~It's beginning to look...~

a lot A LITTLE like Christmas all around our house.  =)
We decided to get a few Christmas decorations...for I knew that the kids and I would have some SAD hearts if we didn't have some touches of Christmas here in Argentina.  (Now could you PLEASE help me PRAY that we can find someone to store a couple boxes of our stuff for us while we are back in Colombia? =)
So, come on in, grab yourself a cup of the pumpkin pie latte that I just made and lets look around. =)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~Near my birthday Phillip and I were in a nice kitchen store downtown. I saw some trays like this and fell in love with them...that is...until I saw the price. =(
We were ready to leave the store when I happened to look in the back and saw a "Dent and Bent section!"  YEA!  Just down my alley aisle. =)  So, I found the EXACT tray that I had LOVED...but the background was a tad faded (which adds to it and makes it look "antique" to me =) so I was HAPPY to get it for around 1/5 of the price! =D

~Here it is decorated for Christmas. =)~

~I brought these with me to use here in Argentina.   We spent Christmas 2006 in Costa Rica (where we studied Spanish) with Zach and Sarah R.  We became very close to them that year and have many wonderful memories.  "Aunt Sarah" (as she became to our kids) gave me these potholders for my birthday that year. =)~ 

~Yogurt comes in these little jars here.  Phillip bought me some to help me when I was so ill.  As soon as I saw those jars, I knew that I could find some kind of cute use for them.  So I put some rice in the bottom with a red candle and have it on a red and white kitchen towel that was here in our Apt. =)~

 ~I added a couple touches of red to our bedroom too.  Our picture in a frame I found here...~

 

~And a fun pillow to add some red to our bed for Christmas.~

~Isn't it cute?  It's hard to see but there is a little church in the picture up in the right hand corner of this pillow.=)~

~Our Christmas tree.  I found the wide ribbon in Colombia and knew it wouldn't weigh much so bought it to tuck in my suitcase to help decorate our future apt. in Argentina (not knowing WHAT I would have to decorate with when I got there.)
I was THRILLED to find that it has probably 8 or more yards and I only paid $4.50 for it!  =D
We didn't want to buy a lot of things here (not knowing where we are going to store them yet)...so that ribbon adds a really nice touch to our tree . =)~

~We sat it up on our coffee table...to it makes it taller...and to keep a sweet little Mary from un-decorating it for us. =)~

~Some more yogurt jars...with some green lentils and some tea lights in front of my chalkboard.~

~I hot glued some pine cones (that the kids picked up at a park) to some ribbon to add a fun touch to my chalkboard. =)~

~For our table centerpiece...I used the last of the wide ribbon (on our tree) for our table runner, used goblets up-side-down (Thanks for sending me that idea, Dee =) placed candles and Christmas balls on them, and in the center I placed the cute little gold Christmas tree that I bought here.~

~A close-up of the tree.~

~I'm going to let Sarah post about this simple little tree in the kids' room.  It's known to our family as "Sarah's tree!" =)~

~Since there were 2 different graters in this kitchen when we arrived, I decided to add some ribbon (and a jingle bell on one) and place tea lights inside to add another fun Christmasy touch to our kitchen.=) 

~It's fun to see them all lit up at night.~

Thanks for visiting us and letting us take you on a tour.  We've loved this time with you. =)
(I plan to post Fun Food Friday LATE tomorrow evening, Lord willing.)

~Our HAPPY Thanksgiving~

God gave us a wonderful Thanksgiving!  It would have been fun to have someone over, but since most of our Argentinian "friends" are just "Hi, How are you doing" type friends at this point =), we just celebrated as a family.
On Thanksgiving eve Phillip had to run out last minute to get a few more groceries to make our meal, and he had fun wishing several of our new Argentinian friends "A Happy Thanksgiving" and then using it as a witness to explain what we do on that day.  =)
God has been continually touching me and I'm feeling lots better! Thank you again for your prayers for me!  My family and I had fun working together to make our Thanksgiving meal.

 ~Kimberly made our Crumb Topped Apple Pie (See post below for recipe)~

 ~I made our Pumpkin pie (I cheated again and used a store bought crust.  Like I mentioned in the post below the crust here are smaller, so there's no room to flute the edges. =)~

 ~Elijah helped cut up the dressing!  He did great! (It was late at night, for you can see Sarah behind him asleep on the couch.)~

 ~As you can see on my chalkboard...our Menu was:
Turkey,  M. Potatoes,  Gravy, Corn,  Green beans,  Rolls,  Dressing,  Ceasar Salad,  Sweet potato casserole,  Apple pie,  Pumpkin pie,  and  Ice cream!  (And Peach juice to drink.)~

 ~Our fun centerpiece.~

 ~I made an arrangement of real fall-ish flowers and wheat and used a green squash for the "vase" .  And with that I used the orange pumpkin that I had decorated earlier, and the butternut squash that Phillip wrote our  initial "D" on. =)~

 ~I brought some pretty fall napkins with me (from Hobby Lobby last November), and bought the gold-ish plates here.~

