Well its been awhile since i last wrote here...Like, a LONG while ago..LOL So today i thought i'd write a short note while we're watching the Cards vs Braves baseball game.
   I guess our newest news would be that we're expecting a little one come Oct. (: I was pretty sick for a couple months but i'm back on my feet again. I dont know what i would have done without my sister Hannah here! And also my younger sister Hope was here for 2 weeks to help. It was nice to have someone who could look after Ann-marie and get me food every hour or so till i got my strength back! I gave up all of my babysitting children except Ann-marie since we are very close to her and i couldnt handle more then one anyway.
   Anyway, now that i'm up and around and managing fairly well on my own now, with occasional help from my sister Hannah, i have started to put a few things in my garden and such. So far Hannah and her son Chad helped me put in my strawberry plants, a 40 ft row, and mulch them. I also put in a row of red beats and have quite a few other plants to put in once the garden is dry enough. (:
   I've also went yard sailing a few times to look for things for the upcoming baby. (: I found myself some maternity tops and a few onsies for the baby. I'm still looking for a nice recliner and a rocker, a certain type of pack n play.
   So far i still need to get the baby's room ready but for right now i cant really because we have a young man staying with us on the weekends and he uses that room. We figured we'd give him until the end of august to find another place and then i will have to scurry to get things ready!! But i'm sure i will have plenty of willing help because its fun getting ready for a new baby, right?? (:
Well i really should go get some more things done around the house. Thanks for dropping in and reading my humble posts!(: Blessings, Harmony

                 Ann-marie, that ray of sunshine that brightens my life!
                                 (here we had a tea party together)

we Love her(;

ARE YOU CONTENTED?

    Last night during family devotions my husband and i read the daily article out of the devotional booklet, "Beside the Still Waters" and in that article it talked about how our speech betrays us. The scripure passage that was given to accompany the article was in Matthew 26:59-75. In there is talks about how Peter denied Jesus 3 times and then went out and wept. 

As i was reading that, questions began popping up in my head.. What did they mean when they said to Peter "Surely thou art one of them, for thy speech bewrayeth thee."? We know that a couple verses earlier it talks about "Jesus of Galilee", but was it really his accent, or was it the "air of his words"? As in, did he talk, um lets say, "cleaner" then the rest of the people? It may have been his accent, but the third time he was asked it says, "'Then he began to curse and to swear,..". Do people know that we have been with Jesus by the way we talk? 

    The discussion turned to other things as well, and the question was brought to mind: In the Mennonite culture esp. it is often heard said that if you aren't contented in the church you're in, you will never be content! That raised a lot more questions! If you are in a church that you are not content in, maybe you should ask yourself, "why"! After pondering on that carefully, if you can look me in the eye and tell me that you are content where you are at because you feel like God put you there to make a difference, by all means, stay there till God leads you on! 

But if you find that you are only there because you dont want to see how comfortable (or more like "familiar  with") you've become under all the rules and regulations, then i suggest that you become "un- content" and get out and seek God with all your heart and grow! By staying where you are and not being willing and open to whatever or where ever God wants to lead you, you will become stale! And does it not say in Revelations that He will spew thee out of his mouth? Yes it might get very uncomfortable to read and have your eyes opened to where you need to grow. But would that not be better then to be "spewed out of His mouth"? Don't think for one moment that you can get a free ride to Heaven just because you obeyed the church to a "T". If you are still not under the will of God then you are outside of it, right?

    May you find peace and joy as you seek to know God more and as he opens your eyes to the "blind spots" in your life! (:

    Feel free to comment!(: 

WOW!! (:

So i know i haven't written for a looong time!): (: But i've been busy and well mostly just plain unmotivated! But I hope to be back into the writing mood again and keep it up for awhile this time!!
      Just an update on my dad, He is doing much better! Its a miracle really! I talked to mom on the phone the other day and she said that my brother Hector and his family were there to visit and they, along with my youngest brother Henry and his wife were in Baltimore,MD at the ocean!(: She said that was mostly in the wheelchair because they were doing a lot of walking and he isn't to strong for that yet. But it seemed like they were really enjoying themselves!
     Anyway, we have dinner plans for this evening so i will write more later! I have so much to write about since i havent written in awhile!! I'm definitely excited about life right now!!(: Take care!! Harmony

