We've had a project abrewin' at our house. Ever since we heard about the concept of a family closet, we have been excited about implementing the idea.

The beauty of having a family closet is that all of the clothes in the house are located in one room, so putting away laundry is MUCH easier. Another benefit is that there is more space in the bedrooms when you don't have a dresser in each.

Phase one of the Family Closet Project was to clean out a small room that used to be our boys' room. Daniel took out all of the furniture, then I cleaned and swept in there. After giving it a fresh coat of paint, we were ready to put in shelves.

Phase two was choosing and installing shelving. We had to assess how much space we had in there, what type of shelves to use, and how to put them in without crowding the clothing too much. We chose metal shelves over wood, because although they are not as pretty, the metal does not retain moisture, and humidity can be a problem here.

The skylight in this room will also help keep humidity at bay.

Daniel put the shelves together, then anchored them to the wall.


We put down some shelf lining, and now the closet is ready to move everyone's clothes in.



During this process, I've been sorting through the children's clothes, passing down what needed to be passed down, and tossing what is worn out.

Another nice thing about our new Family Closet is that it is right next to the laundry room. No more folding the laundry on the couch, then having to deliver the stacks to separate rooms. Woo-hoo!

I've been scarce around blogland lately. I guess part of the reason is that we've been without a car since the end of June, and I tell you, everything seems to take a bit longer when you don't have a vehicle of your own! Thankfully, there is a bus stop within walking distance of our house.

When we head out for whatever errands we need to do, there is no need to stop and gas up the car, for it is safely tucked away at the shop. Once a week I take the bus to the bus terminal in town, then walk several blocks to the market to buy our fresh veggies and fruits. I take one of the girls with me to help carry the booty home, so I am forced to spend one-on-one time with one of my sweet daughters.

Daniel and our oldest son Joseph ride their bikes to prayer meeting each morning. When Daniel needs to go to La Esperanza or the big city Xela, he takes the bus and is obliged to converse with new and interesting people, some of whom hear the gospel right when they need it.

I tell you, being without wheels is the pits! As far as I can tell, we have 1) gotten more exercise, 2) saved on gas money, 3) spent quality time with each other, and 4) been able to meet more people who need Jesus.

Isn't that terrible?? :o)

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD forever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:" Isaiah 26:3,4

Thanks to my husband, I was awake at 5 a.m. this morning. Seriously, I really am thankful! I got up, fed the baby (who promptly fell back to sleep), saw my Sweetie and Son #1 off (they leave for men's prayer meeting at 5:30), showered and dressed, then enjoyed some time in my Bible that was much more leisurely than it would have been if I had risen at the usual later hour. If I hadn't been up so early, I might have missed what the Lord wanted to give me to prepare for this day.

And, boy, did I need it.

Thou wilt keep him... It is the LORD who holds me in His hand. I am not aimlessly wandering on this planet Earth for no reason, but have a Creator God who has all things under control. This is a comfort to me, that the One in control is also my loving Heavenly Father, who has my best interest at heart!

...whose mind is stayed on thee... What peace we can experience when our minds are "stayed" on Him. I've kept this verse in mind all day long, through all the "issues" that have come up, and it really helps me keep things in perspective.

...Especially when company arrives unexpected at 7 a.m.

Now, maybe your house is company-ready first thing Monday morning. But after a busy weekend and the Lord's Day when we have three church services and are home barely long enough to eat lunch and nap the children...well, my house isn't.

But on keeping my mind stayed on the Lord, a thought occurred to me: What is more important, nursing my wounded pride, or greeting our guest with a smile and a cheerful word? In light of eternity, what matters more?

Now with that kind of perspective, I have perfect peace, even through all the other "issues" that have presented themselves today. It's a lot better than being stressed-out and annoyed. :o)

For years I put off trying to make flour tortillas at home, thinking it must be too difficult. And why go through the trouble anyway, when they are available at the store, mass-produced, packaged, and ready to go?

