...choose you this day whom ye will serve...but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Joshua 24:25

The whole fabric of society rests upon the home.
-Theodore Roosevelt

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Thursday 13: Thirteen things...to love about winter in Alaska

With cold weather and snow starting in mid-October, we get a lot of lower-48-ers expressing what almost sounds like pity at our weather conditions up here. Fear not my toasty friends and family, we love it, and here's a list of just some of the things that make Alaska winters, long though they may be, a wonderful thing:

1. The sunsets are fabulous...every night!

2. With all the wool socks, sweaters, mittens, and hats we wear, we have infinite excuses to use my wool-wash and test  new scent combinations!

3. Frequent fresh snow-fall is a lovely reminder of Psalm 57:1. Everything is so white and sparkly!

4. The sun is low in the sky, so it doesn't often matter that I've forgotten my sunglasses!

5. Unlike Texas, you can always put more clothing on.

6. Shoveling the driveway is great exercise.

7. Where else can you build an igloo in your backyard?

8. It may not be snowing on December 25th, but the stuff doesn't melt away till April, so we're almost guaranteed a white Christmas every year!

9. Snow, slush, ice, salt, dirt, and gravel obscure the lines on the street so all you have to do is follow the guy in front of you, and you don't have to worry about parking neatly either...you just find a spot where the truck will fit!

10. No mosquitos!

11. Every trip outside is a good reason to drink hot cocoa!

12.  The clear, cold, black, night skies are great for star-gazing and aurora hunting!

13. We can keep chocolate, crayons, and lip balm in the car and never worry about them melting!

Friday, December 9, 2011

Funny Friday: quotable quotes heard within the kingdom!

I love Alaska! I especially love how it has expanded our scientific horizons and our vocabulary.

The other day Kyra and I were shopping at Costco and a lady walked by with a very full cart.

Said Kyra: "Mama, wook! Dat wady buyed a caribou!"




... in her shopping cart?...a giant stuffed Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Wordless (almost) Wednesday: Look how our girls have grown... (the chickens, not our daughters!)

Here they are! 4 more months and we'll have fresh eggs!





Two days old: this is the day they arrived in the mail from the hatchery.







Four days old: you can already see their adult feathers growing in









3 weeks old: exploring a larger habitat and establishing their "pecking order"








6 weeks old: getting bigger and bolder everyday!