Chanukah and Guests!!

On the first night of Chanukah, we went to the Lebovitz house for a wonderful Chanukah party. We all lit the menorahs, sang songs (accompanied by Yoni on guitar) and ate some good latkes and Chanukah food. It was such a fun evening, and we hope to continue establishing the Vance Jewish community.










































The following day, Mom arrived for her visit. So nights two, three, and four she was our guest :)
We had a great time exploring the city of Enid by day (Wal-Mart and townsquare), and having wonderful dinners in the evenings. One night after dinner we decided to embark on a competitive journey through the game of Monopoly. That was quite fun, and Yoni came out victorious. As a result, he did dishes that night...

After dropping Mom off at the airport on Thursday, we headed down to Dallas. Shuki, Cyrel and the kids were in town, so we got to see the whole family! It was wonderful seeing everyone and spending Shabbat down there.

Sunday morning they accompanied us up to Enid to see our new home and visit for a bit.
Having little kids around was great. First of all, we discovered the amazing playgrounds on base for the first time, and we got to swing on swings... which is something people should really make time for at all ages.

Unfortunately, last night, we lit the Menorah for the last night of Chanukah this year, but G-d willing this house will see many more guests and meaningful occasions before next year's Chanukah lighting.

Our daily manna...

Yesterday was quite a day!

First of all, it was Tuesday and we woke up to snow again!!

Then I (Michelle) drove Yoni to work and went to yoga. I've been to this class many times (twice a week since we moved here). Yet after class yesterday, someone approached me and asked, "Are you Jewish?" After I responded in the affirmative, I was informed of a Chanukah party this weekend that a number of Jewish couples are attending. Not only did I meet another Jewish couple, but in less than a week Yoni and I will be at a party with multiple Jewish couples all living in Enid.

I told Yoni the good news, and the day progressed...

In the afternoon, Yoni had an appointment at the clinic for some of his intake exams. First, he went to the dentist. The dentist, upon seeing his kippah asked, "You're Jewish?? Do you know about the Chanukkah party this Sunday?? My fiance and I are going!"

After four weeks of thinking we're the only young Jewish couple in all of Enid, we met two more - in one day!

So what's this mean? Why did we meet them now? Why did this not happen at the first yoga class I attended, or Yoni's first visit to the clinic?

Well the answer came last night, as I was learning Sichos Mussar over the phone with my friend Chanie.

Mussar is the teaching of character refinement. How to attain a pure, optimistic and healthy morale and approach to life.

One of the topics we learned this week had to do with appreciating what you're given today, without a fear of what tomorrow will bring. The teaching states that a man is a fool who acquires a loaf of bread today and cries that maybe tomorrow he will not be as fortunate. A man of faith trusts that G-d will provide for his needs today, tomorrow, and all days of his life. This man does not waste a moment in fear of deprivation.

G-d purposefully provides enough for just today, so that we constantly feel the need to reach out and trust in Him. The best Biblical example of this is the Jews in the desert, after the Exodus. Each day, manna fell from the sky. Every day, just enough bread fell to feed the Jewish people for one day (except for Friday, on which they got two day's worth, to prevent collecting the manna on Shabbat). Why didn't G-d give them enough manna for a year, so that they would not have to worry that it would fall each day? Because G-d wanted them to have faith in Him.

So what's this all have to do with us meeting two couples yesterday on base?

We arrived on base a month ago facing "tomorrow"s as completely uknown entities. We moved from Pikesville, MD - in an apartment building consisting of ONLY young Jewish couples to an Air Force base in a small town saturated with Christianity. We questioned how we could attain a comfort level with our own spirituality and practice of Judaism in this environment, and have prayed every day for strength to face this new challenge as a Kiddush Hashem.

If on that first day, we had been shown a straight, direct path to comfort in this new home, there would not have been as much of a need for us to look inward and Upward for guidance. It's the experience of the journey, and discovering bit by bit, day by day which facilitates strong faith, and a close connection with G-d.

We hope to look at the absence of constant Jewish influence not as a barrier to spiritual growth, but instead as a means to appreciate each little thing to a greater extent.

I was so excited about this experience and the connection to my learning, that I had to share.

On another note, we are getting quite excited for all of the visitors over the next few weeks!!
Before the new year, we get to see all of our parents, Shuki, Cyrel, and the kids!! Yay :)

We're moved in and had our first snow!