Welll, I found out that those icky mass-produced, ready-made tortillas are not to be compared to hot, homemade ones. And they are actually very easy to make! Here's the recipe we use. I call it mine, because I've adapted it :o)

4 cups flour (use as much whole wheat as you want)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup olive oil
1 to 1 1/4 cups water

Sift flour, salt and baking powder together. Sprinkle with oil, and mix until you have even crumbs (no big ones). Stir in one cup of the water, then add just a little at a time until you have a workable dough (meaning when you knead it, it doesn't "crack" where you bend it). Knead about twenty times.

Let the dough sit for 10 minutes, then start heating a large skillet or griddle to med/high heat, not high enough to make it smoke. Your cooking surface should be dry, not greased. Divide the dough into 12 equal balls, and roll them out into circles as thin as you can get them. Cook the tortillas for about 30 seconds on each side, or until the dough is firm and you see browned spots.

These are so delicious while they are hot! We have eaten them with refried beans, cheese and salsa, etc. They are also yummy for a snack, with butter and honey on them. Oh, the possibilities.

They take about twenty minutes to make, start to finish, and that is if you roll them out, like I do. If you happen to have a tortilla press, you could whip these out all the faster!

¡Buen provecho!

Lately I've been playing around with the idea of making laundry soap, for several reasons. One, it would be something less harsh to wash my family's clothing with. Two, it's cheaper than the laundry soap we can buy here. And three, it just looked like fun! So when we ran out of powdered laundry soap yesterday, well, necessity provoked some invention.

Most of the recipes I found online called for a bar of plain soap, borax, and washing soda. I did find one recipe without borax, and that was good because I can't buy borax here.

So I shredded a bar of soap into a saucepan and melted it with a little water. Then I poured that into a bucket with 2.5 gallons of hot water.

Then stirred in a cup of washing soda. Actually, all I could find was a laundry treatment powder made of 1/2 sodium carbonate (which is the "washing soda") and 1/2 sodium percarbonate, thinking that it wouldn't make much difference. Would it?

The recipe said to set it aside to cool. Which I did. And the stuff just kept foaming up... and UP...

...and UP SOME MORE.

Perhaps that sodium percarbonate made it do that, because none of the recipes I saw said anything about the soap foaming up.

Anyhow, what we ended up with was a nice liquid gel laundry soap with a foamy head. We stir it up, then use 1/2 cup of it per load, or a little more for particularly dirty loads. It works great, and smells so fresh!

What's this girl up to?

Trying to look casual...

Uh oh... She's not gonna...

YEP, she wants to ride that cow!

OOF!... Well, maybe next time. :o)

"Thou Shalt Not Kill."

This, the sixth of the Ten Commandments, is written succintly there in the context of Exodus 20. It is further explained in the next chapter of the Bible. There the law states that premeditated murder calls for execution, but a person who kills another person in self-defense or by accident is not to be put to death. The difference is in the intent and attitude of the heart.

"Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer..."

...Words from I John 3:15 reiterating that murder is not just the act of taking the life of another person, but it is the attitude of the heart that makes a murderer. So one can be a murderer without taking someone's life!

Now I am going to say some things here that not everybody is going to agree with, but I think I stand on God's Word.

Most Christians believe that aborting a baby is wrong, that life begins at conception, and to take away that life is to commit murder. But many of those same people practice a form of abortion in the privacy of their own homes. Others have the spirit of abortion and murder, harbored deep in their hearts. I am talking about an ungodly attitude toward having children.

"Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it."

We call it "family planning". But if you are a Christian, you say Jesus pilots your ship, that God is in control and you've surrendered your life to Him. Why is it, then, that you take the helm when it comes to having children? Whose job is it to build our families? It is the Lord's, and there is no Biblical evidence that shows that responsibility has been placed into human hands, regardless of our modern medical advances.

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

Children are gifts from the Lord! Imagine if the royal king of a vast kingdom were to choose to honor a peasant by bestowing him a rich, priceless treasure. He sends a caravan to deliver it to the doorstep of the pauper with much pomp and an entourage of well-wishers. But when they arrive, the poor fellow turns them away and sends the gift back to the castle from whence it came. He doesn't need it, nor want it.

Would this not be offensive to the king? Of course it would! It would be at the height of ingratitude and shameful arrogance on the part of the peasant. Or perhaps simply ignorance of the value of the treasure he turned away!


