Holiday..and the end of the year

Hello all!

It's been a while since I last posted, we sure have been busy!

Our holiday started on Friday afternoon of the 16th, and it started with a bang! We had a lime with all the students and some of the teachers of the school, here by our house. They are always so fun and encouraging!

The first week we spent a day by some friends learning a few new Trini dishes, and 2 days by a wonderful family in La Brea. (That is down by the Pitch Lake.) I love this family so much! They are so welcoming and hospitable, plus they make me laugh! :)

Last weekend we had our Star Wars marathon! Woo hoo! Spread out over a couple of days, all 6 movies...*Brain washed by Star Wars, we are!* Oh! Sorry! The force was just overwhelming me...er, yeah. Heh heh!

This last week we spent a day with another family who we have gotten close to. They have 3 children- Keturah, who is my age, Rebecca, who is Miles' age, and Nathaniel, who is Silas' age! They are a lot of fun. :) ...and just so you know, Nathaniel is my little man! He is cute, sweet, and gives me hugs...*sigh* :)

Thursday was another big highlight.

D beach. :)

It was such a beautiful day. Just us, the beach, rain and sunshine, naps in the sand, walking down the beach to a big barge about a mile away, food, sand flies, sun screen, bathing in the ocean, laughing, soaking in the moments, reflection on life, pictures, being basically alone so there wasn't so much immodesty... :)

Plus a few more get-togethers and limes, a lot of laughing, singing, playing All-fours (a card game), reading books, bible study, and sleeping in every day...that's been our holiday so far. Next week is planned to be busy too. :)

I can hardly believe it is almost the new year. Time has gone by so quickly, yet it seems like forever ago that our poor little deer-in-the-headlights family saw the beginning of 2011 in Trinidad...and now we are Trini, and we're getting ready for 2012. <3

Hope every one of you are having a wonderful holiday, and that we are thanking God for each moment that we are blessed to still be here.

Have a happy New Year! Don't stay up too late. ;)

A Year Ago Today...

November 8, 2010.

We left Arkansas at 2:20 PM. We spent the night in Miami, and arrived about 3:00 PM on

November 9, 2010.

Guess what today is? Yup! November 9, 2011. :)

A year ago yesterday, I said goodbye to the beautiful rolling hills of Arkansas.

A year ago today, I said hello to a Caribbean Island that frequently stuns me with its beauty.

A year ago yesterday, I said goodbye to the house that I was born in and my family had lived in for 19 years. A house of memories.

A year ago today, I said hello to a new house, across the ocean, that already has innumerable memories in it, memories that I wouldn't trade for anything.

A year ago yesterday, I said goodbye to the quiet countryside, where there was room to ramble wherever you wanted.

A year ago today, I said hello to living in town, in a small compound, where you learn to actually appreciate the country and the quiet when you get the chance.

A year ago yesterday, I said goodbye to my poor old spinet. *sniff*

A year ago today, I said hello to my awesome keyboard that we brought with us. It has definitely been used well! :D (...and it has these cool modes, like organ, strings, choir, 80's keyboards, other variations, and they are so much fun! Bahahaha! And the demos...when the preaching school students are trying to mimic how I play, and you turn on the demos...Pahahahahahahaha! *ahem* :D )

A year ago yesterday, I said goodbye to many friends that made my life what it was.

A year ago today, I said hello to many friends that have made my life what it is now.

Shall I go on?

About our new Toyota Noah van, that some of the funnest times are when we pack 13 or 14 into that 8 seater? About our new and only animal, Cheyenne, our Doberman/Rottweiler guard dog that the boys always manage to make me come to help and clean her? ( "But Naomi, you're our soap dispenser. There is no other soap dispenser like you!" ...Thanks guys. Hehe! )

About learning football (soccer) with the Trinis?

About learning Bob Marley songs for the guys, and seeing their faces when I play for them?

Or about learning to make yourself come out more? Kiss the cheeks of those precious old ladies, talk to those children that are just too shy to talk first? It's worth it, all the way.

But do I miss all those things I left behind? (Those boxes and boxes of junk, definitely...NOT.)

I miss people. I miss seeing those friends that I love, but when we move back, I'm going to miss these people here that I love...so much.

Am I glad that I am here? A resounding YES! It changes your perspective. I know I have changed, and I hope that it is for the better. :)

I wouldn't change where I am for the world. <3

"...and I think to myself, what a wonderful world..."

