Sunday, December 30, 2007
Invitation Only in 1 week
I am still on Blogging vacation, but I have decided to make my blog by invitation only. I've been thinking about security issues and I've decided that it's best for my family to make it private. NO....I'm not living in fear, but if someone decided they hated Christians, or missionaries, they have pictures of my family, the address to our school, our school website and all the information they would need out in the world of CYBERSPACE. So....I am going to change the forum to family, friends, prayer partners and church members. I will leave this up for a week and then it is going private. Please e-mail me if you would like an invitation. You can click on the little white envelope under this post next to the comments to drop me an e-mail request. Thanks for understanding!
Monday, December 17, 2007
Blogging Vacation
"Schools out, schools out - teacher's let the monkey's out!"
John and I would be the monkeys I am referring too, not my children - obviously! :)
Anyway, in honor of Christmas break, I am NOT going to blog or read blogs because I desperately want to focus on my precious little ones and soak up every minute that I have with them. So....you will find a non-updated blog for a few weeks. Sorry, but it's for the best!
Before I do go here are some updates:
EVERYONE is healthy! I am migraine free for almost (not quite) a week.
The doctor said I can try to run in 4 weeks! WOOHOOO!!! Only for 10 minutes, but we'll see. I did lightly jog to the store the other day which is a total of a half a mile and I was fine!
We had a conference call with our church yesterday via web-cam and we got to see the church and hear the service and they got to see us. It was magical to say the least!
Last night we went to see the nutcracker in downtown San Jose. I was impressed that even though we don't speak the same langauge, that through dancing, language differences were erased! It was beautiful!
The other day when I was discouraged about my language learning evaluation, Parker said to me, "It reminds me of Romans 8:28. God works all things together for those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose." And then Ally chimed in, "Mom, Jesus still loves you sooooo much - even with your bad Spanish." :)
MERRY CHRISTMAS FRIENDS!!!
John and I would be the monkeys I am referring too, not my children - obviously! :)
Anyway, in honor of Christmas break, I am NOT going to blog or read blogs because I desperately want to focus on my precious little ones and soak up every minute that I have with them. So....you will find a non-updated blog for a few weeks. Sorry, but it's for the best!
Before I do go here are some updates:
EVERYONE is healthy! I am migraine free for almost (not quite) a week.
The doctor said I can try to run in 4 weeks! WOOHOOO!!! Only for 10 minutes, but we'll see. I did lightly jog to the store the other day which is a total of a half a mile and I was fine!
We had a conference call with our church yesterday via web-cam and we got to see the church and hear the service and they got to see us. It was magical to say the least!
Last night we went to see the nutcracker in downtown San Jose. I was impressed that even though we don't speak the same langauge, that through dancing, language differences were erased! It was beautiful!
The other day when I was discouraged about my language learning evaluation, Parker said to me, "It reminds me of Romans 8:28. God works all things together for those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose." And then Ally chimed in, "Mom, Jesus still loves you sooooo much - even with your bad Spanish." :)
MERRY CHRISTMAS FRIENDS!!!
Friday, December 14, 2007
End of the trimester ramblings
Jessica wrote:
We finished our first trimester here in language school and it has been quite the roller coaster; lots of ups and downs throughout the past three months. Just yesterday, our grammar class went to a local restaurant for breakfast and a girl asked if we ever would've imagined 10 years ago that we would be where we are today. My first response was "yes" but as I thought about it further my answer has changed to a resounding NO. It is incomprehensible to me at times to think about how much our lives have changed in less than a year. This time last year we were Christmas shopping at Target and Kohl's (oh how much I miss Target), speaking and hearing English all around us, attending church functions, homeschooling our kids, John was being offered the key's to the city, we were leading a life group at church and we were living in a big comfy house in suburban America, driving our nice mini-van while talking on the cell phone. Just imagine the opposite of all of those things and that is a perfect reflection of our lives now; a perfect reflection of God's goodness and grace. It is only by God's strength that we have made it through all of these changes.
