Baachan Gets a Personal Trainer

Benny caught me working out without him when they dropped by. My NP had suggested I start some strength/core training....I've been watching Krista and Stacia....I've done a couple of yoga workouts with Stacia and thought I'd hop onto the mat and do a bit core work......

I commented these planks were a piece of cake and I wasn't sure what the girls complained about.  Benny wasn't having it...he heard "plank"....

and KNEW I needed his assistance and wasn't doing it right. I love teasing him a bit...and the girls love taking photos. LOL

Such hard work being a personal trainer

 He was over the planks and ready to move on. 

Benny watches yoga workouts too. "Like this, Baachan." 

It's always so much fun when the grandblessings visit. I'm glad Benny was on hand to enliven my workout.

Benny knows a nutritious treat when he sees it, too. I made Fuhrman's Fudgesicles for his mama and we still make them around here in the summer.

*All photos in this post are from Arielle.  I'm so happy to see many of my offspring have caught the photo bug!

Spring WAS in the Air

We were feeling spring on Friday....the temps were in the upper 20's, the sun was shining bright, spring colors were everywhere. ...and then...well...

Snow...all night - not to worry these are silk 

 Our nicely shoveled pathway had about a foot of fresh snow on it...I slogged up the driveway to find Dad's paper.  Due to the snow plows shoveling mountains of snow to our driveway/shoulder (and where else COULD it go?) the newspaper box is inaccessible. We have been shoveling it out for the driver, but he stopped using it and simply throws it into the driveway. I suspect his aim isn't dead on and we'll find missing papers in the berms when the big thaw arrives.  I dug around, moved snow, couldn't find a paper. I looked up and saw THIS at the head of the driveway...

Her back was turned and I needed to go down the driveway to reach the house...off I went...and discovered BIG HER - the lump of snow to the left is my van....also between me and the house.

I came back inside and called the paper...then went to discuss my moosey adventures with Stacia. This is homeschooling at it's best...pjs and all.

We moved Cody's kennel to the foot of Stacia's bed. This is his safe place to go when Benny and Kimber visit. We wanted it ready for him as we often get surprise visits from CoRielle. He prefers to have the blanket at her side....but this gives him options. LOL

 I headed back out to check for papers and startled Big Mama. Her head was ON MY VAN....folks...she was close. I didn't take her picture. She and baby ran around the snowman and to the side yard. 

Baby meets first snowman? 

View out the window by the table...

 

So cute - from this side of the glass! 

Arielle and Benny did stop by. Arielle and Stacia are planning a booth for the upcoming Bella sale. They went over contract and display details.  Benny brought me another work of art for my gallery. 💖 Arielle and Benny left to run errands. 

This popped up on my new phone....

Via Arielle

I threw shredded pork I'd canned when it was on sale, chilies, a bit of tomato paste I found in the fridge, some other tomato based left-over, and salsa in the slow cooker. My plan was tacos for dinner. 

Michael and I headed to the VA clinic in Anchorage for an appointment he had. All is well. 

I got home with 40 minutes to get dinner on the table. Nolan and Alex had just gotten home and were heading out to shovel.  This evening's activity was cancelled and we had a bit more time for dinner. This was good as the concoction in the pot was much saucier than expected. I opened our last box of potatoes from the fall's harvest and baked potatoes instead. It made a nice topping.....filling they all said. I opted for a giant plate of greens with beans, nuts, sauted veggies and a boiled egg on top. LOL 

A note to remember - the red potatoes in the garage are wrinkling and growing arms. The Yukon Gold's are still in great shape. More Gold's; less Reds this year...  Or ,I need to can some of the Reds. 

Stacia  air fried some cauliflower nuggets for dinner. As the fryer was out - I tried some chick peas...and it worked. They are crunchy and yummy and zero points! 

Regardless of the weather , we did have 10 hours and 38 minutes of light today - SPRING IS COMING. 

Sunday Snippets

It snowed a bit ....we shall see what that will do to our beautiful field of silk daffodils. At this point - well - take a look. Cody added some color to the scene.

