Alaska to Texas

Well, here's a few pictures from our trip to Fairbanks, we had a great time!!
We got to do some gold mining, and keep what we found.


Ok, so we didn't really find nuggets THAT big, only a few of those smaller pieces, about $33

But we had a great time swimming in the pool.


Then we saw the Great Alaskan Pipeline. Hey, lets get some more oil in that thing, these gas prices are killing us!



After scouting for about 15 hours on the road for animals and seeing only a caribou and one rabbit, we come home and see this visitor in our backyard. I risked my life to get a picture this close, so hope you enjoy it!



And of course, a compelling case for the cutest kids in the world.

Tonight, Beth is leaving me with these two for a trip to Dallas for a business conference, so I'm going to need all the help I can get. We're sure going to miss her, and she'll be back real soon. Beth, we'll sing "Deep in the heart of Texas" every night until you come back!

Announcement

Well, I know that I said in my last post that my next post would be about our vacation, but that is going to have to wait for a little while.

So, for the big announcement...we are expecting Hendricks Baby #3!!! We are so excited that the Lord has blessed us with another little baby!!! We have actually known for about a month or so, but we were unsure of when the due date would be. We had an ultrasound this past Thursday, and found out that we are due on February 16th, 2009. So, this next 10 months is shaping up to be very busy. Nathan is very busy at work, will hopefully be upgrading to Instructor Pilot, we will be having a baby, and most likely be moving.

Please pray that the Lord will keep our baby safe and keep me strong and healthy. I have been very fatigued this time...much more than the last two pregnancies. And, when I am tired, I am nauseous. So, that is all kinds of fun. Brianna has been such a help, even though she is just barely three years old.

Lots to Update

Well, it has been a while since I have posted a blog, but for good reason. We have been very busy around here. Last time I posted, Nathan was gone on a trip down to the lower 48, both in Louisiana and in Oklahoma. While he was gone, I got out a new project for the kids. We don't really have a backyard, so they can't just go outside to play anytime they want. But, I do let them play on our back deck. I had this plastic tub, and so I just filled it with rice and put some play cups and scoops and buckets with it. Hours of entertainment, and it cost me almost nothing!!!

The day that Nathan was due to come back from Oklahoma was the first day of the Air Show at Elmendorf. So, I loaded up the kids and took them out for awhile to kill the time until Daddy came home. They had a bouncy house inside one of the hangers, and Brianna wanted to jump in it. So, we waited in line. When it was her turn, she ended up being in there with a bunch of really rowdy big boys. And, since she had never been in one before, she was a little scared. But, she stood in that spot the whole time, hung on to the side the entire time, and had a blast jumping up and down. She did not want to get out.

Nathan got in safely Saturday evening, and we were so thankful to have him home with us. However, he had to work all day Sunday at the Air Show. So, we planned to go and hang out with him there. The start of the "show" portion of the Air Show was this guy who jumped out of an airplane (I don't remember which one- either a C-17 or C-130) and flew the American Flag over the Air Show. That was pretty cool.

We were able to take the kids on their first tour of the AWACS. Now, you may think that we would have done this before, but honestly, when it is such a part of your life, you just don't think to do things like that. Besides, security is usually tight around the squadron. Anyway, we went through and Nathan got to let Brianna sit in the pilot's seat where he sits, and that was cool. This is a picture of Nate and the kids in front of "his" plane. Notice the cute flight jacket that Baby Nate is wearing.

The big attraction to this Air Show was the Thunderbirds, which are F-16 fighter jets. They did a really amazing job! This picture is of two of them flying incredibly close, one upside down on top of the other. I am so thankful that my husband is NOT a fighter pilot!!!

So, after the Thunderbirds flew, I left with the kids and we went home and slept...we were all exhausted. Nathan had to stay and finish his work for the day. He made it home about 6:30, but had to leave to go to a meeting with the Pastor Search Committee that night. He was gone until almost midnight, but they did come to agreement on calling a pastor to our church! Yea!!! Last night they announced it at church, so he will be coming in just the next week to preach and to meet the congregation. We are so excited to hopefully have a pastor soon.

So, my next post will cover our vacation, which we left on the very next day.

I've Been Tagged!!!

So, my friend Lauren(if that is what I should call her...she's my brother's girlfriend- but I consider her a friend) tagged me to tell 10 random things about myself. So...I will try...but I have a pretty boring life right now, so we'll see.

1. As the opposite of my sister Becky, I am actually really good at math. When I was a freshman in high school, I took both Algebra I and Geometry. As a sophomore, I took Physics- which I know is a science, but it is mathematically based. My junior year I took Trigonometry, and my senior year I took Calculus. I tutored high school students during the summer in Algebra when I was in college, and I clepped out of College Algebra. Now, don't ask me where I got this talent for math, or how I am using it today, but I am good at it. So, enough about how smart I WAS...

2. I really like to cross stitch. My Nanny taught me when I was about four years old. I remember sitting with her as she did really detailed cross stitches, and I sat there and she showed me how to make a row of stitches. I would practice on my own right next to her. She was a really good teacher. I haven't done this since I had children.

3. I also really like to scrapbook, but even though I buy all of the stuff to do it, I haven't scrapbooked since my daughter was born.

4. I like singing, and I like to listen to songs on the radio, but if you ever ask me who sings what song, or the name of a song, I honestly have NO CLUE!! I am terrible at knowing that kind of stuff...I am just content to sing along and not pay a bit of attention to all the fluff inbetween the songs.