We go to sleep each night knowing that God has made us for this purpose and he is our language provider and our sustainer. Sure, there are long and hard days, but then there are days that we feel so happy and excited that we could explode. In fact, I had a day like that this week. Last week it seemed as if nothing was going right for me. I was really down and questioning the Lord quite a bit. But then this week, things turned completely around and God worked out several situations in my favor - situations that seemed impossible. But there God was reminding me that NOTHING is impossible for Him.
So, I must remember those truths as I seek to learn Spanish. It is so humbling to be dumb! It is so humbling to have every other word that comes out of my mouth be incorrect. I want to scream "I REALLY AM SMART." But I can't because I probably would get that wrong, too. In fact, I did tell my neighbor that in English I am intelligent and I butchered the sentence while I was telling her. This morning, though, God reminded me that this lack of language is just one more way in which I can stay dependent on Him. His strength is made perfect in my weakness. What a precious reminder that I am truly weak without Him and that He is right there, ready to fill in the gaps.
We rejoice that we made it through this trimester and we are anticipating an amazing 3 weeks of rest and relaxation.
We finished our first trimester here in language school and it has been quite the roller coaster; lots of ups and downs throughout the past three months. Just yesterday, our grammar class went to a local restaurant for breakfast and a girl asked if we ever would've imagined 10 years ago that we would be where we are today. My first response was "yes" but as I thought about it further my answer has changed to a resounding NO. It is incomprehensible to me at times to think about how much our lives have changed in less than a year. This time last year we were Christmas shopping at Target and Kohl's (oh how much I miss Target), speaking and hearing English all around us, attending church functions, homeschooling our kids, John was being offered the key's to the city, we were leading a life group at church and we were living in a big comfy house in suburban America, driving our nice mini-van while talking on the cell phone. Just imagine the opposite of all of those things and that is a perfect reflection of our lives now; a perfect reflection of God's goodness and grace. It is only by God's strength that we have made it through all of these changes.
We go to sleep each night knowing that God has made us for this purpose and he is our language provider and our sustainer. Sure, there are long and hard days, but then there are days that we feel so happy and excited that we could explode. In fact, I had a day like that this week. Last week it seemed as if nothing was going right for me. I was really down and questioning the Lord quite a bit. But then this week, things turned completely around and God worked out several situations in my favor - situations that seemed impossible. But there God was reminding me that NOTHING is impossible for Him.
So, I must remember those truths as I seek to learn Spanish. It is so humbling to be dumb! It is so humbling to have every other word that comes out of my mouth be incorrect. I want to scream "I REALLY AM SMART." But I can't because I probably would get that wrong, too. In fact, I did tell my neighbor that in English I am intelligent and I butchered the sentence while I was telling her. This morning, though, God reminded me that this lack of language is just one more way in which I can stay dependent on Him. His strength is made perfect in my weakness. What a precious reminder that I am truly weak without Him and that He is right there, ready to fill in the gaps.
We rejoice that we made it through this trimester and we are anticipating an amazing 3 weeks of rest and relaxation.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Our OPI Results
Hold on to your seats...the news you've been waiting for. We received the results on where we rank with our ability to speak Spanish. Before I tell you our news, here is what each ranking means:
Novice - a person who can speaks words only, mimic what they hear and have a few "catch" phrases memorized.
Intermediate - a person who can speak in present tense and in full sentences. They can also speak in past tense and are able to be understood when they are speaking.
Advanced - a person that can speak in full paragraphs and they are very "fluid" when the speak. This person can do all tenses very well and has an excellent command of the language.
Superior - a person that is a SUPERIOR speaker like a seminary professor or writer. We probably wouldn't even be considered "Superior" English speakers.
Each level has low, medium and high.
I tested at an intermediate low. I am not surprised because I felt like I did "mediocre" in my conversation with her. I am in no way making excuses, but that definitely wasn't one of my better conversations. I was soooo nervous I could've cried. I am just happy not to be a novice anymore. Can you believe that when I arrived here in July all I could say was "Hola" and "Gracias" and now I am making sentences and am learning to speak in the past tense? I can actually TALK! It's amazing to see how far God has brought us. And I know my next score will be even better because I won't be so nervous because I will know what to expect. I think there will be a big jump in my next evaluation. We have to test out at advanced low to leave here so there better be a big ol' jump!
