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Answered Prayer!

Here is some amazing news from the Smith family. I asked for prayer for them several months back here and look at what the Lord has done!! I love hearing good news!!! Praise the Lord! This is copied from their most recent blog post...

Dear friends and supporters,

We are so sorry that we have not updated via email or blog since September 22nd. My desire was to sum everything up and send the prayer letter out. This has been one of the busiest times of our lives and we have had some very busy times! We are sitting in the Anchorage airport with a flight delay and we have free wifi.

First, let me tell you the good news that all of Joel's scans are CLEAR! There is absolutely no sign of disease in Joel's little body! His portacath was removed Monday, September 27th. No more treatments. No more ER visits when Joel gets a fever. No more 5 or 7 day hospital stays. No more blood pressure cuffs. No more surgeries. Just every three months for a year he will have scans. After that every 6 months. THANK YOU for your prayers.

We made it safely to Alaska and have already been in several meetings. We arrived in Anchorage on October 2nd, and have already been to Glennallen and back. Today we fly to Fairbanks for a missions conference. Just driving between meetings has been a blessing. As Jennifer said, "Our God is an artist."We'll be sure to post pictures soon. We return November 8th to the lower 48.

Thank you for your prayers.

Joshua Smith and family

Reversible Towel Apron

Ok, so while I'm in a blogging mood, here is another project I finished a few weeks ago. Again, suuuuper easy and cheap. I picked up these towels at Target on sale for $2.45 and then got to work on....



... this tutorial I found. I loved Shelley Detton's version of the reversible apron and would love to try it again with different material on each side. But for this first one I had enough material to make it reversible, but the same on both sides.
It was fun, quick and easy and I love how it turned out!

Love My New Felt Pillow!!

I am so loving my new felt pillow! I started the project a few months ago, and planned on doing it all by hand but then, our church decided to buy a sewing machine for a few projects and guess who gets to keep the machine between projects...yay!!! I am having so much fun with the machine and I'm finally getting around to finishing some of the projects I started forever ago. I sewed my first zipper today and it actually wasn't as hard as I thought it would be! I love the frills on the pillow and it was sooooo easy to make. Seriously!!! You really don't need a machine if you decide to not add a zipper and now I have a beautiful accent pillow that sits in my living room. For those of you who love fun, quick and easy and INEXPENSIVE projects, you are going to love this one! Here is a link to the tutorial that I followed. Who knew felt could look so good!!

Very urgent prayer request

Please, please pray for this missionary family. They went to College with my sister. They just found out that their little boy may have a very serious form of cancer. Pray and hold your children extra close tonight. Here is a link to their blog. http://smiths2argentina.blogspot.com/

New Blog!

Just wanted to let everyone know that I have started a new blog. It is going to be all about our adoption! Yes, that's right! If the Lord allows us to, we will be adopting a little girl from China. We are sooo excited! I decided to create a new blog that will just be about our adoption journey.

You can click on the following title Spirit of Adoption to read all about it. I will also have a link to the new blog here on our family blog, which I intend to keep, that you can always find under My Other Blogs.

We really covet your prayers as we begin this process!!

Please pray!

I wanted to ask you guys to pray for a friend of mine, Beth and for her husband Jason. He is very sick and at this moment in the hospital because of an internal abscess they have found that is located near his tailbone, the size of a regulation football. They have operated and it looks like the infection continues to spread. Click here to access the information on their Caring Bridge site. Jason and Beth have 4 children and their youngest is only about a month old, so you can imagine what this is like for Beth, as she has the responsibility of caring for the 4 kids, as well as being with Jason.

Thanks for praying!!

In You Alone

This has become one of my favorite songs. I am so thankful that in Christ alone we can find all that we need. So many times I only truly begin to understand this when I realize I have nowhere else to turn but to Him. And the sad part is that I should have known that from the start! I am so thankful for His patience with me. His mercy is overwhelming. I am so glad that when I reach my end, He is just beginning!!


When I am weak, You carry every burden
When I'm alone, You're just a breath away
When I am restless, You're the One who stills me
And where I fail You always stay the same.

In You alone I'm lifted up to Heaven
In You alone I soar on borrowed wings
When I reach the end, You are just beginning
In You alone I find all that I need

When I am lost, You rescue me from danger
And when I fall, You pick me up again
When I resist, you love past my defenses
And though I stray, You're patient to the end.

A Very Merry Christmas!

We wanted to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. The Lord has been good to us this year, in spite of some hard times, He has remained faithful and daily gives us the strength, as we need it, to move forward. He is our blessed hope and the reason that we can truly find joy and hope in this season and every day.

I leave you with one of my favorite cartoons of this season and a reminder of what Christmas is really all about. Merry Christmas everyone!!