5. My husband is the only man that I have ever kissed! I love and cherish this fact, as I know he does.

6. I have traveled to five foreign countries. Mexico, Canada, Thailand, Dominican Republic and Argentina.

7. I really don't like being outside. Not a nature girl. In the least. I do it, but I don't always like it. Nathan has to really urge me to go do stuff outdoors with him and the kids. I mean, a walk to the park is OK, but fishing the Russian, hiking...not my cup of tea.

8. I can belch with the best of them. Much to my family's dismay- especially Becky's. And, I usually only do this around my family. And, I really can't help it. :)

9. I have a really hard time sleeping when Nathan is gone. So, please come back soon Babe!!! Since he has been gone this time, I have been sleeping with Brianna. Let's just say, my back hurts a little. Little feet have that effect.

10. Well, since I am having a hard time here, I'll just save my last random fact for another time. Sometime, when you all least expect it, I'll post a random fact about myself. Can you tell I like suspense???

Adventures in Kenai

Ok, so we headed out late Tuesday morning to just get out of town. The only plans that we had were to let Nathan fish at the Russian River, and to stay at a hotel with a swimming pool that night. We had a great time. It took Nathan some convincing to get me to take the kids to the river front because I wasn't to excited about sitting next to the water with the kids, in bear country. But, he promised to stay close, I had the bear spray, and the kids had their life jackets on. So, we went. It was a lot of fun. Especially since we got to see Nathan catch a salmon within the first ten minutes we were there.

Here is Brianna sitting on the ramp to get into the water. It was an absolutely beautiful day!!!

Here is the salmon that Nathan caught within the first few minutes. He actually hooked a few more, but they fought off of the line. We also got to see a couple other guys catch some salmon. And, Nathan also caught a Dolly Vardin (sp???), which is just a certain type of trout...apparently a rare kind. I was really glad people were catching fish, because it helped keep Nate occupied. Otherwise, he just cried because he wanted to get in the water.

Towards the end, Nathan took Nate out into the water and let him touch it. It was cold!!!

So, that night, we went and ate at a fun restaurant called the Bear's Den. They are famous for this huge burger that Brianna got. Actually, we all four shared it. It was really good, and for feeding all of us, it was worth all of the $16 we paid for it.

After dinner, we just went back to the hotel and swam for awhile. The kids had so much fun, and so did Nathan. Actually, I am not sure who had more fun. I forgot to take the camera with me, so I don't have any pictures of swim time. Oh well!!!

So Wednesday morning we slept in, checked out of the hotel, and then went to eat at this little bakery in Soldotna called "The Moose is Loose". It was a really fun place, and they had the most amazing donuts ever. They were absolutely huge, and off course they were delicious.

On our way home decided to just take it easy and stop at various places along the way. One time, we saw some horses crossing the road, and their was a sign for horse back riding, so we decided to stop so the kids could see the horses up close. The people were really nice, and offered to let Brianna take an impromptu ride. I followed along behind her on foot, and Nathan actually got in the car to see her riding for part of the trail. It was a lot of fun. Definitely the highlight of the trip for Brianna. The above picture was taken at an air strip that was nearby. The lady in the picture is Casey, who was her guide.

Overall, we had an amazing time and we are so thankful for the fun times we have had this week. We just took Nathan to the airport, so I am a little sad that he had to leave us. I always hate it when we are separated. I know, being a military wife I should be used to it, but it never gets easy. We don't have too much planned for this next ten days while Nathan is gone, but I am sure we will find plenty to do to fill the time. We'll keep you posted!!!

A Fun Day

Nathan has this week off of work. The plan was originally to just stay home and do fun things each day with the children, but since Nathan is on the Pastor Search Team for our church, our plans had to change. They are leaving Wednesday evening to go to the lower 48 to interview two potential pastors. So, please pray for Nathan. He is leaving from there and going to OK for a week for work. So, also pray for me while he is gone.

Anyway, back to our fun day...since Nathan was home, we went to the zoon, and then to Chucke Cheese with the kids. It was a fun filled day. First though, we went on base and bought a new camera, because the old one isn't working. So, I had lots of fun learning the new camera and taking lots of pictures.

Here is Brianna picking wild flowers at the zoo.

Here is a cute picture of Nate.

Here is a big brown bear. He was picking the green leaves on our side of the fence. It was so cool because he was so close to us.

Here are a couple of polar bears. Nathan took this great photo!

And, here are our cute kids having fun at Chuckee Cheese! We had a really fun day but we were totally exhausted by the time we were finished.

So, today we are heading off to the Russian River so that Nathan can fish, and then we are going to Soldotna, just for the fun of it. There isn't much in Soldotna, but we are staying at a hotel with a swimming pool, which is a rare thing. And, there are a couple of fun restaurants there. So, I'll post more about that part of our week in a few days.

Long Time, No Blog

Well, lots has happened since I last blogged. I have been meaning to write for awhile, but it just hasn't happened. So, let me start with where we left off.

We left OK Saturday, May 24th, which was also Brianna's third birthday. I also came down with some sort of bug that day, and thought I was going to die. Not really, but I didn't even want to get out of bed to pack my suitcase, let alone fly all the way home with two children by myself. But, the Lord gave me the grace to make it home. Thanks to my mom and sisters who helped get me packed and watched the kids that morning. And, my children weren't too bad on the flight home. We all actually slept part of the time, so it was OK. Not good, but OK. We were glad to be back home with Nathan, which made it all worth it.

So, Sunday I got up to try and go to church. I still didn't feel good, so I laid back down, still planning to get up and go to church. I slept until 11:45, waking up to find that Nathan had just taken the kids to church without me. I felt a little better after all that sleep, but I still didn't feel great. But, we had promised to take Brianna fishing when we got back, so we packed up and headed to church camp in Wasilla for Memorial Day. It was a good time, even though I didn't eat much and drank a ton of ginger ale.

