| Friday, July 11, 2008:
So, it's been a while since I've updated this blog. We have been busy. Right now it's summer vacation and we've been going to the pool a lot and are participating in the Summer Reading Program at both the Carmel Mountain branch of the San Diego City Library as well as at the Poway Branch of the County Library. They have different requirements and different prizes. The County Library system actually has a reading program for grown ups--we big people have to read three books. Amazingly, I actually finished a big people book this morning. It was fairly short (only 115 pages) but I'm still proud of myself. Mike is going to be moving to AT&T's new Rancho Bernardo yard next week, which is exciting. It's only five miles away, so he'll be able to ride his new bike there and back every day. Working there will be like getting a $350-$400 a month raise, since he's been spending a fortune on gas. Come to think of it, it'll also be like getting a free gym membership too. :-) The only other thing that bears mentioning is that our baby (who is due on August 11th) is a bit smaller than he/she is supposed to be, as of last Thursday (when I had a growth ultrasound, since my fundal height hadn't increased since my previous prenatal visit). As of that ultrasound, my amniotic fluid was low and the baby was frank breech. Since then, I've been drinking like crazy and my fluid level has increased to almost the median level. However, as of yesterday, the baby is still frank breech. We're praying that this little kiddo will flip to head presenting so I can have a natural birth, and for the baby to gain a lot of weight in the remaining weeks. Rebekah and Rachel are doing well. They're enjoying all their time together this summer. At the end of the school year, Rebekah's preschool teacher gave us twenty-seven sight words for Rebekah to learn (she already knew some of them), and we've been trying to practice them regularly. They also do a lot of drawing, painting, puzzles, playing with play-doh (oh my poor carpet!), and playing dress up and house. The pool is, by far, their favorite destination. We finally got some floaty arm bands, so they don't cling to me as much anymore. Rachel also has an inflatable duck ring that helps her stay afloat. Ah, summer. By the way, if you look down at my last entry, I mentioned how my wallet was missing. It actually turned up the day we came back from Virginia, on the floor right next to the couch. I had looked all over for it and cleaned like crazy trying to find it, and there it was, where I could swear I had looked a thousand times before. Go figure. No complaints though--I'd much rather find something in a silly place than to never find it at all. | |
| Saturday, November 10th, 2007:
Today has been a good day. Mike had to work, so it was just me and the girls. Yesterday I bought three bookcases all for $25 off of Craigslist. They're in better condition than one would expect for the price. I had to disassemble them to get them to fit into the van. I brought them in this morning before we left on today's adventures. We gave Joe a ride to Lithuanian Club and, fortunately, had a quorum. The girls made it through about half the meeting before I had to take them outside to the playground. We enjoyed the potluck, but I have to confess that we didn't bring anything. I couldn't find my wallet this morning, so I didn't have my money or debit card to go buy food to bring. Wish me luck finding it. After Lithuanian Club, we picked up a shredder (also a Craigslist find), for only $15. Fortunately, the guy took a check, since my wallet is still missing. Then we came home, with the girls napping on the way. If I had known that they were going to wake up as soon as we got home, I probably would have pulled over somewhere safe to use their nap time to write in my journal. "Shoulda, woulda, coulda..." Today I was thinking about the three things at the top of my to-do (i.e. procrastination) list: 1) Get the printer set up, print out my cover letter, manuscript and illustrations, then mail them to the first publisher on my list (there was only one decent publisher in the entire children's author/illustrator market book that accepts full manuscripts without an initial query or an agent); 2) Revise my linguistics paper on the Lithuanian Preterit and send it back to Vytas for his cousin to look at; and 3) Write and send a letter to my cousin Algirdas and his wife Ryta, who live in Lithuania. Tomorrow is an important day, since we're dedicating Rachel to the LORD at church. I think tomorrow is also the last day in the Twelve Steps to Healing Grace series we've been doing. After we get back from our visit to Virginia, we're probably going to scope out a church near our new home. That will (we hope) help facilitate our participation in church activities during the week. Still, it will be hard to leave our current church, since we've just started getting settled. Finding a church we really felt comfortable at was a real challenge in Alaska. Now, I've finally just gotten used to the fact that every church worships differently. What matters is that they have sound Christian doctrine and that they worship Jesus Christ in spirit and in truth. So, about Thanksgiving, we're going to visit Mike's mom and sister in Virginia. It's a shame that it has taken either a funeral or health problems to get us out there in recent years. Recently, Mike's mom (Peggy) was recently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, so we want to make a special effort to come visit her. It'll also be a good opportunity for Rebekah and Rachel to spend some time with their cousins, Aaliyah and Courtney. Anyway, we fly out on Friday night and will be there for a whole week. We're really looking forward to seeing all of them. | |
| Tuesday, November 6th, 2007:
Today has been nice and boring. Boring is good. No evacuations. No fires down the street. No complaints. Rebekah had preschool this morning, then we ate lunch at school, as usual. The girls got to watch "Finding Nemo" and a "Jeus for Children" video at home. They played while I did chores. We read three books and all took a nap. When Mike came home from work, we had spaghetti and zucchini. I actually had dinner ready by the time he walked in the door, which is always an accomplishment. The girls got two books tonight before bed (having lost one as a consequence for misbehavior on Rebekah's part). Now they are sleeping while we are reading A Thousand Splendid Suns. So that's a day in the life of the Williams family. We are just counting our blessings that, despite our imperfect natures, God has been so generous as to bless us beyond our comprehension. | |
| Monday, November 5th, 2007:
We've been back at home home ever since my last entry. Mike had today off from work, but we couldn't do anything really fun because Rebekah had preschool and speech therapy. In the afternoon, the girls had a checkup with their pediatrician. Rebekah's height is in the 95th percentile, while her weight is at the 75th percentile. Rachel's height is finally at the 3rd percentile, but her weight is still a little bit below the 3rd percentile. Her rate of weight gain is above the normal curve for her age, so the doctor was happy. That pretty much sums up our day. After putting the girls to bed, Mike and I read more of A Thousand Splendid Suns, but we still have a ways to go. The book is overdue, but if we return it before finishing it, we'll have to wait months until our names come up again on the queue of people requesting it. So we have to read quickly, so that we can keep the amount we spend on fines lower than the cost of buying the book outright. I found out the Sunday before yesterday that Dave and Cynthia, who go to Riverview Church with us, lost their home in the fire. I was really upset because I know how hard they have worked to keep that house. I could really put myself in their shoes. Another person I know, Kate, lost her home in Rancho Bernardo. It's hard to understand why God allows one house to stand and another to burn, but I know that--whatever His plan is--He loves all of us even when He takes things away. In speaking of fires, one of the condo buildings on our street caught on fire on Saturday evening. We stepped outside so see why there were sirens blaring and (from our front door) could see gigantic flames leaping up into the sky. It was surreal. As far as I understand, everyone got out safely. The building that caught on fire was across the street, three buildings away from us. Nothing much has been going on with us. We went to Disneyland last Wednesday, since we chose not to dress up or trick-or-treat. It was something to do other than sit around ignoring the doorbell. Our church was having a "harvest festival" on the 31st, but we chose to just ignore Halloween rather than try to sanitize it. Our reasoning behind not celebrating Halloween is that it really can't ever be completely separated from the original Celtic holiday celebrating Samhein and glorifying death. Too many people use Halloween as an excuse to misbehave and act in an ungodly manner. I still remember the guy who jumped out at me wearing a gorilla suit when I was five years old. I ran all the way back to my (then) aunt's apartment and refused to go to any more houses, even though I knew that it was just a costume. Even now, it makes me jump every time I see one of those fake arms sticking out of someone's trunk. People say that Halloween is "harmless," but if that's the best that can be said for something, it probably isn't. Anyway, I in no way judge anyone else who chooses to celebrate Halloween; after all, when I was still with my birth mom, I yearned to celebrate it, and then for the rest of my childhood I did celebrate it (once I was adopted). For me, the biggest reason not to celebrate Halloween is that even though Christianity has tried to hijack the holiday (by moving All Souls' Day and All Saints' Day to November 1st and 2nd), the dark pagan element seems irrepressible. In comparison, Christmas and Easter (despite the pagan name of he latter) are undeniably about Jesus in any Christian home. Anyway, that's the sum of my anti-Halloween rant. One more thing: I have a new sleep medication (Sonata) in case I have any more cases of waking up too early and not being able to fall back asleep. It has some odd side effects that are similar to what I experienced on a different medication, but I'll just hope that I don't have any occasion to find out if Sonata affects me strangely. I haven't had any insomnia since a month ago, so that's a plus. | |
| Wednesday, October 24, 2007:
Last night we stayed at Dawn and Val's, but today we're going to head home. It seems that the Witch Creek Fire isn't really active anymore in Rancho Santa Fe, so we're out of the danger zone. Now we have to get hold of Jinny, so we can arrange to watch her kids, so she can help a client move to Sacramento (or somewhere up north). We were supposed to pick up Maura and Emily on Monday, but were evacuated and didn't feel it was prudent to take on someone else's kids while we ourselves were homeless. Anyway, we'll be glad to be home again. | |
| Tuesday, October 23, 2007:
"If you want to see God laugh, make a plan." No sooner had I settled in at Jason and Lindsay's than Mike's parents invited us to go up and stay with them at a vacation rental in Oceanside. Since Mike had to work today, he wanted to be as close to work as possible. Anyway, after Mike went to work, his parents decided to go down to stay with Mike's Uncle Frank and Aunt Karen in Rancho San Diego. As for me and the girls, we're visiting our friends and old neighbors, Dawn and Val, in Escondido. They've said we're welcome to crash at their house, which would be nice since Mike will have to work (in Oceanside) tomorrow. | |
| Monday, October 22, 2007:
So it's been another week and we're still kicking. The condo we're renting is in the mandatory evacuation area for the Witch Creek fire, so we packed up this morning and got out of Dodge. We're going to stay at Mike's brother Jason's apartment that he shares with his girlfriend Lindsay, in Pacific Beach. My Grandma Julie volunteered to let our cats stay with her at her apartment in University Heights. Mike had today off from work, which helped with logistics. I know that, as we packed, I must have been in shock because I kept going to pack things that I had already packed. At one point I noticed that Rachel was gone and, panicking, I looked all over the condo (Mike had gone outside). Then I saw that Mike had already buckled her into her carseat. I made a point of gathering all the library books I could find, since I have so many items checked out that I would certainly owe several hundred dollars if our place burned down with all my checked out library books in it. Anyway, we are making a point of trusting the Lord through all this and remembering that He gives and He takes away. Praise be His name. On Saturday we went to Disneyland for the first time in three-and-a-half years. We all had a really fun time, especially Rebekah and Rachel. We got annual passports, so we'll go back again soon. | |
| Monday, October 15, 2007:
My brother Giovanni's girlfriend, Lindsay, passed away overnight last night. She had narcolepsy and never woke up after falling asleep at four o'clock yesterday afternoon. The thing that's really difficult is that Gio's gut feeling was that he should call an ambulance, but another friend said that this was normal. He stayed the night at her house and she was already deceased by the time he woke up in the morning. Anyway, we went to see him at my Mom's house today to comfort him. He's blaming himself a lot. He doesn't seem to find any comfort in Christ's promise of eternal life, which is unfortunate. Living life without Jesus Christ is like trying to get around town by pushing your car instead of driving it (in my humble opinion). | |
| Sunday, October 14, 2007:
Sorry for the long, long silence. Things have been busy around here and we haven't had internet access at home, but that's no excuse. So, what's going on with us? We just moved into a rental in Rancho Penasquitos to be closer to Rebekah's preschool. Free state funded preschool (a value of $500 a month) somehow didn't sink in until after we signed our rental agreement on a beautiful home in Fallbrook. We were still literally in the process of moving in when I had to rush up to Eugene, Oregon to see my Grandpa Russell before he passed away from prostate cancer. His decline was so rapid that I remember praying on the plane that he would last until I could see him at least one last time. So, Rachel and I visited Grandpa Russell in Oregon and made some wonderful memories with him. He asked me to hang up his Renoir poster of a couple dancing (I forget the title) so he could enjoy it from bed. I rubbed his feet and scratched his back and sang old songs to him. What was really hard was seeing him becoming a prisoner in his own body, unable to pass on, having to be patient. Now that he was facing his death, he asked me if I, as a Christian, was worried about him. Looking at his worried face, I remembered his life and how he devoted his life to God's work (without the incentive of believing in a God Who would reward him) and I had to tell him that, no, I wasn't worried. I comforted him that Jesus Christ remembers every kind action, every selfless act of love he ever did, and the list is enormous. Now, the Bible says that we are saved by faith, not works, but the book of James says that it is by our works that we show our faith. I truly believe that some people (often the most logical, intelligent people) have a sort of spiritual blindness that prevents them from believing in a God Who seems so contradictory, and, at times, so unfair. Grandpa Russell was one of those people--he just couldn't open his mind to the reality of the existence of a spiritual world. Yet, despite his lack of faith in God, he tried as hard as he could to do the right thing, as he understood it to be. At the end of his life, it was important to him to know that he made a difference and, boy, did he make a difference to me. He inspired me to live the teachings of Jesus Christ long before I realized that the miracles and Resurrection of Jesus Christ are more than a fairy tale. God must have such a sense of humor in that the two people I have ever personally known who have truly embodied Christian love have been my Aunt Tevina and my Grandpa Russell, neither of whom was religious in the traditional sense. So, I told my Grandpa Russell what I truly believe--that faith in the Gospel is also something that is given to people to some extent: For some people believing in God comes naturally, while others struggle with the concept (as I did for many, many years). For some people seeing is believing. I told Grandpa Russell that God remembers every single act of selfless love that he ever did and that, if the only way he can truly believe that Jesus Christ is God is by experiencing Him directly, I knew that Jesus would hold his hand and lead him home. Grandpa Russell said then that my faith was his faith. I didn't exactly know what he meant and didn't want to push it, but I believe that he was at least open-minded about the existence of he hereafter. I am not qualified to say anything about the judgment of the dead, but from the sheep and the goats parable, I can say that all of us have an opportunity to demonstrate our love for Jesus Christ every day through how we treat our neighbor. The people who are in the worst boat are the ones who doesn't believe in God, so they live only for themselves (or, worse yet, hurt others). Those who think that they are safe because of the faith they profess, but do not live it are also in great spiritual danger. Anyway, Grandpa Russell passed away shortly after I came home, after one last phone call from Marianna. We just had Grandpa Russell's celebration of life on Sunday, October 7th. Ever since then--until last night--I had trouble sleeping. I would get tired at night and would fall asleep just fine, but then would wake at 2:00am, sometimes 1:00am, even as early as 11:30pm. I would take my Temazepam or Clonazapam and drink my "Sleepytime Extra" tea with its Valerian root, usually eventually falling back to sleep, but not always. One night, when I stayed over at my mom's house because it was too late to drive home, I woke up at 2:00am and never fell asleep, despite taking two Temazapam (a couple hours apart). I didn't feel the slightest bit tired. I felt that my difficulty sleeping was related to a couple of dreams I had, the first of which came a month ago, which left me with the immediate impression that I was going to die soon. The first dream came the night after I dreamed of a terrible, destructive earthquake that disturbed me so much that I stocked up on earthquake supplies the next day--only to find out about the Indonesia earthquake at the end of the day. I occasionally have precognitive dreams, which any skeptic could pass off as a coincidence, but I have never had dreams that affected me as strongly as these dreams in which I went away with a Person Whom, on waking, I recognized as Jesus. I cried and cried at the thought of leaving my family--I love life so much. After the first dream I prayed for more time and finally started relaxing agin, but when the second dream came, I felt like it was telling me that when Jesus comes to take me home, I won't be able to resist and will go with Him then and there. Of course, these dreams didn't come with any date I can put in my planner, but they left me with an "any day now" sense that has gotten less troubling the more time passes. However, every day invariably leads us closer to Judgment Day and our reunion with Jesus Christ (whether we believe in Him or not). On Thursday, leaving the Poway library, I saw a harmless-looking man and a woman on a bench. I said hello to the man and smiled, just as I would to anyone, but then he said that he knew me. He was really certain that he knew me, but I felt certain that I had never seen him before in my life. Instead of stopping to chat and ask each other questions to see where he remembered me from, I said that we must have seen each other around and proceeded on my way--my arms laden with books and with my children in tow. Afterward, I was really curious to know where this person remembered me from. I even came back to the library, but he and the woman were gone. Anyway, what finally helped me to get a good night's sleep last night was that I remembered some unfinished business that I have occasionally thought about, but not often: Right after high school, my friend Kavita Jain was in an automobile accident and sustained a major brain injury that left her unable to walk or talk. I didn't find out this had happened until years later (since, when my mom mentioned that someone from Poway High had been badly injured in a car accident, I assumed it wasn't anyone I knew). When I did find out, I only went to visit Kavita one time. I didn't realize that she was still locked in there, unable to communicate or move--but fully conscious, the same person she always was. It was only yesterday that I remembered her as I thought of my Grandpa Russell. Anyway, I am going to track her down immediately, ask for her forgiveness and visit her regularly from now on, as I should have from day one. I have also felt something pulling me to reach out to Allison Roach, who was my friend back when I was in the House of Pacific Relations Queens Organization. Every time I see some mention of the Ashleigh Roach scholarship or this or that, it makes me think of Allison and want to reach out to her. I think that what my dreams have done is to motivate me not to wait until tomorrow to do what I should have done long ago. I wrote an essay in high school mentioning some Irish quote about how we should live as though we might die tomorrow or live a thousand years. I realize now how far short I have fallen of doing that. Well, enough about me. If Mike would write this web log, then you could hear all about the innermost workings of his heart. | |
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Monday, August 13th:
Today is Mike's day off. We need to keep up the apartment search and get Mike's truck into the shop. (He's going to get it repaired instead of getting a new vehicle.) | |
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Sunday, August 12th:
This morning we went to the early service for church. It was great, as usual. Afterward, we went to the beach (near the Oceanside Harbor) with Mike's parents. We had sub sandwiches, watermelon, and a lot of fun. Later on, Mike visited his buddy Glynn, while I went over to Marianna and Mark's. Grandma Julie came over and so did Ally and Gavin. We had a nice visit. | |
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Saturday, August 11th:
We have some planting to do this morning. We also have Lithuanian Club this afternoon. Of course, Mike is working, so we don't get to see him until tonight. We've decided to look at his working on Saturdays as a blessing in disguise. For instance, I'll be able to take the girls to the Lithuanian Saturday School come fall without taking time away from our family. Also, we are planning on becoming annual passholders to Disneyland again soon and, since he always has an off-day in the middle of the week, we can look forward to going to Disneyland during the week when the park is less crowded. Anyway, I'd better get moving before the day wastes away. | |
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Friday, August 10th:
The highlight of the last couple days has been correcting two inaccuracies on our credit report, so we can get approved for a rental. I've also been planting myoporum on the bank on the north side of the house. Rebekah has even been helping me. We finished planting the bed outside the dining room and we replanted the front flower bed with begonias, since the pansies died. Oh, yes, I also picked up my sewing machine from the shop yesterday. I haven't gotten a chance to use it yet, but I'm chomping at the bit to do some sewing. Mike worked late tonight, so we went to the Wild Animal Park in the early evening. We renewed our memberships, played in the water, saw the lions, listened to the Maasai singers and watched the laser show. When I got home with my sleeping children, Mike and I got to read Harry Potter together. | |
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Thursday, August 9th:
Last night we went to see the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey's Circus. Both Rebekah and Rachel were entranced. Mike didn't know if he would get off in time for the show, so it was just me and the girls. Rebekah liked the elephants a lot and I thought it was fun when they had all the clowns and dancers dressed like the head-clown, Bello. We had a nice time. | |
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Tuesday, August 7th:
Today was Mike's "off day" so we kept busy looking at cars and apartments. The water pump on Mike's truck broke, so we need to either get it fixed or get another vehicle. He's been leaning toward the second option. As for apartments, we found one we liked that was well-priced and only a couple blocks from the Oceanside pier. We filled out an application. Another fun thing that happened today was that I got a call from the library: Rachel won a prize in the drawing for the Summer Reading Program. I was surprised that Rachel won and not Rebekah, since Rachel only had one entry while Rebekah had ten or twelve. Later on, after I explained to Rebekah that "you win some, you lose some," we got another call: Rebekah had also won. Later on, we picked up Rachel's new book and Rebekah's long-hoped-for magnetic dress up dolls. I was thrilled that they both won. | |
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Monday, August 6th:
So, it's been five months since my last entry. Too much has happened over the past months to describe in any detail here. Most recently, we closed escrow selling our home in Anza. Now that we don't have a mortgage payment hanging over our heads, we can finally move out of Mike's parents' house and into our own place. Until we get into a rental, our kitties are being boarded. The only other thing that has been going on with us is that we were expecting a baby, but I had a miscarriage. Even though we know that our baby is with the Lord, we are still sad that we will have to wait until we go to Heaven to meet him or her. Since Rebekah thought that the baby was a boy, the name we've chosen for him is Nathaniel. Here's a photo of my Grandma Julie from our recent House of Lithuania lawn program:  | |
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Wednesday, March 7th:
So far today, we've played with the girls, done chores, gone for a walk around Fallbrook, visited the park and had lunch. Now we're heading up to Anza to feed and water the cats. After that, we're visiting the Careys for dinner. Rebekah has missed Maura and Emily a lot since we moved away. It's almost been a year since we moved away from Anza. | |
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Tuesday, March 6th:
Today Rebekah had preschool from noon to three, which means that we're stuck in Poway all that time. We went to some thrift shops, where we found some computer programs for Rebekah, among other finds. Rachel also got a new toy train. After that, we went to the library, where Mike looked at more job postings while I played with Rachel. Someone had left a shopping cart for CVS Pharmacy out in front of the library. Rachel had a grand old time being wheeled around in it. Later on, Mike and his mom took Rebekah to the park, while I made cheese lasagna for dinner. Dinner was a hit. |
