Sun!

Today I skipped out on all the need/want/have-to-do's on all my lists.  I went to visit with dear friends and meet a new baby.  It was WONDERFUL!  To top it off, the sun was bright and warm.  I of course had my "real coat" with me, but I only wore a long sleeve shirt with a down vest.  I felt so light.  I was seriously relishing how warm it was and how maybe spring would come sooner {as long as I don't look at the __ feet of snow on the ground, in piles EVERYwhere}; after all it was so warm {I would have guessed high-30s/mid-40s}.  Then I saw a thermometer.  At that point I questioned my sanity.  It was 19*.  Yes, that is above zero and not a negative number - but seriously?!  19* is still a LONG ways from melting.

I needed a break from the computer and when I'm home I don't see the sun in my apartment.  So, since I was out, my children were with my mom, and the sun was shining - I drove.  I didn't do my normal start at point A, and do errands in a line and end without back-tracking.  I kind of lost the ability to care, the sun was in my eyes and it was "warm".  In the end, I checked in with mom - all was fine at home, but she & a friend were getting to sew.  I was almost tempted to go home and sew.  In the end, I got a coffee, went to the highest parking lot in town, and parked.  I sat in my car, looking at this view, with warm sun in my face and my eyeballs were very happy.  I had planned to read some stuff I needed to get through, but instead got to catch up with a friend from out of state.  {the wonders of cell phones :-)....}

We are blessed to live in Alaska.  In spring I do wonder why I choose to be here - but look at that view!  I could have turned in pretty much any direction and the view was the same - fresh, crisp, white snow on mountains, glistening to the point of hurting your eyes.  Alaska is home, even though I have heart ties in Wisconsin where I spent several childhood years (so I have a strong all things farm pull),  I have lived most of my life here.  While I'd love to see/shop at some of the wonderful places I see posted about {antiques, fabric, home decor, etc.}; I'd really miss Alaska.  I do really wish we had spring though.  :-D

Just so you know - I'm not totally a pessimist....
  -- Snow storm on April 26, 2008 ... Alaska in April
  -- Snow in April, 2009 ... April Fool's or not?
  -- Not trusting warm in mid-March, 2010 ... SPRING! (maybe, but probably not)
Uh, huh...I'm just finally learning.  Enjoy it in the moment, but don't depend on it staying :-D.  Yes, I am thick skulled and slow to get this -- but this is the last three years' records....so, I still wish we had spring and think in the future I just need to plan to go see spring elsewhere.  I can see the flowers, smell the flower, and feel the warm sun; then come back and be content to wait until Memorial Day weekend to do my planting :-D.

1.1.11

Curtesy of numerous neighbors we have watched fireworks for coming up on 4 hours tonight - all from the comfort of our living room! :-) Right now it is 12:20am and the booming hasn't stopped. There are fireworks going off non-stop from every direction. {I have to say I'm hoping there are mature adults in charge at the house directly behind us. There seem to be a large number of big, pretty fireworks being directed our way, over our house/cabin in the backyard [guess it's a good thing it was slushing/raining earlier], but they might just be being friendly because they can see us looking out the window and hear the pleasure of my kids.}

I know I haven't updated here in a long time - it has not been for lack of things to say, but lack of patience to log in (which I obviously finally figured out), a limited amount of what I want said 'world wide', and serious lack of time. I'm tired right now so I'm not going to update. I do hope to get to it in the next couple days - I only have 2 days of my Christmas break left. I kind of have a goal {if I 'feel' it, at a particular moment-which I haven't all break} to update before school starts again...we will see, I am not promising anything. I have been deliberate to enjoy this break, doing 'nothing' - we all needed it so much in so many ways!

Anyway - just checking in to say I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving, blessed Christmas, and are ready for another new year of blessings and changes.

SPRING! (maybe, but probably not)

Winter...Breakup...Spring...LOTs of snow, back to Winter...

and Spring again.

You gotta love the extremes of spring in Alaska. We get to change our mind frequently. Even though we had one breakup I knew winter wasn't over yet - it was way too early. Back up just over a week ago, this is what was happening out the window.

Big brother teaching little sister to cross country ski - while it "dumped" snow. She wanted to learn so much & he finally obliged - on his own terms, his idea. It has been a nearly every day occurrence ever since.

Totally made this mom's heart proud!

She was giddy excited!

