merry christmas!

Fruition is the word that comes to mind when thinking about this year.  Fruition - the point at which a plan or project is realized; the state or action of producing fruit.  Abigail and I are quite an interesting combination when it comes to plans, projects, action, and producing fruit.  My plans typically tend toward hazy grand dreams.  My dreams are generally set against the backdrop of majestic mountains, bubbling brooks, and fields of tranquility.  Gentle folk music is playing in the background (as it currently is while I write this).  I don’t always have a concrete plan to reach these grand dreams.  Abigail, on the other hand, has entire sections of her planner devoted to plans that she has for each area of our lives.  Not only does she know each step to take along the way to achieve her plan, but she has researched enough to know that each step in the plan is truly the most efficient way of doing things.  She doesn’t look too far ahead or reach beyond a logical goal, but keeps her plans firmly planted in present reality.  Our present life doesn’t exactly reflect our dreams and plans of even a few years ago, but it does seem that we are coming to a place of greater groundedness and clarity of vision.

One of our favorite things about this year is that we’ve spent more time outside.  For me, this has simply meant going out and doing what I enjoy rather than wishing I did it more.  And I believe I have Charlotte Mason (19^th century British educator) to thank for Abigail’s newfound appreciation for the outdoors.  Even in the month of June (that’s right, June!), Abigail was taking the boys outside for hikes on the Ruby Jack Trail near our house.  I loved seeing all the pictures of the natural treasures found on their hikes.  Together, we have explored the dry creek beds of Shoal Creek tributaries around Wildcat Glades; we’ve crawled through the dark passages of bluff caves at Blowing Springs and emerged on the other side; we’ve crossed the tree bridges at Walter S. Woods; we’ve chased beavers around the pond at George Washington Carver.  I wanted to be in Colorado or Oregon.  The Ozarks don’t have the striking beauty of those places; but the more I embrace this place where I’m planted, the more I appreciate its modest, rugged beauty.  I’m happy that our boys are here, playing and exploring, having their hearts, minds, and imaginations shaped in these hills, woods, and streams. 

Paul David Tripp says that we should see our children’s disobedience, fighting, and bad attitudes as opportunities to point them to the transforming grace of Jesus rather than inconveniences.  Well, with four boys between the ages of 6 and 1 ½, let us say that we have ample opportunities to point them to the transforming grace of Jesus.  They are more exhausting and more enjoyable than we could have imagined.  Amos’s determination is truly amazing to watch.  He probably practiced his headstand for 45 minutes a day for nearly a month until he had it perfected.  At six years old, he has already read more than I have in 33 years.  That might be an exaggeration, but only slightly.  Today, we were walking up the hill toward our house, and I saw Amos slow to the back of the pack so that he could help his baby brother.  It’s amazing to watch him grow and mature.  Silas, 5, would spend all of his time outside if he could.  This year, he has learned how to ride a bike without training wheels, how to swing by himself, how to jump into the lake and swim under water, how to not freak out when he sees a dog (well, we’re still working on that one).  Ivan, 3, loves to stab his siblings with spoons, push his little brother down, and yell at Silas.  And this is just today’s list! J  He is feisty.  But he’s also our most expressive.  Sometimes, I will just be walking along with him, and he will say, “I love you, Dad.”  I would kind of like to freeze time with him right now.  At a year and a half, Conrad’s personality has really started to emerge.  Last night, our small group helped serve at Watered Gardens, a homeless shelter in Joplin.  Conrad was smiling and waving at everyone.  He doesn’t know a stranger. 

Just about two years ago, I started a certification program in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.  Two years ago, we thought we were going to go overseas and teach.  But it was probably last February or March when we really started to feel that the Joplin/Carthage area is where we really need to be for the foreseeable future.  This is due in large part to really appreciating our church.  This is where we want to connect, grow, and serve.  I’m still amazed!  This embrace of where we are and desire to be here is a new thing for us.  About the time we realized we didn’t have intentions of leaving, I started applying for ESL jobs in the area.  I am so thankful that I ended up getting a job as an ESL teacher at a great elementary school in Carthage, less than 10 minutes from our house.  As with any job, some days are really a challenge.  But this is the first time I can truly say that I enjoy my job and I actually feel like I’m doing it with some effectiveness.  I can see the combination of my eight, mostly difficult, years of experience and the knowledge I gained from my ESL courses coming together to allow me to serve these kids well.  Thank you, Jesus!  We have tried to get connected in serving the international and immigrant community over the last few years.  We had a few Saudi international students we attempted to connect with; we tried to find ways to connect with the immigrant community at Noel.  But nothing we did really seemed to work out.  We’ve recently had some friends connect us with an African immigrant who lives in Joplin to teach him English and the Bible.  After so many attempts to serve that didn’t seem to work out, we’re just grateful for this opportunity.  It’s been such a great experience and I hope to continue doing this for years to come.    

