Pumpkin Carvin' Party

Claire and I decided to go all-in to the fall weather (there are snow flurries outside right now, so we are actually now in winter weather) and host a Pumpkin Carving Party at our little red home.

Our friends came over and we had cider, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin pie, and peanut butter and chocolate brownies (all of which were delicious). Now, if that's not a recipe for a fantastic night, what is? And to top off the night, we gathered in the garage for pumpkin carving! Below are some pictures of the event. Please enjoy.

The gang on a carving frenzy.
Here we are, posing with our creations.
They look much better with the lights off.
Claire's and my creations. Mine's on the left, Claire's is on the right.

Bad dog. Very bad dog.

So....Rob and I left Baby at home for a few hours yesterday afternoon while we went out with some friends. Upon our return, Rob entered the house while I lagged behind in the garage. Tipped off by Rob's repeated refrain of, "Oh, no. OH, no. OH, NO!", I knew SOMETHING very bad must have transpired in our absence. Here is the scene we were greeted with:

And here's the culprit...

Turns out, yours truly left the baking goods cabinet open before leaving the house, and Baby...well, I guess she just could resist. I don't even want to think about how much sugar and flour she ate, but I know for a fact that she ate almost an entire bag of chocolate chips. (I frantically called the vet to make sure she didn't need to have her stomach pumped or something - large amounts of chocolate can be toxic to a dog). Turns out she was just fine - she got most of it out of her system by leaving us a giant pile of barf to clean up along with everything else.

I was LIVID when I saw the mess and calculated how long it would take to clean it all up. I was a few minutes into sweeping, though, when I just gave in started to laugh. How could I not, after looking into these adorable guilty eyes?

Fallicious!

After a busy September and a break from blogging, we thought we'd get everyone back in the loop! We spent Labor Day weekend in Memphis with the Singletons, which was both fun and relaxing - especially with the lovely new guest room furniture that now fills what used to be "my" room. Unfortunately, we don't have any proof that we were ever there, because we failed to take any pictures. :(

Even more unfortunate is the fact that we failed to take pictures of the next two events as well.... You'll just have to believe us when we tell you that we took a week-long beach vacation in Myrtle Beach, SC, which was deee-lightful. Many thanks to Mom W for letting us use her time-share, which made vacation affordable and therefore possible. :)

Another highlight was a visit in early October from Mom Singleton - she flew solo to come visit us! We spent lots of time enjoying the first days of fall and planning her redecorating projects together. She was almost as excited to see us as she was to see Baby, who followed her around the house the whole time she was here.

I'm convinced that Boone has to be about the prettiest place on earth this time of year. Autumn has come in full force, painting the mountains in the most vivid array of colors I've ever seen. We've included some pics for your viewing pleasure! Some are from our street, some are from a rollerblading excursion Baby and I went on while Rob was out of town, and others are from a hike Rob and I went on yesterday up some giant rocks in a mountain stream. INCREDIBLE!!

This is the view coming down our driveway...


Here's the view across the street...

I stumbled upon some wrestling, writhing snakes while rollerblading!!!

We'll try to post again soon - thanks for reading!!

Little things to make me miss home

I am exhibiting for OCC at a conference at the Billy Graham Training Center in Asheville, NC. I got down here Monday afternoon and will be here until Friday morning.

Although I jump at the chance to get out of the cube, when I get sent away from home I do tend to miss it. Well, I miss my Claire more than 'home' itself. Little things end up making me miss her, like what I saw tonight at 8:40pm when my work day (up at 5:30 and to the hotel by around 9:30) was drawing to an end.

Those who know Claire well (or have ever been in a conversation with her about where to eat out) will understand.

Grandfather Mountain and Bears!

Last week, Claire and I went up to Grandfather Mountain along with some of our Boone friends for the BGEA/SP yearly picnic.  There was a big tent set up with food (yummy Woodlands BBQ - if you come visit us, we will take you to this restaurant!) for all the staff and families at the bottom of the mountain.