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Christmas Countdown Blocks Tutorial

I realize it is probably a little late for any Christmas Countdown projects and I meant to share this one earlier, but if not this year, then this could be a good one to save for next year.

I found this cute idea for a Christmas Countdown over at Whitney and Ashley's fabulous Shanty2Chic blog.



She ordered all the pieces she needed that are sent out in a kit ready to assemble and for real cheap, too. Which would be a great idea, if it wasn't for the fact that I live all the way over in Europe, so I improvised and it turned out to be a very simple and extremely cheap project! So, here are the steps...

First you need three blocks of wood....2 would be squares and the 3rd a rectangle that the 2 squares can sit on. I went to our local lumber yard to see if I could find some scraps of wood for cheap and instead found some long posts that were leftovers and going to be trashed and they let me have them for free!! So, with Jeff's help, we sawed 3 smaller blocks from the long posts and ended up with what you see below. After cutting them to size I sanded them and then very lightly spray-painted along the edges of the wood with a black matte color.



After this I chose some rich red paint to cover the blocks with. I did not put it on very thick, because I wanted some of the black color I had spray-painted underneath to come through and give it a bit of an old, worn look.



The red paint ended up being a little too shiny for my liking, so after it dried, I sanded it down a little more and it made the color a little more dull, plus brought out a little more of that black under the red paint.



The next steps I did not get pictures of, but you can see them here. I basically cut out 12 pieces of scrapbook paper into squares and one rectangle. Then, using the Princeton Let font in Word, in 300 pt. font, printed the following numbers...0,0,1,1,2,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. I glued the scrapbook squares to the blocks and then cut the letters out so that none of the black borders on the letters were showing and glued them over the scrapbook paper. I used a glue stick and it worked great.



I can't remember what font I used for the "days till Christmas" and I will probably look for some nicer Vinyl letters for next year, but this will do for now.



The last thing I did was mix 2 parts glue and 1 part water to make a thin paste that I brushed over the whole thing to completely seal it and give it a more finished look.



So, there you have it. I think it's adorable and it was so simple to make. My son loves to switch the blocks everyday to see how many days are left till Christmas and it's a fun reminder that Christmas is almost here!!!

An Attitude of Gratitude

"Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude." E.P. Powell


Thanksgiving has come and gone and now everyone is enveloped in the frenzy of Christmas preparations.

It seems like every year this season whizzes by quicker than the last.

So even though we are onto another holiday, I wanted to share a few pictures from our Thanksgiving this year and some quotes I found about gratitude....

We spent the day with my Dad, Mom, sister and our good friends the Starks. We have much to be thankful for!!

"Gratitude is born in hearts that take time to count up past mercies." Charles E. Jefferson




Reflect on your present blessings of which every man has many, not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some. Charles Dickens



When we lose one blessing, another is often most unexpectedly given in its place. 
C.S. Lewis



Better to lose count while naming your blessings than to lose your blessings to counting your troubles. 
Maltbie D. Babcock



If a fellow isn't thankful for what he's got, he isn't likely to be thankful for what he's going to get.
 Frank A. Clark




"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Moroccan Dish - Tagine

I wanted to share a Moroccan dish that has become a favorite in our home, ever since a friend who lives there taught me how to make it. Jeff, Aaron and I were actually able to travel to Morocco in October and tried the real thing a few times while there. It is delicious!!

The dish is called Tagine, mainly because of the clay dish that it is cooked in. Here is a picture of what it looks like....



But, for those of us with no clay "tagine" dish, a big stock pot will work just fine. So...here is the recipe:

You will need: (You kind of have to eyeball these amounts based on how many people will be eating)
Red onions (White or yellow ones will work, too)
Potatoes
Carrots
Chicken breast (or any cut of chicken you may have in your fridge!)
Tomatoes
Cilantro

You will also need to mix the following spices together in a separate bowl or cup:
1 cup olive oil
1 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cummin
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
salt
pepper
garlic salt

Ok, so you start off by cutting the onions into thin slices and placing them at the bottom of your stock pot like so...



Next you peel and slice the potatoes into thin slices and layer them over the onions in the pot...



You then do the same with the carrots. Peel and slice and place over the potatoes...



Next you place your chicken breasts over the carrots and pour the spice mixture over the entire thing. Then add some water to the pot until it's about a 3rd of the way up. Too much water will make this dish more like a soup, so don't overdo it. You want this to be more like a stew. Keep in mind that as it cooks, it will produce it's own juice. I just pour until I begin to see some of the liquid on the sides of the pot. You can add some fresh cilantro at this point, too.

