More of our house / Prayer request

 My office

 Desk with view of sister wall and keyboard.

 Sister wall - Schmill girl tradition

 Opposite corner of office

 Downstairs bathroom - cool blue toilet and shower

 Family pictures

Downstair family room - aka our work out/yoga/p-90x room - trying to talk Jason into a wall of mirrors so I can have my dream dance room

My parents come tomorrow!!!!!  I am very anxious for my mom and dad to arrive around 12:30 a.m. tomorrow night.  We will be blessed to have them with us for about a week and a half.  I’m just dreading July 11 when I have to say good bye. . . well, I guess I won’t think about that quite yet. 

This week has been another very busy one.  Jason’s been working hard on sermon writing and so much more.  Meanwhile, I’ve been working around the house, finishing up as many rooms as I can.  I finished my office! Now I can actually use my desk, and maybe start some of the crafts that have been piling up over the past four years. 

I have also been doing some searching for job opportunities.  I was able to talk the school district and apply for a few jobs available there.  Right now, I am looking to maybe sub for this year, and work my way into the district.  They have no current openings for lead teachers, but maybe in the future.  I am attending a substitute orientation on Monday, so I will no more then.  If that doesn’t work out, I will start looking for a few part time jobs around town.  I’m flexible.  Whatever the Lord has in mind, I am up for it!

Today while Jason was working, I went to about 10 rummage sales.  Found a couple of things, but only spent $15.  I found a TV stand for downstairs in our “workout” room.  Also found a few pictures for the bathrooms.  Rummage sales give me a good excuse to get out there and learn the streets.  I am really starting to figure out Fairbanks.  I also stopped at the Farmer’s Market here in town.  They have a wide variety of vegetables and baked goods, as well as all kinds of native crafts and gifts.  I definitely plan on going back there on Wednesday’s and Friday’s. 

After dinner, Jason and I hung some pictures on the walls, and started to work on our family wall.  Complete!  It is such a good feeling to see everything coming together and becoming a home.  God continues to bless us daily.

I end with a request from all who are keeping up with the blog.  My aunt and Godmother, Ingrid, the one who came and surprised us a week ago, has recently been hospitalized.  I don’t want to explain too much on here, but I would like to ask for your prayers.  Please pray for the doctors to figure out what is wrong, and that God-willing, she may come to a full recovery.  This is another time in life where we are reminded of God’s almighty power to heal.  We are also reminded of God’s constant love and care.  May he continue to show Ingrid love and care in the days ahead.  Love you, Ingrid!

More house pictures / Devotion

Downstiars bedroom before (guest room)

 Downstiars guest room after - The Grey Moose Inn - Still a work in progress, but coming together.  We also hope to paint this wall, and really make it the Alaskan room!

Thanks, Kathy!

$5 bed stand from rummage sale

Laundry room

Jason's desk

 New chair from craigslist

Wall hanging we finally can use from our wedding.

Little by little, the house continues to get closer and closer to completion!  I attacked my office today, and almost finished.  I probably won’t show a picture of that until we paint it.  I am looking forward to choosing a fun color, because I finally have my own space where I can do all kinds of craft like knitting, scrapbooking, making cards, and much more.  Can’t wait! 

I had to go to the grocery store yesterday to get some necessities.  It has been very hard to adjust to how expensive things are.  It is a huge change from our Woodman’s prices back in the lower 48.  I guess it makes sense because of how far things have to travel to get here.  I just wish prices were more reasonable.  We are finding ways to work with the prices, though.  Ground beef was extremely on sale this week, so we stocked up.  We are also going to check out Sams Club and see what prices are there.  I think the two items that I found that are more expensive are cheese and produce.  (a wonderful member who just moved up here also from WI just brought us a chunk of WI cheese yesterday!  So nice of her!)

Jason found a desk on craigslist a few days ago, so we took a look at it and then picked it up tonight.  They were also getting rid of the chair.  Only $25! Great deal.  Both are in terrific shape.  She had lots of other great pieces of furniture, including a beautiful couch, chair, and loveseat.  We may go to her rummage sale on Saturday to see what is left. 

Skype has really been a wonderful tool in keeping in touch with family and friends.  I don’t know what we would do without it.  Thanks for keeping in touch!

My parents come in 4 days!!!! I Can’t wait to have them here in our new home!  We will hopefully make it down to Anchorage, Denali, and much more. 

There is always an open invitation for anyone to come to Alaska and visit.  Just let us know when to pick you up from the airport!

Little Talk with the Lord:

                TRUST. 

                Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.

                When I was young, we listened to the song that is based on this verse.  Maybe my sisters remember the tune, ask them to sing it for you.  Anyways, I have found myself looking back to this verse several times in the past weeks.  As we found out we were moving to Alaska.  As we started our journey to Alaska.  As we begin to start a new life here in Alaska.  I keep opening my bible and reading this verse.  Due to the fact that I am a great sinner, no matter how many times I read it, I still fail to TRUST IN THE LORD completely.  It is not easy to put our full trust in the Lord through every hill and pothole of life.  BUT WE NEED TO!  We need to trust that the Lord ALWAYS has a plan in mind.  He’s got something up his sleeve for us up here in Alaska.  He’s got something up his sleeve for each and every one of you “outside”.  Never doubt what the Lord sends your way.  This is what I have been telling myself, over and over again!  And it works! It works to trust the Lord.  Just like that, all the worrying is gone.  Look to him.  And sing the song if you know it; it will be a great reminder to TRUST.