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Monday, March 5th:
Personal time. What's that? Well, Mike is giving me some right now, so I'll try to give you a quick update. Mike has been here in San Diego for just over a week now. I've been here with the girls for a couple weeks longer. We're at his parents house until we decide where we're going to rent. We'd like to move back into our house in Anza (the delinquent tenants finally left), but can't find any work within a commuting distance. It looks like we'll have to settle for an apartment once we find jobs. Until we do find jobs and have the house sell, we're keeping the cats up at the house and checking on them a few times a week. Each time we go up to check on them, we do some chores to get the place more saleable. We've been out of our comfort zone for so long that it's really frustrating. However, there may be a light at the end of the tunnel: Mike got a tenative job offer on Friday. It was contingent on passing a personality test that he took today. I hope his personality is compatible with their expectations. Another bright spot is that, in addition to all the office assistant jobs I've applied for, I found a job that would allow me to actually use my degree. I sent in my resume and cover letter, so let's hope they respond. I was meant for this job. I have to remember not to beat myself up over not being able to handle the winter darkness in Alaska. There's a reason why jobs pay more up there and the population still isn't soaring--the seasonal light changes are intense and I'm a sensitive person. Anyway, sooner or later the job situation will resolve itself and I'll stop playing the shoulda-woulda-coulda game. Anyway, we're having a good day. We're going to go to the park and the library later on. |
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Saturday, January 13th:
As you can see, I fell behind (to put it mildly) at updating this blog. Too much has happened between October and now for me to sum it up in any meaningful way. If you're in our lives, you're already in the loop. If not, here's the scoop: We're doing great and making a great effort to get our priorities straight in the New Year. It is one of my resolutions to back into the habit of updating this page regularly, if not daily. I also need to kick myself in the rear end and do my MySpace profile, since everyone else in my family has put a lot of effort into their profiles. On one hand, MySpace makes me sick between its advertising and the sheer narcissism that fuels it. On the other hand, it gives people an opportunity to express themselves so that friends (or strangers) can understand them better. I figure that, with moving 3500 miles away from family, the least I can do is help them to know me better than before. Of course, in some ways our loved ones know us better than we know ourselves. At the same time, we are strangers to even our closest loved ones. Indeed, in some ways we are all strangers to even ourselves. Only God knows the innermost recesses of our hearts. I'd better go make my dear husband's breakfast, since he has to go to work soon--and on a Saturday, no less! |
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Tuesday, October 24th:
This morning we went to a playgroup for the Moms' meetup group at Kris' house in Eagle River. We had a nice time, although I wasn't overly pleased with how the preschool-aged children were allowed to watch Nickelodeon downstairs after lunch. There were all sorts of toys in the playroom, but all they did was watch television. Today was supposed to be Rebekah's last day of television restriction, but the only way to keep her from watching television would be to keep her with me upstairs away from the other kids her age. I just let her go along with the other kids, but it made me cringe to see them watching such rubbish as Sponge Bob. I had a nice time visiting with the other moms, each of which had a baby under a year old. Two of them were teachers, who complained about how "No Child Left Behind" has led schools to cater to the lowest common denominator. Since Rebekah just barely misses the age cutoff, she would be six years old for kindergarten if we send her to a public school for kindergarten. Rebekah is already doing basic sightreading and she is barely three. She will be bored out of her mind if we start her in kindergarten at age six. The funny thing was that the playgroup moms are not homeschooling advocates, but everything they said made me not want to send Rebekah to public school. We had a nice evening together. Mike took the girls to the park before dinner so I could work on illustrations. I'm missing my folder with my most recent sketches, but was still able to be moderately productive. After he came back, we warmed up Rebekah in the bath, ate and he read to her at the table. Rachel has been playing and eating. |
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Monday, October 23rd:
Today, the girls and I mostly stuck around the house. In the morning, Rebekah and I did a lot of pretending (while Rachel watched us, puzzled). We pretended to sit in front of the fire, watching shooting stars, as we did in Anza. We pretended to milk the goats, feed the chickens, and do other chores. I've been feeling homesick for our old daily routine lately, so it made both of us feel better. It was so funny watching Rachel react as we pantomimed various activities. After we played together, I did a lot of cleaning. I also rearranged furniture in the office. After that, I cycled on the exercise bike for an hour while Rachel nursed/napped and Rebekah painted. In the afternoon, we took a nap and then went to the car wash, scrubbing and vacuuming the van. We came home, met up with Mike and went for a walk. We walked to the playground by the neighborhood school, bringing hot water bottles and a thermos full of hot chocolate to warm us up. When we came home, the grass and dead leaves sparkled with ice crystals. Once we were home again, I made dinner while Mike went out to buy a firepit. We've been meaning to get one since we got up here. While Mike was gone, I gave the girls a bath to warm up and made dinner. AFter we all ate, Mike put together the fire pit and then we sat together in front of a nice, warm fire. It was just like old times. We gazed up at the stars and thought about the fact that those are the same stars we looked up at in Anza. Polaris is much higher in the sky, of course. One more thing: Mark's nine-year-old niece, Sarah, finished reading my book. She told Marianna that she "really liked it" and that it was "very epic and exciting." Uncle Steve is going to ask someone he knows for her feedback on the illustrations and (if she is interested) the manuscript too. The suspense has been turning my stomach, but it makes me feel happy to know that, regardless of what publishers say, one more reader has gotten some enjoyment from reading it. |
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Sunday, October 22nd:
We liked the Mennonite church we visited last week, but there were a couple of things we found lacking. For instance, the sermon and worship seemed to lack energy and direction. Afterward, there was a long meeting about this "service adventure" program that seems to be a major focus, but which we didn't really identify with. At the time, I thought we would be coming back, but Mike didn't really want to go back there again come this morning. Instead, we gave Rabbit Creek Community Church another try. This time, I felt more certain that it's not quite the church for us. The preacher talked about living a Christlike life, but didn't talk about what Jesus Himself instructed (except minimally). It seemed that he decided which qualities he would talk about and then found scriptural references for support. A more Scripturally led approach is better, to my mind. I really prefer sermons that are based on a given passage, as was last week's with the Mennonites. The other pet peeve I have that cropped up due to today's message the admonition to be more generous to God (i.e. the church) with the promise that we'll be blessed financially if we fill church coffers. When Jesus talked about giving, he exhorted His followers to give TO THE POOR. Mike and I feel a lot more generous when we know our money is going to those in need without too much skimming off the top. Mike talked about being so weary of searching for the right church and we talked again about the possibility of having Sunday Bible study and home worship with a few other Christians we know. One of the benefits would be that we would be able to give directly to whatever cause we've earmarked for the week. In the evening, Mike put together the exercise bike (with Rebekah's help). It's been four months since we got here and we can finally cycle once more. |
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Saturday, October 21st:
The highlight of our day today was going to McDonald's, where Rebekah played in the playland for a couple hours. I tried to work on my illustrations, but had a hard time concentrating. Rachel needed a lot of attention for a while, and by the time she was satisfied with Mike, Rebekah was ready to join me in drawing. We had a nice time, though. |
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Friday, October 20th:
I had the chills until about three-thirty this morning and then felt hot. Rachel threw up a few times in the middle of the night, but not as memorably as I did. Mike went out last night and bought me Gatorade, which I credit for helping minimize my ordeal. This afternoon, Mike wanted to go for a drive, just to get out of the house. He dragged me along, even though I would have been perfectly happy to rest on the couch with my headache. We went out to Hatcher Pass and walked around in the snow a little bit. We walked to the lodge to have cocoa, but (despite its neon "Open" sign) it was closed. Instead, we drove down to a different restaurant, had warm drinks and bemoaned the fact that they didn't have their woodstove burning. Mike and Rebekah were comfortable, but I just felt a little chilled the whole time. Once we got home, Mike's turn came to get sick. I hope Sean doesn't come down with the flu on his road trip, since that would be no fun. |
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Thursday, October 19th:
Mike's plane arrived at eleven-thirty this morning. It was like our reunion on June 3rd, all over again (only without the tears). I'm so glad he's home again, safe and sound. Well, since it was so early in the day, Mike wanted to go in to work. I took him home so he could pick up his work van, then I took the girls shopping. We went to Fred Meyer's and Costco, having lunch at the latter. Normally, I am a slacker when it comes to making anything interesting for dinner, but tonight was special since Mike had been gone. I made lamb shanks, red potatoes and mixed vegetables. Of course, as Murphy's Law would have it (since I said yesterday that I thought I already got the bug), my stomach started turning as soon as dinner was in the works. I didn't feel well enough to eat and was soon puking my guts out. It looks like that will be my lot in life for the foreseeable future. Mike will be picking up Sean, who he worked with at McKinley Princess Resort, later on. Sean is coming back from a trip to Paris and parked his car at our place while he was gone. He's going to be driving down to the Lower Forty-Eight starting tomorrow, but is going to crash here first. Mike warned him that this is flu-Central, but he isn't worried. |
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Wednesday, October 18th:
As I write this, Rebekah has fallen asleep watching "Little Women." She is still feeling poorly, but has managed to keep down some apple sauce. Rachel doesn't seem to have caught the virus. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure I already caught it and fought it off: Yesterday morning, after staying up late on Monday night, I had a sore throat but it went away. It sure is amazing how a virus can hit people so differently. Rachel is playing with big, toddler-sized (too-big-to-choke-on) Legos right now. She seems to love how noisy they are. She's so much more independent than Rebekah. When Rebekah was a baby, she needed constant interaction to be happy. In fact, she's still that way most of the time . . . Rachel, on the other hand, can actually amuse herself as long as she has a clean diaper, a full tummy, and something to play with. Rebekah's language development was faster than Rachel's has been, probably because she was so much more social by nature. It is so fascinating to watch these little people grow from being helpless to being relatively independent. I'm so glad I'm a mom! So, my current task is to shrink the files I scanned yesterday before sending them to Uncle Steve, assuming he likes them enough to forward them to his friend at Harcourt. Their current total size is over 44 MB, which is too big to be emailable. That's not counting the map of Nera Toli that I scanned eons ago. I hope the pictures look halfway decent once they are shrunk. When I look at them, half of me feels proud and satisfied. The other half wants to throw them all away and start over, or at least do one more version. The latter half is usually the dominant one. I am dangerously perfectionistic, in case you haven't noticed. Anyway, I'm pretty terrified about the (inevitable) prospect of rejection, so I think perfectionism is a way of asserting control over an uncontrollable situation. I hope things will get easier someday, after I get my foot in the door. |
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Tuesday, October 17th:
Today is Mike's Mom in Virginia's birthday. He called her from Dillingham. The highlight of my day today was scanning my illustrations. I had to go to Kinko's since there's something wrong with our scanner. Different parts of each image don't line up correctly. After having spent hours yesterday trying to get the scanner to work properly, it was such a relief to have things work right the first time. Our other adventure today was going to the library to return a few books. Rebekah is not feeling well, so I was going to drop the books in the slot outside, but it was blocked off. Going inside was especially inconvenient since Rebekah, who has a bug, threw up in the car. I had to change her outfit before we could go inside. So I lugged the crate of books inside, with Rachel in the sling and Rebekah walking next to me. We counted forty-four books as we dropped them in the slot. We didn't want to stick around for long, since Rebekah felt terrible and looked even worse (her face was red from wiping her nose on her sleeve). We did pick up cocoa and a sandwich in the cafe next door, though. We were the only customers, so I wasn't too worried about Rebekah infecting anyone else. After coming home, Rebekah promptly threw up her hot cocoa and sandwich. One thing I was going to do this evening, but didn't, was to stop by the RCIA class before it started and tell Father Gary that I wouldn't be coming anymore. I checked out the apologist he recommended but actually found myself more certain than ever that it's time to part ways with the Catholic church. I'll miss the people in the class, though, since I find Catholics to be especially personable and humble. Anyway, it would have been impossible to have any sort of discussion with both the girls in tow, especially with Rebekah throwing up all over the place. I guess I'll have to tell them by email or in person next week. |
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Monday, October 16th:
Mike left this morning for Dillingham, which is about three hundred miles due west. We loaded up the girls and drove him to the airport at seven o'clock. It brought up a lot of memories for both of us of when we were separated between March and June. Later: I've been trying to scan my illustrations this evening, but the quality of the scans has been disappointing. Something must have happened to the scanner during the move, despite being well packed. We should have sold it and bought a new one here. |
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Sunday, October 15th:
We visited a new church today. It's called Prince of Peace Mennonite Church (but they're not Old Order Mennonites, so they wear modern clothes and drive cars, etc.). The people were very welcoming and kind. Mike and I both liked the vibe we got from everyone. They were all very down-to-earth and humble. We're not going to go to the Catholic church anymore. There are too many theological points that we disagree with Catholic doctrine on. I'll have to let the teachers know in the RCIA program and with the Sunday School, so they don't wonder why we suddenly disappeared. After church, we dropped Mike off at home, so he could pack for his trip tomorrow. Then I took the girls to McDonald's for the birthday party for a little girl we met recently, whose name is Carmen. Rebekah kept wanting to play with the present we brough her, but was eventually pursuaded to got play in the playland. We had a fun time. When we came home, Mike had gone to the store. Rebekah was really tired but, at the same time, had too much energy. She wanted to watch a movie, which seemed like a bad idea because it might hype her up. Instead, we cuddled and read together. Rachel was squirmy-wormy, so it took some doing before she would calm down. After a few books we all fell asleep, but I woke up when Mike came home. Of course, then Rachel woke up again . . . Why can't both my children sleep at the same time? :-P |
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Saturday, October 14th: Mike took the girls this afternoon for a few hours. They went to McDonald's and Rebekah played hard. Rachel also got to do some serious playing. It was a good chance for him to get to spend some time with them, since he's going to be gone for most of next week. Meanwhile, I stayed home and worked on my final sample illustration. I worked and worked until my wrist was sore and then I worked some more. When Mike came home from watching the girls, he just dropped Rachel off (so I could nurse her) and kept driving with Rebekah. Once I had Rachel, I couldn't really draw, because she tries to grab my pen even while she's nursing. She is very curious. |
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Friday, October 13th: This morning we went to the library again. Rebekah used the computer there for a while and we read quite a few books together. Of course, Rachel slept for most of the time. When Mike came home, we had dinner and watched a movie together. We didn't want something that would make Rebekah bounce off the walls, so we watched "Little Man Tate." Rebekah paid attention the whole time and cuddled nicely. I've seen that movie too many times and ended up falling asleep, only waking up when the credits rolled. |
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Thursday, October 12th: This morning, I was so determined to make some progress on my illustrations that I worked on one while Rebekah was around. After I got up for a moment, she brought my drawing to me, telling me about the "mean guy." Fortunately, she didn't destroy it, but she did smudge the ink slightly. I just about had a heart attack, but managed not to freak out. I took it away and repeated that she is not allowed to touch my drawings. Anyway, it served me right for trying to draw during the day. I know better. We went to the library this morning, but not in time for story time. Instead, Rebekah used the computer while I nursed Rachel and did some writing while supervising her. After that, we read several picture books by Bernard Most, while Rebekah and another girl did puzzles. The other little girl clearly had Asperger's Syndrome, but was really sweet. After leaving the library we went to Costco to get some digital photos uploaded and printed. We played the pianos, did some shopping while waiting. By the time we left Costco, Mike was off work so we picked him up at home. After picking up Mike, we went to the airport post office to mail Aaliyah's birthday present, a package for Alex's baby, and a couple of letters. Since Mike was there, I was able to just run inside, leaving the girls in the car. I realized that I didn't have the new address for one person's letter. After that, we went to watch planes land. We were going to go for a walk, but Rachel pulled a bottle of water onto me, drenching one leg of my pants. Going for a walk outside in the chilly evening air no longer sounded that appealing . . . While watching the planes I remembered that we still needed to send Erica a check for her car. We finally got a hold of her, agreed on the amount to give the Madsens and sent the check (and photos) out right before the last mail pickup. Even though we fed her right before leaving the airport, Rachel cried all the way home. Since we had just fed her, we thought she was just throwing a fit because she wanted to fall asleep nursing. We didn't want to give in, so we kept driving, hoping she'd fall asleep any minute. By that time it had been forty minutes of screaming. We drove toward Girdwood and eventually Rebekah fell asleep (she hadn't napped). We filled up our water bottles at the spring, gave in and fed Rachel and headed home. Rachel cried the whole way home, but this time we knew that she just wanted to nurse for comfort, so we kept driving. Of course, Rachel was happy once we took her out of the carseat, but we were pretty tired. Mike played with her for a little while so I could get some illustrating done. I spent an hour-and-a-half doing the chain mail for half of one soldier. (I had tried other, less labor-intensive techniques for drawing chain mail, but didn't like the results.) We're doing fine (so don't worry about us), but boy has it been a long week. I'm so ready to put Rebekah in preschool (maybe mornings, two or three times per week) so she can get some of her energy out while I get things done around the house. Maybe what's annoying me the most is that I have a bunch of chores that need doing. I don't like falling behind. |
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Wednesday, October 11th: Today I took Rebekah swimming at H2Oasis. I strapped Rachel into the sling and stayed by Rebekah's side the entire time, so that we were following the rules. I didn't want to get the baby wet, since she was sleeping, so I didn't go on the slides or anything. I don't really like pools, so I spent a fair amount of time watching the clock and wishing the time would pass more quickly. Afterwards, it still took an hour of driving to get Rebekah to fall asleep. I limited her nap to less than an hour, so it would be easier to get her to fall asleep at night. Tonight was my night "off," so Mike read to Rebekah. While I tried to get Rachel to go to sleep (to no avail). Eventually, he needed a break. By that time, my sling was dry (I had washed it), so I put Rachel in it and took over with putting Rebekah to bed. She got two more books before she pulled Rachel's hair and I turned out the lights. I just held her and told her a couple stories. I think the biggest difficulty in putting Rebekah and Rachel to sleep is that their my children and have my genes. They just go, go, go. It takes such a long time to get Rebekah calm enough to fall asleep. If we jsut read one story and left her there, she just wouldn't sleep EVER. Anyway, after finally getting Rebekah to bed, Rachel woke up again. By the time I got Rachel asleep, we were POOPED. |
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Tuesday, October 10th: Today we got the oil changed at the Honda dealership. We hung out in the waiting room for somewhere between two and three hours. The good news is that they didn't charge us for the diagnostic on the "check engine" light, which came on a few days ago. They couldn't find a problem, so they didn't charge us the $90 they said it would cost. After that, we stopped by the Alaska Fur Exchange and got a couple of squirrel hides for me to sew into miniature teddy bears. (If you had asked me a year ago if I saw myself buying squirrel hides, I would have laughed!) Then we went by the library and returned a few dozen books. Tonight was the RCIA class. Afterward, I talked with Father Gary about some concerns I've been having. For instance, I don't feel comfortable praying to Mary, but prefer to pray directly to God. He directed me to Scott Hahn's web site, so I will have to check it out. I was a little annoyed at some of the things he said, but I figured that a debate would be pointless. Either I accept the authority of the Roman Catholic Church or I don't. The problem is that we have been getting comfortable and don't really want to change churches. |
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Monday, October 9th: Today we drove by the Honda dealer and set up an appointment for tomorrow (since they were too busy for any walk-in oil changes). After that, we played at the Barnes & Noble for a little while. When we were done, I got Rebekah a hot cocoa and we shared a stuffed pretzel in the cafe. Tragically, Rebekah knocked over her cocoa, but they offered to make her another one. I would have felt less self-conscious if they had just given me rags or the mop to clean up the spill, but an employee insisted on doing the mopping instead. Next, we went to Fred Meyer for laundry detergent and left with much more. We got some winter clothing for the girls that was on sale. I keep seeing people with carseat baby covers, so I got something like that. The one I bought wraps around the baby instead of the carseat, so it should work better with the stroller. We shall see. After Mike came home we had leftovers and then went for a walk together. It wasn't too cold, but boy was it windy! I had to wear my hood to keep my ears from feeling nippy. We're having Santa Ana winds coming over the Chugach Mountains right now. The wind speeds are up to one hundred miles per hour in some places. We've got Gale force wincs, but no gale. Oh yes, and after putting Rebekah to bed, we read a little more from Sophie's World. |
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Sunday, October 8th: We went to church today and then Mike dropped me off at home for some illustration time. I haven't been able to find my dip pens and my new ink bottle since our trip down to Seward with Modeste, so I ended up painting instead. By the time Mike came home and brought Rachel inside (who promptly woke up hungry), my wrists were shot for the day. We ended up going out, picking up Taco Bell and going to the airport to watch planes land. We walked around for a bit and it was very invigorating. Pretty soon it's going to be all white around here. Mike was looking through my books this evening, looking for another book for us to read together. Unfortunately, I got rid of a lot of my fiction books when we moved, since I tend to read them once or twice. Fortunately, I kept Sophie's World, which I read quite a while ago. Mike picked that out and we made it through the first chapter or two. |
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Saturday, October 7th: Today we went to pick berries down below Rendez Vous Peak. It was pretty cold and really windy, so we didn't stay long. Rebekah was in danger of being blown away like Piglet (or at least blown over). We got about a pint of blueberries before leaving. They were easy to see since the blueberry bushes' leaves are all frosted away. There was snow pretty far down the mountain. Winter is coming! When we got home, Rebekah had a hot bath and stayed in so long that it got cold. When she came out I had to warm her up because her lips were turning blue. When we were out in Arctic Valley earlier, she feld colder but never had blue lips. Anyway, she is none the worse for wear. I made a quick trip to the post office today (bringing Rachel, but leaving Rebekah with Mike) to mail Modeste's sunglasses. After I left, I realized that I had a few other things I could have mailed at the same time (including a few tie-dyed onesies for Baby Gavin). Oh, well . . . |
