My Dear Friends,

So much has happened in the last month and a half that I didn't even realize that it had been so long since a post on here!  I have been traveling and homeschooling and taking kids to swim meets and practice, along with Jiu Jitsu, and then other normal things of life!  I hope you have not all left! :) 

I have swimming pictures to post, along with pictures of my trip to Phoenix and other random ones recently taken around the house!  I have noticed that as time goes along though more and more are taking breaks from their blogging endevors, I just hope I can continue even as life speeds up, because I do want this to be a place for you all to come and read about our lives and what we are doing as a family and as a ministry in this beautiful rugged state called Alaska! 

Ladies Retreat 2012 Famous Women through the ages!

This weekend was our annual Ladies Retreat that the camp staff wives pull together to put on.  We had a great theme of  famous women through the ages and then had everyone dress up if the wanted to for our banquet dinner on Saturday evening.  There were some great costumes!!!  So I was part of a trio "the Andrews Sisters" which was a lot of fun....however we had quite a few dissapointed people when we did not do a song and dance routine!!!  We also had Cleopatra, Naomi and Ruth, Betsy Ross, Catherine Hepburn,  a representation of the young and older Queen Elizabeth (pictured below), 2 Amillia Earharts, Amy Carmical, and a few others that I do not remember the names of...but a great representation all the same, and we all had a lot of fun!!!

Young and older version of Queen Elizabeth

I also took Emma and Madison down to Homer for their swim meet on Saturday, and they did very well....even taking a few seconds off of some of their race times!!  I have  a few videos that I might try and post later!

Northern Lights

So here are a few of the pictures that I have taken of the northern lights.  I hope you enjoy them!

So for the last few nights I have been burning the midnight oil in hopes of seeing the northern lights and all their splendor, and also to capture them with my camera.  I am excited because the last few nights have been the most amazing displays I have ever seen, but dissapointed because the lens I need to capture them on film is in New York getting fixed!!!  While I was able to get some, they do not compare to the ones that others have gotten just because the zoom is in too close to really see the full splendor.  So anyway, I will put up some of the photos that I have taken in the last few days very soon.  Hopefully tonight will be the last night for aurora watching for a while, because my body can not take going to bed at 2-3am and getting up at 8 or even 9!!!! Haha

Snow and Snowshoeing

 

Over the course of 30 hours we got about 18 inches of snow, and so today as it was finishing up my friends and I went out snowshoeing through the woods!  We had a great time, and it was great exercise, and now I need money for another new toy I found that I love! Haha.  Snowshoeing was a blast and I am ready for more.  I have been invited a couple of times to go with people, but have not gotten myself a pair yet.  I have also done a bit of crosscountry skiing in the last couple of weeks now that our temperatures are above zero again.  It is such a nice way to get out and enjoy the peacefulness of the outdoors, while getting in excellent exercise as well.  My kids do well at home by themselves for the hour that I am gone, and so far no one has been harmed or injured while I am away!  (much to my delight) :)  So nice to know that my two oldest are getting old enough to do an ok job at babysitting!

So I have been spending a lot of time getting my photography shop set up, and editing pictures, and writing descriptions and all the other lovely details that go into that sort of thing, and well, the days just keep passing by and I haven't written on her in over ten days again.  I have been crosscountry skiing with a friend a few times a week.  I have been swimming with another friend a few times a week.  I still take the kids to swim practice every weekday, as well as ju jitsu on Monday's and Friday's, and Awana's is still on Wednesdays!!  I had a friend ask me if I was going to get back into quilting anytime soon, and I just had to laugh.....a lot!  There are days when I wish the time would go by more quickly, and then there are days when it seems to go to fast!  Where do we find the balance?  I have been trying to quit all my computer work, watching tv stuff and getting off to bed a bit earlier so I can read more books that have been put in a pile for me to read.  I just finished a book by Ret. General William Boykin, about his time with Delta Force and all the wars he went to and serving God and how his faith in God played a part in his role in the military.  It is a splendid read if you ever get the chance.  The book is called "Never Surrender."  He has written a few others that I may pick up along the way.  Now I am reading Dr. Dobsins book on how to raise girls, and I think I will read how to raise boys by him when I am done!!  Chad has been keeping busy with camp and at ju jitsu.  He really likes going, but it has made family time a bit harder since he doesn't get home until 8:15 or later most nights.  It is all for the better though as he gets stronger!! 

These last few weeks have been busy and full of events and places for people to be driven.  In addition to Cecile, our exchange student, we had a friend from MT staying with us for a few weeks!  It made our house just that more exciting, and we did not lack in the entertainment department.  On any given night there were about 10-15 people in our house!  The kids have swimming and swim meets, and swim lessons for the younger two.  We are in awana's and Chad is doing Ju Jitsu 5 nights a week for 2-3 hours a night.  Cecile joins him when she can, otherwise she is dancing on her school dance team!  Then there are weekend rentals that Chad works and and various activities for the kids to run off too!  Yes we lead a very full and exciting schedual, and we try to fit our school work and housely chores in there somewhere as well.  I am working hard at getting my photos ready for next July for my art show at the coffee shop, and in the process getting my website with pictures up and prices so they could be purchased if someone wanted to, and with that of course is also my facebook page which is just waiting now for my website to be finished.  I am so thankful for my sister and her help setting it all up for me!!!  And on top of that I have started another business with DoTerra Essential Oils.  I have a website for that as well as a facebook page and now am spreading the word!  They are amazing oils that really work with your body to help you become healthy.  My favorite is the oil blend called On Gaurd that has helped our family fend off colds and sickness.  Now it is not a magical cure all by any means, but when our family was hit by this horendous flu bug that was going around, instead of being really really sick for over a week like a lot of our friends, we were only kind of sick for a day or two.  This stuff has been tested in hospitals and has been proven to kill infections as tough as staph and MRSA!  I am truely sold.  :)  If you ever have any questions about these oils please don't hesitate to ask! 
Anyway last week we were in the midst of several blizzards and lots of snow, and after much snow removal we are now in the high 30's for temps this week!  The kids are a little sad, they don't think winter should leave us quite this soon, but I keep telling them this is only temporary.....we will get more snow soon.  We always do! I always have to laugh because Cecile keeps asking when all the snow is going to be gone, and I respond like the end of April!  She squawks just a little at this and then says....it's ok I like the snow! :)  We really have enjoyed having her here with us! 