Some House Pictures!

I finally have some pictures of our home. I wanted to wait till we had it somewhat complete.  So here are a few of our rooms that are pretty much done.  Enjoy!

Living room before . . .

 And after!

Just waiting to purchase candles for our shelves.

 Our bedroom closet before . .

Our bedroom before. . .

After our painting, curtains, and shades and some organization.

And yes, most of those are mine.  I did have Jason put his suits in the other room!

 Upstairs hallway bathroom - green tub

 Our very own Alaska Information Station!  We have every piece of tourist information you could ever need!  Just come stay at the "Gray Moose Inn"!  You are welcome anytime.

Our deck out back.  Railings are here somewhere, they just didn't put them up yet!  

Weekend at Golden Days / First Sunday!

Sorry it's been a few days.  Things have been a bit hectic!

We went to a parade, it was nice.  Lots of fire trucks and old cars, but was interesting to see what the city and it's people were like.  We saw a rubber ducky race, where they dropped about 6,000 ducks off a bridge and into the Chena River. People had purchased the tickets, wanting their duck to be one of the first 62 to cross the finish line.  Over 62 winners got some great prizes including airline tickets, $10,000, shopping sprees, etc.  We didn't participate this year, but will next year.  It was neat to watch everybody else though. 

We also saw bathtub races.  Yes, bathtub races!  IT was hilarious.  They even had water in them.  Pretty dorky, but one of those every year city things that we need to see.

The neatest thing we saw this weekend has to be the Eskimo Indian Olympics.  Every year, those who are native Alaskans can participate in some crazy events.  THe one we saw (and you'll see below) is where they had to jump of two feet, kick a ball with one foot, and then land on that same foot that they kicked with.  It was pretty impressive to see some guys getting up to 9 ft.  They have other events including neck pull, blanket toss (tossing someone in the air on walrus skin), two foot kick, and many more.  IT is free to attend in the morning, so that is what we did.  Neat experience. 

In between all of that, we have had some more quality time with Beth.  She is now gone, on her way to Las Vegas.  We are sad to see her go, and are about to experience our first week alone here with no guests.  We will see how things go.  Family, get ready to skype!

Beth cooked us a wonderful Chinese meal tonight.  It was delicious!  It was good to see what she has been eating for 3 years.  Thanks Beth.

Jason had his first sermon/service as a REAL pastor today. Everything went very well!  It is a blessing to be here, experiencing this with him.  We look forward to many more Sundays!  Even though I knew this was part of the plan when I married him, I will truly miss sitting and worshipping right next to my husband. I am sure I will just have to get used to this. 

Well, better get to bed.  Tomorrow begins our new schedule of waking up early, working out, and getting going on our day!  I've been enjoying sleeping in, but it is time to get into a routine.  Here we go!  Good thing we have an awesome trail right outside our front door.  We will be doing walks, bike rides, and runs there till it gets too cold not to. 

I pray that everyone who reads this is having a great summer!  Enjoy each of those moments you have with those you love; it is truly a blessing to be with loved ones.  As we attended a 90 year old's birthday party this weekend, I realized how incredible life is.  This women has lived through so much, experiencing everything the Lord threw her way.  As I watched how happy her family was to be celebrating #90 with her, it reminded me of how precious family truly is.  Those who know me well, know how close I am with family and friends.  I can get rather emotional at times (thanks Dad!).  I knew this move to "the last frontier" was going to be tough, and I am sure there are some difficult times ahead.  I know I already miss my family immensely and all the friends I have "outside" (trying to use Alaskan language).  I am comforted when I see the people of our congregation, and realize the Lord is providing another family, one that truly realizes how important family is.  We know we are far away; we know that it took us 10 days to get here, but most importantly, we know we are not alone.   God has been and will be by our side for many years to come.  Yours too!  What a comfot this message is! 

God bless your week!





 Bathtub race for Golden Days! Interesting to watch.  We took some pointers for next year.

Bathtub race

 The Eskimo Indian Olympics.  This is a guy kicking a seal skin ball with one foot and landing on one foot.  It got up to about 9 ft high.  Awesome! We are definitely going to watch more of these next summer.

Nearing the end of the race.

Rubber duckies all in a group at the beginning of the race. Close to $6,000 

Moose antlers outside visitors center.

Shaggy manes we found right out by the church.  We've been cooking 'em up and eating them plain, on burgers, and on pizza.  (mom, there will hopefully be some here for you when you come!)

Cool looking car in parade, decorated with all kinds of stuff.

Chena Hot Springs / Pipeline / Wildlife



 This is what the moose did after Jason whistled at it. 

 The moose! So scared, but so cool!

 The calf that was with the moose.

 A sled dog puppy. SO CUTE!

 Sled dog

  The lake where the moose was.