Days of sickness and snow. Then the amaryllis opened it was so pretty! Last week it seemed warm and I really wanted pictures of the red with all the white. So I took the amaryllis outside. (p.s. If you want to continue enjoying the amaryllis inside - I would not recommend doing this. The amaryllis did not recover...sorry, mom)

Today

We are in the midst of Springish' type temps again. The declaration of today - "I went out, the sun hit me and IT WAS WARM!" and the kids are soaking up as many rays as they can (when you're still pretty much covered head to toe). It is just above 40* today.

Notice one is bare toed & the other has boots on. I believe she's making a snowman. The CD player is sitting where the amaryllis was last week. Not sure why the CD player is sitting on a folded blanket, to keep it warm?

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.

Mt. Redoubt

Ash has fallen. Mt. Redoubt has been spewing over this last week. We have heard, followed, read, & looked at lots of pictures....but hadn't really seen anything to make it "real" to us. Tonight is the first the ash is over us. Very strange. At 8:30 I saw online that the volcano had blown again. Out my living room window everything looked normal, out my bedroom window I could see the end of the driveway was dark. I went over to mom & dad's and could see the ash cloud above, unfortunately I didn't know how to get good photos at night with no lights on. The first photo just shows the weird sky...but the second photo the flash is reflecting off all the bits of ash in the air, that is not dirt on my lens :). It was so sparkly & pretty when the flash was lit up, it was like someone had thrown a handful of glitter in the air & it was floating, then you can't see it at all! The next pictures all the flecks were in a different place. Amazing!!!

I took the pictures at 9:15pm, by 9:30 it was too dark outside to see anything more. Poor CJ has slept thru it all, Vince heard me & got up to see it for himself.

After washing...

Here are pictures of the quilt after washing. It really does crinkle way up! It is so fun to see it & know I did it :).

God's Grace

The start of last week, I had God's grace coming to me in so many directions. I really wanted to get 'it' this time. Each day of my study gave me little more of a glimpse. The funny thing is none of the info was new, just presented differently - all in God's timing for me to understand I guess.

The last day of my study had a really good illustration that I'm posting here mostly so I can come back & read it at a moments notice without digging thru my notes. This is from Max Lucado, it is a little long but worth reading.

Here is the scene: You and I and a half-dozen other folks are flying across the country in a chartered plane.All of a sudden the engine bursts into flames, and the pilot rushes out of the cockpit.

“We’re going to crash!” he yells. “We’ve got to bail out!”

Good thing he knows where the parachutes are because we don’t. He passes them out, gives us a few pointers, and we stand in line as he throws open the door. The first passenger steps up to the door and shouts over the wind, “Could I make a request?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Any way I could get a pink parachute?”

The pilot shakes his head in disbelief. “Isn’t it enough that I gave you a parachute at all?” And so the first passenger jumps.

The second steps to the door. “I’m wondering if there is any way you could ensure that I won’t get nauseated during the fall?”

“No, but I can ensure that you will have a parachute for the fall?”

Each of us comes with a request and receives a parachute.

“Please, Captain,” says one, “I am afraid of heights. Would you remove my fear?”

“No”, he replies, “but I’ll give you a parachute.”

Another pleads for a different strategy, “Couldn’t you change the plans? Let’s crash with the plane. We might survive.”

The pilot smiles and says, “You don’t know what you’re asking” and gently shoves the fellow out the door.One passenger wants some goggles, another wants boots, another wants to wait until the plane is closer to the ground.

“You people don’t understand,” the pilot shouts as he “helps” us, one by one. “I’ve given you a parachute; that is enough.”

Only one item is necessary for the jump, and he provides it. He places the strategic tool in our hands. The gift is adequate. But are we content? No. We are restless, anxious, even demanding. …

We, too, ask God to remove the fear or change the plans. He usually answers with a gently shove that leaves us airborne and suspended by his grace.

Truth be known, some of us discover we have a fear of heights when we are dangling above precarious circumstances – suspended by his grace alone. We’d rather have our feet firmly planted on the ground. We want certainty and facts. We feel a need to know all is going to work out the way we planned. In fact, if we can’t be sure of the outcome of our problems, we’d rather not have them at all. Like Paul, we ask God to please make them disappear.

I'm sorry to say I can think of too many examples from my life that could be represented by the excuses listed - especially the "can we change the plan or just wait until we're closer?" and the fact I want my feet firmly planted, I want the certainty, the facts, I want to know the outcome of my problems. I'm so glad that even though sin separates me from God, and I am not strong enough to remove it nor am I good enough to erase it (Eph 2:8,9) - God is strong enough & good enough. He has already taken care of everything. He sent His Son to die on the cross & rise again for my sins.