To make a long story short, I was sick for about five days. But, thankfully, I am feeling much better now. I am still trying to get my home in order from being gone so long and then being sick as soon as I got home, but things are looking better.

Last Wednesday, I went to my last appointment with my foot doctor. My bones are completely healed, and I can now enjoy whatever shoes I desire. Time to shop!!! No, really, I still can't run or do anything high impact, but for the most part, I am good to go!

We celebrated Brianna's birthday with her (and our) friends at the park last Saturday evening. It was a lot of fun just getting together and letting the kids play and visiting. I will have to post pics from the party on another post. Soon.

So, that is what has been going on around here. Not much this week except getting things in order- cleaning, grocery store, etc. Oh yeah, and I have to get ready for a garage sale with our Sunday School class this weekend. That sounds like tons of work, I mean fun.

Thankful Thursdays

Well, today is mostly about Brookie, and my trip here to OK.

1. I am thankful for a younger sister like Brooke. She is the laughter of our family, and I say that in a good way. She is a beautiful young lady, both inside and out. She is a joy to be around, and very helpful with my children, which she has nicknamed "her babies." I am so proud of her accomplishments with piano, and her determination to be an accompanist for Daddy's choir. I am also proud that she finished cheerleading even though she sometimes didn't want to. She is a special young girl, and I know that the Lord has a special plan for her life.

2. I am thankful that Brooke has given up her room here at the house for the past two weeks so that the kids and I can stay at Mom and Dad's house the whole time we are here in OK.

3. I am thankful that Brooke is a talented pianist and is able to play "Hallelujah to the Lamb" for the rest of our family. Oh yeah, and for the school choir tonight. (Side note: pray that the Lord will calm her nerves while she plays tonight.)

4. I am thankful that the children and I were able to come to OK for Brooke's graduation.

5. I am thankful that graduation is tonight, and that we all have new dresses to wear. We've had a lot of fun shopping on this trip. And, that Daddy has a new suit to wear. More fun shopping!!!

6. And, even though I have had a wonderful time here and I enjoy spending so much time with my family, I am so thankful that we are going home on Saturday. We miss Nathan so much and we are ready to be back home with him soon.

Fun in OK

So, I have been in Oklahoma for a week now. It has been a very interesting week. Let me just start with the flight up here.

It was a night flight, and Nate did not sleep. Well, only 30 minutes or so, so that doesn't count in the grand scheme of a 6+ hour flight. But, surprisingly, I did OK with it. I had an incredibly nice gentleman sitting next to me who was willing to help out, and we somehow made it through the flight to Dallas. Then, on the way to OKC, he slept the entire time. And, needless to say, we slept all day at Mom and Dad's house, until we had to pick up Bryce from school.

It was Bryce's birthday, so we went to Chucke Cheese for dinner, and had a blast. Brianna still talks about how much fun she had, and that she wants to go back. Not anytime soon, as far as I am concerned.

We had a great weekend with Bryce, Britt and Lauren. We just took it easy and visited grandparents and hung out at the house. I bought the kids a blow up swimming pool, which they loved, other than the fact that the water was really cold.

Mom and Dad and Brooke got back Tuesday evening. I was so glad. Nate had started discovering that he could get into everything, and it is nice to have some extra hands to help keep him out of stuff. He really is quite the busy body. If we don't keep the doors shut, he will get into any room or cabinet. And, he loves to climb up onto the kitchen table. And eat the dogs food. And feed the bunny tissue paper. But, he is so adorable.

We had an interesting day today. We intended to go to the mall, but barely even made it there. We had to drop off stuff at the school, visit my Nanny, and visit my Pepa. At my Pepa's house, we found out that my aunt had just been in a car accident, so we hurried out, and I left my purse there. It is hard to shop without your purse. So, Britt had been called to interview for a job just as we were leaving the house, so we took him to his interview. We then went to the mall to pick up my dad's suits, buy him some ties, and then we had to go back and pick up Britt. By that time, we had to use the restroom, so we stopped at ta gas station. We then drove around OKC aimlessly looking for somewhere to eat. We ended up just going back to the McD's by Mom and Dad's house to eat so the kids could play.

Whew!!! And that was just this morning!!! This afternoon I spent with Britt and Brooke just hanging out and shopping.

So, tomorrow is another day. We don't have much planned, but I am sure that whatever we do, it will be an adventure.

Fun Pics

So, here are some fun pics we have taken recently. We bought Nate a lifejacket, so of course we had to take a picture of the kids wearing their life jackets.

This next picture is of the snow that we got a couple of weeks ago. On April 25th, we had a record snowfall in Anchorage. It snowed 15.5 inches in less than 24 hours. That is the highest amount for that day of the year- EVER! And, it is the third highest recorded snowfall in Anchorage- EVER!!! This picture was taken off of our back deck.

OK, these next two pictures are of Thunderbird Falls. Last Saturday evening we needed something to do, so we decided to hike to the Falls. It is pretty close to our home, and it is a pretty easy hike. Only like a mile both ways. You can see that even though we recently had a huge snowfall, most of it has melted off by now.

And, here we are at the Falls. Uncle Josh went with us and took this picture. Notice that Brianna is wrapped up in her Dad's sweatshirt. We forgot her jacket, so Nathan had an extra sweatshirt in the car, and it served as a coat for her quite well. And, she was really cute.

