It's a Boy!!

We had our 18 week ultrasound yesterday and discovered that blue is the word for the day! We were so thrilled to see our little boy kicking around and touching his toes on the screen. Daddy got to pick out his first outfit...surprised at the choice in camo? We figured that our little guy is getting ready for sheep hunting someday with all those leg kicks going on.

I'm feeling him move every day now, several times a day. What an incredible feeling to know he's growing and moving while I go about my day.

Cold Days

Those of you from the "Lower 48" might wonder what a thermometer looks like at 50 below. Well, here's a picture of it one morning after we got a call that school had been cancelled for the day. They cancel up here if the temperature reaches 50 below by 6 am. We celebrated, even though we'd had just returned from Christmas break for one day back at school with kids. The next day was also 50 below, so we missed two school days for what they call "cold days" here.

So what do you do when it's 50 below? I got on the phone and had a great talk with my parents for starters. I also worked on curtains and chair pads for our dining room and kitchen. I did get outdoors to go to the store and get mail, but only after bundling up pretty good. You can survive in that kind of cold, you just have to prepare for it.

Nephews

Here are some pictures of my two adorable nephews. Thomas was born December 21st in Auckland, New Zealand and is doing well, hoping to come home from the hospital soon. Collin Ray (Mansfield, MO) turned 4 December 21st of this year. He still enjoys weekend visits with my parents from time to time. Notice that both Thomas and Collin Ray share the same birthday!

Today is the last day of our Christmas vacation, although we have a weekend before we return to school. Russ and I went back to our rooms today to get our heads on straight for the new school semester. As usual, after a break, we feel excited about starting fresh with our students. I feel more comfortable with the curriculum now and look forward to personalizing it a bit more.

I just made chocolate chip cookies after taking a break from sewing for awhile. I made new curtains for our dining room and kitchen. (I've had the material for months, but just now got motivated to get to work!)

We both wish all of you a very blessed and Happy New Year!

A Wonderful Year

Well, it's been over two months since I've updated...how time flies. As you can tell, working full time has slowed me down a bit on this end of things.

Looking back over this year and celebrating our first Christmas as a married couple causes us to rejoice and give thanks! It was just last Christmas vacation that I made my way up to Alaska to meet Russ, and since then, we've both seen so many changes... marriage, moving, a wonderful cross-country trip from MO to AK, both of us teaching in Glennallen, and now expecting our first child! I am currently about 14 weeks and am feeling much, much better with energy returning daily. We hope to discover "boy" or "girl" sometime next month.

Among other great news is that I am now an aunt for the second time! My brother and sister in law, living in Auckland, New Zealand delivered their little boy, Thomas Isaiah on December 21st. He was born quite early at 33 weeks, but is doing very well and hopefully will get to come home soon.

A cow moose and her calf walked through our backyard this morning looking for something to nibble on as they passed. I had looked forward to seeing wildlife once I moved here and this was the first time I have seen a moose somewhere besides a roadside or hanging on a friend's wall.

Yes, it's cold here. Right now it has plummeted to 30 below! Overall, I hear this is a rather mild winter compared to past winters. For that, I am grateful. I find outdoor walks quite invigorating though, when temps rise to at least 5 below. Russ took this picture of me enjoying the deep snow. I couldn't resist!

I hope and pray that all of you are well and that your had a great Christmas and a great New Year!

Various happenings...

Here we are in the middle of September in front of the beautiful fall leaves. (All the leaves are gone now.) Our first big snow from a couple of weeks ago has has already melted off...but I'm sure there's more to come soon!

Latest news for us is that tomorrow I will begin teaching kindergarten full time at the Glennallen Elementary school! I am filling a position that came open recently. Most of you know that I've been a kindergarten teacher before (5 years) and that I love the little guys and gals. I am looking forward to spending this school year with these 15 children, and already feel a warmth and love for them after spending a few days with them as a substitute. Above is a picture of Glennallen Elementary, built new just last year. My room is the "dream" room I always wanted as a teacher, with a bathroom inside the classroom, a small kitchen, sand and water table, lots of great "kid" furniture, and a Promethian board, which is like a SMART board or other brands of interactive computer projector screens. The room is already set up and routines are in place, so the transition should be fairly smooth. Plus, there's this really nice 4th grade teacher upstairs and down the hall... :)

Here's a picture of Russ with his moose, which has a "forked" set of antlers. After freezing most of the meat, I had my first canning experience with corned moose, which is just like corned beef, but with moose meat instead. I won't say it was successful as we ended up with only two properly sealed quarts of meat. I am determined to try again someday, but doubtfully very soon.

We went to "town" again recently to do another shopping trip, but didn't go as far as Anchorage this time. You may have heard of a little town called Wasilla, which is on the way, about an hour's drive from Anchorage. The picture of the mountains shows Matanuska Glacier in the foreground. The cool dog we saw in the parking lot while we were filling up on very expensive gas.

Copper River Valley Women's Retreat

As I write our first significant snow is falling quietly around our little house in Glennallen. If I didn't know better, I'd be getting out my Christmas tree and turning up the "Fa-la-la-la-la"! (Then again, I won't need to get out a tree this year, because we have oodles of them in our back yard.)

I don't have a picture of the snow yet, but the pictures here show some lovely women and dear friends that I am privileged to know here in the Copper River Valley. Each year, Glennallen Community Chapel, along with other churches in the area, hosts a fall women's retreat at Victory Bible Camp, which is towards Anchorage a bit over an hour's drive away.

Maybe 50 or so excited and vibrant women gathered together for a night and a day of spiritual refreshment and fun. The setting was breathtaking, as you can see from the photos taken by a dear friend and school co-worker, Mary Hernandez. (She's the lovely lady in the middle of the group shot, smiling from ear to ear.)

The camp reminded me of being at our women's retreat at Windermere with the Wellspring ladies from Missouri. How precious our Father is to create atmospheres that are familiar to us, even if we are so far away from what we remember to be "home." He has given me a beautiful home here, and great friends to boot! I'm looking forward to many more blessed times with these ladies and to the closer friendships that He has in store for me.

Russ and I are blessed with so much. Love, our Lord, friendship and fun! He returned from a successful moose hunt last week and now our freezer is full of moose, halibut and salmon. I continue to be pleasantly busy at the school as a substitute. It is wonderful slipping by Russ' room and peeking in on him, and I've caught him a time or two checking in on me. Again, the familiarity I feel at the school and the warmth of the staff has been such a blessing.

Cranberry picking

Russ and I spent our Labor Day near home, making the most of a sunny weekend. (Rare these summer Alaskan days.) I've been waiting anxiously for the cranberries near our home to ripen, so I can freeze and store for later this winter. At last, we found some patches that were ready. I've heard that they are even better after a frost. I'm learning to appreciate the beauty of the outdoors here. The moss, lichen and plant life on the floor of the woods is beautiful and spongy to walk on. Russ is spending more time cutting wood getting ready to heat for winter. I can't believe how much it's looking like Fall here already. The aspen and birch leaves have already turned yellow, a month or more ahead of what I'm used to from back home.