Beth and Kathy in Santa's sleigh in North Pole!

 One of Santa's reindeer

 The two Eskimo's  found in North Pole

The actual North Pole! Kind of.

The award of “Best Surprise Show-Up EVER” goes to Dan and Ingrid Pautz, of Phoenix, AZ!  To everyone’s surprise here, Dan and Ingrid showed up around 10:30 a.m. this morning.  Still in pajamas due to the unpacking, I heard the doorbell ring.  I thought that it was a congregation member, and asked Jason to get it.  All of a sudden I heard a lot of talking and Jason sounding very surprised.  I went over to the stairs, and there they were.  I think I was just completely shocked to see them standing there, I started crying.  What a great way to surprise us! 

Later that afternoon we went to North Pole, Alaska.  Yes, we say Santa!  It’s one of the touristy spots to visit up here.  The pictures below show what we saw!

This evening, we decided to cook out brats and hamburgers for dinner.  Dan and Ingrid came over as well, and we enjoyed some great food and good conversation. 

The weather today was on the cooler side with the temperature around 58.  Tomorrow it is supposed to be back up in the 70’s.  Can’t wait!  We are praying for those in the lower 48, especially WI and MN who are struggling with the heat.  I hope it ends soon for you all!

Tonight we are playing games, and then heading to the airport at 1:00 a.m. to pick up Jason’s brother, Aaron.  I am not quite sold on these late late flights in Fairbanks.  Good thing it is still light out!

Little Talk with the Lord:

                Due to the great surprise tonight, I thought I would base my talk on surprises. 

Have you ever had a surprise in life that you really had absolutely NO idea it was going to happen?  Anything like what happened to us today?  It is a cool feeling!  On the other hand, some surprises aren’t true surprises.  For example, surprise birthday parties that you have to fake your surprise face, and other situations like that.  I don’t know about you, but I LOVE surprises.  There is one thing, though, that I am 100% sure I don’t want to be a surprise, my home for eternity.  Where do you want to be, in the eternal fires of hell (think of the temps in the Midwest right now!) or in the heavenly realms, singing with all the angels?  I know my answer!  How to get there? It’s because of what has been done in Jesus.  He gives us this as a “gift”, free of charge.  He’s also given us the gift of faith in him to believe that eternal life is ours.  That’s it!  There are many things we can do to nurture this faith.  Have family devotions, attend church, and spend some personal time with your Savior.  Most importantly, don’t forget to share this special truth with others.  Let them enjoy the same blessings you get to enjoy.  Shouldn’t we want everyone to be in heaven with us?  Absolutely!  So what heaven will be like, that is our surprise.  The fact that we are going there, that is no surprise for us.  THAT is a good thing!

 



Sunday, July17

Late night, early morning. 

Our guests arrived last night, and we are so glad to have them here.  We began the morning by not attending church (very different).  The board at Syndoulos decided not to have church, due to the Ordination service on Tuesday.  There is no pastor to fill in, being 6 hours north of all the WELS churches.  So we got to work on the house instead.  Kathy was a huge help in the kitchen, we got everything put away.  Dennis and Beth helped out Jason in the living room, and things went pretty quickly.  There is lots more to do, but we got a good start.  In the afternoon we headed to UAF (University of Alaska-Fairbanks) to see the views and the campus.  From the campus you can see Denali.  It was too cloudy and overcast today to see, but we will be making frequent trips up there to see it.  After that, we headed to Pioneer Park to partake in a Salmon Bake! DELICIOUS!  All you can eat salad, pasta, rolls, beans, potatoes, salmon, beer-battered cod, prime-rib, drinks, and dessert!  It was so good.  Fresh salmon is incredible; I am immediately a salmon lover.  We then toured around the historic park, looking at an historic town, museums, and picnic areas.  Great night!

We are now back at home and have our TV and surround sound set up.  It’s time for some “Office” and relaxing time with the family.  Good times!

Tomorrow it’s either Chena Hot Springs or Denali National Park!  I love Alaska!