After this you put the lid on the pot and cook on medium heat till the meat is white. You then check the sauce for flavor and add more spices accordingly. At this point I usually just mix the same amount of spices I poured in the first time, with less oil, and pour it over the chicken. You then put the lid back on the pot and continue to cook on medium to low heat until all the vegetables are cooked. I usually let it cook for anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes. The slower the better; like stew!! I have cooked it fast in a pinch and the onions burnt, which by the way, is ok with this dish. My friend told me that it's actually ok if they burn some and that's why they put the onions on the bottom! When it's about done, slice some tomatoes and chop up some cilantro and place them over the chicken. Let this cook only long enough for the tomatoes to get somewhat soft.




Then it's time to dig in! Oh, and serve it with bread!


Seem a bit tedious? Well, the first time around it may be, but it is soooo worth it. Seriously...do try! If any of you daring cooks out there try it, let me know how it turns out and what you think!

Back to the Basics of Christmas

I read this article on Dave Ramsey's Website that my husband had posted on our ministry site and thought I would share it.

BTW...if you have never heard of Dave Ramsey and are seeking some sound financial advice or are about to make a big financial decision and aren't sure if it's the right one, get his book and download his daily podcast..great stuff!! Ok, well, that was my little "Dave Ramsey" plug and now, enjoy the article!!

"No matter what your budget is this Christmas, remember to be thankful. Take a deep breath in the middle of all this craziness.

You might have a lot. You might have a little. If you are driving a beater, be thankful for that beater. You would rather drive that than walk, wouldn't you? There is always something to be thankful for.

That's what contentment is all about. When you understand and really grasp contentment, it becomes easier to save money and invest. Stress slowly disappears. Budgeting is easier. Relationships improve.

Be happy with what you have. More than three billion people, almost half the world, live on $2.50 a day. Sometimes we need a little perspective to become content with our current situation.

Without contentment, it's easy to be bitter and apathetic. Happiness is sold to us, especially during this time of year. We think if we can just get one more piece of stuff that "true" happiness will be right around the corner.
We say things like, "I'll be happy when I get that house!" or "I'll be happy when I get that new car!" But happiness cannot be bought. Sure fun—in the form of a house, a car, a new LCD television—can be bought, but fun is temporary. True happiness, or contentment, is lasting.

You can get out of debt, save money, and get on a budget, but until you realize that stuff doesn’t bring contentment, you will always feel stressed and unhappy. Contentment brings peace. And isn’t this time of year about bringing "peace on earth and good will toward men"?

Remember what this deal is all about. It's not about trees, lights, gifts, baked hams, and shopping malls. It’s about a little child who was born in a manger and grew up to die on a cross. It’s about peace on earth and good will toward men.

So if the Christmas frenzy is wearing you out, you've missed the point of Christmas. Make a plan with your money, and make a plan to get back in touch with the true meaning of this special day.

Lamp redo

Hey there! I thought I would rejoin the blogging world, after a looong time off. It seems like over the past few months we have gone from busy to busier and now things "seem" to be calming down a bit. We recently moved to a new home and have been doing some painting and decorating and I thought I would share a lamp redo that I made for our upstairs hallway. This was sooo cheap and incredibly simple. Oh, and fun, too! So here is how I did it and some pics to go with it....

I found this lamp at a store that was going out of business, so it was dirt cheap as well as UGLY!!! Seriously. I forgot to take the before pic, but it was painted yellow and green...nuf said!! haha



I started by spray-painting the lamp. It only took one coat and I did not even have to use a primer for it. I went with a matte finish instead of a shiny one, since to me, shiny can sometimes look cheap.



I also found this lampshade that was horribly stained and had this really yucky green border on the edges. I peeled the border off and...




this caused the entire lampshade to no longer be attached to this metal support. So I spray painted that part as well and when it was dry, I carefully re-attached it to the lampshade with some clear tape.



I didn't get a picture of this part, but I basically traced the lampshade with a pencil on a brown piece of paper, by starting at the seam and rolling it all the way around until I arrived back at the seam. After that, I added an extra inch on all sides for seam allowance. Then I cut the pattern out and pinned it to my material. After that I carefully cut it out and before anything else, wrapped it around my lampshade to make sure that it had been cut out correctly and would fit around my shade.



I then folded one end of my material over and ironed it.



Then,using a glue gun, I carefully glued first the top and then the bottom edges of the material over the lamp. I have seen where some people use spray adhesive and that might be a tad easier, but the only one I could find was 9 euro!!! The glue gun worked just fine, too. I had to cut along the edges as I glued, to be sure that the material would lay flat as it went around. This is what the inside of the shade looked like....



And here is the finished product! I had originally thought of adding a trim to the bottom of the shade, but liked how this turned out and didn't really think that it needed it. So, there you go. Hopefully this has inspired you to go out and try it out for yourself!

BFF'S

We just spent a few days last week with our good friends the Starks and before heading out, I snapped a picture of the 4 kids together. When I got home I remembered an old picture I took a couple years ago of all of them and thought I would share the two pics. They are the cutest kids and great friends, too! I hope that they will continue to be great friends for years to come.

