Thanksgiving Week in Pictures

Remembering Thanksgiving Week 2010:

Working on Christmas Gifts...Sshhhh...Don't tell, 'kay? :)

There's just something about when I have all their plates dished out for lunch that I just love...It reminds me of how very blessed I am.

Our neighbors gave us a new friend.  He was half starved and alone.  So we've been loving and nursing him back to health.
BTW, I'm talking about the kitten, not Josiah :) 

Daniel took me into the city the other night to see if we could find a turkey (which we did!).  I went off to shop while Daniel waited for me.  When I met him at the check stand, I had 2 bags of donuts.  I said, "You can't pass up donuts when they are marked down 2 for the price of one."  He replied, "Well, actually you can, but you shouldn't. " :)  So the children had a surprise breakfast awaiting them Wednesday morning. 

Here's our little new friend again :)

I started baking for Thanksgiving the night before.  Susannah was sick with a cold/fever, so the older boys went to church with Daniel while the girls and little ones stayed home with Mommy.  I had lots of helpers :)

I let the littlest guys help before it was their bedtime :)

See my recipes?  :)  They are all "tabbed" above in my browser.  I used our traditional favorites as well as tried a couple of new ones this year. 

Nehemiah and Mommy working on making pie crusts. 

Rule 1: The more of the mess, the more fun you've had and the better it tastes :)

After the little guys went to bed, the girls took over helping.

Every Thanksgiving and Christmas morning, we have home made cinnamon rolls with hot tea for breakfast!  They are soooo good, filling, and tie everyone over until the holiday meal is served.

Abigail kneading the dough for the dinner rolls.

Breakfast Thanksgiving morning.
Have I ever told you how very thankful I am for all who sit around my table and the man who leads us all?

It was cold this morning!  The boys found a way to warm their noses :)  It's kind-of hard to eat like that though. :)

Helping Daddy put some CD's on the computer :)

PIE!!!!

These rolls were SOOOOOO good!  And we had lots of fun making them!

Favorite Thanksgiving Tradition...making turkeys out of apples with toothpicks, raisins, and mini-marshmallows! :)

When Eliseo was through, he had an apple full of toothpicks with only 2 marshmallows on it.  I think he ate the rest :)

Sweet Susannah was sick most of the day :(, but even she got up for a few minutes to work on her apple turkey :)

And I didn't get one picture of our actual meal!  How did I miss that?  Too busy eating, I guess :)  Afterwards, we played a family game of kickball...another tradition.  

When we came back inside the house, it had just gotten dark and we lost power for about an hour.  So we lit candles and sat together around the living room.  We sang and each shared what they were thankful for this year.  What could have been seen as an inconvenience ended up being such a special ending to our day.

The lights finally came back on and it was time for dessert (since we never have enough room to eat dessert after our meal...kickball helps take care of that problem :) ).

I hope your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!
I am so thankful for all our friends who bless and encourages us so much through their love, prayers, and notes.

God is so faithful and so good!

James 1:17-  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above... 

Things to Remember

*This is what happens when I begin to feel proud of myself for having everyone all ready for church extra

early. 

*I think I have as many dishes scattered throughout my back yard at any given time than most people have in their kitchen.

*I'm thinking of making a mock pumpkin pie out of pinto beans for Thanksgiving.

Does that sound strange?  I really want to try it.  The children are excited about it.  Daniel says it sounds weird.  

*Last night, Timothy was playing the piano.  He reached into the piano bench and pulled out a crushed half-empty air freshener bottle and cried, "Bingo!" 

Benjamin then came running into the room with great excitement and grabbed the bottle and ran.

I might think this was odd, if it wasn't for the fact that I live here.

*Elijah likes to play classical music.

Apparently his siblings appreciate it too...in their own way.

Does anyone else have children who seem to get an extra dose of energy right after bath time?

Canon in D by Beka-bel, Benja-bel, and Abi-bel

Elijah on the piano

This boy is giving me some competition on the piano!  I love it! :)

He's got a very loose tooth which he promptly goes back to wiggling as soon as he finished playing :)

Chimangos for Breakfast

Chimangos

1 kilo flour

5 eggs

1-1 1/2 cup sugar (I'd go for a generous 1 1/2 :) ) 

1 Tbls. oil

1 heaping Tbls. Baking Powder

Cinnamon to taste

Enough hot water (I never measure) to make a nice dough like you would for a pizza crust

Roll out like you would if you were making biscuits...I just grab a glob and roll out into a circle.