The kids and I are heading off to OK tomorrow to visit family and be there for my younger sister Brooke's high school graduation. We are so excited!!! But, we are really going to miss Dad. But, I think he has big plans to do a lot of fishing while we are gone. We will be posting updates of the trip while we are gone. If you are in OK and want to see us while we are there, you can reach me at my parents home. Hope to see you all soon!

Thankful Thursdays

Some of my friends who blog do this thing called Thankful Thursdays, where they list things that they are thankful for. Well, I am starting this today. Yesterday was mine and Nathan's fourth anniversary. So, my list today is about Nathan.

1. I am thankful for a husband who loves the Lord and desires to lead our family according to His plan for our lives.

2. I am thankful for a husband who made it a point to take the day off of work to spend our anniversary together. (He does this every year if at all possible.)

3. I am thankful that despite everything not going as planned yesterday, Nathan still makes me laugh and he did whatever possible to make it an enjoyable day.

4. I am thankful that Nathan is the most wonderful father to our children. One of the many things that first attracted me to Nathan was his love for children. He is so talented when it comes to communicating, teaching and playing with children. Our children absolutely adore him, and of course we adore our children.

5. I am thankful that Nathan works hard (almost) every day to provide for our family. The (almost) is there because there are those alert days...

6. I am thankful that Nathan balances me. When I am emotional, he keeps me on an even keel. When I am wanting to spend more money than I should, he doesn't let me.

7. He is my best friend. I love him, and his love for me is evident every day.

This Past Week

Well, I would have to say that this past week went by in a fairly uneventful manner. I stayed home a lot, and tried to get a lot of house cleaning done. I don't think that you can tell that from they way my house looks right now, but I did work on it.

On Wednesday, I had yet another appointment with my foot doctor. I am now able to wear normal shoes, as long as they have a shell to them. So, no flip-flops, or anything with a soft bottom to the shoe. Anyway, now although my bunions don't hurt so much, the rest of my foot is a bit sore from learning to use those muscles again after not using them for almost two months. OUCH!!! But, I am not complaining, because I get a lot of foot massages and a little soreness is better than the constant pain I had before.

So, while I was at my doctor's appointment, my good friend Nicole watched my children for me. It was during their nap time, but they did not nap. She said they were good for her, so that was fine. But, Nate fell asleep on the way home, and slept for about an hour. He then woke up so cranky...bedtime could not come fast enough that evening. Brianna stuck it out a little bit longer, but finally gave in to the sleepiness during dinner. It was so cute that I had to take a picture.

Thursday, I again stayed home and cleaned. Nathan had been waking up with a cough for a couple of mornings, so I decided I needed to really clean our bedroom. So, I dusted everything (and we have a lot of wood in our bedroom), I did all the laundry, I changed the sheets, vacuumed the bed, vacuumed the floors. You name it, I did it. Subsequently, Nathan is no longer coughing, but I am. That is why I am posting this a six o'clock in the morning.

Friday, was a great day. I went to my monthly MOPS meeting, which is Mothers of Preschoolers. We had a great time of fellowship and prayer. I love the group of ladies that the Lord has put in my life to encourage and uplift me.

Saturday, Brianna and I went on a little mommy-daughter date. It was so cute...when we got in the car, we were pulling out of the garage, and Brianna asked me, "So, are you going to talk to me or sompthin?" (That last work is "something" in Brianna talk.) So, we turned off the radio/CD player and just talked about her day. It was so sweet. A friend from MOPS who is moving was selling some of her girl clothes and boy clothes, so we went shopping for the kids at her house. Her children are just older than mine, so the sizes worked out perfectly. We then went to the commissary to grocery shop. It was a really good time with Brianna.

That evening, Nathan and I got to go out on a date to one of our favorite places here in Anchorage. It is the Bear's Tooth Theater. It is unique because they have taken out every other row of seats and put in tables, so you order your food (which is from a local pizzeria called the Moose's Tooth) and sit in the theater and they bring you your food while you watch the movie. It is so much fun! We saw the Bucket List, which was a pretty good movie.

So, there is our week in a nutshell. This next week, I just have more cleaning to do. It should be fun!

Adventures at the Mall

So, yesterday we had a lot of things to do. First, we had to go by the hospital on base to have more blood work done for Nate. (Nothing serious is wrong, he just has low iron, so they like to check every once in a while.) Then we went out to Gymboree at the mall to redeem my gymbucks- Nate needed clothes for the summer desperately. So, we were there, and the little area where the kids get to play and watch TV is right by the little boys clothes. So, I let Nate get down and walk around a little bit. As I was looking at a shirt that said "Mommy's Little Monkey" on it, I looked down to check on Nate, and he was gone. Mind you, I was just a couple of feet away from him this whole time. So, I start looking under all the racks making my way to the front of the store. I was about halfway through the store when a man says, "Hey, someone's kid is walking out into the mall!" I said, "Is it a little boy?", he answered yes, and I tried to run after him. (Luckily I dropped the monkey shirt at the door, or we would have had another interesting situation on our hands.) However, keep in mind that I still have walking boots on both of my feet, so I just hobbled quickly after him- I am sure that was a sight. Another nice man in the mall stopped him on the other side of the mall, so I could actually catch up to him. Of course when I did all this, I left Brianna in the store, so I got back into the store, and Brianna was walking around yelling, "Mommy, where are you?" Needless to say, I felt like a horrible parent at that point. I was just glad that both of my children were safe with me in the store. Nate spent the rest of the time in either my arms or the stroller, and then as I was checking out at the cash register, he started chewing on some cords coming out of the table. What kind of sick is that? The other ladies in line were laughing about it, and I just smiled and said, "He is all boy!!!" And, I did buy the monkey shirt...I figured after all that, he deserved it.

