The past week and a half with a puppy and other exciting things!

So it's been about a week and half since my last post.  It just goes to show that this puppy thing is a lot of work! He has kind of taken over our life!  We love him, but boy does he keep us occupied.  I will try my hardest to be better!

 For the past week and a half we have been adjusting to the idea of continually watching our little Finley.  IF not, he immediately gets involved in chewing, biting, or peeing.  He is slowing improving on all those things.  He has had a few days with NO inside accidents. And when he does have accidents, it is usually our fault for not getting him out in time.  He has begun running to the stairs and sometimes even down to the door when he has to go! SO excited he is almost there, and it's only been a week and a half.  He has also learned how to come when called (unless some grass, twig, or leaves are more exciting), and also to sit and stay.  We are very proud of him!  He is also in some puppy classes at Petco, which are also going well.  We will have to see what this week holds for him.  He is definitely our spoiled little brat. 

I have about a week and a half in of my job as well.  Things are going pretty well.  It will be better when we get done with all the testing, and then I will be able to work with the children.  I will be given three groups of three to work with each day for one quarter, then we will do the testing all over again.  The other RTI"s that I am working with are great!  It has been great to get to know them, and look forward to working with them this year.  The job is half time, but for right now, I have been working quite a few full days.  Once September is over, I should be back to my half days. 

Yesterday, I went cranberry picking with Kari, a girl about my age that I work with.  We had a great time.  I brought Finley with me, and she had her black lab.  We went up to a beautiful ski area right outside of Fairbanks.  Boy did Finley love running free with the other dog, and eating all kinds of fun grasses, leaves, and twigs.  He eventually got worn out, and plopped down to sleep right in the berries.  He was very well behaved! Can't wait till he's bigger and can help warn us of moose and bear.  We didn't see a single thing while up there, but did pick tons of berries.  I will definitely be going back there before winter. 

Every night, we try to get out with Finley and discover a new place in Fairbanks.  We have done pretty well so far.  We've done walks in parks, along trails, in front of our house, and up at the UAF campus.  We look forward to continue getting out during our short Fall.  Supposedly Fall is about 2 weeks long, but it is just beautiful.  We will try to take pictures.  It is also time to start looking for the Northern Lights!  Now we just have to stay up long enough to get outside to look.  There will definitely be pictures up of those when we get them. 

After church, we were blessed to have the members over for "after church treats".  We had been wanting to get them over to see the house, since most have never been over here.  We wanted to show them how thankful we are for such a beautiful place to live.  Finley behaved really well, even when 6-8 kids were surrounding him on the floor.  After about an hour of washing dishes and cleaning up, I took a nice long nap with Finley.  We ended our night with another trip to a new park.  Finley had a very hard time coming when called tonight; he was more interested in the dirt.  We did see 3-4 beavers swimming in the river, coming up pretty close to the edge.  After another drive around UAF to try to see Mt. McKinley (no luck), we headed home.  Finley is asleep, and has been since I started writing.  Hopefully he sleep all night (which he's been doing awesome at! He has had zero accidents in his kennel!).

Church work continues to go very well.  The congregation seems to be very excited and full of ideas.  This makes us so happy!  God is truly blessing us through these individuals and families.  We have been blessed to sit down with members on the visits, and really get to know them. I am glad that I am able to go along with Jason.  Choir and Sunday school and both starting up in about a week, very excited to join these.  I will be teaching the younger group of kids for the year.  We are also going to be starting something BRAND NEW for Syndoulos.  There was much interest for a women's group (brought up by a member), so we have been meeting about that as well.  Very exciting!

I pray that everyone's August has gone smoothly.  May God bless your new year of school, teaching, working, and anything else you may be doing! Love and miss you all!

 Sleeping own underneath Jason's desk

 I love when he sleeps in my arms!

He really doesn't sleep all the time, it's just that those are the moments he is calm, and I can actually get a picture without him jumping up to try and get the camera!

 

ISn't he getting so much bigger!  Compare it to the previous post.  Also, he is getting darker, like his mom!

My delicious cranberries!

Our new puppy! And other new things. - YES! The puppy pics are on here now! SORRY!

I know it has been a very, very long time.  I apologize.  We have been on the go quite a bit, making it difficult to create the blog.  So, here is what we've been up to:

My parents arrived safely in Manitowoc! They are now back to their busy busy lives.