Then cut into approx. 2 to 3 inches long and an inch or so wide.

Let them rest about 10 minutes.

Heat up some oil in a skillet and fry them on both sides until they are golden brown.

If you want a slightly sweeter version (which I personally highly recommend :) ), you can dust them with (or if you are like me,  roll them in) powdered sugar.  Or you can make a powdered sugar glaze to top them with.  Yum!  Perfect with hot tea, coffee, a table full of beautiful children, and a handsome husband with which to share them (the chimangos and the children that is :) ).

I found this note on my table yesterday...

Do you think I should be worried? :-)

I didn't even know we had a monkey.

I remember when I was young trying to translate my entire AWANA book into the Klingon language.

At least we're not bored around here :)

Furlough 2011

Do you know where Timothy will be on his birthday next year?  

New York!

We are due for furlough beginning next summer, and we are scheduled to be at one of our supporting churches in New York next October.

We are soooooooooooo excited. :-) 

Seeing our family and friends (including some of you!), sharing what the Lord has done these past 4 years, sharing our burden with others that may come along side us in the work here through either prayer or support, and just wanting to be a blessing to others as so many have been to us...and then coming back here to continue sharing the gospel and discipling those who come to know our Saviour.

What is furlough?  Glad you asked :)  Typically, a missionary spends 4 years working on his field and then comes back to his home country the 5th year to give a report and share with the churches which have been supporting him, to visit new churches to share the burden/needs in the field, and to have a time of rest/refreshment.  And to eat chocolate chips too, I might add.  :)

So how many of you live in New York?  Michigan?  Colorado?  Idaho?  California?  Arizona?  And any state that we might happen to have to drive through in between (that almost covers all of them!)?

We would love to see you!  We'll keep you updated as our schedule develops!

Please pray for Daniel as he works in the months ahead setting up appointments with our supporting churches as well as works on contacting new churches who might be interested in hearing about the work here in Baja Sur.

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Have you had a chance to see our new ministry website?  Many of you already link to our blog here through our website and have most likely already seen the change.  But if you never knew we had a ministry website, I put a link on the top right hand side bar here.

We decided to run it through blogger too so we can keep it updated better and Daniel will post all ministry updates there.  

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Susannah finished her first reader today.  Poor thing woke up with a fever as many of us have colds right now, but before noon, she was up asking me to listen to her read as she really wanted to get into the next book.

I just love it when they finally "get" it!  They finally figure how how to take those sounds and blend them together to make words.  It opens a whole new world for them!

Thanksgiving is next week! We invited our church over for pie in the evening.  I wish I had a pumpkin...but apple, pecan, and some cream pies will do just fine.

The Friday after Thanksgiving, we'll all decorate the house for Christmas.  We already started practicing with the children's choir for our special Christmas service. 

We leave in less than a month to pick up the Christmas Boxes.  There is still time to send one if you haven't!

Also, many have asked about sending other things for our family or the ministry here taking advantage of the USA shipping. 

That is perfectly fine!  Just mark the box clearly so we know what it is. 

Thank you for stopping by! :)  Thank you for praying!  The Lord is so very good!

Biggest Brother
Littlest Brother

November Art Work

I love what was written on this turkey :)

Eliseo and his Hna. Tola :)

Trusting Him each day

A few emails let me know that it's been a while since I've updated!  Each day is so full and the weeks go by so fast now.  I'm just not at the computer that much anymore.   Moms can multi-task...I can quiz Beka on her spelling while I'm checking Isaiah's math as I fix Samuel his bottle and get a band-aid out of the cupboard for Noah making sure to keep an eye on Nehemiah and Susannah who've crawled under the picnic table with something behind their backs all the while holding Eliseo on my hip.  

But when for some reason, all multi-tasking abilities fall by the wayside when I'm reading or typing on the computer.  I just can't type and think about anything else at the same time.  So I decided it would be best for me to limit most of my computer use to the evening after the children are in bed.  But the problem is as the children get older, I'm ready to get to bed before they are! :)  After the younger ones are in bed, I enjoy spending the evenings talking or doing something fun with the older ones.  And by the time they are in bed, I just want to have a cup of tea, snuggle and/or visit with Daniel and sleep!  

The past couple of weeks, I've been praying if I should even keep updating here.  So many things I pondered in my heart...finding time to write, what to share, wanting to always glorify the Lord and encourage others.  Daniel made it easy for me...husbands are good like that...he told me to keep writing. 