While I know that I still don't get it & most likely won't ever really get it, that isn't the point. It isn't about me getting it or not, it's what I do with the gift He's given to me. He's already provided what I need, His Grace is sufficient whether I remember to hang onto that fact or not. I'm choosing to hang onto & accept His gift of grace.

I finished it....

I finished my first machine quilted lap quilt!!!! I like all the materials together even more than when I started (not that I really remember what I thought then). My stitches aren't even by any stretch of the imagination & I sometimes ended up looping over a previous line, but I don't even care! That alone is a huge accomplishment for me. This was a lap quilt, the next one is closer to king size :).

A close up of one of the non-painted blocks & the edge/binding.

All done! The back is dark brown with little pink rosebuds.

I did it!

I figured out how to stipple/machine quilt on my machine & I'm so excited!

I have wanted to learn how to do this for 10 yrs, I thought I had to have a special $50 foot. Since spending $50 for a foot for my sewing machine has never been (& seem to ever be likely to become) a priority this was just always 'something I wanted to do'. However, my machine is so old that when it was made darning was a normal part of life & I recently learned that the 'darning foot' worked as well as the 'walking foot'.

It is so much fun! I do believe I have a new addiction. I'm so glad I ended up waiting. I never could have left a quilt sitting in the machine before now. The kids are old enough to not mess with it & I have the space in my living room because there is no baby/kid toys & stuff in my living room.

A foot that came with my machine, not the one pictured as the darning foot, but it is springy & pulled up & down by the needles action.

I'm doing it! :)

This quilt is one of 2 lap quilts that I'm making, salvaging a quilt I grew up with that had 12 hand painted flower blocks. My Grandma Keller painted the flowers, the quilt was ripped & falling apart, it couldn't be used. I cut the 12 blocks out & split them into 2 lap quilts. They've been almost done in a tote for longer than I know; I suspect 18 months to 2 yrs, I know it was before the campaign started.

I almost finished this lap quilt, I ran out of thread or I'd have finished. So, tomorrow I will be making a trip to Jo-Ann's and then the only thing slowing me down from quilting the 3 remaining quilts I have ready to quilt after this lap quilt will be waiting for my machine to cool down so I don't burn it out. I'm so excited - I'm so close to having my flag quilt done!!!!!

We are so BLESSED!

We got another gorgeous snow fall. I haven't measured but it's over 12" of fluffy, pure white, beautiful snow. How amazing to think this is just "my" little corner of the world, and I couldn't begin to count the number of snowflakes. Yet God made them individual & they're each different?! And this is just snow - it melts, has no lasting/staying power, it will blow away (shortly I'm sure), it doesn't have a mind, feelings, nor was it made in the image of God Himself. He made it just for us to look at & enjoy - I don't think it serves any specific purpose, except our pleasure. How good is our God?!!!!

This moose was sleeping in our backyard when I opened my living room curtains this morning at 7:30.

Looking at Pioneer Peak this morning, 8:10am and -2*. Yesterday we could hardly see more than a few cars ahead & definitely no mountains because of the amount of snow falling. This morning was clear, beautiful, gorgeous, cold & sunny! This was such a treat to see. Vince had to be at church early this morning, we don't get clear views like this from our house & I'm not normally out this time of day. After dropping him off, I had time to take pictures, stop in at Fred Meyer's, and went to a dear friends house to drink coffee & visit -- all before church started! :)

Two of the FISHing Crew Puppeteers who performed this morning. They did amazing, it is so fun to see what this group of kids comes up with. They study a certain scripture & write the script. Thank you Marilyn, for taking the time to teach them these skills.

When we got to church at 8 this morning the plowing crew was already done! They had all the sidewalks shoveled & all parking lots plowed, which resulted in HUGE snow banks. After church/Sunday School, going through most of worship upstairs & then watching the FISHing Crew puppets the kids were more than excited to not be quiet any more, they wanted to jump out of the van & play.

The boys running laps to get rid of "extra" energy.


True Alaskan girls

Who cares that it's only warmed up to 18* & they're dressed for church? It made me smile & I enjoyed that it didn't slow them down in the least. They're using my snow scraper/brush to dig in the snowbank.

Tonight's sunset (took the picture at 5:30pm) - we now have daylight until pushing 7'ish.

Valentine's

My precious boy gave me a heart bouquet for Valentine flowers.

He informed me he got flowers for me last year, so this year he decided to do something different. I heard the translation - in past years either one of my brothers took him to get flowers, or was in on picking them up. Other times, my kids have talked to me ahead of time and they've given me permission to buy my own flowers or they've put their money together & I've stood behind them in line while they've bought them. My kids know I love fresh flowers, they make sure I have them (or at least the permission to have them) often.

