I play, at the last minute.) BOY! Was I ever GLAD that I was not playing. The wedding was to begin at 3:00 P.M., BUT DID NOT START UNTIL 4:15. While everyone sat there and waited, Carlos doodled around on the piano, looking nervous and watching the door for the bride. Then different people would walk up to the platform and lean over and tell Carlos that they had a song,(NOT A PART OF THE WEDDING PROGRAM) and then they'd walk to the mic and sing a song or some prayed, just to pass the time. I WOULD HAVE DIED, for I would have been in the middle of a nice wedding song, when those people would have wanted to sing. Since Carlos was just doing doodles, he would just casually slip into the song that they wanted to sing. The wedding was beautiful. One thing we did notice was that the Father of the Bride surely did "take his job seriously", for he almost LIFTED his daughter onto the platform, and then into the DECORATED CHAIR that she was to sit in during the wedding. (Yes, the bride and groom both SAT, for almost the whole wedding.) We also noticed that the bride did seem to be EXTRA nervous. After the wedding we learned that the POOR bride had just had APPENDIX surgery 2 DAYS before the wedding. HELP!


Then we left for the reception, which was beautiful, BUT LONG. We enjoyed our time there, visiting with Carlos and Gloria and meeting their family and friends. They served a delicious cake called "Tres Leches" (made with 3 different kinds of milk!) AND THE CAKE WAS CUT AND SERVED FIRST! Then HOURS later we were served a delicious meal of Rice with peanuts, Roast beef, Chicken with mushrooms, Russian salad and Coke ("POKE") to drink. The reception went ON AND ON and we did not get our food until shortly before we left. Colombian people LOVE to be up front, noticed, have the microphone, etc. So, every uncle, cousin, friend, and even ENEMY walked to the front to talk in the mic and GIVE their advice to the bride and groom. We were telling Carlos how we are NOT COLOMBIANS and would DIE if we had to get up front and say something in front of everyone, so He teasingly threatened to get us up there to talk. WE GOT HOME FROM THE WEDDING (WHICH WAS SUPPOSED TO START AT 3:00) AT 11:15 PM ON A SATURDAY NIGHT! UGH! But, it was an interesting and FUN experience.