AND...on a side note, we got to skype with Wade and Leah and Isaiah last night... :)

I just love screen shots! :)

This is the first time that Isaiah has ever laughed! Wade and Leah's faces...it was so precious. :)

Statistically:

He is 2 months and 2 days, weighs about 15 pounds, has the most precious fat rolls, and is a punkin! :D

Hope everyone has a blessed week! :)

A cute something...

Ever since I can remember, Lydia has sewn me something for every single one of my Birthdays. :)

I was teasing her about it this time, and about a month ago she came in with this envelope...(Without a name on it, not even licked...heh heh)

...and in it was this.

Isn't that so cute?! :D It has a safety pin on the back, so you can put it on your shirt, bag, etc, whatever you want. I love it!

My favorite way, so far, is to wear it on my headscarf. :)

This was right after the World Evangelism Workshop, and my hair was actually done, and I felt like I looked okay (for once, HAHA) so...

Playing with the settings...

Thank you Lydia for such a cute belated gift! :D

<3

"For the want of..."

In one of my school books I came across one of Benjamin Franklin's sayings from Poor Richard's. It goes:

"For the want of a nail the shoe was lost,

For the want of a shoe the horse was lost,

For the want of a horse the rider was lost,

For the want of a rider the battle was lost,

For the want of a battle the kingdom was lost-

And all for want of a horse-shoe nail."

It really got me to thinking. When we don't have something, that is in our minds small, it can affect way more than we think! I know that faith is not small, but sometimes I think we say that "Oh, I'm a Christian! I attend services, I go to funerals, I sometimes even take food to the sick...therefore I have faith!" You can say that without being faithful. Just because you're religious, doesn't mean you're righteous! The lack of faith can affect so much!

I made my own poem. I know I'm not as good as he is, but maybe I can portray a little bit of what I'm trying to say.

"For the want of faith the teacher was lost,

For the want of a teacher the gospel was lost,

For the want of the gospel the soul was lost,

For the want of a soul the church was lost,

For the want of a church the world was lost-

And all for want of faith."

Today I just want to encourage us to remember that small things have a big impact! You don't necessarily have to go out onto a foreign mission field to be a teacher, I'm pretty sure everyone lives in a town that has non-Christians in it! There are simple things, like, you could even say,

"For the want of propriety/modesty the influence was lost,

For the want of influence the soul was lost..."

It is my prayer and my exhortation that we may be strong, be faithful, and remember that we can do ALL things through Christ, even the seemingly small ones!

"Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might."

-Ephesians 6:10

" I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me."

-Philippians 4:13

"And he saith unto them, Because of your little faith: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."

-Matthew 17:20

Have a wonderful Wednesday! :)

Do, a nut...er, I mean Doughnuts! :D

I've been in the cooking mood today, I made fresh yeast bread, and Donuts! I got the recipe from here, it's amazing! :)

Mmm...yummy!

I only had enough glaze for half of them...

Look meh doughnut boi! :)

I'm so glad they worked so well! :)

Oh yeah...That's what I'm talkin' about!

I love cooking for my family! (Miles is sitting right beside me and says, "For my Family?! you mean for Miles! :D" )

And yes, for my wonderful brothers too! <3 :)

Have you ever made homemade doughnuts before?

Hello Munchkin Punkin!

Isaiah Michael Purdom

7 September, 2011

8:50 AM

8.8 pounds, 21.5 inches long

<3

Yeah, I'm just a little bit proud of him! :D

Some of my favorite pictures...you gotta love Skype and screen shots! :)

LOOK! He's yawning! Isn't that the most adorable thing you've seen all day?

Look at his precious toes! He has big feet like my Grandpa :)

And doesn't Wade look so proud? <3

AH! He's smiling! He loves Aunty Naomi!!!! :D <3

"Gwama, don't pinch my cute fat!"

He looks so peaceful here...lil' cutie patootie!

So... A wonderful family from the states sent us a box, filled with amazing stuff! :)

(They really happened to know us very well, too. ;)

Since they included really soft yarn, in baby blue, I thought I might make a certain someone a couple (or...way more than a couple) things... :)

I got this idea from here, and I thought it was just too cute! :) I revised it just a little, but it was fun! :)

*Enter Double Pom Pom Hat*

Can you just imagine his munchkin head all cozy and cute?!

Hopefully the rib on the bottom will keep it on. :)

*Pom poms! *

Now on to a next something! :)

I'm thinking little matching booties with pom poms, or a tri-cornered hat next.

What do you think?

"Always! No...never...."

There are good and bad things to everything that you do. Like going to the beach.