Hope - Me - Hannah (2011)

This and That (:

Ladies and Gentlemen!(: Good morning to each of you. Or (afternoon or evening, whatever it happens to be at the moment)(: Wow, what a busy last two weeks!! I tried to log on to my blog while we where at the hospital with my dad, but for some reason i could NOT for the life of me, get in! So now i'm back on my own computer and comfortable!(:
    As i had mentioned in my previous blog, my sister and i left on Sunday night April 22 to go be with my dad before he went into surgery. We ran into a problem tho Sunday afternoon, when my brother(who was to pick us up in Newark NJ) broke down in VA and could not get parts to fix his car til Monday morning. THAT wasnt going to work, as we flew into NJ at 9:30 pm Sunday night and it is a 3 hr drive to Danville PA where my dad was schedule to arrive at the hospital at 5:30 AM April 23 to prepare for surgery at 7:30 AM... My sister and mom and i were going bolistic trying to find a way to get from NJ to PA in time to see dad before he went in. My husband and i happened to be at his uncles for Sunday lunch and so they were trying to help us solve our predicament! In order to rent a car one of us had to have a credit card and neither of us do. The other option was someone from my parents church could come pick us up and take us to the hospital, which SEEMED like a good idea til they said it would cost us 82 cents a mile. That would be close to $500!! Suddenly my husband's aunt remembered that one of her nephews (my 1st cousin-in-law) was doing VS in the same area that my parents live at! So my husband called him and he said he'd do it if we pay his fuel!! Praise God!
    4PM found us on the way to KC airport. We got there a little before 7 only to find that our flight was delayed hrs due to bad weather in NJ. Our husbands stayed with us till we boarded, a little after 9. The flight was rough but we landed safely in Newark NJ just as Matthew was arriving from PA. It rained nearly the whole way to the hospital but even so we arrived at the hospital at 4:30 AM Apr. 23. Hannah and i curled up on the lounge couch and slept til our parents and little sister arrived an hr later.
    Dads surgery went well and he came out alive. But the doctor did say that dad has a very rare thing which proved to be a bit of a problem..(according to the dr anyway) He said that dad's main nerve that controls his breathing is on the left side instead of the right. He is one of the rare few that have this. And the cancer was encircling that nerve. The Dr. said he was sure that he cut it, but he could not find the end to it. He said that the next 2 days would be critical. What the Dr. didnt know was that there were hundreds and hundreds of people praying for dad. WE BELIEVE THAT GOD PERFORMED A MIRACLE!!!
    After dad was out of surgery Hannah, Hope and i went over to the House of Care and checked into our room. It was a very nice place. Kinda like a house with lots of bedrooms, a couple of bathrooms, computers, TV room, sitting room/library, dining room and kitchen! It was in walking distance of the hospital or we could take the shuttle.
    Tuesday dad seemed stable, so Hannah and I took Hope home and went to a couple of stores in the Valley(The place dads live is called Big Valley) We got our fabric for to make our dresses for our younger brother's up coming wedding at the local fabric store. Then we went to the thrift store, and then on to Peight's Country Store to get grapenuts. Whoever makes that cereal makes the best there ever was!!(: We got back to the hospital and visited with dad for a little til we needed to hurry go get ready for a business meeting. One of our friends picked us up and then brought us back afterwards. We had a great time!(:
    Wednesday we met our future sis-in-law in the nearby town and went shopping. I got a pair of white sandals! I was so tickled..(:
    Thursday we got up, did a load of laundry and then went up to dad's room to spend the day with them. Meanwhile his sister Ruth from Colorado showed up with her husband. They stayed for a couple of hrs til my brother Harold and his wife,children and mother-in-law came. Then my little sister came up with her friend and my little brother(: and his future bride came right behind them!(: Dad had plenty of family to keep him occupied!! But..i think it ended up being TO much. He was having a little more pain then usual because they had taken out the drain cord in his chest and they couldn't give him to much pain medication since they were watching for signs that the nerve was cut. All the family that wasnt staying around for the night left by 7:30PM or so. That left Henry and Joann and Hannah and i. Our friends that i mentioned about on Tuesday? Zach and his future bride Flora..yeah, them. They stopped by Thursday night to pick up a bag to take with them and see/meet my parents.(: It was late..like 10PM if i remember correctly. So they didnt stay long. And they were nice enough to drive us over to our room since it was raining. I gave Zach the bag and bid them farewell, with the excitement of seeing them again within 24 hrs, only this time in Columbus OH!!(:
    Friday morning Hannah and i packed and went up to the hospital to tell our parents goodbye! Dad was getting ready to go for a few more tests and then possibly HOME!!!(: A miracle for sure! The Dr.s were impressed with his progress to say the least!(: Thanks to all the people we knew and didnt know that were praying!!(: We only had a half an hr and then we had to go back to our room and gather our things and load them into Henry's car. We had a very!! interesting ride to the airport!! LOL  First we nearly ran out of gas..(still not sure how we made it to the gas station since it was only about 40 miles PAST the limit...i know we were praying like crazy!!) Then we took wrong roads and missed exits and jumped curbs and what not all!! But, we did arrive at the airport just in time again, only to find that our flight had been delayed again..this time only about an hr..  Our husbands were waiting for us when we landed in Columbus OH on Apr. 27th. We found our hotel and checked in. After eating supper at Subway, we all went to OH state stadium where the Major Convention was being held. We had an awesome weekend learning so many things and having fun with our friends.