A child is an eternal soul, a priceless treasure, that God intends to give to a man and his wife. It is His blessing upon the marriage. Will the Christian turn away such a priceless gift, given with all love and blessings from the heart of God? It is certainly an unrighteous attitude toward the Giver of Life. Each one of us will give an account to Him one day.

And yet many Christian families take careful, premeditated measures to turn away the blessings of God. Why? Well, there are many reasons, but most of them have to do with convenience. (Peasant: "I don't have room in my house for all this gold!" or "I don't think I have what it takes to manage it all, and am too lazy to learn how.")

So what does family planning have to do with the spirit of abortion and murder? The attitude. The attitudes that one can't afford children, or just doesn't like children, or that it would disrupt the course one wants to take in life, are common whether contemplating abortion or just family planning.

Granted, family planning is not necessarily an act of murder (although most methods can destroy life that is already there). But I think Christians should rethink their attitude toward having children, and make sure we have the mind of God on this issue. If we were to place the same value on children that God does, there would be far fewer families limiting the number of children they have.

"Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed"

Baby Joel is eight months old. He's so much fun! His sisters love to do silly stuff with him.

Okay, so I was doing it, too. :o)

"Hey, there's Mom..."

"Got milk?"

He puts in long hours of playing and learning. So when it's naptime or bedtime, he sleeps like a... well, like a baby.


He is such a sweet blessing from the Lord! :o)

Nina over at Portugal Bound tagged me for a meme. This is my first time to do a meme, so fortunately for me, the rules are simple:
1) Link to the person who tagged me.
2) Mention the rules.
3) Tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about myself.
4) Tag 6 other bloggers by linking to them.
5) Go to each person’s blog and leave a comment that lets them know they’ve been tagged.

So here are six quirky details about me:
1) In fifth grade I decided to stop biting my nails. Then I started biting my cuticles instead. Still do.
2) I have a tiny hole at the top of each ear that I was born with.
3) I procrastinate until the last minute. I guess I work better under pressure.
4) My doctor hates to see me coming. He knows I most likely will not take his advice nor Rx, but rather get his diagnosis then look for a home remedy to treat it.
5) Babies #4, #5 and #6 were born in water. I loved it!
6) My husband asked me to marry him when he was fifteen. (Good thing we lived 300 miles apart. Ahhh, camp romance!)

Okay, so I'm tagging:
Tammy at View from Behind. Church planter's wife. God bless her!
Ashleigh at Heart and Home. Military wife. God bless her, too!
Charity at Fresh from the Chari Tree. A fellow Texan, Yee-Haw!
Jaynee at The Lockwood Family blog, if she has time. This lady has 11 precious little ones to look after!
My buddy Tori at A Home Away From Home. She did a meme a while back, but might have developed some new quirks since then ;o)
And Sandra at WatercolourDreams, about whom I would like to know more. :o)

We are enjoying some fruit from our little garden, and will soon have broccoli, cauliflower and beets. Sadly, our tomatoes were attacked by what turns out to be fungus. I'm going to try to save them by spraying them with GSE water.

Ever hear of Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE)? It is a wonderful antifungal, germicidal, all-purpose product. It can be used externally, taken internally, used to disinfect anything! It's wonderful. Google it, and you'll learn more about it.

This rose is on one of the beautiful rose bushes that Daniel has planted for me. Its color is so vivid, I had a hard time taking a picture of it that shows detail instead of a bright flash of orangey-red! To me, it looks just the color of glowing embers.

Forty years ago today, Edgar Graham and Barbara Epps tied the knot. They went off to Bible College, started a family, and began a lifetime of serving the Lord. I am so blessed to have been raised in their home!

Dad is Mr. Steady. His faithfulness to Mom and to our family made our home solid indeed. He was the first man that ever held the heart of this little girl, and there remains a special place for him there, even though I'm married and have a family of my own. His easy laugh is music to my ears, and there's no one I'd rather hear sing, than Dad.

