My Sunday School Classroom

I had mentioned over here that my classroom is now decorated and I was going to get some pics to share with you...well, here they are!

Stars to put stickers on for saying their verses and good behavior!

Our class name "ESTRELLITAS" {little stars} above our chalkboard which is hidden by the flannelgraph backdrop

The adorable car curtains that another teacher made for our class, they are so bright and fun!

See the flower and airplane wall stickers? They are perfect in here and below is our memory verse contest poster.

Our current bulletin board--We are learning about Super Heroes of the Bible and they are LOVING IT!

It turned out so cute, even I just want to sit in there and look at all the fun, colorful things that are there to see! Of course, it looks even better when it is full of little munchkins. I love these kiddos and am sure going to miss them!

P.S. If you are interested in checking out the lessons that we are using and doing a fun super hero theme, check out this great Sunday School lesson website for lessons in English and Spanish!

Lovin' on my Brenna Girl

Time continues to speed by around here--Friday we are moving all the stuff out of our house, the following Thurs. we are headed to see the parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends that we have missed so much. Needless to say, LOTS to do! So, going to try to do a couple of catch up posts today and then I will probably be MIA again for a while...you'll forgive me, won't you?!

A few weeks after Brenna was born the sweet ladies at my church had a baby shower for my lil' sweetie pie. It was a wonderful, relaxing time of food, fellowship and fun. Just what I needed to help me get through all those tiring days of paperwork.

All dressed up and ready to go!

No, they are really not that lumpy! LOL

Presents!

2 tiny sweaters

All the pretties

Bib Magnet Souvenirs

Yummy Cake

My dear friends

Candy "pacifiers"

Sisters

Beautiful Brenna

One of my dearest friends was not able to make it to the shower because she was dealing with her own sick baby, but she surprised me by bringing this to church--

It looks like a ginormous frosted cupcake made of diapers and 2 super soft fleece receiving blankets. Then it was decorated with tiny hair clips and ponytail "sprinkles". So cute!

And this sweater is the most precious thing of all...my friend Yanel's grandma made this sweater, along with some blue ones, for her future great-grandchildren before she passed away. But, so far, Yanel has 2 boys and no girls and so she wanted me to use it for Brenna. Isn't that super sweet?! I was very humbled that she wanted to share such a special gift from her grandmother with me and to keep my little girl snuggly warm. Such a kind and giving spirit! The Lord has truly knit our hearts together and I will sorely miss her and all my sweet friends at our church here. They have been so patient with us and have been such a blessing to me and my family. I always say that they are my Argentine family and they will always hold a special place in my ♥.

Sunday Services in the New Building

 Wow! Another week has zipped by! Seeing that it is Saturday and almost time for church again, I figured I better let you know how our services went last week. We had a great day in our new building, filled with food, fellowship, worship, and people! It was such a blessing to be able to enjoy and use this beautiful space that the Lord has provided. It still seems a bit surreal that it is really ours (the church's, not Matt's and mine)!

Here's some things that I am thankful for regarding last Sunday Services and our new building:

1. Seeing the church full of excited, happy people
2. Having enough classrooms for everyone, with teachers and kiddos enjoying their new space
3. A safe place for the kids to play outside (and not worry that they are in the street!)
4. Nice bathrooms (the property has 4!!!)
5. A real nursery for my Brenna to be in
6. A beautifully decorated international dinner with LOTS of yummy food
7. The spirit of unity amongst the people, along with a willingness to pitch in and help take care of their new church building

Singing Sunday School Songs

Look at those big helpers!

My "little stars" class--such handsome little men

 By the way...after church the other teacher and I (pictured above) decorated our classroom--it looks so cute! Will try to get a pic of it tomorrow! :)

"God's Treasures" Class

"Bible Explorers" Class

"Followers of Christ" Class

Adult/Teen Class

Argentina table

Decorating the China table

Mexico table and some of the FOOD!

FULL auditorium! :)

It was a wonderful and blessed day and I know that there will be many more in the future! Can't wait for tomorrow!

