~Jesus is ALIVE!!~

The early Christians used to greet each other on Resurrection (Easter) Morning with this greeting! One would say..."HE IS RISEN"...and the other person would respond, "He is risen INDEED!!!" Praise the Lord that we can still say this today. I have always loved Easter and still enjoy it today. I enjoy going to church and singing the Resurrection songs filled with hope for Jesus is Alive! I like to make resurrection rolls for breakfast, and I enjoy gathering some Easter goodies and watching our children open their treats. Sometimes if we look at the changes going on around us, the future can look scary. But, we Christians have HOPE that the world does not have! We know WHO holds the future...and we Know who holds our hand!!

~What...you served your guests worms?~

Some of you have expressed concern that I still be careful and not do too much. Thank you for your concern and prayers. Although I am not completely on bed rest, I am still being very careful! I am not lifting anything heavy, not climbing up and down our stairs, not cleaning, and not doing things that I know could be too hard on baby and I. I am basically doing some cooking, washing dishes, teaching Noah Kindergarten and helping Kimberly and Sarah with their schoolwork when they need it. My family is helping with the cleaning and laundry. I was supposed to go to the doctor today, but when he told me to come back in 15 days he forgot that today and tomorrow are holidays and that they wouldn't be in the office. So, I will go see him next week. I'm trusting Jesus for a good report. I'll let you know what the doctor has to say. Thankfully I still have enough nausea/hungry spells, etc. so I feel that baby is doing just fine! I've got a cute little baby bump that I cannot hide now either. =D
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~Before the Hausmans came to visit us Sarah and Noah saw a recipe in their kid's cookbook for "EWWW Gross dessert." Basically it was dirt dessert in individual cups with gummy worms. So, we put that down to make one day while the Hausmans were here. Well, things got switched around on our menu and the day that we were going to make that dessert, was the evening we were going to have Pastor Alberto from Medellin, and Bro. Rigoberto from Cartagena over for a snack after the classes. I told our girls that those poor men would NOT know what had come over us or THEM if we served them that dessert...but we decided to be brave and do it anyway! Here are the kids making the dessert cups.~
~Here is one dirt dessert cup. I know, you normally mix the coolwhip IN with the choc. pudding so that everything is DARK, but when you live on the mission field sometimes you have to be flexible and adjust recipes. We can only get pudding that you have to cook here, and our pudding was still nearly HOT, but we needed to hurry and make the desserts. So, we seperated the warm pudding from the coolwhip by the oreo cookies, that way the warm pudding wouldn't melt the coolwhip. Then we put the desserts in the refrigerator right away and they were just fine!~
~Phillip, Bro. Rigoberto and Elijah, and Pastor Alberto.~
~Us adults around the table. We had my French Bread snack, cheese ball and crackers, apples and a warm caramel dip, homemade grape juice, and the dirt dessert.~
~The men visiting...in 2 languages! =)~
~Our dessert cups...right before we presented them to our UNSUSPECTING guests! =D~
~We weren't sure how they would react or if they would just quietly smile and eat it. But...they didn't disappoint us. They laughed, pointed to it, showed each other and Loved it! Pastor Alberto told me that when he talked to his wife the first thing she would ask him was what Sis. Heather had served them for a snack. He said, "I'm going to tell her...Can you imagine she served us DIRT AND WORMS!!" Hee! Hee!
~Another picture of Daryl and Phillip teaching! God blessed their efforts and our people are so happy with what they have gleaned.~
More pictures to come.

