screens on our windows and the men who put them there!!!

With the arrival of dengue this year 

(a sickness spread by mosquitos), 

I was eager to get screens on the rest of our windows.  

(Most houses in Paraguay do not have screens.)

I'm very thankful to have married a man that just loves to serve!

If I mention something that needs done, 

he actually takes joy in getting that task done!

He's become quite the handy-man!

 I'm also thankful for the way he takes time to teach 

and disciple our boys!  Some things could be 

accomplished a lot faster without little hands in the way...

but those precious little hands are learning!  

Learning how to put on a screen and 

learning how to serve others with joy!

sweet jam and a "sweet" opportunity!

 We've got an awesome guayaba tree in our front yard!

(I believe it's called a guava in the US.) The fruit is great 

to eat right off the tree and makes a refreshing juice!

My nieghbor happens to be a great cook, so we got 

together on Saturday for a guayaba jam cooking class! 

  

My boys helped pick the fruit!  They love that "chore"!

My neighbor and I washed it, cut it and cooked it.

Meanwhile, my little guy and her granddaughter played.  

Then we blended up the fruit, strained the seeds, 

added the sugar, simmered it and by the end of the 

afternoon we had a huge pot of guayaba jam to share!

 

While the sweet jam simmered, I had the sweet 

opportunity of getting to know my neighbor better!

She is a wonderful neighbor but spiritually she is lost.  

I'm praying that God, in His grace, will use our family 

to plant some seeds of truth in her and her family's lives!

2013!

 We spent New Year's Eve with this fun family

from our church!  We ate like kings and queens!

 

A new year is like a fresh start for me!  This year the Lord has impressed upon my heart to turn my focus toward my husband, my children and my home.......and I'm so very excited to learn in all these areas!!  The years 2010-2012 were difficult years of caring for my family while learning Spanish.  But the Lord helped me finish my studies this past fall!  So, with a joyful heart I'm very ready to begin this new year and spend more time ministering in my home!!!!!!

"...that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed."

    Titus 2:4-5    

...special Christmas memories!

 

 

 

...Christmas cookies!

This year we decided to do a little more 

cookie-making than the last couple of years and 

we just had a blast!

(I had to come to terms with the fact that our

Buckeyes were NOT going to look like they do 

in the magazine!)

We were able to find pretzels this year and

state-side missionaries brought down 

candy canes to share!  It was a real treat!

We also enjoyed making "American" ornaments from a kit 

that was sent to us!  We attached them to plates of 

cookies and shared with our neighbors!  

The delivery went like this: once the boys and 

I were all ready and standing outside at our gate, 

my husband would pull a plate out of the 

freezer and we would all walk quickly to a 

neighbor's house...otherwise everything would melt! 

Next year we may have to do something a bit more 

Paraguayan but this year was a lot of yummy fun!

things that remind my family and I that CHRIST is the reason for Christmas!

The manger scene that sits on our fireplace.

Special Christmas tree ornaments.

Nativity scenes we see around town.  

 (We saw this life-size manger scene at the mall.)   

 Christmas programs and Christmas hymns!

This movie, which we watch every year on Christmas Eve.

It's special to all of us, even our young boys!

Newborn babies.  

We had the privilege of bringing this little guy

home from the hospital with his parents on Christmas Eve!

I love seeing newborns around Christmastime!
When I look at them it just amazes me that God
Himself also came into this world as a helpless little babe. 

A true sacrifice for Him.  

An amazing miracle for us!

an awesome retreat!

 Every year we look forward to our missionary retreat! 

All the NTM missionaries, whether studying Spanish,
working in the city at the office or living out in the tribe,
we all gather together once a year for 5 days of
fellowship and encouragement. 

 

Here we are in the air-conditioned chapel where we 

were very encouraged and also challenged by 

two different speakers this year.  It was good stuff!

The pool is where all families with kids spend most of the

afternoon!  It was SO hot this year that the pool felt more 

like a bathtub!  Our middle son (above & below) started
swimming and going under water this year!

The boys had a blast with all their friends!  

They don't get to see some of them very often!

One mom made a huge tub of dry beans and rice for the 

little ones and they loved it!

 

The boys had a lot of fun hunting for frogs and 

cicadas this year and found a cool spider!

 We really enjoyed the fellowship with our coworkers!  

 By the end of the week, the busy days and late night

talks caught up to us!  We were all pretty tired
but very content!