Interrupted or Divine Intervention?

This week my women's bible study at church started up again. I was excited to get back in the routine of studying God's word and even more excited about the study my group is doing. It is called "Jonah- Navigating a Life Interrupted" by Priscilla Shirer. I experienced Priscilla Shirer in the last study we did that was a DVD study taught by Kay Arthur, Beth Moore, and Priscilla Shirer. It was then I fell in love with her witty and honest way of leading. I love studies where you can laugh, especially when it's at yourself and how true the life example that the leader just shared is in your own life.

So I don't know about you, but when I think of the story of Jonah in the Bible, this is what I picture.

I picture the bizarre Bible story I heard when I was little with a man being swallowed by a big fish and then being spit out at some beach he didn't want to go to. I am excited to see how my image of Jonah and his story changes over the next 7 weeks as I study it as an adult.
Being the kind of person I am that likes to feel like I have a plan and that I am somewhat in control, interruptions are not often something that I look upon kindly. This study begins with challenging us to change the way we view interruptions. Priscilla says:
"Often we equate the term interruption with upheaval, derailing, and frustration. Who wouldn't try to avoid those? Yet a closer look reveals an issue of value. When we deem our current task as an essential priority, we'll look with contempt on anything that threatens our time focused on it. Why? We've given priority and credited value to the current task, person, or goal."
But when we realize who God is and that He is the one that may be giving us a new assignment, our view should change. Priscilla explains:
"If He is our priority and His will is our primary purpose, then when the 'word of the Lord' comes to us or when He allows us to see His hand in our circumstances, we must see it as an esteemed opportunity to participate in kingdom purposes. What more critical or essential ambition could there be?
So, we redifine interruption in our lives because God's plan is a "Divine Intervention". I am already convicted and inspired by two days of this study. I cannot wait to see how God will challenge and change me through the study of His word. I hope you're life is interrupted today and that you are able to see His plan for your life's purpose!

We're Back!

So, I realize it has been entirely too long since I updated this here blog. I really don't have a great excuse, so I will just apologize to those that have been asking about my disappearance over the last few months. There is a lot to get caught up on, so here are the highlights...

Joey turned 25 in October! Half-way to 50 I enjoyed reminding him. :) I snuck around planning a surprise birthday party for him that was supposed to be an afternoon of Ultimate Games at a park here, but the weather was horrible! We did pull off a great surprise though. Momma Hance came in town for a visit and Joey had no idea what awaited him when we pulled up to the park to "take Harley on a walk before it rained". As we pulled up, he noticed the party set up (thanks to my wonderful parents) at the pavillion and said, "Hey look, someone else is having a 25th birthday." He then freaked out when I pulled onto the grass driving towards this stranger's party. The look on his face when he figured it out was great. He is a tough one to get things past, so it was fun. We moved the party to our house not long after we arrived and still had a great time with friends and family that came in town to celebrate with us!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and a lot to be thankful for.

And December flew by with a really busy time at work putting on a new event followed by a sweet time of rest with the hubs and puppy.

January is racing along with work for me and school for Joey back in the full swing of things. I have to say that I would not have given up the break we had at the end of December for anything, but it sure made it hard to get motivated again. We are getting back in the groove of a routine though and that is nice. More to come soon on life at the Hance household! Stay tuned...

Labor Day Weekend

One of the things I love about the place I work is that we have a great holiday schedule. I had a four day weekend- Friday through Monday. It was a really glorious thing! Friday and Saturday I spent the days doing normal weekend stuff: laundry, grocery shopping, watching tv, and running errands while Joey worked on homework. Then, on Sunday we drove to Shay's family's lake house to spend the next two days with her and Adam. It was a lot of fun!

We did a little bit of this

and got to watch beautiful sunsets like this.

Shay and Adam grilled yummy dinners for us, we drank Sangria, watched movies, went people-watching at the local Walmart, and went jet skiing on the lake. Riding jet skis is a good work out, at least the way we do it! I came back beat each time and am still a little sore. It was a relaxing, refreshing, fantastic weekend with great friends. Thanks Shay and Adam for a great Labor Day weekend!

Mail for Harley

So, last week when I checked the mail I found a manilla envelope addressed to Harley Hance; cc: Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Hance. Clearly I was intrigued. When I got in the house and opened it up this is what we found- the movie Eight Below from Mamma Hance. She visited us last month and we were talking about the movie and how we had never seen it but wanted too since the main characters resembled our Harley girl. Thank you, Carol! We are excited to all cuddle up and watch it... whenever Joey gets a break in this rediculous school work we are all getting adjsuted to having dominate our evenings once again.

Here is a picture of us with Carol at the zoo when she came to visit. We had a lot of fun with her. We love Mamma Hance! :)

Pittman Weekend

Last weekend we got to visit Emily and Brittan who just got married in May and live in Houston. Emily and I have been friends since we were 3 years old and have a lot of great memories together. Me, Joey, and Harley got to be their first house-guests in their new apartment. It was a lot of fun! Saturday Emily woke up and made us grandma's famous french toast. It was delicious and did taste just like I remember Emily's grandmother making it.

