[ Just a Glimpse ]

Hello, my blog friends...can it be Tuesday already? Yeah, I know...I'm supposed to have some great entertaining, interesting, or inspiring picture to post, but guess what? I don't. I have not seen anything this past week that's said, "Take my picture!" Don't get me wrong, lots has been happening around here. For example: it's been raining quite a bit, and remember the roof that our water tank sits on? Yep, it's flat and it has walls that surround it, which means water just hangs out up there until it finds a weak spot in the concrete... and now we have an upstairs hallway ceiling that constantly drips and leaks! If you're not paying attention, you'll be sitting down HARD in a hurry!

Let's see...and then yesterday, the lovely electric company came through our whole community turning people's electric off for supposed charges not paid! Our charges were the result of previous renters not paying (like over a year ago) and seeing as that total was never included in our amount due, we had no idea it needed paid! So, our electric got turned off for about six hours. There's a lot of interesting details to this story, but we don't really need to go into that here! Suffice it to say, we're all squared away and back to "normal!"

What else? Considering the above paragraphs and some other little cultural things that have happened, to be honest, we're feeling a little homesick and find ourselves sitting around dreaming about eating at certain restaurants, (the kids) going to Grandma's house, visiting with family and friends...

But it's okay. We're right where God wants us to be, and there can be no greater joy, then to be in the center of His will - and doing His work! So onward and forward we march (although Tom's Pizza, Middleswarth Barbeque Chips, and Amy's Frosty Freeze still sounds pretty good!!!).

I'll leave you with this picture of some cute, pajama-clad boys I know!

A Cute Onesie Dress

Every once in awhile, I feel the creative juices start flowing...and then these "brilliant" ideas pop in my head! For example: how fun would it be to make a little girls dress? Now I realize that having three boys does not lend itself to much knowledge in the way of girls clothing...but I've seen lots of creative ladies blogging about how easy it can be. So I thought, why not? I even had the idea of recycling one of Michael's old casual shirts into a little dress...but then I discontinued that idea (at least for now!) after seeing this idea over on Shari's blog. How simple, but cute!

With a little girl in our church having her first birthday, I decided a little dress was the perfect project. Now it might not have turned out perfect, but it was fun to make and maybe even a little cute! (And should I admit, I tried the dress on Parker to get the basic sizing?) =) I also love the fact that's it's still a onesie!

And because I wanted a good excuse to make one of these rolled fabric flowers that are so popular right now, I made one to accent the dress. I attached it with a safety pin of sorts, so that it could be taken off to wash.

And there you have it my friends - something creative! Maybe this little project will jump start some more brilliant ideas? I know I'd like to learn more about "mod podge-ing" (although I'm sure they don't sell that here in Mexico)...or maybe I should think more about a new quilt for our bed...then again, maybe I should finish other things I've started...?...

I hope y'all have a good weekend!

*I'm linking this post to:

Nap Time Crafters

The Frugal Girls

The Shabby Nest

[ Just a Glimpse ]

We recently had some help cutting the grass in our little backyard with the use of a machete and our ummm...very modern lawnmower!!

Pacific Scenes

Mondays' are kind of like the preacher's day off...at least in our household. Today, we were able to get away for a couple of hours and head to the Pacific. It was a beautiful day; the sky was painted with various hues of pretty blues and different types of clouds. You can't get much more relaxing than this!

I also liked this pic of Taylor! If you know him at all, this will just make you smile for some reason! =) The boys really enjoyed playing in the sand.

Strawberry Summer Cake

I was looking at a food blog the other week, when I came across the recipe and photos of this:

I was instantly in love! We do love us some strawberry pie around here, but this just seemed like a nice change of pace for the strawberry and it looked delicious too.

It works very well as a brunch dish instead of a dessert. In fact, it kind of tastes like a muffin in a cake form. Yummy! And I think next time I make this, I'll add some extra strawberries and squish them down in the batter!

So, what are you waiting for? Go check out this recipe here and then browse through the rest of this lady's recipes. Her food photography is pretty stunning as well, and will make you lick your lips in anticipation of sampling some of the food!

Official Immigrants!!

Yay! Now the kids and I got our visas too! We're good to go (or stay, in this case) for a year - and then we can renew them here in Tapachula for another year.

(Don't you just love the flattering photos they

insist on taking for these kinds of things...?) ;-)

[ Just a Glimpse ]

You just never know when you'll get a chance to witness to someone. Last Saturday night as we pulled in front of Ignacio and Blanca's house to pick them up for a prayer meeting, Michael met a drunk man who was walking down the road and was able to share the gospel and invite him to church.

Last Sunday morning we had our first children's ensemble! It wasn't anything overly special, in fact, the kids just sang "I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy..." (in Spanish, of course!) but, who doesn't enjoy listening to children sing? I'm sure we'll be doing this more often...

[ Just a Glimpse ]

Here's a look (from across the road) at the entrance to the little community where we live. There's approximately 180 properties inside this walled community.

Here's a closer look at the guard shack. All taxis and people who don't live here are required to show ID to the guards for permission to enter. We are blessed to be able to live in such a safe environment.

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Also, don't forget to vote in the poll located on the sidebar. It will only be open until tonight at 10 CST. I'm definitely needing ideas for these [Just a Glimpse] posts...!

And for my family who wants to vote more than once for more pictures of the kids...here's one of Parker. My, doesn't he look impressed?! =)

Welcome, Hno. José!

It was a privilege to welcome Hno. José Guadalupe Hernandez to our home and ministry this past Monday. He will be staying for a short time (a week or two) and then he will be returning to his home to do some studies and gather some more of his belongings to bring back to Tapachula.

He has spent 8 yrs. in the U.S. and has graduated from H.I.M.'s Bible Institute. Upon his return to Tapachula, he will be working with us in our churches and we will try to mentor him so he will be better prepared when he returns back to Comitán in a few months to plant a new church in his hometown.