We were also able drive up to the top of the mountain for the view and activities up there. We went up there and walked across the swinging bridge (Claire got scared so we rushed across it). We also went to little zoo thing they have up there. There are only a few animals, but it was fun to see. Claire was a little scared of the bears, too, but she did conclude that they were "kind of cute".

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New OCC Videos

Hey all,

My team here at OCC has been working with the SP Broadcast team to come up with some 'edgier' videos that more media-driven churches as well as colleges and youth groups can use. I thought they turned out pretty cool.

Here is the result:
















And here is the new OCC Project Video:

'Pray!' Followup

Hey all,

I wanted to followup on the last brief post. I sent that from my phone right after the ambulance left with the injured motorcyclist. I posted a prayer requests on the Samaritan's Purse prayer board in Outlook that pretty much sums everything up - hopefully removing some... intense details.

"I will try to give you an understanding of what happened without giving the unnecessary and sad details. But it is still a very sad and awful story, which is why I want to share it because his family needs so much prayer.

As a colleague and I were driving in Virginia in route to Lynchburg this morning to exhibit for OCC at a conference, a motorcycle spun out in front of us. The man slid away from his bike and went into a guard rail – the bike was 40-50 yards further down the road from where he was stopped. Both of us from OCC stopped to help.

When I reached the man he was unresponsive and had no pulse. Other signs (that I will spare you) showed that he had internal bleeding and had likely passed upon impact. I and another did CPR, to allow any shred of hope that he may be saved at the hospital, for about twenty minutes until the ambulance arrived.

We will likely never know for sure the outcome of this, but without a miracle I think that this man has passed. Please pray for his family and friends. He may have been on a motorcycle trip to do some site-seeing – he had a camera on his waist and his passport in his shirt pocket. He was an older clean cut gentleman (65-70) and wasn’t doing anything weird on the bike, just going straight on the interstate. Someone said his front wheel did something funny, causing the accident.

Another prayer need related to this… the other lady who was doing CPR with me was doing the mouth-to-mouth portion. Please pray for her as she did not have a protective mouth shield and some of the man’s blood got into her mouth. Pray for her safety from diseases that can easily be transferred this way. This lady was with her husband and kids and they were also from Boone. They told us that they do OCC shoe boxes every year (my colleague had an OCC shirt on) and they are just getting their kids into it as they are getting old enough.

I guess the best thing to pray for in all of this is for God to be all over the situation and all over those involved with His immense love and compassion.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for sending up a prayer."

Pray!

Please pray for a man who was just in a motorcycle accident. I am on
my way to a conference in Virginia. I saw the accident and stopped and
gave CPR. He was unrespinsive the whole time and blood was coming from
his mouth and nose.

He is now on his way to the hospital. Please pray!

Sent from my mobile device.

Puppy Sitting!

This little ball of cute is going to be with us the rest of the week!
We will be sure to include a few more pictures as we get some good
ones but we wanted to get this one out real quick. His name is Connor
and he is Claire's co-worker's dog.

A pretty cool video from BGEA

I wouldn't say that BGEA is known for its video making - at least not in reaching an 'edgier' crowd - but I found this video to be pretty decent so I thought I'd share it with you real quick.

By the way, there's some pretty cool Operation Christmas Child videos that I helped 'inspire' in the Broadcast Department here. When they are up on the website, I will link them here.

Let's Catch Up

Forgive us for being off the radar for so long - life in Boone has been good n' busy! Here are some highlights from the past 2 fun-filled summer months.

1. First things first. Our dog is so darn cute (and so is the 3-inch thick layer of yellow hair that now covers every surface in our home). We've had a blast taking her on hikes, swims, and car rides through mountain country. I think we appreciate her even more that we might have if we'd never had the cancer scare - thank God she's healthy!

Making friends....

2. Speaking of doggy car rides, it didn't take long for us to figure out that Baby + my lovely 2006 RAV4 would soon = smelly, hairy, low resale value RAV4. Sooooooo, much to Rob's dismay (sarcasm alert), we traded in good ole' Stan the sedan for a '96 4Runner that Baby can filth-ify to her heart's content. Rob is THRILLED to have a rugged ride once again. We've dubbed him "Maximus", or Max for short.