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Friday, October 6th: Today we went to the preschool storytime at the library in the Dimond Center mall. We ended up checking out a lot of books, which had to be hauled to the van. Then I discovered that Rebekah was not wearing her sweater, so (after dropping the books off in the van) we had to go back and retrieve it. It was still in the storytime room. We also got a car wash today, even though it's supposed to rain again soon. Our car just gets so coated in road dirt that it drives me crazy. There are a lot of dirty cars around town, but what really surprises me is how many clean cars I see. We also dropped off the title to Erica's car. Now we just have to mail Erica a check and we'll be done with it. |
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Thursday, October 5th: Today we stopped by the DMV and finished the title change for Erica's car. Now it is officially Erica's, so it can be transferred from Erica to the buyers. Next I have to drop off the title with the buyers, who already have the car (and have paid for it). Mike said to wait until tomorrow to bring the title by Sarah's work, since she's not even there tonight (so I'd be leaving an envelope with the receptionist). |
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Wednesday, October 4th: This morning Rebekah had her annual check up and got some shots. She was a real trooper. Afterward, we went to the Imaginarium, where we met up with Jenn and another friend of hers. While we were there, I got to practice both my French and my Spanish a bit. We had a really fun time and will have to go again soon. Rebekah played for eons. Today I called the Riverside County Property Tax phone line about a mistaken late charge but didn't get through on over a dozen tries. (The system doesn't put callers in a queue, but tells them to call again later and hangs up.) Mike tried calling and got through on the third thry. He got them to remove the late charge. Fortunately, their own system recorded the correct payment date, but they took so long to process our payment that (prior to them enterng it into the system) the computer program automatically added a late charge. Anyway, all's well that ends well. |
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Tuesday, October 3rd: I had RCIA tonight, as well as some concerns about Catholicism. As we went through the list of Holy Days, someone in class asked a question about the connection between All Saints' Day and Halloween. Our teacher then said that the pagan holiday originates from a perversion of the Christian holiday and that the Catholic church did not choose the date for All Saints' and All Souls' Days to coincide with pagan holidays. I mentioned that the Celtic holiday is essentially the same as the Lithuanian holiday "Velines," which undisputably predates Lithuania's conversion. I am concerned that, since the priest has been misinformed about this, what else has he been misinformed about. I also found out that the "Oh My Jesus" part of the Rosary prayer comes from the Marian apparitions at Fatima. I have read extensively about the Fatima appearances and they give me the creeps. I am more inclined to liken them to the "lying signs and wonders" Jesus promised would come. I don't really know why we go to a Catholic church when there are several very important aspects of Chrisitanity that I disagree with the Church on, but I have a feeling as if this is where we're supposed to be right now. However, I like Catholics themselves. |
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Monday, October 2nd: Today was our last day with Modeste. We met Mike for lunch at the food court in the Fifth Avenue Mall. After that, we drove down to the Dimond Center mall, where Modeste bought a purse she had seen earlier. Since she had seen it, it went on sale, which worked out nicely. Modeste's flight left late at night. At first, Mike took her to the airport, but then she called to ask him to bring her bag containing her new purse. We still didn't have Rebekah asleep at that point, so we packed up the girls and all drove to the airport together. It's a five-minute drive, or thereabouts. Rebekah and I got to say goodbye again, which was nice. Shortly after we left, we noticed that she had forgotten her sunglasses in the van. Instead of calling her and meeting her again, we resolved to just mail them. It's hard to believe that Modeste's visit came and went so soon. |
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Sunday, October 1st: This morning was the correct first day for preschoolers at the children's Sunday School. Modeste had read in the bulletin that at least one parent is supposed to stay with each kid, so I stayed. After church, we went out for lunch at the Hog Brothers Cafe, which was fun. Next, we dropped Mike off at Chaz's house to help him move some boxes. Mod had seen the Yarn Expo in the newspaper, so we went there. I had a headache and figured I wouldn't get anything done anyway if we went home. At the expo, I bought wool yarn for some socks for Rebekah (to be knit with a larger sized needle). I talked with various knitters and fiber artisans, which was nice. It was really sweet of Mod to play with the girls while I walked around, talked with people and looked at their wares. |
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Saturday, September 30th: Today, after having lunch at Costco (and getting photos developed) we made an impromptu trip to Seward. I had been hoping we would go to a kid-friendly fair in Palmer, but Mike really wanted his mom to see Seward. When we passed the berry-pickers on the side of the road, I again begged to pull over. When we got to Seward, pretty much everything was closed, but we had fun walking around by the docks. Come to think of it, we probably saved a lot of money by never stepping foot inside any of the tourist trap stores. We ate at a Greek place that Mike had visited before. It was everything he said it would be. The lamb was sooo tender. On our way home we saw the Aurora Borealis for the first time. It wasn't that impressive, since it was really far away and low in the sky, but we will always remember the first time we saw the Northern Lights. They really do dance across the sky. I can't wait until we can see them overhead someday (presumably when we're closer to the magnetic north pole on a trip, or something). |
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Friday, September 29th: This afternoon, we got Erica's old car smogged, so we can complete the transfer to the buyers. Modeste waited in the van with the girls, while I drove around in circles looking for the smog test place. Finally, I happened to pass the unmissable "EMISSIONS TEST CENTER" (in big black letters on a yellow background) on 36th Avenue. Mike met me there right after work and we read our book together in the waiting room for about two seconds, before the lady at the desk called my name and said the car was ready. Mike went home and I met up with Modeste. After that, we went out to dinner with Glen and his girlfriend Theresa. Rebekah did really well and we all had a good time. |
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Wednesday, September 27th and Thursday, September 28th: We've been enjoying Modeste's company. Rebekah is really happy to have her around and so am I. We've been bumming around the house a lot. It seems that just being together is enough, without having to go out for entertainment. I've also been taking advantage of the time Modeste spends playing with Rebekah to work on my drawings. Whenever I have a few minutes to spare (but not enough to be otherise productive), I've been reading my Great-Grandpa Harry's autobiography since it arrived in the mail a couple days ago. His writing style reminds me more of Grandpa Russell than I expected. It has been exciting learning the real story, since stories change over time. |
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Tuesday, September 26th: This morning I took Rebekah to the "Pancakes and Play" playgroup, while Mod had some personal time. We had a nice time. Afterward, we picked up subs to take home at Quizno's, bringing one for Mod too. On the way home, I finished listening to Jane Yolen's Armageddon Summer. It was good, although I was unconvinced by the cult leader having an epiphany before going up in flames. It made for a memorable image, though. |
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Monday, September 25th: Rachel had a doctor's visit this morning. She was in the 20th percentile for length, the 70th percentile for head circumference, and below the 5th percentile for weight. We were aware that Rachel was petite, but we didn't realize she was that petite! Her doctor, however, wasn't concerned about her size. She may not be, but I am. My new mission in life is going to be to fatten Rachel up. She eats solid food and nurses well, but maybe she'll gain more weight if we work on giving her fattier foods. |
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Sunday, September 24th: Today Mod came to church with us. Afterwards, we ate at LeRoy's family restaurant. It was filling. We spent some time together as a family. We went walking over near the airport. It was really beautiful. After that, we drove out to Palmer, which is one of the areas where we'd consider buying a home someday (when we eventually find a buyer for our home in Anza). 
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Thursday, September 21st through Saturday, September 23rd: We spent Thursday and Friday doing our normal play dates and park visits, as well as getting ready for Modest's arrival. She will be coming in pretty late, which gave us all afternoon to procure a bed for her. |
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Wednesday, September 20th: Today has been relatively low key. I have bread in the oven at the moment. Since I bake from scratch, it takes three risings until the bread is even ready to put in the oven, which means that we can't leave the house until it's done. Since we're around the house, I've been doing laundry and other chores. Rebekah is about to crawl out of her skin and needs to get to a park soon. Today has been drizzly which means that there probably won't be many (if any) kids at the park. The transfer still isn't complete on Erica's car, but the buyers came, paid for it, and picked it up a little while ago anyway. We'll complete the paperwork today or tomorrow when Erica calls. We didn't want to let these buyers get away since, even though Erica is asking a competitive price, the car is a jalopy. One more thing: Today is the last day of Rachel's antibiotic treatment for her ear infection. A big, reddish clump of earwax came out of her ear this morning. Yu |
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Tuesday, September 19th: Today we went to a playgroup for the Moms Meetup group. It was supposed to be a "Coffee and Crafts" theme, but I forgot to bring my current knitting project (wool socks for Mike). A couple other moms brought knitting needles and yarn, but didn't know how to knit, so I showed them, reassuring them that it does get easier after enough practice. For the most part, all of us moms just watched our kids. Rebekah got her finger slammed in the door, but--thank goodness!--it didn't get broken. Rebekah had lots of fun and so did I. Afterwards, I picked up the memory stick Erica left at Kinko's. The first two people who helped me couldn't find the envelope, but the third person saved the day. After that, we met up with Mike at the DMV. He was unable to complete the transfer for Erica's car since we don't know her driver's license number. We have a buyer for her car, but can't complete the transfer until the registration is officially transferred to Erica from the previous owner. Next, Mike and I went to the library to pick up a couple of items I had reserved. Since the girls were asleep, it was a perfect time to read to each other from State of Fear, but our copy was at home. Undeterred, we checked it out, found our spot and read until it was time for me to go to my RCIA class. We drove home, where he stayed with Rebekah, and I went off to my class. It went really well. We're still talking about the Ten Commandments and talked about how our obligation not to steal extends to caring for others' needs and how not bearing false witness extends to living our lives without any kind of deceit. When I got home, Mike was ready for bed, but Rebekah was not. He had already read her eight books and was himself falling asleep. So I read several more books to her, before giving up and putting her to bed. |
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Monday, September 18th: Today we cleaned Rebekah's room twice before heading out into the sunshine. We picked raspberries in the alley near our house before going to a school playground for a while. We then picked raspberries at some other bushes before walking to Fred Meyer's, where we ate in the deli. Mike had called to say that he would be working late, so we took the easy way out for dinner. After that, we went to JoAnn's Craft Store, which was right next door. I got a kit to make a quilt for Rebekah, but am a little intimidated by the whole process. I don't want to spend a fortune on supplies, but have a feeling that I will regret not investing in some items (like a rotary cutter). I also got some light pink wool yarn to make socks for Rebekah--that is, as soon as I finish Mike's socks! Mike stopped at two grocery stores on his way home and arrived shortly after us. Our landlord, Butch, brought over some prospective buyers for Erica's car that she bought right before leaving. We have to get its registration updated at the DMV before signing it over to te people who came to look at it. Off to the DMV I go tomorrow. Mike and I got to read a little more this evening, while Rebekah made Play-Doh dessert for us. She put a lot of effort into it, so we put a lot into "eating" what she served. Mike put her to bed and she didn't fuss very much. Oh, one more thing: I put all Rebekah's videos away this morning, since she's on movie restriction for the week. I had been expecting that she would throw a fit when she noticed that they were missing, but she didn't. She asked where they went and I reminded her, to which she said something like, "Oh." Pretty anticlimactic. |
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Sunday, September 17th: This morning Rebekah had a difficult time (including hitting, biting, spitting). We had to restrain her until she calmed down. It was a good thing that we were calm and unruffleable, since her goal seemed to be to get a reaction out of us. Anyway, she's on movie restriction for a week now. One of the things I've been thinking about lately is the difference between violence and power. In dealing with Rebekah, we have to be stronger than her, but with love. It really helps that we are physically bigger than her. When we fostered Jessica (and before that, when I mentored her), I never realized how disempowered I felt. It was only afterwards, when I started to get power back in my life, that I realized it had been missing. Unfortunately, I wasn't confident enough in dealing with Rebekah those first two years, but she seems to have adjusted to the "I'm the boss around here" memo for the most part. It's funny, because we knew that we weren't assertive enough early on, but had to viscerally realize that we do have all the power (she just has choices), before we could be confident enough to do our jobs right. Anyway, Rebekah eventually made good choices and did well from then on.  Here's a flower we saw by the main lodge. After checking out, we drove to the town of Talkeetna. We visited the gallery of an artist who used to teach Oceanography at Palomar College. It's a small world . . . I liked his art and will have to come back again. Then we ate at a little place called "Dancing Bears," which was empty when we got there and full when we left. We were talking to the guy who worked there ("waitor" seems too formal). He told us a classic Alaska story: "Sometimes the animals come to you," he said. He was fishing for king salmon and had just gotten a bite when a black bear charged at him from out of the woods. Fortunately, he shot it before it could do more than scratch him. The amazing part was that he didn't lose the fish, so it was a two-for-the-price-of-one trip. He threw a party for the whole town and served bear chili. He showed us the long scars on his leg from the scratch and lifted up the jacked covering his holstered handgun, which hung near the grill. (In Alaska you don't even need a permit to carry a concealed--and loaded--weapon. He said he doesn't go anywhere without it. Apparently, there's been a real problem with bears coming into town lately; in the early spring and late fall they are especially hungry and dangerous. Have I mentioned that we live in Alaska? On the way home, Rebekah finally took a nap (she didn't take one yesterday). We stopped by a lake before coming back into town, where Mike took some photos and we read our book together. We just started reading State of Fear by Michael Crichton on Friday. You may have heard the saying that "only trouble is interesting" in relation to storytelling. I was thinking about how this is the result of mankind's alienation from God. Because we are fallen, we are uncomfortable with Him, but more comfortable with exciting things, which are only exciting because they involve conflict and a lack of Love. Anyway, we got back into Anchorage in time for the 5:30 p.m. Mass, which actually touched on some of those thoughts.  Here's a flower we saw by the cathedral. After Mass, we picked up a free chair (which we'll use in Rebekah's room for storytime), got dinner and headed to Lake Hood to watch floatplanes land. Before we left, we saw a big bull moose across the street. He had a full rack of antlers and was very impressive. It's hunting season right now, so there are more moose in town avoiding hunters. At that, we went home and broke in our new chair with at least a half-dozen books. What a day!  |
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Saturday, September 16th: It was late by the time we got to Mount McKinley Princess Lodge last night. Rebekah watched a couple of movies in the van, which seemed like a good idea at the time. However, I'm coming to view time in front of the tube as being equivalent to heroin for young brains. This morning she didn't want to leave the room at all and just wanted to watch movies. We paid her no mind, but she still seemed a bit off balance today: Too much energy and too little direction. I've made this observation about television time and time again, but I always doubt myself. Besides, I don't want to be too severe.  Here's Sean, who Mike works with when he services the resort's phone systems. So after breakfast, we went on a hike with the girls, spent some time at the playground, and went on a carriage ride. The carriage ride included a view of the clouds in front of Denali, panning for gold, petting reindeer, roasting marshmellows and making smores in front of an open campfire, calling a non-existent baby moose like and idiot, and getting our pictures taken while wearing antlers. The guide, who was from Alberta, Canada, was of the opinion that the only way to successfully deal with aggressive bears is to shoot them with a big gun. The driver of the horses concurred, recommending a 375. Apparently, there's a black bear that has been hanging around the resort lately (which we only found out about after going hiking). The problem with black bears is that they are a lot more unpredictable than brown bears, plus, they eat carrion so you can't play dead with them. I've been meaning to buy bear spray (like pepper spray, only for bears), but didn't really want to shell out $44. Of course, even by a conservative estimate, our lives are worth a bit more than $44. In the evening, we drove to Trapper Creek for dinner at the pizza place there. It was run by a couple of Germans and seemed to be frequented by the local German population as well. Rebekah was difficult before we got there, but did okay in the restaurant. She did have to be carried out by Daddy at the end, while I paid the check. 
 When we were going on our morning hike, we found a spot where people had stacked rocks on top of each other. Mike and Rebekah stacked some rocks too.  Here's a photo from our wagon ride activity. |
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Friday, September 15th: Mike is getting off work early today so we can finally go on our McKinley Princess Lodge getaway weekend. There's a lot to do there, so I'm sure we'll have a great time. Erica and her friends left by late morning. Erica needed to make some copies, so she borrowed our thumb drive. They were running so behind schedule that I suggested that she leave the thumb drive in an envelope at the front desk and then call me to tell me which Kinko's to pick it up at. The only problem is that she never called and I got her voice mail when I called her . . . I finally made preserves today with the berries I picked last week up by Blueberry Loop trail. It wasn't that hard. Maybe I was worried because of having to sterilize the jars and lids. Also, I didn't know exactly how much sugar to add, since the berries are more tart than other types. Not having a plan always makes me nervous, but I survived anyway. We also went to McDonald's to meet Michelle and her girls for a quick play date and, a little later, Jenn and her daughter (who we went berry picking with on the 6th). It was nice getting to chat with the other moms and Rebekah did well until the very end. 
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Thursday, September 14th: Today was rainy, but we didn't let that stop us from getting out. With the girls packed up in the stroller and covered with blankets, we set off on a walk. Not surprisingly, there weren't any kids at either of the two playgrounds we visited, but Rebekah played a little anyway at the second playground. I spent much of the time on the phone. Shortly after we got back from our walk, Erica's friends showed up. She'll be driving the Alaska Highway with them, at least as far as Washington. Rebekah played her recorder for them and tried to get them to ride her new horse while she rode the train. |
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Wednesday, September 13th: This morning, we went to Jewel Lake park and met up with Sharon, who we met in Girdwood quite a while ago. Rebekah played on the playground while we chatted. Afterward, I drove to the Muldoon McDonald's to meet Mike for lunch, since there was supposed to be a playgroup meeting there at one o'clock. Rebekah fell asleep on the way there--she was pooped from playing at the park this morning! Only one other mom showed up and she kept saying what a terrible play date it was and how we should both leave negative feedback. The way I see things, it's all what we make of it: Who needs a big crowd anyway? I stayed a while longer with the girls even after she left so Rebekah could play with the other kids at the playland. 
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Tuesday, September 12th: Today we hosted a very small playgroup at our house. The other mom, Barbara, has two daughters, Adrianna (2 1/2 years) and Jade (7 months). We spread out a blanket with some blocks and other toys for the little ones. Meanwhile, Rebekah and Adrianna played on the swingset quite a bit. The weather left nothing to be desired. It was just a perfect day. 
In the evening Mike watched the girls while I went to Holy Family Cathedral for the first RCIA class/meeting. We went over to the cathedral and learned how to pray the rosary. I have actually been in two previous RCIA classes, none of which taught us how to pray. The father was saying that the purpose of the Hail Mary prayer is to "carry us to Jesus," which I interpret as helping us get into a mental state where we can actually connect with Him. |
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Monday, September 11th: Today Rachel had a checkup. Her head circumference is in the 70th percentile. Her length is in the 20th percentile and her weight is below the 5th percentile. The pediatrician didn't seem concerned, since she's on target developmentally. I, on the other hand, don't like having a skinny baby and am going to do my best to fatten Rachel up substantially by her next checkup. |
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Sunday, September 10th: After church today we drove south. At first we were going to go to Kenai or Whittier, but made it no further than the Girdwood Community Park. On our way there, we stopped off and took photos of the trees at a campground. 
Once we arrived at the Girdwood Community Park, we let Rebekah play and I did some sketching for my illustrations. 
On the way back, we got water at a natural spring. It was near mile marker 109 from Seward. 
The sunset was incredibly beautiful. Our photographs can't possibly capture how beautiful the clouds were. I'd like to have clouds like that in one of my paintings. 
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Saturday, September 9th: Today there was a Moms Meetup picnic, but we decided to stay home and spend time with each other. We made bacon and eggs and, later on, did chores. It was a nice day. |
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Friday, September 8th: This afternoon we went to a little park by Lake Hood to give Rebekah a chance to stretch her legs. The only thing there was a swingset, but Rebekah spent most of the time playing with the gravel. She likes sand, gravel and water--anything she can pour. I relaxed on the blanket with Rachel, knitting a little bit. We were right in front of the lake and watched dozens of float planes land right in front of us. I believe I already mentioned it, but it bears repeating that Lake Hood is the busiest float plane airport in the world. 
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Thursday, September 7th: Today we went with Erica to Rendez-Vous Point to pick berries. We kept going further and further up the trail in search of a spot that hadn't been picked over, with Erica always suggesting that we keep going. Eventually, the berries got more and more sparse and I realized we were actually going to climb the mountain rather than pick berries. Why not? I thought. It's not that much further . . . Talk about famous last words! Erica carried Rebekah much of the way, while I carried Rachel in the sling. At some points, I carried both of them, like a crazy fool. When we got to the top, the view was amazing. We warmed up for a little while in a circular rock shelter that protected us from the wind. The trip down only took a half-hour, but it was steep going. Rebekah's hands were red from the cold (but not dangerously so) and I was concerned that she might get sick from her immune system being depressed by the cold. At the time, I was really pissed about being tricked into climbing the mountain, but I think I was really more angry at myself for not speaking my mind. In retrospect, I'm glad we climbed the mountain, but if I had it to do over again, I would speak up. My greatest responsibility is taking care of these two girls. It is selfish to drag them up a mountain unprepared. 