And...just because I'm really happy to be 40 lbs less than I was at this time last year...here's a photo. I have one more month in this first year of my journey back to health....I am NOT going to make my goal which is 25 lbs away....but I'm going to give it my all this month. NSV (non scale victory) new pants in a much smaller size. Enough said - for now. ::snort::

After church the "kids" and Dad went out to eat and came home. Michael and I stayed for the church's annual business meeting.

It seemed fitting to end "birthday month" by finally opening presents. They're good sports; Michael is still working on the gifts for the older boys. We still need to make it to the Extreme Fun Center for Alex's celebration.

 

I finally decided I was going to have to put my old phone out to pasture. It acted up at church. I was following along in You Version...we went from chapter 1 to chapter 2 with no trouble. When I clicked THE SAME ARROW to go from chapter 2 to chapter 3 - IT BEGAN TO READ CHAPTER 3 OUT LOUD. The volume was turned down - it was loud. The pause button wasn't working. I was holding the power button and it didn't turn off....I had hoped only pastor and those around us heard...but it turns out they heard the phone in the back. That's IT....I may well begin taking my physical Bible again....and I am working hard to rebuild this new phone to the way I want it. LOL

This may have been a better way to spend the afternoon....though I'm not sure what game they are playing. The first photo on the new phone...

Didn't See THAT Coming!

Most know our retirement from the Air Force Chaplaincy has not looked like planned - at all.

Michael's diagnosis of Parkinsons kept us from our plans to move to Japan as missionaries. His mother passed away. My mother passed away.

We were thrilled to move to Alaska...and the only thing we felt "sure" of in our spirits was we were going to "support a young pastor."

The hunt for a new church home was arduous. ::wink:: Michael visited Matanuska Assembly of God on a week when I was home. He came home and said, "I think this is the church and the pastor we were sent to support."  I visited the next week and agreed with Michael's assessment. The rest is history.

A year ago Michael was asked to become an elder.  This was a role we'd not considered, but after praying about it - it seemed right. Michael also leads Men's ministry. We host and lead a Life Group. We have been busy with counseling - together (a new thing for us after military ministry where I was not involved in formal counseling sessions) and I lead women's Bible study and am co-Director of Women's Ministry.

As we prepared for this business meeting I found myself reflecting. We are thankful for a church home where we are allowed to function in our giftings.  When so many doors were being closed to us, we had the sense ministry was not over for us, but it would look different than expected.

Today, we reflect on God's faithfulness. He is with us every step of this retirement /Parkinson's journey...and today, my heart overflows at being able to see a glimmering of why we are in the Matsu Valley rather than Northern Japan.

In December Pastor asked us to pray about pastoral staff transitions at the church. Today,  we step into a new role in our ongoing call to support our pastor...Michael was named as an Associate Pastor at Matanuska Assembly of God. Didn't see THAT coming when we moved out here.

As some of you will wonder...we are still licensed and ordained with Open Bible. We are not required by Assembly to change our credentials in order to be associate pastors. We have only found a one word difference in the denominations statements of belief...it's a good fit.

We are excited to see how God continues to plant us here in Alaska...

Fur Rondy 2020

Where  can you see a bear, in a tutu, wearing a tiara? 

Fur Rondy!  An 85 year Alaskan tradition. It is our state's largest winter festival, "with a schedule full of events that celebrate winter and life in the Last Frontier.

Krista joined her reserve unit in the Outhouse Races...that's right one of the Gherkins has been in an official outhouse race at Fur Rondy. We're official!

Stacia and Krista via Krista's photos

We got a late departure from the valley and missed the races, but Stacia went in early with Krista and caught them.

Michael and I caught up with BreZaak for lunch. We loved the chance to catch up on all the new things swirling around their lives. When we got home, Dad was ready to head for Fur Rondy. I was happy to see him wanting OUT....his feet have been hurting him. He wanted a selfie in front of our fake daffodils, but my arm isn't long enough to get the flowers in.

Doesn't he look cold? At this point he was still not sure he needed his coat. Later in the day he was happy I insisted. The snow boots were handy too. 

