Garden Adventure (hint Moose are sometimes hard to avoid!)

 Yikes - I have not blogged with any regularity since April 18th. I will get back to that...this evening's adventure in the garden has ignited my motivation to capture an event!  

CoRielle and the boys gave me the gift of prepping the garden for Mother's Day. Some will remember we have a largish garden plot which was previously a horse pasture. The weeds have been a constant battle. We simply weren't up to it last summer and decided to "let the land rest on the 7th year" - um - Alaska weeds don't rest. Enough said.  

This year I decided to try to tame 1/3 to 1/2 of the plot....let the chickens try to tame the rest.  Not only will this be more attainable than taming the whole area, Michael and I don't NEED as much food as we have in years past. If the kids eventually want to garden parts of it, they can. We simply don't need to can 100 jars of pickles. 

 I also decided I was NOT going to focus solely on the work of gardening...my energy is low this year. I will work most days for a bit, and I will enjoy a cuppa chai tea in my garden or greenhouse each and every day of the season. This will help me enjoy the process. It will also help me see things I want to do the next day, or next year. Right?  Nature is therapeutic to me - and I need all the therapy help I can garner this year. My soul is weary and sad...and joyful and hopeful...and that is an odd mix to learn to carry at the same time. 

 Another garden goal for the year is NOT to plant 24 squash plants. We don't love squash. I had enough squash that I supplied our local Russian church several weeks with baskets and baskets of squash. I may plant 2 or 3 plants...ONLY. 

I have debated about when to plant because our last frost date is May 31st.  Michael and I finally decided to get a few things into the garden beds. I searched through the seeds left over from two years ago and made a plan. I hope the germination is still good. 

 I weeded 1/2 the green house, started some seeds, prepped some potatoes, and planted some peppers and spinach in the greenhouse, lettuces (3 kinds), kale and Brussel sprouts in the garden beds. A couple of weeks ago the chickens got into this bed which had asparagus and strawberry plants in it. They made a mess. I gave up and bought some strawberry plants to add to the bed. 

I am thrilled to discover a few spears have been spared. Maybe there will be more? 

Lettuces and Kale should be fine - if it doesn't freeze. 

We drove into JBER for a family game night. Michael and I came home early so we could get GG to bed. He is much happier with his routine in place. GG went to bed. Michael and I enjoyed the quiet house. We had a good conversation, there are few legal things in the works capturing our attention. It is good to remember we have left justice in the hands of One who judges righteously. 

I still hadn't had my cuppa chai in the garden today. I worked for a couple of hours in the garden, my hands ache, it was time to ensure I enjoy the garden.  I headed out. I dream of a pavilion in the garden...but at this point it more closely resembles a horse pasture with garden beds placed in it. 😂 The chairs were set between the beds and the electric fence - which Michael hasn't activated yet. We haven't had many moose in the yards for months. I sipped chai, got on Marco Polo to give Beth and Julie a personal update and a garden tour. I began to ask for prayer and discuss said legal details. I heard some noise. I thought Michael had come out to put the chickens in and was coming over to talk. I still had Marco Polo running when I turned to tell Michael to say hello...and low and behold!!!!!

They had come around the wood pile and were about to come between the pile and the fire ring to the nice green shoots in the garden.  The problem of course is that *I* was between them and the garden. I couldn't make it to the back door of the house.  I have NEVER been this close to moose...and she was a MAMA with BABIES.  I yelled for Michael. The living room window was open. He looked and saw the moose. He thought I was upset they would eat the garden. He got up to look and then noted me rooted in my chair.  

"WHAT DO I DO?"

He came out on the deck with the idea to shoot marbles at the burn barrel. But if they RAN - they'd run over me. He realized I wasn't concerned about the garden shoots. 

At this point I remembered the man in Homer who was in the paper this week for dying because he was trying to take a photo of moose twins. Well....I thought, "I AM in this predicament. I can't get forward. If I run, she's faster.  I may as well take a photo."

 I turned off the Marco Polo and took a photo. 

Michael continued to try to figure out how to help and where to advise me to go. 

I decided to talk softly, quietly mother to mother with mama moose. This alerted her I was sitting in the chair. They walked around the other side of the beds and left. 

I finished my cuppa chai.  I also turned Marco Polo back on, watched the end of the polo and laughed...a lot...and then assured them I lived through the adventure. 

By comparing the wood stump and moose in the first picture I am able to see just how close they were to me. The red X is where the moose were. The turquoise X is where I was rooted. The black dashes show I was much closer than I knew I was - Michael tells me it was 7 feet. 