3. We found a church! Banner Elk Christian Fellowship...I'd give you the website, but there isn't one... It's a great place, and it's been a long hunt, so we're excited!

4. Over 4th of July weekend, we were lucky enough to get a visit from Mom and Sis Williams and the delightful Christian Ann. Here are some pics from their time here:

This is Boone's 4th of July Parade

While visiting some of Karen's good friends, tea on the lawn turned into a T-storm on the lawn.

Rob's mom brought us a bunch of his stuff. We got a little distracted while unloading.

5. I still LOVE my job. Love it love it love it.

6. Rob and I celebrated our 6-month anniversary last Saturday! Instead of staying home and working on wedding thank you notes (I know, I KNOW!), we went for a little hike, then a picnic in the park, then to an art festival, then out for ice cream, then over to Laura and Adam's house for hamburgers and badminton! Fun day. And fun 6 months. Best 6 months ever.

7. And finally, here are some pics of Boone and our home!

Downtown Boone.

The house we're renting

The view from our house

Boone's big news!

A Jimmy John's is going to open soon in Boone! Woot woot. That's our big news. Here is a picture!

Also, we changed the program that handles this Blog. It's a little cleaner and there are some features that we like better on it. Unfortunately it means that all of the previous comments are lost. Sorry! But in the end, we think this will be more beneficial and allow us to update the blog more frequently for various reasons. Anyway, enjoy!

Claire's Birthday!

|Originally posted May 25th, 2008 by Rob|

Right now I am sitting in the living room with Claire’s family at the tail end of Claire’s birthday. Her family came to visit us for Memorial Day, Claire’s birthday and to bring our dog, Baby! More to come later, but here are a few pictures.

Three Months In

|Originally posted May 18th, 2008 by Rob|

Claire and I moved to Boone three months ago! Time has flown by so fast. It’s weird to think about other turns life could have taken. The road to Boone began interestingly enough back in September when I accepted a job up in Minnesota. The same day I accepted that job, I got a call from Samaritan’s Purse which led to my withdrawal from the job in Minnesota in hopes of a job with SP. That decision took Claire and me to Denver, CO for the 2007 Operation Christmas Child Processing Season (November and December). After that temporary job, we waited about a month to see if I was going to get a permanent job with SP. This was a little stressful seeing how we were about to get married, were in debt, neither of us had a job lined up, and we didn’t have a place to live… Finally, the week before our wedding I got a call with a job offer with Samaritan’s Purse here in Boone, NC which is where we now call “home”.

Yes, we call it home but it doesn’t quite feel that way for me yet. I mean, home is really where ever Claire and I are together (insert corny “awwwww” here), but I still haven’t settled in to this small-town Boone life. It’s hard for me to leave Minnesota where most of my connections are. Obviously my mom and sister are there as well as most of my friends, but there is also some other connection that I have there. I’m not just talking about how much I love the winter and my little hobby of pulling people out of the ditch on snowy evenings (this hobby has ended mainly due to the fact that Caden - my old truck - has been sold and Stan - the new car - can barely get himself up a slight grade). What I’m talking about is something I’ve only recently realized; I knew things up there. I could find my way anywhere without a map (usually), I could find anything anyone needed, I had connections with people…

Does that make sense? It doesn’t really to me either.

Quick Little Ditty

|Originally posted May 12th, 2008 by Rob|

Claire and I are fully aware that we need to put up a new post! This one will be pretty short and will serve the purpose of explaining why we haven’t posted in a while (you may ask yourself, “Self, why doesn’t he just post a real post instead of posting about why they haven’t posted?” That would be a valid question to ask…).

Claire and I recently moved to a new house which has made us very busy! We have been trying to get everything organized when we aren’t at work, especially because Claire’s family is planning on coming to visit us in a few weeks. Right now the room that Claire’s parents will be staying in is filled with boxes which makes it hard to sleep in.

We love our new little rental house! I’ll try to take a picture of it sometime and post it here soon. It’s red and is backed up to the woods. That’s really all of my description for now.