Good: When you put on sunblock and re-apply twice, before you get in the sun, you don't end up looking TOO much like a tomato! Woot! :)

Bad: When you forget insect repellent when going to Las Cuevas (aka "Home of the Sand Flies")...

:P

Today was really great! The students of the preaching school, a few of the instructors, and our family had a beach lime. It was fun! :)

Hope everyone has a great Lord's day tomorrow!

My New Favorite Advertisement

This summer we helped with several VBS weeks. It was very encouraging, we had a great time! The children here are so sweet, and so eager to learn. :)

One night, while we were preparing for the next day, Miles helped a bit, then sat down there with us, at the table covered with paper, scissors, glue, tape...etc. So he takes a piece of black paper and a white coloured pencil, and I see him writing for a while. When he was done he let me read it, this was the result:

"Elmer's Glue-all

The glue you use to glue all things. It will glue all, even your new toy that broke. It will fix anything from your tool box to that broken piano key. All you have to do is go to the nearest Walmart and buy a bottle of

Elmer's Glue-all."

Isn't he a genius!?

:D

...A few of my Favorite Things...

I have this little notebook that I keep in my purse, and I randomly put one page in it dedicated to some of my favorite things. I noticed lately that my first page is full...let me warn you that some of them are very random! No order, just as they came to me over a couple months. :)

• Salvation
• Family
• Sunshine
• Water
• Sharp Knives
• Flip-Flops
• Music
• Children
• Washing Dishes
• Books
• Chapstick
• Sewing
• Chocolate
• Sleep
• Hot Tea
• Candles
• Milk
• E-mails/Letters
• Hot Chocolate
• Hoodies
• Beach Limes
• Bonfires
• Sun Block
• Singing
• Wind
• Snickers Bars
• Buttons
• Sugar Cane
• Eye Glasses
• Friends
• Skype
• Piano
• Birthdays
• Crayons
• Socks
• Rain

:) Next page to be posted when full.

Isn't it just amazing how much God blesses us?! Even the little things count, we are a very blessed people.

Aaaand...

Of course you have to have a song!

(And just to show my latest technical ability...I actually posted a video onto my Blog! Can you believe it!? *Yes, yes, thank you ver much!*)

So...Tony Rice is really cool, I really enjoy listening to his music. This is one of my *favorites* of his! :)

Have a blessed week! :)

A blog award?!

Well thanks dear Lydia! :)

She awarded me this cute thing-a-ma-jig, so I am supposed to write 7 things about me, and then award this to 15 other bloggers...

1. I am enjoying finishing school, especially all the reading. (I love to read.)

2. I love playing the piano. Anytime, anywhere. :)

3. John Wayne...yep! :D I love the old spaghetti westerns when he was young, too!

4. I am blessed with an amazing family-physically and spiritually. :)

5. I enjoy cooking, especially for my cute brothers! ;)

6. I sunburn easily. (And yes, I live on an island 10 degrees north of the Equator!)

7. I love children- my ultimate goal is to get to heaven, but I would love to be a christian wife and mother on the way. :)

Now to *award*.

Mrs. Joy

Mrs. Jessica

Linz

Lori Lynn

Kara

Have a lovely week!

Roti and Requests

Part 1:

ROTI

...mm hmm, you just read that...roti. :)

Okay, so I really really love the food here. One of my favorites is roti, an Indian bread. It's kind of like a thin tortilla, only a bit wetter. You eat it by tearing off a bit, then picking up a bit of meat, or whatever else, and stuffing it in your mouth! :) Well, politely...

The other night I tried my hand at making Dosti Roti, one of a couple kinds. It turned out really well! And it was fun! :)

Going clockwise, on the top left is Stew Pumpkin, then the roti skin. Channa and Potatoes is chick peas and potatoes all cooked together in curry and masalla, then the chicken is curried.

P.S. You should come and visit me so you can try it, it's really good! ;)

Part 2:

A few prayer requests.

• Anna and Nathan are starting Preaching school on Monday, and Emily and Lydia will be taking a few part time. Please pray that they will be safe, and learn a lot.
• The boys and I are also starting a full schedule of school back on Monday.
• My Mum is flying to America on Tuesday, to be with my brother, Wade and his wife Leah, who is expecting their first baby soon! :D
• Pray that Leah will have a safe delivery, and as they go to their next place of work.
• A gentleman in our congregation passed away yesterday morning. He had terminal cancer. His wife also has several health problems.