~Part of our week in pics.~

God gave us a wonderful week with Daryl and Natasha. They flew back home Saturday, March 27th! Here are some pictures for you to enjoy! =)
~My neice Natasha came with her Daddy to help me. We were delighted to have her here with Daryl. She was a big help washing clothes, hanging clothes to dry, folding clothes, washing dishes, cooking, cleaning, and helping take care of Elijah. Of course our kids were thrilled to have their cousin here with them for a few days too. Baby and I have tried to not overdo it this week, but we did try to help wash the dishes and cook some, so the girls weren't so swamped! Here are Kimberly and Natasha making pancakes for our breakfast. ~~Some lemon bars that the girls made.~
~This picture is for Gram. She re-made this skirt for Sarah and wanted to see a picture of it on her. What you cannot see is the cute little belt that matches too. Thank you, Gram!~
~Our lay-leader from the church in Cartagena, Bro. Rigoberto.~
~Our pastor here in Bogota, Pastor Jimmy.~
~On your right is our pastor from Medellin, Pastor Alberto~
~God really helped Daryl as he taught on Spiritual leadership and Phillip as he translated all the classes into Spanish. Daryl only had a week's vacation from his own schooling (the Lord has opened up the doors for him to get a master's degree in Teaching English as a Second Language) so Daryl and Phillip had to PACK a whole lot of classes into that one week. Thank you, Daryl for giving up your vacation for the spiritual good of the people here in Colombia. Our people are thrilled to have received what they did this week. They learned a lot and God's presence was really close as well. Thank you for your prayers.~
~The Wednesday night service crowd.~
~Since I wasn't supposed to be doing much, poor Natasha didn't get to get out of the house very much. So, on Thursday Phillip carried me down the stairs and we took them to a restaurant so we could have a typical meal together. ~
~I was trying to get a picture of my plate of food, but Phillip wanted to get a picture of Elijah and I WITH my plate. All 8 of us ate for such a CHEAP price. We each had a plate full of baked chicken, rice, beans, salad, plantan (fried banana type fruit/vegetable), and all the fresh lemonade we wanted to drink. Plus we bought 2 bottled juices so it would more safe for Natasha and Daryl to drink. We got allllll of that for $13.00!!!!! Just a couple blocks away just ONE PLATE costs nearly that much! With that kind of price it doesn't pay to cook...especially when you are expecting and don't have a lot of energy. =D~
~Then we took Natasha and our kids for a yummy cheap icecream cone.~
Keep tuned...More pictures to come!

~Our visitors, and some pics from Sunday~

Thank you for praying for Daryl and Natasha while they traveled on Saturday! God brought them and their luggage here safely!! We are having a nice time having them here. They arrived at our house about 10:30 Saturday night. (Which makes for a very tiring Sunday, bless their hearts.)
~Here is their towels and some roses and a couple welcoming gifts. (Please excuse my scrapbooking things in the background, that is my scrapbooking table.=)~
~I wanted to get them a welcome gift, so was happy that Phillip found these nice coffee cups and saucers. We got the Hausman family a set, and since Natasha had come along to help lift my load...I wanted to get a set for her hopechest too.~~Sarah, Natasha, and Daryl at the airport. Phillip only took Sarah for he had made another errand earlier in the day and had taken Kimberly and Noah. He wanted to take all of our kids, but he knew that he'd have to rent a VAN to get home and that is more expensive.~
~Our late-night snack of a new taco dip and chips, apples and peanut butter, and fresh choc. chip cookies.~
~Some beautiful flowers that Phillip got for our living room.~
~Kimberly, Natasha, and Sarah...happy cousins...with Elijah looking on in the background.~
~Natasha and Kimberly were going to play an offertory for church the next morning so they were practicing at 11:45 PM. Our poor neighbor. =D~
~Natasha, Kimberly and Philip playing in church Sunday morning. Edgar and his wife in the background.~
~Jimmy and Farly leading the service.~
~This past week they (The church people and Phillip) moved our church down to the first floor. So, this was the first service in the new location. Since it was a new location, and Daryl and Natasha were here, I wanted to go to church and surprise our people. So, Phillip carried me down our stairs and I took a taxi straight there and God even gave me the strength to play the piano too. It was nice being back in church and seeing everyone and everyone was happy to see baby and I.~
~Natasha, Kimberly and I playing Amazing Grace for the offertory.~
~The Lord really helped Daryl as he preached and Phillip as he translated. God's presence settled in and we had a special time of prayer afterwards.~
~Our family (all 7 of us =) in the front of the new church. I wore my first maternity blouse that day. (Since Daryl and Natasha brought them to me.) =D~
~Daryl, Natasha, Jimmy, Farly, Lady, and Gaby, and our family in the front of the church.~
~Phillip giving Sarah, Noah, and Elijah a very bumpy horse ride.~
~First thing on Monday morning, our pastor from Medellin arrived at the bus station ready for the week of classes. Phillip picked him up from the bus station and he ate breakfast with us.~
Natasha is being a huge help and her cousins are enjoying having her here. Today is the first day of classes. Please pray that God will bless Daryl as he teaches (and Phillip as he translates) and that God will use these classes to help our people draw closer to Him. Thank you!!

