Great Aunt!

I am a great aunt again!  I just got word this morning that my nephew, Stephen, and his wife, Abby, had their baby this morning.  Nolan Maxwell was born at 5:46 a.m.  He weighs 7 lb., 4 oz. and is 18.5 inches long.  Mamma  and Nolan are doing fine.  Nolan is so cute!   This is one great aunt that wishes she lived closer to "Home"!  He may be half grown up before I see him!  

To our newest nephew--We love you, Nolan!

CONGRATULATIONS to Stephen and Abby!  

Energy Drink

Servicemen and women

I would like to take this time to say a GREAT BIG THANK YOU to all of our service men and women out there!  Some of you I know, most of you I don't but our family truly appreciates what you are doing for us!  So if you are serving, have served or have a family member serving. . . Thank you for your service and sacrifice!

I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!

more of "Life"

So the kids didn't sleep in but got up right on time.  When I sent them to get ready for school a few minutes later they started "falling apart"--you know how kids do when they are tired.  I could tell that it was more tired than anything else so I sent them back to bed for awhile.  They didn't sleep but they did get some rest and they weren't annoying each other.  Hence we ended up skipping school after all.  Which didn't hurt my feelings any!  Well that was all yesterday and today we do have to do a little bit of school and then head into Anchorage.    Each of the boys have started a scrap book of their own.  They think that is great!  We are doing that for Art Class.   So we will do that and Gym today  which is about all we have time for on Tuesdays.  At least we don't have Den meeting tonight since the Pack Meeting is on Friday.  More on that later! 

Life

Well, here we are ready to start another week.  I've decided to give the kids a day off of school.  They are very tired and I figure the extra sleep will do them good.  They've not really  missed any days since before Christmas.  Oh, the benefits of home school!  I am usually pretty firm when it comes to missing days of school but sometimes you just got to do what you got to do.  Maybe I can get caught up on some housework.  There was actually quite a lot going on this weekend.  Our church has monthly get togethers in the winter months which we call Sunspots.  (If you read the Alaska Daylight section in the right-hand column you'll have an idea why!)  We have a potluck dinner and do various activities.  Every thing from visiting to hobbies.  This was our month to have it so everyone was at our house--a grand total of 18 people!  Yes, our church is small, there's the Wasilla pastor's family, 7; Anchorage pastor, 2; Hill family, 6; the Senior Hills, 2 and 1 bachelor.  Anyway, they came and had fun. Warren was on call Saturday night.  There was a bad accident so he got called out about 9 p.m.  He didn't get home until 3:30 a.m.  He had Sunday off then went on call again at 7 p.m.  Thankfully, Sunday night was quiet.  Early Sunday morning we got word that Warren's uncle in Montana died.  That would be Warren's mom's brother.  He had been sick so it was not totally unexpected yet still very sad!  Well, the kids just got up so we might as well have school.  So much for letting them sleep in!!!  If I would have tried to get them up for school they would have dragged their feet and complained!  Kids!  

Our Kids

Christmas Eve

The matching outfits I made the kids (not the jeans).

Cameron with the mural he made in school.

        Clayton with his.

Summer time in the yard

Moose!

Yesterday, Warren's mom and I went to pick up my scrap book order.  The place we had to go was just a few miles beyond the city limits.  On the way we saw this bull moose.  We got several shots--camera shots that is--of him.  This is one of the best ones.  Then farther up the road we saw this sign and I just couldn't resist snapping a picture of it.  On the way back home we saw the other moose.  He looked pretty young.  I'm guessing he is last years calf though we didn't see Mama around.

Bull Moose

Moose Lick Ranch

Moose Calf

Warren's Projects

Warren has been hard at work on several projects lately.  He enjoys working with leather and building things.  Several months back he built a stand for our fish tank.  He also made me a leather purse.  He does a really good job.  And of course he likes getting all the tools he doesn't already have to do the job!  Men and their "toys"!  :-)  Right now he is working on toddler beds for Nick and Amy.  He has them put together and just has to stain them.  They are turning out really nice.  I'll post a picture of them when they are done.  

Men and Women

 The truth about men and women

Men Are Just Happier People ...

 NICKNAMES
If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah .
 If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Godzilla and Four-eyes.
 EATING OUT
When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in $20, even though it's only for $32.50. None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.
 When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.
 MONEY
A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs. 
A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need, because it's on sale.
 BATHROOMS
A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel from M&S.
 The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337.
 A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items.
 ARGUMENTS
A woman has the last word in any argument.
 Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.
 CATS
Women love cats.
 Men say they love cats, but when women aren't looking, men kick cats.
 FUTURE
A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
 A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.
SUCCESS
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
 A successful woman is one who can find such a man.
  MARRIAGE
A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.
 A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, but she does.
 DRESSING UP
A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the bins, answer the phone, read a book, and get the post.
 A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.
 NATURAL
Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.
 Women somehow deteriorate during the night.
 OFFSPRING
Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about their dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favourite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.
 A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.
 THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
A married man should forget his mistakes.
 There's no use in two people remembering the same thing.
 SO, Send this to the women who can handle it and to the men who will enjoy reading it.

Furry Friends

We have 2 border collies Hank and Midge. Midge has been in our family since she was 6 weeks old.  She is now 11 years old.  Hank came this past November.  He is 1.5 years old.   Hank likes to explore the neighborhood if given the chance.  We got him on a Saturday evening.  Monday morning he found a gap in the fence and got out.  The police found him downtown.  Then last Friday night we had some friends over and the gate accidently got left open.  Hank Man decided to take a walk!  Warren, his dad and our friends went out hunting for him.  Thankfully our friends found him!   Along with Midge and Hank we have 3 "renters".  Benji (a Maltese) and Peek and Boo (Parakeets) belong to Warren's parents.

