Rob and Rachel Annual report

Since I have not updated my blog for nearly 6 months, and it will probably be another six months before I update again, I thought I would post an annual report for everyone.

Winter 2009

- we celebrate our 4th anniversary January 8th with a weekend at Belhurst castle
-our favorite pastor, Kevin Maloney, begins a new church plant called "Grace Road" and asks Rob to lead the worship music there. We start off in the basement of someones house, with plans to find a building to rent by the summer.
-Rob is a snowboard instructor Saturdays at Hunt Hollow, which means I get to snowboard every Saturday too!
- I cat-sit for my boss while he is away for a few months, and to make a long story short, we end up keeping her ( :

Spring 2009

-our first spring in our home! I really loved seeing the lilacs and everything else blooming!
-up until this point Rob has been working in youth ministry with kids from Victor. The organization he had been working for, Youth For Christ, let him go due to lack of funding. The long range plan is to continue to do the same thing for another organization called Young Life.
-Rob and his dad decide to start a mowing/ landscaping business while Rob is between jobs.

Summer 2009

-we have a blast taking some kids rafting through Letchworth
- I plant a mostly successful garden. We also have a great harvest from our cherry trees and black raspberry bushes (my favorite!)
-My dad comes up for a few days to help Rob rip out and then rebuild the foundation on one side of our house, as well as jacking up the floors. They are mostly level now!
-Rob takes several guys to Young Life camp at Lake Champion. They have a blast of course, and meanwhile I attend my 10 year high school reunion, yikes!
-mowing/landscaping is moving along slowly but surely, Rob and his dad enjoy buying equipment for it ( :
-We get out first puppy, "Cash", in July. He is a black Labrador Retriever and we enjoy his so much, puppies are hilarious! As a bonus, he is one of the most well behaved dogs I have ever seen and a piece of cake to train!
-our good friends the Hillbergs have a frame raising party for their new house they are building. They used New Energy Works, which is one of Rob's former employers, so he was able to jump in and help!
- Friends of ours graciously offered to take us and some kids for a sail on their boat. We spent the day sailing on Lake Ontario and swimming, it was a blast!
-our church rents the German House to hold services on Sundays. There's a lot of work involved in the set up/tear down, but its nice to have a bigger place. Rob and his band are doing a great job leading music.
-I painted the dining room, living room, and bedroom. Everything looks soooo much better. I have to thank the Maloneys for giving us their leftover paint and for having a good taste in colors!


Fall 2009

-Rob begins working for Mueller insurance services, doing surveys and inspections of homes. There is still some fall clean up work for the landscaping business. Plans for continuing youth ministry with Young Life are still moving forward. A supporting committee of community members is coming together and a big fund raising event is planned for November.
-We plan on using Cash as a hunting dog and his more serious "retriever training" begins.
-Friends of ours offer the use of their time share condo in Fort Myers Beach, FL. We stay there for a week and enjoy perfect weather!!!
-Young Life hosts a big fund raising banquet on November 11th. Rob and the Victor community have to raise a certain amount of money in order for him to come on staff. This amount covers program costs, insurance, salary, etc. The Victor community really came through and the entire amount that he needed to go on staff was raised in that one night. This was way beyond any of our expectations! Never doubt how much God can do! It was also such a reassurance to know that the Victor community wants us there!!
-Grace Road holds our official public "launch". We are now an official church of Rochester. I love the people there, and am so excited to get to know everyone better!

Winter 2009

- I survive a crazy - busy holiday season at Cheesy Eddies. After thousands of mini desserts passing before my eyes I am looking forward to a quite January.
- We say goodbye to our dear friends Wes and Niki who are moving overseas in January.
-The pottery studio where I work (job number two) is struggling, unfortunately. I'm able to pick up more hours at Cheesy Eddies for now, we'll see how things go in the new year.
-Rob's parents are redoing parts of their kitchen, which means we get their old dishwasher and counter top. This is exciting beyond words!

And into 2010...

So overall, the West family is doing well ( : I will continue to work at Cheesy Eddies, which I enjoy. John and Colleen (my boss's) are great and generous people. I am also working a few hours at the pottery studio, but due to a poor financial situation I probably wont be there much longer. There are no hard feelings on either side, Adam and Sarah have been great, but the economy is taking its toll on them. Thankfully Rob has many talents, because he is always able to work many different kinds of jobs to make ends meet! He begins full time work for Young Life in January, which we are very excited about! He will also continue part time work with Mueller and he and his dad are planning to continue the mowing/landscaping business this summer.

The house is coming along slowly but surely, and THANK YOU to both our parents for all your help and generosity there! I still occasionally think back on our former apartment living and shudder, and then I am sooo grateful for our house, no matter how much work it needs and how I continuously fail to keep it clean ( : Speaking of clean... despite the shedding, we love our animals, Cash and Belah, they are a constant entertainment. Cash retrieved his first bird a few weeks ago, dad is very proud!


We are looking forward to 2010, and you can look forward to another post in 6 months or so... ( :
Happy New Year!!!!

Scroll down to the next post for our year in pictures.