Chena Hot SPring



 Pipeline right outside of Fairbanks

 Sign by the Pipeline

The bear right the middle of the road.  Awesome.

Chena Hot Springs / Pipeline

I slept in this morning till about 10:30 p.m.  I guess that is because we were up till about 2:30!  As soon as we got going, we headed out to Chena Hot Springs, about an hour away from us.  This is a beautiful scenic area where there are natural hot springs you can go in.  There are also many activities such as dog mushing, horseback riding, flight-seeing, and much more.  We decided to take a short hike around a lake.  It started out near the dog kennels (pictures below).  These are some of the dogs they use for the Iditarod, and also the Yukon Quest.  The Yukon quest is another dogsled race (1,000 miles almost as long as the 1,100 Iditarod) that goes from the Yukon Territory to Fairbanks!  (or vice versa)  This year it starts here, so we will get to go downtown and see all of them take off.  Can’t wait! Anyway, we saws the dogs and even saw some puppies.  Made me even more ready to get our husky puppy, as soon as we find one!  So we walked about halfway, and made it to a lake.  All of a sudden I heard a huge splash.  We looked over, and there was a huge moose in the water, with her calf behind her.  Now, we’ve read enough about Alaska and it’s wildlife to know to turn the other direction. But no, Jason and his dad went closer to get pics.  Jason even whistled at it, causing it to look up quickly from drinking, and stare him down!  Beth, her mom and I headed the other direction, not wanting to have to run for our lives.  It was pretty cool though. 

On our drive back we saw more wildlife, another moose, and a black bear.  That was pretty neat as well.  We also stopped and saw the Alaska pipeline. 

After a great supper, we dropped Jason’s parents off at the airport.  It was hard to say goodbye, not knowing when we would see them again, but we were very blessed to have them here! 

This evening was time to work on my blog, and hopefully to bed sooner than the past two nights.  We will see what the day has in store for us tomorrow. 

Oh, and it was a beautiful 78 here today.  LOVE IT!  (still praying for those with high heat back home)

God bless!

Here's the picture of Denali!  The other one was a mistake.

Jason's Ordination and Denali

All eight of the Pastors and Jason

 A group of Strongs

 Dan and Ingrid Pautz - the one's who surprised us

 Jason cutting his cake

My awesome Mt. McKinely pic that Jason's dad took is not uploading.  I will try tomorrow.

July 19, 2011

We spent most of the day working on the house and getting it at least presentable for people to see later on that evening.  Jason’s ordination was to take place at 7:00.  There had been a misprint in the bulletin saying 7:30, so we ended up waiting till then to start.  More of the members arrived after 7:00, so it worked out great!  Four of the six other Alaskan pastors were able to attend; which was incredible!  We are six hours north of the nearest WELS church, so we were very blessed to have them and their families here with us.  We look forward to getting to know them better very soon.

The service was beautiful.  I had never been to an Ordination/Installation service, and thought it was a very meaningful and emotional service.  Jason’s brother wrote the service and was the liturgist; everything in the service went very smoothly.  Jason’s dad preached the sermon (very well done!)  As they spoke to Jason using words like “brother”, and “son”, tears of joy filled my eyes.   What an amazing opportunity to have family be part of his important day!  After the service, Jason and I got to usher everyone out (felt like our wedding day all over again), and greet them.  The congregation is filled with many wonderful people, and we can’t wait to meet the rest on Sunday.  The congregation prepared coffee, cake, and many other goodies for us after the service.  Here we were able to talk a bit more to those members that were able to attend.  Around 10:00, the Alaskan pastors joined us at our home for more treats and conversation.  Boy are we blessed with a good group of people!  We can’t wait to do the Lord’s work right alongside these wonderful people.  At midnight, it was still light, and that’s when everyone cleared out.  They were going to stay till it got dark, but that doesn’t happen till 2ish.  We then stayed up for a little bit longer.  We are finding it very tough to go to bed before 1 or 2 a.m.  It is 1:08 here right now, and the sun went down about a half hour ago, so our bodies just keep on going. 

Just a side note, the laying on the hands was a really neat thing to see.  My uncle who surprised us, Dan Pautz, was even able to be part of this!  I have them all on video!  Eight Pastors participated in the laying on of hands!  Eight!  God is good!

July 20, 2011

TODAY WAS DENALI!  And guess what!  It was visible!  Mt. McKinley is only visible 25% of the time, so we really lucked out today.  I was glad that Jason’s family could see it before they left.   It was a beautiful 75 degrees all day; the best day all week.   We love this summer weather!  We didn’t see too much wildlife, but we did see some birds, gophers, and one caribou.  We were hoping to see bear and moose; next time I guess!  We dropped Aaron off at the airport tonight, and sent him back to Vegas.  It was so nice having him here for Jason’s installation, and really meant a lot.  We are blessed to have Jason’s sister here for a few more days, and his parents here for one more day.  We will continue to soak in every moment we have.  They have truly been a huge help.

Right now, Jason and I are headed to go out and meet with one of the pastors from Eagle River, AK and his wife that are still here in Fairbanks.  They are about our age, and we are very excited to get to know them.  So, off we go!  God bless your Thursday!

Night!