His Glorious Church

Have I kept you in suspense long enough?! You haven't been holding your breath all this time, have you?!

Recently, I posted about our upcoming move preparations and hinted at another move going on down here. Let me tell ya all about it...

"...Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."

Ephesians 5:25-27 

The church that we have been privileged to be a part of here has been renting a building. Property is very expensive here in the central part of our town and unfortunately the prices are only continuing to rise. For the past 10 years, the pastor/church has only been able to afford renting a renovated house to meet in. Thankfully, the church is growing and this space is NOT meeting our needs anymore. The teenagers have been having Sunday School outside on the patio for months because there is no room for them. Now that it is fall time and getting quite chilly out they have come back inside and booted me and my class of littles into the itsy-bitsy hallway. Seriously, it is tiny! It is quite the sight to behold all of the classes get into their rooms and get situated before we can begin teaching. It is truly a science; the classes have to be dismissed and set up in such a way that everyone can get to their proper spot and set up, then once you are in your area, you are in for the long hall. Hope you didn't have to go to the bathroom 'cause there's no escaping! In fact, I pin up my flannelgraph background on the back of the bathroom door! Let me tell ya, it definitely makes me feel more like an authentic missionary! It is "do with what ya got" all the way!

So, after many attempts to raise funds and purchase a property, I am very happy to announce that we are days away from moving into our very own church building! Renovations/cleaning/decorating are all in the works as we prepare to have our first services in the new place this coming Sunday, complete with an international dinner to wrap up our missions month. It is so exciting to see how the Lord has provided for His people, especially after seeing closed door after closed door. But, as always God knows best and is in control. Our pastor showed interest in our newly purchased property over 6 years ago and the owners were not interested in selling at that time. However, they recently put the place up for sale and they couldn't believe that after all this time our church was still looking to buy and they were very pleased to sell it to us! God is so good!

Here's a little glimpse:

Front entrance--the door is open, come on in!

Auditorium--I can't wait to see it full of people!

Fellowship hall/Classroom

Sunday School Classroom

My Sunday School Room to teach my "Little Stars" :)

Beautiful backyard (Teenagers S.S. class is the small building in the back on the right)

Paddle Ball Court at the very back of the yard

 So much space and potential! There are more Sunday School classrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, grill, off-street parking, and best of all no more renting!! Such a blessing to see the Lord answer prayer and meet the needs of his people. Will try to update again soon with pics of our first Sunday!

Marriage Fruits of the Spirit--FAITH {WW4MW Series}

{FAITH}

• With God, nothing shall be impossible.
• Prayer changes things; it changes YOU.
• The couple that prays together, stays together.
• If you get wrinkled up with care and worry, you need a FAITH-lift.
• Take the Bible as your guide.
• Faith makes all things possible, and love makes them easy.

photo source

My Thoughts

Have faith--definitely easier to say than to put into practice. As a missionary, I am quickly learning that God is in control. I mean, I always knew it in my head, but it's another thing entirely to see it as a reality everyday. What am I getting at? Well, it is easy for Matt and I to make plans--plans for our future, our ministry, our kids, etc. BUT, when we run into a detour it is then that we have to live our faith and trust that God has a better plan in store for us. So often we think that we have it all figured out and know where we are headed. God is in control and takes care of things in HIS WAY and HIS TIMING. We have faith that He will have "...all things work together for good to them that love God..." (Romans 8:28) I am thankful that our marriage is a partnership with the Lord and that we can leave everything securely in His capable hands.

{Photo source}

Life with 3

My how time flies...when your days are filled with a newborn baby girl, rough and tumble 2 year old, and an ever inquisitive and playful almost 5 year old. Man, that makes me tired just writing it out! ;)

Throw a whole bunch of running around doing paperwork into the mix and one after another the days vanish. Thankfully, although it seems to take us 2 days to do what should take us 1, we have everything in order for Brenna to take her first trip to the States in June. One {er...2 days} we worked on getting her Argentine birth certificate and document. Then we headed to the big city to apply for her Argentine passport (also took a couple trips) and then a visit to the American Embassy to get her American passport and certificate of birth abroad. Wheew! Of course, all these trips included dragging our 3 lil' munchkins all over the place to do a lot of sitting and waiting. To their credit, they did great! Maybe they are starting to get used to it?! We received Brenna's Argentine certificate and document and her 2 passports in the mail and are now set to travel! Praise the Lord! Dual citizenship is pretty neat, but a lot of work, too!