John scored an intermediate medium "strong." Meaning he is almost intermediate advanced. He is very disappointed and feels like he would've done better if he would've spoken more in the past tense like he does so often. Anyway, I think his teacher should've NEVER told him she thought he was an advanced low because that kind of set the bar too high for him. Please pray for John if you remember. He is feeling very discouraged today and he feels like his massive amount of hard work is not paying off.
It really is and he is doing amazing. But he really needs some encouragement. He is usually my rock, but tonight I am his. :)
I was reminded today that language learning is HARD and that we have to rely so much on God and not on our own efforts. 1 tri down and only 2 more tri's to go.
Novice - a person who can speaks words only, mimic what they hear and have a few "catch" phrases memorized.
Intermediate - a person who can speak in present tense and in full sentences. They can also speak in past tense and are able to be understood when they are speaking.
Advanced - a person that can speak in full paragraphs and they are very "fluid" when the speak. This person can do all tenses very well and has an excellent command of the language.
Superior - a person that is a SUPERIOR speaker like a seminary professor or writer. We probably wouldn't even be considered "Superior" English speakers.
Each level has low, medium and high.
I tested at an intermediate low. I am not surprised because I felt like I did "mediocre" in my conversation with her. I am in no way making excuses, but that definitely wasn't one of my better conversations. I was soooo nervous I could've cried. I am just happy not to be a novice anymore. Can you believe that when I arrived here in July all I could say was "Hola" and "Gracias" and now I am making sentences and am learning to speak in the past tense? I can actually TALK! It's amazing to see how far God has brought us. And I know my next score will be even better because I won't be so nervous because I will know what to expect. I think there will be a big jump in my next evaluation. We have to test out at advanced low to leave here so there better be a big ol' jump!
John scored an intermediate medium "strong." Meaning he is almost intermediate advanced. He is very disappointed and feels like he would've done better if he would've spoken more in the past tense like he does so often. Anyway, I think his teacher should've NEVER told him she thought he was an advanced low because that kind of set the bar too high for him. Please pray for John if you remember. He is feeling very discouraged today and he feels like his massive amount of hard work is not paying off.
It really is and he is doing amazing. But he really needs some encouragement. He is usually my rock, but tonight I am his. :)
I was reminded today that language learning is HARD and that we have to rely so much on God and not on our own efforts. 1 tri down and only 2 more tri's to go.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
SKYPE or Webcam
We are borrowing a friend's computer camera and we can now Skype. Do you have a computer camera? If so, you can download SKYPE (skypeonline.com) for free and we can see each other and chat online. My dad bought us our own camera so we will be able Skype permanently once he arrives in 2 weeks.
For any of you who have SKYPE, we would LOVE to see you and talk to you. If you are computer savey and know what I am talking about, please call us. Don't be shy! Our skype name is johnpham777. Hope to hear from you soon.
P.S. Last night my dad hooked up his new computer camera and John walked him through a Skype download and we ALL got to see each other. They showed us their new furniture and house and haircuts. I was so happy I could've cried. What another great blessing.
For any of you who have SKYPE, we would LOVE to see you and talk to you. If you are computer savey and know what I am talking about, please call us. Don't be shy! Our skype name is johnpham777. Hope to hear from you soon.
P.S. Last night my dad hooked up his new computer camera and John walked him through a Skype download and we ALL got to see each other. They showed us their new furniture and house and haircuts. I was so happy I could've cried. What another great blessing.
Friday, December 7, 2007
A baby at Christmas
We all came home from school today and took a long nap. It was WONDERFUL! Upon waking up, I felt that my sweet Avery was as hot as a stove. I took her temp. and she was 102.5. Not quite as hot as an oven, but getting there. It came out of no where! She has been totally fine, but just woke up ill. We were all getting ready to head out for an IMB conference from 4-7 p.m. when we decided that we couldn't take her to the conference ill. So I stayed home to be with my sweet baby girl.
