Stacia Encounters Dissections

I don't understand it 100%. I remember being squeamish about dissections in high school. All of the girls have been. I didn't expect it with Stacia! 

We're Alaskans now. We process salmon, moose...

Wait! You were there when we gutted and cleaned 65 salmon this year...you are worried about cutting open one worm? 

She recovered like a pro and found it interesting. 

Into the life of each homeschooling Freshman a little biology must enter.

Lazy Saturday

It was a somewhat lazy Saturday around here.

The men around here tend to sleep in. Dad thought today was Sunday and was up at the crack of dawn to get ready. I explained it was Saturday and suggested he join me for a workout. I encourage this often.

Go, Dad! 

Stacia is interested in learning how to decorate cakes. Does anyone local do this? She has a book and Youtube.... She's been buying pans, tips and such and today decided to give her idea a go.... not bad for a first try and it tasted great. I had a small bite.

The top is especially cute

In the future Stacia plans  to send her practice cakes to BreZaak's weekly church potlucks at Alive Alaska.

While everyone else hunkered down at home I drove across town to a BRIDAL SHOWER!

A bonus is that it was held in Ed and Jennifer's new home and I got a tour. What a beautiful home and setting.

Some people are just fun gift receivers. 

Connection

There used to be a local Friday morning Gather Bible study. We no longer have a study in this time period. We now have one evening study.  When the change was made, I decided to be intentional about making Friday mornings available for "coffee" dates, one on one relational building. It feeds my spirit. NOW - I've often switched Friday to Tuesday or had two or three dates in a week - but I found time in the schedule to connect. This was needed.

Last night I was offered the opportunity to take a quiz to determine my natural rhythm of renewal (Rebekah Lyons book). I was promised the discovery of my most natural rhythm of renewal...rest, restore, connect, or create.  I read the list and knew connect is my natural rhythm. I have enjoyed this year of having ONE local study and extra time for personal connection. More than "enjoying" it, it has fed my soul and kept burn out at bay. Connection feeds my soul as much as rest, but I've learned rest has other important benefits so I make time for it too....I have this book on my shelf to read and am interested in hearing her thoughts about resting, renewal, connecting and creating.

Today, I connected at Crema and then ran errands.  Somewhere along the way I realized I'd not had breakfast or lunch.

I made this revelation while picking up a few groceries and getting a  "loan" of meds for Dad as the pharmacy continues to unwind the maze of referrals. 

Michael texted and asked if I would like a Southwest salad. WHAT? I love the McDonald's Southwest salad. I do. Alex had suggested they stop and pick one up for me after Michael and he finished their study.  Look at God and my men taking care of me.

I pulled into the driveway right behind them and was happily eating a fresh salad (without cheese) within minutes.

The boys stopped over. We had a nice visit. We ate pizza. They took Cody home.

I didn't take a single photo that would go well with this blog post.  I did take THIS photo....a new batch of kombucha bottled, another batch getting started. I suppose this new hobby/skill was born of connection. Sandy, whom I connect with,  is the one who started me with a scoby and answers my relentless questions...so maybe this is a good photo for this post afterall. ::snort::

Thursdays....Friday is coming....

It seems fitting to discuss hungering and thirsting for righteousness while one is eating out.  I am enjoying Stacia's insights.  It was a good thing to have our study, Gather, and Bible Babes all move to the same study.  This was a good week of focus....so much to consider. I continue to ask God to "increase my appetite for Jesus," quite often...and the 20/20 challenge is in full swing with the ladies of our church. 20 minutes of a spiritual discipline and 20 moments throughout the day to focus on God.  Both practices have been helpful in increasing my hunger for Jesus.

We were running late today for our Bible Study....we were made later when we pulled into the parking lot and realized I didn't have my purse with me. Um....not only did I not have a license,but no way to pay for drinks...we drove back home, grabbed the purse, and started again. We decided instead of driving out to Sophia's we'd find a place downtown. We like Vagabonds - but it is not the best place to try to have a Bible study....there are times people hover around the table waiting to snatch it. At Sophia's, we are always welcomed with smiles and given just the right balance of service and privacy. LOL 

We opted for Turkey Red - Stacia's choice.  It's much closer. Dad's comment when I took him there for pie and coffee last summer was, "It takes more than high prices to make a fancy restaurant." ::snort:: Michael doesn't like it as the one time we went we had two ladies sitting arm distance away from us griping about their church, children and husband through our entire mealtime. C'mon ladies!!!!

We discovered today the prices for the food and drinks really aren't different than anywhere else around here. The expensive items are the desserts - $6-8 an item...but WE aren't eating sugar. We decided they do this to encourage the idea that sweets are a luxury. ::wink:: It IS nice they use local produce, local Kombucha, have many vegetarian and vegan options, and have good meat-lover options too. 

We arrived at 10 - after the breakfast rush, before the lunch rush - and we were the only ones in this section. It worked for today. 

I do think Stacia had the better meal option...but I don't want to do syrup...or a lot of carbs.  The Vegan crepe below had carbs..but it was made from beans and rice and I didn't have any urge to put syrup over it...the veggies are all 0 points...I chose to eat 1/4 cup of the potatoes and counted those....a filling, low point breakfast. Stacia didn't like her non-fat Greek yogurt and it was exactly what I needed to spice up my meal. It's another 0 point food on WW.