~Please pray....and some pics.~

Lord willing, Daryl and Natasha are flying to Colombia tomorrow (Saturday). Please help us pray for them as they do those 1,000 last minute things that there are to do, say sad goodbyes to their dear family there, and then please pray that they have a wonderful traveling day with God's protection over them and their luggage. Thank you!
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~One morning I got up and came out of my room, and Phillip saw me and whispered, "Hurry back ino your room, for Sarah made you some tea but I told her to wait until you got up, so she just now gave that cup to Noah. Go back inside, and I'll tell her that she can make you some tea now. So, I snuck back in my room and had my devotions and she brought me this little tray of goodies and a note."=D~~Of course Noah wanted to do it a few mornings later...but Elijah was still asleep so he couldn't make tea, (The boys room and the kitchen share a window, so Elijah can hear what's going on in the kitchen, and we didn't want Elijah to wake up. =) so Noah brought me this nice tray of goodies and a cute note. ~
~The other day I made these blackberry muffins and they turned out delicious. The blackberries tend to be SOUR here, but I was able to sweeten them enough to where they were good. =)~
~I love this little handmade table and chair(s) that we bought when we first moved here for only $7.00!~
~The week I had my scare, I asked Jimmy and Farly if they could help us scrub our living room furniture. Another person had cleaned it for us, but she had left blacks spots all over it. With my being on bed rest I knew that I wouldn't be able to scrub them, and I wanted them done before Daryl got here. So, the other day while we were at the doctor, dear Bro. Jimmy and Sis. Farly came over and took our living room furniture upstairs and made it look like new.~
~That was the day that I was soooooo sick! Sis. Farly made this delicious supper and juice for us too. Muchas Gracias Pastor Jimmy y hermana Farly. Les agradecemos mucho!!~
~Since our living room furniture was upstairs, we had room to turn our table around and add another one so we could all eat together. =)~
~I was trying to put my hand on my baby bump, so you could see it, but it doesn't show up. =)~
PLEASE remember to pray for Daryl and Natasha! Thanks!

~A few random pictures~

~I think everyone of you must have been FASTING AND PRAYING for baby and I to be able to sleep last Monday night after I posted an SOS on my blog. God took away my nausea which was HORRIBLE and I slept like a "baby" for the first night in weeks! My nausea hasn't been half as bad as it was that Monday. THANK YOU for praying for us!
~About someone to help us...our family has been having some pow wows about that subject. Having another person in your home from a different culture can be A LOT of stress. They do things differently, they can RUIN things, you have to teach them what you want done, you have to watch that they aren't stealing your things (or going home and reporting to their family what you have!!), if you want them to cook...you might get food like spaggheti with TUNA, LIVER AND ONIONS, or chicken feet with the CLAWS on them!! And that is to mention just a few of the STRESSES that outside "help" can bring! So, though we do have a couple numbers of some ladies who might be able to help us...we are thinking that for right now, we'll just keep working together and wait on getting outside help...I mean Stress. HA! (Oh, if only we could have one of our Mothers, family members, or close friends "run over" every once in awhile to help us. =D)
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~One afternoon Sarah and I got to have a special time out together. I took her to Crepes and Waffles and we shared a chocolate fondue and enjoyed talking lady to lady. =)~~This has got to be one of the best invention since washing machines! My dear friend Mrs. Earline gave me this pineapple slicer and I LOVE it! Way to go Pampered Chef! We normally have at least one pineapple in our house each week, so I was THRILLED to get this handy tool. I used it to slice my pineapple for the Piña Colada Cheesecake that I made for Phillip for Valentines' day!~
~Just cut off both ends so it is flat with a sharp knife, and then slice it right down. It takes off the peeling, and takes out the core and cuts nice pieces of pineapple ready to use!~
~Here is the top of my cheese cake.~
~And here is a closer picture.~
~My Sweetheart Phillip gave me these roses for Valentines' day and to congratulate me on our new little baby. When we finally move back to the USA, we won't know what to do when we see the prices that y'all have to pay for flowers. We are BLESSED here in Colombia with gorgeous flowers for nearly pennies. =D~