The night was nothing short of perfect. I put our rocking chair in front of our tree and turned on Z88.3 on the internet. They are playing Christmas music non-stop until Christmas. So I sat in front of the tree while I rocked Avery in the dark - just the two of us. She acted as if there was no other place she would rather be and then she quietly fell asleep. I started crying as I became aware of this precious gift that we experienced together tonight. I have always enjoyed having a baby at Christmas. The lights! The warmth of a baby snuggled against me! The peacefulness! Words cannot describe it. But if you've experienced this then you know what I am speaking about.
Because Avery was sick, she fell asleep in my arms as I rocked her for almost an hour in front of the tree. I was teetering between prayers and tears. It was truly a beautiful time from the Lord.
I have fallen on some tough times as of lately and have struggled in many areas of my faith and my walk. Nothing that I want to share online for all of the world to see, but tonight's gift really meant a lot to me and was a powerful reminder of what's important and also that God knows and cares about my every desire.
The night was nothing short of perfect. I put our rocking chair in front of our tree and turned on Z88.3 on the internet. They are playing Christmas music non-stop until Christmas. So I sat in front of the tree while I rocked Avery in the dark - just the two of us. She acted as if there was no other place she would rather be and then she quietly fell asleep. I started crying as I became aware of this precious gift that we experienced together tonight. I have always enjoyed having a baby at Christmas. The lights! The warmth of a baby snuggled against me! The peacefulness! Words cannot describe it. But if you've experienced this then you know what I am speaking about.
Because Avery was sick, she fell asleep in my arms as I rocked her for almost an hour in front of the tree. I was teetering between prayers and tears. It was truly a beautiful time from the Lord.
I have fallen on some tough times as of lately and have struggled in many areas of my faith and my walk. Nothing that I want to share online for all of the world to see, but tonight's gift really meant a lot to me and was a powerful reminder of what's important and also that God knows and cares about my every desire.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
A day (or two).....
Yesterday was a busy day! The kids had their first ever "school" production. Ally, Jaxson and Avery sang a few Christmas songs in Spanish and they were ADORABLE!
The early afternoon was followed by a special Christmas party at school to honor all of the empleadas (maids) that work for the students. It was such a special time of food, food, and, did I mention food! Someone made these DELICIOUS peanut butter balls and they were gone very quickly.:) My friend Jenny (this is a shout-out to Jenny, the best Spanish speaker I know - and now cook) made this delicious cherry pie. Was that cherry? It was good, whatever it was.
We played a cracker came and I had to get the cracker from my head to my nose to my mouth without using my hands. Then I had to chew the cracker and whistle before anyone else did. "I" think "I" won, but the judge was sooooo busy focusing on another girl that she missed my grand victory. But nonetheless, we have a picture. To see who won, we had a run-off game and we had to act out our favorite animal. I wasn't embarrassed by this or anything! :) I pretended to be a rooster "kee-keely-kee." That's what a rooster says in Costa-Rica in case you missed my previous blog.
Then.....the dreaded migraine started. I came home and slept for hours. I woke up to find out terrible news about my mom and her husband. Please pray for them. They are in a bad situation and need legal help, a job and money. It's distressing and there is nothing I can do except pray. The stress of it all, I think, caused me to wake up with yet another migraine this morning. But I really tried to work through it and just smile and ignore it. But not without migraine medicine, of course.
And then today John had his Oral Proficiency test. I was supposed to have mine today, but we switched places and I had mine on Monday. I did just MEDIOCRE. I promise! I'm glad we switched because I would NOT have been able to do it with the migraine medicine and headaches. I honestly cannot talk well in Spanish after I take the medicine. Anyway, my point is that John's teacher found out that he was having his OPI today and she decided, right there in class, to give him a mock test in front of 3 other students. How challenging for John. She is use to giving these kind of oral evaluations, so she knew exactly what to do. Well, he did his very best and at the end she said she believed he was at an advanced low level reaching to an advanced medium! What? What? That's crazy. That is the level we have to be at at the END of the year. Not now! I am so happy for him, but then my flesh gets involved and I am crazy jealous and irritated all at the same time.