It didn't seem  very cold today. The sun was shinning bright! However, once we got down to town...it was WINDY...like 50 mph gusts, snow swirling in the road, and stinging your face and eyes. It was difficult to run errands.  The door slammed shut twice as I tried to get into the car...that kind of wind. Miserable. I turned down a side road directly into big piles of snow the wind had deposited in the middle of the road...when I turned the other direction the roads were clear. It was fascinating to watch (and feel)  the wind patterns.

I was amazed once again to get home, open the car door and discover NO WIND up here. We do get wind - but nothing like the towns.  In fact, it was toasty warm inside our home. Check it out. 

Michael has perfected the use of the wood stove. He has little thermometer that helps him keep the heat where it needs to be to efficiently heat our home. He keeps it close to 70*...I have noticed it getting warmer and warmer lately and finally realized Dad is also feeding the fire. We were up to 82*, Dad was in shorts and taking off his shirt, Michael was opening the window and I gleefully pointed out it is not just "me" who was hot. LOL  For those who worry about us being cold, there is nothing as satisfying as wood heat on a cold winter day. I appreciate all the work Michael, the boys, and Dad do to keep it stoked.

Thursdays are BUSY....our Bible study, piano lesson for Stacia, Japanese lesson for both kids, prepping for Life Group, dinner is always by 5 these days as most evenings have something going on, and Life Group begins at 6:30.

I only had time for 45 minutes of a workout this morning and really wanted to fit in at least another 15 minutes.  Alex finished cleaning up dinner dishes so Stacia and I could run Cody out for a quick walk before Life Group.  20 more minutes....slower than our best times, but ok with slippery roads and wind.  It was a win simply to fit in more active minutes. We don't get much vitamin D on these walks - certainly aren't exposing 30% of our bodies. We do love having sun at this time of day! Gone are the 3 p.m. sunsets.

The Husky in Cody comes out on these walks. He does NOT want anyone to catch up to him - he must be the lead dog...we're happy to let him lead.

This morning there was one long piece of grace in our Resurrection Garden.  By dinner time we had THIS. This is the first one of the three to start sprouting. The directions said to spray it every morning, but we found it impossible to keep the ground moist that way.  Michael suggested soaking the rocks and spraying the top mound with the bottle.

I still haven't found twigs to make crosses...or large stones...but I plan to find time in the near future to dig under the snow and find such things so we can finish this. For now, it's enough to have the something green growing. LOL

Play Date with Benny

Kimber is  a blur! Benny isn't far behind her! They're playing with Kimber's new balls. 

 Arielle texted to see if I could watch Benny today while I was out. Cory had to work, Benny was a bit sniffly....I said yes. I knew Dad would love to see Benny...but they were all in bed when I got home. I put a note on his mirror - he's often up in the night.  I told him I'd be watching Benny and if he were ready to go at 0800 he could come with me. I also suggested he could call when he was up and I'd bring Benny over - usually around 10 or so.

Dad was up! We headed off for our grand adventure! Here Benny tells Dad, "GG, Cory wrestles me."  I told Dad he was going to need to up his game. ::snort::

Benny is potty training. I wanted a bit of privacy....but look at this...the FINGERS! I haven't had this experience in about 10 years!

His little voice, and the fingers under the door, made my day. 

We played lots of games. We gave this one to Benny at Christmas and he wanted to play it. I'm not sure how one is supposed to play, but we picked cards and said what they were...and we rolled the dice a lot...there seems to be no connection to rolling the dice and the rest of the game. LOL

ZEBRA

 We also played a "version" of Candyland. 

They decided to watch "Dinosaurs." 

Benny  keeps busy helping us old folks off the floor, weather its due to work out or movies. 

All the toys had to come off the shelf once again. A boy can never clean the shelves too often. LOL

He painted another beautiful picture. 

Then there's this game....a toilet game...with a plunger. I told Dad, "I think this is a potty training game."

Then Benny began flushing and plunging and it shot....product...from the tank....maybe not a very good potty training game. Or one can hope it's not predictive of his toilet days.

GG stretched out on the couch and took a nap. Benny wanted to watch Curious George, which I couldn't find. I laid down with him and cuddled in the play/craft/guest room and we both fell asleep.

Winter Walk

Poor Cody was so, so sad when Stacia took a shower and left him outside the door.

Patiently standing guard for "his" girl 

I was determined to get out and get a walk in. We had just enough times between appointments for me to get er done with Stacia. The walk put me at 81 active minutes yesterday!

Stacia and Cody - The Horgi (Husky Corgi)

Our paper delivery man has taken to setting the paper nicely on the top of the drift in front of the box. We had this shoveled, but the snow plow pushed a bunch of snow in front of it....so Michael dug it out again...we've tried to make it easy for him. I'm quite sure we'll find a paper or two in the spring.  My friend, Beth, suggests we rig up a pully system from the road to the house so I don't have to go out each morning to get it. LOL 

The winter IS beautiful. 

Having Cody here motivates us to get outside - even though it is so blasted cold.... ⛄ It was -6 this morning. We loved the time together. We weren't so crazy about Jack Frost nipping at our noses.

AND she spent the majority of the day in the snow...eating snow...we've talked to a friend who works with the wildlife up here. We are nearing calving season. They don't like deep snow. It could be perfectly normal. If she doesn't go looking for food - it's not so normal....unless she decides to have a baby right there in full view of my lens.  Stay tuned.

No, I can't tell if she is pregnant...but our woods do seem to be a moose neo-natal unit. We give them a lot of distance! Mama moose are as bad as mama bears. 

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!