We headed for the ice sculptures. The judging isn't until Sunday a.m. We got to see many teams in the process of creating their sculptures. It was COLD...like 12*.

I found the clay models fascinating. 

The girls stepped into a store for Krista to get feeling back in her feet....ouch. When all were sufficiently warm, they met us over at the sculptures.  

Front - Me and Stacia
Back - Michael, Krista, G Dog

 On our way home we stopped at Alaska's oldest family restaurant. It is directly across from Merrill field - a small craft airport. Dad would like to come back on a clear day to watch the planes. Everyone enjoyed the food and the service was incredibly personal and friendly.

The men headed to Eagle River. They picked up CODY! We had asked for joint custody; Josiah rebuffed the proposal. He did, however, agree to let us have him for a few days this week.

The gals went shopping....and we all met up back at home in the valley...it was a great day. Cody was happy to see Stacia.

Resurrection Gardens

I am reading, "Uncovering the Love of Jesus: A Lent Devotional." In the first week's activities it mentioned a website with more resources and instructions for making a Resurrection Garden. The idea is to plant a little garden, complete with tomb....and watch it grow...roll away the stone and it's empty.... I thought it looked like a fun thing to do with the grands.

I went to Michael's to find things for THIS project - and was struck with daffodil memories....Michael was a good sport and cut a couple of these pots in 1/2 for me.

After we planted the flowers in the snowbank, we came back inside to make a Resurrection garden for Benny and for us.

None of us realized what a pick me up it would be to play in the dirt! I am going to have to begin seedlings soon. I may even set up a box of dirt just for Grands to play with when they visit. LOL 

As Arielle wrote, "Family: the perfect blend of chaos and love. 💗

Via Arielle

 Everyone got involved...and we told Benny the purpose for the craft....but mostly he liked dirt at this point...above is the moment I demonstrated "sprinkling grass seed" on the dirt....and below is Benny's idea of sprinkling.

Via Arielle

 Not to worry - we set up a garden for ourselves and took seed from Benny's garden...and he was a huge help in cleaning up the mess.

Via Arielle 

The instructions had said I'd be able to find the large stone for the tomb entrance and twigs to make crosses "easily" in the yard. I headed out the door and it hit me - not finding stones and twigs "easily" in our yard. ::snort:: I will search it out this week.

Stacia and I left for BreZaak's before CoRielle went home....this is always fun to see in the back up camera.

Helpful message that! 

We arrived early enough to play with Annie before they left for Alive Alaska. Look how big she is getting! 

We hadn't seen Bella and Gideon since Feb 9th and it was fun to see them! 

Bella, Stacia and I did a work out video while Gideon caught a nap. We had dinner, cleaned up and then we made a Resurrection Garden with them.

Bella was not sure about dirt and told me "Mommy doesn't like dirt inside." We swept it all up. LOL 

They loved the watering part. Bella promised to remember to water it every morning. LOL 

I am praying three little patches of grass grows.... It was a fun day.

PLANT NOW for Color All Summer

 There you have it! Expert gardening advice - and I didn't plant early enough for color last year..... PLANT NOW....

Um....this is my solution when faced with the reality of 4 feet of snow in the flower beds.

Via Arielle

I was happy to hit a buy one stem - get two stems free on spring flowers.  I waited eagerly for Bennie's visit. I knew he'd enjoy planting with me - and he did. Kimber left them alone after her first look at them....

Via Arielle

Via Arielle

I will let you in on the story behind this story. We moved into a Japanese neighborhood in 2009. We set about making connections with the farmer whose land bordered our yard...The kids helped his wife when she got stuck...and for the following four  springs...every FEBRUARY, the farmer brought me massive bouquets of daffodils. Our first sign of spring.  It seems every February I start to look for daffodils...and I miss being in Japan, our Japanese neighbor, and my heart begins to long for a country to which we are not called to return.  I can't tell you how much good it does my soul and heart to see these cheery daffodils in the yard. 

I still dream of spring time in Japan...and I will do my best to make it happen next spring.