Honestly, I've been a bit discouraged lately over a trial that our family has been going through for many, many months.  It's been so very hard...and it isn't something that I can even share in detail.  Sometimes I feel we are on the front lines of the battle.  And sometimes, my heart is heavy.  

But I am thankful.  So thankful!  I have a husband who loves me so much and when my mind wanders from what is true, he is good to tell me not just what I want to hear but what I NEED to hear...truth!

This trial has caused me to realize my need for Christ.

This trial has caused me to pray often.

This trial has made God's Word so very precious to me...Words of Life.

This trial has made me love my husband and children more.

This trial has shown me many areas of my own weakness and sin.

This trial has caused me to realize that I can't change my heart, but Christ can and will when I ask.

This trial has helped me to minister to others who are suffering or have suffered similar hurts.

This trial has made me love and appreciate my friends so much.

This trial has brought my husband and I closer together.

This trial has made me love and appreciate pastors...those who minister to our souls...so much more.

This trial has given me the opportunity to overcome evil with good.

This trial has given me the privilege to suffer for my Lord, albeit so little in comparison to all He suffered for me.

I want to count it all joy; I want to rejoice and be exceeding glad.  I want endure it to the end as He continues His work in me. 

It seems that each time that we go through another hard time, this fire of this particular trial intensifies.  While I was in the hospital a few weeks ago, it got "hot" :).  The things said hurt far more than my surgery did.  

Uncle (pastor) Tom gave me these verses:

Matthew 5:10-12

Luke 6:22-23

Acts 5:41

Romans 8:17-18; 35-37

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Philippians 1:29

James 1:12

I Peter 4:13-16

How they encourage my heart!

Psalms 119:71- "It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes."

But admist the hard paths, there are sweet green pastures of rest.  The Lord continues to show His love and care in such wonderful ways.  Last month, funds ran a bit short.  I planned carefully on my last shopping trip for the month to buy as simply as possible.  So we had our bags of beans, rice, potatos, and some vegetables...enough to get us through that last week.  But then we ran out of propane.  We can hang our clothes and live without hot water, but it's a bit difficult to cook dry beans without a stove.  :)

We prayed.  The next day, a friend of Daniel's came to the house. At the beginning of the month, Daniel had loaned him 300 pesos (about $25).  The man had said he was going to pay Daniel back a few days later but never had.  And we forgot all about it.  But he arrived at our house that day...at just the right time...to pay Daniel back.  And we were able to buy propane for those final days. :)

What else is new...school is going well!  Really well!  I am so thankful for how the Lord guides us each day.  He gives me so many ideas, calms my frustrations, and over and over again shows me how He will will direct our paths if we will only trust in Him and not lean on our own understanding!  His ways are so sure and His yoke easy and his burden light!  How I have come to understand that more and more.

Daniel helped me to understand something recently.  Have you ever been angry or impatient or frustrated and no matter how much you know it isn't right and you want to change, you just can't?  This is such a simple truth, but one I just didn't fully understand.  

I can't change my heart.  But HE can!  This past month, so often I have felt like I know I shouldn't, and I so simply cry to the Lord asking Him to change me.  I tell Him I know I'm wrong, but I need Him to work in my heart.  And I am coming more and more to trust Him knowing that HE WILL!  It is so amazing and wonderful to see how He works!  And there is no pride to be had when it isn't me but HIM!  I just go around thanking Him over and over.  I'm so glad I know Him!

Well, it's late...too late! Here are a few pictures of the past couple weeks...

This little guy as sure filled out!  It is hard to imagine he started out so tiny!  He's an early riser like mommy but not much of a cuddler.  He'll sit with me while he's drinking his bottle, but then, he likes to be on the go!

Beka's getting so grown up!  

Last week, one of the young ladies in our church turned 17 and invited us over for a birthday lunch.

I think Susannah put a little too much lemon in her soup! :)

Nehemiah's teethy grin!  He's such a ham!

My big 1st grader Noah!  

Josiah!! :)

We had a fellowship supper after church at our house last Sunday night. 

Last Tuesday, Daniel had to take me to La Paz to start the paperwork for my new visa as my old one expires this month.  Hna. Tola stayed with the boys and we took just the girls.  We went out to breakfast, ate icecream, walked along the beach, did a little bit of shopping, and just hung all over Daddy :)  I think he liked it! :)

I'm still working through my emails, so if you've written and haven't heard back, hopefully soon!!  Have a good week in the Lord!