It's about time (Part 2)

Two days after Christmas we returned to Greensboro to pack up the rest of our house for storage. We forgot to take pictures of the move out of the house, but we wanted to say THANK YOU again to John P (and little Emma), Stan, Michael, and Danny who helped load the truck in Greensboro.

We were greeted in Laurinburg by an eager group of family who helped us unload the whole thing in just over an hour (not too shabby considering it was a 26 foot truck). Thanks to Dad and Brenda,, Mom and Larry, Uncle Joe and Aunt Pauline, and Danny and Carolyn.

We were blessed with a great deal on a storage shed and Kasey's Dad and Stepmom were kind enough to offer to put the building in their backyard. Getting the shed ready was a family affair. Here is Tim, Dad, and Blake (our nephew) adding insulation and plastic to the walls. Morgan (our niece) wanted in on the painting fun. They did a great job!

A yard sale and two truck loads to Goodwill and we still have all this stuff? It was a cold night to unload the truck, but our family graciously sacrificed their backs for a greater good. Brenda's chili was a good motivator as well.

After two weeks of strenuous labor, were were blessed with a few relaxing days with Tim's Dad and Stepmom at their Bed & Breakfast on Amelia Island, Florida. We were treated to a New Years Eve carriage ride around Historic Fernandina Beach. We had a great time catching up, watching movies, and helping Dad and Deborah take down some Christmas decorations.

So much for warm Florida! Sweaters and jackets were required as the nighttime temps dipped into the low 30's.

Deborah makes great breakfasts for their B&B and we were fortunate enough to get a taste each morning. Here we are enjoying our last breakfast before starting the long drive west to Colorado.

It's about time (Part 1)

So we are a little behind in updating our blog. It's been a little over a month and whew, what a month it has been. We thought we would bring you the last month in pictures so you can see what we have been up to. There is so much to cover we broke the last month into two parts. Part one covers December up to Christmas day...

Big tummy contests (Lorin won by a nose. Or maybe it was an arm. Baby Will is due on Jan 20)

Visit to see an old friend and her growing family that was LONG overdo. Luke (on the left) wrestled Tim into submission. He's a future state champion. Mark my words.

How many McCutchens does it take to slice a turkey? Julie (Tim's sister) is due with baby Beam #2 in March. We were able to spend the night with Julie, her husband Scott, daughter Addison, and dog Buster on our drive to Colorado as well. What a treat to see them twice over the holidays!

Kasey getting caught up with the latest V-Tech and Nintendo DS video games. We had a pajama party Christmas night with Kasey's mom and stepdad, her brother Frank, his wife Christina and their boys Hayden (L) and Caleb (R). The boys were excited to teach Aunt Kasey their moves.

A Beautiful Life

We are sad to report that Ganesh lost his battle with HIV and is now with the Lord. While we were in India his health was declining, but in early October his health quickly deteriorated. In 12 short years he touched many lives and was a HUGE encourager to everyone he met. We rejoice that he is with the Lord, but we mourn that such a promising young life was robbed by such an awful foe. His death has been hard on the workers at House of Hope. With 13 other HIV children some of the workers are feeling hopeless. Please pray for them right now, that God would sustain them, encourage them, and that their hope would be found in Him.

Work Hard, Play Harder

Bigwheel Buddies

Being back home has given us more time to spend with family and boy has it been fun! We babysat our little niece Erin last week who is currently potty training. It was an eventful morning full of playing, eating, going for walks, riding bikes, and of course going to the potty several times. We were very proud to report that there was only one small accident all morning long. After returning inside from a stroll in the stroller and a bike ride aunt Kasey walked into another room and left uncle Tim and Erin to themselves. I returned to a wet floor and uncle Tim saying “oh no”. We just aren’t use to the signs yet, but we will know to pay better attention next time!

Chopsticks Never Gets Old

An Autumn Stroll

We spent the afternoon with Erin’s older brothers Ethan and Eli. After being in the house all morning, we thought we would be the cool aunt and uncle and offer to take them out for lunch. Little did we know that we were opening a can of worms. First they had to have a discussion about where each one wanted to go and why. We spent that next few minutes listening to Ethan (the older of the two) try to convince his little brother that his place had better food and was obviously the best choice. Next, we listened to Eli’s argument for his lunch pick. Finally, being the gullible aunt and uncle we are, we agreed to eat at Wendy’s (Ethan’s choice) and to play at McDonalds (Eli’s choice). All parties were pleased, including uncle Tim who got to climb and slide down the slides at McDonalds Playland.

Sleepover at Grammy's

Small steps...

Our house is officially on the market. There has been a healthy amount of interest, as several couples have been back twice to get a second look. As of today, no offers have come in. However, we remain confident that the house will rent or sell before we head back to Colorado in January. It has been hard getting the house spruced up, knowing that we aren’t going to live there again. The house has been a huge blessing to us and we are grateful for the time we have had, but we are sad to be giving it up. As we have cleaned, we have prayed for the next family that will make this house their home. It’s exciting to think of the memories a new family will make in the home and that helps us get through the waves of emotion.

Now we're cookin...

Last weekend we helped Kasey's dad cook 45 Boston Bucks in preparation for our BBQ plate fundraiser next weekend. By the time we finished chopping all the meat, we had 60 gallons of chopped BBQ. We're hoping to sell 500 plates with all of the proceeds going towards our support. We can't thank Kasey's family enough for all that they are doing in preparation for the big event. Her Dad and Stepmom have organized the whole event and several members of the family have helped by selling tickets, advertising, chopping meat, and cooking all the side items.

We'll spend next weekend in Laurinburg putting the BBQ plates together and then sell them Friday and Saturday at her parent's church. Then on Sunday we'll have an opportunity to thank the church for their past support and talk about our time in India. Please pray for some hungry people to come by the church next weekend to not only buy BBQ but to also hear about our ministry.

She's dangerous with a knife

Here comes the bride

Below are some pics of Kasey’s brother’s wedding from last weekend. It was a great time! Everything ran very smoothly and the church looked lovely. His new bride’s coworkers actually handled the entire reception…they could not have done a better job. The bride and groom where pleased and seemed to have a wonderful day. We were the only attendants in the wedding, so it was fun keeping the ring bearer and flower girl in their appropriate places and quiet! It was so good to see family and to celebrate such an important day.

The newlyweds are off now enjoying their honeymoon at the beach. We have decided that honeymoons should be mandatory every year!

(L) Goofing off before the service

(R) First dance of the evening

One proud mama!