The end of the road and life in Alaska

Well, we are officially living in Anchorage Alaska now. Times have been crazy since the last I blogged so let me figure out how to start...

Ok, so service between the last blog and through Canada/ the early steps into Alaska was nonexistent... Thus, I will catch you up on where we left off in our journey:

Eli survived the ferry trip and we endured a couple of more days of "ocean motion"....


...stopped in a couple of ports...


(nothing too exciting obviously..)


... Learned our ports are much more different than a port of call on a cruise ship (because we were NOT on a cruise ship, haha... Sorry, had to emphasize that for my sake; good reminder :) )





We had some great views... All overcast though..






And finally, WE FINALLY REACHED OUR PORT: Haines!! I can't tell you how excited I was to get off the ferry :)


... But the more we drove, the more I just wanted to get there!





These were our road conditions 90% of the time... It was miserable.


We decided to stay that night in Yukon, Canada in a hotel called Buckshot betty's. It was -15 that night!! Needless to say, poor little eli felt the affects in his little paws. The froze so bad he hopped around awhile before falling on his belly just because of the pain... Poor guy. He laid in this position literally all night long!


There is our gruesome temp.... Yuck!


Drove some more (and it looks like we got up early to get driving, but it's actually 10:00am in this picture... Nuts huh?)


Here is our 10:00am sun :)








And yes, still freezing cold...


This is the famous tourist stop, where you get out in front of the sign and take your souvenir picture. Unfortunately, the snow was thigh high so I got as close as possible... Which actually wasn't that close at all!! Oh well...


Our first view of alaska:








We finally got there! Yey!!! And we are now in our "home" (temporary lodging) for another 2 months... Or however long it takes to find a house...

The next morning, we realized the sun doesn't come up at a usual time of 6:30/7:00 like it does in tennessee. This picture was taken at 9:30... Before the sun actually showed itself ;)


Day one and two in Alaska was filled with a lot of getting things done and familiarizing ourselves with our new home. One thing I really wanted to do was make a meal (because I could finally cook again!!) that would make our living situation feel more like home. And thanks to my crazy cravings, we ended up with some awesome Jambalaya mom used to make us (it was delish! Thanks mom for the recipe!)





The next day, Andrew informed me that we both were going to meet his commander (he had briefly met him the day before in the squadron, but this time, he wanted to also include me-- so different than what I am used to! But what a pleasant change indeed!). His commander led us through a timeline of andrew's career and gave us a better picture of what here and then needs to look like for him to achieve future possibilities or paths he might desire to take in the air force. It was a really enlightening and informative meeting, but the best part was to find out that he too is a believer. It was jut too hard to miss-- God really gave us unbelievable favor to be under a man who serves and honors God with his life. Thank you Lord!

It was also good to meet some of his new flying buddies and coworkers. Andrew and I's sponsors, Brent and Lacy, (who both came to Oklahoma for a bit) invited us for dinner that night. It was really neat to talk with them about life in Alaska and get a feel for how the next few years were going to flow.

Until that conversation over dinner Friday night, I had been battling fears and a really wretched attitude about where we were: I was mad I was in a cold place, crazy scared of all the wildlife and foreign dangers, uneasy with being so far away from familiarity, and tired of being transitional... And whether some of those reasons are legitimate or not, the heart of the issue was indeed a heart issue. There has been no clearer evidence to me that there is really a God than in times like this when I cannot find any excuse that will satisfy an excuse for my awful behavior. I know that I have not been honoring the Lord and it fills my heart with sorrow. However, I am also filled with hope to know he is a forgiving God (1John1:9) and promises us that we will be victorious over sin in him (1 Cor.10:13). Thus, I did repent and rejoice that he his grace is sufficient for us... And his power made perfect in weakness. After all, he has given me the position of being a pilot's wife... Time to start leaning on God and being less fearful and dependent! Especially after getting a look at how life was going to look in alaska with Andrew's new job: it's going to be unpredictable, possibly very busy and travel demanding.

The next day I woke up with a better attitude, by His grace, and excited to learn how to be able to take care of myself and our family when Andrew needs me to... Starting with learning how to change out our car's tires myself.

Here she is before we changed Sally's tires:


(sorry I didn't get more pictures... I was very busy learning and keeping my hands busy)


...but here is the evidence that I did in fact change them!! Haha! (sorry, had to have a moment of bragging):


Later we set out to conquer another one of my fears (the outdoors) and went hiking:


Beautiful!


Here is our view of our new hometown: Anchorage.


Isn't that just awesome??


Oh, and check this out: every Sunday morning there is a woman who brings a bunch of fish to this random parking lot and feeds the eagles. They come from all over!! Isn't this incredible??











And all this while enduring/enjoying pregnancy! This week, I am nine weeks along! Wow!! Baby is growing like crazy :)


Baby is now the size of a green olive... And very much growing ad I continue to feel just miserable :) BUT I couldn't be more excited to have such a great blessing on the way... And that's the truth. I also had a wonderful dream last night about having a baby and seeing his beautiful face... I named him Theodore. Maybe it's a sign?? ;)


So until next time, be blessed and trust the God who cares for you very much :)

Xoxoxo

"I have found my hope,
I have found my peace,
I have found my rest,
In the One who loves."

In Him, Kati