Catching Up with Good FRIENDS!

We are so blessed to have such GREAT friends in our lives! So here, I'm taking time to catch up on the weekends spent with 'old friends' this summer...

The Napier and Thomas clan (who were all part of our 'original' small group when Joe and I landed at Bethel Church several years back) came to visit us in MD for a couple of days over Memorial Weekend! It was like nothing had changed, no time had past, and we just picked right up where we left off last time... that's when you know you've got some really great friends!Joe and I call this bunch our 'fun friends' because we know that inevitably when we hang out, we'll have so much FUN, no matter what we do! : )

While they were here, most of the group did and early morning White House Tour followed by a day at National Zoo (hence the end-of-the-day, we're all-worn-out-photo above!). I can't believe this is the only picture we got, but I'm glad we have one! Love you all and thanks SO much for making the trip to see us...

_______________________________________________________________

And in July, our sweet friends, the Woelkers, came to visit...We got to enjoy some pizza and pool time, accompanied with lots of great conversation and just catching up on life! Below is a picture of Wyatt with his buddies, Tyler and Zoe (yes, they are twins... aren't they darling?).

These 3 kiddos probably don't remember this, but they sure went on lots of morning rides in their jogging strollers together while us mommies got some exercise on the bike trails back in NWI! Oh, I miss those days! : )

And below is a picture of my very sweet friend, Melissa, and me!!! : )

_______________________________________________________________ This past weekend we got to go see the Thomas family in their neck of the woods, near Hershey, PA!!!! We has such a fun and refreshing day together.... It was just what we needed in the midst of a CRAZY season of life with having a house for sale, making a job change, and moving across the country (for the second time this year!). If anyone can empathize with this kind of stress and 'change' it's the Thomas'! Thanks for letting us spend the day with you...

Here we are at CHOCOLATE WORLD

We got to go on a fun little ride (twice, of course...once is never enough!) that toured us through a chocolate factory. It was super cool, if you can't tell from the expressions and photos below!

Here's Wy guy with his 'bigger' buddy, Parker! Wy loves to hang out with the big boys so he thought this was a GREAT day... Hanging out with Parker and getting to eat chocolate, what could be better than that?!

Here's a photo of the singing cows. Wyatt LOVED these cows and has been asking us to tell him stories about the singing cows before nap and bedtime!

So many sweet treats...YUMMY! Wyatt is giving me a big chocolatey 'cheese' below... The boys got to go inside the factory and help make some 'kisses'... My little Chocolatier... Here are the little buddies, Preston and Isaac, just chillin and watching their big bros have fun! Putting their chocolate on the assembly line... I found this an appropriate place to steal a 'KISS' from my little Hershey man!

Counting our BLESSINGS for very good FRIENDS!!!!!!

Noteworthy-A little bump in the road!

Here's a note to record the Lord's faithfulness throughout our life's journey. This is an email Mommy sent to friends and family after the contract on our house fell through... Hello friends and family! We just got news today that the "solid" : ) contract on our home is a 'no-go'. Although we were initially inclined to feel diappointed by this news, we'll leave it just as it is.... 'a bump in the road'. As we've been working our way through 1 Peter at church, I'm reminded that these circumstance happen to build our faith in a good God. So we are not losing heart, and still trust there to be a buyer who will find our home to be a perfect fit for their family, all in due time. Would you be praying with us for the sale of our home and that we would behave as His children during this time of waiting? Please pray that we would be able to move to KC together as a family, that our house would sell before our temp housing allowance runs out, and that I would stay encouraged while showing a house with two little rascals around! May our faith be proven genuine for His glory.... We're grateful for each of you! Blessings, Belinda (for my fellas too!) "I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it." -Charles Swindoll

Hakuna Matata!!!!