 ~The table runner and goblets were in this apt. when we arrived and I was so excited!  =)  So, we dipped the tops of the goblets in sugar and served cold peach juice in them.~

 ~Our first Thanksgiving in Colombia (2006) Aunt Libby S. sent us these adorable place cards (We just lacked one for Elijah and Mary since they weren't born back then. =) We tucked them down into a walnut.~

 ~Sweet Kimberly was my right-hand lady in the kitchen (while Sarah helped entertain the other kiddos =).  Kimberly made our Thanksgiving rolls.~

 ~We used our coffee table as our "SIDE BAR" to place all of our yummy food on to serve it. (Excuse the pans...this apt. doesn't have many serving dishes. =)~

 ~A picture of our family saying the Blessing over our Thanksgiving meal! (Noah is hiding behind the big pumpkin.)~

 ~Little Mary was napping.  (So I got a picture of her after she awoke.) One of the things we were so thankful for...was our TURKEY! =) You see, we had been told by a man at a meat store that he couldn't get turkey for us until Christmas time.  =(
But we found the LAST turkey in the freezer at our big grocery store...and we couldn't help but think that God SAVED THAT TURKEY FOR US. YEA!
God is soooo Good!~

 ~A close up of the pretty fall flowers that Jesus helped us to find for our table.~

 ~I had fun using a knife to make little details on the leaves and acorn I placed on my pumpkin pie. =)~

 ~Little Mary (after she woke up from her nap) said that she thinks that she should have eaten MORE Thanksgiving dinner... so that her skirt would stay up! =)~

 ~Mommy and Mary.  After our meal we had a special time of Thanking God for His MANY blessings to us as a family!
I trust that each of you had a very Happy Thanksgiving too!~

~Fun Food Friday...Crumb Topped Apple Pie~

Sorry this is a day late.  We had a wonderful Thanksgiving rejoicing in God's blessings.  On Friday we weren't "Black Friday shopping" =) but we did take our kids on an excursion ...which I'll blog about later!  

I wanted to share this recipe for a pie I made a couple weeks ago.  I guess for some reason it seems easier or faster because it doesn't take a top crust.   I cheated and used store bought crust.   (Which here in Argentina these crusts are a tad smaller [so I couldn't flute the edges] and are made to make quiche or something, but hey, they work when one is in a hurry or has been ill. =)    It was a good pie.

~Crumb Topped Apple Pie~

Taste of Home

Ingredients

• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 
  FILLING:
• 5 large tart apples, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 5 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1-1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 
  TOPPING:
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cold butter

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine flour and salt; cut in the shortening until crumbly. Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until easy to handle.
• Roll out pastry to fit a 9-in. pie plate. Transfer pastry to pie plate. Trim pastry to 1/2 in. beyond edge of plate; flute edges.
• For filling, place apples in crust. Combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon; sprinkle over apples.
• For topping, combine flour and sugar in a small bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over filling. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°; bake 50-60 minutes longer or until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack. Yield: 8 servings.
• And as Always...ENJOY!!

 

~Happy Thanksgiving from our house to yours~

~THANKING GOD FOR:
~Hubby's hugs
~All my our children
~Never leaving us alone
~Kisses and snuggles
~Salvation
~Great recipes to make!! =)
~In-laws
~Very pretty sacred music
~Itty Bitty fun things like candles, coffee, and closeness (and c-shoes -- I HAD to include shoes! =)
~Nice parents, my siblings and their families
~Giving us Jesus                          
                   -Heather, Nov. 2011                                                                              
~We had fun taking some pics of our kids last night.  We dressed them in all shades of green and took a bus to a park.  We Loved Mary in her 2 little pony tails!~

~Before we got on the bus we took some pics in front of this fun purple door...except...you can't tell anything about the purple door.=)~

~Elijah was his normal fun self!  It was FUN trying to get him to try to smile right and get Mary to JUST look at the camera!~

~Two boys who love to climb trees!~

~Five fun kids...on loan to us from God!~

~This is the last pic we took and you can tell by their smiles that they were DONE with pictures. =)~

~Shoes and feet...love little Mary's little legs. =)~

~One of my favorite pics!~

~Another favorite.~

Have a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING...Enjoying God's blessings!~

~Thanksgiving reminder~

~Growing up my Daddy and Moma were always careful to celebrate Thanksgiving day.  We never decorated for Christmas before Thanksgiving dinner nor did we listen to Christmas music.
~In our own home [when we are on the mission field] since we are so FAR away from our Culture, Country and Family we have made some exceptions with Christmas music.
[But we haven't listened to it since coming to Argentina =)...we're saving it for after Thanksgiving dinner when we will decorate (a little) for Christmas.  It's just SO FUN to turn on the first notes of the Christmas tunes while putting up the decorations!  =) ]
~I'm not saying that it's a sin to decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving day...but it's sad to me when nearly all of the stores jump from Halloween decor to Christmas ... totally skipping over fall and Thanksgiving decor.
~I just wanted to write a little something to help us to be careful to not Skip over a day/week/MONTH in which to be THANKFUL to God for His MANY Blessings! =)

'Twas a few days before Thanksgiving and all through the land
Hardly a person did notice or seemed to understand.
Each house was already bedecked with Christmas lights then
Few focused on God's blessings...only on eating the hen. (Turkey)

Let us be so careful to guard this special day
Lest the pomp of Christmas come and take it away.
Thanksgiving is lots more than all the yummy food
It's to reflect on our Bounty from God...He is SOOO GOOD! =)
                                                              ~Heather November 20th, 2011

  Thank you for your prayers...the Lord is touching me and I'm feeling MUCH better!!! =)

~Once upon a time...