Another change for this year was the great move of 2017.  We literally moved 45 seconds down the road.  It is a little stone cottage on 4 park-like acres on the river.  The boys have so much space to run and explore.  I’ve been able to spend several mornings praying on the dock, watching the sun rise over the river.  We’ve only been here for about two months and it still feels a bit surreal.  So many things had to fall in place for us to be able to buy the place.  Abigail and I said many times, “This shouldn’t have worked out.”  What a good gift.  We don’t deserve it, and we couldn’t have forced it to work out no matter how hard we tried.  But here we are, and we’re thankful for it. 

Sometimes we have good plans that don’t work out.  Sometimes we have bad plans that do work out, but we don’t know they’re bad until they actually come to pass.  What a mess.  We really just have to trust that God is faithful, that He really is in control, that He really is for us and is working to make us more like Jesus for his glory.  Even when you’re in an eight year job slump; even when you think you’d rather live somewhere else; even when your attempts to serve don’t work out the way you thought they would.  If we keep our eyes on Him, if we embrace where he has us now, if we love the people right in front of us, we can’t go wrong.  I’m glad we’re in a season where we are seeing things come together in a good way that we didn’t really imagine.  God is faithful.  And I know we’ll have other years where we wonder what in the world is going on.  And He will still be faithful.  How could we not trust the God who became a man and stepped into the mess we’d made so that he could suffer and die to bring us life and joy in Him? 

Merry Christmas from the Vance Family, Amos (6), Silas (5), Ivan (3) and Conrad (1 1/2)

Our New House

So, I've been putting off this post because my house feels very much in the in-between stage of things.  But, then I decided I could just go ahead and share the "before" pictures for a baseline of where we are now and how things are coming along.  

Plus, I wanted to share a little bit of the story of the house here too.

Let's go back to August 8th, 2017.  Actually we should go back a little before that.  The house you see below was one we passed often and would comment on how neat it would be to live there.  It had a large yard (4+ acres) and river access.  However, it looked tiny, which wouldn't work for a family of six.  Jason casually knew the people that lived there and also knew that they loved it and would never want to move, but would comment that he should take the boys over to fish sometime.  Okay, now we are ready to fast forward to the day I saw a For Sale sign in their yard.  

It was a big enough surprise that when Jason came home for lunch I mentioned it to him.  Like me, he also couldn't believe that there was a for sale sign in their yard.  I didn't think much more about it until Jason got home from work and told me that he had already stopped by and talked to the owner and that now we all were going to go look at it.  

I quickly asked a couple of questions... can we afford it?  Yes :) How many bedrooms?  2 :(  I was prepared to humor my husband, while maintaining that we could not fit into a 2 bedroom house.  

All my thoughts changed as we pulled into the driveway and entered the house.

The back door walked into a small sun room!!

And the kitchen had all be updated with open shelves, counter tops, and new flooring.  I happened to love it and saw major potential for its future.

Next up was a dining room with corner built-ins.  

Oh, did I forget to mention it only has one bathroom?  Yeah, it only has one bathroom.  But after cleaning 3 bathrooms for the last 3 years, I think I'm okay with that.

The living room has a beautiful stone fireplace with an insert.  I am SO HAPPY about not having to bring wood into the house!! Praise hands!

And let me show the room that makes this all possible.  The second room is, in fact, a converted attic that stretches the whole house.  Can four boys fit up there?  Yes, yes they can.

Lastly, there is a full, walk-out unfinished basement which may be usable in the future.

Now, let me show you outside.

There's a big garage/shop which I have big plans for one side being a party room!  It has a wood stove for those winter months.

Sadly, the hot tub did not stay, but we are excited to relax on this back patio more come spring.

In this picture, I'm standing at the milk barn near the back of the property, looking toward the house and the road.  

And then there's the river.  There's not a whole lot more to be said, except that Jason is never going to leave.

Let's pick back up with the story.  We asked them if they would hold off listing their house with a realtor and give us a chance to sell our house.  They said they would, but even as we were pulling away, we were thinking, "There's no way this is going to happen.  No way do we sell our house in a week."  But we got to work anyway.  Jason called our realtor right away and she was so great.  By the next evening, she had our house on the market and the pictures followed the next morning.  In between that time, I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get our house picture ready and did I mention I had a sick kid who was throwing up!! 

Jason Dad came at the end of that first week and helped do some outside work.  We had a big trip away planned with friends for Saturday and Sunday, so we left everything as ready as possible and hoped to get some calls about showings.  We agreed not to think or talk about it for the weekend because we really just thought it was a long shot at this point.  It was nice to have something else to do.

We didn't get any calls over the weekend, but then on Tuesday we got a call for our first showing.  And again on Thursday we got a call about back to back showings.  Oh, did I mention that I had a husband who was in bed throwing up on Thursday.  Yes, that was a fun week!

However, the second showing set-up a follow-up showing so their parents could look at it.  A good sign!

We heard nothing over the weekend.  That is THE worst.  It was a long weekend.  But, on Monday night we were called with an offer.  In 10 days, our house was under contract.  We promptly went under contract on our new house.  I thought those 10 days were the longest of my life, but I didn't know about the next two months. 