Oh, and happy 2nd wedding anniversary to my wonderful husband!



 Brother and sister being eaten by a salmon.

 Part of my salmon, being eaten on a fish plate.

 Beth with Dougie (he was wearing a Packer hat)

 Dennis on the salmon

 Me kissing Dougie - (on my 2nd wedding anniversary, too)

 Entrance to Pioneer Park

 Museum  on UAF campus

 Yea, self-explanatory

Only 2,626 miles from G and G Reuer!

Pictures of our new table and chairs

Four spinning stools that were only $5/each!

Our new table that we purchased at a rummage sale.  We got a great deal!

July 16, 2011

THE TRUCK CAME!  God is good!

The truck arrived at 9:30 p.m. this evening, and we were done by 11:00 p.m.  We were able to get all the beds up and sheets on just as Jason's family arrived at 1:30 a.m.  The rest of the house is in chaos, but the rooms are good.

Today was a day of rummage sales.  We found a dining room table! Pictures coming soon.  We got a great deal on it, along with the six chairs.  We also found stools for our breakfast bar and a couple of rugs.  We were also able to tour more around Fairbanks, seeing some really nice houses up on the ridge. It was a good day!

Now we have family here, and it is time for bed. 

July 14-15

Another beautiful day here in Fairbanks, a little cloudy but no rain. We had an high of about 68 today. No complaints here!

Yesterday was full of work inside the house. I worked on cleaning bathrooms and lining the drawers in the kitchen. Jason and I both were back and forth to Lowe's and Home Depot, trying to decide on paint color for our room.  After testing out a few samples we decided on Winter Flannel - (no it does not turn into a what a flannel shirt would look like after you paint it) - you can see what it looks like down below. Painting took a long time to complete, and after not painting the correct way for the first wall, we quickly learned how to work together.  From there on, it went quite smoothly!  We LOVE the look, and can't wait to see how the furniture looks in it. 

After painting we were blessed to have a delcious meal prepared for us by a member's wife.  Sloppy Joe's, veggies, homemade potato salad, and root beer floats for dessert! It was incredible!  Totally hit the spot!  We ended our night by watching "Harry Potter Part 1".  We will hopefully go see Part 2 quite soon. 

 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6

Today was a day of waiting.  Waiting for our car to finish up with an oil change (meanwhile, we went to Lowe's and Walmart once again, returning things that didn't work).  I also waited in line at Fred Meyer, wondering why everyone at the store was in such a huge hurry (Fred Meyer is one of the grocery stores we have here, and I visited for the first time.  Very nice, HUGE, kind of like a shopko or pamida mixed in with a pick n save.  Fridays and 5:00 will no longer be the time I go grocery shopping; too many fast-moving, impatient people).  We especially waited to hear back from our mover, or to see him pulling up in our driveway.  Neither of these two occured. 

A Little Talk with Jesus:
                This passage above is one that reminds me to go to the Lord, in prayer, when my lack of patience begins to take over.  When I begin to worry that the mover took all our posessions, drove through Canada, and decided to stay there for good, or that he won't be here for 2 more weeks; I need to look to my Savior.  Patience is one of those "fruits of the spirit" (just like every other "fruit") that doesn't come easy; we must work at it.  God gives us opportunites in our life in order for us to develop these "fruits".  Don't shy away from them, but grab ahold of them, EAT, and ENJOY!

So it is 10:38 p.m. Alaska time.  1:38 a.m. Wisconsin/Minnesota time.  We have done everything that we can think of doing until our things get here.  We will say our prayers tonight and see what the Lord has in mind for tomorrow.  I think I better go help Jason with the last set of blinds, I think he has had his fill!
Goodnight and God bless!
Enjoy the pics! I'll put up some more of the house when we actually have our stuff in! 

 Outside of Syndoulos Lutheran Church

 Outside of house (railing off for moving in furniture)

 Another view of church

 Having some fun while painting our room

 Jason working hard. We'll show you the finished product when we move in our furntire, eventually!