~There was a little lady who moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina.  She fell in love with the fine little restaurants on every other corner.  They serve hot teas/coffees, hard breads, handmade pastas, meats, salads, ice creams, etc. and in front of each one is one of these...~

~Every.where.I.go. I see one!~

~Last Friday, I decided that I would like to have one for my kitchen.  So, I began to pray for one....

~THAT SAME EVENING...we went to this little ice cream shop (see chalkboard below) and bought some ice cream to take home to eat with my fresh strawberry pie.  I said to the man behind the counter (In Spanish of course =), "All the restaurants have these chalkboards.  Where can I BUY one of them?"  He held up a finger and told me to wait a minute....went to the back...and came out with a chalkboard in his hand and GAVE it to me!! =) (God is Awesome!!)   Now, I was SOOOO HAPPY with my chalkboard...and was THRILLED that Jesus had given me a chalkboard after only praying about it for ONE afternoon!~

~Now my chalkboard didn't have a frame around it.  So, a certain WONDERFUL artist I know drew  a border on my chalkboard.
(It was a rather HOT day in our house.)~

~I thought he did a GREAT job.~  

~My Chalkboard says a few lines from our song that the girls and I wrote about Fall while on deputation 2009.

"Cinnamon and Spice

Make the Season nice

So count your BLESSINGS TWICE

And Thank Jesus Christ!"  ~Heather~

~That is who my pumpkin crescent rolls went to...the man at the ice cream shop.   Our family walked over and gave them to him to thank him for my chalkboard and he was so surprised and happy.
He and his wife really enjoyed them!=)~

~I am happy with my fun chalkboard that Jesus gave me.~

I want to Thank each of you for your concern and your prayers.  I'm doing my best to take care of myself and get better...[and I didn't go outside today.  =)]  I appreciate your continued prayers.

~Prayers Still Needed!~

I really appreciate y'all's prayers and comments.  I'm still struggling with my allergies.  There is some tree in bloom here that is killing me.  I've never had this problem in my life.  I just step out of my house and my eyes fill with pollen which feels like SAND, and ITCH me to DEATH!  They swell nearly closed and get blood red! The only thing to do then is to GO home and try to wash them out.  But, my eyes are so swollen, and filled with tears that I can hardly SEE to get home.  
I had Phillip take this picture of me tonight.
~After being outside only 20 mins. this is what my eyes looked like!  So, Kimberly had to walk me home.~

So, I really appreciate your prayers as I try to figure out what to take to kick this and my UTI! Please know that I realize that there are others with problems LOTS bigger than mine. So, I'm not complaining, just asking for prayer!                                                                                                    

~Fun Food Friday...Pumpkin-Filled Crescent Rolls

Bro. Rigoberto from our Colombian church in Cartagena needs your prayers.  His Mother passed away this week. =(
~I made these the other day (and in this pic they are packed up to give as a gift to someone that did a nice thing for me...but hey that is for another post =)  My family and I really enjoyed these.

Note: This is an old world recipe derived from my grandmother, who didn't use traditional measuring cups. We figured out this recipe, which must date back to 1900 or earlier. Other fillings that work well are cranberry, peanut butter or lemon. —Gary Wanosky, North Ridgeville, Ohio. ~Pumpkin-Filled Crescent Rolls~
--Taste of Home-- (I just made my Perfect Sunday dinner roll recipe and then used the pumpkin filling from this recipe. But, I'm sure this roll recipe would be yummy too. ~Heather~ =)
Recipe 36 Servings Prep: 40 min. + chilling Bake: 15 min./batch
Ingredients
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm 2% milk (110° to 115°)
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, cubed
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
4 egg yolks
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
FILLING:
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
Directions: In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in milk. In a large bowl, combine 3 cups flour, sugar and salt; cut in butter and shortening until crumbly. Add the sour cream, egg yolks, lemon peel and yeast mixture; mix well. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Let dough stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Punch dough down; turn onto a lightly floured surface.
Divide into thirds. Roll each into a 12-in. circle; cut each circle into 12 wedges. Combine filling ingredients; spread a rounded teaspoonful of filling over each wedge. Roll up wedges from the wide ends and place point side down 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Curve ends to form crescents. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. Bake at 350° for 13-18 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks.  Yield: 3 dozen.
They didn't add a glaze and pecans but I did.  They were good both with and without the glaze and were best eaten the day they were made or the next day.
Here's the recipe for the butter cream glaze.
1 Tab. melted butter
1 Tab. milk
1 to 2 cups of powdered sugar
1/2 teas. vanilla
Top with chopped pecans.
And as Always...ENJOY!