     Zach, Me, Flora, Phil        
    Sunday morning i finally was able to get Zach to go with me to get the bag! I took the stuff to our car and changed into my new sandals(:  I went back in to meet the rest of my group and prepare for the last session. After the last session came goodbyes again and then we headed home. Good ole Missouri here we come!!(:  We got home about 1:30 AM Monday Morning.
    Phil went to work as usual, well not quite..he TRIED to go to work as usual but ended up feeling so tired that he went back to bed for an hr and then went to work at 8:30. I didnt get the baby so i could sleep in. And then the other 3 came later. I felt draggy all day and didnt have much motivation...with a severe headache ...i wonder why?? (: (:
    The rest of the week went pretty well with Children every day except Thursday, my usual day off.  I spent the day cleaning. In the evening we went to our weekly business meeting. It was Fired UP as usual!(:
    Friday night Phil(my hubby) and 2 other guys went to mow the church yard so i went along and started cleaning the church since its my turn this month.

    Saturday Ann Marie came a little earlier then usual. But that was ok since we had to get up early to get the garden ready to plow. The guy never showed up then because he couldnt get his tractor started. So after the baby left Phil and i went to clean the church. We also picked up a tractor and tiller at a friends house. Phil tilled the garden himself while i went to Dollar General and picked up a cake mix and icing to make a cake for my best friend Carol's birthday. I made the cake but i was to tired to decorate it so Phil fixed supper, we ate and went to bed.

    Sunday morning we showered, pealed potatos and carrots and added them to the roast that had been cooking all night. Ann Marie came and i fed and bathed her for church. Church went well. We had a quiet lunch at home, took a walk, and then in the afternoon i decorated the cake(: The party turned out great! But we didnt stay very long as i was VERY tired!! Took some pictures of wild flowers on our walk, here they are(:
      Blackberry Blosom?

             Not sure...

             bout this either??

        Daisy? We used these last year at our wedding(:      

 I love flowers..even if i dont know what kind they are!(:

Primrose?? They are so pretty!(:

     MO bluebonnets i think?

   Well i must needs run along. Hope you all have a wonderful day!!(:

Highlights

        I know i haven't written in a while. I've had a house full of children this and its been an extra busy kind of time!(: But i thought i would share some of the highlights of the past week or so!(:

        Monday was a full day with all four children here during the day. A rare thing to happen, although it may be happening more often since the mother of the 3 siblings is looking for a day job! Anyway, i fed the children lunch and put the three youngest down for naps and then i helped Omar with his school work. I'm teaching him kindergarden the way the mennonites do it with the hopes that he will start school with a nice head start!

        Tuesday found baby Ann Marie here early as usually and the Torres 3 here after lunch. They didnt overlap at all for which i was very glad! They only thing about that tho, is that he said he'd be here around 11 to pick them up. I waited till 12:15.. makes a short night when i cant sleep in in the morning!