Crazy Day

So, I woke up Saturday morning, and it was snowing. And, it snowed off and on all day. The temperature was hovering around freezing, so the snow stuck to the grass and trees and stuff like that, but not to the roads, until this evening. Nathan and I went on a date, and on the way home we passed at least eight cars on the sides of the roads. So, we will see if the snow continues through the night. Did I mention that it snowed today, and it is April 5th?

Also, Nathan lost his wallet while we were on our date. So, after returning home, we called all the places that we had been. The restaurant didn't have it, and the movie theater said that the next movie had already started in that theater, and no one had turned it in so far. So, we were thinking we were out of luck. But, Nathan went back and retraced all his steps. Let's just say that he had a huge amount of cash in his wallet, plus credit cards and his military ID, so we were pretty intense on trying to find it. After searching the movie theater twice, he found it in one of the seats, with all the money inside. Praise the Lord!!! And, after all of that, Nathan went to the store and because he was there at 11:30 at night, he had the opportunity to minister to a lady who was not having a great day and he was able to invite her to church.

So, the Lord works everything together for HIS good, doesn't He?

Update: It did snow overnight, and all Sunday morning. We got a total of about 4 inches.

I Will Hold You So Tight...

Lately, when putting Brianna to bed, she will give either Nathan or I, or both, a great big hug and say to us, "I will hold you so tight so that you can't go anywhere." And, of course as a mother, that just melts my heart.

Today, in my quiet time, I read Isaiah 40:11-

"Like a shepherd, He will tend his flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs and carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes."

As I read this for the first time (out of my Bible for Moms), I thought that this was a great picture of how I should be with my children. To keep them close and teach them and nurture them. And, it is.

But, as I continued to read and meditate on this verse, I saw another picture. It was the picture of God, holding me so tight so that I cannot go anywhere. I thought of the times that I am holding my children and they struggle to get down, but I won't let them, for whatever reason. And then sometimes they snuggle and cuddle and it is just great. I think that sometimes I am like that with God. Sometimes I rebel and I want to do things my own way, in my time, etc. But, through those times, he keeps me in His arms, teaching me and nurturing me back to His plan for my life.

What a peace that we have knowing that God is holding us so tight that we can't go anywhere outside of His plan for our lives.

This Weekend

Well, this weekend went by incredibly fast.

First of all, I did take the kids to Fred Meyer (which is like a Target-type store here in AK) by myself on Friday. I think it took me more time to load the kids in the car, change into my driving shoes, drive to Freddie's, change back into my boots, and unload the kids from the car and put them in a "car" buggy, than it did for me to actually pick up the five or so items I had on my list. And, then I had to do it all again in reverse, but, I did it, and it felt good to get out of the house.

Friday night I did not sleep well at all...so I slept late Saturday morning. I am so thankful to have a husband who lets me sleep late almost every Saturday morning. I know that come fishing season, he will head out to fish on those mornings, but I am thankful for the mornings that I have now.

After I did get up and make it upstairs, it was almost 10am. Nathan wanted to take Brianna on a walk...on the snowy, icy path behind our home. So, he did that and left Baby Nate with me. Now, I have not been able to do a good job cleaning the kids rooms since my surgery. It is very difficult for me to get up and down from the floor, so I just don't do it very often. It is awkward, and I always think..."if someone were watching me, they would be laughing their head off." Anyway, so I decided that this would be a good time to clean Brianna's room. Just to show you how bad it was, I took before pictures.

So, I cleaned out Brianna's room, and put a huge bag of stuffed animals away to donate somewhere. I also set aside several toys that really needed to go into Nate's room. So then I started on Nate's room. And, I took out a huge bag of "baby" toys from his room. I also threw away a bunch of toys that came from McD's or something like that. So, after a couple of hours working on their rooms, they were completely clean. I wouldn't even let them go into them for about five minutes so that I could enjoy the fact that they were clean. Here are the finished products.Of course after that, I had to pay attention to the rest of my house. I cleaned and finished the laundry, which is always a good feeling. Then, we went to our friend's home that evening for a relaxing, fun time.

Sunday is always a hectic day with church. We are teaching Radically Married for our Sunday School class and also for a Discipleship training class in the afternoon at 5pm. Yesterday was especially fun because we always have a 5th Sunday potluck Praise and Prayer service for the evening service. It was a really good time, and then I brought the kids home while Nathan had a Pastor Search Committee meeting.

In addition to all that fun stuff on Sunday, I spent the kids nap time planning and scheduling our summer vacation here in AK. We have learned that if you don't do this early, than you may not get hotels or the activities that you want. So, I planned that. It will have to be another post because this one is already too long.

Have a blessed week!

Easter Pics and More

So,here is a picture that we took of the kids on Easter morning. I threw some easter baskets together at the last minute. Since I can't drive anywhere, I had to wait for Nathan to drive me to the store. Saturday morning, we went to the BX and Commissary. I had to get the kids new socks and sippee cups anyway, so they went in the baskets. Then, I realized I didn't have a basket to put Nate's stuff in, so that night Nathan and I went on a date, and we went to Fred Meyer and got another basket, some easter grass and some books for the kids. I love it that the kids are at an age that it doesn't really matter what (or even if) you give them for easter. We had a good day at church and then Nathan's brother Josh came over for lunch. I had put a roast in to cook that morning, and then Nathan went to the store for some side dishes (I still am not cooking too much, because it requires a lot of standing on my feet).
We had taken some Strawberry Shortcake to our Sunday School class and had some leftovers. So, that evening we ate some along with the kids. Baby Nate really enjoyed playing with, I mean eating his. Isn't he a cutie? The rest of this week has been fairly uneventful. Nathan is battling a head cold, and the kids have had runny noses, but no fevers or anything serious. I went back to the doctor on Wednesday, and I now have very beautiful driving shoes. I can drive short distances if I need to, but I still have to take my boots with me to change into before I actually get out of the car. It sounds like more trouble than it is worth if you ask me, but I think I am going to try to venture to Fred Meyer with the kids tomorrow. I'll have to let you know how it goes. This last pic is of Nate today. I was getting ready to put him down for his nap, and I went in his room, and he was just happily playing with books while he was stuck in his little toy bin. It was so cute, I had to get a picture.