Mom is Mrs. Creative. She seems to be good at anything she puts a hand to, and has never ceased to amaze me with her music, her art, her way with children... I don't know how I could have survived those difficult adolescent years without her patience and willingness to listen. When I grow up, I want to be just like her. Oh wait, I am grown up. Well, I still have a ways to go, but I have a wonderful example in my Mom.

Dad and Mom raised four children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Sometimes when we needed it, they nurtured and admonished the tar out of us, but we always knew they loved us! I am so grateful for that. I am forever indebted to my parents for teaching me about love, family, laughter, loyalty, joy, and God.

Their love for God and for each other has stood the test of time. Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! I love you!

"The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage." Psalm 16:6

This is me, taking Oscar and Canela out for a walk. Correction: Oscar runs, leaps, rolls, and gambols; Canela walks, but only because I've got her on a leash, and I'm walking. She keeps that leash pretty tight. Have you ever seen horses released from the starting gates at a horse race? That's Oscar and Canela when we open the yard gate to take them out. Check out Oscar on the left.


Here's a closer look:

That dawg is airborne!

Do you see the look of grim determination on his doggy face? That's because he has one thing on his mind:

Not the cute little boys, but the flock of unsuspecting sheep behind them.

Our dogs are sheepdog wannabe's.



"Bring 'em home, Lassie!"

This is a funny anecdote I found that I can really relate to..

Unexpected guests were on the way, and my mother, an impeccable housekeeper, rushed around straightening up. She put my father and brother to work cleaning the guest bathroom. Later, when she went to inspect it, she was surprised that the once-cluttered room had been tidied up so quickly. Then she saw the note on the closed shower curtains. It read "Thank you for not looking in the bathtub."

...I gotta remember that! :oD

We had such a nice excursion to Xela today, on account of some business Daniel needed to attend to. There is a nice mall there, with a food court that features Dominoes Pizza, Torta Loca (I know you've never heard of that one), Burger King, Subway, Pollo Campero, Chinito Veloz (the "Quick Little China man" - that name cracks me up!), and TACO BELL, where we bought our lunch.


(Oops - you can only see Johanna's hair sprig over Joseph's left ear... Oh, and Joel's nose and cheek next to Jessica's elbow... Okay, so we didn't get everybody in this one.)

After the business was taken care of, we headed for home, stopping along the way at a new nursery we spotted. They had some beautiful flowers and shrubs, and I liked the variety of herbs available. We picked up a rosemary plant, and a spearmint for about two bucks apiece - a steal! Nearby was a nice backdrop for a photo. Aproveche!



Then on to San Juan. We pass some pretty scenery on our way home, that I think you will enjoy...



Planted fields and mountainside.

I wonder where this road leads to?

A nice, shady house. I imagine it's a bit on the cool side.

HEY - how'd this pic get in there? This is the not-so-pretty entrance to San Juan, the little town we go through to get to our house. It looks a lot prettier from a distance, as you see below...

This is the view of San Juan from our house (which is on the left). I love our peaceful little corner of Guatemala! It's always good to come home.

We've been spending some quality time together recently. We love to work on projects together, and with his hard work and my brains, we get a lot accomplished!

My time spent with my Brother is always a pleasure. When other duties call me away, it is with reluctance that I leave, but I always look forward to seeing him again.

I always thought he probably enjoyed spending time with me, too, but I think I offended him the other day. We were at work again, making some things for the church, when he just jumped over and bit me!

I sat there, not a little stunned, and stared at my wounded finger. This had never happened before! He didn't say anything, but just sat there.



My husband heard me yell, and rushed to get some first aid items...but first we had to take pictures. My finger didn't hurt much (it was numb), but 1/3 of the needle had broken off in my nail bed. It was an astonishing sight to see! Should I post one of the pictures? Nah, better not.

My Brother still has not apologized, nor explained what I did to merit such treatment. But in the spirit of Christian love, I've already forgiven him.

Post Script: I weighed in my mind whether or not to post a bloody picture, but since this one has just an itty-bitty bit of blood, and since Mom and Nina asked, I'll post it.

Warning: If you are a little squeamish, just don't scroll down. But I don't think it's that bad.