Life continued here.  We had a few days to clean up the house, prepare for a church picnic on Sunday, and pack for a 3 day trip to Eagle River/Anchorage.  After church on Sunday, we packed our car and headed to Eagle River.  There was a called worker gathering at the Pastor's house there in Eagle River, about a 5.5 hour drive.  Before we arrived, we stopped off in Houston, AK to look at some Golden Retirever puppies.  Not a great situation, so we moved on.  For the next few days we enjoyed getting to know the teachers and pastors of the WELS in Alaska.  They are such great people, and we look forward to getting to know them better (just wish they all weren't 5-8 hours away). 
We went to Eklutna Lake and did a mini hike.  BEAUTIFUL - pics below.  We also did some shopping with the ladies one morning.  It was great to visit a Kohl's and a Target.  I truly do miss those stores! 
We were around the campfire our last night there, and we all thought we heard something kind of like a growl.  All of a sudden all the women get out of their seats.  It ended up being nothing, but we really thought there was a bear!
In between all that, we did go visit another golden retriever.  THis was not a good situation either.  On to more phone calls.

After a wonderful get-together, we began our drive back up to Fairbanks.  We stopped in Wasilla at the last place we had time for during this trip.  The house was way back in the mountains.  It was a gorgeous brand new home. SO far so good.  We spent about 4 hours here!  Yes, 4 hours!  Jason and the dad of the house talked for about 2 of those about relgious issues.  HE was really putting Jason to the test.  He did very well.  It was a great discussion.  We also played with the puppy.  He was actually the last one they had, but they said he was the best of the litter.  They were actually getting quite attached and probably would have kept it if we wouldn't have taken him.  We then were invited in to talk and enjoy some cider and cinnamon bread.  They were very nice people.  They only have been up in AK for a year, recently moving there from Tennessee.  We were definitely sold on this little puppy.  We were going to take him home!!!!  They had started to call him Barnabas, but we decided to change it.  With the help of my aunt Kathy, he is now Finley!  (short i) 
It was a long drive home, but he actually did pretty well.  Once he settled down, he slept quite a bit.  And each time we stopped for him to go the bathroom, he went!!!

Since having him home, we have had a great 1st experience with a puppy.   He is pretty well behaved, but of course has had his puppy moments.  He has had at least one accident every day, but goes to the bathroom when we take him out.  Our house makes it very complicated for a tiny puppy to get outside.  We have so many stairs!  We have borrowed a kennel, and he is doing quite well with that.  He only whines for a few minutes, then quiets down and sleeps very well.  We do get up at 3 a.m to take him out (I should say Jason takes him out).  He then is up and ready to go at 6:00.  Life is just a bit different, but we love him so much already.  We'll see what adventures lie ahead with him.  He's 9 weeks old today, and is growing each day.  Looking at his mom, and seeing how big he is now, we are thinking he is going to be one big golden. 

Jason is loving his life as well.  He is keeping very busy with sermon writing, service planning, and has begun making every member visits.  I have been blessed to go along with him, and look forward to attending many more.  It has been a great way for most of us to get to know our members.  God has truly blessed us with an amazing church home. 

I have started my new job!  I will be working half-time at an area elementary school as an RTI assistant (response to intervention).  We will be working with students who need that extra help in reading.  I will eventually have 3 groups of 3 students and continue to work with them all year.  We are preparing for all the testing now, and going through some training.  It seems like it is going to be a great job and a great place to be for the year.  So far so good!

Anyways, this is too long.  Enjoy the pics!  I will try to be better at blogging.

God bless!

Lake Eklutna in Eagle River

Love this sign.

Lake Eklutna

Mt. McKinely from Eagle River

Alaskan Range

 Finley with his mother, Daisy. We think his color will be right in the middle of his color and his mothers'.

 Car ride home - a six hour drive

 This was an experience!

 He was shivering so much:(

 He devours his food.  Temporary bowl.

 Always wants to be the center of attention.  We love that he loves being close and snuggling up to us!

It's always been a dream to have a dog like that.

Doing what he does so well.

The rest of my parents visit - August 11

We have been truly blessed to have my parent here for so long.  I can't believe they have to leave already.  Life will truly be different with all our visitors gone for a bit.  We will actually have to see what life is like with just the two of us.  Anyways, before we get to that point, here are some pictures of what we've been up to. 

We passed our written test for the state of Alaska.  (only took two tries :)  We are now Alaska state residents.  Big dates coming up: 

August 2012 = allowed to dip net  /  October 2013 = 1st PFD  (permanent fund distribution) checks

 At the Tanana Valley state Fair - met Smoky

 More of the fair - enjoyed some great fair food

 The huge cabbages at the fair.