Tuesday, December 2nd, we loaded our car with carpet and vinyl remnants from Carpet Plus and drove the ten minutes across town with little red flags on the ends to begin the self-installation. It was very important to finish it all in one night, because 9,000 lbs of furniture and boxes were being delivered the following morning.











Our first project was the bedroom. With a beautiful blue, plush floor. We even put in a 1/2 inch thick pad underneath to be extra cushy!










Then we went to work diligently in the living room/dining room area, entrance, and hallway with the vinyl and a nice patch of carpet for the living room. We also added in a dinner of carbo-load pasta and potatoes coupled with a late-night Ben & Jerry's run.










After a whirlwind Wednesday/Thursday of unpacking, getting appliances delivered, and more unpacking, we drove down to Oklahoma City to spend Shabbat with the community there. It's actually a very nice, warm little community. The Chabad recently built a brand new center, and they have a good number of couples who come every week for davening and the meals.

There were also two other couples who have been married about a year, so it was nice to get to know them.

When we can't make it down to Dallas, it's nice to have this community so close.

Yoni's been as busy as a casual guy can be, working one hour a day some days, and some days he actually gets a job. Yesterday, he handed out RIP sheets (Roster-Inbound Personnel) for TDY (Temporary Duty) assignments to a bunch of the LTs over at the OSS (Operational Support Squadron). Tomorrow he hopes to get a real job, otherwise he'll work with a few LTs making a video with the PA office on the "Life of the Casual Lemming."

Michelle's working two days a week at Enid Learning Academy and keeping plenty busy during all of the other days.

Here's our house so far:

Living room/dining room area:











Right side of that room:









The guest room:











All other rooms aren't quite clean enough for the blog yet... we'll work on that..

Today (Tuesday Dec 9th) we also had our first Oklahoma snow! It was flurries most of the day, but the intense winds made it seem like a blizzard. When all was said and done, the ground had about an inch and a half covering. Here's Gus in our carport from both directions, with the snow. You'll also notice Yoni's pretty new bike hanging upside down over Gus. That will be his regular transportation to work (weather permitting).












Also, we have a landline!!

580-540-4528. Voicemail should hopefully be set up shortly.

The road trip and arrival at Vance

It was slightly difficult for us to leave Baltimore. We said most of our goodbyes Thursday through Saturday, then Sunday morning as we loaded the truck, Pinny (4 year-old next door neighbor) bid us farewell with an emphatic "Bye Yoni! Bye Michelle!!!" through the window. Then just before we left Michoel downstairs knocked and waved goodbye. It felt nice to have a few cute farewells :)

On the way out we dropped off the keys to the new occupants then set out on the open road.


First state: Pennsylvania!









About four hours into the drive we met up with Madi at a nice grill restaurant in the great city of Pittsburgh!










Then about 11 miles of West Virginia and into Ohio!!


















We stayed the night in Ohio and met up with Tori and Robe at the famous Graeter's for icecream!! (Never thought we'd say this, but they give Ben and Jerry's a run for their money)









Then we stayed at the Country Inn and Suites just outside Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton for the night and we highly recommend it; it's a very nice, clean, and inexpensive hotel with a unique charm as far as interstate-side hotels go.


On Monday morning, we woke up early for a good run before we hit the road, and we discovered that Gus, our pickup truck, was covered in a thin sheet of snow. So what did we do? Load him up and drive on anyway! Since we were in Dayton, however, we had to make one important stop before we left. We took an hour out of our day and visited the Air Force Museum at Wright-Pat. We saw the most impressive display of American Air Power that we have ever experienced, and it is spread among three large hangars, each one detailed on the outside by roundels (the white star in the blue field, bars on the side, etc.) that adorned US military aircraft throughout the past century of military aviation. We journeyed from the early years with the Wright Brothers to WWII, the Cold War and the modern GWOT era, with static displays of the B-2 Spirit, F-22A Raptor, and a few UAVs. The most poignant aircraft was the B-29 "Bockscar," the bomber that dropped the second atomic bomb (on Nagasaki), thus spurring the Japanese to surrender. We had already seen the "Enola Gay" in
Udvar-Hazy, so this completed our viewing of this important and controversial chapter in military history.



















































We left the museum and headed back on the road. Ohio really impressed us though. Mostly because it's the only state that thanked us for visiting:










We went through quite a few states that day...






