Of course, we tried to reward good behavior and stick a little fun in there, too. Brenna took her first trip to the park. I don't think she was too impressed, but we all enjoyed the gorgeous fall day. Another day we visited the brand new and only Wendy's in Argentina which had a ginormous play place for the kids to burn off all their pent up energy.

This is the life!

My pretty girls

Love that face, with button nose and perfectly pursed lips! ♥

Hangin' around

My 4 loves

Handsomeness

Not surprisingly with the change in seasons/temps. and the days of hurrying from one place to another to accomplish all this, the kiddos came down with lovely coughs and colds. It took a bit longer to reach to sweet lil' Brenna, but she too has been fighting it off. Even mommy and daddy did not get by unscathed. Thankfully, it has been lingering but not serious and I think that we are finally over all of that now.

This week we are happy to be at home and enjoying being a family of 5. Brenna is sleeping like a champ and starting to fill out her lil' cheeks and "bird legs" already. It is so amazing to watch the changes take place before my very eyes, although it always seems to go by too quickly. She is a content baby that has truly captured my heart. I am trying to enjoy every moment...watching her adorable sleeping form, listening to her breathe, feeling her snuggle on my chest, touching her soft skin and fluffy, dark hair, and overall being in awe of her beauty and tiny newness.

The older 2 love to shower her with kisses and talk about their "Baby Brenna". Clara is such a helper; always willing to retrieve things for me and help take care of her real live baby doll. As for Ethan, well, he has been nice and sweet and hasn't tried to attack her yet. Mostly, he is in his own little world of which she doesn't really have a big part so far. But, for now that's okay with me. Much less drama and problems. As she grows and can do more, it will be interesting to see how they interact.

In other news, with 6 weeks left before heading on furlough the packing has begun! Matt took down our spare bed in the office to make room for boxes and we are in the process of sorting, purging, stacking and stuffing, etc. It is exciting and overwhelming all at the same time. It feels a lot more real now and there's lots to do to make the remaining time fly by! Please pray that we can all keep our sanity and get everything taken care of, especially those last minute details that seem to sneak up on ya when you are movin'.

This is quickly turning into a book {or at least a long chapter} so, I will save the rest of my exciting news for another day. As a teaser, let's just say that we aren't the only ones in the process of moving around here. Can't wait to tell you more about what the Lord is doing. Until then...

Already Outdated Easter Pics ;)

Last pic as a family of 4 :)

2 (of my now 3) cuties on Easter

Adorable...but missing a lil' someone

39 weeks 4 days -- She was playing shy ;)

Me and my sweeties on Easter

See what I mean?! These pics are from just last week, but they are already outdated. They are missing my newest little peanut. At least from a more photogenic angle. ;) And the last month or so, I was all convinced that I would surely have my little Brenna girl before Easter and would be able to dress her up, etc.

But, I forgot one little detail. She is a female. As such, she has already begun the practice of arriving "fashionably late". Of course, her grand entrance was truly right on time, just the way that God had planned it. It couldn't have went better or more smoothly. I wouldn't change a thing. My labor progressed manage-ably and quickly and hubby was right there beside me every moment. My poor friend, Angela, got stuck holding the bags and never made it into the delivery. My doc. showed up about 2 min. too late. Brenna and I certainly didn't care. She came out to meet the world at 4:00 p.m. on the dot the day after Easter and mommy and daddy couldn't be happier. She's the picture of perfection with 10 tiny fingers and toes and a healthy set of lungs. She is finally nestled in my arms. All is right and good.

Here she is in her "almost Easter dress"

Sleepy smile! ♥