The 'Theme Song' in the McCulley household over the past couple of months has been Hakuna Matata, which means "no worries" in Swahili!!! Wyatt loves the movie Lion King and he couldn't have learned this song at a more perfect time in life... He sings it to me and it instantly reminds me to have more FAITH, like that of a child!!!! Wyatt has such a great perspective on everything in life (excpet when I say no to say, candy!)... Like when we walk outside on a 100 degree day with no air moving at all and he says, "It's a really nice day out, isn't it Mommy? Sky is blue! No clouds!" Everything in me wants to say, "No, Wyatt... It's too HOT!" but his sweet spirit is a humble reminder to be content and thankful for all things!

So life isn't going exaclty as I had planned right now... I'm not really in favor of uprooting already and making another move across the country, but it is the decision that has been made... So I'm doing my best to find rest in the sovereign One who's got the 'worries' all under control! Hukana Matata for the rest of our days...

Noteworthy-Another move in progress...

Here's an email that Daddy sent to our friends and family letting everyone know of our upcoming move from Clarksburg, MD to Kansas City, just 9 months after making a move from Northwest Indiana to the east coast! Dear friends and family- Belinda and I wanted to let you know we have another move in progress! I have recently accepted a position with the FDA-OCI (Office of Criminal Investigations) in Kansas City. We will be moving to the Kansas City area at the end of August when I begin my new job. Leaving the Service has not been an easy decision nor has leaving our new friends, church & home here in Maryland. We are however, excited for this next season in our lives. God has reassured us that this is the right move for our family in many ways; not the least of which was finding a buyer for our house within 48 hours of listing it! We look forward to catching up with many of you soon but didn't want this news to reach you through the "grapevine". God Bless- The McCulleys

Happy Birthday Tunes!

A Birthday Weekend...

We had a very fun-filled weekend celebrating Joe's 32nd Birthday! We started of the weekend with a 'date night' on Friday while our sweet babysitter watched the boys. Joe and I headed to our favorite Mexican spot, Guapo's, where we sat on the patio for dinner and listened to a live Jimmy Buffet style band play! It was a great night OUT!

Saturday morning we headed to a man-made beach in our area with our care group from church. It was HOT but still tons of fun to hang out and relax in the sand. Thanks for out cute, coordinating outfits, Gamma!

This is a photo of Joe, Bryan (Wyatt's buddy!) and Wy guy splashing in the water!

Then Saturday night, I spotaneously decided at 6pm to run an 8K twilight race that started at 9pm. So it was a late night for everyone but it was loads of fun to run in the dark with my boys cheering me on from the sidestreets! : ) Afterwards, there was a festival and live music so we partied for a while then my little guys crashed hard on the ride home! Monday, we made a trip to see Daddy at work! This was one of Wyatt's favorite days EVER, I think. He got to sit int he BIG diesel truck with lights and sirens blaring... He thought he was pretty cool!

And he even got to step foot into the ambulance and sit on some motorcycles!

And finally, today we had a big birthday for all of our Maryland fam who have birthdays in the summertime. We had a pool party followed by movie night!!! We love to party so we're sad the weekend is over, but we'll make more excuses soon... : )

NoteWorthy... Earthquake!

We experienced our first (and hopefully LAST) earthquake this morning in Maryland. You heard me right, there was an EARTHQUAKE in Maryland of all places! We awoke to a violent shaking very early this morning.... There was a huge grumbling noise and it sounded like a jet was hovering over our roof, causing the ground to rumble beneath us. It only lasted a few seconds but left us very perplexed. Joe said, "That was an earthquake!" and I said, "No it wasn't. There aren't earthquakes in MD!" Well we were both a little groggy and fell back to sleep. But sure enough, as soon as we turned on The Today Show at 7am they were reporting the strange event that took place to be an earthquake. My man was right! And the epicenter was about 3 miles from our house! Here's a short article from the Washington Times... Earthquake in Maryland: D.C. area rocked Michael Blanpied Earthquake Expert, U.S. Geological Survey(USGS) Friday, July 16, 2010; 11:00 AM The U.S. Geological Survey reported a 3.6 magnitude earthquake centered in Montgomery County at 5:04 a.m. Friday. The epicenter was in Gaithersburg near I-270 and Route 124 (39.145 degrees N, 77.222 degrees W), USGS reported in a preliminary finding. Its depth was 3.1 miles