Mason on his last jump off the diving board.....last of at least 5!  He was amazing this set of lessons and he passed level 1 and is ready for level 2!  He loves to be in the water swimming just like his big sisters!!

Heidi swimming to the edge at her last swim lesson....she passed level 2 and will start level 3 end of March!

Sunrise the morning of the meet after a whole lot of snow got dumped on us!

Emma and Madison's Swim Team at a home meet.....getting geared up for the start!

Just a few of the oils DoTerra offers!

Took these on the way to Anchorage the other day to pick up a friend!  It was only -31 below out!!!  Emma came with me for an eye exam and we found out that she is a little far sighted so she was having trouble reading....since then she has really taken off!  I also think it has helped having a tutor to work with Emma and Madison, just because they don't argue with her as much!  Anyway we spent the night in a wonderful hotel on the 15th floor with amazing views went to the doc. and then headed home!  Our weeks have been busy and weekends even more so...the girls had a swim meet last weekend and they have another one next weekend!  They have been working really hard to improve their times so this next meet will be exciting to watch.  Heidi and Mason have been taking swim lessons again and they are both swimming really well.  It won't be too long before they get onto the swim team too!  Chad has been going to Ju Jitsu for several hours most week nights and enjoying it, although he is often pretty sore...  Overall we are trying to stay warm in the fridgid temperatures....thankful that they are not the -75 with windchill that the northslope has!!! 

Some pictures of the sunrises we have been having lately!  With the temperatures being well below zero for several weeks now they have been beautiful! 

Snow and Sunsets

Last Saturday Chad Emma and Madison spent the day plowing, while Hiedi Mason and I hung out together.  So the little ones and I went to town, then went to wagon train to take some pictures and then back home again where they wore my hats and posed for me to capture their adorableness!  The sunset was beautiful we now have more than 2 feet of new snow....and now it is -20's outside so we can't really enjoy it....at all!  For school I am teaching Emma and Madison how to sew and use the sewing machine and these are the bags that I and each of them made!  They turned out amazing and I am ready to make one for myself as the other one was for Heidi.....we made ours for swim bags and lined it with duct tape so it was waterproof~!

Our Christmas Break!

The kids had lots of fun playing in the snow, making cookies and eating them, opening presents, playing with friends, staying up late, going to snow camp, and sledding!  I enjoyed spending time with friends from far away, my family, baking, staying up late and sleeping in :) I must say I am a little glad school has started back up because I am now getting to bed before 11pm where before I was lucky to get to bed before 1 or 2 am just because of all the teenagers here! :)  We had fun at a cookie exchange party, celebrating our exchange students birthday, having friends over on Christmas Day and Thai dinner the next night, and playing games all the other nights, mostly mario cart that I got for my christmas present.....but really haven't gotten to play yet! :)  So to say the least we had a very full, exciting, jam packed Christmas Break!

Heidi and Mason have taken to dressing up in our snow gear and wearing it on all different parts of the body!

Our kitten Crush decided to climb a tree and it took a few hours for him to climb back down....The kids were convinced that the cat was stuck and in dire need of rescuing! 

Mocha and Crush like to play together, and sometimes it looks like Crush might die, but Mocha is usually pretty gentle with him.

A friend was kind enough to make the gingerbread for the houses and brought them over for the kids and I to decorate!  We had such a fun time.  Made me miss decorating them with my mom when I was young.

For Cecile's birthday party all of her exchange student friends came over and played broom ball

The cake I made for her 18th birthday

Cecile and her cake!

The day after Christmas in the morning the kids got out their sleds and we took them over to our big hill and let them sled down.  Then we pulled them back up to the top with my vehicle!  Some of the kids went for a sleigh ride while they waited their turn for a sled! 

The last day before break ended I needed to get a family picture taken, and I conned my friend into taking it for us.......it was -20 degrees outside :)  this was right before we jumped back in our cars and headed home! 

So I have been again trying to upload photos to the blog from a little before Christmas to now. It keeps acting up and kicking my photos out.....so I am working out the kinks! Anyway in the meantime I have started a new wordpress blog for my photography. You can click on the link on the sidebar of this blog to head on over there to see them. I only have a few pictures on at this time but will continue to add more as time goes on. We hope you all had a Merry Christmas, and have a happy start to the New Year!!!

Christmas decorations

I absolutely love christmas lights and would love to do a whole bunch of stuff outside, but cost is a big factor, and I already use so much electricity during this month (which Chad is quick to remind me about :)), so I really do try to limit what I do.  So here is our house with the christmas decorations all up!

I had to add these last few pictures just because we have had the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets making the sky full of pink! I was even privilaged enough to see the Lunar Eclips last weekend and the northern lights the next evening!  I have always loved being outside to see all of God's creation and every season brings a new beauty to capture.....sometimes only with my eyes, and I shoot myself when I forget my camera, but still awesome all the same!

We hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!