Day 3: Children's Church

I've been teaching children's church for about three months now, and I LOVE it!  It's been fun to teach the kids about different things we can learn from the characters in the Bible.  I'm using a teacher's book that not only familiarizes the children with some of the key characters, but it also focuses on what we can learn from them.  For instance we learned from Esther how God can make us brave. And from Nehemiah how God can help us do what is right.  And we learned from Joseph that God made us special and has a plan for each of our lives. Daniel taught us that we should pray and obey God. Each character is focused on for a month.

This month, I took a break from the characters, and skipped to the 2nd half of the book that focuses on different things we can learn about Jesus or things in the New Testament.  And, YAY, there is an entire section on.... THANKFULNESS!  So that's what we're learning about this month.

Today, we learned to be thankful that God keeps His promises.  We talked about different verses in the Old Testament that told the people of the coming Messiah, and then we looked at a place in the New Testament where these things came true.  I'm thankful for the opportunity to not only teach the children these truths from God's Word, but to learn them for myself, too!

Day 2: Extra Sleep

For the first Saturday in... quite a while, I had absolutely no reason to get up early.  I didn't have to work or be anywhere.  And I was so excited last night for the opportunity to sleep in!

And I woke up at 7:15 anyhow.  Without my alarm.

Then I remembered that it's daylight savings time switch-a-roo tonight, so I get to sleep an extra hour!

So today, I'm thankful for extra sleep.  Whenever I happen to get it!

Thankful November, 2013

YAY! It's finally November again!

For the last two years, I've done a "Thankful Thoughts" November, and I've decided to keep it up again this year.  I'll [try] to post about something for which I am thankful every day for the entire month. 

Day 1- Thanksgiving

I know, I know.  It's still weeks away, but I just get practically giddy over the thought!  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and for me, it is the kick-off to the entire holiday season.  Thanksgiving is great for so many reasons, but I'll just list five for now:

1. An entire day dedicated to giving thanks to God.  It encourages us to BE THANKFUL!  Something totally lost on the average American.
2. Vance Family Dinner.  If you know the Vance clan, this is self explanatory.  We've hosted Thanksgiving for my dad's immediate family for as long as I can remember (with the exception of one or two years).  
3. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  We've missed this the last few years because of the conversion to digital television, which was completely lost on the Vance household, but I will have fond memories of this tv-watching event from my childhood until I'm old and in the home.  Maybe longer.
4. Pumpkin Pie.  Fake-n-Bake cinnamon rolls. Coffee.  Three staples of Thanksgiving day in our house. Can't have Thanksgiving without 'em.
5.  The excitement and anticipation it stirs inside of me.  Most people get this feeling after Thanksgiving in anticipation of Christmas.  But me?  I get this feeling November 1 and keep it until January 2.  I LOVE this time of year.  Who doesn't, right?  But there's just something special about knowing that for the next two months I'll see way more of my family than usual (immediate and extended), most of it spent around extremely delicious food!

An Autumn Favorite

Maybe it's the weather: the overcast skies, the chill in the air, the Artist's spectacular handiwork in the changing of the leaves. Maybe it's the sweaters and the scarves and the boots.  Or the opportunity to drink hot coffee (or tea, if you have a sore throat like I do at present) nonstop without judgement.

I can't put my finger on it, but there's just something about this time of year that completely changes me.  I go from being a nice normal laid back (HA!  When does this EVER describe me, right?) gal who enjoys music to an OBSESSED CRAZY FANATIC of something completely out of the ordinary:

Celtic Thunder.

Have you HEARD these guys?!  I remember exactly when I fell in love with them.  I was a Freshman at Faith, casually perusing the public library for some "approved" tunes, when I found "Celtic Thunder The Show" on CD. I thought to myself, "Hmmm.... this looks promising."  So I picked it up, played it as I drove around town (because the opening notes assured me it was NOT an approved selection), and

Completely.

Fell.

In Love!

Then last October, the greatest thing happened: Celtic Thunder came to Des Moines!  And of course, I, being the rational individual I am, decided not to go because I chose instead to take Helen on a sister date to see Beauty and the Beast (and I couldn't afford both).  On the night of the concert, I remember calling my dad crying because I wanted to go SO BADLY!

Anyhow, missed opportunities, tears of regret, you know the drill.

I can't say exactly what it is, but there comes a moment every Autumn for the past five years when the day is just crisp enough, and the sky just overcast enough that I am inspired to pull out my favorite Celtic Thunder CD (so far) and put it on in my car.

That day was about two weeks ago.  And it has been on constant replay ever since.  And I just can't get enough!

Here is a preview of my favorite CD "Voyage" for your listening enjoyment.  So listen... and ENJOY!

Helen Turns 21

And in a surprising turn of events, Leah and I chose at the (almost) last minute to go visit Helen in Ohio for her 21st birthday!  We had WAY too much fun, and I'm sure Ohio will never be the same after experiencing the Vance girls.

We started our weekend by arriving in Cedarville at 2:30am on Friday morning.

Then we got up at 8 in order to go to breakfast at the bakery before heading over to the chapel for the Inauguration of the new President of Cedarville.  Pretty cool, actually, as we got to hear Dr. David Jeremiah preach.  If you don't know who that is, then I'll pray for you.

After over two hours of sitting, we then were able to meet up with our "Aunt" Linda for a little "family" reunion lunch.  She was there celebrating her... something year... class reunion.  Also pretty cool that Helen is going to graduate from the same college as "Aunt" Linda!

We concluded the birthday eve with a movie on the lawn: Ratatouille.  So fun to laugh with my sisters while watching one of my favorite animated films... outdoors... on a huge screen!

Saturday, the birthday day, we met the Yellow House family at the local diner for a little birthday/family brunch.  And by brunch, I mean we were there from 10 am- 12 pm. Delicious food, great atmosphere, and Caleb & Helen now have a great place off campus to go for a little food and fellowship! The owner of the diner, who took a liking to us, was kind enough to snap this photo:

After brunch, we ventured off on our own to see the sights!  We snapped a few pictures in Clifton Mills, were we saw what we believe to be the farm house from the Wizzard of Oz:

And a few pictures in Yellow Springs, where Helen was sung to several times and had the steel drums played for her once.... and received a free bracelet from a street vendor (wearing a birthday sash and crown in Yellow Springs is a REALLY good idea!):

The microphone is an inside joke, but she's never had an actual mic. 

So I bought her one for her birthday.

 And a few pictures and a few pumpkins at the Orchard Farm Market:

And a few pictures at Young's Dairy, where we ate the most delicious homemade ice-cream in crunchy chocolate-dipped sprinkle cones:

And finally, a few pictures at the Indian Mounds (I think?), where we explored NATURE... which definitely got all over me (bahaha!):

After our adventurous day, we headed back to campus, where we ate supper in the dining hall, watched Helen open her gifts, and skyped with Mom & Dad.  Oh, and watched a movie together before bed:

We accompanied Helen to her Ohio church on Sunday, which was a huge blessing in and of itself, where we enjoyed Sunday School, worship, Doxology (a traveling singing group from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary), and a great sermon!  Oh, and also hugs from my favorite brother!  We finished our visit by lunch-ing in the dining hall.  

And that's it.  Our little adventure to see Helen.

Reminder to those of you that receive this via e-mail: you may want to visit my blog on the actual interwebs because I've posted extravagant picture footage of this fabtastic weekend!