        Wednesday the baby was here again and they children came way late in the afternoon. I had actually given up on them coming because they werent here even by three o'clock PM. They showed up around 4:30. And to top it off they said they'd be back around 10:30. And i KNOW they werent working! So much for having an evening to ourselves! I made supper and we ate as soon as Phil came home from work. It was a fairly uneventful night. And to the parent's credit they actually showed up at 9:30! But by that time i was extremely tired and decided they could get the children up and dressed themselves. (not to mention i'd pulled muscles in my shoulder and was hurting) They left and we went to bed.
        Thursday was another early morning with the baby again. A very unusual week. But it was my day off from the Torres 3 for which i was VERY thankful! By this time i wasnt feeling good and just ready for 2PM to hurry and get here so that i could take a much needed nap. The baby went home and i laid on the couch to rest. Imagine my surprise when at 2:30 my husband walks in the door!!(: I was very happy with that!!(: he had brought things home to make my long awaited flower beds! YAY!! We worked on them till it was time to eat supper. After supper we got dressed up and went to our weekly business meeting at my sister's house. Talk about an awesome meeting! The speakers were great!
      Now i come to the here and now..it felt so good to sleep till i was well rested this morning! I have a ton of things to do and i am expecting the children this afternoon,just not sure what time. But i have a counter full of dishes, loads of laundry and my house to clean before this week end! Tomorrow we are attending the wedding of a friend and Sunday night i am leaving with my sister to fly out to my parents place to be with my dad before and during surgery. Please remember our family in prayer! This surgery is to remove cancer that is near his heart so it will be similar to an open heart surgery. There is a possibility that he might not make it through surgery although i personally feel like he will. Prayers will certainly be appreciated!

 Also remember our husbands...they will be alone this week and then on Friday they will come to Columbus OH where they will be picking us up at the airport and we will be attending a Major Convention Friday night - Sunday noon. Plans are that we will be home by Sunday night.
                                       Hope all is well with you  and yours!

       

TORNADOES and CHRIST'S RETURN

        My husband read an article to me the other day about the weather channel trying to warn people of approaching tornadoes by using a different set of words. Words such as "devastating", "catastrophic" and many more 'terrifying' words. They are trying to help people to understand the destruction that these things cause and therefore hoping that the people will seek shelter immediately instead of waiting till the last minute. Often times people did not believe there was really a tornado approaching and were severely wounded or killed. Or they may have been so caught up in whatever they were doing that they were hit unexpectedly. But most times people are usually given some type of warning and it is up to them how they will react!

   
          That brings me to another subject that is different yet very similar..Christ's return! I dare say that His coming is feared nearly as much as a tornado..yet people do nothing to prepare! The Christians are to warn people of Jesus' return. Are they making it clear? Are we understanding fully what it means? We cannot know the hour in which He will come again. (Matthew 25:13) Will we be caught unawares and not ready? It will be a horrible thing  for the person that has not made preparations!(Hebrews 10:31) Oh that we would be making preparations for when Jesus returns! Let us seek shelter everyday under the shadow of the Almighty! (Ps. 91:1)
         Blessings to you as you seek to be ready for both tornadoes and most of all, Christ's return!!

       

SPRING and SEEDLINGS

            

          Don't you just love this time of the year when all the flowers and trees are blooming and it smells so fresh outdoors? It must be my favorite time of the year!! And Daffodils are one of my favorite spring flowers! They remind me of being a little carefree girl running barefoot on our farm. I always thought that when the daffodils were blooming then it must surely be barefoot time!!( Even tho others say it's when you see a bumble bee!!)
                                        
 (The above picture i found oneline and it took me to a blog! And i LOVE this lady's blog!! I love gardening and i think i will follow her since she likes it too!!:)
         Yesterday and today i have been transplanting my seedlings into paper cups until we can till the garden. The little seedlings remind me of my babysitting children... they need a lot of care and "warm sunshine" and "watering" to grow up to be "strong plants" and "bear good fruit"!! And its such a joy to watch them grow and coach them! But yet we can only do so much and then its up to our Heavenly Father to watch over them once they are out in the "garden" where the "weather may be rough"!!

        Hope you all have a lovely day and can plant at least small gardens of your own?!(: