June 22, 2026
Big Changes
Summary
Some big changes have happened with our family recently.
It has been a very emotional few weeks for our family.
For those who have visited the winery, if you met me, Beth, you probably met Zoey, my little white fluffy shadow. After battling poor health since the fall, she passed away on May 28th. She is buried on the other side of the DaVinci bridge under daisies, marked by a heart-shaped stone. We miss her terribly but get to smile at her face everyday on the wall of the tasting room.
On a very different note, but still involving some grief, we moved from our home in Newnan so as of June 19th, we became full-timers here in Morganton. There have been lots of tears because it wasn’t just a house. It was our project. Our home.
We started looking for the land in 2001, spending so many Sunday afternoons driving all over the area. We finally purchased a lot in 2005. In the meantime we designed every aspect of our forever home. Page’s dad drew the house plans by hand, four times. We started construction in 2006. With two preschoolers in tow, we painted almost every room ourselves, did a lot of the moulding, all of the interior tiling, and much of the initial landscaping. Over the years, we did many more major projects to add the the property. If we could have lifted it up and plopped it here in the mountains, we would have done it.
From Day 1, we told our two kids, Caleb and Kiersten, that we built it to share. We named it Kerith House after 1 Kings 17 where God provided rest and refuge for the prophet Elijah at Kerith Ravine. We had an apartment meant for missionaries on furlough or our parents when they visited. That became home for several people over the years who needed rest and refuge. Eventually, sharing the house meant the addition of two more children, Asher and Annalise, adopted from Ukraine in 2014. Fortunately, they enjoyed the fact that hospitality was our family mission. Over the years we entertained hundreds of people at birthday parties, fundraisers, Christmas parties, and other gatherings. At our peak, in a six month period, we hosted 72 overnight guests. We loved it!
It became evident around 2019 that we could not live out our calling of hospitality in the way we thought we should while living in a sub-division. The first thought of moving entered our minds. We starting investing in Blue Ridge in 2020 and very quickly decided we could live here. Then the search was on. God provided a beautiful farm on Maple Grove Road in Morganton in 2021. We started coming up nearly every weekend, taking down barbed wire, cleaning up trash, mowing, mowing, and mowing. In the meantime we started planning and eventually moving earth. We knew the day would come when we would need to transplant ourselves entirely. We promised the kids that we would wait until they were all graduated. Well, they got an extra year. The timing worked out well, which is no surprise since God’s is always best. Our eldest, Caleb, is settled and getting married in September and our second, Kiersten, whom many have met, is heading off on her own adventure very soon.
Something in me shifted the other day when I had spent my last night in Newnan. Now that we are here, this is home. The winery is our home. Welcome to our home! Welcome to Kerith House!