It is raining almost every day, and with the abundance of rain comes an abundance of toads! I guess this got the wheels turning in the mind of Daniel, who happens to be our school principal. In some biology class he took during his junior high and high school career, he got to dissect a frog. Do you see where this is heading?


So a few nights ago, he and the children caught a couple of those toads outside with the intent of dissecting them for a homeschool biology project. (Notice I said he and the children are doing this. I wash my hands of this one. And I made them wash their hands, too, as soon as they came into the house.)


Then they had these poor toads, frantically trying to leap out of the jar. What now? How to, umm... euthanize them? Not knowing what else to do, they stuck them in the freezer.

I bet you don't have Frosty the Frozen Frog in your freezer, do ya? And I bet you don't even envy me. :o)

Anyhow, frigid froggies pose a problem. Ya can't dissect 'em. So the Principal is looking into obtaining a preserving solution to put the toads in. He asked around, and it was suggested he ask for formaldehyde at the only place in Xela where they use the stuff... the mortuary.

This saga is not over. I will keep you posted, as I'm sure you are all on the edges of your respective seats. I know I am, but I'm not leaning in too close.

Post Script: For those of you in the know about toads and frogs, we are aware of the difference between the two, even if we sometimes use the words "frog" and "toad" interchangeably. It's just that "froggy" is so much more fun to alliterate than "toad". :o)


Froggy foto credits to my favorite fotographer, Daniel!

I know, I know, your life is busy too! But that's my excuse for not posting in a week. Indulge me? :o)

We have been making preparations for the first Sunday meeting of the Iglesia Bautista La Esperanza on the 22nd. That's this Sunday. Woo-hoo!! Chairs and other furnishings are in place, and Daniel and Pastor Oto are building a wooden pulpit. Songbooks are being printed up, and I'm making up some visitor information cards to help us in our visitation. I still need to sew some curtains for two windows, as well as a couple of table runners.

It's all so exciting! It feels almost like preparing for the arrival of a new babe.

In the midst of this, we are also helping a church in Xela on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights while their missionary is in the States this month. And we continue our regular activities in the church here in San Juan on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

I told you we were busy! But there's nothing else in the world we'd rather be doing. Pray for the new work!

Today Johanna Joy turned four years old! She was our first child born in Guatemala, and she has added to the joy in our home ever since. Her Grammy came to stay with us when she was born, and at that time made up a song, "Johanna Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy" to the tune of "I have the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart..."

She is very aptly named, and her cup seems to be perpetually full to the brim. :o)


She's a little princess, and a little mommy. She talks all the time about what she wants to do when she's a mom some day, and she is always by my side in the kitchen when I am cooking.

She is also our resident "critter" expert. Roly-polies and ladybugs rarely escape her notice, and she loves to let them crawl all over her hands. Hence, the ladybug-in-the-grass birthday cake:



Among her presents were a bug catcher/keeper, and this dress that Jessica and I sewed for her:


We're so glad God gave us our sweet Johanna Joy! Happy birthday, Tootie!

Another big event that occurred during Furlough 2007 was when our oldest child had to get glasses. Jessica was having trouble reading road signs that we could see well ahead of time. Walking past an eyeglass store one day, she did a free quick-test, which verified our suspicions that her eyes were weakening. Getting her a pair of glasses was such a relief to her...


Something about glasses on her face made her look so grown-up!

If you wear glasses, do you remember when you first put them on? I do. And I loved them. I loved being able to see everything so clearly! If I was ever called "four-eyes" I don't remember it, because I was just so thankful to have those wonderful glasses. Of course, that was back in (ahem!) the '80s, so those BIG lenses were popular.

First Alma blew into town from the Pacific. She stuck around for a few days, then left in the night. But right on her tail, Arthur blew in from the Caribbean, and it seemed to us (right in the middle of it all) that it was all one big rainy party!


That's Mexico on the left, the Yucatan Peninsula at the top, and Guatemala in the center.

Five or six days is a long time for the children to be couped up in the house, so whenever the rain would let up, we'd run outside and play for a little while.


There were some new creatures to investigate...


This was one of the itsy-bitsy toads. At night, his HUGE brothers and sisters and cousins and the occasional GRANDPAPPY toad, are all over the place. Also...


