Winter is here in Fairbanks, AK

Yes, winter is here.  All you Wisconsinites who are complaining about the 40's.  Our temperature continues to decrease each day.  During the night, our temps are around 10 degrees.  It is definitely colder, but not as bad as I thought 10 degrees would feel.  It is definitely a DRY cold!  Makes a huge difference.

Not too much new this week.  On Saturday, I had nothing planned!  So I decided to take 6-8 hours and make my Grandma Reuer's famous Kuchen and Caramel Rolls!  YUM!  It all turned out great.  Pictures down below show the process! 

Sunday was a long day once again, but a great day.  We were at church till about 2:30 p.m.  (made it back for the last quarter of the Packer game)  With Sunday school, Bible class, church, farewell with treats, and a congregational meeting, it made for a long Sunday.  It was great to be able to talk as a congregation.  So many exciting new things to begin.  We just love the energy and excitement of the congregation and it's members.  God is good!

Enjoy the pics.

Oh, yes, and Finley continues to grow and to be a puppy!  Some days, I tell ya, I am worn out.  But he is one of the many joys in our lives!

 Toy from my mom and dad!

 He's getting so big!

 He poses really well when we hold treats in front of him!  This is his old basket for toys, not he has too many we had to get a bigger basket.

 Kuchen and caramel roll dough before I punched it down.

 Kuchens ready to be baked.

 Done kuchen.

I made cherry, rhubarb, and apple.  

 Caramel rolls before.

 Delicious homemade caramel!  

 10 done kuchens

Gooey caramel rolls

Finley's Graduation and nearing the end of October

Life has continued to get even busier! 

I will make this one short, but load it up with pictures.

Finley graduated from Puppy 1 class!  You'll see the pics below.   He is doing really well, and learning quickly.  He is about 26 pounds!  We can still pick him up, an he still sleeps in our laps. 

IT snowed!  Yes, really, it snowed and stayed on October 16,  2011.  We definitely have to adjust to this.  Definitely is beautiful, though!  Won't be saying this in January! 

Church work is going great!  God is good!

 How he likes to rest on the stairs.

Best pals

 His graduation hat

 His diploma!

 Puppy's first snow!  He loves to eat it.

After eating a snowball.

Look at that handsome pup! He looks so prestigious.

 What we woke up to on October 17!!!!

View of the front yard from dining room window.

Just a prayer request.  Just heard that a high school classmate of mine was killed in a car accident this weekend.  Please pray for the friends and family of Tim Clark.  Our times are in your hands, oh Lord.

God bless your week,

Becky



27th Birthday and other events!

 My blanket I finally finished knitting.

 Loved my cake!  Thanks Jason!

 He's starting not to like being held. So sad!

 While on a walk Finley and I stepped in something blue.  It is still stained on his feet.

 

 Try one at a nice family picture.

 

 After try 2, 3, and 4, we have a GREAT family picture. Taken from up on our deck.

 How he sits on the stairs.

 Sitting so nicely.  Waiting for his treat.  

No snow yet!!!  Yes, I’m telling the truth!!  No snow on the ground whatsoever.  Awesome!  Some years they have snow already by September, so we are sitting pretty!  It is in the forecast for Thursday, but that means nothing up here.  We’ll let you know.  Temperatures aren’t too bad, getting up to 45-50 each day.  Nights are very cold though, lows in the 20’s.  Not too bad yet, though.  We are doing great weather wise.

Celebrated my 27^th birthday on Tuesday!  Yes, 27!  I know, I’m old!  We had a few guests here, but we were still able to go out to eat later that evening with our guests.  It was a good day! Jason had a cake made for me, which was awesome! 

Speaking of guests, we did have a few men, mission counselors, in our district come and visit!  It was a great learning experience for the both of us.  Jason was already pumped for ministry, but now he is filled with even more ideas and excitement for doing the Lord’s work!  We loved having people visit.  IT IS ALWAYS A JOY! (hint, hint)

Finley continues to grow each day.  He is the love of our lives!  He has been such a blessing while being so far away from family and friends.  He really keeps our minds busy!  He graduates from PUPPY 1 class on Wednesday.  We are very proud parents.

Busy, busy church day once again.  I played organ, taught Sunday school, had a potluck, and then went to choir.  Jason did all the same plus a council meeting and of course the entire service.  I got home around 2:00, and Jason returned around 3:00.  We are definitely getting used to the WHOLE Sunday being at church.  Very glad there are so many things going on at church, though.  Now it is time to watch and enjoy the entire Packer game!!!  LOVE IT! 

Thanks for keeping up with our busy lives!  We love and miss you all!

Becky and Jason and Finley too!

September!

Our sweet puppy sleeping! We like him like this a lot!

 At dinner time he'll sit up to 10 minutes straight waiting for his supper without barking or jumping.  We soak his food due to how fast he eats.  He is a very patient pup at this time, suprisingly!

 He's captured our hearts!

 Mountains in Anchorage area along the drive to Seward.

 Seward - view from my hotel room

 Drive back from Seward to Anchorage

 Leaves beginning to change in southern Alaska while up in Fairbanks, our fall is ending!

 Alyeska resort in Girdwood, AK - drove by on the way home.  GORGEOUS setting!