He then went to his OPI this afternoon and he did well, but he didn't really speak in past tense much because most of the conversation was in present tense. He came home a little bummed that he covered everything except what he really needed to cover. Oh well, his OPI isn't really important right now, mainly at the end of the year. I will let you know our results when we receive them. We only have 6 more days of school left. Since grades have to be turned in by Monday, most of next week will be goofing off and reviewing. YIPPEEE!!!
On another note, Parker said today that he wasn't sure why the kids in school claimed to be Christians but then don't act like it in many different ways. We had a very long talk, which I won't get into on my blog, but I was very proud of him for realizing that being a Christian is much more than just what a person says they believe! :) Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control! We also talked about not conforming to the world’s patterns. It was a great conversation and I’m thankful that he is really trying to pursue the Lord and be set apart.
Also, he is reading the Boxcar Kids?? Does anyone know anything about these books. I would like to check them out and make sure they are appropriate, but obviously I don't have time to read a 150 page children's book right now. Please let me know if you know anything about these books.
Well, the "verbos" are calling my name. Gotta study. Just can’t wait!
Ally is in the back, middle!
Avery in her first Christmas sing!
Jaxson and his Christmas smile!
The cracker game!
My ENTIRE grammar class!Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Recipes
HOLIDAY ROLL-OUT COOKIES (from my friend Aimee)
This recipe is cheap, easy and yummy - especially if you make your own cream-cheese frosting or whatever you desire. But they HAVE to have a frosting. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO chill the dough! YIPPEE!
Here is the recipe if you are interested in it - PERFECT FOR LITTLE KIDS!
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 cups flour
Mix the butter and sugar together. Then add the egg and vanilla and then the baking powder and flour. Add the flour one cup at a time... Roll out the dough on a floured surface and have fun. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-12 minutes depending on how think the dough is. Don't forget to frost and decorate!!!
The YUMMIEST Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls (They are great without chocolate, too).
1 Cup Peant Butter
1 Cup Confectioner's Sugar
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons of Vanilla
Mix all ingredients together. Roll into balls and chill. Then dip in heated chocolate of your choice. You could even use magic shell! :) You can't go wrong with these delicious treats!
This recipe is cheap, easy and yummy - especially if you make your own cream-cheese frosting or whatever you desire. But they HAVE to have a frosting. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO chill the dough! YIPPEE!
Here is the recipe if you are interested in it - PERFECT FOR LITTLE KIDS!
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 cups flour
Mix the butter and sugar together. Then add the egg and vanilla and then the baking powder and flour. Add the flour one cup at a time... Roll out the dough on a floured surface and have fun. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-12 minutes depending on how think the dough is. Don't forget to frost and decorate!!!
The YUMMIEST Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls (They are great without chocolate, too).1 Cup Peant Butter
1 Cup Confectioner's Sugar
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons of Vanilla
Mix all ingredients together. Roll into balls and chill. Then dip in heated chocolate of your choice. You could even use magic shell! :) You can't go wrong with these delicious treats!
Monday, December 3, 2007
Christmas Cards and Family Pictures
One thing I love about Christmas is all the fun cards and family pictures we get each year. Please don't forget about us down here in Central America. We would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to adorn our fridge with cards and pictures of you and your family. Our address is on the side of our blog! :) Your cards will make it feel like we are back in Florida.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Prayer for Grandpa in California
Update 12/4/07 -John's sister called this morning to let us know that grandpa has 2 blood clots in the leg he had surgery in last week. John says the clots are from surgery. Praise God, though, none were found in his head. John didn't ask about the fever today so I'm not sure about that one. He is continuing to be more coherent. John says, "Please keep praying." Gracias!
Update: 12/3/07 - The fever has gone down in John's dad. He is a bit more lucid. They are doing an MRI of his head to make sure things are okay. They are keeping him at least until Thursday for Observation! :) Appreciate your prayers!