I'll spare you the details, but the entire process was a roller coaster.  Three separate times, we thought the whole thing had fallen through.  One of those was the Friday before we closed.  In fact, at closing, we weren't completely sure it was all going to happen.  Jason was my rock, because I do not handle uncertainty well.  Who does?  However, we were SO BLESSED by family and lots of friends praying for us through this time.  I don't know how many trips both our Dads made to our house to help get it ready or fixed. 

We believed that either way this thing went, it was a gift from the Lord.  The sellers were so gracious to us, waiting for us to sell our house, even when they had multiple other offers on it.  And then riding the roller coaster of our house selling.

And guess what?  Friday, the 13th of October, we walked out of the Title Company with keys to our new house.  We headed straight to Lowes to buy all the white paint and then headed to our new home to start painting.  The best is yet to come!

Ivan Jude turns three

This was the first year that we got to anticipate Ivan's birthday with him.  It helped that Silas had a birthday just about 2 weeks before him because he knew better what was coming.  During those two weeks, he would crawl into my lap and say, "Let's talk about my birthday."  He then proceeded to tell me what he wanted to eat on his birthday and that he wanted his own piano, his own fan, his own fireplace.  Basically one of everything he could see.  Make sure it's his own though.  Do you see a pattern here?

And once the day arrived, it wasn't a let down!  He's our first full blown extrovert, and they just party a little differently than us introverts.  He had the biggest smile on his face the WHOLE day.  We played a birthday song for him, and he put his head against the speaker so he was sure to hear it.  He kept asking me if it was still his birthday.  And he kept telling us how old he was.

Grammy and Gramps treated us to dinner at Cheddar's where Ivan got to sit between them in the booth.  And then we came back for his GIANT cupcake and presents.  He couldn't decide between cupcakes and a cake, so we did both.

He sure keeps our life fun and interesting!  We love you, Ivan and can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for your life!

Halloween 2017

In light of moving, we started thinking about Halloween early this year.  After throwing out a few ideas, we landed on the two older boys with the Wild Kratt brothers and the two younger boys being the creatures.  Phew!  After doing a quick Pinterest search, I found a super easy costume tutorial and breathed a sigh of relief.

I was half-way done with costumes by moving day, and luckily, I thought to stash all the supplies in a safe place so they wouldn't get lost in the move.  And then, I, of course, put off finishing them until the day of Halloween. 

Ivan's was easy - a tiger costume we already had.  And in the end, we let Conrad be a pumpkin or a moose depending on if he had his jacket on or off. 

Jason and I kept laughing about how many kids we passed would say, "There's Chris and Martin." And all the parents were confused about if their kids new us or not.  

We were also pleasantly surprised by how fast the boys were at trick or treating.  We planned not to stay as long this year, but they just blew through the blocks!

One of my favorite parts of the night was that Ivan kept saying, "Come on boys...CANDY!"

The next day, I gave the boys the option of trading their candy in for money.  They took me up on it and we went to the store the next day and let them spend it!  I think that might becoming a Halloween tradition.

Silas John turns 5

I'm back from a bit of a blogging break.  After blogging weekly for over 6 years, I was feeling a little uninspired and ready for a break.  And then when we, out of the blue, decided to sell our house and buy a new one, that kinda put our whole life on hold.  More on that soon, but first I'm coming back to share with you Silas' fifth birthday.

Jason had the day before Silas' birthday off from work, so we made it into a family day of celebrating Silas.  We bought tickets for Legoland and got up early on Friday morning to head to Kansas City.  We stopped for donuts on the way.  

Legoland was our first stop and Silas said Merlin's Hat (the ride below) and buying a Batman lego set with birthday money was his favorite part.

The rest of us really enjoyed the miniature version of Kansas City made from legos.

After our fill of Legoland we took the Skywalk to Union Station.  Only to realize that where we wanted to eat was back at Crown Center.

Our second stop was at Science City.  With our Amazeum passes, we were able to get into Science City for free, so we thought we'd check it out.  Now we wished we had had more time to spend there.  I think we'll be going back.

They were holding an actual dinosaur bone!

After Science City, we headed to IKEA, because when in Kansas City, I can't pass up a stop there.  Plus we had a few items we were needing for the new house.  They just happened to be trick or treating that night.  And thanks to some Halloween themed shirts, the boys joined in on the fun.  It kept them moving through the store.

After Ikea, we met up with my sister and brother-in-law for dinner at 54th Street Grill!  I really liked the place and the food.  Each of our boys having to poop during dinner, not so much!  And on the way home, they all zonked out. Conrad was gone before we even reached the interstate.  Mom may have dozed off too!

On Saturday, we woke up to a five year old.  He requested the traditonal Birthday Waffles with sprinkles.  

Check our new dining room in birthday style!

For lunch, we met up with Grammy and Gramps at Chick-fi-la and then scooted over the Academy to pick up the big birthday present.  A new bike!!  He's been riding one too little for him for a while, so it was definitely time.  He tested out a few and then landed on the Rattle Snack!  Great choice, Si!  He got a helmet to match!

He's ready to keep up with Amos on his big bike.

 He blew out his candles so they wouldn't melt his ice cream cake!

A new bike for Silas means a new bike for Ivan too!  And he couldn't be happier about it.

 And here are a few shots of the new place that my mom snapped!