Why Do You Love Your Daddy?

My second post in one day, but this is too cute...

Why do you love your daddy?
"Because he kisses me and loves me very much."
My daddy loves to eat olives and pickles too.
My daddy likes to drink water and orange juice.
My daddy likes the color orange.
My daddy loves my Mommy because she is pretty and has big band aids.
My daddy flies an airplane.
My daddy like to play football with me.
My daddy says "Hookem Horns". (Which her daddy does not say, but Mrs. Nicole does- she is trying to convert my child to be a Texas fan.)

I love you! Love, Brianna

(My good friend Nicole did this with Brianna the day after my surgery while she was helping take care of the kids. I just recently found it while attempting to clean my house.) The picture is just a cute one we took this past week of Nate in his Daddy's shoes.

My New Toes

So, I am posting some pictures of my new toes. I know, they are not the prettiest thing, but, they are straight. Actually, these pictures were taken about a week ago, and the swelling has gone down even more since then. My stitches are out, which is nice...I have taken several showers this past week. I am now halfway through the "boot" phase of this adventure. I only have three more weeks to wear the boots, and not drive.

Airline Advantages

OK, so since we live in Alaska, we have been flying quite a bit. Brianna has been on an airplane way more than most other two year olds- something like seven different trips. So, having accounts with different airlines has been quite an asset. When we flew to Seattle in January to visit my in-laws, we used miles from our AMEX card to pay for two of the three tickets. To fly my mom up here to help out after my surgery, we used our Delta points to get her a ticket her for virtually free. So, I was pretty much depleted to my American Airlines account for trying to have any advantage in trying to get home in May for Brooke's graduation. I have been checking on it for over a month. I had about 60,000 miles in my account, but since we would be flying back in peak season for Alaska, I was only going to be able to get one free ticket. Until yesterday. I just hopped on the computer quickly before we were heading to church on Sunday evening, and they had the flight that I wanted for only 25,000 points per ticket. May 24th was the only day in the entire month that I could have flown back for only 25,000 points. So, after checking with Nathan, I was able to get both tickets for Brianna and myself for 50,000 points, and the fee for taxes, equaling a full $20 out of pocket. I could not believe it!!! I was so excited, because I was ready to buy a ticket for $626, and then I got it FREE. And, to make it even better, I checked again today, and the tickets are back at 50,000 points each. Isn't that awesome??? So, the kids and I will officially be in OK from May 8th until May 24th. We are getting there on Bryce's birthday and leaving on Brianna's birthday. Brianna is very excited to be able to fly on her birthday...she loves airplanes. We can't wait to get there and see everyone!

A Lonely Day

Today, Nathan got up very early and got the kids up and took them to a friends house for the day, because I am still supposed to be off of my feet all the time. And, with it being the first day that Mom was gone, I felt very lonely all day. I did get up and hug my children before they were taken away for the day, but I missed them very much. I only called my friend Ginger (who was watching them) twice today, so I thought that wasn't so bad. I tried to go back to sleep after they left, but I didn't get much sleep. I sat on my bed and folded laundry, watched a little TV downstairs, took a shower, and then I plopped myself in my recliner for the rest of the day. It is a lot harder to sit and do nothing than you would anticipate. I am sick of TV...I have watched way too much HGTV this past week. Anyway, I am thankful that my children will be with me tomorrow. I have a friend from church coming to the house in the morning to help out, and then our babysitter is coming over at about noon and she will stay with us until Nathan gets home. I am so blessed to have good friends who have been volunteering to help out with the kids, make meals, run errands, etc. The Lord always provides!!!

Momma's Going Home

I hate it when Momma has to leave. I think that no matter how old we get, we will always need our Momma. It has been absolutely great having Mom here this past week. When I was incapable of taking care of my family, I knew that she was doing everything she could to take care of them for me. I had no worries, which is probably one of the reasons I have had such a great recovery so far. So, Nathan left to take Mom to the airport, and I have been crying of and on ever since. It is never easy to say goodbye to your Momma. Anyway, thank you Mom for everything you did for us this past week. You are going to be missed bunches by Brianna and Nate, and of course Nathan and I. And, I am sure my house won't be clean again until I can get on my feet comfortably for any extended period of time.

On, another note, my recovery has gone exceptionally well. I am going to post a picture of my feet soon. I got to see them for the first time Monday at the doctor's office. It was the first time in my life that I have had straight toes. They were absolutely beautiful...and swollen and bruised. I just have to remember to stay off my feet as much as possible. I will go back next Wednesday to get the stitches out, which I am looking forward to so that I can then take a shower without shower bags on my feet. I can't drive anywhere for the next month, so I told Nathan that we would save a lot of money because I wouldn't be able to go shopping for an entire month, unless he takes me. Somehow I don't think that bothered him too much. Overall, I am really glad that we went ahead and had my feet taken care of now because I know in the long run I will feel much better.