 Kitchen and part of the dining room

Our bedroom - with a rolled up ball of tin foil on the ground (This is what some Alaskans use to keep out the light in summer.  We decided we wanted to see the beautiful woods we live in, so we took it out and got cutains and blinds.)

 Fairbanks welcome sign

 Living room - one wall has wood, the opposite wall that you can't see is painted over that wood.  We eventually want to do some sort of accent colored wall on the opposite side.

Outside and opposite side of church building

Home, sweet home! July 12 - 13

WE ARRIVED!!!!!  9 days of traveling and we made it!  With the Lord's help, we arrived safely in Fairbanks around 3:00 p.m.  We actually could not believe we were really entering Fairbanks, so I took a picture of almost every sign that told us we were there.  It was such a joy to actually be at our new home.  Thank you Lord for blessing us with safe travels.

The morning started out a bit rough when we found out that the moving truck was not there at the house.  It was supposed to be there two days ago.  It was probably not going to be there till Thursday or Friday.  We were a bit disappointed.  But of course, God showed us his reasoning.  We have been able to get lots accomplished: seeing the city, cleaning ALL the carpets, deciding where we want things, getting the kitchen ready for all the dishes, and hopefully painting our master bedroom tomorrow!  The Lord ALWAYS knows what is best!

When we did arrive, we met the church's president, who gave us the grand tour. The house is HUGE! Way bigger than we expected, and way more room than we need, but we will take it!  Lots of room for guests, (yes mom, and babies)!  It has 5 bedrooms including the office and 3 full baths, and is set back in the woods.  We are excited to paint and few walls, and make it our own. 

We made our way to Walmart, to get a few necessities.  Yes, they have Wally World.  We also drove around a bit to see what else was here.  They have Home Depot, Sams Club, Lowe's, Safeway (grocery) Fred Meyer's (grocery and misc.), Old Navy, Sears, JCPenny, Pizza Hut, McDonalds, Wendy's, and tons more.  We were really impressed!  We came back home to eat our frozen pizza and skype with my family.  We can already tell that Skype is truly going to save us this year.  Being able to see my family and talk has already helped tremendously! Love ya guys!  If anyone else has skype, let me know your screen name!

We then blew up an air mattress that a church member lent us and set up our bed for the next few nights.  I can't speak for Jason, but I slept like an angel! Finally off the floor!  Can't wait for our real bed to arrive, though!

The next day Jason woke up pretty early, but I had no problem sleeping in till 8:00 a.m.  Jason began work on all our paperwork that needed changing over and what not, while I began to organize the things we did bring with us in our car.  Late morning we went to Lowe's to get the carpet cleaner and a few odds and ends.  When we returned, we met another congregation member and talked with him for about 2 hours.  After that, the carpet cleaning began at about 3:00 p.m.  It is now 11:00 p.m. our time, and we are just about done.  Every room in this house is carpet, except the bathrooms, so it has taken us forever!  Throughout the afternoon two other members stopped by to introduce themselves and welcome us.  You don't know how good it feels to have these people stopping in and saying how happy they are that we are here.  It reminds me that even though we are far from our families, God already has friends and family in mind for us. These individuals are going be our Alaska family!  One member even brought us dinner, Shepherd's Pie and a rhubarb pie!  DELICIOUS!  The mashed potatoes in the shepherd's pie were PURPLE.  She's says they grow purple potatoes at their house.  I had never heard of it! 
Now it is off to bed, but I think we may watch a movie first!  Oh, and the sun is still up and shining into our windwos! CRAZY! We will see if we can fall asleep with nothing on our windows.  We don't have shades or curtains yet!  That we will get tomorrow.
Goodnight!

I tried to upload pictures, but our internet is just too slow.  We are working on upgrading.  So I will have to try again tomorrow.  Sorry!
The only two pics that uploaded are below:

Our shepherd's pie from a member.  It was SOOOO good!