This fellow dropped in for a visit. I think it's a heron, and we don't see these too often up here in the mountains. I'm pretty sure he's on his way north for a Florida vacation.

I've been out to check on my garden, which seemed close to flooding, but we built up the beds enough that the plants are still high and ...well, not dry, but not floating away, either! :o)

With the rain comes what the locals call the mayo malos, the illnesses that tend to flourish at this time of year. Daniel and I both have felt the effects of being "under the weather", but are feeling so much better now.

I've been juice-fasting for my health's sake, and am really enjoying it more than I thought I would! Flo, a fellow missionary who lives a few towns over, gave me this workhorse juicer:


It's an Acme Juicerator. I had no idea how old it is, but I called the phone number in the user manual for customer service, and a very nice lady answered who told me it is a residential number now. She said they've had that number for 20 years.

So it's old. And in excellent shape! It runs so smoothly, is easy to clean, and gives me almost two cups of juice for three regular-sized apples. I'm loving it.

I've been in bed for several days, sick with what turned out to be an intestinal infection. Being down for any amount of time, as any mother knows, is difficult for the whole family. I think with all the housework, schoolwork and ministry tasks that inevitably pile up, a woman tends to feel like time in bed is wasted time (unless she is advising another woman to rest ;o) But down time doesn't have to be "wasted" time. Here are some practical ways to make it profitable:

Pray. Prayer is a daily thing, but how often does a wife and homeschooling mother have this much time on her hands to just talk to God? Talk to Him about the things that have been pushed back in your mind, that you haven't brought before Him; the things that cause you stress or fear (and might have caused your illness). Pray for your husband, especially if he is picking up the slack in the household duties; pray for each of your children, or better yet, pray with each of them (unless your illness is contagious). Of course, pray about your infirmity. Ask Him if there is something He wants you to learn right now. Ask for cleansing of your body and spirit, and for healing. Pray for others in your life who have needs, and pray for missionaries. It's amazing how much better you feel when your focus is on praying for others.

Think. What is going on in your life? If you are feeling up to it, down time can be valuable time to think about priorities and make sure things are on track. Do you have personal spiritual goals, or goals for your children? It's surprising how clearly you can think when you have rested. Instead of worrying about how high Mount Washmore is growing in your laundry room, try to think of a better system for keeping it caught up when you are well. Write things down, so that you will remember them later.

Don't think. Not to be confusing, but there are some things to avoid thinking about when you are ill. When you are not feeling well, it is easy for the devil to affect your thoughts. Give this over to the Lord, and don't let your mind become filled with thoughts of doubtful or dark things, or regrets from the past that are already under the blood of Jesus. Also, don't dwell on all the stuff you were fretting about when you got sick. It will still be there another day when you are strong enough to face it. Right now you need a break.

Read. I like to stick to the Bible and other helpful books. Hopeful, lighthearted topics are nice. If you're nauseated, you probably don't want to read about when wicked Queen Jezebel was pushed out her window, and when she landed... Well, you know how that ends. You get the idea. Proverbs 16:24 Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.

Listen. Listen to God. And listen to your body. You are fearfully and wonderfully made, and your Creator equipped your body with helpful signals that tell you what you need and what you don't need. Instead of automatically popping a pill to mask pain or discomfort, pay attention to it and address the real issue, not the symptom.

Rest. I saved the most obvious one for last because it balances them all. Physically, your body needs rest so that it can set to the task of healing. Spiritually, we all need to rest in the Lord, trust in His goodness, and experience real peace.

Illnesses can occur for all sorts of reasons: poor diet, stress, exposure to extreme elements or to other sick people. But if you are a child of God (and even if you are not), nothing touches you without His consent. Therefore, there is always a divine purpose for the illness. God may be getting your attention about something, whether physical (such as what you're feeding your body) or spiritual (such as sin or bitterness issues). He may be teaching the family more about pulling together and nurturing one another. He may simply be cleansing your body of toxins that have been building up inside. It is important to take time to recuperate, and experience the cleansing, inside and out, that is the benefit of having suffered an illness.

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. III John 1:2