Love the Sun. Love the Snow. Love Homeschooling.

My chair is covered in fresh beautiful snow again!

I love this view out my "front" door.

Isn't the sun shining through absolutely gorgeous? The picture does not do it justice.

I love that because we homeschool the kids get to take full advantage of the snow and sunshine. Spelling can wait! :) After all, this is the day we spend a lot of hours in the car waiting for each of the kids' activities - so Vince did his spelling between cross country skiing and youth group, while Christine went into gymnastics. We started a new math curriculum a few weeks back - one that Vince finally likes. By his choice he spent over two hours doing math today! I'm so thankful we have the flexibility to do things in a different order and on "weird" time schedules.

Besides that we want the dog worn out so he'll sleep and not bark at night. That is so much easier to accomplish when it's beautiful out. Because of our homeschool schedule, the kids can choose to go out to play when it is days like today. They love it.

Hickory is trying to climb in the hole with Vince. It is so sweet, Vince has his hand on Hickory's paw - is that to hold him back from climbing in front? Christine is building her own fort on the right side; I believe the plan is to meet and go straight back to under the trampoline that is behind the snow pile.

I know today was windy, but thankfully for a couple hours this afternoon the wind did not hit this portion of the driveway. The kids were only going to go out for a half hour, cause it was cold and windy... Two and a half hours later, when it was time to leave they wanted to know why I was calling them in. Couldn't they "pleeeeeease stay out longer"? "Please, can't school wait. We'll do it later, when it gets dark. We promise!" ... AS IF I would call two happy kids in from playing well together, outside, in the fresh snow, with the dog, to do school. I think not! :) When I said it was time to leave for skiing they couldn't believe how much time had gone by.

What a perfectly wonderful day!

(I got a note from Zach tonight. Things are slowing a bit for him, he has even gotten to go swimming for 20 min. a couple times. He said just remembering swimming made him feel better. He is ready to go home to Jane and the kids; he is there another week yet though. Matt has pictures and more info on his blog.

Beautiful...Wonderful!

The Cove in fall with snow coming down the mountains.

Fireweed in the fall.

Vince & Hickory creeping up to scare the seagulls.


All of us by the big rock.

This is the first time I've seen fall at our cabin. It is wonderful. Our cabin is finished & so wonderful cozy to hang out in. Here's the view out the window by my bed, where I'm sitting and typing this. We are so blessed to get away for a couple days & enjoy such wonderfulness :).

I've reached loopy :)!

The last few weeks weren't able to be documented by photograph. Big, good things - but internal & emotional. I have discovered a recipe for loopy though. :)

Serves 1:
Be blessed with amazing friends - the ones God gives you.
Excess of emotion - good or bad, what ever quantity is leaking out
Not enough sleep - only if you want to be extra loopy :)
Pain mixed with joy - NOT in equal amounts, God determines how much of each
Enough of God's grace to cover everything
Mix with prayer & choose to focus on the glory of Christ.
Share with a friend or 2 who have mixed up their own batch. (otherwise this will fail)

Hickory - he really is a good puppy.

My very first rose bud! It smelled so wonderful!

Mom's flowers on her deck - they're just pretty.

Raindrops - so amazingly pretty.
God makes this intentionally,
He does care about every little detail in our lives.

It started to rain, not just a little bit, but DUMPING rain!

Our family addition

The area where the kennel is going was prepared several days ago. This is looking out my living room window. Dad & Vince actually got the kennel on Tues. and dad had the stuff for the dog run.

Yesterday morning at 9:10 the dump truck came with a load of gravel. The guys went to get the back hoe & it was time to work (play?).

Here is the kennel all set up & ready for Hickory to come...quite the plush set up :).

Today did not go as planned - and Vince handled it very well. We were here this morning & then we needed to take dad into Anchorage to pick up a van (it has front end damage) that he got for parts for my van....All this went fine & there was 50/50 chance he could start the van and drive home. The animal hospital had my cell # and was to call me when it was time to pick up Hickory, we knew we had until 5:30/6 to pick him up. We got to the junk yard & got the van - the guy started it & drove it out to dad, no problems! It was just 3:15, we were doing really well on time & very happy about this. I was supposed to stay right behind dad - easier said than done, but I was managing. We got on the highway & weren't even to the Muldoon exit when I noticed dad was smoking from the left side, but the exhaust was on the right...so I called dad & told him. The heat gauge was fine & he couldn't smell anything so he decided to keep going -- he ended up taking the Arctic Valley exit & pulled over. We hoped we could make it to Eagle River to get some water. .... not so .... Dad took off down a frontage road (? I don't know we were parallel to the Hwy, but couldn't see it) & was following but there was a large work truck between us. A couple miles down the road I saw dad pulled over again.

The only usable fluids I had were a gal of windshield washer fluid & the kids' water bottles. As fast as he poured those in they poured out on ground on the opposite side of the engine. Dad called Zach & he was able to drop what he was doing and bring the truck & trailer in to pick up the van -- Zach to the rescue.

side note: Here is Christine on the side of the road waiting. Can you believe what I let her leave the house in today? Yes, that is jeans with a skort on top of them, and a long sleeve hoodie with a t-shirt on top. I think her thinking was if it got hot she'd be prepared...but they were in the wrong order... :)

As time ticked away it became obvious I was going to be taking Vince by myself to pick up Hickory....we were all nervous & it was a very quiet ride from the Ft. Rich exit to Palmer. But we did it, I didn't get sick when she was telling us stuff, we got him in the van and drove home all by ourselves. For those who don't know me - this is huge! We got home, Dad & Zach were here and Jane & the kids were here - so Hickory still got a grand welcome. :)

The kids checking out Hickory in his kennel. Vince is in the kennel with Hickory while he checked out all the corners.