John asked me to write this so that you can pray for his Father, To Hong Pham, 75, Los Angeles, California:
Please pray for John's dad because he had a hip replacement on Thursday after suffering with an undiagnosed broken hip for over 2 months. The one thing that John was concerned about, and the doctor's as well, was the risk for infection. John used to design air conditioning systems for hospitals and in his designs he always had to take special care in designing OR's where hip replacements are done because people die frequently from infections AFTER these type of surgeries. Not to scare you or anything, it's just a very valid risk. Anyway, Grandpa was suppose to go home today or tomorrow, but he spiked a fever last night and continues to have one today. They are running tests to see why he is spiking a fever; they are not sure if it is from infection or not. He is also diabetic which might compilicate the situation. We are told that he is still a bit incoherent which might be from morphine, but once again they don't know. He will remain in the hospital until his temperature has returned to normal - which we are praying will just be a day or two. Thanks for praying for Grandpa in California (that's what the kids call him).
All this information was given to me from John who received it from his sisters who received it from other sisters or doctors, so please forgive me if any of it is incorrect. I tried to double check my facts as much as possible.
On a better note, today is my 3rd day headache free!
Update: 12/3/07 - The fever has gone down in John's dad. He is a bit more lucid. They are doing an MRI of his head to make sure things are okay. They are keeping him at least until Thursday for Observation! :) Appreciate your prayers!
John asked me to write this so that you can pray for his Father, To Hong Pham, 75, Los Angeles, California:
Please pray for John's dad because he had a hip replacement on Thursday after suffering with an undiagnosed broken hip for over 2 months. The one thing that John was concerned about, and the doctor's as well, was the risk for infection. John used to design air conditioning systems for hospitals and in his designs he always had to take special care in designing OR's where hip replacements are done because people die frequently from infections AFTER these type of surgeries. Not to scare you or anything, it's just a very valid risk. Anyway, Grandpa was suppose to go home today or tomorrow, but he spiked a fever last night and continues to have one today. They are running tests to see why he is spiking a fever; they are not sure if it is from infection or not. He is also diabetic which might compilicate the situation. We are told that he is still a bit incoherent which might be from morphine, but once again they don't know. He will remain in the hospital until his temperature has returned to normal - which we are praying will just be a day or two. Thanks for praying for Grandpa in California (that's what the kids call him).
All this information was given to me from John who received it from his sisters who received it from other sisters or doctors, so please forgive me if any of it is incorrect. I tried to double check my facts as much as possible.
On a better note, today is my 3rd day headache free!
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Cookies glorious cookies
Since I have been headache free for 48 hours (thank you, Jesus), we celebrated by making cookies and frosting from scratch (thanks Aimee for the recipe - very easy and very good). Okay, they are suppose to be red and green and not pink and green. Oh well, we tried. Ally joined us despite being very ill today. I was glad to see she was finally up and around a little bit. Avery decided to join in on the fun. On that note, I can't believe how well Jaxson did. He rolled and cut and frosted like a pro. He wants to be a chef when he grows up. For fun, he takes the cutting board and a butter knife and cuts up grass. I'm NOT joking. This is like his favorite thing to do. Tonight he told me he can't wait to be 10 so he can start cooking for us.
We generally don't let the kids watch television, but they are allowed to watch Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals and Emerila Lagasse's cooking show here and there. Ally told me that I needed to put flour on the counter because Rachel Ray says so. Parker told me that my frosting needed to be thicker because that's how Rachel Ray likes it! Thanks Rachel, your making me look bad over here.
I was going to study today, but everyone says I need to relax and not think about school so much - even my grammar teacher was lecturing me about enjoying life more. Sooooo..... if I do poorly on my verb test on Monday, maybe I can just give my teacher some cookies .
One of Avery's many faces. Check out the pig-tail. This will definitely be a picture we show at her wedding reception.
Check us out! We love cookies!
Pink and Green -the new Christmas colors. The chocolate covered peanut butter balls are still in the freezer! Yummy!
And my husband came home with this for me! WOOHOOOO! I just have to be careful because my knee was already a little sore from it. But it is sooooo much fun - especially when it feels like I'm going 50 MPH down a hill!! Thanks John!
UH OH! She pooed on the counter. Okay, not really. It's an egg-yolk that Avery broke. Can you tell she knew she shouldn't have touched the egg?
Our Christmas corner. We broke down and bought stockings! This made me and the kids very happy. Look at the tree! It's a wreck. The wind keeps blowing it over. I give up!