Then we decided to go shopping and see the area where Em and Brit live. I had a gift card to Home Goods (the home accessories version of Marshalls) and we don't have one in Waco, so that was our first stop. The one we went to actually was a Marshalls and a Home Goods all in one.... dangerous! :) We actually found a lot of great treasures to check off the list of things we wanted for around the house. So then we went to Cafe Express for lunch- another one of my favorites that we don't have in Waco. It was yummy! On the way back to the apartment for the boys to watch the Little League World Series game, we passed a pet store boutique. Joey and I immediately asked Brittan if we could stop. You see, we have been looking for a baby blue collar for Harley that would match her eyes and not make her look like a boy for months now. You would think such a task would not be too terribly difficult, but you would not believe the lack of options we have found... Well, lo and behold, we found some great options at the pet store near the Pittman's apartment and came home with a cute new colar for Harley. When we got back, we decided to record the game and take Harley to a fenced in area for dogs in the park by Em and Brit's apartment. Brit was so excited! Lots of their neighbors have dogs and Brittan really wants one, but Em is still warming up to the idea. Harley ran around for about 3 minutes
and then decided it was way too hot to be outside running around, so she found a water bowl that had been left out there and tried to take a swim in it.

That wasn't doing the trick for her, so she made herself comfortable in the mud... of course! She was a mess, but quite entertaining! I hope this didn't totally make Emily's mind up not to get a dog. :)

We hosed her off and went back to watch the game and get ready for dinner. We ate at Carrabas and then met some of the Pittman's Sunday School friends at The Tasting Room- a fun wine bar with live music. It was such a fun weekend and we loved making the first of many memories with the Pittman's.

Picture Frame Wall

So, I told you about a project I was starting- a Picture Frame Feature Wall for the big white wall in our bedroom. I have been collecting frames from my favorite store- Marshalls for the last couple weeks and just got it up on the wall. It was fun going through some of our pictures and I really like the way it fills the space. Here's a look at our finished product for now. I think I will continue to add to it, but it's a good start.

The Hance Revolving Door

The weekend before Joey started classes up again we got to see lots of family. My brother, Taylor, transfered from John Brown University in Arkansas to Texas Tech University this year. Turns out, you drive right through Waco on the way from Sugar Land to Lubbock, so my family stayed with us Thursday night to break up the drive and squeeze in a visit on their way to move Taylor in. I made dinner for us and then we played the Wii game, Just Dance. I was a little skeptical at first as to how fun this game would be. But after watching Claire and Taylor mirror the little wii dancer's moves on the screen to the Spice Girls song, Wannabe, I nearly peed my pants I was laughing so hard! There are some pictures I took posted below, but they just do not do the shimmy Taylor was rocking justice. There are many things I love about spending time with Taylor, but seeing him dance has become a new favorite. I just didn't realize my skinny-white-boy brother had moves! In fact, he may not be the next Michael Jackson, but that is what made this game so fun! We knew Hunter could dance from his debut as the brother with moves at our wedding, but I have to say Taylor definitely has the entertainment factor going for him too. Mom, Claire, Hunter, Joey, and me all had turns too. Dad stayed on the sidelines cheering us on and acting as the announcer. I beat Taylor once, but other than that I think he dominated every song. It was pretty impressive! :)

Look at Hunter's faces!

Mom even let Harley chew on her bone in her lap!

Well, they headed out on towards Lubbock Friday morning and Friday night Joey's dad, Angie, Matthew, Macie and Jennifer came to visit for the weekend. How big is our place you may be wondering? Three bedrooms and two baths. It was cozy, and we were so glad they came to visit. Saturday we went to the Waco Zoo and the Dr. Pepper Museum. Then we shopped around town to find everyone Baylor t-shirts. Jennifer is starting her first year as a 7th grade teacher and coach in Montgomery and wanted to support her sister-in-law's alma mater for College Day some time. She gets to wear college t-shirts one day every week- pretty sweet gig I think! We also picked up some movie candy while we were out and went out to dinner. There weren't any movies in the theater that we wanted to see, so we decided to rent one and watch it at home and eat our candy. Only when we got home and all set up to watch our movie we couldn't find the candy anywhere. After much discussion and finger-pointing it was decided that we left the candy at the store after Angie paid for it, so the boys went out to get us more. They saved the day and we all snuggled up to watch our movie in the living room. Harley was too excited that Angie and Macie were down on on the ground on a blow-up mattress where she could reach them, so she had a hard time leaving them alone. Overall, Harley and the Hances got along great! There was talk that they needed a dog... so, we'll see! :)

Joey and I love having guests and really enjoyed getting to see our families. It was a fun-filled weekend and we are grateful to be blessed with such great family.

Wedding Memories

Joey and I have said several times in the last year that we would love to do our wedding again. Not the planning and leading up to it- just the party. We had such an amazing time and made so many great memories getting married and celebrating with all of our closest friends and family. I mean how often do you have all those people that you love in the same room? It was such a cool thing! We are so grateful for all of the people that love and support us. We feel very blessed as we look back on that day and remember all the people that gave of time and resources to make our day special. So, as promised here are some pictures from our wedding a year ago! Sorry this post took me so long to get up... all our wedding pictures are on my computer that has been out of commission for a bit. It is back up and running though, so let's reminisce!
Photographs by Edward Charles Photography