Vince now has his own dog.
A white, 1 yr old, male, Golden Retriever that he got to name Hickory.

God is in the details. All of them.

My boy has turned 12 - how is this possible?!

For Vince's 12th birthday I gave him permission to get a dog. I've been looking for over a month at different dogs. A few things were a must on this selection - male, preferably older & an outside dog. There was one I was all ready to get, I even had a friend willing to keep him for the last 2 weeks before Vince's birthday...but he was gone before I got him. Then I started watching Vladimir, a 6 yr old Siberian Husky. He was male, older & a great dog for outside - even in the dead of winter. I don't know much about dogs & I felt hesitant about a Husky only because everything I read said - high energy & runners. I did kind of figure I had a boy who needed the reason/companion to run off his energy.... :). The biggest hang up for me was the fact that Vince decided long ago he really wanted a Golden Retriever. Anytime he was getting notebooks for school he'd gravitate to the light colored labs/goldens --- not at all what this husky looked like. Also, he'd recently mentioned when he got a dog he wanted to name it Hickory. So, with the permission I told him he'd have to make the choice, dog now or wait - the only Golden Retriever I'd found was in Juneau. One place I'd called said it would be very hard to come up with a Golden Retriever, it was "rare & they go quick". So on Friday we went to meet Vladimir... at first his one blue eye & one brown eye kind of freaked me out, but he grew on me.

Vince with Vladimir.

We spent 15-20 min with Vladimir outside. He was very calm, but we had intentionally decided before going we'd check him out but not do anything until we'd 'slept on it' & my dad came home on Sat afternoon & could give us his opinion. It was very hard to leave him. We went to Anchorage to pick up something for Matt, went to Bear's Tooth to watch Night at the Museum, Battle of the Smithsonian movie, then to Barnes & Noble for an hour to read all we could on Husky's. We did buy a collar & leash, to make it seem more real. When we got home I was checking different listings again & found a another dog - a light colored sheperd/lab/husky mix...but it was female & a 5 month old puppy! I called on it, but someone else was set up to look at her, I gave my name & number - they'd call if the others didn't take the puppy.

So, we set up to meet dad at the pound on his way home from the airport - 6pm. Vince had decided he didn't really want Vladimir, but wanted to show Bumpa what a nice dog he was. He was leaning towards holding out for a Golden Retriever & being able to name it himself, but not sure he wanted to wait that long either. Vince was getting concerned that I'd change my mind or we 'just wouldn't get around to it' - 'it' being, getting him a dog. He had to come to grips with the fact he had no reason to not trust me for my word & sometimes it's hard to wait for God's best, not what we think is best. We had discussion on how I've been praying about this & I knew without a doubt God had the perfect dog waiting for him. How we'd have to not jump & grab just any dog out of fear of the idea going away, but to really be deliberate about what we really wanted for life. When we got to the pound, Dad had gotten there a couple minutes before us. (Now, if you know my dad at all you'll know why we responded the way we did. If you don't know my dad, just know we have a lifetime of good reason.) The first thing he said was "Why didn't you tell me about the Golden back there?" I answered with, "because there isn't one". He said "no, seriously there is a 1 yr old, male, white Golden back there, I was just there & saw it." I thought - yeah, right a 'white' golden?! come on, I'm not going to fall for that! Well, after a bit of convincing on my dad's side & me deciding it must be because he must not be available for adoption (I'd checked the system again to see if there was anything just before leaving to go to the pound) - he took us to the white Golden Retriever.... A 1 yr old, male, not named, Golden Retriever...oh, how I wish I'd had my camera. I have a mental photo, but couldn't ever begin to describe the look on my boy's face. I should have known...my dad has gone to the pound 3 times to get a Golden Retreiver & there's been one each time! The story on this dog - someone had come & dropped him off in the pound's night drop box. They'd called & asked why it wasn't listed on the system & the pound was saying they didn't have him. Finally, the original owners said "we put him in the green night drop shed, behind your building", but that isn't the night drop anymore so no one had gotten him out, so this puppy was without food or water for 3 days. They'd just gotten him on Friday & we have to wait 5 days before he becomes available for adoption (why he wasn't in the system yet), but we were able to put a deposit on him & tomorrow we'll go pay the rest. Since it was the owners that brought him in & called to get him found, we're figuring they won't come claim him... Thursday he'll go to be neutered & we can pick Hickory up Thursday afternoon. Dad & Vince have started working on where the kennel will be and know where they'll be putting the run. This is real - in just 48 short hours, Vince will have his own dog. I'm sure this a process he will remember for the rest of his life & he will always know and be convinced - God is in the details of our lives, big & small.

Last night we had Vince's birthday party...a carhartt theme (thank you Matt M, it was the perfect idea!). It was a fun evening of dad grilling burgers & hot dogs and friends & family.

How sad is it - I sent these out by email! (& yes, I had the wrong date...)

what do you think of these colors for a birthday cake?

Dad & Zach even dressed up - can't you tell :)!

All of my time telling the kids to not have their feet more than a few inches off the trampoline, or if there are lots on then they need to stay with bums on the trampoline.... So what does Uncle Zach do?! Yes, that is a full body length above his head! Brothers - gotta love 'em!

A batch of girl cousins ... :)

A batch of kids in Carhartt - what fun.

Vince & his cake. :)...

I have come a long ways, there was a day I wouldn't have let this go. It was truly ugly, in a cute kind of way...I loved Mary's explanation - it's a stone washed, well-worn label! Once I had that in mind it was OK. I am blessed, I feel younger now than when he was born. Life is good & my boy has successfully turned 12!