I guess we need a bigger trash can! Too funny not to share. This made my husband really happy when he saw what I had done. Love covers a multitude, right?
We generally don't let the kids watch television, but they are allowed to watch Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals and Emerila Lagasse's cooking show here and there. Ally told me that I needed to put flour on the counter because Rachel Ray says so. Parker told me that my frosting needed to be thicker because that's how Rachel Ray likes it! Thanks Rachel, your making me look bad over here.
I was going to study today, but everyone says I need to relax and not think about school so much - even my grammar teacher was lecturing me about enjoying life more. Sooooo..... if I do poorly on my verb test on Monday, maybe I can just give my teacher some cookies .
One of Avery's many faces. Check out the pig-tail. This will definitely be a picture we show at her wedding reception.
Check us out! We love cookies!
Pink and Green -the new Christmas colors. The chocolate covered peanut butter balls are still in the freezer! Yummy!
And my husband came home with this for me! WOOHOOOO! I just have to be careful because my knee was already a little sore from it. But it is sooooo much fun - especially when it feels like I'm going 50 MPH down a hill!! Thanks John!
UH OH! She pooed on the counter. Okay, not really. It's an egg-yolk that Avery broke. Can you tell she knew she shouldn't have touched the egg?
Our Christmas corner. We broke down and bought stockings! This made me and the kids very happy. Look at the tree! It's a wreck. The wind keeps blowing it over. I give up!
I guess we need a bigger trash can! Too funny not to share. This made my husband really happy when he saw what I had done. Love covers a multitude, right?Lottie Moon Christmas Offering
Today is December 1st.
Do you know what that means? Time to start thinking about the Southern Baptist Lottie Moon Christmas offering! John and I, and the other 5,338ish IMB missionaries (Church Planters) DO NOT have to raise monthly support because of the generous offerings from the people in the Southern Baptist churches located across North America.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU
We cannot say thank you enough. For us, imparticular, look at what the IMB is covering for us through the LM offering:
Our house, a monthly salary, health insurance, our schooling, the kids schooling, taxi allowances, a car (in Peru), traveling allowances, passports, vaccinations, crating allowances, Visas, monthly training, and constant IMB staff support here in C.R. and in Lima.
We can share the Gospel (after we learn Spanish) FULL-TIME because of these gifts. The IMB is fully committed to taking the Gospel to where it is NOT! They desire that ALL PEOPLES WOULD KNOW HIM!
Our home church, First Baptist St. Cloud, has set their Lottie Moon offering goal to $12,000.00 this year. That's 12K not 12 million! If you attend my home church or even if you don't, you NOW have the opportunity to partner with us through the Lottie Moon offering. We encourage you to pray about how the Lord will have you give this year. Maybe you are not called to "go," but God can certainly use you to "give" so that we can "go."
We get e-mails asking how you can help support us monthly. Well, we only need support ONCE a year! The IMB Lottie Moon goal for this year is 165 Million Dollars. This supports over 5,000 missionaries ALL over the world and the HUGE support staff that is in Richmond. To give online, click on the following link:
http://imbresources.org/index.cfm/fa/store.prod/ProdID/256.cfm
If you can give 165 million that's awesome! If you can only give $16.50 that is equally awesome and appreciated.
John and I have NEVER mentioned money on our blog before, but December is the month where Lottie Moon is remembered. If you would like to read her story, please click here:
Do you know what that means? Time to start thinking about the Southern Baptist Lottie Moon Christmas offering! John and I, and the other 5,338ish IMB missionaries (Church Planters) DO NOT have to raise monthly support because of the generous offerings from the people in the Southern Baptist churches located across North America.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU
We cannot say thank you enough. For us, imparticular, look at what the IMB is covering for us through the LM offering:
Our house, a monthly salary, health insurance, our schooling, the kids schooling, taxi allowances, a car (in Peru), traveling allowances, passports, vaccinations, crating allowances, Visas, monthly training, and constant IMB staff support here in C.R. and in Lima.