Glacier on drive to Seward

 More of Seward

The snow is slowly nearing the bottom of the mountain.  Winter is approaching!

Once again, I am very sorry for the long wait in between posts.  I am not going to make any promises that it will get better.  Reading about our busy life will give some explanation as to why it has been so long!

Finley is growing more than ever!  We just weighed him today and he is 24 pounds!  He is 3 months and two weeks old.  His color is getting darker each day!  He is learning so quickly and can now, sit and stay, stand and stay, down and stay, shake, roll over, come when called, and wait by the door until allowed in!  We are so proud of our baby!  He is improving greatly on not getting angry and dominant over food and bones.  We are all three learning from this process!  We are so blessed to have him!  He is always there for us, curling up in our laps and falling asleep and giving us tons of love. 

The other pictures you see on here are from the Women’s Retreat down in Seward, AK.  I was blessed to be able to attend and meet some amazing women.  Each year the WELS churches in Alaska have a retreat which allows the women to get together, worship their Savior, and enjoy some R&R!  It was a beautiful two days down in Seward, my first time there!  The two speakers were the women who wrote, “Not Without My Daughter”.  I could talk for pages about their story and what they shared with us, but I will let you read the book for yourself.  And YES! Read the book!  There is a movie out there too.  They are two incredible women with an incredible faith in their Savior.  The theme of the retreat was, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.”  Their story and their strength were unbelievable to see and hear.  Each of us have those “crosses” in our lives that we must bear.  But we must never forget in the Lord’s promises!  He DOES have a plan, and it is always for our good!  I can’t speak for everyone else, but I know I left with the reassurance that God is in control and is always looking out for our good!  I can’t wait to see God’s plan for my life. 

Jason is doing great!  He continues to LOVE doing the Lord’s work.  Our districts missionary counselor is flying in tomorrow, and will stay for a few days.  He and Jason will have quite a few things to accomplish, but we are greatly looking forward to his visit.  He is busy writing a sermon that he will be preaching at ACPaT (Alaska Conference of Pastors and Teachers) this coming Thursday.  He will be flying down to Anchorage for a few days, leaving Finley and me by ourselves L  We will just have to have some friends over.  We are also beginning some work with the UAF students and are looking forward to getting this ministry going.  We had our first Women’s meeting at Syndoulos!  I was elected President of this, and look forward to working with our amazing women of the congregation!  They have so many neat ideas, and are greatly looking forward to our year. 

Work is going well for me.  I finally have students to work with!!!  Should be fun and continue to get busier as I get more students. 

Again, please feel free to skype or e-mail or call anytime!  We love and miss you all, and hope to talk or see you soon!  May God bless your weekend!



Fall in Fairbanks!

Yes, I know, it's been a VERY long time.  SOrry.  Life has really picked up since last time I wrote, so that explains the gap in writings.  Here is what our fall has looked like.  And YES, it is fall in Fairbanks.  Fall is actually almost over.  I hear it will continue for about 2 more weeks.  Then the snow may come.  AHHHHHH!  Right now, it's beautiful!  70 degrees again today and blue skies!  Love it!
These first pictures are from a trip to Birch Hill! Gorgeous cross country ski area with lots of cranberries.  We took Finley, he loved it! 

 Taking a break jumping through the woods.

 I love when he's snuggly!

A wiped out Finley.  Too much twig eating, leaf eating,and tree jumping!

The next pictures are from the other night when we headed up Murphy Dome Road.  A beautiful, colorful drive.  We left a little late, so we missed the best views.  The sun had already gone down. Still some pretty views.

These are more fall pictures taken tonight of different areas around town and by our home.

 View from UAF campus.

 Tons of fall colors - Alaskan Range in the background (a bit cloudy).

 Front of our church.

 Driveway out towards the street.

Heading down to our house on our driveway!

Some extra of Finley!

Jason blinding him with the flash while riding in the car.

 Love this picture!

Finley LOVES the new toy, Kathy!  Thanks so much!  IT is so cool!  He has been chewing on it like crazy!  And YES, he is a HUGE packer fan!  You should have seen him as Jason was yelling during the game on Thursday.

SO life has continued on. . .

We are very busy with church events.  Sunday school and Bible class have both started up.  Jason's Bible class is entitled, "Church: It's About GOd's Family"  He seems to really be enjoying it.  I am teaching Sunday School to the 3-6 year olds.  First one down and it went quite well!  I have also started playing organ every other Sunday.  This also has me quite busy due to the practicing, but I still enjoy it.

 We are continuing with member visits, and really enjoying those as well.  We have had some geat conversations with our members. 

Work for me is going ok.  Haven't worked with kids yet, so until then, I am just putting in my time. 

Finley is keeping us very busy!  He continues to grow like crazy, and is able to jump up on everything.  His biting of the furniture has decreased, but his biting and stealing of everything left on the floor has increased! We love him SOOO much, and are so glad that we have him in our family.  Every night we explore a new area of Fairbanks with him, getting him out to run, walk, and play.  This has been great for Jason and myself as well! Exercise and good time spent together.

I pray that everyone is doing well!  Keep in touch, call, e-mail, skype, facebook! Anything!  We would love to hear from all of you!

Love ya all!~

(Some videos to enjoy)