~Saying those goodbyes and flying back to Colombia~

Here are some pictures of our last few days in Ohio and of our trip back to Colombia.
~My sweet sister Laura planned a nice evening out together to say those hard goodbyes. It was a special time chatting, and trying not to think of the LONG years it would be until we saw each other again. We had NO WAY of knowing that God had planned that we'd have a little baby so we'd see each other sooner than 2 years. =) Thank you, Laura!~~After church our last Wednesday a few of us ladies went out to Steak and Shake and enjoyed lots of laughs, talks and trying to decide what to order for the restaurant was out of nearly EVERYTHING we asked for. HA! We talked until 1:00 AM!!~
~One of the things that I REALLY miss when I'm on the field is the ladies night's out. So, I was delighted that they had one just 4 days before I went back to Colombia. Grammy Eisenhart opened up her beautifully decorated home and we ladies had a GREAT evening together. We did white elephant gifts, which was hilarious!~
~Laura and I taking time to smile for the camera.~
~Our dear friends Rob and Stephanie had us over for a delicious meal. We love the Ryans!~
~Our Elijah and Jessica Ryan looking cute as usual!~
~On Saturday our dear family Michael and Beth came and spent HOURS packing, rolling clothes, weighing suitcases, cleaning, encouraging our hearts, etc. I now have seen 2 ANGELS here on earth. =D~
~On Sunday the dear Eisenharts had Michael and Beth and family, our family, and Janie and Carl and family over for a delicious meal! It was a HUGE blessing for me not to have to cook when I was soooo overwhelmed with trying to get everything ready to leave on Tuesday!~
~Our DEAR pastor and wife! They are the BEST pastor and wife in the whole world! We love them tons! Sis. E. has just been VERY SICK. Please pray that God will help her heal completely! Thank you!!!~
~Kimberly with some of her friends after our last service at our church.~
~Laura, Regina and I after our last service. (Steff in the background.) We had wept sooo much saying those goodbyes that our faces show it. =)~
~This picture shows EXACTLY how I felt the whole time we were trying to pack, sort, weigh suitcases, clean the house we were renting, and get ready to fly back to Colombia. I had NO CLUE that I was carrying a little precious baby and that is the reason my body felt like I wanted to SLEEP the whole time!! The process is VERY overwhelming when one isn't pregnant. =)~
~But Thank the LORD for Michael and Beth who came back on Monday to help us finish packing, emptying the house, and cleaning it. The way I was feeling...We would have still been trying to finish it all, had they not come and helped!! =) Thank you, Michael and Beth!!! We could NOT have made it without you!!!! (I didn't get any pictures but Susanna, Emily, and Anna were a HUGE help in watching our 3 youngest kids and Isaiah nearly all day, so we could work faster in the house and get all packed up. THANK YOU!!!)~
~We left that house we were renting at 5:00 PM and Daddy and Moma took us to Golden Corral for a yummy supper. They had also found us some hotel rooms in a hotel just 10 mins. from the airport. (The house we had been renting was an hour and a half away.) Since we had to be at the airport at 3:30 AM, it was such a blessing to have hotel rooms close by!! Thank you, Daddy and Moma for all you did to help us!~
~Gramp walking little Elijah while we were filling out the 20 name tags to put on our suitcases, purses, violins, etc.~
~Our family right before we went through security.~
~Gramp and Gram with 4 of their 17 grandchildren. (Baby makes #17! =)~
~I had Phillip take this picture AFTER Sarah woke up from her VERY SCARY ordeal in the airplane when we didn't know if she was dying on us or not!!~
~Elijah sitting with Sarah who was feeling some better after sleeping all afternoon and getting some food in her body.~
~We were delighted to see Pastor Jimmy and Sis. Farly's smiling faces when we arrived in Bogota, Colombia.
It had been a VERY LONG and STRESSFUL day, but God had been with us every step of the way!!~

~We're getting company~

Thank you for your concern, sweet comments and your prayers for baby and I! I know that I can TRUST the ONE who died for me to work out His special plan in our lives!! I'll keep you updated on our progress. =)
Lord willing, in just 2 weeks my brother-in-law Daryl is coming to teach a week of classes to our people here. Of course, Phillip will be translating those classes into Spanish.
~Daryl and his sweetheart, my dear sister Laura!~