Oh, also, Samaritan’s Purse has a policy regarding personal blogs. Here’s the main one that applies here: “If you identify yourself in your blog as an employee of Samaritan’s Purse, whether by explicit statement or by implication, you must make clear that the views expressed in your blog are yours, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Samaritan’s Purse.” So, consider it clear that the views expressed in this blog are Claire’s and mine, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Samaritan’s Purse.

One last thing. I was able to watch my first two Twins games on TV tonight and last night. The games were nationally televised so it was on here in Boone! Watching the Twins beat the defending World Series Champs ain’t a bad way to spend a few nights.

We’ll try to post something more detailed than this soon.

Lots to look forward to!

|Originally posted April 17th, 2008 by Claire|

Well, after 2 days of SNOW in April, we think (we PRAY) spring is here to stay. I simply can’t wait for all the trees to be green! The other day we were driving down the mountain, where spring is already in full force, and it was literally breathtaking. Sometimes I can’t believe we get to live somewhere so gorgeous!

So last weekend was a lot of fun! We have friends now, so that’s been nice. Last Saturday we went for a walk with our friends Chuck and Meghann….

Then, we met up with our friends Adam and Laura and Rob’s boss and his wife, Carey and Leann, to embark on the most Boone-ish adventure we’ve been on since we moved here: Contra Dancing. Somehow, we ladies managed to convince our men that going to a barn in the middle of nowhere to engage in a combination of square dancing, line dancing, and what I call “Jane Austen dancing” (the kind where you’re all in a line, trading partners, and moving down the line) would make for a fun Saturday evening. And it really was a blast - not to mention a great workout. We were sweatin’ to that bluegrass for sure! Here are some pictures of the night:

Adam and Laura:

Carey, Leann, Rob, and me:

A string group that came down from New York as part of their tour:

And, to top off that glorious weekend, we even went down to the mountain to the “big city”. This means that I got to go to Target. Very exciting.

Okay, now for the super-exciting stuff!!

1. Rob and I are moving to a new rental house! We have been casually looking around for somewhere that will allow us to have our dog, Baby, who’s currently hanging out with my parents in Memphis. So we found this SUPER CUTE red house in an adorable neighborhood, and we put down a deposit! The house is only a couple of years old, looks and feels really new and clean and fresh on the inside, and it’s close to town. Oh, and it’s SUPER CUTE. My words, not Rob’s. But he thinks it’s “really nice”. And we can have pets there! We move in May 1st.

2. My family is coming to visit us on Memorial Day weekend! We can’t wait, we can’t wait!!

3. In their car, they will bring Baby. And thereafter, we will be her people, and she will be our dog. And wherever we go, she will go also. We are happy.

Thanks for reading!

The newest member of our family...

|Originally posted April 10th, 2008 by Claire|

Well, after several days of promising to write this blog, I’m finally following through. Here’s the latest on our lives in the Boone-docks!

As Rob mentioned in his last post, I GOT A JOB!! And a darn good one, too. I feel so, so, so, so blessed to be working at OASIS, Inc. as their new Shelter Case Manager. A couple of weeks ago, I had dragged Rob into a tearful self-pity fest that I would never, ever find a meaningful, challenging job in Boone and that I would just have to work at McDonald’s and ruin my resume for LIFE!!! (Are you picking up on the fact that I was feeling a little melodramatic that day?) The very next day, I got a call from OASIS asking me to come in for an interview. The day after that, I interviewed, and an hour later, they called to offer me the position. And the day after that, I started work. Maybe God was trying to help me eat my words and teach me a thing or two about trust…just a guess. But it was a whirlwind of a week!

