~Christmas post #1~

I have more deputation pics to post, but first.....
~Welcome to our "home" for a peek at our lives this past Christmas.~
Jesus has been soooo good to us! I told you earlier that a dear lady is letting us use her nice home for Dec. and Jan. It has been so healing to my heart to get to use my Christmas tree and decorations again for the first time since 2004. And then it's been fun also getting to use some of the Christmas decorations that Jesus gave me while I was on deputation.
~While on deputation I was really WANTING and searching for an antique child's sled to decorate with for Christmas. For some years I had had these children's white iceskates that I wanted to use with it. God and My dear friend Becca in PA provided me this adorable children's sled. Thank you, Becca it has made my backdoor and me very happy this Christmas! =)~
~The front door all decorated for Christmas.~
~While in OK I got to shop at a neat store called "Cheapo Depot" and with some birthday money I got some fancy stockings and hangers like I have wanted for quite some time. =) (Thanks, Sis Lila for the neat white sprig you gave me!! I used it behind the stoking holders.) I love old suitcases, so was happy that my Moma gave us one and we found the other one at a junk store. Wasn't God good to let the house we are using have a fireplace where I could hang the stockings? ~
~I love the color of dark maroon and have had this Christmas color scheme for years. Again, I will say that God is amazing! The living room in the home we are using is done in that same color. =) ~
~I had fun using snowmen and red and white in the kitchen. I love this little Christmasy sign that I got at the Roop's store that asked, "Is it too late to be good?" ~

~It was fun using the Christmasy quilt that Laura had given me years ago. Kimberly found this cute little pillow for me at a Salvation Army that says, "May the peace of Christmas bless you always . (I was happy to find the red and green pillow here in the house that we are staying in to borrow to put with my pillow.)~
~Our last Wednesday service on deputation was at John and Janelle Manley's church in Dayton, OH. After service they, Michael and Beth and us all enjoyed some Skyline and some laughs together. =)~
~We got to spend a couple of fun days with Michael and Beth and family. Since it was near Sarah's birthday we went and got some Mexican food (Can't find much of that in Colombia) .~
~They brought out a free fried icecream for Sarah-the birthday girl-(and us) to share! ~
~We were soooo DELIGHTED that the Lord worked it out that we got to be at the God's Bible School Christmas program. You see, when we are on the field those events are things that we REALLY MISS! Both Phillip and I sang in the GBS choir and have wonderful memories of doing several of these programs under the direction of dear Bro. Wolf! This is the first GBS program we have attended in 10 years!! We had no way of knowing that since this is Bro. Wolf's last year, that night that we were there was his VERY LAST TIME to direct the GBS choir for a Christmas program. (On Sat. and Sun. he let someone else direct!)
It was so fun being there with my Daddy and Moma and with the Hausmans.~
~The choir and drama as usual was splendid! Their songs ministered to our hearts very much!~
~In this picture I tried to capture Bro. Wolf directing to the left and my neice Natasha singing on the front row on the right!~
~Dear Laura and family invited Daddy and Moma, the Pilmores and us over for a yummy, fun and festive Christmasy snack.~

~The next morning after a VERY late night I tried to put together a fun Birthday breakfast for our Sarah. She was delighted that her cousin Darla got to spend the night with her.~
~Then we met the Hausmans and Pilmores at a neat horse drawn sleigh parade in Lebanon, OH.~


~And yes...we really were as COLD as we look in this picture. Our toes froze!~

~Kissing cousins sharing a candy stick!~
Then we ran home and packed to head for our last 2 deputation services in IN.

~New JCPenny's pictures~

~In the fall of 1992 I met a young lady named Kelly on the campus of God's Bible School. When we met neither Kelly nor I had any way of knowing that we would end up being best friends for the next 3 years, and room mates for 2 of those years. (At the end of those 3 years, we both got married and so our husbands became our "best friends" and our "roommates". =). A few weeks ago I was standing and chatting with Kelly and one of her boys came by with a cute hat on. I asked Kelly where I could get one of those hats and she told me that she had made that hat. You see I was fixin' to take our children to JCPenny's and I wanted a hat like that for Elijah. Well, much to my delight Kelly told me that she would loan Noah and Elijah the matching outfits that she had made for her boys so that they could wear them for their pictures. Thank you, Kelly, for loaning me these precious outfits! I'm THRILLED with how these pictures turned out, and I Thank the Lord for His help!~
~This was an un-posed picture that I saw and asked the photographer to snap. It was supposed to be a picture of Sarah and her violin and Elijah walked up and was watching her. I love it that one of Elijah's socks is falling down.~
~Elijah reading a 'tory~
~Kimberly and Sarah and their violins~
~Sisters~
~Brothers~
~We took in these 2 old suitcases to JCP to use with the boys pictures. Elijah had been sitting on the stool but after the photographer had repeatedly said "Boo" to Elijah...Elijah got off of the stool and walked up and said "boo" to the photographer then backed up to sit down on the stool and totally missed it and landed on the floor and that is when the photographer snapped this picture.~
~All packed up with no where to go.~
~Quite the "case" sitting on a suitcase. =)~
~Kimberly who will turn 12 this month. Happy Birthday!~
~Sarah who turned 9 in December. Happy Belated Birthday.~
~Noah and Kimberly share a birthday so he will soon turn 6. Happy Birthday!~
~A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!~

~Merry Christmas and Happy New Year~

I am wishing you and your family a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and a Christ-filled New Year! So many things have happened in this past year. Some were wonderful, while others were tragic. We who are serving Jesus are not to live in fear of or dread the future; It is my goal more than ever to live with Heaven in mind and ready to make my flight at any time. I want to spend more time with Jesus and my wonderful family in 2010! See you next year! =)