I'm adding another garden goal - AVOID close encounters with Moose! 

May Game Night

 Nolan, Alex, Allie and Stacia began having game nights when the bachelors moved out of our house. This fall Jamin and Krista joined the group, and established game night as a monthly event. Yes, we have a family celebration at our home...and a monthly family game night too.  AND Krista and Nolan meet weekly for dinner -  others join when they can arrange the details.  Sometimes GG doesn't want to go out and either Michael or I go alone.  Honestly, we are getting tired of the divide and conquer solution. We'd like to do things as a couple. LOL 

THIS month Luke, Krista and the kids hosted game night and we simply told GG it was time to get in the car and we headed to JBER (Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson). LOL 

CoRielle and BreZaak came to base earlier in the day to enjoy the parks. This was Bre's children's first time to base. She took the time to show them around her old stomping grounds...including the site of her first job...Charlie's Steaks and Phillies. 

Bre and Kids at the BX food court - 📷via BreAnne

Krista had prepared a great set up for us. She had tables of games set up around the room, we enjoyed pizza and snacks and there was even a basketball hoop and exercise structures to enjoy outside. 

Cory, Arielle, Stacia and Nolan
Rylan in the background with the oculus

We were happy Mark and Mona, Luke's parents and their kids' grandparents, joined us this month. We haven't seen them, other than our court appointments, since we began attending church in Eagle River. It was fun to be able to sit, catch up and simply socialize...without any big feelings. 

Michael, Ellie Rae and Mark catching up 

Gideon joins the crew 

BreAnne and Allie

Jojo, Trudy and Charles try Jamanji 

Oh, the fun Army PT equipment bring...looked up at one point and saw Charles and Danny putting their heads under the straps.... time for more hands-on supervision. LOL 

📷via Krista

Krista and Danny, Jojo, Charles and Trudy 📷via Luke

I totally missed grabbing a photo of myself, Mona, Kaelyn, Luke, Bella or Jamin....and yet, I did grab these! LOL  The families with young ones decided to head home around 7:30 or 8 p.m.  This was the first time we had brought GG to a game night and he was ready to get home. We hadn't thought the logistics through. Our gals and Nolan were not ready to go home. We ended up heading home early so GG could get to bed, and they borrowed Krista's car and drove home when they were ready.  We returned their car Sunday at church. 

Elleira is Two Months Old!

It's such great fun to watch a baby's personality develop.  Will she be an introvert or an extrovert? Is she going to be laid back or a go-getter? Is she a morning person or a night owl? Is she a picky eater or a good eater (this one was always top in Grams' list)? We have loved getting to know Elleria Raelynn.

Ellie is loved by all, and she seems to love all in her world. Look at her eyes LIGHT up! She's a sweetheart!

What could possibly be causing such an adoring look of joy? Ah, Daddy and big brother. LOL 

Little Ellie is such a light in a hard season...much like her mama was a light born in a challenging time of loss for Michael and me. For years I had a photo of my uncle and Arielle (born on the day my uncle passed) together with the saying, "Babies are God's way of saying Life should go on." 

Yes, Ellie and her cousin Josi, have been such bright spots of joy in the midst of a hard season. I am incredibly thankful for the blessing of their lives...and 2 months already? 

I am being very conscious to spend as much time as possible with each grand in this season. They grow so fast. Getting to live in the same area as our grandblessings has been one of the biggest marks of grace in this season.

Finding Solutions

We found ourselves discouraged with the sheer number of projects around here we couldn't finish last year. We plan for this to be our forever home, we like living here, but if we can't keep the place up.... these thoughts have been rattling around our minds this fall, winter...and here it is summer again. Michael's health is not better. His back is worse and we're still fighting to delay back surgery as long as possible at the advice of his VA doctors. A couple of the kids have mentioned possibly moving into town with a smaller yard to keep up.  Lots to think about. We don't want to move. This is a great place for grands to come play, we like the quiet (most days), we don't want to deal with the work of moving "one more time." 

Over the winter Jamin paid for a neighbor to plow out our driveway. We were amazed how nice that was, how much work and pain it saved all of us - but mostly Michael. I began to think of what may be helpful in the spring/summer/fall. We weren't sure if we needed a landscaping company or a carpenter or WHAT...and we noted it is difficult these days to find young youth who want to work all summer on yards etc. 