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Wednesday, September 6th: Today I met up with a mom named Jenn and her daughter. We went on the Blueberry Loop trail by Flat Top Mountain to pick berries. I think I brought home a gallon or so. While we were there, Rebekah had a great time playing. I have to remember to get her outside as much as possible, so she can get her energy out. We also saw a mother moose and her calf, as you can see below. 
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Tuesday, September 5th: The highlight of our day today was going to the McDonald's Playland so Rebekah could stretch her legs. It was raining outside, so this gave us an opportunity to get some exercise, without getting drenched. I met another mom, named Michelle, who has two daughters. We exchanged contact information and will have to meet up and let our kids play in the future. |
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Monday, September 4th: Happy Birthday to Rebekah! Three years ago, Rebekah made quite an entrance into this world, as the surgeon pulled her from my belly. Aside from the terrible pain in the beginning, what a joy these past three years have been! Rebekah wanted to look through her baby box the other day and I came across the "Dear Baby" letters I had written to her before she was born. In one of them I had written (with apparent certainty) that I was going to have an easy delivery. "If you want to make God laugh, make a plan . . ." In another letter to Rebekah I had written about how I hoped she grew up to like books. After knowing her for three years now, I think it's safe to say that she likes reading. In hindsight, how could she not? After all, the written word is my passion, and passions are contagious. |
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Sunday, September 3rd: Today we went to mass again at Holy Family Cathedral. I've been meaning to mention some symbolism I think Jesus was hinting at when He referred to eating His body and blood in the Eucharist. He also referred to Himself as the "Passover lamb," which is a reference to the lamb that every Jewish household sacrificed to escape the judgment that God poured out on the Egyptions. So eating Jesus' body can refer to accepting Him as our substitutionary offering, taking Him in, living on Him, feeding on His word. The blood part of the symbolism is a little more subtle, though. Drinking blood sounds as repulsive to us now as it would have to Jesus' disciples, especially since Jews were specifically forbidden to drink blood. Why? Because the blood represents the spirit, which belongs to God. So the idea of drinking Jesus' blood is the same as taking in His spirit, or receiving the Holy Spirit, so to speak. In the case of the first Passover, the blood of the lamb was used to mark the doorposts of the Israelites' homes, so that the spirit of death would pass over them. However, when we accept Jesus as a sympathetic blood offering, paying our debt to God, and receive His Spirit, that is what Jesus was talking about. The physical action of taking Communion, like baptism, is an outward action reflecting an inner transformation. Also, another way of looking at Communion is that, if you are what you eat, figuratively consuming the flesh and blood of Christ makes Christians His flesh and blood (i.e. "sons of God," in the New Testament sense). After Church I had hoped to stop by "The Quilted Raven," which is a quilt supplies store. Mike had heard about another store, but it turned out to only have knitting supplies. I held onto my wallet to keep from buying all the store's contents. Next, we took Erica to go hiking near Flat Top Mountain. Since we had Rebekah with us, we went on the shorter "Blueberry Loop" trail. We soon discovered that they call it Blueberry Loop for a reason: there are wild blueberries and Alaskan blackberries all over the place. We picked lots of blueberries while we walked, but they are so small that we only filled up a little sandwich bag. We saw some people filling up five-gallon buckets using special comb-like implements to pick lots of berries at once. |
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Saturday, September 2nd: Mike had to go into work today, even though he wasn't supposed to be on call. While he was gone, I took the girls to the park over by the school. On the way we saw a garage sale with mountains of books, especially Alaska-themed books. We found one on tanning hides, another on building log homes in Alaska, and a few others. Once we made it to the park, we played and played together. Most of the time it was just us, but there were other kids at times. She invited me into her pretend house and we had a nice time visiting. We also had fun running up and down the hill nearby. Later on, after Mike came home, he borrowed one of the Madsen family's bikes (and a helmet) and met us at the park. We enjoyed each other's company, but eventually I biked home to work on my illustrations, leaving Mike to bond with the girls. Erica was nice enough to drop off some mail for me when she went to the post office, since Mike had the keys to the van with him at the park. Mike took Rebekah on a Geocaching hunt, but they didn't find the cache. They'll have to go back again. In the evening, Mike and Rebekah watched the movie "Titanic" which we haven't seen in a while. I joined in toward the end. It demonstrates a classic fallacy: When there are two opposing points of view, people assume that one must be good and the other bad. In reality, both may be harmful. For example, the "seize the day" point of view is depicted as the good path, while sacrificing happiness for material wealth is viewed as th bad path. Obviously, pursuing happiness is better than sacrificing it for wealth. However, the idea of doing whatever we want as the key to happiness can be self-indulgent without foresight. So, even though "seizing the day" is a good thing, moderation is the key. Another thing I noticed is that, as an old woman, Rose's ample photographs all feature her pursuing her dreams. We are told that she got married and had children, but her photographs are all of herself alone. It paints a picture (no pun intended) of a very narcissistic world view on the part of the character. Okay, I'll stop psychoanalyzing the movie now . . . |
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Friday, September 1st: Today felt like it should have been Saturday, but Mike dutifully went to work anyway. Our day consisted of enjoying Erica's company in the morning and running errands in the afternoon. We stopped by the library to return books and check out new ones. We usually check out a couple dozen at a time, since we read quite a few to Rebekah each evening. Since I've started bringing the stroller with us, it has gotten much easier to transport them! Rebekah also got to use the library's computer, matching shapes and letters. We also stopped by the Natural Pantry for milk and eggs. On the way home, we stopped by the car wash too. When I opened up the door after the car wash, Rebekah had pulled the bag of eggs with her feet up to her carseat and had just bitten into one of them. I guess she was going to eat the egg, shell and all. This is the same girl who would have eaten a live goldfish if I had let her. I do feed her, but she will eat anything, so I really have to watch her! So that was pretty much our day. Mike was a little late getting off work, but we did eventually get to see each other. |
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Thursday, August 31st: Happy Birthday to Mike! Today Mike turned 31. Erica came over and helped us celebrate. First, she accompanied me on errands, though. When Mike came home, we had a tiramisu cake with thirty-one candles. I gave Mike some beaver fur slippers. Rebekah gave him a Play-Doh breakfast set (since he likes to make breakfast). A little birdie told Erica that Mike had asked for "The Chipmunk Adventure," so she gave him that and a nice pair of wool socks. We enjoyed the movie, which none of us had seen since we were children. "Mario! Where's my coffee?" 
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Wednesday, August 30th: If I had known that yesterday was the last of the good weather, I would have put off on sewing Rebekah's dress until today. Today was rainy, but we amused ourselves indoors. After Mike got off work today, we went to watch planes land. There's a park right by the airport, so we went on a walk together there. It was a little bit cold and drizzly, but we were bundled up so we didn't mind. We saw some pretty big planes roar overhead. Rebekah is old enough to cover her own ears, but I covered Rachel's. |
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Tuesday, August 29th: Today we made cherry pie, following the recipe from the book Pie in the Sky by Lois Ehlert. Rebekah helped me pit the cherries. She ended up eating most of the cherries she pitted, but that's what they're for, after all. The pie was a little runnier than I would like, since I didn't add the quick-cooking tapioca that it could have used. I thought I had some, but didn't find it until after the pie was in the oven. (It was with the canned goods, instead of with the baking supplies.) Oh well . . . Making pie makes me think of my brother Daniel, who was the frequent beneficiary of my pie-making impulse when he was our roommate years ago. He would always say, "Pie!" in a funny, deep voice. After we made pie, I took the girls to Jewel Lake to go swimming. None of us had any desire to wade any deeper than ankle-deep, however, since the water was pretty chilly. Rebekah and I got to see a real leech for the first time today, when some boys gathered them in the still areas. Rebekah also got to hold one of the tiny fish that another kid caught with a net. She is not the least bit squeamish! Mike met us at the lake, bringing the meatloaf I had left warming in the oven. We had a nice little picnic by the water. Summer is almost over, so we have to take advantage of evening picnics while we still have light. I also finally finished Rebekah's Care Bears dress. After that, we went to Jewel Lake where Rebekah got to go swimming. I really shouldn't have stayed inside sewing earlier today--it was just too beautiful to be indoors. Mike met up with us at the lake after he got off work. 
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Monday, August 28th: Today I spent a fair amount of time sewing Rebekah's 'Care Bears' dress. We also baked some bread today as well as brownies. Usually, my loaves don't rise quite as much as I'd like them too, so this time I added a little more yeast than the recipe called for. Presto! Perfectly shaped loaves. Rebekah helped me knead the dough, by the way. She is quite the little helper!We did quite a bit of playing and painting too. Tonight was my evening off, so Mike took care of the girls. |
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Sunday, August 27th: Today marked ten years since Mike and I went on our first date. That's almost a third of Mike's life and more than a third of mine. Both of us remember that day vividly, when we ate dinner at Subs R Us and went to see "Tin Cup" at the Poway Edwards Cinemas. When he took me home, we sat in front of my house and looked at the stars until late. Who would have guessed that we would someday sit together in front of their firepit in Anza, looking at those same stars and scanning the sky for satellites while holding our two daughters? Of course, now we need to get a new firepit in order to reinstitute our ritual, and until recently it has been impossible to actually see stars in the evening. In other news, we went to the Alaska State Fair today. We looked at the domestic animals, the giant vegetables, the arts and crafts, and went on the rides. We had a really fun time together. Eventually, we met up with Erica over by the roller coaster, listened to music and saw the salmon art exhibit. |
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Saturday, August 26th: Today the highlight of our day was going to McDonald's for a playdate. It was nice getting to chat with some other moms, especially since both of them were of the literary persuasion. Rebekah had a really fun time. After our visit there, Mike had Rebekah in the evening so that I could work on illustrations and editing. |
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Friday, August 25th: It's nine-fifteen in the morning, and Rebekah has gone back to sleep. When she woke up she had a fever of 102 degrees, so we gave her some cold medicine to help control the fever. She's been asleep for more than an hour. She actually fell asleep in my arms while watching Dreamworks' "Joseph, King of Dreams." Lately, I've been getting up early with Mike, which gives us a chance to spend some quality time together in the mornings. We make mochas using our little espresso maker and gaze at each other at the table as we slowly regain consciousness. One of the perques of getting up early is that I can get ahead of the girls, who sleep for a little while longer. Usually, Rebekah wakes up before Mike leaves for work at seven-thirty. This morning, though, Rachel woke up right after we did. Now she has fallen asleep and is stretched across my lap. She generally wakes up when I move her, so I wind up a hostage while she snoozes. Whenever I try to escape, she usually wakes up and my break is over. One more thing: I'm pretty traumatized by Pluto's demotion to "dwarf planet." Even though everyone knows it's more a Kuiper Belt object than a "real" planet, no one has touched on the best argument for keeping the status quo: Pluto exerts a sufficient pull to noticibly affect Neptune's orbit. In fact, Pluto's very discovery is a good argument in favor of its status as a real member of the solar family. It was right where it had been theorized to be. Actually, ignore what I just said, it turns out that my seventh grade science teacher lied to us: The belief that Pluto was affecting Neptune's orbit was based on faulty estimates of Neptune and Uranus's masses. At any rate, Pluto has to keep its planet status for the children's sake. How will they ever remember the names of the rest of the planets if the mnemonic devices no longer work? (My Very Earnest Mother Just Served Us Nine Pickles) Try it: "My very earnest mother just served us nine--." Nine what? We'll have to change "nine" to "nectarines." In fact, I'd be willing to bet that the majority of American adults cannot name all the planets. Now that Pluto doesn't count, that's one less planet that people can count as they try to remember planets beyond Jupiter. |
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Thursday, August 24th: Today was a really good day, aside from Rebekah still being sick. We read lots of picture books, made art, and did chores. Rebekah has learned a new trick, though, which we can't be allowed to become a habit. Both yesterday and today, Rebekah escaped into the (fenced) backyard. In both cases, I was in the other room at the exact moment of her escape. Both times, I was talking with her when she stopped answering. What worried me yesterday was when Rebekah abruptly said, "I'll be right back," and then didn't answer me further. I ran outside and immediately found her. For the longest time, I couldn't figure out how she had gotten the front door open . . . until I realized that she hadn't. Later on, I noticed the dining room table bench pushed up against the counter and her stool on the counter under the "cat window": She had escaped out the window we keep open for the cats! Today she did it again! I think the solution will be to keep the cat window closed and locked. The cats will have to wait for me to open the window at my leisure. Opening (and keeping open) the window should be too difficult for her right now, so that seems like the simplest solution. If anything, I was impressed at her ingenuity and problem-solving skills, but we can't have her climbing on the counters. At any rate, I feel more confident that Rebekah will be okay, in the event of a fire or earthquake in which Mike and I are incapacitated (that was a real concern of mine, considering the childproof lock on the front door). Today Mike and I met after work and ran some errands. Rebekah took a nap, for a change. We just got some photos developed at Costco, so we'll be sending out forget-me-not notes and photos tomorrow. Oh, here's a bummer: When we drove up here, we couldn't fit my racing bicycle in the trailer or get a workable bicycle rack that would work with the van or the trailer. As a result, we had to leave my bike in our storage container at the house in Anza. By the time I asked Mike's parents to put it in their garage until Christmas (when I planned on bringing it up to Alaska as luggage) someone stole it out of the storage container. The unknown thieves also stole several boxes of things that we had put aside for charity, but they didn't have the consideration to take the boxes filled with trash. Anyway, I'm bummed about losing my bike. I spent $500 on that thing, not to mention the cost of the fancy seat, pedals and cyclocomputer. More than that, I really don't like the feeling of being robbed. It's a violation. Ironically, I hadn't actually ridden my bike since someone stole my helmet and specialty bike pump out of the back of Mike's truck years ago. Well, it's gone now, so there's nothing to do but get over it. |
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Wednesday, August 23rd: Rebekah officially has a cold. Her nose and upper lip are all raw from her wiping them constantly. She has been a real trooper, though. She even took a nap today AND didn't put up a fight at bedtime. She was pooped. Oh, I forgot to mention it earlier but here's an interesting coincidence: A week-and-a-half ago, I came across the phone number of the lady we sold our goats to. I called her up right then and asked how Sophie and Ramble were doing and if either of them had given birth to their kids yet. It so happened that Ramble had kidded that very morning, about five hours earlier. The lady joked that I must have some special connection with the goats. Mike made dinner tonight AND watched Rebekah and Rachel till bedtime. Since Rebekah was tired from her cold, they watched "The Little Mermaid" after dinner. Since we left the Anza house, movies at bedtime tend to make Rebekah more hyper rather than calmer. Tonight was an exception: they watched the entire movie cuddling together. Rebekah went to sleep after only a few books and, ever since then, Mike has been stretched out on the couch waiting for me to get off the computer. As for me, I made some progress with my drawings. I'm almost done (I hope) with the example pictures, which makes my heart race with a mixture of excitement and terror. The way I deal with my fear of rejection is through perfectionism (the point of which is to be good enough to avoid the dreaded rejection). For example, last night I got Mike to be a hand model for me, so I could make sure the hands on a drawing of King Simon were just right. As far as he was concerned, the drawing looked exactly the same afterwards as it had before. (Trust me, it looked better after.) |
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Tuesday, August 22nd: We're off to have lunch with Mike in a little while. We've had a pretty relaxing morning, even though (in terms of productivity) it's been a one-step-forward-two-steps-back day: I had laid the girls' laundry flat in the basket but hadn't folded them yet. It took Rebekah under a minute to scatter the clothes all over the living room. It's definitely a case of entropy in action, as Mark and I were discussing last week. After we eat at Costco (I'm a cheap date), I'll go shopping there with the girls. By meeting during the day, we're hoping that it will be that much easier to be parted for a couple of hours in the evening while I try to work after dinner. We've been feeling a little frustrated recently by our awareness of the fact that the place we're renting now is temporary. We can't have goats or chickens here due to zoning regulations. Furthermore, we can't even get our long-awaited Pembroke Welsh Corgi puppy because our landlords feel that puppies are too destructive. (They are, however, okay with grown dogs.) There's also the matter of our cats, which live in constant fear of being attacked by the owners' cat. Since we have a shared backyard with them, the only place our cats are safe is inside the house. Even then, the "mean cat" (as Rebekah calls it) occasionally chases our cats inside our house. When that happens, Rose will hide away in the laundry room, not even coming out when we call her. We also would like to be in a house with a fireplace or woodstove (or both), since sitting in front of the fire (or fire pit) was a favorite part of our evening routine back in Anza. Now that the house in Anza has been rented out, we could move to the valley anytime since we know we won't ever really be settled in this place. However, moving is a lot of work. Right now, what we need more than anything else is to relax. I have to get my illustrations done and my manuscript submitted. The only way that is going to happen is by having more personal time, not less. Being the one who will do most of the packing, I'd rather wait until spring till we move again. So that's our inner battle right now. As much as we don't like renting in the city, we are enjoying Alaska itself. When we do move, it will be out to Palmer, rather than back to the States. (Yes, I know that Alaska is technically in "the States," but it might as well be another country based on how far away it seems and, indeed, is.) Time to clean up the laundry bomb that has destroyed my living room... TTFN! Later: We had salmon for dinner tonight. Rose thought it smelled pretty good, so she was ready to dig in until we evicted her. Rebekah fell asleep later on in Daddy's arms, while Rachel rolled around on the floor, pulling her Daddy's leg. She looked just like his baby pictures. 
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Monday, August 21st: Today we met Mike for lunch at a nearby Burger King, so that Rebekah could play in the playland. Before we had kids, you would never see us step foot inside a Burger King or a McDonald's. Now that we're parents, we're just grateful to eat in a kid-friendly establishment once in a while. We always get Rebekah the healthy alternative to fries, which makes us feel slightly less irresponsible. Still, I don't like the idea of our kids growing up with fast food joints as part of their familiar routine. Of course, just like the tobacco companies, fast food establishments are in the business of recruiting customers while they're still in the cradle... After lunch, we went grocery shopping at the Natural Pantry and a few other shops. Rebekah did really well while we shopped, despite having a rocky start. She helped pick out macaroni in the bulk food aisle. She even held some bags of flour, without incident. To a mother, a plastic baggy filled with flour is an accident waiting to happen. Rebekah was very careful and the seemingly inevitable flour bomb never exploded. We also bought an entire silver salmon to thaw out for dinner tomorrow. The butcher pulled it out of the back just for us and gave us a good deal on it, since we would be filleting ourselves. It was fun leaving there having bagged a five-pound fish. Its tail stuck out of the box in an amusing only-in-Alaska fashion. Tonight was supposed to be my night to work on my book and illustrations, but Mike got called into work. (He's on call for the next two weeks.) When he came home he played with Rachel a little (I had put Rebekah down) next to me in the office. I couldn't concentrate with Rachel's singing, but we wanted to be together, so we went into the living room and finished reading The Great Train Robbery to each other. By the end, we would switch whose turn it was to read based on who was nodding off, but we did it--we finished! It was a very entertaining read and I highly recommend it. We've read a lot of Crichton's books and have enjoyed every one of them. He can keep even a distracted reader engaged and he invests quite a bit of time into researching his books. |
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Sunday, August 20th: We went to Holy Family Cathedral again today. After that, we drove to the spot we walked to yesterday. It only took a few minutes to find the cache. Now, when you find a cache, you can take out a "treasure" but you should replace it. Of the treasures we found in the box, we took a sheet of stickers for Rebekah and a magnet to send to Rebekah's Memere. In exchange, we left a bouncy ball and a Mexican (fifty-peso) coin. Later on, Mike left me at home with Rachel to work on my illustrations, while he took Rebekah out for dinner. They had a good time. In the evening, after we got Rebekah asleep, we watched "The Postman," which Mike has been in the mood to see for a while. When it came out in 1997, "The Postman" got terrible reviews and was, generally, a financial failure. In a lot of ways it is a typical ordinary-guy-becomes-hero Kevin Costner movie, but when we're in the mood to see it (once every couple years), it is so bleak that it has an uplifting quality to it. |
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Saturday, August 19th: Today we went GeoCaching ("treasure"-hunting with our GPS device) for the first time. We had no intention of letting the pouring rain deter us, so we packed the girls in the stroller and draped a blanket over it to keep out the rain. We walked and walked, taking something of a circular route to our destination. Finally, we were at the appointed coordinates, within an accuracy of fifteen feet or so, but we didn't see the box. After about ten or fifteen minutes of looking around in the pouring rain, we decided it was best to walk home, warm up and come back in the car. On the way home, we stopped by the northernmost Frosty Freeze in the world, which takes pride in "selling ice to Eskimos." Mike had a malt, while Rebekah and I each had a hot cocoa. While we thawed out at the Frosty Freeze, the storm cleared up a little. When we looked outside, we could see the Chugach mountains had been dusted with snow. As we continued walking homeward, the strong headwind soon turned into driving rain. The funny part was that we didn't mind. Rebekah was content to be tucked into the stroller, but Rachel would have none of it. My sling was all wet from the rain soaking through my jacket, so Mike held her inside his jacket. He went so far as to walk backwards, to keep Rachel out of the wind and rain. We stopped at a thrift shop on our way home, where we found a few small treasures including videos, a dry sweater, new childproof doorknob covers (Rebekah had just broken our previous one), etc. For our last stretch homeward, the weather seemed to have cleared up again, until--as a final climax--it started hailing. After enjoying the benefits of a hot water heater and indoor plumbing, we were ready to face the world again. Mike ran to the store while I made dinner. We put the girls to bed and called it a night. 