Me thinks Aaron is one lucky kid!!

October 2007 Gijon, Spain



September 2009 Granada, Spain




BTW Matt and Pilar....thanks for letting us crash in your house for a few days. We had a great time!!!

Just For Laughs

I HAD to share....This is so funny!! Enjoy....

Free Music

A friend of mine sent me a link to this CD and I love it! There are 11 mp3's that you can download for free! I like to listen to it while I'm working on the computer. Click on the title below to be directed to the website. Enjoy!

A Place of Quiet Rest

The "Who Is He/Who Am I" Challenge!

While at camp last week, I gave each of the girls in my cabin an assignment.

The first day, they were to look in the Bible for something about God that they did not already know.

The next day, they had to find something about what the Bible says that we are.

We named it the Who Is He? and Who Am I? challenge. The girls did a great job and each found something different about both subjects. We arrived at this conclusion:

My worth is not in who I am, but in who He is. When we understand who He is and how much He loves us, it is only then that we can understand what it means for our worth to be in Him. This is much greater than any worth that we can think we have apart from Him. Our goal therefore, should be to find out who He is. He promises to be a rewarder to all that diligently seek HIM! (Hebrews 11:6). If my goal in seeking God is only to help me, then I will not find Him. If I seek Him alone, then He will be my reward and then "...all these things shall be added unto you." (Matt. 6:33)

Teen Camp

I know it has been forever since I have updated my blog! There are many reasons why I have not blogged lately, and some of them have involved some trying, difficult months. That story I will leave for another day and another post. Some of it has been because of just being too busy! But I will say...God is good..all the time. Good or bad times, He is a God that can be trusted. This much I know and continue to learn each and every day!

I wanted to start this update with the great week the Jeff and I had at Teen camp last week! We were asked to be counselors this year at the same camp that a looong time ago, I was a camper in. How long? That is really noone's business! haha!!

116 teens, from churches all over Spain, came together for one week at MCCB (Mount Calvary Baptist Camp), on the outskirts of Madrid. 3 teenagers trusted Christ as their Saviour and many others made decisions of further surrender to Christ during the week.

I was the counselor to seven 14 and 15 year old girls. The first day the girls were quiet and as we sat around our table at lunchtime, I thought...."I just don't know how I am going to get these girls to open up!" I was a bit overwhelmed. By that night though, as we sat around the supper table, the girls were giggling and laughing and giggling some more (they did a lot of that during the week!) and believe it or not, they included their old, foggie counselor in every bit of it! haha

I found out some very interesting things about each one of them. They all had very different backgrounds. Some had grown up in church. Some had parents that were in the ministry and others had parents who did not go to church. One girl had only been going to church for a little over a month and she told me that her Dad was constantly cursing at God, at every chance he got. Praise the Lord...she trusted Christ as her Saviour on the first day of camp!

I found out that many of these girls had some very difficult situations at home. At times, as they opened up to me during the week, I would think, "Dear God, I don't know what to say! I have never experienced what she is going through. Pleease help me know what to say that can actually help her!". My heart was heavy during the week, as I realized that at the end of the week, as these girls headed home, they would be faced with the attacks of the devil and would need God's strength to get them through.

Not everyone had dramatic stories. But everyone, including me, had daily, spiritual battles that they were facing and it was so encouraging to spend a week, away from the busyness of everyday life, being filled with great messages, Bible classes and being able to talk with other Christians. How uplifting it was for both Jeff and I! Camp was such a blessing in my life when I was a teen and it was so great to be back at camp and see God still at work in the lives of the teenagers here in Spain!

Here is a picture of the girls in my cabin:

Food and Fun

Since this weekend is Semana Santa and everyone is off work, we had made plans today to head out to camp (a camp started by missionaries here in Spain over 30 years ago) with several other families from church. Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day, but wouldn't you know it, today we woke up to a cold, windy, rainy day! So, needless to say, our trip to camp was cancelled. But instead of canceling the whole day, a few of us met at church and spent the morning and afternoon playing games and eating. We had a blast, even it we didn't get to spend the day out at camp. Maybe some other time, though!

Here is a picture of the group of us that were at church today. Please pray for Jesus...he is the man with the glasses, holding the his little boy, Nicholas. Jesus is married to the lady in front of Jeff in the red jacket and they have two kids...Nicholas and Vera. She is the little girl with the pink sweater. Jesus has lived many years under the influence of alcohol and drugs. He has not been the husband or father for this family that he should be, but over the last few months, he has been coming to every Couples Meeting that we hold once a month at church and today he showed up as well. We are praying that the Lord would get a hold of his heart and that he would put his faith and trust in Him as his Savior.