We just learned Friday that my neice Natasha gets to come too! We are very excited about them coming. One reason for Natasha coming is that she felt it on her heart to come and help cook, clean, and take care of things to help her Aunt Heather. Thank you, Natasha for your thoughtfulness. I WISH YOU COULD STAY FOR A COUPLE MONTHS (AND I KNOW YOU WOULD) IF YOUR SCHEDULE WOULD ALLOW YOU TO. BUT WE WILL LOVE HAVING YOU HERE FOR THE WEEK THAT GET TO BE HERE. =) We can't wait to see y'all soon!
~Natasha is the girl to your left~

(And I'm looking forward to receiving my maternity clothes from the USA which Daryl and Natasha are planning on bringing with them. My regular skirts are getting too small. =) Please do pray for Daryl and Phillip as they teach that God will use these classes to bless our people!
~The other day before I went to the doctor, Jimmy and Farly and our family ate lunch together. Perhaps (if you use your imagination) you can see my little "baby bump". It's not much yet, but it's there. =D~

~A few more details about baby and me~

Here is a better description of HOW to pray for baby and me! The problem that the doctor's found is a SERIOUS problem in that somehow the placenta has torn away from the wall. It is only 40% attached. The doctors say that if it detaches more, we could loose our baby. But, they also said that with care, this can heal on it's own. So, I'm basically on complete bed rest and asking God to please HEAL AND REATTACH the placenta. I have another appointment with my doctor on Monday, March 15th and they will take another ultrasound to see how things are progressing. I'm praying and believing Jesus to heal the placenta before then. God is able!

Thank you for your prayers for baby and me. One thing is nice, my nausea is subsiding some, Praise the Lord!!! We know that God has a special plan for this little one, and we are trusting Him to work out His perfect will in our lives.

Also, could you please pray that God would guide us to some dependable honest help for the next few weeks while I'm in bed. My sweetheart Phillip is marvelous and is a HUGE HELP, but he has teaching and preaching responsibilities too. Our Kimberly is a huge help, but she has school work and music lessons, and I don't want to see her get behind. Thank you for your prayers!

~News of baby and Me~

Well, I surely wasn't expecting to go to the doctor today. However, Pastor Jimmy and Sis. Farly came by and suggested that we go to a doctor! I was wanting to go to the doctor to make sure that everything was ok, just wasn't sure it was safe yet with the riots going on. They took Phillip and me to a doctor near our house, and then I had an ultrasound! The good news is that BABY is doing great, the heart beat is good, and I got to see him/her moving around. How special!!! The other good news is that I'm only having ONE baby!! Praise the Lord! I had no clue how I would have twins with our life (constantly traveling) serving Jesus. =) God knows what is best!
~Here's a little picture of our precious bundle. Cute huh?!~
The bad news is that I have Subchorial Hematoma, which as I understand is like a placenta that has a wound. The doctor did not put me on complete bed rest, but I cannot clean, have to be careful what I do, and I cannot climb or descend the 38 steps that we have to climb to get to our apartment, and cannot walk much yet. The doctor wants to me to take some pills that have progesterone in them which should help everything get better. And he wants to see me again in 10 days and will do another ultrasound to see how things are progressing. With much prayer, God is able to heal that completely! Thank you for your concern and prayers!