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Friday, August 18th: Where did the week go? It rained again today, but we didn't care. We went right out there with our rain coats on and still managed to get wet. We picked raspberries until our fingers got cold and stiff. Inside, Rebekah painted several more masterpieces today, while I didn't. Rebekah also played with water in the kitchen sink for quite a while this afternoon (that's a pasttime she picked up from Modeste). When Mike came home we had clam chowder with home-baked wheat bread (from last Sunday when I baked three loaves). Mike is officially on call for the next two weeks at work, means that if something breaks any time of the day or night, he's the one who will get the phone call. The upside is that he might get some overtime. The downside is that he might get some overtime. Funny how that works, eh? So Rebekah has a new word that she says she learned from "her friend" (maybe the girl from the park yesterday, maybe one of the characters in "The Land Before Time"?). Anyway, she contemptuously said "Stupid!" a couple of times at the dinner table tonight before we even realized what she was saying. (We don't call each other names, so it's completely out of place.) I don't think she even understands what "stupid" means, only that she heard some kid say it. She told us that it was her "friend's word," not hers, as if we would grant a waiver. Mike and I explained to her that we don't use that word in our house because it's a mean word. After that, we didn't have any more problems. Also, Rebekah seems to be responding better to us appealing to her conscience lately, so we may be able to use the "because I said so" strategy less and less. The initiative vs. guilt stage is the next developmental milestone in Erikson's Phsycosocial Crisis theory, so we'll see if we're there. After Mike read to Rebekah (while I did chores), he suggested that we watch "Shawshank Redemption" (which we've seen a million times) while I worked on our web site. I changed the layout of my art gallery and added photos from when I did the utility art box project. I have actually been looking for photos of some paintings of mine, including "Daniel As David" (with Daniel's head on Michelangelo's David). I organized digital photos all evening while half-watching the movie. Even still, I didn't find the missing image, so we may have to ask Daniel to take another photo and email it to us. I also can't find a good photo of Rebekah's portrait or "Portrait of a Can of Root Beer," so we may have to take photos of them again. This evening, Mike suggested that we go treasure hunting with our GPS device this weekend. (This is what techies do for fun...) Apparently, people hide little "treasures" and record their positions on some web site for others to find. It'll be an adventure. One thing I've noticed is that I'm a lot more adventurous with Mike. When he's not around, I'm not very adventurous at all, but when we're together, I'm game for almost anything. One more thing: I've been meaning to record a few of our observations this time around about Alaska and Alaskans. First of all, pay phones only cost twenty-five cents here, compared with SoCal where some cost seventy-five cents for a three minute local call or upwards of a dollar if you're calling long distance (and ALL calls wind up being long distance). Second, I'm falling asleep at the keyboard and can't remember any more observations. Oh, yes, and we will upload (and send via snail mail) more photos really, really soon. And one last thing: I came across a beautiful poem yesterday that I hope you will read. It's called "The Wind-Swept Wheat" by By Mary Ainge De Vere (a.k.a. “Madeline Bridges”). |
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Thursday, August 17th: CONGRATS to Gio! We're sooooo proud of you and wish we could be there to give you a big hug! The highlight of our day was walking to the park, where we played for an hour before the rain started again. There was another little girl Rebekah's age, which was nice. On our little walk through the woods to and from the park, we noticed that, since we last passed that way, quite a few (no doubt poisonous) mushrooms have, well, mushroomed up. The ground is really saturated, so there are little puddles everywhere and the clay soil is slippery. Anyway, seeing mushrooms everywhere reminded me of being in Lithuania last summer. While juggling Rebekah and Rachel today, I also worked on sewing Rebekah's Care Bears dress. Sadly, when I went to sew the collar onto the dress, I discovered that Rebekah had "helped" me: She had gotten hold of my scissors and snipped the collar in a few places. "Oh, well," sums it up. It was quite interesting learning how to follow a pattern (and not nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be). Now I can do it again tomorrow and will do that much better of a job. In the future, I'll be that much more careful with the scissors! The other day, Rebekah had picked up the scissors off my desk and was about to cut off a big lock of her hair when I shouted at her to stop. This was Day Two of being able to actually watch "The Daily Show" together. Rebekah keeps waking up before seven and not taking naps, which has been helping us get her to sleep earlier. Even still, it seems impossible to get her to close her eyes before nine, no matter how early we put her to bed. Now I know why the grown-ups in my life were always so tired when I was a kid: they got exhausted trying to keep up with me! |
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Wednesday, August 16th: It rained again today, but they say that tomorrow should be merely cloudy. Since it was rainy, I let Rebekah watch movies a little bit this morning while I worked on my illustrations for The King's Magic. I felt a bit guilty about letting her watch two cartoon movies, but not guilty enough to stop drawing. Eventually, she got tired of rotting her brain out and came in the office, ending my productivity. At that point, we played together and beaded her new necklace. Even though it's been rainy these past few days, I feel almost as if we should be playing outside anyway. After all, in a few months it's going to be much colder. We are not the types to be discouraged by a little water, but other people are... Since the rainy weather started a few days ago, the playgrounds have been empty. As of tonight, we've started a new, old ritual--watching "The Daily Show" at 10 p.m. Of course, since the television was already on, we stayed up for the "Colbert Report." |
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Tuesday, August 15th: There was supposed to be a playground meetup today, but we didn't see anyone. However, we were not to be thwarted on our quest to find other kids. So... we went to Borders, hoping to find someone for Rebekah to play with. Sure enough, there were other short people in the kids' section. Interestingly, Rebekah was uninterested in my offer of a steamed milk from the cafe until she saw someone else with one. Hmmm... Sadly, Rebekah's first steamed milk (with a shot of sugar-free vanilla), had a collision with the floor, but the nice barrista made another one for her. (Maybe it helped that I cleaned up our mess.) We also went to the library today and checked out gobs of books. Usually, I just carry Rachel in my sling into the library, but this time I put the girls in the double stroller. That way, I'd have a place to lock up Rebekah if she tried to run off. Also, when unoccupied, a stroller seat can hold a lot of books. So we got more books and Rebekah played on the computer until Mike got off of work and met us. Tonight was my sanity night and I got a lot done on my drawings, while Mike bonded with Rebekah. Oh, and one more thing: I actually made something with my sewing machine today for the first time ever: I sewed a super-soft Care Bears pillowcase for Rebekah. It turned out nicely, without even using a pattern. Next comes her Care Bears dress. (After I told her she could pick out the fabric for her dress, she set her mind on the Care Bears prints. I tried to shift her attention, but she would have none of it.) |
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Monday, August 14th: Tonight we finally had fresh halibut for dinner. As of Sunday morning, our fish had no idea that it would soon wind up broiled and eaten for dinner. Ah, the circle of life... Sadly, Mike still didn't get the chance to go fishing, since Glen's girlfriend was available yesterday, so they went together. I'm glad Glen didn't steal my husband away yesterday to go fishing, since it was getting old having him run off all day without us (and without actually going halibut fishing, either). |
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Sunday, August 13th: This morning we still hadn't decided which church to go visit (since we haven't really liked any so far), when Mike suggested going to Holy Family Cathedral. We went to mass there every week back when we lived here in 1999. So, we went to the noon mass. When we stopped going to Sacred Heart Parish in Anza, there were a lot of things that bothered us: Part of our motivation was discomfort with some of the traditions of the Church. I was also fed up with spending every Sunday outside with Rebekah, who wasn't quiet enough to stay inside. In my RCIA class, the priest often said things that were inappropriate that made me question his relationship with God. In his defense, maybe he was just too real and I was expecting him to act like a holy man. I don't know. Anyway, finally we decided to stop going there. Rather than drive to Temecula (35 miles) or Idyllwild (20 miles), we switched to a Protestant church instead, namely Emmanuel Christian Fellowship. We really liked Emmanuel, but haven't found another church up here that is like it. Even the churches that seem to have good teaching just didn't feel right. Anyway, we went to mass and will be back next week. One of the sisters we talked to said that they'll have Sunday School starting in the fall. Fortunately, there's a "Crying Room" so we can see and hear mass, without having to be uptight with Rebekah. Now that we've visited a lot of Protestant churches, I've realized that there are a lot of things that bug me about most of them too. On one hand, I'm impossible to please. On the other hand, Jesus deliberately made the standard of the New Covenant impossibly hard so that we are always striving, rather than feeling as if we're good enough. At a lot of churches, it seems that people can get stuck in the "us versus them" mindset with the world. In most cases, oppositional thinking renders Christians less useful. Above all we have to have love for all people, whether or not we agree with them. After all, Jesus didn't drive anyone away from Him (Isaiah 42:3), so neither should we. One thing I've noticed about Catholics is that they tend be forgiving. The whole shame thing formerly associated with Catholocism seems to have gone by the wayside. However, if I had to choose between shame and self-righteousness, I'd opt for the former. I just happened to open my Bible today and realized what Solomon meant when he said, "Don'tbe overly righteous, neither make yourself overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself?" (Ecclesiastes 7:16) If we are only focused on righteousness for its own sake, we are can lose focus as the Pharisees did. Rather, we should focus on loving God. Our righteousness should come from a desire to express our love for him, not as an end. We flatter ourselves if we think we can earn our way into heaven. No, it is only by loving and uniting with God that we can hope to stand His presence. In the same way, I love Mike so much that I truly want to make him happy. I am the best wife I can be because I am always trying to express my love. That is how we should be with God. It reminds me of the line from the musical "Les Miserables." It went, "To love another person is to see the face of God." On another note, Mike took Rebekah to H2Oasis Water Park late this afternoon to give me a break. They both had an absolute blast. Rebekah had her arm floaties on and, despite not even being three, could go on almost everything in the park. She is a very active little girl and has to get her energy out to be happy. We need to make a point of taking her there again soon! |
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Saturday, August 12th: This morning, we enjoyed homemade espressos and buttermilk buscuits from scratch. After that, Mike took Rebekah for the day so that I could have some sanity time. First, Mike took Rebekah to Carls Jr. for lunch. After that, they went down to the Fifth Avenue mall to look at the kite shop (since Rebekah has been talking about flying kites). They walked up and down the mall, traversing every escalator, and having a grand old time. They left the mall to go see the train (which passes nearby), but it just happened to leave right before they got to it. After not seeing the train, Mike and Rebekah went to the Saturday Market, where they listened to a band play songs li allWhen the Saints Come Marching In" and "Barnum and Bailey's Favorite." After picking up a scoop of tiramisu ice cream back at the mall, they headed home. Rebekah still took no nap, but what can you do? While Mike gave me a break, I mostly just did chores. The last couple of days have stressed me out too much for me to even draw today. I made some whole wheat bread and then some meatloaf for dinner. We had a nice evening, although Rebekah's lack of a nap was definitely evident at calm-down time (the more tired she is, the more hyper she gets). She was asleep by nine o'clock. One more thing: Shortly before dinner, our neighbors' mean cat, Chatty, stalked and attacked either Rose or Mary. She chased her into our house, where we discovered bits of our poor baby's fur down the hallway. After getting out of our house, Chatty chased Mary out of sight again. We discovered Rose hiding in the laundry room, but haven't seen Mary since the fight. Wait! Strike that! Mary is back, although she is wet and cold. |
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Friday, August 11th: Today we're planning on going to the weekly Tour of Playgrounds. We've been meaning to go for a while, so we'll see if today works out. Later: There weren't any kids at the playground. Maybe the rain had something to do with it. We went to the library instead, where we checked out a gazillion books and two movies for Rebekah. Fortunately, Rebekah did take a nap this afternoon. Unfortunately, Rachel woke up shortly after Rebekah fell asleep, so I still never got a real break until Mike got home. |
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Thursday, August 10th: Today we got some fabric at Wal-Mart for a "Care Bears" themed dress for Rebekah. It'll be very bright, to say the least. We'll see how it turns out. Other highlights of the day include playing in the yard and picking raspberries for ourselves and our neighbors. By the way, today was a long day. Rebekah got up this morning at seven o'clock in the morning. When it was still early enough for her to take a nap, she would not go to sleep. She finally started to nod off at about six, while we were driving, but if I let her take a nap then she would be up until midnight. So... We figured we'd be able to get her to bed at a decent hour. Finally, at ten o'clock, Mike and I got her to sleep. What a day! |
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Wednesday, August 9th: Today I devoted myself to cleaning. Mike's allergies were bothering him last night, so I did an extra-thorough job of getting cat hair out of all the nooks and crannies of the house. Where there's cat hair, there's cat dander... By the time Mike got home, I was ready to redeem my allotted Mommy time. He took the girls for dinner and some park time, while I worked on the sample illustrations for my book. Tonight I worked on going over the pencil lines with ink for a scene set in Timothy's tower. It's slow going because I prefer to use a dip pen for its sharp lines and fluidity. I used to drive Marianna crazy when I was a kid because I preferred fountain pens, with their expensive ink cartridges. Well, I'm tired of having my fountain pens clog up, so using a dip pen works much better. It's strange, over the last week or two my stress level has finally gotten low enough to where my spatial ability seems to work properly again. I've been working diligently for months, but now I'm finally relaxed enough for my visuo-spatial brain center to work optimally. |
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Tuesday, August 8th: Today we went to Goose Lake to enjoy the beautiful day. Rebekah played in the water and on the playground. After she got cranky, we went for a walk around the lake. Of course, she still didn't fall asleep for a nap until she was comfortably in her carseat on the way home again. We had Thai for dinner tonight. We hadn't had Thai since before Mike came up here in March, so it was overdue. Later, we went to watch planes by the airport and saw an incredible sunset. 
Here are some photos from Goose Lake. 
The above photos of the sunset were taken just before ten o'clock in the evening. |
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Monday, August 7th: Our big achievement today was to get caught up on laundry. It's amazing how much laundry a family of four can generate, especially since we use cloth diapers. We also took the girls for an evening drive to get them to fall asleep, since Rebekah was way too hyper to calm down and sleep at home. We watched planes land, enjoyed the sunset, and drove by the float plane airport at Lake Hood. Check out this Lake Hood Airport web cam. |
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Sunday, August 6th: Today Mike had another abortive halibut fishing trip. This time the boat motor died right after they left port. Maybe next time... However, Mike and Glen were determined to go fishing, so they found a creek and caught some fish. Mike still doesn't have his own fishing pole yet(he wouldn't have needed his own for catching halibut). Since he didn't really want to buy a permit just to fish in the creek, he mostly just hung out while Glen fished. Fortunately, Glen shared what they caught, so we got to have fish for dinner. We also got to enjoy some of the raspberry pie I made today. I highly recommend the recipe. 
Photos uploaded October 16th, 2006 |
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Saturday, August 5th: Today we're going to go to "Galway Days on G Street". We'll try to take lots of photos! After that, we may go camping down near Whittier, since Mike and Glen are going to try to go Halibut fishing tomorrow. Of course, they say that "in Alaska the weather is always changing your plans," so we'll see. As long as it's not too windy and the seas aren't too choppy, we may finally get some fresh halibut. 