I can not put into words what it means to have your child want to give you something so much & make the best of not being in control of their situation. If only I could be so confident & full of my Fathers love for me that I would make something & give it to Him wholeheartedly. My kids know I love flowers & this year there wasn't a plan for them to get me some - so they made them. Paper layered hearts taped to the ends of tree branches. Christine made me a single, shimmery tulip & left it on my pillow last night, it isn't attached to anything - but it is the perfect bookmark. It brings tears to my eyes to think how much they wanted to give me flowers & they did. God has truly blessed me with wonderful children. He gave me the "flowers" when I got up this morning & tonight at 11pm one of my brothers came bearing flowers from both of my brothers, for Valentine's. The thing is, God allowed me to enjoy what my kids made all day, then I got fresh flowers too and I know my kids will be thrilled when they see them tomorrow. They aren't threatened by real vs. paper. I'm so glad they're learning the value of what is in their heart, not the cost of something. I now have both in the vase - the hearts are amazing mixed in.

Wow! What a day - I got a trip to Jo-Ann's, found material for a blanket for our "couch", the camo blanket V's been wanting, ate lunch with friends & got his camo blanket made all before eating dinner - like I said, what a day... Thank you Heavenly Father we can have fun on trivial days such as Valentines to boost us into showing love to others, the way You intend us to do everyday.

A Wonderful Day!

We were blessed yesterday with big, beautiful snowflakes falling all day. It made for a beautiful winter wonderland. Today was clear, sunny & absolutely gorgeous! So we went to Hatchers Pass just for some spectacular pictures.

"Please, can we be done with pictures & get in the van now?"
I feel like my Heavenly Father totally gave us a most amazing gift; it was a wonderful, perfect end to a yucky month.

Alaskan spring in January?!

If there was any hope of spring actually staying until summer comes then it would be OK, but I don't trust it! I'll try to enjoy it without counting on it to stick around, hard but necessary.

However today you could pretty easily convince me we were at the end of March. Break up is in full force, it's truly balmy weather, the sun is out & the kids are having a blast playing & jumping outside. Yesterday was 50* & raining, today is 40* & sunny. Hard to believe that barely a week ago it was -30* & had been for most of the month previous. It really makes me wonder what is ahead...

I feel like it's spring cleaning time - I'm waiting for paint to dry so I can put on the 2nd coat, then when it's dry enough I can put my bed back in place & I'll clean the closet out (these were my plans before the confusing weather).

Okay -

...so, Christmas, New Years & half of January are done already!

Here's a quick photo update of the last little bit of our lives....

This holiday season I had the privledge of taking each of the kids on separate dates. I took Christine to the Nutcracker at the PAC & Vince to the Third Day concert at the Dena'ina Center. It was a fun treat to be able to splurge on making these memories this year.

My baby is growing up...

This poor young moose was eating the berries off the bushes in front of the living room window. He got the Christmas lights wrapped around his nose - he didn't seem to notice, but we sure got a kick out of watching & waiting to see if he'd get it off. After watching for about a 1/2 hour my brother came up to the other door & spooked the moose. All he could see from the deck was the tree at the corner going nuts - he thought Vince was doing something. The Christmas lights ripped off the tree & snapped in at least 3 sections- one section stayed attached to the tree/bushes, we recovered one short section hanging from the lilac tree on the side of the house & the moose made off with the rest.

We had a "for real Christmas tree" this year! For those who don't know this is actually a very pretty Alaskan tree & yes, it is about 9.5 ft tall and 2.5 ft wide.

The beautiful Mt. Mckinley on Sunday.

Have I mentioned before that we live in an absolutely gorgeous state?

Christmas is coming!

Since the election I have done several house projects - besides constant cleaning stuff out, like the whole "seasonal & too small clothing switch out", one was painting my living room a mid to dark blue on 2 walls & we love it! The kids tell me it now "feels" like a living room. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving - just family. It was very low-key, we didn't even eat turkey! :) It's a long story - but the turkeys & chicken were bad... No one got sick - you could smell it - I don't think I've ever smelled anything quite so foul (pun intended)! Dad said to me "does this smell right to you?" I of course not knowing what he was getting at (he'd just brought it in from outside & the smell hadn't caught up) took a deep breath -- expecting the wonderful smell when he brings meat in from smoking....it wasn't... We were still overwhelmingly thankful - good thing turkey isn't what makes the day. We actually had our whole family for the meal - all 12 of us! It was for sure a God-given gift to us. We very easily won't ever have all of us here for Thanksgiving again - not that any of us are promised tomorrow, but when some are going to another country it just seems more likely.

