Faith, Fairbanks, and the Last Frontier: 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!