 Photos uploaded October 16th, 2006  Click here to see a video clip from the Irish Music Festival.  Click here to see a video clip from later on, driving by the airport. |
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Friday, August 4th: Today we had a nice walk this morning, in which we found a new berry patch with gigantic raspberries. We headed to Shady Birch park, but there weren't any kids there, so we walked through the woods to the neighborhood school. The playground was open to the public, so we played there. Rebekah met a new friend who is named Destiny. They played very well together and we'll try to meet up again. Destiny has two older brothers, so she needs another little girl to have tea parties with. |
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Thursday, August 3rd: Today I did it! I finally got my Alaska Driver's License. We've only been here how long? Due to the new Positive ID requirements, I had to bring my Birth Certificate, Marriage License, Passport, Social Security card and California Driver'sen in order to get my Alaska Driver's License. I never did find my Social Security card (I Grama Tonied into a "safe place" when we moved), so I had to apply for a duplicate card at the Social Security Administration building. All I needed was their confirmation letter. In the early evening, Mike took Rebekah to Shady Birch park where they saw a moose. It came up by the swing set. |
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Wednesday, August 2nd: Today I attempted to get my Alaska Driver's License, but I didn't bring my Social Security card, so they turned me away. On our way home, we mailed Mike's mom, Peggy, a polar bear post card (which Rebekah had drawn on) and some photos. After we got home, Mike took the girls and I sequestered myself in the office to work on illustrations. |
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Tuesday, August 1st: The highlight of our day today was sending out a few packages. The first was for Santa Claus at the North Pole, and the second was for Rebekah's friends, Maura and Emily, back in Anza. |
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Monday, July 31st: Today, my Today we took lots of items back to the library and checked out more books. We had a nice time, although it seemed that all we did was to take Rebekah to the bathroom and change Rebekah needed towent to Mike worked overtime tonight, so my night off will have to be postponed until tomorrow. |
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Sunday, July 30th: Today we checked out Rabbit Creek Community Church. They seem to have sound doctrine, so we may be back. Providencially, the sermon was entitled, "How to Choose a Church." After church we drove out to Birchwood, just for the heck of it. We met some nice people while having lunch. After that we went to the Birchwood Community Park, where it promptly started sprinkling. Fortunately, Rebekah's preferred play spot was sheltered by a large tree. I picked more wildflowers and braided another crown for Rebekah. She didn't want to wear it though, so maybe tomorrow. Eventually, we headed home after Rebekah had lots of fun. Of course, since our trip was unplanned, we didn't bring the camera. |
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Saturday, July 29th: Today we went fishing (if you could call it that) with Rebekah. We walked down to Campbell Creek and let her throw her line into the creek. The only fish we saw were enormous salmon that were far too heavy for her line. We had a good time, even though we returned home without any fish. |
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Friday, July 28th: Today I took the girls to Goose Lake, hoping to go fishing with Rebekah. When we were taking out our paddle boat, the attendants told us that there aren't any fish in the lake. Not to be deterred by such details, we went out on our paddleboat anyway and had a good time. Rebekah practiced reeling in her line and we had a good time. After that, Rebekah went swimming in the lake, wearing her life preserver, while I watched and nursed Rachel. After that, we washed Rebekah off with warm water in the bathroom (the showers don't work), dressed her in nice, dry clothes, and sent her to play at the playground. She had a great time playing with another little girl until Mike came with dinner for us. We also got to see a moose and its baby on the other side of the lake. It was a great day! (Pictures and video to follow.) |
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Thursday, July 27th: This morning we were awakened by a small earthquake, but promptly feel back asleep. We have had another perfect day. It's hard to believe the rest of the country is going through a heat wave when people around here are wondering when summer is going to arrive. Today's high was 73, which was warm enough to prompt us to eat ice cream in the middle of the day. :-P Mike recently posted our house in the rental section of Craig's List and we have some prospective renters already. Boy will it be nice not to have double housing payments! We're thinking of having the renters sign a six-month lease and taking the house off the market for at least that long. Yesterday I came across some old photos of our goats at the Anza house. I had forgotten how small the babies were when they were born! Click on the image below to go to the little album I put together.  |
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Wednesday, July 26th: Boy is it nice to stay home! Of course, Rebekah didn't sleep in very long, now that she's used to getting up early. She has already seen, "Alladin," her one allotted video for the day. I think the whole family is in the know about Alex being pregnant, so here are some ultrasound photos if you haven't seen them yet: 
Photos uploaded July 26, 2006 Did I mention how nice it is to be a real stay-at-home mom again? My main achievement for the day was getting caught up on organizing and renaming photos on my computer, as well as uploading photos for this weblog. We also spent a lot of time playing together. When Mike came home, we grilled up some fish before I sequestered myself in the office to work on illustrations. Mike was super-Dad: He fed both girls, read three books to them and put them to bed. |
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Tuesday, July 25th: Right before I left the bakery, I told Ed that things weren't working out. He agreed, adding that having Rebekah around was distracting. I guess their previous helpers who brought their children must have parked them in front of the T.V., since (aside from a tantrum at clean-up time) Rebekah has been amazingly well behaved for a two-year-old. For her part, Rachel made no demands at all--eating, sleeping, and observing from her sling. Daddy came home tonight from Mt. McKinley. He bought some different types of baby food for Rachel. She actually ate some of the sweet potato dinner. After dinner we watched Rebekah's new movie "Prince of Egypt." After that, we read some of our new books from the library before bed. |
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Monday, July 24th: Mike and I have decided that having me work in the bakery is too hard on the girls and is generally an ineffective use of my time. I'll tell them tomorrow that I can finish out the week, if necessary, but won't be available after that. I don't think it's a good environment for either them or me. Mike has gone up to the McKinley Princess Lodge again. He didn't find out until mid-morning, while the girls and I were still at the cake bakery. He packed his bags and was gone before we got home. It looks like our romantic getaway at the Lodge won't take place until August, since (as a complimentary stay) paying customers come first. This afternoon we picked up a few things at Value Village, including a used VHS of "The Miracle Maker" for Rebekah. In general, I don't like claymation movies, but I thought it would be a better influence than all the Disney Princess movies she has, in which beauty is overly emphasized. I was surprised at how well done "The Miracle Maker" was, although it bothered me that they misinterpreted the Parable of the Mustard Tree.* I fed Rachel more baby food tonight. This time I added a little orange juice to the rice cereal. She shook her head from the sour taste after every bite, but she ate more than last night. * The Parable of the Mustard Tree makes more sense when one reads the Parable of the Yeast, which appears adjacent to it. Since yeast always represents sin everywhere else it is mentioned in the Bible, it is clear that this parable represents the introduction of impurity into the church until the church is completely contaminated over time. Similarly, a mustard seed does not grow into a tree at all, but into a small weed, no larger than three or four feet high (certainly not large enough for birds to perch in). Since birds are evil in the Parable of the Sower, one must consider that perhaps the birds in the Mustard Tree are also servants of the devil (i.e. that as time passes, the church becomes an unnatural monstrosity in which evil ones in high places take refuge). Since Jesus spoke in parables to conceal his meaning, I expect that Christians will be arguing about these passages until the end of the world. |
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Sunday, July 23rd: Mike and I got up at four o'clock this morning, so he would be ready to leave at five. Our friend Glen came at five, ate some breakfast with us, and drove Mike to Wittier for their anticipated fishing trip. Unfortunately, it ended up being too windy and the waves were too choppy, so they didn't end up getting to go. Mike did bring home fish, though, since Glen had some in his freezer from the last halibut fishing trip. While Mike was gone on his abortive attempt to catch halibut, I went with the girls to check out a new church. A lady named Sandy whom we met at Goose Lake recommended her church, The Church in the Wildwood. We drove out to Eagle River to check it out, but didn't really like it. There was nothing wrong with their teachings, but the pastor had a fake "holy" voice during the sermon, which I found annoying. Also, when I dropped Rebekah off at toddler care and explained that we've been on a church search since we arrived, I commented facetiously that they were probably just saying to themselves that they needed more Californians up here, to which the childcare providers responded, "That depends. Who do you vote for?" I managed to weasle my way out of discussing politics with those sweet ladies, sensing that they could morph into pit vipers if I didn't vote according to their view of God's will. On the topic of politics, it seems to me that the political parties divide the two greatest commandments between them. The Republicans advocate loving God (and making everyone else love Him too), while the Democrats place a greater value on loving one's neighbor (as long as one's neighbor is on the outside of one's body). After Mike came home from not fishing, we picked him up in the van and went out for a while. We went miniature golfing at The Castle on O'Malley, which was fun. We also bought a little fishing pole for Rebekah at a garage sale. Mike and I won't be able to fish at the resident rate until we've been here a year, but kids (residents and non-residents alike) don't need to buy fishing permits. Next time we go to the lake, we'll bring Rebekah's fishing pole and see if she catches anything. |
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Saturday, July 22nd: This morning, Mike and I agreed that working on Saturdays (in the future) is a no-no. That was one of our fatal errors last time we lived up here: I worked on Saturdays and Sundays, so we never had any time to enjoy Alaska together. I left Rebekah at home with Mike so they could spend some quality time together. As it turned out, all she ended up doing was watching two movies and taking a bath. (tut tut tut) I've been feeling some guilt about working at the bakery. When I signed on, I was thinking that it would be occasional, but it looks like they'll need help all next week too. Today, I made sure I was clear that I wouldn't be available on Saturdays in the future. I know that they have even more cakes due next weekend than they did today, but it's supposed to drop off after that. I talked with Vicki and we agreed that I shouldn't stay past noon in the future, for the girls' sakes and so I don't wear myself out: last night my tendonitis-prone wrist started feeling sore. Today, my "tennis elbow" started bothering me as well. I'm only twenty-eight years old, so it's ridiculous that I have arthritis and tendonitis already. Since I do have joint problems, I just need to spare my right arm so that it still works for the important things that my left arm can't do (like art). Also, if I'm going to be giving less than 100% to my children, they really should be in some sort of supervised and enriched environment. However, I really don't want to do that. What I want is to be a stay-at-home mom. Of course, until we get our house in Anza rented out, we're still tight on money so it's nice to be able to help out by working a little. Even still, I feel like the apothecary in Romeo and Juliet who said, "My poverty, but not my will, consents." Don't get me wrong--I've learned a lot over the past four days. I don't think I'm ever going to buy a birthday cake again, now that this side job has taken the mystery out of cake decoration. After coming home in the afternoon, I found out that our landlords were back in town for a little while. Since they're going on a diet starting Monday, I made them an apple pie as quickly as possible |
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Friday, July 21st: Last night I had a very vivid nightmare about Rebekah getting lost while I was working at the bakery. I took it as a warning to really keep an eye on her. Then, today, Rebekah's friend at the bakery, Lily, seemed more interested in watching television than engaging in active play. The way I found this out was when I heard Rebekah calling from help from the rope swing (that hangs from the tree), where she was stuck. At that point, Vicki was on the phone and the other little girl didn't want to play outside, so I made Rebekah hang out downstairs where I could keep an eye on her. After a half-hour tantrum, she shaped up. She and Lily did have fun putting on make-up and nail polish. I'm still pretty nervous about her lacking adult supervision, so I check on her a lot. Today we didn't leave the bakery until two-thirty (notice a trend here?). Again, Rebekah fell asleep as soon as we were on the road. Rachel fell asleep in the car too, this time. I'm really amazed at how cooperative Rachel has been while I've been doing these cakes. Fortuntately, she nurses and naps more than Rebekah did when she was six-months-old. I don't know how things will work when she wants to crawl. Somehow I willed myself to do Rebekah and Rachel's laundry later on. Boy am I tired from all this working. |
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Thursday, July 20th: Day Two of working at the bakery. Today there were more kids for Rebekah to play with while I worked. Since Vicki and Ed are getting ready to sell their house, they are giving away their quanzat hut to a family that they know. The parents brought their five children over while they emptied out the shed, so Rebekah had lots of playmates today. They were closer to her age, which was good. Unfortunately, she got pushed down a couple of times by one little boy, but I hope they can be friends eventually. I'm hoping we can arrange some play dates. Today we were at the bakery until two-oclock and, like yesterday, Rebekah was absolutely exhausted when we left. While she napped, I got a little more work done on the illustration I was working on yesterday. |
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Wednesday, July 19th: Today I dressed my sleepy daughters, loaded them in the van and we all showed up at work at seven o'clock. It has been nearly over two years since I left the workforce to devote myself to being a stay-at-home mom. As much as I like sleeping in past five o'clock, it sure gets you up in the morning when you have somewhere to go. Rebekah played well with Ed and Vicki's daughter, Lily. Lily is seven-years-old and not quite as social as Rebekah, but they still got along well. After six hours at the bakery, Rebekah fell asleep as soon as we drove away. As soon as we got home, I seized the opportunity to work on illustrations for my book. I have been making some progress on one in particular (of Wolfram in the forest) that has been annoying me. This is my third draft and I'm finally feeling somewhat satisfied. |
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Tuesday, July 18th: We called the cake bakery people up today and they said to come by tomorrow morning. Their business is called "Let Them Eat Cake" I'm looking forward to learning about cake decorating. Ed and Vicki have a seven-year-old daughter named Lily, who can play with Rebekah while I'm baking. |
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Monday, July 17th: This morning the girls and I went to the library. While looking at the 'free books' bin, I met some nice people. We were talking about the housing market, since they are also selling their house. They mentioned that they have a bakery in their basement for their cake decorating business. On discovering that I like to bake, they asked if I'd be interested in doing some occasional work, since they're short on help. They said that I would be able to bring the girls, which would save on childcare. I got their number. |
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Sunday, July 16th: We went to the Vineyard Church again and had a nice time. This was our third visit, so we're starting to see a pattern: there's a lot of singing and worship (which is good) but not much time spent on reading the Bible. There was also more plugging for the dream workshop the pastor is going to be doing soon. Dreams are all right--don't get me wrong. However, I think that the purpose of church is to allow Christians to worship, fellowship and better understand the Bible. Spending under a minute reading a short passage projected on a screen is less than satisfactory. Also, the message should have a little more to it than "trust God" or whatever. What does it mean to walk the Christian walk? What do Jesus's parables mean? If a church is not helping Christians to grow in these matters, it is wasting their time. Later on today, we all went for a walk around the neighborhood together. Rebekah didn't want to have her picture taken, which is why she is so squinched up. 
Photos uploaded July 23, 2006 |
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Saturday, July 15th: The computer just restarted itself again and I lost everything I had typed since the last save (which was really only about five or ten minutes of typing). It reminded me of the old Jesus saves joke. I love that joke.. Mike and Rebekah are watching "Toy Story 2" right now, while Rachel is nursing. Erica is still sleeping. She has relocated to our room for continued peace and quiet. It is nice just being together as a family, all crammed together on the couch. Mary has just joined us and is purring contentedly. Rose is sleeping on a chair on the other side of the living room. We have a lot to do today, but it's nice to spend a little time sitting down. Later: Erica was looking over my shoulder a little while ago, commenting that she mostly lets her memories go, which is probably why she doesn't have a very good memory. Her words reminded me of the real purpose of this blog: not just to share our experiences with all of you who live Outside, but to help us to remember these experiences later on. |
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Friday, July 14th: Today we met Mike for lunch at the Dimond Mall, where we watched the skaters at the ice rink. (In San Diego, there is a similar ice rink at University Town Center in La Jolla.) After that, we headed over to Michaels for some more art supplies. Since Petco is right next to Michaels, we stopped by there first. We oogled at all the pets, including a few that we've never seen in a pet store before: ferrets. We're used to seeing ferret supplies in pet stores, but no ferrets since ferrets are illegal in California. Once we finally made it to Michaels, we got the wood conditioner, stain, sealant and varnish that I didn't get yesterday. |
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Thursday, July 13th: This morning, Rebekah and I painted together for some time. I'm glad she enjoys painting, but wish I could work on some painting while she paints. Working on "real art" is impossible during the day when I'm with Rebekah, since I need to attain a trancelike level of concentration to be creative. However, in the past I've managed to do crafts even with the constant distractions of painting alongside Rebekah. What's nice is that she really enjoys painting too, so I don't even have to park her in front of cartoons to get this type of break. After we were done painting, we spent a little time outside in the back yard. Our neighbors brought us a fresh salmon fillet from their recent fishing trip to the Copper River. The neighbor daughter invited us to see the king salmon her dad caught on the fishing trip, so we watched him saw through the thirty pound fish, making fillets. He even showed me how to fillet some of the smaller salmon. I got to do one all by myself (and have been mentally rehearsing the process since then so I don't forget). After that, I made some white bread. Rebekah helped me knead the dough. She took her job very seriously. When I decided to let her help me, I made a decision: If I'm working on something, whenever possible, I'm going to try to include Rebekah instead of just trying to direct her attention elsewhere. If she is included, even when I'm doing housework, she'll learn that she is a participant in the household and not just a guest. Since helping is still novel for her, enlisting her help now will make helping a normal part of her existence. It will also allow her to gain skills like baking that she will appreciate later in life. 
Photos Uploaded on July 26, 2006 After transfering our auto insurance to the local Allstate office, we set off in search of placemats and art supplies. Since we got our new table, we have been living in fear of scratching it. Today we decided that our primary objective would be to find some placemats, even if we had to make them ourselves. We stopped by Value Village, but there were no placemats to be found. Instead, we got three Christmassy plaster figurines to paint, a wall plaque and yet another baby doll for Rebekah. She wanted this little African-American baby doll, so I said yes in the name of diversity. Next, we went to Michaels for paints and placemat supplies. I suppose we could have just bought ready-made placemats, but I was feeling crafty. When we left California, I left my acrylic paints behind, since we ran out of room. When deciding which things came or stayed, we calculated the replacement cost for competing items. Since acrylic paints are easily replaced, they were left behind. (I brought my oils and watercolors since, ounce for ounce, they are far more expensive. We also got some wooden boxes that were on clearance to stain and paint. (Since I forgot my 40% off coupon, I decided to come back for the wood stain tomorrow.) All the paints were on sale, and I still spent $50. (If you want to give me something useful, come Christmas, think of Michaels, JoAnn's or Borders.) When we were leaving Michaels, my Michael arrived and scooped up Rebekah with hugs and kisses. Out at the van, Mike saw Rebekah licking her new dolly, presumably trying to lick the chocolate off. When Mike used to work at Expanets, Rebekah met his boss, who is African-American. Noticing that she was uncomfortable looking at him, he had smiled to her, saying to her that he had chocolate skin. I wonder if she remembered his words when she was trying to lick her baby doll's face. It must be difficult looking different, always feeling conspicuous. Race is like an elephant in the room. It is a visual reminder of Other-ness. Like I realized way back on June 8th, the only thing that can overcome difference is love. The term "tolerance" bugs me because it suggests that tolerating one another is the best we can do. If we human beings really want to overcome all the differences that separate us, love is the only thing that can really bring us together in a positive way. When we finally came home, I kneaded the dough one more time and set it to rise in the bread pan. Since Mike had worked late, it was too late to barbeque the salmon our neighbors gave us, so we'll do it tomorrow. Before bed, I baked our bread, which we will enjoy for breakfast. |
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Wednesday, July 12th: This afternoon we met up with Mike for lunch at a park downtown. He brought food and I brought the girls. Rebekah played her heart out, even after Mike had to go back to work. After we left, we stopped by the house (for the camera) before meeting up with Iris and her boys at Goose Lake. It took a little while before we found each other (she was dialing the wrong number when she called me, while I only got her voicemail calling her). Also, her kids were intent on playing at the playground at first, while Rebekah wanted to play in the water. Eventually, our kids were playing together in the sun and dirt and water. After Mike got off work, he came to the lake and joined us. He took Rebekah out on a paddle boat and even enticed me into joining him. I was concerned that there wouldn't be a life jacket small enough for Rachel, but there was an itty-bitty life jacket just her size. We had a nice time out on the water together. It was great. 
Photos uploaded July 26, 2006 |
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Tuesday, July 11th: I've joined this Moms Meet-Up group, but have yet to make it to any of their events. I saw the e-mail reminder about this morning's ten o'clock scheduled meet-up at Goose Lake just in time to hurry over there and still arrive late. The moms were nowhere to be seen, but there were kids at the playground so all was well. When the kids migrated to the water, I let Rebekah join them. She swam until she got cold, then I warmed her up and she swam some more. At noon the cafe opened up, so I was able to get her a steamed milk with a shot of sugar-free vanilla. That's her new favorite drink. After she played, she swam even more. Finally, I dried Rebekah off, changed her clothes. Before leaving, we decided to go for a little walk by the lake. It was so beautiful that we kept walking all the way around the lake until we had done a big mile-long loop. While we walked, I made a crown of clover flowers for Rebekah, since there were so many clovers. When the crown was done, Rebekah didn't want to wear it, so I did. Anyway, I got an idea for some plein aire painting I'd like to do: I'd like to paint hiking trails, perhaps adding in a little fairy further down the path (like the "faeries" in my book manuscript). Winter is coming, so I'd better hurry if I plan on painting from life. The beauty here is so overwhelming that, from an artistic perspective, it's easy not to know where to start. I'll tell you one thing, though: I need to finish my sample illustrations before I start any new oil paintings. |
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Monday, July 10th: Mike left this morning to go to McKinley Princess Lodge again. He'll be home tomorrow. He's been talking about wanting to redeem our free weekend there, so the girls and I can see what he's been experiencing. Anyway, he finally set the date for our trip up there. We're going to spend the next couple of weekends doing housework and then reward ourselves at the end of the month with a weekend at the lodge. They're even going to throw in a flightseeing tour, since Mike has been so helpful with that account. The house is emptier without Mike, but we talked on the phone a lot in the evening. It reminded me of our three months apart, when we were on the phone with each other constantly. Boy, I'm glad those days are over. I think I can speak for Mike in saying that he is also glad we're no longer separated by thousands of miles. I know that God never gives us more than we can handle, but those three months brought me closer to my limit than I've ever been. Earlier today we went to the library and checked out some videos from the Alaska Collection (where they have every book and film ever made about Alaska), including the documentary "Braving Alaska" that we saw in 1997. That was the film that inspired us to move here way back in '99. I was amazed at how much I remembered from seeing the video the first time (like the importance of quickly drying trapped beavers in the snow so the pelts don't freeze and get ruined). I was also surprised at how much I've learned since seeing this film (baking bread, making pies, knitting, goat and chicken husbandry, cheesemaking, woodchopping, etc.) Even when we moved back from Alaska before, I think I could never put away the dream of living the kind of life that Alaska represented. The downside to living close to the land is being dependent on it. Civilization insulates us from the extremes of survival in the wilderness. While "Braving Alaska" is about life in the Bush, I think we may be able to achieve some semblance of the Alaska experience once we move out to the Valley. We'll have the benefit of Mike being able to earn money to keep us solvent as well as enjoying "a bit of earth to plant some seeds in" (like in the musical "The Secret Garden." For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to live as close to nature as possible. Living in Anza let us have our goats and chickens, but the land was too rugged for cows and it was too hot for a garden. Our neighbor's garden was decimated the previous year by mice, while mine was attacked by hornworms and rabbits. Here in Anchorage, you have to worry about moose eating your trees, but rabbits aren't much of a menace. I think that there is enough to eat without resorting to vegetable gardens. The growing season in Anza was pretty short because of the altitude, while here in Anchorage the short growing season actually has more hours of daylight, but without the intense heat. Even still, having a garden for only six months of the year still leaves the other six. We may have to get a greenhouse, even before we move out to the Valley. Indoor gardening is very popular here, as you can imagine. It's hard being apart from our families, but both Mike and I are so glad we're back in Alaska again. It really is an amazing place. (I can hear you reminding me about the winter, but I have a sense that it'll be okay. Alaskans say the winter here is a lot better than in Chicago or "back East" since it's less humid. Well, however long, cold and dark it may be, we'll adapt.) |
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Sunday, July 9th: We went to the Anchorage Vineyard Church again today. Like our old church, they sing a lot at this church. One thing that's different is that more time seems to be spent on testimonials than on actual teaching. On one hand, it's really great to see God working in these people's lives. On the other hand, I feel that really increasing our understanding of the Bible is also important. Anyway, this church is fine for now and it's great to be around people who very clearly love Jesus. After church, we went to the Anchorage union picnic with our friend Glen and his girlfriend Teresa. Rebekah had a really fun time, as you can see: 
Photos uploaded July 26, 2006 Later in the afternoon, we drove out to "the Valley" (i.e. Palmer). This is where we eventually see ourselves living. There are codes and CC&Rs prohibiting livestock in Anchorage and even in areas of Palmer, so we'll have to keep this in mind when picking out a place. Often, Rebekah will say, "I very sad. I miss my goats!" Right after that, she'll perk up and add, "I know! I get new goats!" Sometimes, she'll also say, "Let's go! Right now!" as if we could go buy new goats right then and there. Looking around in Palmer was encouraging, since it helped us remember that, once we sell or rent out our house in Anza, there are plenty of homes waiting for us. Someday soon we will have goats and chickens again... 
Photos uploaded July 26, 2006 We went to dinner at the Valley Hotel. I am such a nitpicker: When looking at the menu, I was horrified at the use of apostaphes in making plurals. Maybe I should found the Center for the Prevention of the Abuse of the English Language, print out business cards and distribute little grammar cheat sheets. Alternately, I could learn to relax. Although the latter option would be the most enlightened, it really bothers me to see non-standard usages becoming more and more commonplace. 
Photos uploaded July 26, 2006 On our way back from Palmer, we saw some beautiful rainbows: 
Photos uploaded July 26, 2006 On our way home we saw the neighborhood moose. It was eating one of our neighbor's trees: 
Photo uploaded July 26, 2006 |
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Saturday, July 8th: Erica arrived in town yesterday evening. She and I went out to Girdwood and to camp out (in her big van) for the Girdwood Forest Fair. When we got into Girdwood, the booths were already closed down but there were still musicians performing. There were also these giant spindles set up on their sides in a clearing. Walking on the spindles was difficult at first, but before long I could go really quickly with "no hands." Unfortunately, my speed-spindling attracted the advances of a weirdo (who, fortunately, was successfully rebuffed). I hate feeling unsafe and wished Mike were with us. In the morning, we saw the parade for the forest fair. One of the floats featured someone throwing giant snowballs at the road, which then broke up. One of the snowballs didn't break, so I grabbed it for Rebekah. Mike and Rebekah missed the parade because they weren't early enough to avoid the road closure (the highway was shut down for the parade). When they arrived, Rebekah was fascinated by her snowball. At any rate, we had a nice time at the fair. Since this was supposed to be my day off, I spent the day sketching and painting illustrations for my book. Mike and Erica watched both Rebekah and Rachel (when she wasn't hungry), so it was a real day off. Our friend, Glen, also came to the fair with his girlfriend, Theresa. We would have taken pictures, but I forgot the camera last night and Mike forgot it this morning. It was really beautiful how the booths were set up between the giant trees in the park. I wish you could see it. Oh, well... Later in the day, we went to a barbeque at Ira's house. (Ira and Mike work together at Wire Comm.) We must be in Alaska, since moose burgers and elk steaks were on the menu, as were several varieties of home-brewed beer. When Ira went on the hunting trip where he bagged the moose he served, his share of moose was 350 lbs. His wife commented that moose butchering wouldn't be happening in the kitchen anymore. Boy, that kitchen must have been quite a sight! When people talk about "getting their meat" in Alaska, they are referring to going hunting. Who would want to buy meat at the store when there's free* meat just walking around, waiting to be harvested. * Of course, if you calculate the costs involved in hunting or fishing, it's far from free... You also have to invest in a deep freezer and vacuum sealer to store all that meat until you want to use it. 