We took a frank look at our position...Michael's health is worse, the workload around here doesn't lessen, BUT a new fact is Michael now receives Social Security disability, which he didn't receive last year. An idea was born. We COULD stay here if we found someone willing to work with Michael, or alone when Michael can't work - we needed to find a dependable handyman, one who knew how to do the things Michael wanted done without a lot of instruction, and one who we could trust and would work well with Michael. We kept considering how to find this man. 

Cory and Arielle have been coming over and mowing our lawn. For Mother's Day they prepped the garden spot for me. It would appear the solution was in front of our eyes. I suggested to Michael that maybe we wouldn't have to take our chances on Facebook ads. Maybe Cory would be willing to help a minimum number of hours a week for us.  Win WIN. Cory has been wanting to help but it's always a bit awkward to step into another's place and suggest they need to do x,y or z. ::snort::  Michael has someone he trusts, who we know is a hard worker, we know he knows how to do the various jobs Michael wants to tackle and Cory loves us. There is no judgment that we can't keep up.  And so...Cory came over today and he and Michael tackled their first project. 

Michael built a great big hoop house. The first year the weather destroyed most of it. We decided 1/2 of it was easily salvageable and Michael set it up over two of our existing garden beds. That winter the weather crushed it - though not as bad as the year before. Michael fixed it in the spring. Last winter he removed all the plastic and left the frame and chicken wire. We had thought the snow would fall through the chicken wire and it would all be standing in the spring. Enter lots of snow and WIND and.... the chicken wire was twisted and blown away, several pieces of the structure simply snapped...we laughed that the door was still latched and shut!

Michael and Cory collected all the pieces, got everything attached again, added chicken wire and began the process of covering it with plastic. Much of what we want to grow needs some sort of cover to keep it warmer than our typical summers. We have found our cucumbers love this set up. 

While they worked the boys helped me with a job and then played, Arielle and Ellie kept GG occupied, which he enjoyed, and I even had time to sit and visit while the men kept working. It truly was a win WIN. 

 The boys helped me haul 10 bags of dirt from my van to the garden. 

Arielle is the only one who can consistently get GG outside! 

This first week Cory let us know he is willing to work alone if Michael has an appointment or his back won't allow him to work as much as he'd like to work.  We are happy to have a solution.  I'm blogging from a few weeks in the future and the next week Michael was able to go to a chiropractor/massage appointment for his back, while Cory continued working on the always growing to do list. LOL 

Stacia's First Canning Project

Stacia loves lemon. About a month ago she made lemon curd for the first time. It was DELICIOUS!  She wondered about making a big batch up and canning it, when she was done with the semester and had time to play in the kitchen. College is done for the year. Stacia decided to attempt her first canning project.  She made 6 or 8x the normal size batch of lemon curd. 

I was on hand to show her how the canning equipment worked. It was a simple water bath - great first project. 

While the little jars of curd enjoyed their water bath the girls and I had a tea party. Scones, cream and lemon curd....good stuff.  This was an IMPROMTU party...

Do you remember the excitement of pulling your first jars from a canner! I felt instantly connected with generations of women before me...both my grams' were great canners and their mothers before them. 

Seven half pints of lemon curd

Every jar sealed! Sucess! This little treat now sits on the pantry shelves waiting for tea parties. 

The girls will soon be busy working - this was a great break! 

Our Family's Experience @ Impact Alaska 2024

Impact Alaska was one of Josiah's favorite events to participate in at ACF. This event began "some years ago" and has grown until there were six different church bodies, representing numerous campus' participating this year.  Basically, it's a planned day for the church to get out in its community and simply love and serve. Those who serve meet back at the church for a meal at noon. The Impact Alaska website says it best. 

Impact Alasa is a day of service to communities all over the state of Alaska. It's a day where churches from all over Alaska join together to cancel their regular Sunday services to go out into their communities to serve the needs of people in the name of Jesus. Every year, the churches in Alaska mobilize together in unity and go out of their door to serve their communities in many different ways. Over the years, it has looked like community cleanup projects, free oil changes for single parents, gas buy-downs for the community, making gift baskets for first responders, minor repair projects in people's home, and so much more. 

The hope is to make it in Alaska as in heaven by the way we serve and love people. 

I believe Josiah and Carrie had participated for four years. The rest of us were always a bit envious when Josiah and Jamin talked about Impact Sunday. This year we looked forward to joining, because we believe in the vision AND to do something Josiah loved as a way to continue to honor him and his legacy. 