 Not my dog, but just like the one I want.  Jason and  are on the search for a puppy/dog.  Nothing yet, but we are searching.

Dad being an dogsled racer at Pioneer Park.

 Yummy Yummy salmon bake!  Love it.  Thanks Mom and Dad! 

 The jackets  we didn't buy, but they were very cheap.  Just thought we would try them on.

Mom and dad riding the salmon at Pioneer Park. 

 Mom and dad went on the Riverboat Discovery - probably one of the neatest things to do here in Fairbanks.  Due to cost, Jason and I decided to wait till it's half off for residents.  Mom and dad greatly enjoyed this experience, so I decided to post some from their trip.  You take the riverboat along the Chena River and stop a few places.  You see a sea plane take off, a dogsled team,  native village, and much more. 

No, this is not a real moose, no matter how much Dad will try to tell you it is.

 Just one of the many gorgeous views they had from the boat.  The clouds are reflecting in the Chena.  As dad would say, "What incredible skys you have here in Fairbanks." 

 Dad kissing the "real" moose. 

 There was a 40 below room you could go in at the gift shop.  Yes, it was cold.  But I went in with capris and flip flops.  So I should be good in winter . . . I think.

 Mom with a native Alaskan.  I have to get a coat like that for winter!

 This was kind of neat.  It is where a dog sled team lives and trains.  It is actually Susan Butcher's husband and daughter who are in the picture.  Susan is a VERY famous Iditarod/Yukon Quest champion.  I could write a whole bunch about her, but you can look her up to find out more.  She passed away 6 years ago, but her family continues her traditions and dreams by participating in the races.  She was an incredible woman.  In summer, they train with a four wheeler (with no motor) being pulled by the dogs.  Kind of cool!

Oh, here's our parsonage! We moved to the river! Like it? 

These is just a sample of what the majority of the homes on the river look like.  They are HUGE and very beautiful.  Most of hot tubs, boats, jet skis, and sea planes.  We need to become friends with them.  Maybe we should canvass in this neighborhood!

Well, that is all of the for now.  I know it is a lot of pictures, but I had a lot to share. 

Tomorrow morning we take my parents to the airport.  I can't believe the 10 days are over already.  We are so blessed to have had them here with us.  I still can't believe both sets of parents and a few siblings had already made it up here.  God is good! 

I will now how these posts to look back on in order to remember these awesome times we had.  The distance is far, but I know that God is close.  He will and has been with us through this transition!

I pray that God will be with each and everyone of you through whatever struggle you have in your lives.  What I've noticed by doing these blogs is that it helps to write (or type) your thoughts and feelings down.  As I do that, I really, truly have to think about what I am typing.  Because of this, it becomes easier to LET GO, LET GOD!  Let go of those struggles, battles, pains, and heartaches.  Give them all to God.  Why do we try to handle them on our own, when we have an all-powerful God right by our side, asking us to, "Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."  Don't be afraid to go to him.

So, if you are having a hard time speaking the words you want to say to God, write them down.  Maybe it will work for you too.  You can always go back and read them again if you need that encouragement.   I know I do!

God bless your night!

August 4-5 Anchorage Adventure

Today will be all pictures, and one video! My parent, Jason, and I went down to Anchorage for a couple of days.  Here are the pictures from everything we saw.

This is a video that Jason took of the giant bull moose walking through the parking lot of Eagle River Nature Center.  This moose was HUGE!  IT had a full rack and everything.  There were so many people watching and taking pictures, I was surprised the moose stayed as calm as he did.  After all the stories I've read about moose attacks, I kept my distance.  Therefore, I cannot take any credit for these pictures.  All Jason!

Mountains along the drive.

More mountains

 Eagle River Nature center - views from hike

The bull moose!  Awesome!

 More mountains.

Now, look at the van behind the moose.  Now look at the moose.  Now imagine hitting that moose.  Ouch!  As this moose walked right through the cars, the people watching began to find something to stand behind.  It was very neat to see. 

Again, we were blessed to be able to see Mt. McKinely.  So glad my parents got to see it.  These pictures are taken in between Fairbanks and Denali.  By the time we arrived in Denali it was too cloudy to see anything at all.  We even have pictures of the mountain after traveling only 15 minutes outside of Fairbanks. 

A cow moose with her calf on the road to Eagle River Nature center

Nature center hike

People watching the moose.  You can see that I was keeping the correct amount of distance.

The moose mom and dad got for us for our house.  He fits in perfecty!  I will stay closer to this one than the ones before this.