And here are our hosts, Ira and his wife: 
Photos uploaded July 26, 2006 |
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Friday, July 7th: We spent much of the day unpacking. I lost count at seven boxes. We also broke in Rebekah's new "Beauty and the Beast" puzzle Liz gave her for being a super-cute flower girl. We also read several books together. ("Read ah me, Mama! Read ah me!") This morning, before all of the above productivity, we noticed that Rose wasn't around. When Mike left this morning, the cat window was open. When I got up, the window had gotten closed, Mary was waiting at the front door to be let in, and Rose was nowhere to be seen. It turned out that Rose had gotten herself stuck under a storage shed. I enticed her to stick her head out by offering her wet cat food. Once she was within reach, I grabbed the scruff of her neck and gently pulled her to freedom. Poor kitty. Of course, now that I'm writing to you, I'm realizing that we haven't seen Rose in a while. As for Mary, she surprised me today. She was sitting outside at the top of the stairs going down to our front door when Mr. Bee (who belongs to our landlords) jumped over the fence into the backyard. The two cats examined each other for a few seconds, before Mary chased Mr. Bee up over the playhouse and until he retreated into the next yard over. At the last interaction, Mr. Bee was top cat, but now the tables have turned... While we were outside, we also had a little tea party with our fancy new teacups. Rebekah does such a good job drinking out of hers. Since each teacup and saucer only cost $2, I am able to relax and not feel worried about her breaking them. Of course, since teacups are a feminine thing, Rebekah loves them. As Rebekah strives to emulate all the Disney princesses, it makes me realize how much influence society has over our children. Good luck trying to keep the media from raising your kids! We also went for a little walk this morning on the trail near our house. It was really beautiful and would have been truly perfect, except for those bloodsucking parasites that kept attacking us. We own three bottles of mosquito repellant, which we have "Grandma Toni'd" (i.e. put in a now-forgotten safe place). We refuse to spend any more money on bug spray, which is why we suffered on our walk. 
Photos uploaded July 26, 2006 |
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Thursday, July 6th: We had our old friend Glen Howe over for dinner this evening. We met him up here back in 1999, when he and Mike worked together at Alcan Electric. After also trying to leave Alaska, he moved back. (Sound familiar?) I tell you, living up here does something to you. Even our landlords are ex-ex-Alaskans. Anyway, it was very good to see Glen again and we look forward to seeing him again soon. Earlier today, we went back to the Honda dealership today where they gave us our estimate to fix the seeping oil and transmission pans. After that, we got new rear tires for the van; the old tires (which we got earlier this year) were bald from us exceeding (by far) the Odyssey's maximum tongue weight and towing capacity on our trip up here. Let's just say that it was only by the grace of God that we made it up here without getting a blowout or blowing our engine or transmission or both. |
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Wednesday, July 5th: Today we got the oil changed on the van. They told me that there was some seepage from the oil pan and of transmission fluid. After that, we went to the library. Rebekah turned in her reading chart and picked out her free book. She gets another, smaller prize if she reads twenty more books. We had a nice time at the library, playing out on the lawn afterward. We chased each other and played tag, which was quite a trick considering how Rachel bounced in the sling when I ran. 
Photo uploaded July 27, 2006 |
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Tuesday, July 4th: The highlight of our day today was the Municipality of Anchorage's fireworks display. Since the sun didn't set until after eleven, the fireworks show wasn't held until midnight, at which point it was still light enough so that there weren't any stars in the sky. Fireworks really aren't that impressive unless it's dark outside. What was impressive was the fact that, at midnight, the entire town was still awake. We brought our hibachi and barbequed beside the van, enjoying our Polish sausages inside, where it was nice and warm. We watched people stream toward the field where the fireworks were being set off; some were wrapped in blankets, others wore shorts and short-sleeved shirts despite the cool night air. On the way home, Mike took the scenic route home. He drove over by the airport and showed me all the floatplanes parked on the water. Then we kept having to turn around because the road was closed in several areas. Someday we will own our own floatplane and remote cabin in the Interior. That is the dream that stirred in our hearts back in 1997, when we first plotted to move up here. Even though we second-guessed ourselves back in '99, we can feel the dream reawakening. Of course, we remember the new lyrics to the Seven Dwarfs' song: "I owe, I owe, so off to work I go." Eventually, we found our way out of the watery maze of airplanes and headed home at one-thirty in the morning. Really, if you think about it, the Municipality should have had the fireworks display twenty-four hours earlier in order for it to take place on the fourth of July. Plus, we could all look forward to sleeping in on the holiday, instead of getting up early Wednesday morning to go to work. 
Photos uploaded July 26, 2006 |
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Monday, July 3rd: We spent another day working around the house. It's amazing how much work it takes to make just a little bit of progress. We also went to Costco and bought food for our Fourth of July barbeque tomorrow. Here is Rebekah the way she initially fell asleep, listening to me read: 
Here is Rebekah after she was tucked in: 
Photos uploaded July 14, 2006 |
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Sunday, July 2nd: We visited another church today, which we liked. It's called the Anchorage Vineyard Christian Fellowship. In some ways it was like our home church in Anza, but not exactly. There weren't as many families or as many kids. I doubt that anyone who attends this church owns horses, goats or chickens, as so many of our friends in Anza do. This new church occupies half of a big warehouse, so you would expect it to look like a barn inside, but it doesn't. The paint is nice. The chairs were comfy. There were little cafe tables in addition to the normal seating. (I guess that's a new thing now some places, to make the new generation feel more comfortable.) I generally feel uncomfortable in big churches, since I believe that a showy building is a poor use of churchgoers' money, but this one was okay. When we run out of starving people in the world maybe I'll change my mind... After church we just came home and unpacked, while Erica played and played with Rebekah. We rearranged the furniture in our living room and set up Mike's new surround sound system. Now we're watching "Groundhog Day" projected onto the wall. 
Mike is sleeping so I'll ruminate a little. A earlier this evening I was talking to Marianna and blabbering on about what's going on here. It made me realize that blogging is dangerous. Keeping track of what we do all day can tempt a person into thinking that other people actually care about what we do all day. I find that sort of thing interesting, but I suspect that most people just want a quick update. "How is everything?" "Good. You?" "Okay." If anyone is still reading this, please tell me what you want more of. Okay, okay, more photos of the girls are coming. Soon. Due to the fact that our home is still on the market, I have been thinking a bit lately about the economic bubbles of the "new economy," from junk bonds to the dot com con. What follows are the ramblings of an idle mind... While I think that the housing market was over-inflated, one thing separates it from some of the other bubbles is that homes actually have real value--you can live in them. The problem with money itself, however, is also the very thing that makes it so useful: it is abstract and intangible. Money itself is not a burden (except perhaps spiritually), whereas other assets (from livestock to gold bullion) take up space and are generally subject to "rust and thieves". Trading directly in money (i.e. growth in some hot new sector) offers the greatest returns but also the greatest risk, because someone eventually recognizes that the emperor has no clothes, triggering a figurative run on the bank. Money's value lies in the fact that it can be used to purchase real goods and services. Therefore, since it has no value aside from purchasing power, when the things money can buy become more expensive, money truly has less value (especially when it is just paper money)--thus, inflation. I'm no economist, but since we know someone (businesses or consumers) must end up absorbing rising energy costs, it is not the economy's health that is causing inflation, but simply scarcity in what holds real value (i.e. oil). While commodities such as gold have some intrinsic value, a given country's paper currency is only as good as confidence on the part of those who buy that country's treasury bonds. By running a deficit, our country puts itself in the unstable trade of money itself. We are dependent on investors who seek to make a profit. When our defaulting on our loans no longer sounds so unrealistic, they are liable to dump our currency. It wasn't the superiority of democracy that led to our victory in the Cold War, but the power of our dollar. We have all seen how currency crises in other country have lead to people needing a wheelbarrow full of money to buy bread. Why are we so different? So even though the housing market per se isn't subject to absolute collapse in value, it is still not stable. |
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Saturday, July 1st: After we left Fred Meyer's last night, Rebekah fell asleep on the way home. Even after that, Mike drove around for a little while longer. He showed me various neighborhoods around town, none of which I remembered. There are a lot of places in Anchorage that I remember from when we lived here before, but I often get lost in this unfamiliar city. I always know where I am, more or less, but I feel as if I ought to know my way around already. Mike seems to have spent his three months alone up here doing nothing but driving (which isn't too far from the truth), so he already knows the city pretty well. So after we came home from driving around, Mike went off to bed and I willed myself to wash diapers. While I was doing diapers way past bedtime, a knock came at the door and I remembered that Erica had said she was coming over. She kept me company while I worked. We talked about her experiences being a female fire crew boss, having to direct macho men/boys. What a pleasure it has been to enjoy her company these recent weeks. Today was beautiful! Our original plan was to go camping this weekend, but we have decided to be responsible instead. We may just camp out Sunday and Monday nights or even just Monday, if we accomplish enough between now and then to deserve some fun. So we started out by buying going back to Fred Meyer's and buying the dining room table and bookcases we picked out last night. Later on, Mike barbequed some ahi tuna steaks and hamburgers for dinner. Erica joined us and we soaked up her company. We all played with Rebekah and Rachel. The sky was blue and it was beautiful. Erica commented that our cat Rose appears to be in love with baby Rachel. Here is the evidence: Rose likes to 1) climb into the playpen, baby swing, and carseat to sleep, 2) climb on top of the baby when I am nursing her, and 3) cuddle up against the baby when she is lying by herself. Of course, Rose isn't allowed to do any of these things, but we like to take photos before shooing her away from her forbidden sleeping places. 
Photos Uploaded July 5, 2006 |
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Friday, June 30th: So far, we've just stuck around the house today. Rebekah watched "Lord of the Dance" and "Veggie Tales" videos, both of which I annoyed me. In the former, Michael Flatley tries a little too hard to make Irish dancing sexy. I love the dancing, but seeing scantily clad Irish dancers bugs me. Then there were the good guys out-dancing the bad guys. Michael Flatley really seems to think he is it-on-a-stick. Goodness gracious! As for Veggie Tales, I have never seen them before (Rebekah picked this video out), and they incorporate a quote from the Bible at the end to make themselves seem Christian, but they give me the creeps. I feel like Holden Caufield, wanting to call the cartoonmakers a bunch of phonies. As most people who know me know, I am annoyed at the saturation of pop-culture with UFO references. In two of the three "Veggie Tale" videos we played, there were overt references to aliens. For example, in the "David and Goliath" Veggie Tales episode, one of the characters says, "I'm so hungry I could eat a spaceship." His friend asks, "What's a spaceship," and the first character says, "I don't know." This is all in a skit set in ancient Israel, so it doesn't even make any sense. If you watch children's television programming (which you probably don't unless you're a mom), otherwise wholesome shows (like "Sesame Street" and "Barney") definitely have more UFO references than a generation ago when aliens were taboo. After I puked up the Veggie Tales, we turned off the television (Good Idea #1) and actually played. We've read several books so far this afternoon. If only I could read grown-up books as quickly as we fly through Rebekah's books. Rebekah has to read (or listen to) twenty-four beginning books to earn her very own book to keep in the library summer reading program. We just signed up yesterday and she's already half-way there. Scary... Rebekah composed her first letter today. It happened like this: While drawing, she handed me a pen and asked me to write for her. She wanted to write to some friends and her grandparents at the same time, so we had to clear that up. What is possible via modern technology (i.e. sending one letter to people at different addresses) is not possible via snail mail without a copy machine. Well, we're off to meet Mike and go furniture shopping. We've finally resigned ourselves to actually shelling out money for bookcases, a dining room set and a bedroom set. Later: We met Mike after work today and went to one of those little traveling carnivals that's in town. Rebekah went on ride after ride, sometimes by herself and sometimes with her Daddy. (I pretty much talked on the phone the whole time, but I was just happy to see Rebekah's smiling face.) I had forgotten the camera, so we resolved to come back to use our last six tickets and take photos of Rebekah having too much fun. Our next stop was Fred Meyer's, where we found the dining room table set we want. We also saw some nice bookcases. Mike is always trying to spoil me and kept pushing for us to get the barrister bookcases. Fortunately, there were some other bookcases that will do just as good of a job holding up my books, so we resisted temptation. There's a 20%-off furniture sale that ends tomorrow, giving us some incentive to actually make a decision. The furniture section was right next to the bicycle section. This was not lost on Rebekah, who was quick to point out a little pink bicycle (with training wheels) just her size. We let her sit on it and her feet actually reached the pedals. We put a helmet on Rebekah and she pedaled around (with Mike keeping her from running into things). She is only two years old and is already ready for her first bike. Scary! We had been planning on getting her a tricycle, but maybe we'll just skip that step and get her knee and arm pads to go with a real bike. |
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Thursday, June 29th: We spent a bit of time at the library today, as we often do. Rebekah put puzzles together with the other little kids. I wound up reading a few books to them, with the other kids even more entranced by my reading than Rebekah was. Once we big people stop thinking about what we're doing a week from next Thursday, being around little kids is one of the warmest, fuzziest feelings in the world. They may have long-term needs that they can't understand, but when it comes down to it, they have their priorities right: eating, drinking, sleeping, going potty, cuddling and playing. It really is true that all I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten. |
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Wednesday, June 28th: The Cat Came Back Last night I kept dreaming that Rose came home. (We had left the kitchen window open so that Rose could come inside in the middle of the night.) Unfortunately, when we woke up in the morning, Rose still wasn't here. With low expectations, I went outside and called her some more. This time, she popped her head out of her hiding place before retreating again. I lured her out again, grabbed her and brought her inside. We gave her wet cat food since she came when called, but she was too nervous to eat it; Mary was happy to eat it for her. We're so glad that both Mary and Rose are safe and sound! What a relief not to have to worry about calling the pound or putting up posters. I'm pretty sure now that the goose egg on Rebekah's head on Monday was due to a mosquito bite. In the spot where the big bump was, there is now a little bump indistinguishible from other mosquito bites. I hope this elevated reaction was a one-time occurance and not a sign of any lasting mosquito allergy. If the swelling had been from her fall in the cafe, she should have had at least some bruising. Furthermore, I now have similar symptoms, with a big mosquito bite welt on my forehead. Since I haven't fallen on my head lately, it must be that she and I are sensitive to mosquito bites. On a philosophical note, while baking banana bread this morning, I started thinking about the eternal challenges of impulse control (or self-discipline). It is one of only a few problems that are the source of mankind's eternal struggles: 1) (Self-)control, and 2) Determining what to do and what not to do (i.e. who makes/enforces the laws?). Obviously, the former is only relevant once we have addressed the latter. Obviously, self-control consists of compelling ourselves to do things we don't want to do, all in order achieve an end that we desire. The inverse, of course, is resisting counterproductive impulses that undermine our aims. For me (today especially), unpacking boxes is a particularly salient example: I want everything to be put away, but dislike doing the work. My immediate and long-term aims compete with each other. Of course, the other great problem is determining the standard to which we conform our lives (i.e. the hierarchy of our desires). What is to be done or avoided when society's or (even God's) interests conflict with those of the individual? Much of politics results from various people's answers to that question. Of course, the U.S. is founded on the idea that freedom of speech and political expression constitute a basic human right (even in the face of the interests of the state). It is interesting to look at the proposed constitutional amendment banning flag-burning from this perspective. I can't think of anyone I know who would be inclined to burn a flag, but to actually ban such free expression seems to me to put other liberties at risk. Would it be legal to burn a painting of an American flag? What constitutes an American flag? What if it only has forty-nine stars or thirteen? What also strikes me as ironic is that the legislative act of banning flag burning constitutes a concrete example of destroying the very liberty that the flag represents and thus could itself be likened to flag burning. Thank goodness the amendment came up one vote short! In general, I'll try to stay out of politics in this blog, but, just this once, I couldn't resist. So much for my impulse control... We'll try to add some pictures RSN... Later: Mike watched the girls this evening. He took them to watch planes land (that's how we get our thrills around here), while I worked feverishly on my sample illustrations for my book. I'm feeling encouraged now that I've been somewhat productive. |
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Tuesday, June 27th: Sunny Day, Keeping the Clouds Away I made a strawberry pie today. It was the first pie I've made since our arrival in Alaska. Maybe it is a sign that things are starting to get back to normal. In Anza, I usually baked at least a few times per week. Rebekah tried to "help" me by begging for strawberries and stealing bits of pie dough. It wasn't until she went down for her nap that I was able to finish the pie. Rebekah must have been pretty pooped; she fell asleep in the middle of our third book. Today we met up with Iris, a mom we met a few weeks ago, at Jewel Lake Park. Rebekah played in the water, wearing a life vest. They had two lifeguards on duty, but I still kept my eyes on her the whole time since you can never be too careful. The kids tried to catch little fish in the water with their hands. A little boy caught a tiny fish and showed Rebekah (by sticking it right in her face). She was not the least bit squeamish. Tonight was supposed to be my night off, with Mike watching Rebekah so I could make sample illustrations for my book. However, Mike bought a hibachi barbeque and wanted to break it in. We had steak and salad out in the backyard to celebrate the reappearance of blue sky. We put the cats outside, but they both ran and hid. When we went to bring them back inside, Mary came but Rose didn't. We called, "Here, kitty, kitty," until our neighbors were looked and looked for Rose, but she never came. Mary was lonely and wanted to sleep on our bed, but we couldn't let her (since Mike's allergies would have acted up). |
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Monday, June 26th: A Goose Egg
The highlight of our day was going to the library. By the time we went there it was already after five, so we shared a sandwich and some hot cocoa in the Aurora Cafe. Rebekah had wanted a push-up pop, so I told her she could have some after dinner. She took two bites and was ready for dessert, as usual. With a good deal of hand-holding, she ate all her food and got her popsicle. While we were at the library, we returned some books and videos, before getting new ones. While redoing Rebekah's ponytail, I noticed a big goose egg developing at the top of her forehead. It looked like either a reaction to a mosquito bite, or a bang on the head. The latter seemed more likely since, when we were in the cafe, Rebekah had fallen down while hurrying across the tile floor. She hadn't cried, but I reasoned that perhaps she had banged her head; apparently, she has learned that crying leads to getting her head iced. Alarmed at the swelling on her head, I quickly checked out our videos and we headed back to the cafe for ice. The ice didn't spend much time on Rebekah's head, much less in the right spot, so I resigned myself to the inevitability of a big bruise on her head, but none appeared. |
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Sunday, June 25th: Girdwood Day Trip We got something of a late start this morning, which means that we'll have to visit our next prospective church next week. We drove out to Girdwood for the afternoon, since Mike wanted to show it to me. When we were on our way there, the tide was low in Turnagain Arm. What a site! By the time we made it into Girdwood, the girls had fallen asleep, allowing us some time for a two-person Bible Study from John 6. After that we got free coffee for us, some chocolate milk for Rebekah and went to a very nice playground. Rebekah played for hours. When we left, it was already nine o'clock, but didn't feel like it. The power was out when we came back into Anchorage, but came back on eventually. 
