Introducing...

Laura Ingalls Wilder and the Cat and the Hat

Today is "Book Character" day at school.  Aren't they cute!

Hard Work Pays off...

All of the kiddos made the honor roll this semester!  We are so proud of how hard everyone has worked :)

(these pictures were taken at the elementary chapel presentation)

Punkins...

Even though we wish we could have joined our friends in Austria who were apple picking today, we still had fun picking out "punkins" with our family!

Spirit Week...

Luke has had fun showing his school spirit this week...
Here he is on Nerd Day!

Memoo moved!

Last Saturday Memoo moved...which means that we moved too!  We had lots of help from some great folks from church.  (Thanks again everybody!)  We finally are getting settled, have internet back and are turning her place into a sweet little home!

The Sharks season comes to an end...

We are so proud of Luke!  He really worked hard this season and had a great time playing football for the Sharks!  His coaches told us that he definitely was one of the most improved players of the season...who knows, maybe when we go back to Vienna he will play for the Vikings one day :)

Here he is making a catch in the last game of the season!

-ing

We are in Moving mode...as we prepare to move my mom into her new place this weekend, so the majority of my time lately has been spent packing and purging, but I have also found some time for:
making- homemade applesause
baking- pumpkin bread
reading- Choosing to SEE, by Mary Beth Chapman
and pretending that Fall has actually arrived in South Florida;)

Go HEAT!

To celebrate Uncle Rick's 40th birthday, we did it up right and got nose-bleed section tickets to a Miami Heat Game!  It was soooo fun watching Wade, James and Bosh play together!  The final score was 105-89...with the Heat over-taking the Pistons.

Team Building

A lot of our team building has to be done over the phone, so we jumped at the opportunity to spend a few days with the Beilman family in Cocoa Beach, FL this past weekend!

They are at 90% and we can't wait to all be together in Vienna :)

Our Lovely Lindsay...

Living in Vienna with our teammate Lindsay,  has bonded us in such a way that we now consider her family!  It meant so much having her come to Florida to be with us during Neena's visitation and funeral.
She was already in the States for her brother's wedding~ so we appreciated the few days we got to spend with her.

She is back in Vienna now and needing all of our prayers more than ever!  It is hard enough being overseas with a team, but when your team is in the States, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and lonely.
Also please pray for her to stay healthy, for her language learning and ministry opportunities.

Great Grandma and Grandpa...

Many of our family and friends traveled long distances to come to Neena's funeral.  My grandparents were no exception, and flew in from Iowa!  They stayed a few extra days and we really enjoyed our time with them :)

Questions and Answers...

FAQ's regarding the Hunters 5...

1. Why are you still in Florida and how long are you staying?

Good question.  Initially our intent was to come and be with Brad's Mom (Neena) in her last days of life.  Our return tickets to Vienna were for September 1, but Neena was still hanging on.  We knew we couldn't leave and so we had to make some decisions regarding our length of stay here in the States.

Additionally, there was/is much to be done here to help Stacey's Mom find a new place to live, help her move, go through all of Brad's Mom's things, and put her house on the market.

Another thing on our mind was that for every five years overseas, we have to return to the States for 6 consecutive months to be eligible for Social Security benefits.  We decided that even though we had only lived in Vienna for 3 years, now was a good time to fulfill this requirement.
Our return flight back to Vienna is on January 13th.

2.  How is Brad's back doing?

Brad is going to a Spine Institute, where they integrate physical therapy, deep muscle massage and chiropractic care among other things.  There's still a way to go, but this is the best he has felt in 6 months, so we are thankful for that!

3.  Is your church still meeting?

Yes!  Lindsay is back in Vienna and our young church, New City Wien, is still meeting on a weekly basis for fellowship.  We are having different pastor friends fill in the pulpit, and it has been very encouraging to hear about how members in our core group are taking on new responsibilities to make things go smoothly while we are here.

Our teammates, the Beilmans, have raised over 90% of their support needs, and are hoping to move to Vienna in mid-November.   Please pray for the Beilmans to get to 100% quickly!

4.  How are you all hanging in there?

Certainly there is a big void in our lives without Neena, yet we have a genuine peace knowing that her suffering is over, that she is experiencing perfect joy in the presence of the Lord.   We are so grateful to God for His salvation of Neena, and for giving us 2 months to spend with her before she died.

There are still many things to get settled in Florida before we return, but we are looking forward to being in Vienna again, and to having more teammates there with us.

5.  Will you be doing any traveling?

Yes.  The end of October we are headed to Illinois to see family and friends.  In November, Brad will be traveling to Philadelphia for a WHM Team leaders retreat and in December we will be heading to North Carolina.  All of our traveling plans are subject to change, and most likely there will be more traveling than what is mentioned here. :)