Grandma Clay went with us to the Iditarod this morning, and a chilly one it was, with a 17 degree temp and a wind chill bringing it down to single digits, it was very cold. But luckily, the Iditarod starts in Anchorage downtown, so we were able to stop in a coffee shop, gift shop, and the mall periodically to warm ourselves up! Brianna and Baby Nate were especially excited to see the dogs run past on those sleds. Grandma Clay was given permission to get right down on the track, and got a great shot of #42 sled team taking off. (You'll notice all the dogs are smiling big for the camera!) We picked up a few things while we were there, and came back home for some hot apple cider afterwards. Brianna was really concerned because her feet were "frozen" to put it in her words. But she still wanted to go back to see the dogs. Anyway, hope you're all having fun down there in those balmy temperatures!

Nathan

Beth's Surgery

Well, Beth's surgery is over and she has been resting comfor... ah,
doing well?.... hmmmm,
let's just say she's in a lot of pain, but the drugs are doing the job well enough to let her sleep!

She did let me take a picture of her feet, but that's about it. Brianna calls them the BIG! bandaids! But Beth is really glad that today is so much better than yesterday, she's cut her pain meds in half, and the healing process is slowly but surely coming right along.



Now, since Grandma Clay is with us, we've been eating some VERY delicious meals, she has been such a great help with the kids and just plain helping out. We had some fine italian fetuccine (tasted just like Johnny Carino's) , some fresh salad, with just the hard pieces of course.


Not to mention a TON of cheesy breadsticks! They were piping hot, I'll be honest, I just couldn't eat any more, (we had to throw a few of them away, she made so many!)



But we thank you for your prayers for Beth, God is good!

Nathan

Cute Kids & Prayer Requests

This first picture is just a cute picture of Baby Nate the other day. He was walking around the house with the little ax from his fire truck, and we thought that it looked like he was smoking a pipe. A bad habit we know, but it was really cute.

This next picture was taken last night. I had a doctor's appointment Thursday afternoon, so the kids spent the afternoon at our friend's home. So, Brianna never got a nap, and Nicole said that she played hard the entire time she was there. So, when we got home, we were eating dinner, and she just fell asleep at the table. We just took her to bed, and she slept all night, until we woke her up at 8am Friday morning.

Other notes: Life has been very hectic this week. I have been trying to get everything settled for me to be off my feet for 2-3 weeks, after having surgery on both of my feet. Plus, I have had to go to the lab for blood work and then to my Pre-Op appointment. Today, I spent the entire day running errands. The kids made it about half way through the day before they got sick of it. I called my babysitter, and she came and put the kids down for their naps and stayed home with them while I went to pick up prescriptions and crutches and just a few more things. I think that I am now pretty ready for my surgery on Monday. Please pray that the Lord will guide the doctor's hands and that my recovery will go as smoothly as possible. My mother will also be flying up here on Tuesday to take care of my children, so please pray that she has a safe flight. And, we are starting Radically Married at our church this Sunday, so please pray that the Lord will bring the right couples to the study and that He will be glorified through this study.

We will keep you posted on both Radically Married and on how the surgery goes.

Definitely!!!

Tonight was our date night. We went to this great little Italian restaurant a few miles down the road in Peters Creek. It was a really great atmosphere, and really great food.

We then went to see the movie, Definitely, Maybe. We decided that we would not recommend this movie to anyone to go see. You see, the movie was all about a Pagan view of what relationships and marriage are all about. It was very sad in a lot of ways. First, I always feel terrible for child actors and actresses who are subjected to knowing way more than they should because of the movies that they are in. There was a part of this movie where there were several children talking about sex like it was no big deal because they were taught about "sex education" in school. Those poor children whose innocence is taken away from them in part because of the roles they play in these movies.

The second thing about this movie is that an overwhelming theme was that the sexual aspect of a relationship is where happiness lies. This is a total lie that becomes ingrained into our minds through the advertising industry. Nathan leaned over near the end of the movie and said, "This is going to be one of the saddest, happy endings ever." And I totally agree. We sat there at the end of the movie almost in shock because of the message that was just given to hundreds of people in our movie theater, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of people across the world. The thing is, as bad as this movie was, it was real. There are really people in this world who think like this and are genuinely misguided and lost.

But, we as Christians know the WAY, we know the TRUTH, and we know how to have LIFE abundantly. There is so much against us in this world, but we need to be a beacon of hope for those who are lost. We have got to share God's love with this lost world. Definitely!!! No maybe about it.

Happy Valentine's Day

So, I know it is the day after Valentine's Day, but I still wish you all happiness and God's love. We have had a great week around here. My Valentine's started on Wednesday. That day I had gone to Jazzercise in the morning, and then I stayed home and made my homemade bread and pie crust (for apple pie) because my husband requested that I do so. So, I had been on my feet all day. About five o'clock, I finally sat down, with my feet absolutely killing me, and Nathan walked in with red and white roses for me. They are absolutely beautiful. But, I was like, Valentine's Day isn't until tomorrow. But he said, "This way, you can enjoy them for all of Valentine's Day." I thought that was so sweet. Then, Thursday, I just had a very busy day. I went to Jazz again, and then I had to go set up for MOPS at the church. Then, I wanted to get the house clean for Nathan, and our bedroom. Now, my bedroom had not been cleaned well in quite a while. And, it is very important for me to have our bedroom clean. I feel that our room is an escape from the children and the business of this life, so I desire for it to be a haven for us to go to when we need to relax. But, it had not been that way for awhile. So, I worked hard to return my room to this relaxing state. Then, had to go to the store to by a few groceries. So, again by the time Nathan came home, I hadn't sat down all day and my feet were again killing me. So, I sat for a short time, and then I made this awesome Grilled Pesto Salmon recipe for our dinner. Then, Brianna and I made Valentine cookies for the MOPS meeting, which was today. I then got a foot massage from Nathan, so I felt extremely spoiled and refreshed afterwards. So, while our Valentine's Day was not glamorous in any way, we had a good time and got a lot accomplished. And, we had a good time together as a family, which is what love is all about.