I can't believe Christmas is already just 2 weeks away! We have pulled out most of our Christmas decorations, are using Christmas dishes, & listen to only Christmas music. I'm trying to only let the kids watch Christmas movies...they don't really like that plan since most of the kids ones are from when they were much younger :) -- good reason not to watch a movie then, right? In moving things around, I've made enough room that there is a good spot for the tree - we're so excited to have a "for real size" tree. The last couple years we've had just the tallest of the 3 decorative trees that Jo-Ann's had at an after Christmas sale. I think the kids kneeling next to it were as tall as or taller.

For those not here in the state - here are some cold, winter pictures from last week when the thermometer was hanging out below the 0 mark. Now that it warmed up (due to high winds & rain) it isn't so pretty...I'd much rather the gorgeous snow with the sun glistening on it. Even if it is below zero. At least then it is pretty to look at & you can decide if you're going to breathe or not when you go outside instead of your breath being sucked out of you! :)

I'm so thankful for a Heavenly Father who gives us the strength, endurance, mercy & grace that we need at the moment we need it - not a moment too late or too soon.

• Trust that time is God's alone to give.
• God created time, and no human can take it from Him or use it against Him.
• Every man-scheduled date subjected upon one of His children is written, not just on a doctor's calendar, a hospital's calendar, or a trial judge's calendar. It is written on God's.

This is something from my current Bible Study...amazing thoughts to me, they are truly comforting. (all are quotes from Beth Moore)

OK - so now it really is time to head to bed. There is so much to dwell on & think on that are good, plus I have so many projects all jumbled in my head that I want to do, and only 15 days left! ... So much good, so little time :)!

Happy Birthday Miah Grace!
You are loved!
(we get to give you a birthday hug this year)

One more thing...

This just cracks me up everytime I see this picture....

I kept admiring this plant - it is so cool, it climbs up a long ways or it is a really thick bush/fence. It has these huge, gorgeous flowers - like the size of my hand. I just kept seeing different variations & asking what it was and I kept being told it was a Bougevilla (I totally don't know if that is spelled right, that is how I imagined what I thought I was hearing to be spelled) anyway, so I kept being told it was this same word.

One evening we were eating dinner by the pool and I said to Aunt Sandy - that thing is so cool, tell me the name again. Her answer is what gives me the giggles - she said "Oh, that's just a 'Bougevilla' they're really pretty when watered right.You're only supposed to water them every 90 days IF it's hot, that one is too leggy because it gets too much water from the sprinkler system." I burst out laughing -every 90 days IF it's hot?! I thought this one was really pretty, I can't imagine what really full or watered right would be. I like this plant - I'd never have to water it & it has really pretty flowers on it.

Anyway, just had to share that. For whatever reason it just really tickled my funny bone & still does, a month later! :) I think it was the way she said it so matter of fact, no big deal - like that is normal.

Backing up to catch you up on the end of our trip...

On Wed, the day before we left, the girls had a lemonade "stand". They made (more like Jane made) lemonade & took it to the break room to sell to the guys. What you can't see is their sign said ".25 or free".

(They are wearing bunny ears & tiara's.)

Another highlight - Monday & Tuesday, we got to see and ride in the Kodiak. The Kodiak is an airplane designed for Missionary Aviation. It was pretty amazing to be part of such a monumental event!
Vince got to go on the ride a couple groups ahead of us because of weight & balance - so he went with a buddy & I don't have pics of him in the Kodiak.

On Sunday, Zach took Vince, CJ, Miah & I up to the Chiricahua Mountains - it was amazing to see red rocks & they were sooooo tall. It was cold (45 degrees & serious blowing wind - yes cold, even by Alaska standards).
Straight behind our right shoulders, 40 miles is where Cochise Last Stand is.

This is Balancing Rock in the Chiricahua's - the pictures don't do it justice.

Another highlight - The last Friday we were there, Vince got to have a 'for real' flight lesson. It was provided by the college in Douglas & he got to go with one of his buddies and his dad (a friend of Zach's) was the flight instructor. This was the day before the Douglas Airshow, the airshow on Saturday was awesome. I think it was actually the best one I've ever seen - probably because it wasn't 10,000 people (or whatever Anchorage's is), we could actually see.

While there Vince had a couple hotdog roasts for he & his buddies, they had so much fun. The first one, it was was still 60's at 8/9 pm when they were still playing Capture the Flag, then we went to Palm Springs & came back to have a 2nd one when it was only 30 degrees!