As the day approached everyone was signing up for various teams. Luke was in high demand with his plumbing skills. Jared led a team which helped a shut in with some projects around her home. Larissa watched children at the church.  Jamin and Krista joined Jared's team...and then Krista traveled. SHE HAD A RAKE. 

Jared, Jamin, Krista 📷from Krista

Carrie, Jess and Liv provided hospitality at the church for the oodles of oil changes they gave away to the community.  

Carrie, Josi, Liv and Jess 📷from Carrie

Our household had a hard time finding a fit. We needed something which GG could do or where he wouldn't be bored and wander off.  It began at 0800 in Eagle River, and that created a few obstacles with getting everyone up and on the highway in time.  The entire family worked on a solution...would one of us stay home with GG and the rest go, could we get him comfortable for 4 hours? We weren't coming up with a good plan. 

CoRielle and children signed up with a local church which was participating in our community. They had several projects going on.  Joining a team in the valley would cut down our commute time and make it more doable, and we loved the idea of serving our community. In the end the girls were coming off a horrendously loaded week at college, Michael didn't feel 100% and they all slept in on Impact Sunday. I joined a team in our community with Church on the Rock.  The team leader was welcoming and it was the same one CoRielle had volunteered to help. The team picked up garbage and leaves at a favorite local park.  Arielle, the boys and I got involved in painting the park structure. It was four hours of FUN. My only regret is wearing a new hoodie as I didn't know I'd be painting. The girls tell me the paint is a, "whole vibe."  OK - lots of photos as I took some and Arielle sent me a bunch. 

Freshly painted

Charles & Danny help Arielle pick up garbage

Ellie was an angel @ her 1st Impact Event

Filling in the holes under the swings....raking out wood chips 

Kids play here! 

Arielle and me

Arielle snapped this photo...best Bachan ever, painting with infant in hands. LOL 

Benny, Bachan and Ellie 📷from Arielle

Go Danny! 📷from Arielle

Everyone enjoyed helping. It was quickly apparent I would provide more hands-on help for Charles. 

Charles & Bachan - 📷from Arielle

So MUCH fun! 📷from Arielle

Here is some info shared from ACF - remember we were ONE of the churches participating. Communities across AK were impacted. 

We Alaska! God worked through every single one of you today to remind this community that they are loved and valuable! Here’s some of what we are celebrating…

- 115 oil changes

- Chugiak Senior Center landscaping with 100+ serve team members

- 117 cars through the gas buy down

- 700+ serve team members mobilized

- ARCH Youth Center project with @youthculture_acf

- Mountain View Elementary project in Anchorage

- Churches from all over the state joining

And so much MORE!!! We are so thankful to get to be a part of seeing it be in Alaska as in Heaven.

This was a great day! There are obvious benefits for the community - but so many for participants as well. I enjoyed chatting with the other members of my team and sharing the meal afterward. If we'd gone to Eagle River this would have been a way to make connections with our church family. It felt GREAT, however, to be meeting a need in our local community!!! It made great memories for the kids...they will remember serving when they play at this park. I believe it is beneficial for generations to serve together and I am thrilled to have made these memories with our grandchildren. 

Could it be done at a time other than during Sunday morning service? Sure.  Is it just a big church gimmick? NO!!!!  The event provides a clear image of the FACT the CHURCH was never meant to be a building filled with nicely dressed pretty people which gathers at 1100 (or 0800 or 1030) on Sunday morning. The church is us, people, loving and serving others.  The act of leaving the church building to serve and calling it WORSHIP is powerful!  I believe it sparks something which has created the culture of serving and love which we've benefitted from these past 7 months at ACF. 

This can be fairly "cheap" or it can be a significant budget item for a church...gas buy downs, oil changes aren't cheap....picking up garbage, doing yard work for a shut in is budget friendly. There were small churches and largish churches participating. 

Our family has helped our community in unseen ways before this and will continue. I also know that for many, this was the first taste which will lead to continued service throughout the year.  I could hear people talking about other projects a group their size could tackle in the valley. We talked about how good it would be for a life group to have a community project once a quarter. It's good to put hands and feet to the doctrines we profess to believe, and this is one of the ways several churches in Alaska have chosen to do this. 

Stacia and I topped the day off by going to Eagle River to spend the night with Carrie and the girls. Larissa and Noah dropped by for a visit. Look at sweet Noah plant a kiss on Josi. 

Noah is 1 yr 4 months

Hello, Willow. 

Any day that ends with baby smiles and snuggles is a great day - this one was extra special. 

Josi at 3 1/2 months