We've just posted. . .

. . . entries catching up on the months Oct. through Dec. when we didn't have fast enough internet to post. So enjoy looking at the last several months worth of pictures!

DECEMBER

Susanna y Fran Elisabeth y Stephen

L-R Nena, 10, Nelly, y Fran 6

Our boys in our bedroom

Lydia y Marta Gracias por venir y ayudarnos Marta!

Gordon and the children putting together end of the school year gifts for children in Gordon's school. Jon Kropf in the background. Thanks for coming to help us Brother Jon! Thanks for the sacrifice of letting him come Sister Charlotte!

Isaiah with Elisabeth's cat

Susanna, Isaiah, and Samuel enjoy playing on the steps!

Nuestro's amigos han venido para despidirnos. . . gracias!

Our friends came to say good-bye the last evening in Velille.

Here we are traveling out! Betsie and Lydia in the chilly Espinar bus terminal.

A-la-lau! Hace frio en Espinar!

Our Tachllapampa Cabin

We took a lot of pictures of our last weekend out in Tachllapampa. The children are really going to miss our little cabin there. . . and no wonder - with a loft, a hammock, and a swing it was designed by a loving father for his little ones!

Hemos tomado bastantes fotos de nuestro ultimo fin de semana alla en Tachllapampa. . . porque los ninos van a extranar mucho so cabana alla. Su Papa ha puesto muchas cosas bien divertidas alla, como su columpia, su hamaka, y sus altos.

Isaiah sure loves his Papa! Isaias le quiere a su Papa mucho! Here are the 3 youth girls that came to help us, L-R Jenny Yoder, from our church in NC, Helena and Lydia Howe, Betsie's sisters from OH! Thanks for all the hard work and potato peeling girls!! Aqui estan las tres chicas, Jenny, Helena, y Lydia - muchas gracias por ayudarnos chicas! The village of Tachllapampa as seen from our front door. . . in dry season there's not much color. El pueblito de Tachllapampa. . .

Jen and Lydia sorting potatoes - some of them sort of started growing already! See that mountain of dried cow patties behind Lydia? They're all ready to cook with. . .

Pobre papitas! Pero son ricas todavia!

Elisabeth Twirls!

Susanna pushes Samuel!

Isaiah swings happily, tied up in the hammock like a fish in a net!

Isaias esta muy contento - como un pez en la maylla.

And Betsie just layed around. . . while Lydia kept her company! (How thankful I am now for so much better health - 2 months sick in bed was long enough for me! Praise the Lord~) Y Betsie estaba enferma todo este tiempo. Casi 2 meses de enfermedad ere tan largo para ella. . . pero gracias a Dios, ya esta mucho mejor!

Here is Elisabeth cheerfully sweeping the loft that Gordon built the girls to sleep in. . . it was their pride and joy! Aqui Elisabeth esta limpiando su mismo cuarto. . . ella estaba tan feliz que por fin tenia su segundo piso.

NOVEMBER

November was a very busy month with packing up, sickness, and Gordon's teaching job. . . But we still had time for grins, giggles, missing teeth, and pumpkin pies! Noviembre era un mese tan lleno con cosas para hacer - alistando la casa para dejar, Gordon ensenando, y tambien dias de enfemedad. Pero tambien habia teimpo para gozo y alegria - como cuando Elisabet perdio sus dientes!

Seven year old Elisabeth with her two top teeth gone, and the Thanksgiving Pumpkin pie she made for Nena and Fran. Elisabet sin 2 dientes, con su pay de zapayo que hizo para Nena y Fran. Samuel age 3

Profesor Gordon - listo para ensenar!

Teacher Gordon - ready to teach!

. . . and of course many things to pack. . .

. . . y por su puesto - muchas cosas para alistar. . .

OCTOBER

We selected these pictures as a sampling of October. . . Here are some faces for you to put with the names we so often mention in our letters. Please continue to lift them up to the Father!

Susanna "carried" Stephen on her back a little - to her delight. Maria is in the background giving a hand though! Aqui Susana esta cargando Stephen, el tiene mas o menos 5 meses en este foto. L-R Avelina, Anthony, Maria, Stephen, Susanna, and Judy Here is Sister Maria with her mother, sister, and two sons. . . Susanna is sharing her dear Flopsy bunny with Stephen. Aqui tenemos Hermana Maria con su Mama, hermana, y dos hijos. Susanna esta compartiendo su peluche "Flopsy" con Stephen.

A precious family photo of Daniel and Maria with 7 year old Anthony and 5 month old Stephen.

Un foto precioso de la familia de Daniel y Maria. Antony tiene 7 anos y Stephen 5 meses.

Rosa and Kevin are playing a game with Lucinda and Marie. . . they frequently spent time with us in the evenings as they lived alone. Aqui Rosa y su hermanito Kevin estan jugando con sus amigas Lucinda y Maria.

TEA PARTY When Gordon left to take Lucinda and Marie out to the airport, he was gone for nearly a week. He took Samuel with him - all of the children love a chance to go traveling with Papa! The many, many hours of bussing don't seem to wear them out like they wear us old folks out! Here is a picture of a little tea party we had while they were gone. Cuando Gordon y Samuel han levado las chicas, Lucinda y Maria a su vuelo a Los Estados, hemos quedado tristes. . . Entonces, hemos jugado y tambien un dia para divertirnos, hemos tomado mate y galletas para una fiesta pequna.

Safely in the States

Praise the Lord! We are safely back in the States again, in the middle of a few weeks of visiting before we settle down in NC. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers for us these weeks. Now that we have fast internet access again, we'll put on some pictures that we have been saving up over the last several months. We plan to write in both Spanish and English now so that our friends back in Peru can look at this blog and keep up with us. . . Gracias a Dios, estamos bien. . . Ya estamos en Los Estados visitando nuestra familia. Vamos a poner algunos fotos de los ultimos meses.