Two notes:
First, our Sunday School class had desired for some time to do a different study during the Sunday School hour a church. The Lord had opened the door for us to do the Radically Married curriculum both for Sunday School and for Discipleship Training time at our church. Nathan is going to be the teacher for this class, starting February 24th. Please pray for us during this time. We know that when we do what God wants us to do, Satan will attack. We are praying that the Lord will strengthen our marriage and allow us to encourage others during this time.

Second, Brianna is sick. She came down with something during MOPS this morning. Please pray for her as she doesn't feel well at all right now.

This Week

This week has been a pretty busy week. We will start with last Saturday, when we had Nate's first birthday party with all of his (or our) friends here in Alaska. We had a football themed party, and since we are Cowboys fans, we all wore our jerseys. Overall, we just had a good time fellowshipping with our friends.
Nate really enjoyed his cake. I wish I had taken a picture of him after he had eaten some of it. He was covered in blue icing. He was so messy, he was taken straight to the bath tub. After his bath, we opened presents. Nate got an airplane, a fire truck, a tractor, and two really cute outfits. I tell you, we do not need any more toys in this household. And, just so you know, the bottom picture here is of Nate and his friend from church, Aubry.
On Sunday, we went to church and then went to some friends house to watch the Super Bowl. We had to leave early because Nate wasn't feeling very well (probably all the icing the night before). But, we weren't really into the game, we just wanted the Patriots to lose, so we were pretty pleased with the outcome.
The rest of this week has just been busy doing all sorts of things. And, to make it worse, we have been in the negative temperatures all week. Not once has it even been ZERO. Now, when it gets this cold, I usually try to only get out of the house when I have to, but I had a full week planned. Monday, I had a meeting. Tuesday, we went grocery shopping. Wednesday, we went shopping with Candance at the mall...and yes, it was important to do so. And, Thursday, we had ladies day at my friend Nicole's house. Not to mentions, Jazzercise every morning. So, we have been enduring the bad temps all week. Today, I had to take the trash out, and I nearly froze, just in the two or three minutes it took me to get the trash from the garage to the curb. Hopefully, it will get warmer soon...at least in the positive numbers.

We had a GREAT Vacation!!!

Well, we started out with a pretty rocky vacation, but it turned out great! We actually had the red eye out of Anchorage to Seattle, WA early on Wednesday morning. Now, you would think with the flight being in the middle of the night, that my children would sleep. But, no...we were THOSE people on the flight with the baby who screamed almost the entire flight. We tried everything we could to calm him down, and Nathan actually got him to sleep for about 45 minutes, but other than that, he pretty much screamed the whole time. I did calm him down at the very end by feeding him a blueberry muffin. Anyway, we got there and then drove to Portland. We stopped for breakfast at one of our favorite little places, Shari's. While we were there, the baby promptly threw up everything he had eaten. He then threw up in the car, and Aunt Anne's house, and at the mall. He was going through clothes faster than I could buy them. But, he never ran a temp, and by the evening, he was much better. Maybe it was the muffin. Anyway, Wednesday evening, we went to see Nathan's parents and brothers.

This was the first time they had seen Brianna in two years, and the first time ever for them to see Baby Nate. So, while the time that evening was short, it was fun to see them all! The next day, we had planned to hike up Multnomah Falls, which is where Nathan proposed to me. But, the weather just did not cooperate. It was much to cold and windy for us to hike up there with our children. So, we just went and took pictures at the bottom of the Falls, and bought T-shirts for the kids at the gift shop. It is always lots of fun to go back to where Nathan proposed to me. We spent Thursday evening with Nathan's best friend and his wife Kelly and their son Tanner. Friday morning, Nathan went fishing with Rob and he caught a Steelhead. I, on the other hand, stayed at the house and did laundry and repacked for the rest of the trip. Loads of fun!!!

We left Friday afternoon to go to Canon Beach, OR where we stayed until Sunday. Nathan's whole family was able to come to the beach as well, and we had so much fun just hanging out with them. The grandparents really enjoyed spoiling the grandchildren, and we all had a lot of fun playing Catch Phrase and Pinochle. That Saturday was Baby Nate's first birthday, so we had a little party for him at the beach. Grandma Hendricks had a fun project for Brianna, making jello clouds with stars on them, which we had with the airplane cake. Durning naptime, I went shopping with my sister-in-law Anne, and we had a good time visiting all kinds of fun shops. I never did find a picture of the two rocks though. :) (Shout out to Nathan Lucia!!!)

Sunday, we left the beach and drove back to Portland. I did a little more laundry at Anne's house, and then Nathan and I left the kids with their Aunt Anne and Uncle Nathan and went out for the night. I was a little apprehensive about leaving my children overnight for the first time, but it was not as bad as I thought it would be. We had a very relaxing evening going to dinner at a nice restaurant on the river front.

The next day, Nathan and his brother Jon, Ben and brother-in-law Nathan went to see Rambo, and then we went to lunch at a great restaurant called Claim Jumper. We then headed back to Seattle to catch our flight that evening. And, again, we were THOSE people. What do you do??? Overall, it was a wonderful trip and we thoroughly enjoyed the time spent with family and friends.

Beth, Nathan Lucia, Brianna, Anne, Baby Nate, and Nathan...we were trying to find another Nathan for the picture, but we already had all the ones in the restaurant.