Pipeline while driving to Fairbanks, AK

July 11, 2011 Water to Haines, AK to Tok, AK – Last day on the water!!

(This one is long, just a warning!)
This is one of four new posts, don't forget to start back on the July 8th one!

Wow, where to begin?  First and foremost, we thank the Lord for the safe travels he has blessed us with thus far.  After today, I can’t believe how many miles we have actually come and that we are in ALASKA.  Do you know how far away from our home that is?  Not to Fairbanks yet, but boy are we blessed beyond belief!  “He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.” Psalm 91:11   This passage is a clear example of God’s hand in our journey. Incredible!

It was our earliest morning yet, 4:00 A.M.  The boat was docking in Juneau at 4:45, and we wanted to get most of our stuff packed up before then.  We had planned to go into downtown Juneau, but didn’t realize that the boat docked 12 miles away from downtown, so we were unable to do so.  We could have stayed in bed!  We then went and read and tried to nap in a few different places on the boat (our tent was put away).  The boat was supposed to take off at 6:45 a.m., but it took off over an hour late; eventually causing our arrival time in Haines to be pushed back by an hour and fifteen minutes.  While on the water for the last time, we truly enjoyed the gorgeous mountains, glaciers, lighthouses, and much more.  We said goodbye to friends we had meant, and even got the business cards from our new friends from Hawaii.  They said we should look them up when we go there in winter (supposedly that is where Alaskans visit during the winter, and flights are actually really cheap)!  After 30 minutes of sitting in our car, waiting to get off the boat, we were finally off by 2:00 p.m.! Our Escape took its’ first steps (spins? turns?) on Alaska ground.  The drive started off with huge mountains on either side of us.  After 40 minutes, we reached the Canadian border in British Columbia.  The cop let us through, but wasn’t looking to sure about Jason saying he was going to be a Pastor.  He even had us show him his call letter! In order to make this not so short blog shorter, I will summarize the rest of the trip rather quickly.  The Yukon Territory was not so good due to much of the roads being gravel, full of pot holes, and also many dips.  Let’s just say, we weren’t huge fans at all.  We stopped a few times for gas and bathroom breaks, but were glad to finally arrive in Alaska (once again) at 9:00 p.m. We hadn’t seen much wildlife before this, due to it being about 80 degrees the whole way.  So as we entered Alaska, Jason was praying to see some wildlife.  Our first Alaskan wildlife while on the road, a porcupine.  Second, a black bear (YES, a cute medium-sized black bear just about to come out to the street). And third, well, I guess that was it for now, but we look forward to more later. 

To wrap up . . .  We arrived here in Tok, Alaska at 11:00 p.m.  It was a very long 19 hour day.  I guess that explains why Jason is sound asleep right now.  I think I am still awake because it is somewhat light outside.  Guess I will have to be getting used to that quickly. 

Like I said at the start of this post, the Lord has sent his guarding angels to watch over us as we traveled.  None of this would even have been possible without his guidance and care.  Each and every day is a blessing from the Lord, and one we are not to take for granted.  Wherever we go and whatever we do, the Lord is always watching every step we take.  Remember to thank the Lord for his guarding and protecting hand throughout your life.  I know this trip has reminded me of that! 

 Glacier right above Juneau

 Jason spotted these whales.  A whole bunch!

 Another ship with lighthouse in background.

Nice lighthouse, dad! 

 Heated solarium where a whole bunch of people slept.

 Another glacier

 On the drive to Tok, AK - taken today

 Taken on the drive today

 In km, not miles

 We were so glad to be off the Yukon roads!   Awful!!

So was Jason

Until tomorrow, goodnight!  We plan to head out around 10:00 a.m., and arrive in Fairbanks, our new home, by 2:00 p.m.  I was just informed that our moving truck may not be there yet, so we may have one more night on the floor.  It’s been a LONG three and a half weeks, but we are almost there!

May God continue to guard and protect each and every one of you!

Love ya!