Photos Uploaded July 4, 2006 |
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Saturday, June 24th: Erica's Visit, Day Two We had hash browns and eggs with ham and cheese for brunch today. I've never made hash browns before and it showed. Mike, Erica and Rebekah aren't picky and ate them anyway. Rule Number One (to have people enjoy one's cooking): Starving people aren't picky. It's been a relaxing day so far, highlighted by the kitties' introduction to the backyard. They have their ID tags, but we hope they won't split... A little later: While I was on the phone, Mike came in to tell me that the cats appeared to have disappeared. Fortunately, they were just hiding and came out when I called them. After that, we went out with Erica to buy a dining room table and chairs that we had seen at the Salvation Army. It was a very nice set and someone else got to it first... We did buy one bookcase while we were there. We also went to Borders and listened to the live music. Since we had company, we ate out at a Mexican place called "Qdoba" before coming home and watching "The Royal Tenenbaums" projected onto the wall. What a day! |
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Friday, June 23rd: Erica's Visit, Day One I worked around the house today. I was even able to get Rebekah to take a nap at home, without driving to Timbuktu to lull her to sleep. We did read several books to get her (and me) to nod off, but that's A-okay. Rebekah has taken to asking for books at mid-day as well as at night, now. In fact, she woke up in the middle of her nap, saying, "More books, please." I assured her that I would read more to her when she woke up and she went back to sleep. I remember, when she was very small, worrying that she might not be a reader and, if that were the case, what I would do. Well, Rebekah has put those fears to rest. Erica has the weekend off from firefighting. She came over for dinner and played with Rebekah in the backyard, while I talked to my Mom (Marianna) on the phone. Erica and Rebekah ran all over, "preparing for the winter" under the giant trampoline, as well as swinging and rolling in the grass. The sky was blue with ripply clouds and it was a particularly happy day. It is hard to make myself remember how tough it was being apart with Mike. It was like heaven just sitting together, eating chips and guacamole and breathing the fresh air. Kenneth L. Grooms once said, "Our love does not consist in gazing at one another, but looking outward together in the same direction." |
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Thursday, June 22nd: A Clean Car is a Happy Car We made another pilgrimage to the library today. After Mike got off of work, he went to various stores to find an inexpensive DVD player and speaker system. The TV speakers are good enough for me, but what books are to me, technology is to Mike. (We accidentally left our DVD player at Mike's parents' house in Fallbrook, and since they needed a new DVD player for their downstairs TV, it seemed better to just let them keep it. Now we have to send them the speakers to go with it.) So, we left the library when Mike was finally done shopping. On the way home, I found a do-it-yourself carwash and waited for Mike to meet me and bring me some money (since I had none and was too lazy to go get some). First, I vacuumed the van. Then, while Mike bonded with Rebekah, I scrubbed every last mosquito corpse off our van. It's rained a lot since we got here (so that I kept waiting for it to stop before getting the car washed), but no amount of rain could loosen the 3,700 miles worth of gunk that was cemented to our van. Now, however, the van is beautiful and sparkly. |
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Wednesday, June 21st: Errands We didn't do any kid activities today since I don't want Rebekah to get other kids sick. However, I still had some errands to do... For our first stop, we picked up the second half of my set of Lithuanian encyclopedias at the post office. While we were there, we mailed a gift to our neighbors (who have been watering our plants since we moved). We also went to the library, where we got some more children's videos for Rebekah and some knitting books for me. Since the library is right by the post office, we also stopped there to inquire about getting a box. Since the annual cost is $102 and we don't have any real need for one, we decided against it. We also stopped by the DMV to pick up the Alaska Driving Manual. (Mike took the test and passed before we came up, but I still have to get my new license.) While Rebekah and Rachel napped, I parked in front of Costco and cleaned out the van. Let's just say that it needed it. After Mike got off of work, he met me at Costco. By that time Rebekah woke up and needed to go potty. They made a return for me and then got stuck playing the pianos. After I changed Rachel's diaper and joined them, I took Rebekah to the potty. Then we looked at all the cool stuff, buying only kitty food and chewing gum. (How's that for self-control, eh?) We had Costco pizza for dinner and then made a quick stop at some thrift shops to look for a dining room table and some chairs. I got to talk to my brother, Gio, and |
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Tuesday, June 20th: Sick and Tired Rebekah officially has a cold. Maybe her fever was part one, or maybe she got it playing in the park yesterday. She spent much of last night coughing. This morning she was a cuddle-bug, needing to be held and comforted in her sad, sad state. That's pretty much all I did today, since she was so clingy and pitiable. Mike didn't get home until eightish, so it was a loooooong day. |
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Monday, June 19th: Apart Again Mike's work sent him to the Mt. McKinley Princess Resort again today; he'll be back tomorrow. He's staying there until tomorrow. In other news, Rebekah's fever is gone. There was a concert in the park for the Anchorage Moms Meet-Up group, but we were late getting there (I only checked email about fifteen minutes before the concert started.) When we got to the park, there were still kids to play with. Rebekah had a reindeer hot dog and ran around in circles for a while. (The more things change, the more they stay the same.) Afterward, we went to the library and Rebekah had fun playing with a six-year-old little girl who could actually read. (Rebekah was very impressed that another short person had mastered the mysterious art of reading.) First, the other girl read to Rebekah, then Rebekah proceeded to "read" back to her. We had a fun time. |
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Sunday, June 18th: We miss Emmanuel Christian Fellowship! Today we got to go to church for the first time in a few weeks and we got to see my cousin Erica, who is a firefighter up here for the summer. Mike attended Birchwood Community Church a few times before the girls and I came up. Of the various churches he visited, it had the most in common with Emmanuel Chrisian Fellowship, our church in Anza. Of course, back in Anza, people joked when we left that we'd be starting Emanuel Chrisitan Fellowship, Alaska. (Our church has sister churches in Murietta, Mexico and (soon) in Zambia.) Well, after the sermon, it made me wonder if that is God's plan for us up here. 
(Photos Uploaded July 4, 2006) |
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Saturday, June 17th: Garage Saling We just found out that our neighbors, Harold and Susan Kim, have been watering our plants and trees. Before we left, Susan had said she could water every couple of days, but I was so relieved to find out that she actually meant it. We are very blessed to have such good neighborss! We need to install drip irrigation ASAP, though, so we don't take advantage of their kindness! Today we checked out garage sales in the morning and thrift stores in the afternoon. Primarily, we were looking for a dining room table with chairs and some dishes. No luck on the table, but we did buy a set of dishes, a game of Connect Four, an ironing board, a resin "Welcome" frog, and an Alaskan Monopoly game and VHS tapes of "Sleeping Beauty" and "Mulan" (all for a grand total of $18). |
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Friday, June 16th: Cat Scratch Fever or just a bug? Last night Rebekah came down with a fever of 102 degrees. We couldn't figure out the cause, especially because she didn't have any cold or flu symptoms. Today Rebekah told me that one of the kitties "Rose, not Mary" scratched her; she showed me a puncture wound on her finger. It occurred to us that maybe Rebekah has Cat Scratch Fever. I read up on it and, supposedly, it resolves itself independently in most cases. If her fever lasts more than a few days or goes any higher, we'll take her in to the doctor to have tests done. After work we stopped by a couple thrift stor |
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Thursday, June 15th: Happy Birthday to Me! When I was walking out the front door, I saw a yellow bouquet that Marianna and Mark had sent. Seven years ago on my birthday, they also sent flowers... :-) I met Mike at Jewel Lake for a picnic dinner. We had a tomato and mushroom pizza, salad, and a delicious angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream. It was a happy, happy day. Rebekah played with some little Eskimo girls and her Daddy on the playground, while I talked to Marianna on my new cell phone. (Mark and Marianna had sent beautiful yellow flowers for my birthday.) When Rebekah plays with girls her age, she winds up leading them around. These girls were older than Rebekah, so they led her around. It is good to see that she can play both roles. We also saw a moose over by the trees, which we left alone. There was only one duck in the lake. I expect that the rest of the migrating birds will be arriving shortly. |
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Wednesday, June 14th: An evening of Irish music The highlight of our day was going to the Sun City Cafe's weekly Irish Jam session. We enjoyed the music and watched the dancers. Rebekah and I danced together in an out-of-the-way spot. Later, Rebekah and a little boy (the grandson of one of the musicians) played with a Connect Four game. Neither one of them knew how to play, so they just put the pieces in. After we left the cafe, we were only a block or so from the train station, so we drove by there too. At first we thought we had missed the train, but we were wrong. Rebekah and her Daddy watched as the train came in. She was amazed. After the train, we went to Carr's, where I did a shopping trip while Mike sat in the car with the sleeping children. I was surprised to see a few mothers in the store with their young children, even though it was past eleven. |
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Tuesday, June 13th: An afternoon in the park Today we went to our local park for the first time. Rebekah spent most of the time playing with some other little girls who were her same height. Hearing an interesting accent, I started chatting with a nice Swiss-German woman named Iris, who has three little boys. After that, we went to Fred Meyer's for some household stuff, as well as Costco for food. (When we got here, the cupboards were almost completely bare. Well, they are bare no more.) Later, when Mike came home, I got him to watch Rebekah and Rachel so I could bring in boxes from the trailer. He's still pretty pooped from driving that last mega-shift from Tok to Anchorage. |
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Monday, June 12th: Unpacking Our new home is just how I thought it would be from the photos Mike sent, only now it is full of boxes and luggage. In fact, the first batch of book boxes was sitting by our front door when we arrived. After a long day of unpacking, we went with Mike to the library after he got off of work. Rebekah had a good time playing with the kids in the children's section. One of the nice things about living in the city again is that there is a deluxe library nearby. I'm used to the tiny Anza branch of the Riverside County Library... |
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Sunday, June 11th: Alaska or Bust! We had been warned back in Whitehorse that the section between Haines Junction and Beaver Creek would be tough. It was. However, on the bright side, we got to see Kluane Lake, which is absolutely beautiful. We could have stayed there for a week or a month, but instead we stayed for perhaps a half-hour (if that long). The ice heaves and gravel sections in between Haines Junction and Tok meant that we had to go very slowly at times. The road wasn't windy at all, but just bumpy. Finally, when we rolled into Tok, we saw a wolf along the side of the road. It looked like a coyote, only more dignified. After getting more gas and doing all the usual chores, we proceeded onward and drove. When we left Tok, it was my turn behind the wheel. It was a long, bumpy drive to the Tok Turnoff. When I reached the Tok Turnoff, the gas station there was already closed, so I had just kept on going, hoping for another one. Shortly after Mike took over at the wheel, he noticed that the gas was running low (I hadn't mentioned to him to keep his eyes peeled for a gas station). Right after that, we came upon a gas station that was still open. It was already 10:30 p.m. and the gas station should have closed at 10:00 p.m., but the proprietor had been kept late by a conversant customer. If it hadn't been for that talkative man, we would have had to stop for the night and wait for a gas station to open before being able to complete our journey. There were so many times when we felt the hand of Providence looking out for us along this journey, especially right then. So after getting gas that final time, we kept driving on to Palmer. We had planned to meet Erica earlier in the evening, but called ahead to let her know we wouldn't be there until midnight. She said to come anyway, since she had killed the battery on her truck and need a jump-start. She kindly picked up some kitty litter for our cats, so we wouldn't have to go to the store before going home. Finally, we reached Erica somewhere around one in the morning and got to our new home by two. We promptly went to bed and somehow Mike willed himself to get up in the morning and go to work. We made it! 
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Saturday, June 10th: Even More British Columbia I had the first shift on Saturday, between Fort Nelson and Summit Lake. When I passed through Fort Nelson at four o'clock in the morning, I still had quite a bit of gas left and none of the gas stations were open. The sign said that the next gas station would be in around 50 kilometers, so I kept driving. When we reached that gas station at six in the morning, it was "closed for the season." The gas light had just come on, so we consulted the Alaska Highway almanac and continued to the next gas station, hoping that it would actually be open. If it turned out not to be open, we knew we would be sitting on the side of the road with a "Help" sign. Fortunately, Canadians are pretty nice, so we still probably would have been okay. Probably... So we prayed that we would make it to the next stop and, thank God, we did. In fact, we arrived about ten minutes before they opened. We also took the opportunity to fill up our thermos with coffee, enjoy some homemade pastries and buy some postcards. Soon we were on the road again. After a long day on the road, we reached Whitehorse in the late afternoon. 
It was on Saturday that we saw the lion's share of the wild animals along our journey. We saw our first moose, along with caribou, rock sheep, and a bison. At that point I had a shift, driving until we reached Haines Junction late that night. We got there right when the bars were letting out. There were people stumbling drunk around town, with what looked like police checkpoints in a couple places. Anyway, we needed gas and the gas stations wouldn't be open until morning, so that's where we parked for the night. In the morning, I asked the guy at the gas station if that was normal. He said that there was a music festival going on, but added (in a thick Canadian accent), "We drink a lot here." 
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Friday, June 9th: More British Columbia So we drove, drove and drove through Friday. We passed through Prince George and reached Dawson Creek in the evening. Mike pretty much missed most of the scenery, since he had to rest for his shift. I saw so much beauty that I got jaded and couldn't even take it in anymore. We did stop to take a few shots, but there were hundreds, even thousands of photos that we would have liked to have taken. Mike took over at Dawson Creek in the evening and drove almost all the way to Fort Nelson overnight. Of course, he got tired in the wee hours of the morning, when I was still asleep, so we just parked until I woke up and was ready to drive. 
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Thursday, June 8th: Washington, British Columbia & the Great Ah-Ha We were just north of Seattle when it was my turn to drive on Thursday morning. After only a few hours, we reached the border, went through Customs and proceeded into Canada. It was either in Northern Washington or Southern British Columbia that I had an epiphany about the nature of our relationships with each other, with others and with God. Here is the gist of my realization: (1) Contact between two entities results either in unity (if the entities are similar) or in friction (if the entities are dissimilar). Unity with God is dependent on becoming like Him. He wasn't joking when He said, "Be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:48) Obviously, we can't ever be perfect, but whenever we make a choice in life we really can--and should--stop and ask WWJD. If we are to experience oneness with Jesus, we must emulate him--especially when doing so is difficult. (2) Friction between two entities wears down the weaker entity. The less powerful entity may repel from the more powerful one, to keep from being destroyed down if the level of friction is great enough. If, on the other hand, the friction is minimal, contact can continue and the lesser entity will simply be worn down slowly.** Sin could be seen as that which causes friction with God, with "our neighbor," and within ourselves. It is simplistic to say that God punishes us for our sins. Rather, He has forbidden everything that naturally causes trouble in our lives or inherently interferes with our fulfilling His purpose. We have no business trying to reinterpret the Bible to change Jesus' commands. He told us which road hazards to avoid. We can redefine what constitutes a pothole, but we can't fool our tires. Perhaps the biggest problem with sin is that it makes contact with God uncomfortable, since we are too busy feeling either ashamed about our unworthiness or indignant at God's infringement on our liberty. Just as looking at the sun is uncomfortable, so too is facing God. The trump card, however, is love. (3) Love makes contact between unalike entities possible. God's love for us and ours for God, "our neighbor" and ourselves*) that makes contact between us and God possible, as well as between us and others who aren't like us. Without Jesus' love and sacrifice, trying to have contact with God is as impossible as looking straight at the sun without destroying our retinas. His glory is too bright and none of us is worthy to be in His presence. The ironic thing is that God's love for us allows us to have immediate contact with Him without being crushed by His presence, yet (if we reciprocate) we inevitably feel compelled change ourselves to be more pleasing to Him. Just as a bride wants to be beautiful for her husband, so we--the Church--inevitably want to improve ourselves for Jesus. Fortunately, He told us how to express our affection, saying, "If you love me, keep my commands." (John 14:15) Just as God's energy (by being infinite) appears to flout the First Law of Thermodynamics, Jesus' love (and sacrifice on the Cross) allow us to have contact with Him without being destroyed by his glory (due to our sinfulness). Even though God loves us in spite of our sins, sin is still inherently distructive and is to be avoided. You are probably either nodding your head at the obviousness of all this, scratching your head and trying to figure out what I'm talking about, or So... we drove into Canadia (as Mike's Canadian cousin once accidentally referred to it) and up through Vancouver, Hope, and toward Prince George. Mike's shift was in the evening, but when he got tired, I still wasn't ready to take a turn again, so we parked. * Where self-love is vanity, the second greatest commandment presupposes that we actually love ourselves as well. ** To use another driving metaphor, it is hard to shift into reverse while driving forward because the friction is too great. Instead, the clutch grinds a little, but won't go in. It is far easier to destroy one's transmission by using a gear that isn't quite the right one. This is why repentence (i.e. turning around 180 degrees) is necessary in order to be in God's presence. If we try to shift into reverse while going 60 miles-per-hour, we will be destroyed. We have to stop before backing up or turning around. |
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Wednesday, June 7th: A Whirlwind Visit By the time we made it to Dave's house Wednesday morning, we were a full day behind schedule. I wish I could have had everything done before Mike had arrived, but I don't know how I could have worked any faster. So we arrived at Dave's and visited with him for a little while before he left for work. Then Mike went to sleep in Dave's room (to prepare for driving that evening), while I watched the girls and visited with Grandpa Russell. We also let the cats stretch their legs during our stopover. Since I had Grandpa Russell right there in front of me, I asked him to tell me about when he and Grandma Julie first met. (I've heard the story from Grandma Julie, but it's good to hear another version of it.) Grandpa Russell had a lot to do, but I wanted to see him even if it meant accompanying him on his errands, so I drove him around and listened to more and more about his adventures with Grandma Julie. After a busy day, I dropped Grandpa Russell off at his apartment and headed back to Dave's house. We got to see Dave one more time before he headed off to go rock-climbing. Russell came by to say goodbye after realizing that he had another day to get his coffee activities done. Finally, at about seven-thirty, we hit the highway. Mike took the first shift while I slept. 
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Tuesday, June 6th: Driving to Eugene Mike was ready for a break when we reached the north side of the Grapevine at around four in the morning. We established road trip break routine: Putting Rachel in her sling to nurse, taking Rebekah to the potty (both at the beginning and end of the break), a diaper change for Rachel, getting gas, coffee and snacks, and walking the cats (on leashes) so they could do their business, and (at eight-hour intervals) administering another dose of sedatives to the cats. An hour-and-a-half later, we were back on the road... Our plan was to take turns driving and sleeping, going straight through instead of stopping at motels. I drove through much of Tuesday day while Mike slept, with him relieving me in the evening when we were passing through Northern California. Marianna wanted us to promise her we wouldn't drive through southern Oregon at night, since the mountain roads don't have reflectors. Well, we did. I stayed awake through the mountains to keep Mike company while he drove, but when he finally got tired, I wasn't ready to take over yet. We both slept until morning before driving the rest of the way to Dave's house in Eugene. |
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Monday, June 5th: Our Departure Our last day before moving was marked by wrapping and mailing boxes that wouldn't fit in the tailer. Essentially, we only mailed a given box if the value of the contents exceeded the cost of postage by a substantial amount, or if the contents had a sentimental value justifying the expense. Mike spent much of Monday watching Rebekah, reacquainting himself with the local park. Finally, at 7:47 p.m. (approximately twelve hours behind schedule), we left Mike's parents' house with our trailer in tow. We still had to pick up our cats from the house in Anza, fifty miles away from Fallbrook. To avoid any unnecessary stress on our van, we unhooked the trailer in Temecula, locked the hitch (to keep it from being towed away by thieves) and drove up to Anza. We got the cats, gave them their sedatives (courtesy of my step-mom Tya, who is a vet), and stopped by our Pastor's family's home to say goodbye. Since it was Monday, the Monday Night Men's Bible Study was just finishing up. A long time ago, before the vortex of the past three months, Mike used to come home from work on Monday nights, inhale dinner and hurry off to Men's Bible Study. How long ago those days seem! So we said goodbye to the Neers and their kids, hitting the road again. When we finally got back to Temecula, hooked the trailer back up and inflated our tires to the proper pressure (to protect against blow-outs), it was getting close to midnight. Our journey was only beginning... 
The above photos of Rebekah were taken earlier than June 4th, but they were too cute to exclude! |
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Sunday, June 4th: Liz & Marco's Wedding As if moving weren't enough, we arranged for Mike's return to coincide with my best friend Liz's wedding. Mike's task was to take video of the wedding--before, during and after. I tried to help as best as I could, although it was hard enough being the Matron-of-Honor while managing Rebekah, who was the Flower Girl. Marianna and Gio also came to the wedding--we couldn't have pulled it off without their help. Gio watched Rachel, while Marianna whisked Rebekah off when she would start to throw a fit. After the wedding, Grandma Julie came and played with Rebekah a bit. We had a lot to do after the wedding, so we started clean-up as soon as possible. Surprisingly, it was a lot of fun rinsing dishes so they could be returned to the party rental place, all the while wearing my elegant red dress. Finally, with the rented hall clean and empty, we headed for our next stop--Grandma Ruth's rest home. Since it was really important to Stephanie that we see Grandma Ruth one last time, we stopped by the rest home for a few minutes. Rebekah and Rachel were both asleep, so Mike had to wait in the car. (We dared not wake Rebekah or else the rest of the evening was sure to be disastrous!) Since Stephanie couldn't come to Mark and Marianna's house that evening, it was also our last chance to say good-bye to her. Finally, we went to Mark and Marianna's house, where (in addition to seeing them) we got to see Alex, Gio, Daniel, and Grandma Julie. We had Filippi's Pizza and enjoyed one another's company on the back patio and, later, inside. Alex bravely squished the black widow spider I saw crawl up Marianna's patio chair, which added an element of excitement to the evening. It was a warm, happy visit, like any other, except that it was the last one we'll have until we come back for Christmas. After staying later than we should have, we finally hit the road. There was still a lot of final work to do before we could embark. I stayed up nearly all night, falling asleep from around three until five-thirty while nursing Rachel. |
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Saturday, June 3rd: The Reunion On the morning of Saturday, June 3rd, I woke up to the ringing of the phone. Mike was calling from Salt Lake City, letting me know that his plane was behind schedule and that he would be later than his 9:07 a.m. scheduled arrival time. We were still on the road when he called, earlier than expected, to say that he had landed. (They had made up time in the air.)After three months of separation, he had to wait a few minutes longer. Mike was already waiting for us by the curb when we pulled up in the Odyssey. He was wearing a loud yellow shirt. When he saw Rebekah, they both burst into tears. In fact, Rachel was the only one present who wasn't a sobbing mess. Instead, she laughed as if to say, "I know you!" After Mike and I embraced, I scooted over into the passenger seat and he got in and drove. It was as if he had never been gone. After an impromptu visit to my brother Daniel, we headed northward to finish packing for our move. I still had a bunch of stuff in Mike's parents' garage to sort. By the time we left, everything would be packed, thrown away, or put in the charity pile. While we were working, Mike's cousin Jeff and his girlfriend Kerry came all the way up to Fallbrook to see Mike one last time before our departure. They brought submarine sandwiches that will live in my memory as the best ever. After they left, Mike went up to Anza to bring down our trailer. I had just discovered from the Odyssey's manual that its maximum towing weight was 1,200 lbs. Mike had been thinking that it could tow 3,500 lbs., but it was really the hitch that could handle that weight, not our car. So Mike intended to get the trailer weighed, so we could know if we were over and by how much. Also, the manual said that the tongue weight for the trailer shouldn't exceed 160 lbs. and that we should have separate brakes for the trailer, so Mike went off to try to get that taken care of at a moment's notice. As it turned out, we weren't able to check the trailer weight or get separate brakes. We figured that we were almost certainly over the proscribed weight limit and by several hundred pounds. However, the only solution was to unpack the trailer and reprioritize what we wanted to bring, so we decided to just wing it. If we went no more than fifty-five miles-per-hour the whole way up to Anchorage, down-shifted on climbs and descents, we reasoned that we would probably make it without blowing our transmission or having our brakes catch on fire. 
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