Thank you so much! Have a wonderful weekend! :)

Birthday Outing

Last Tuesday was my birthday, (no, I can't believe I'm 17) and my family took me on a "Happy Birthday Outing." They took me to the Pitch Lake in La Brea, and it was really neat! It is the largest "natural deposit of asphalt in the world," right here in our beautiful island of Trinidad! :)

We went with some of the brethren here, Bro. Wendell Parris and his family, and two of the students, Trovel and Adrian, and Adrian's mum. :) They really made it a fun day! <3

A bubble in the middle of the path. Those are foot prints, it was really soft!

Old carts used to carry the pitch up to the refining factory...now they just use a tractor and dump truck!

Better be careful around the bubbles of fresh pitch, if you stand in some places long enough, you'll sink! ...*quick pitch!* Ha!

Trovel got me a lily from the lily-pad covered pond.. :)

Part of the lake was covered in water, which has a lot of sulfur in it, and supposedly it "helps with pimples and stretch marks." Hehe! So we did go bathing, and it felt so good! The sun was real hot, so it was like stepping into a hot tub! :)

Trovel mummy make me a cake, and he decorated it for me! :)

*yummy*

THEN Tracey and Crystal made me a cake, and decorated it the same way! Hehe! They didn't know at all!

The people are so giving down here, they really made my birthday so much fun!

And my family...what can I say? They sang to me probably 17 x 17 times that day! (and the next, and the day before...hehe!) They are such a blessing to me! <3

I thank God for giving them to me! :)

Hope everyone has a blessed week! :)

Thirty-fiiiive years agoooo...

Thirty-five years ago today, Miss Kathryn Dewberry married Mr Michael Purdom.

She was 20, he was 19.

The ceremony started at 3:00 PM on a Sunday, and was over by 3:08.

They honeymooned in Eureka Springs, AR...

Aren't they cute?!

Boy, am I ever glad that that happened... :)

~

Thirty-five years and eight kids later...<3

Aren't they adorable!?

I am so glad to have them for my parents. They have instilled countless things in my life, which, I am very happy to say, come straight from the Bible.

They are such wonderful examples to me and my family. :)

~

So. Dad took Mom to Tobago yesterday...we are Home Alone! Woot!

Let the partyin' begin...

(I'm hoping to get some school done, and some other projects finished! :) )

We're Part of God's Family...

Last week we went to the 41st Caribbean Lectureship in St Lucia. We had a great time; there were many good lessons, and lots of wonderful fellowship! It also served as a vacation, so that was nice, too!

We flew in Friday, so on Saturday we went to Pigeon Island. It's at the very top point, and there was an old fort there! All the buildings were in ruins and it was really cool! There are two really tall... cliffs? Hills, really, that were on the shore, like if you fell, you'd fall right into the sea! So we climbed both of them! It was so amazing. It was really beautiful...you could see for miles, just ocean, going on and on...

(I think you can see a few of the ruins here.)

St Lucia is very mountainous, it was incredible. :)

The brethren in St Lucia were very welcoming, and wonderful hosts. They provided transport to and from the airports and hotels every day! It was really neat to be there! :)

Sunday through Wednesday we had lectures all morning, then in the evening.

Every island was represented by their flag on the wall. Trinidad is the one to the left of America. When they called out all of them, and had us stand for each, we stood with Trinidad. :)

One of the afternoons we went to the beach. It was beautiful! The water was so clear you could see your toes! :)

Three little precious St Lucian girls: (and should I say a Trini? ;) Techlah, Abigail, and Leah. <3 Aren't they adorable!?

When we met Techlah, we asked her her name, and she said

"It begins wif a T, and ends wif an H."

So we start rattling names, like Teresah, Tinarah, Tamikah, etc. and she says

"No! Techlah! :)"

Ah. The one name we haven't heard yet! :)

Precious punkin Ethan. <3

Sharlia. :)

She and her family are from St Vincent, we stayed in the same hotel. Dad worked with her dad when he came in 1999, when he was in the preaching school.

Akeema :D

She engaged to be married this fall, to Leon, a really great guy! She's really sweet, and she and her Mum hosted a game afternoon in their hotel room. We had 20 people in one room! It was so much fun! I wuv her! :)

Lydia, Kezia, Tahira, Rachael, and I. :)

The collection of water bottles in the girls room at the end of the week, minus a few!

We had a wonderful time, and met lots of sweet people, but I'm glad to be home!

(I was really having Piano withdrawals the last few days! Haha!)

The Lectures are planned next year for the Cayman Islands! We are all really excited, and I sure hope it works out that we can go! It really is a great opportunity. :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend! :)