We can share the Gospel (after we learn Spanish) FULL-TIME because of these gifts. The IMB is fully committed to taking the Gospel to where it is NOT! They desire that ALL PEOPLES WOULD KNOW HIM!
Our home church, First Baptist St. Cloud, has set their Lottie Moon offering goal to $12,000.00 this year. That's 12K not 12 million! If you attend my home church or even if you don't, you NOW have the opportunity to partner with us through the Lottie Moon offering. We encourage you to pray about how the Lord will have you give this year. Maybe you are not called to "go," but God can certainly use you to "give" so that we can "go."
We get e-mails asking how you can help support us monthly. Well, we only need support ONCE a year! The IMB Lottie Moon goal for this year is 165 Million Dollars. This supports over 5,000 missionaries ALL over the world and the HUGE support staff that is in Richmond. To give online, click on the following link:
http://imbresources.org/index.cfm/fa/store.prod/ProdID/256.cfm
If you can give 165 million that's awesome! If you can only give $16.50 that is equally awesome and appreciated.
John and I have NEVER mentioned money on our blog before, but December is the month where Lottie Moon is remembered. If you would like to read her story, please click here:
Please pray about how you can partner with us THROUGH the IMB! :)
THIS IS LOTTIE MOON! One of the first Southern Baptist missionaries to China!
This is just a "small" group of IMB missionaries that are supported by the Lottie Moon Christmas offering. This is the current group of people that are studying Spanish to take the Gospel to Central and South America.
Joseph
Last night we had an IMB conference about spiritual renewal. The story of Joseph was "storied" to us in an oral manner - the way we will be storying the Bible to our people group in Lima, Peru. It is such a neat way to have the Bible taught to us. We listen, review, reflect and then respond. The story becomes very personal this way. Anyway, I wasn't really excited about attending the conference b/c of the head issues, constant busyness and being away from the kids yet again. However, the time was very sweet and encouraging. God reminded me that He is not done with my story yet and that He uses every kind of hardship to fulfill His greater purpose. I was deeply convicted to embrace these times instead of whining and complaining about them. Joseph didn't look back on his life seeing a life of errors in His attitude. I'm sure he was able to look back and see that "God in Him" and his attitude were right on. I'm not a Bible scholar, so I don't know, but just something I observed. All that to say that the study was exactly what I needed and I left feeling encouraged and with a bit of a better perspective. Also, God used Joseph everywhere that He put him and they were difficult situations. I want that to be the case for us as well.
Today is the 2nd part of the spiritual renewal conference, but I am home with Ally who isn't feeling so well. We are thrilled to have this time together. She is dozing off right now.
John's dad is doing fine and should be going home in a day or so. He will be in intensive physical therapy.
I have been headache free for 36 hours. The meds make me extremely tired and almost dopey. I do prefer tiredness to the latter. I'm happy to have had this past day or so without the pain. :)
P.S. John is going to buy me a bicycle with some Christmas money we received, so that I can get some outside exercise by myself since I'm never alone. The word never is not an exaggeration. Anyway, I'm not too keen on walking by myself because it's not safe. And I am use to running outdoors and would love to have some time alone, OUTSIDE, to clear my head. So we thought a bike would be a good stress reliever, an exercise helper and a way to see the surrounding areas of where we live. I am SUPER excited! :) Plus, we can sell it when we leave.
Today is the 2nd part of the spiritual renewal conference, but I am home with Ally who isn't feeling so well. We are thrilled to have this time together. She is dozing off right now.
John's dad is doing fine and should be going home in a day or so. He will be in intensive physical therapy.
I have been headache free for 36 hours. The meds make me extremely tired and almost dopey. I do prefer tiredness to the latter. I'm happy to have had this past day or so without the pain. :)
P.S. John is going to buy me a bicycle with some Christmas money we received, so that I can get some outside exercise by myself since I'm never alone. The word never is not an exaggeration. Anyway, I'm not too keen on walking by myself because it's not safe. And I am use to running outdoors and would love to have some time alone, OUTSIDE, to clear my head. So we thought a bike would be a good stress reliever, an exercise helper and a way to see the surrounding areas of where we live. I am SUPER excited! :) Plus, we can sell it when we leave.
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