~Idaho, old friends, and Glacier Nat. Park~

~We had a nice time with our dear friends the Darwin Edwards who used to attend the church that Phillip pastored in AZ. They are now living in Idaho. We enjoyed having them into our motor home for Sunday dinner. ~

Jonathan and Stephanie Phillips were such a gracious host to us. Years ago Jonthan and I would have attended the same youth camp, and we went to GBS with Stephanie. We had a service at their church in ID. They served us a delicious snack and we had a great time with them and with Dixie and Andy too.~~As you can see from the pics below we enjoyed seeing some of God's GORGEOUS scenery while traveling out west!~
~We stopped for the night having no idea that when we awoke the next morning this is the view that we would see out our window!~



~We held a service in Libby, MT with the Rasmussens and the Ron Millers. We had a good service and time of fellowship with them. Here is Elijah and his new friend Anthony R.~

~After leaving Libby, MT we got to drive and see parts of Glacier National park. We spent the night in the park.~
~The next morning we went out to take some pictures and it was BITTER cold with a wind that nearly knocked us over!~

~Leaving AZ and heading to ID.~

I will try to post the rest of our deputation pictures. Obviously we have TONS of pictures so I will just post some of them, hoping to post at least one from every church/location we visited.
~Our dear friend Janet took the kids hiking in AZ with she and her dog Jake. Thanks, Janet, the kids had a blast!~~The Lord helped us to get a nice Dickinson family picture the last day we were together...in spite of the fact that 5 of us had the flu.~
~Grandma and Grandpa and their GRAND kids!~
~Mom D. wanted me to make some cinnamon rolls for her before I left AZ. We LOVED our days that we got to spend with Dad and Mom D. and Michael and Beth and family! It was hard telling Dad and Mom D. goodbye...not knowing when we will get to see them next!~
~Elijah and Noah with Uncle Mark's old car.~
~Kimberly and Sarah saying those HARD goodbyes to their dog Bridget. Grandpa and Grandma are keeping Bridget for them while we are serving Jesus in another country. Thank you, Grandpa and Grandma you'll NEVER know how much it means to our kids' hearts to know Bridget is in your good hands!~
~We held a service in Cottonwood, AZ. Early the next morning the Peaks made us a delicious breakfast. As we were heading out of our motor home to go to their home I saw these beautiful mountains and wanted to take a picture. My dear man stuck his head in the picture and crossed his eyes wanting to show you that none of us were ready to be up that early in the morning (after such a late night.) He's crazy!~
~It was neat to get to meet the Thomas Peaks who are the new pastor and wife of the church in Cottonwood, AZ. They were missionaries to Peru for many years, so we had a lot in common with them. We had a great visit together!~

~It was nice to see the Smiths from the Cottonwood, AZ church, as well as Mrs. Clifton, and Mrs. Harrington.~

~We stopped at Jazminne's house and she fed us a DELICIOUS mexican meal.~
~It was so neat to see our good friends Jazminne and Christine again.~

~Deputation Memories~

Hello, Hello, Hello! I have not fallen off of the end of the earth, but I'm trying to re-coup and re-group after traveling thousands of miles for 4 months, meeting and greeting many precious people, homeschooling 2 girls, and keeping up with Noah and Elijah. =) Now, I'm sitting here by the lights of our tree after enjoying a cup of yummy hot coffee with eggnog creamer hoping to catch up on my blog and with y'all! A dear friend is letting our family use her home for Dec./Jan. and it is being a HUGE blessing to us! One thing that has been healing to my heart is that this year I have gotten to set up my Christmas tree and use my Christmas china again for the first time since 2004! We are taking a few days to rest up before we go back to Colombia at the end of Jan., Lord willing. I have lots of pictures to post from the rest of our deputation, just don't know if I'll get to post them all. But, for now, I'll leave you with a song that the kids and I wrote, sung to the tune of:
"These are a few of my Favorite things."

~These are a few Deputation Memories~
Playing on playgrounds and Thank you notes written,
Seeing our dog Bridget and Sarah's toy kitten.
Bright colored fall leaves on the trees,
These are a few deputation memories.

Grandma and Grandpa and Gram and Gramp
Getting to go to our Comargo camp.
Roast beef dinners, candy, cakes and treats,
And many more yummy things to eat.

When the tire goes flat,
When we catch the flu,
When we're feeling sad,
We simply remember the good times we've had
and then we don't feel so bad.

Bright city lights at night made us smile.
DeMints loaned us a motorhome to travel in "style". =)
Meeting new dear people in God's family,
These are a few deputation memories.

Being out west and enjoying God's creation.
Seeing points of interest- like a mini vacation.
Hugging aunts and uncles and kissing cousins too.
Looking at snow capped mountains-what a view.

When we grow weary,
When we're sick of school,
When we're feeling sad,
We simply give Thanks to God above,
And then we don't feel so bad.

Taking our pictures out in the freezing cold,
Seeing our dear friends both young and old.
Sharing and receiving new recipes.
These are a few deputation memories.

Fall decorations and visitors in our motorhome
Great Christian fellowship where'er we did roam.
Camping by the river in Glacier National park,
And Going out to see the stars in the dark.

When we're tired of singing,
When we need some sleep,
When we're feeling sad,
We simply Thank God for His help so far,
and then we don't feel so bad.

Going horseback riding, hiking in AZ.
Having a cough that drove us crazy.
Getting some gift bags full of special goodies.
These are a few deputation memories.

Getting to see historic Mt. Rushmore,
Riding 4-wheelers, wagons and more.
Seeing Laura Ingalls Wilders home- how neat.
Spending Thanksgiving with family-HOW SWEET!

When we say goodbye,
When we want to cry,
When we are feeling sad.
We simply remember the good times we've had,
And then we don't feel so bad.

~written by Heather 2009~