~Some of our activities in Ohio in January~

Thank you for praying for Phillip. The Lord brought him back safely to us on Monday!! God gave him a good trip and he was very encouraged with how God is helping our church people to grow in Him! We are happy to have him Home!!!
Pastor Jimmy was going to take Phillip and I to my appointment to see a baby Dr. yesterday HOWEVER... yesterday and today there were these REALLY horrible RIOTS because for some reason people did NOT want people driving on these 2 days. So, they were throwing rocks at cars that they saw on the roads, and also were putting things on the roads to make them have flat tires. So, needles to say, we decided that we would cancel our appointment and reschedule. We didn't feel like we needed to be smashed by rocks. Scary! So, I'll let you know as soon as I see a doctor.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Since we were leaving to go back to Colombia at the end of Jan., we were privileged to have several dinner invitations in January. God has blest our lives with many friends.
~The Harveys had us over for a delicious meal and to help celebrate Raequelle's birthday. Cute cake!~~There was just enough snow that Steve pulled the kids around on the 4-wheeler. They had a lot of fun.~
~Kelly and I were roommates for 2 years at GBS and Phillip and Steve worked together. We always enjoy being with the Harveys!~
~Later that week it snowed some more and so the Pilmores invited us over to let our kids go sledding with theirs. We had a fun afternoon with them. Our kids were blessed to get to play in the snow quite a bit while we were there. You see, we don't have snow in Colombia where we live.~
~This winter is the first time that Noah remembers playing in the snow.~
~Pastor Paul with our Elijah and their Levi. It's amazing how much they are alike.~
~One Sunday night in Jan. we got to have the Eisenharts and Scott and Sarah Susan over for a snack at our house that we were staying in.~
~In Jan. Noah and Kimberly celebrated their birthdays. We went ahead and bought an icecream cake and included Sarah's name too, for we had been just moving into this house when Sarah had her birthday. My parents were able to come over for a fun day to help us celebrate the kids birthdays.~
~Gramp loves to read to his Grandchildren, and they love to have him read to them.~
~Kimberly and Noah's birthdays were on a Wednesday. After church the Pilmores invited us over for a snack and surprised us with a birthday cake, balloons, and gifts for the kids. How very sweet and thoughtful!~
~Then a couple days after their birthday we had a simple birthday party and invited some of the kids friends over. Since we were limited on space, we only could invite a select few. Our kids had wanted to have a party with some of their friends, since they normally aren't with their CNC friends on their birthdays. We decorated with Winnie the Pooh, and sprinkled candy (left over from Christmas goodie bags) as confetti down the tables. =D~

~Kimberly's table.~
~Noah's table.~
~Sarah's table.~
~I made a checkered choc. and white cake with raspberry jam in between the layers, and coolwhip/vanilla pudding icing, and used choc. cookie sticks and fresh raspberries for the finishing touches. I had Phillip write on the cake, but there wasn't much room. =)~
~The cake turned out yummy, praise the Lord.~
~On one of our last Sundays the Randy Pauluses invited us over for a nice Sunday dinner. Here is a picture of Kristin and I in her kitchen.~
~We surely enjoyed the yummy meal that Kristin made for us. (MMM! I think I could use some of that American food right now!!=)
~Our dear director Bro. Mark Becker invited us out for breakfast and a good heart to heart chat. (I think Sis. Becker had to work.) It was a good time sharing our hearts, shedding a few tears (that was me =), and hearing his wisdom. We have the best directors anyone could have. They love us with all of their hearts, and we love them!~

~My 3 other helpers that helped me this week~

~Since I have had gestational diabetes with my last 2 babies, I'm trying to be careful of what I eat during this pregnancy. We have not been making or eating desserts, but last night I was hungry for something. I found a recipe in the kids cookbook that only called for 3 Tablespoons of sugar for 12 muffins. (And then you fill the center with a tablespoon of your favorite jam.) Since we had Splenda sweetened Smuckers Strawberry jam, I knew that baby and I wouldn't be getting too much sugar. Kimberly was busy, so I laid on the couch and coached Sarah and Noah on how to make these muffins. =) All was going well, until I told Sarah that we needed a Tablespoon of baking powder (and I said, "The big one" (meaning the big spoon.) Well, I looked over and saw her dutifully filling a 1 CUP MEASURING CUP WITH BAKING POWDER!! =D Thankfully, I got her to switch to a Tablespoon just in time. Later after the muffins were all made she confessed that she didn't measure the 1 cup of milk, that she just DUMPED! HELP!~
~Thankfully, the Lord had mercy on our muffins and they were very good. (I think Kimberly wants to post the recipe later on our family blog.) Sarah and Noah have also been helping run errands, wash dishes, set the table, etc.~
~And here...is my other sweet HELPER!! Need I say more? =D
Please do pray for Phillip. He is to return to us tomorrow. However, he has never received a receipt for the ticket he bought. So, when he gets to the airport in the morning, please pray that he can fly home. For he is 24 hours away, and that would mean buy another ticket which would be Expensive last minute, or he would have to take a miserable 24 hour bus ride home, getting home on Tuesday. We (and He) are past READY to be together!! It has been a long week apart.