A Rainy Day

We have had a really wet August. Today we woke up to more rain and temps in the low 50s. When A woke up, the first thing she said was "ugh!...more rain." Normally, this would have contributed to a low spirit to start my day (especially because it would mean me being cooped up with this new rodent friend (or friends?) we have in our house - actually one was captured and destroyed last night, but we never know if there are more:() Anyway, I was feeling upbeat and perky and decided we would find some good way to spend our day even if it WAS raining.
But,G had her own ideas.

She decided it was the perfect day to stay in her jammies until at least noon and make chocolate chip cookies ( her favorite)!


Of course. E wanted to participate somehow...and he was perfectly happy using his healthy imagination to make believe he was drinking coffee out of Dad's carafe and thought, for sure, that a mixing bowl sized cup of joe would do the trick for his non-coffee loving mommy.

Now, before anyone panics at the thought of him working in the kitchen with cooking/baking tools - be sure to notice in the photo that the matchbox cars are not too far away from his hands - hands which usually MUST contain at least 2 cars or trucks at any given time:)

Well, while the cookies were baking they had a great time pulling "real" food and tools from the pantry and cabinets, along with water, of course. They were making 'stew' - E being the taste tester! It was very cute until he poured oatmeal all over the kitchen floor. But what fun they had!


I still struggle some with adjusting to the cloudiness we seem to have so much of here in Alaska. After a few days of it, I start to feel grumpy and irritable. But these little sweeties know how to make a cloudy and rainy day bright and warm. SO thankful for them:)
Blessings to you for a warm and bright day as well!

School Days!

It's that time of the year...
We start now, so we can end sooner - the 2nd week of May can't come soon enough!


My sweet, biggest girl is starting the 3rd grade! I would love to say that by now, I am like many parents who 'can't wait' for their kids to go back to school, but I'm truly not that way. I never have been. From day #1, I have struggled with the idea of sending my little one to school, out into the BIG world....and every year as Fall approaches, I still dread it. We've prayed every year since our children were born that God would make it very clear to us how we should provide education for them. Sometimes it has been made vividly clear and other years it hasn't been as clear at all... and we walked into that new grade praying that we were doing the right thing. We are blessed that all of the experiences our daughter has had so far have been good for her and for us. I'm amazed as I remember that she has attended a different school setting for every grade so far. (This makes me sad. I grew up going to the same grade school, middle school and for the most part, high school. I was grateful for those roots and all the memories created and remembered today.. I wished the same for my kids (but this is an entirely different post for another time! ) Anyway, I get over my sadness quickly when I consider the way God created her to be a fun, adventure loving, friendly, outgoing, happy and well adjusted child. He made her to enjoy experiences like moving to a new state, a new church...a new school. And she shines in the midst of her adjustments. What a trooper! (There aren't many days that go by when I don't wish I was more like her.)


Still, this doesn't make it easy for me to say good bye to her each morning - not knowing the specifics of what she will be exposed to that day, not knowing if some 'outside' influence is going to steal her heart, not knowing if I've done all that I could do to prepare her for what she might see or hear, not knowing if we've given her the ability to find the confidence she will desperately need at some point to stand up for what is right, for what she believes and for who she is....and lastly, not knowing if I clearly understood if God was really asking me to send her to school instead of teaching her at home. My heart aches as I consider the cruelty of this world and that she'll come into contact with it all too soon. I realize I probably sound a bit over- dramatic right now, but I tend to get that way when my protective "Mama" instincts set in. I know this is life, I know we have all been there, seen it, survived it and in some way have been shaped by it. But we want only the best part of those things for our kids, don't we?
I find myself praying often for the ability to let go just enough, trusting and remembering that our God, who created her and gave her to us, loves her more than we ever could. He knows all those things that I do not know and all of the things she will need to make it through her days so that she can become just who He wants her to be.

I've been encouraged by the memories I have of meeting with a group of moms from her last school. We met weekly to pray for our kids, the kids in their classes, their teachers and administrators and all the happenings and needs that existed at this school on a day to day basis. It was just 'something' we could do when we felt there was no other tangible way to protect and provide for them during their school day. (Does that make sense?) Great things happened in this school, I believe God heard and answered our prayers. I feel led to do this again for her and her school this year. I'm not aware of an exisiting group, so I'm going out on a major limb and will try to start one myself ( as a part of Moms In Touch - see momsintouch.org). This leads me WAAAAAAYYYYYY out of my comfort zone, butI believe it is something I need to pursue right now, so I'm trusting God will provide all that is needed! And I KNOW that He hears our prayers and WILL answer them.

"Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to Him for the lives of your children..." Lamentations 2:19


Lord, you know my heart and how it beats for the protection and the moments of nurturing the children you have blessed me with. Help me to make the moments I have with each of them right now really count. These are the moments you are providing and I don't want to waste them with foolish, unnecessary business. I get too caught up in things that don't matter and I don't want to waste this sweet, irreplacable time. Let me be wise in taking this time that goes by so quickly to contribute to the shaping of their precious lives. They are Yours. I am amazed that you have entrusted them to me - please help me to make them clear, willing, able and eager vessels of Your love. Bless them with the ability to be a good friend to those who need You, may our family be a light for You in this dark place....and may we make a great difference, because of Your grace, wherever You lead us. Amen.

As promised...Our Summer 2008

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All good things must come to an end.......

Summer! I know it officially started in the middle of June. There were a few days that led me to believe that yes! it was summer...but they were few and far between. My fellow Alaskans tell me that "this truly has been an 'unusual' summer", that "it is never this cold in the summer", and that "it will be better next year!" The weather or temps really didn't bother me too much until I flipped the calendar over to July and realized I was wearing the same clothes I had on when I stepped off the plane in March to this new 'homeland'. But, we got over it, made the best of it and learned that you can still wear shorts when it's 50 degrees (you just won't get a tan), you don't need sunscreen when you are outside, the sun really will stay out until midnight, and the mosquito has honestly earned the honorary nickname of "State Bird" for good reason (these BIG buggers are plentiful and persistent and bite often.)!
There are many highlights of our first summer here.
We went to Seward for a scenic drive and picnic (it was very cold and rainy, but we picnic'd and played anyway), we went to Hope, in acceptance of an invitation we received from friends within our new church family and enjoyed greatly the time we spent with them at their cabin (thank you to the R's:), we went to Whittier (see 4th of July posting), we went on vacation (hooray for WI and MI!!) where we enjoyed our dear dear loved ones for a few days that went by way too fast, (A and G) participated in and we attended the wedding of dear friends, we made new friends, visited new parks, completed the library's Summer Reading Program, slept in the tent in the back yard (actually on the back deck:), took many walks, discovered new walking/climbing trails, played baseball in the yard, learned a lot about our local bear population (very local! :-), finished the summer with fun shopping and related preparations for school and purchased a second vehicle. Certainly, I didn't hit on all of our fun, but these were just a few memories that come to mind. There was a lot that we couldn't do this summer because of a lack of time and resources (mostly,me starting and orienting full time to a new job for several weeks, going on vacation and saving up for that 2nd car!)...but next summer we know that we need to fish and camp (2 of the many Alaskan MUSTS!). We missed those things, but look forward to enjoying them next year.
The days are getting shorter ( I know I shouldn't be sad that it is getting dark at 10:30 pm and stays that way until 6am!, but I've grown accustomed to it staying light for most of the 24 hour period..and I have really enjoyed it.) There is a touch of 'nip' in the air that you will feel if you are out early or late in the day - you know the nip of Fall I'm talking about, right? My flowers are slowly losing life and my sweet girl starts school TOMORROW! Autumn is right around the corner!
I am slowly learning the need to really make the most of our moments while they are here...time goes by so quickly. The seasons pass by before I've fully taken all I felt I needed from them. But as these great times and moments come to an end I know a new season is upon us. It will be a season where the weather will change and so will our schedules and routine, and hopefully our hearts will change a little as well (you know, those areas of heart that deperately need it). In the midst of all of this, I'm grateful to my God who does not change, Whose goodness NEVER ends.

Thanks God for all the growth and goodness we experienced this summer - it is ALL from you. And thank you for the changes that will come our way as we approach this new school year this Autumn. We trust You as You go before us. We seek Your grace in the midst of the work that we know You will do. I'm oh so grateful for Your unchanging love and presence in my life. Amen

I know I have been really bad about blogging, especially when I promised in my last two posts that I would share more about our vacation. Things have been crazy. And though our vacation and all the fun we had are still fresh in my mind, they are still being 'grounded' into my heart. I'm processing all the good that we got out of going away for awhile....and so much has been happening here since we have been back - it's been a little distracting. But, I'll enjoy looking through more pictures from our trip in the weeks (maybe months) to come and will blog as I find fitting...it will be fun to re-live those moments! Thanks for reading!

Vacation!!

Just a few pics from our vacation. There just are not enough photos to express each captured moment. I'll post more details about our trip in the days to come. Happy Summer...there are only a few weeks left!!!

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