I Scream!
You scream!
We all scream!
For ice cream!
Friday was opening day of ice cream season here in Vienna. My favorite season! To celebrate, our local ice cream shop gave away free cones (with two scoops!) from 12:00-2:00. I went with the fifth grade class to take advantage of this gift. 
While we were there, we ran into the entire middle school who had the same idea! What a great way to end the week.
You can see a few more pictures here: Opening Day
March is Book Month at VCS. We have lots of fun activities to promote reading. On Thursday, the primary, first, and second grade classes performed The Three Piggy Opera. It’s a fun musical rendition of The Three Little Pigs. Above, you can see some of the adorable piglets from the piggy choir and the very intimidating Big Bad Wolf. They did such a great job!
There are more pictures here: Three Piggy Opera
The theme at I Heart Faces this week is “Bundled Up.” I have several wintery photos that I kind of love, so it was hard to choose this week. I finally settled on this picture of a kiddo that I’m missing while his family is back in the Philippines for a year. Isn’t he sweet?
Go on over and check out the rest of the faces here:
Well, basketball season came to a close last Saturday. This was such a fun season! The girls really came together as a team this year. As coaches, Whitney and I were amazed to see how much they grew not only as basketball players, but as people. During the regular season we won two of our games and lost three.
Saturday we had a tournament with our newly formed league. We came in third place, winning two games and losing one. The girls were so excited about their trophy. However, they were even more excited when they won the sportsmanship trophy which was awarded to the team voted to have the best sportsmanship by the other teams and coaches. We are so proud of them for winning this award! As coaches that’s what we want for them – to grow in love for others as they grow to love their sport.
Here are most of the girls with their new trophies. Aren’t they cute?
There are more pictures here: Middle School Basketball
Today was my second visit to the dentist. He removed the bad fillings then took impressions and ordered my new inlays. As usual, I took more novocaine than should be necessary. He said it was enough to numb a crocodile. Also, as usual, about halfway through it started to wear off. He said he was amazed at my bodies ability to “eat drugs.” The same thing happened when I had surgery. The doctors had to give me crazy doses of morphine, and they were amazed it didn’t work. I’d like to believe this is some kind of superpower, but I don’t really see how it’s useful for anything. On the plus side, the dentist felt really sorry for me and kept stroking my head and saying, “Oh, you poor thing.” Maybe he’ll feel sorry enough to lower the cost of my bill. Hmmm…
The bread of the month for February was Beer Bread. I wasn’t really sure how I’d feel about this bread because, well, I kind of think beer is gross. However, I’ve heard good things about beer bread, so I gave it a whirl. Turns out beer bread is really yummy. Also, beer bread might be the easiest bread in the world to make. I got the recipe from Honest Fare. She even gives you a printable recipe here: Beer Bread. It literally took mere minutes to make this bread. It’s sweet with just a hint of beer flavor. I took Honest Fare’s recommendation and ate it with a little freshly ground pepper. Yummy! Later in the evening Matt and our friend Whitney couldn’t stop themselves and they ate the whole top half of the bread. Yes, that’s right, the top half. They scalped the poor thing, but it was confirmation for me that this bread is worth making again.
Today was the last day of Spiritual Emphasis Week. Jerry shared the story of the prodigal son. He shared about how when we make mistakes, Jesus is always waiting with open arms for us to repent. He also shared about how the Lord delights in us because we are his children. We are sad to see the Jacobys leave us, but we are so glad they were here.
Update from yesterday: Of the 19 students who stayed to talk with Jerry, 15 of them made decisions for Christ!
Please pray for the Jacobys to have safe travels back to Michigan. Please pray for the 15 students who made decisions for Christ yesterday. Please continue to pray for the staff as we follow up with these students.
More pictures here: SEW
Today was an amazing day here at VCS. Jerry talked with the students about what it means to have faith. He shared about how we can believe in Christ and his promises. He shared about how we don’t have to DO anything for salvation, it’s a gift. At the end of chapel, Jerry invited those students who wanted to hear more about Christ to stay and talk with him. 19 students stayed to talk and pray with Jerry.
Please pray for these 19 students. Please pray for our chaplain, Melissa, and the elementary teachers as they follow up with these students in the coming weeks and months.
See more pictures here: SEW
Pros:
Cons:
Anyone getting a tax return that they don’t know what to do with?
Today’s chapel was about God’s never-ending love for us. By acting out the parable of the lost sheep, Jerry shared with the students about how the Lord pursues us. He pursues us with love and determination. He pursues us without ceasing. How incredible is that? The creator of the universe loves us so much that he’ll continue to seek us even when we are unfaithful. Even when we turn our back on him. Why does he do this? Because he loves us – wholly, completely, and forever.
Please pray with us that the students and parents who were in chapel today would grow in their understanding of God’s amazing love. That they would feel what it means to be pursued and loved so greatly.
More pictures here: SEW
