Nice things in store for NOVEMBER!

November is a wonderful month. We have lots to look forward to and so many things to be thankful for. This time I am going to try to do my month list by listing things we are thankful for and looking forward to this month.

New jobs....this is old in the sense that I have been at my job for two months but we are very thankful for the fact that we both have jobs that we love and enjoy. It is a blessing to have a double income right now and to be able to give and bless others.

Otoño. So there are no "f" in November but there is an "O" and otoño is fall in Spanish. Yesterday we enjoyed hiking at Pilot Mountain and on the drive out there we kept commenting on the beauty around us. The leaves have changed colors and everything looks so vibrant right now. God's beautiful creation is exemplified this time of year around her.

Ventures...I would say adventures is more like it. This year we have enjoyed spending time with friends and family on many random ventures. We started the year between Virginia and Costa Rica, then back to NC for an overkill of WINTER and white wonderland, wonderful times getting to know friends and spending time with them here, more Virginia with family in May, Figure 8 in May, Charleston for our anniversary in June, Virginia in August, Cleveland in September and so many more trips to come! We thank God for friends, family and all the 'ventures He takes us on.

Exercise. If you know Chris and I, you probably know that we love sports, being outside and working out. I am thankful that we both enjoy said things and get to do them together. I am thankful that we are healthy and can exercise regularly!

Marina Alling Rice. Our sweet niece was born a week and a half early on October 13th. She made her entrance into the world at 12:24 am. We have enjoyed looking at her pictures with Mom and Dad and big brother Sam but really can't wait to get up there to see her in person. We are also thankful that we get to see the entire Rice family for the first time since January in Virginia for Thankgiving!

Best food ever. So I could go on and on and on about how much I like Thanksgiving and the food we intake on that day. I really have learned to appreciate fall-ish food more the last few years. I like warm soup on a cold day, pumpkin bread and other yummy treats and oh Thanksgiving food. Homemade turkey, mashed potatoes, rolls, green beans, salad, cranberry sauce, gravy, pie and so on. But what I am truly thankful for is the ability to make all these delicious foods and to be able to spend time with family enjoying them!

Enjoying God's word. I have really enjoyed digging into Esther and I Corinthians this month and the Adoption series at Westover. So much good stuff. I will write more about it in the next few weeks as I get my head around it!

Reading. Over the last two months Chris and I have started reading more for fun. I used to read for fun all the time then college happened. I don't know what about college happened but I quit reading for fun as much. We have been enjoyed getting back into reading for fun and watching Everyone Loves Raymond!

We hope and pray that you enjoy the next few weeks as we remember all those little and big things we are Thankful for and spend time with family and friends. May God abundantly bless you and your family!

Short Random thoughts from October!

October seems to have flown by. Like first weekend and snap your fingers and now it is the last weekend. This month has been wonderful. On October 13 our sweet little precious niece was born at 12:24 am. Marina Alling Rice was 20.25 inches long and 6 pounds 11 ounces of amazing niece.

At Westover Church, where Chris and I go to church they are doing a series on Adoption. Not a sermon series I had ever encountered before but have absolutely loved. The first two weeks we were reminded that God adopted us into his family and loves us so dearly and then this week and next week we are talking about how to live this out. I highly recommend going to http://www.westoverchurch.com/onlineresources/worshipservices and listening to the whole series.

One thing that stood out to me today was the fact that there are 145,000,000 (that is one hundred and forty five MILLION) orphans around the world. Wow....that is like everyone that lives east of the Mississippi. Not everyone is called to adopt a child into their home but we are called to do something. Chris and I will pray and seek for a long time to figure out what we are going to do but we are going to do something very soon!

James 1:16-17: ²⁶If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. ²⁷Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

OCTOBER

Its October and I am behind a couple days but here is what I am excited for this month!

Out with the summer weather and into fall weather. We drastically went from summer to fall...from 95 to 75 in about a day. Along with this wonderful relief from the heat came the fall colds all over the office and into our home. It will leave soon I hope!

Cleveland. I went to Cleveland Ohio this past weekend to celebrate with my sweet friend Amanda. We had a great time working on wedding stuff, seeing her wedding dress, shopping, eating the most fabulous caramel apples, wedding shower, time with my Ohio extended family and fellowship! I can't wait to see her get married in two months and to stand by her side for this joyful event.

Thanksgiving. You are probably thinking that is a November event but November doesn't have any Ts and I am excited for Thanksgiving right now because I get to see my family that is around the world. Chris and I are driving to Falls Church VA to Peter, Betsy, Sam and precious baby niece, Karen is flying in from the cold midwest city of Chicago, Mom and Dad are flying in from the tropics and we all get to spend a couple days together. Eating, talking, eating, touring DC, eating, doting on niece and nephew, eating, family time....I can't wait!

Out with Baseball and onto Football! Much to my nephews dismay I am not as big a fan of baseball as he is. He is just too cute for words when he gets excited about baseball. Now it seems like every night there is football on TV these days. This weekend is the Elon-App State Football game and I am all about some Elon Football...rooting on the phoenix from the comfort of my own home and avoiding going to Boone. GO ELON PHOENIX! I guess baseball is not over but football has taken over so its ok. Chris also just informed me that Hockey starts this week. We base our TV watching on what sport is on TV: football, hockey, basketball, golf...etc...etc!

Births. Our niece is set to arrive any day now or around the 26th. We can't wait to have another little precious girl in our family. We know that Peter and Betsy will again be great parents and Sam will be a great big brother. If you want to see some of the latest and cutest on Sam visit http://the-rice-pad.blogspot.com/.

Everything Soup. I was never a big fan of soup growing up but I have discovered some great soups and my crock pot in the last year. So I am excited that it is cooling down and I can use the crock pot for some delicious soups and come home to a ready to eat meal!

Reading. It is such a joy to be able to read again and not for classes. I should have figured this out earlier but I finally started picking books up again this month. I have also decided that I am going to focus on a couple books of the Bible ever month. In September I read Galatians and Ester. This month I am on Ruth and I think I am going through I and II Corinthians. I love the books about some of the famous women in the Bible. So inspiring for me.

So here is to a great October full of fun, adventures and all sorts of pumpkin and warmth inside. Maybe we will even carve a pumpkin this year since we have been talking about it for 4 years!