                                                                            Hank
                                                                                 Midge

Alaska

We took the Cub Scouts to the museum at the Visitor Center here in town.  I found an Alaska Facts and Trivia sheet.  Something I find interesting is this, if you live outside of Alaska you are considered an "Outsider".  Many times going to the Lower 48 is simply referred to as "going Out".  Here are some other interesting things about Alaska that you may or may not know.  .  .

• The state of Rhode Island could fit into Alaska 425 times.
  
• Nearly one-third of Alaska lies within the Arctic Circle.
  
• Alaska is a geographical marvel.  When a scale map of Alaska is superimposed on a map of the 48 lower states, Alaska extends from coast to coast.
  
• The state's coastline extends over 6,600 miles.
• Alaska is the United State's largest state and is over twice the size of Texas. 
• 17 of the 20 highest peaks in the U.S. are located in Alaska.  Mt. McKinley is the highest point in North America.
• Juneau is the only capital city in the U.S. accessible only by boat or plane.
• The state boasts the lowest population density in the nation.
  
• In 1926 13-year-old Bennie Benson from Cognac, AK, designed the state flag.
  
• Most of America's salmon, crab, halibut and herring come from Alaska.
  
• Official state flower:  wild Forget-Me -Not 
  
• Official state bird:  willow ptarmigan
  
• Official state insect:  4 spot skimmer dragonfly
  
• Official state gemstone:  jade
  
• Official state sport:  dog mushing
  

 

Our Cub Scout

Here is Cameron with our Pastor and his wife on Scout Sunday (Feb. 3).  He was so excited to get to wear his uniform to church!  Our pastor thought it was neat too!  Any Scout that went to church and wore their uniform on Scout Sunday will get a patch.  Cameron LOVES being in Scouts!  He should be able to get his Tiger Badge this month.  He already has his Bobcat badge which every Cub Scout has to earn first.   

Homeschool

We home school our boys.  Here they are in our school room.  Since Warren's parents are with us for awhile we've moved upstairs to the dining room.  Anyway, we enjoy home schooling although it can get rather crazy around here.  Especially with 2 toddlers running around too.  Clayton was so excited to start Pre-school!  He has Fridays off but usually he ends up doing some work because he is bored.  Cameron was excited to be in First Grade although I have to admit that even First Grade didn't compare to being in Cub Scouts.  (I'll do more on Cub Scouts later.)  Both boys enjoy school and are doing well.  As with any home school we have had our bumps to cross over but as their mother and teacher I am proud of them and their progress!

A Good Book

For Christmas some friends gave us a recording of Summer of the Monkeys.  It is a very good book and well worth the reading!  The setting is Arkansa in the early part of our country.  A 14 year old boy finds a monkey in the river bottoms.  And the antics he goes through to try to catch that monkey!  I guess it supposed to be a kids book but our whole family really enjoyed it!  

I read the Hank the Cowdog series to the boys.  The books are pretty funny and our boys enjoy them.  In fact, the rest of the family tends to stop what they are doing and listen too!  The only thing is that I skip a few words here and there--just some slang but words that we don't use.  

If  you enjoy a good book check these out!  

Friends

I was reading this morning from Streams in the Desert and found some interesting things about friendship. . . 

An athlete once said, "In my opinion, a friend is a balancing  pole that enables us to walk the tightrope of life without falling."

"A friend is one who comes in when the whole world goes out."

"A friend is one who knows all about you and loves you all the same."--Charles Kingsley

"The best friend of all", said a white-haired man of eighty, "is Jesus, who said, 'Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.'"

"You cannot buy a friend.  They are God-given and their friendship lasts throughout eternity."

God has blessed me so much!  One of my best friends is my husband.  There is just absolutely no one better!  (Oh, I know some of you may argue that you have the best, but I'm telling you, I have the best!)  He loves me just the way I am, spoils me, makes me laugh, provides for his family and is a great dad.  He is my best friend and love of my life!  The other best friend I have is Deb Gephardt.  I guess you could say we are life long friends.  We played together before I can even remember.  Our mothers used to tell how we played dolls out on the sidewalk in front of her house.  I don't remember that.  Debby has always been there.  I don't remember a time when Debby wasn't there.  We rarely see each other though we do stay in contact via e-mail and phone.  I am a better person because of these two friends.  God has brought other friends into my life as well.  Some old, some new and some refound.  He has blessed Warren & I with some wonderful friends here in Alaska.   Some of you I have been reconnected to through e-mail. 

To all our friends. . . Happy Valentine's Day!

 

Well, Here We Go. . .

I've thrown around the idea of starting a blog for some time and now I've gone and done it!  :-) Life at our house can get a little crazy so I don't know how long I will keep this up but I thought I would give it a shot. 

We got several inches of new snow yesterday morning.  Yeah!  It covers up the dirt!  Living near the base of the mountains the wind blows around here quite a bit in the winter which means that we get alot of glacier dirt.  The snow we had went from snowy white to dirty brown.  The new snowfall was a welcome sight! 

Warren put in my new washer and dryer last night.  Well, it's not new as in brand new but it is new to me.   A lady that works with Warren was giving them away (she got a new set).  They are only 4 years old and in great shape.   So far they work good and are nicer than my old set.  Besides the old dryer just quit working the other day.  Not good!  Guess that means I have to do laundry today!