Bye-Bye Burdette Forest...

Last Friday was a bittersweet day packing up and saying goodbye to our neighbors, friends, home and life on Burdette Forest Road. It was a short, yet incredible 10 months in Maryland! I've learned and grown, been stretched and mentored in ways that I would have never imagined in such a short time! We spent the day getting both Hondas loaded down in prep to head out early on Saturday morning for the long trek to Kansas....

One last fam photo on our front porch!

Still on the market! It was a strange feeling to leave most of our belongings in our fully furnished house and head out for KS, but we're trusting the Lord to protect our home bring the perfect buyers in due time!

Here I am with cousins Lori, Sheila, and Aunt Jackie out for dinner! It was hard to say goodbye to our MD family but we're so thankful for the year of fun memories and holidays spent together!

We split up our 1100mi journey into 3 days, making a mini vacation out of it. Our first stop was Columbus, OH where we stayed at an indoor waterpark and had a blast. Below are pics of Wyatt playing at a park in Louisville, KY which was our next stop. This was the neatest park with an outdoor, live band playing... Wyatt had so much fun being out of the car, running around, and getting very DIRTY!

Isaac took lots of cat naps while Wy guy was out playing!

Our final stop was home of the Arch in good ol' St. Louis!

Wyatt actually took this photo of the 3 of us on the lawn under the Arch... He's quite the little photographer, I tell ya!

Here's Daddy and Wy guy wrestling under the skyscraper...

"Just hanging out." as Wy guy would say!

And finally on Tuesday we arrived in KANSAS CITY!!! We pulled up to our new apartment and were a little disappointed with the location, so we opted to stay in a hotel for 2 weeks while waiting for another apartment to become available... So our new home sweet home is temporarily on the 3rd floor of the Homewood Suites, complete with continental breakfast, housekeeping, and very tight living quarters for a family of 4 plus Gabbi dog! Now this is what you call down-sizing! But we will survive :) and will certainly grow in gratefulness for the comforts of home, I'm sure!

KathQueen came to visit!

My best friend from KSU came to visit me and the boys this weekend. Wyatt called Kathleen, "Kathqueen!" which I thought was a fitting title for the post! ; )

Joe was supposed to be home so that we could have some girl time, but he ended up getting assigned to one last trip! : / Kathleen was such a trooper and a great help to me as we ventured out with the kiddos... She got to see the craziness of life with 2 little boys in tow! We went to the county fair but it was very HOT so we didn't last too long, but long enough for a tractor ride...

and to see lots of animals and even take a cow ride : )... and sit in a big fire engine!

We got to eat out and play at the park and just enjoy some time catching up...in between tackles, and spills, and meltdowns, and everything else that goes along with bringing the boys out! ; )

Thanks SO much for taking time to come see us, Kathleen. It really was just like old times (with a couple of boys added to the mix!). I am so sad to no longer be living only 3 hours apart, but hopefully we'll get to see each other during your visits to KS... and I will definitley plan a girls weekend in PA too!!!!! Thanks for being so good to my boys this past weekend. I'm always so humbled after spending time with you... I appreciate so many of your character qualities, from your sweet spirit and patience that never seems to falter, to your dilligence and and quiet strength... You are such a beautiful person! Love and miss you, Friend!

Rehoboth, DE... a trip to the beach!

My fantastic husband surprised us with a family vacation to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware! This had been on my to-do list for east coast excursions and I was so glad to be able to check it off the list, even if it was 5 days before packing up and moving back to the midwest!

Here we are on the 'Hotel Rehoboth' golf cart heading down to the beach!

The boys loved the sand! The weather was AMAZING... 85 and cloudy most of the weekend. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect weekend for the beach! This is a photo of Isaac while making his famous'motor boat' noise! The boys are always wrestling!

Chillin' on the pier

Wyatt thought the waves were the most amazing thing he'd ever seen. He wasn't the least bit afraid and the waves were very BIG!

Somewhere in the middle of the weekend I turned 30! I had not been looking forward to turning the big 3-0, so a trip to the beach eased the pain! :) It really wasn't so bad afterall, although I definitley feel older now (but not old enough for a minivan! This is an ongoing jolk I've had with the hubby--I told him that maybe when I turned 30 I'd be ready for a minivan...well, maybe not!). But as I've had time to reflect on being 30, I'm increasingly grateful for where the Lord has me and what he's teaching me with each passing year... The verse I've claimed for the next decade is Psalm 90:12 "So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom."

First helicopter ride!

Daddy was very BRAVE to let Wy guy eat an ice cream cone while riding on his shoulders. He got a lot of giggles and comments on our walk back to the hotel! : ) But Wyatt enjoyed the ice cream so much that he didn't even let a single drip fall on Daddy's head!

Crossing the Bay Bridge on our way home...

Isaac is 7-Months!

Here's our little man posing for his 7-month photo!

Isaac has gotten to try lots of new foods this month! He's a very healthy eater, to say the least!

Bath time is one of the highlights of the day for Ike... He loves the water! Isaac is all about playtime now... So long to the days of him sitting back in the swing and observing the world around him... He is Mr. activity these days!

Isaac and Wyatt now 'wrestle'... It is so much FUN to watch them PLAY together. Isaac can definitley hold his own with big bro Wyatt around.

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Fun Facts About our 7-Month-Old:

ISAAC...

• is very ACTIVE now... He wants to be in on all of the action these days!
• has a very easy going, fun loving personality, but he's defintiley getting an OPINION. I love it! This little man is definitley not passive and will certainly be able to hold his own!
• has really discovered his VOICE BOX... Oh, my! He can be so NOISY!
• SMILES all the time... I would think his cheek muscles would eventually get tired, but he just keeps on smilin'.
• is starting to study others a little more... He's defintiley aware of new people and is a bit more cautious than he used to be, but will pretty much take to any open arms available...but he just might stare you down!
• LOVES to wrestle big bro but will also let him know when he's finished playing!
• Is a great EATER... Loves all fruit, except apples and any green veggie!
• HATES to have poo poo in his diaper.
• Thankfully, Ike is so good at entertaining himself and being independent in his crib, pack-n-play or jumper! He's got to be the most low-maintenance and easy baby EVER.
• it has been a little bit of a rough month for sleeping in the McCulley household. Isaac started waking again in the middle of the night and I refused to let him cry in fear of waking Wyatt. And Wyatt has been waking almost once every night due to bad dreams. Hopefully next month we'll all get more rest...

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...

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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...