My weekend in Portage

This past weekend I had the chance to visit my mom's side of the family in Portage. All of my mom's brothers and sisters came home to spend time with my Aunty Laurie, who is suffering from cancer in Portage. I'm not sure what just to say, but it was a really special time to be with that side of the family. It was also special to share that weekend with my mom and my sister. On the Sunday afternoon I had the chance to sit in on what I would describe as a life-giving session of family memories for my Mom and her brothers and sisters. I'm so glad that I was able to go. I will remember the weekend for a long time to come.
Please pray for Aunty Laurie. She is in a lot of pain- please pray for her comfort. She is a special woman, and I was reminded this weekend of all of the ways she has blessed my life. Here are some pictures!

the McCutcheon family

giggles

my mom and Aunty Laurie

Aunty Laurie and I

The Stye in Mine Eye

I ate too much chocolate this weekend and my eye gained some weight. This is a pretty ugly picture, so I thought I'd share it with the world. Do I look like a tough boxer?

The Wall Sit Showdown

This week I treated my PE students to another round of fitness testing. You can imagine the hearty response to such an offer. Anyway, there are a couple who excel in an amazing way during our fitness testing sessions. So allow me to share with you...the "wall sit showdown".
September Fitness Testing- The Boy Wall Sit Superhero sits on the wall for ten minutes. Everyone is amazed. We cheer. And the sweat trickles down...
October Fitness Testing- The Soon to Be Girl Wall Sit Superhero decides the Boy Superhero must be overtaken. She sits on the wall for ten minutes herself. We are amazed. We cheer. And the sweat trickles down....
The Boy Wall Sit Superhero will have nothing to do with such finicky records set by girls. Boy Superhero sits on the wall for 20 minutes. We are amazed. We cheer. And the sweat trickles...
November Fitness Testing- Girl Wall Sit Superhero has unfinished business on the wall. She gets comfy and smashes Boy's record, going for 30 minutes...and again...we are amazed...
Boy Wall Sit Superhero is fed up. This must end. Boy Wall Sit Superhero asks how long class is. Class is 50 minutes long. Okay. Boy Wall Sit Superhero sits on the goofy wall for 1 hour.
Talk about a testament to the power of the mind, hey?!! Bring on the next fitness testing session!

Free? Tell me about it!

Hello friends and family. I have a question for you. What does this verse mean to you?
"God has purchased our freedom with his blood and has forgiven all our sins." (Col. 1:14)
We have freedom in Christ. What does that mean to you? Are you really free? Free from what?

Down the ol' #48

Yesterday I took a spin down highway 48 to visit the lovable little white house in Kennedy. It was a very good day. Everytime I leave Grandma's house, it shakes me up. They have an extraordinary way of making a person feel extra-special, extra-loved. Visits with Grandma are the very best. I love that when we chat it's like talking to one of my best friends, like a real heart to heart. It's so neat, and I treasure it so much, that we get to chat about everything good, and everything hard and painful in life. My Grandpa seems to be doing pretty good- he was in the hospital for a week with pneumonia. It's always fun to be entertained by Grandpa's smart remarks. What a character. Anyway, I had a good day. I'm glad that I went.
I caught Grandpa taking a midday snooze....it's that green chair, I tell you.