Bibs!

Bibs is a cute little dog we volunteered to watch for a missionary family while they were on home assignment!  She was here at our house for one year.  We've never had a dog before so it was a lot of fun learning how to take care of a dog, especially for our boys!

 She was part of in-depth discussions...

and bear hugs!

 She was cuddled,

 

and hugged, 

and buried!!!!

She was laid with,

laid on,

and confided in.  : )

We returned her to her family tonight.

I think we're all going to miss her!

a Valentine!

My husband took me out on a date on Valentine's Day!

He prepared questions to discuss and 

we had a precious time focusing on our marriage

over pizza!

I'm blessed beyond measure to have a husband 

who takes time to cultivate our marriage!

"I am my beloved's, 

And my beloved is mine."

Song of Solomon 6:3

rain!

We've not had a good rain for quite a while.
It's been a very hot summer and the grass was very brown.
But today we got our 2nd good rain of the week!

 Enjoying what the rain left behind!

(You can see that we live on roads made with rocks.)

 

Watching flip flops float down the street!

our new Sunday School class!

I was voted by our church to be the 2013 Sunday School teacher for the 0-5 year-olds.  It caught me quite off guard as no one had asked me to be on the ballot, nor had I prayed about it!

But Trav graciously offered to help me and we have really been enjoying building relationships with the precious kids that come each week!

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