Now, two weeks later, I am absolutely LOVING the job. To recap, OASIS works with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault by providing crisis counseling, information, shelter, legal and medical advocacy, safety planning, etc. I am their new Shelter Case Manager (their previous one is leaving to get her Masters), which means that I will be working directly and frequently with clients. A typical week might involve taking crisis calls, counseling women who come to the office, going to the ER to provide support and advocacy for someone who has been checked in for domestic abuse or sexual assault, attending court with women who are facing civil or criminal cases related to their abuse, and spending one night a week at the shelter with a pager that could wake me up to respond to an incident in the community (I would go to the ER or the police department, basically). I am SO humbled by all the responsibility, because I know I have tons to learn in order to help these women, but I’m already having an incredible time at OASIS. I love all the people I work with (there are about 11 of us, all women, lots of young married/engaged gals). I love the variety and unpredictable nature of the job - no day is the same, and sometimes I’m driving around in the community, going to meetings, etc. AND…I get to speak Spanish!! I will be the organization’s Spanish-speaking liaison, and I can’t tell you how good it feels to know I’ll be using my degree and this skill I’ve worked so hard to develop! I’ve already had the chance to speak quite a bit of Spanish just in the first couple of weeks. Anyway, I’m rambling. Bottom line: I love my job, I’m thrilled, God is good.

In other news, we recently had to say goodbye to one special member of our family and welcome a new one. Caden, Rob’s beloved truck, just wasn’t making sense for us financially, so we sold him to someone at Samaritan’s Purse. Parting is such sweet sorrow. Rob’s handling it very bravely, especially for someone who named his car (Caden means “kingly”) and talked to it like it was a real person. Not that I don’t do the same exact thing to Ricardo Alejandro Velasquez IV (my baby blue Toyota RAV4), or Cuatro, as I like to call him. So anyway, we sold Caden, and for a fraction of the money we sold him for, we bought a champagne (…ick) 2000 Chevy Malibu with only 77,000 miles on it, leaving us with a nice chunk of change to pay off a few things. We haven’t named the Malibu yet, but perhaps someday we will come to love him (or her - the gender is TBD) as we did Caden. Rob is doubtful. And so am I.

Well, we might be doing something fun this weekend that’s worth documenting with pictures, so check back in a little while for more updates! Below are some pics of the vehicle transition, along with a pretty pic of the view from our front yard. We’ve seen the first hints of spring this week, but we can’t wait for full blown green trees and flowers everywhere! We’ll put up some pics of Boone when that time comes.

Life Continues to Begin

|Originally posted March 31st, 2008 by Rob|

Claire and I continue to get settled in to our little life here in little Boone. Claire just accepted a job with OASIS (Opposing Abuse with Services, Information, and Shelter) as a Shelter Case Manager. She will be working with women and children who have been abused to help them in emotional recovery. She will also be an advocate at the local court and hospital. I am sure Claire will post more on what the position is, exactly, later.

This job has been a huge answer to prayer for us. Claire and I had been struggling with the difficulty of finding a meaningful job for her in Boone. There just aren’t that many non-profits in the area and definitely not many jobs at the non-profits. So, needless to say, Claire and I are pretty excited about her new position and feel very blessed and taken care of.

I just got back from a trip to Dallas, Texas where we held a conference for the Operation Christmas Child long-term volunteers. (The way that OCC works is mainly through thousands of volunteers around the country. The volunteers are the main people who work directly with individuals, churches, schools, colleges, and other groups around the country to make shoe boxes. They also work with local news to help spread the mission of OCC to others. The OCC staff (at least those of us who work on the United States side of OCC) are mostly in supportive roles for the volunteers as they work directly with others.) The conference was pretty fun and also important for me to at tend in order to get a better understanding of what goes on with OCC and our volunteers.

The conference was also the first time that Claire and I had been apart since we got married! It was a little sad, but I think we handled it pretty well. But I am definitely happy to be home! Today is a sort of a role-reversal for Claire and me. I’m the one sitting at home (I get the day off because I was out of town for work this weekend) and Claire is the one at work. I’m taking advantage of this day off to post this blog as well as do a bunch of other things around the house.

Claire and I both really enjoyed Eric and Paula’s visit to Boone! They left on Wednesday and we began missing them dearly right when we dropped them off at the airport… They are special friends of ours and we felt blessed by their visit. After having friends in Boone for a week, it’s a little more difficult to be away from everyone. We hope we get to see them again soon and would also love to host anyone else who would like to visit! I’ve included another few pictures of their visit below.

That’s the update, for now. Thanks for loving us and caring about what is going on in our lives!