Just after entering Missouri, we stopped at a cute little Ma and Pa shop to get some hotdogs and soup, then called it an early night. We got to our hotel, just past the St Louis Beltway on I-44 by 6:30, wound down a bit, then got a good long night's sleep.

The following day we drove the diagonal length of rural Missouri. The next city we would pass through wasn't until Tulsa, in Oklahoma. We saw a lot of very flat, albeit gorgeous, farmland.

In Tulsa, we stopped at the Chabad for some lunch and to meet the family there, then drove the final two hours to our new home: Enid, Oklahoma.

Like we didn't see enough real cows, Enid decided to put up a cute little display of fake cows as you enter the city....
Along with the sign introducing you to the city centered around their Air Force Base.

It has now been six days since our arrival in Enid.
The first day was very difficult. We'd moved into TLF (Temporary living facility) and had to fend for ourselves. With no guidance on check-in procedures or protocol, we went from office to office, hpoing to begin the process of adjustment. The first day presented a lot of dead ends. Yet at each of those dead ends were instructions on which way to go. So by the second day, our productivity really began and we started taking care of everything.

By this Wednesday, before Thanksgiving, we should be completely in-processed.

In the meantime, we're also making preliminary preparations for the move into our house. On December 3rd, we will move into a house on the Air Force Base: 1253 Hurst Dr., Enid, OK 73703.

Today we had the fun job of price comparisons around the town on washers, dryers, and a freezer. Tomorrow we get to see the house and take pictures, and then after that, we will mostly go back to Lowe's, purchase the appliances, and look at flooring options.

We also were able to go down to Dallas for Shabbat, which was very nice, as we don't have a home here yet. Thankfully we'll also be able to go down there for Thanksgiving - fried turkey here we come!

The initial visit to Enid!!

After spending Shabbat in Dallas, we drove up to Oklahoma for a couple days with Ima and Pappy. We wanted to get a feel for the city before the big move.

First, the biggest difference between driving out west and along the east coast is the layout of the highways. Throughout the entire state of Oklahoma, the highway might have curved a dozen times. There's also just a different feel driving out there. The further we got into the middle of nowhere, the more serene and relaxed we felt. It's really difficult to explain, but quite amazing.

On the way up, we stopped at the new Chabad center in Oklahoma City. This is the nearest Jewish community to where we will live, about an hour and a half drive from the Air Force Base. A good bit of Divine Providence made itself apparent upon this visit. After ten years of developing a community base in the city, next week Chabad is opening their brand new center - where they will hold Shabbat davening and events. Even more, inside they built a brand new mikvah.

They also told us of another officer at Vance Air Force Base in Enid who comes to them most weekends for Shabbat. The Rabbi did not want to divulge too much information, so he just gave us the other guy's name and told us to keep an eye out for him.

Well.... lo and behold, at our second main stop once we arrived in Enid - The Walmart Supercenter, of course - a young man approached us inquiring as to where we're from (after seeing Yoni's kippah). We explained where we're from and why we were visiting, and it turns out that he was the guy the Rabbi had told us about. So we got all of his contact information and we now know someone in Enid!

While in the town, we stayed at a really adorable Bed and Breakfast. A couple owns multiple houses with nice rooms which they rent out, and keep really well. Each room has a different theme as well. Our room was the Black and Gold Suite (symbolic of the Oklahoma oil industry). Yoni even wore his black and gold G&L shirt to match our decor.

The bed and breakfast is located right near the town square, so we got to do a lot of sightseeing by foot. The town square itself is really cute - there's the typical courthouse with a clocktower and gazebo out front and the post office directly behind it. Also, all around the square there are lots of little Mom and Pop specialty shops. One of the coolest was this little salon with really cool, different head coverings. We stopped and went in to speak with the people there, to try to be friendly. They were very sweet, and invited us to their church within two minutes. Supposedly they have quite the Christmas pageant. Needless to say, it is a very religious town, but that comes across in the genuine kindness in the people that we met there.

The second day there we visited the base. Every minute if you look up into the sky, at least two or three planes fly overhead. This base primarily operates as a pilot training base - for the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps. It's a beautiful area with simple, yet nice buildings and scenery. We can easily envision happiness and contentment in that environment.

We drove back to Dallas in just about four hours and then returned to Baltimore. A few more months of married life (and honeymoon in September) and then we are quite excited to move out west!

Cheapest Gas: $3.31