While I Was Sipping Tea.....

Josiah, Michael, Alex and Stacia went ICE FISHING again. Josiah continues to add to his ice fishing gear. Mike and Alex had new ice fishing poles to try out. Much easier to deal with than the longer poles......

Inside the tent - I love the heater. 

Josiah bought a tent! The tent sits over the holes they augured out (see above), a heater is inside the tent with them, and instead of -18* they enjoyed about 50* temps.  This is a piece of equipment I've been politicking for. I can't wait to go out with them.  The talk about future gear includes another tent (only 2 holes fit inside this one without chance of mishap), a cargo sled,  or a gas-powered auger.  I told them we need to buy a cabin on a lake and put up a hard sided shed over the ice holes. LOL

Josiah and Alex sport Alaskan beards

A word about Alaskan beards. My men tell me that it is very nice NOT to have to shave in the winter. Their beards provide an extra layer of protection when the temps are below 0. I do feel bad for those in our midst who have to shave daily due to employment....Nolan....at times Cory and Izaak, I think.

There's ALWAYS a photo bomber in the midst

Stacia really liked the tent for fishing. We've discovered she likes to fish, but she doesn't want to TOUCH her fish. What's with THAT? Ah, well, when she goes, we get 5 extra fish. LOL

They were warm enough to begin shedding winter gear. 

Alex likes fishing without the gloves

We were hoping for 5lb Arctic Char ...but continue to get Kokanee Salmon/Trout.  Michael and Cy both hooked some, but they got away. They say you can tell the difference.  

When I hooked a Kokanee, it was like, "Oh, you got me." And, I reeled it through the ice. 

They report the Arctic Char are more like, "Oh, no you DON'T." They drug out line and then got away. 

Can he bring Moby Dick through the ice? 

The one drawback I can see in a tent - is the lack of amazing Alaskan scenery photos. 

They came home and cleaned and filleted fish. I brined them. Michael smoked them for an hour or so. I canned them, and they are ready to go for "tuna salad" or such in the near future.

There is talk of going out again on Monday and trying for Arctic Char. I'll let you know.

"Christmas" Tea

Near the end of October, Donna and I met to discuss a Christmas tea. We decided on Dec 1st for the date. We wanted to bless the women and set about making goodies ourselves. Everything was coming together swimmingly, tables were ready, food was prepared, devo was ready,  and then.....Nov 30th happened. 7.0 quake. Donna's charming home was filled with glass. Many others were cleaning up as well.

We flexed. We decided the best thing to do would be to wait until after Christmas. We'd celebrate in January.

January 19th is a great day for a Christmas Tea. As I prayed about it, I felt we needed to be able to gather and simply be...together. The Big S - Socialization.  I scrapped any semblance of a program.  I enlisted Lindsey to help me with my list of food. Donna enlisted Jacque and Jennifer to help her.....it all came back together.

I never take Life Group photos - so I think I'll point out "lifers" who are in the photos.

Jacque, Jennifer and Donna (Jacque and Jenn are Lifers)

The Advance Crew 

Lovely vintage favor each woman took home...

Deceptively fancy - Donna is tricky! The plates and silver and disposable. 

Each table had this lovely selection 

My Mom's English teapot - pressed into service again. It made me smile. 

Daisy's first tea party! 

Such a well-behaved little gal. 

Nichole, Britney and Stacy

Brenda (Lifer), Lindsey (Lovely Pastor's wife), SiaKayle and Sandy

Judie, Mona (Lifers) and Bonnie

Jennifer, Jacque, Me, Nora, Judie and Mona

It was a lovely afternoon. It was wonderful to see women connecting and relaxing together. It takes more than a 7. quake to keep the ladies of Matanuska AG from gathering.

The Dead of Winter

The dead of winter is finally upon us. Is it the dark days? The frost inside the screen door?  The need to start ones care 10 minutes before jumping into it? The scraping of windshields with credit cards? The sub zero temps? 

No.

Tonight, at dinner, we ate the LAST Yukon Gold from our garden! It wasn't the biggest, but it was sweet and it was the very last. Alex had the honor.....

A glorious moment

We didn't grow many things well this year. Zucchinni and Yukon Gold's were the exceptions. I have lots of garden space. We've run out o potatoes early. We'll plant more next year.  These babies grew right in the midst of all the nasty chickweed. Why mess with peppers, tomatoes, and corn that won't grow???? 

We'll stick with the Yukon Golds and baby reds..... But, for now, I'm content to observe the garden plot under a thick blanket of snow...and the occasional moose, or two, or three, that arrogantly tromp across the plot.

I thought we had coyotes when I went to feed chickens yesterday. I heard a  howling....and every dog in the neighborhood answered back. It continued for as long as I was outside.  Michael thinks it was a wolf. I guess we don't have coyotes.

Kids Meet Annalise

I went over to BreZaak's this morning so Izaak could take Bella to meet Annalise. It was love at first sight. 

 She's going to be a good big sister. 

Gideon and I played and danced at home. He's a sweet and loving little man. 

I was making lunch and turned to find this! Something about this anti-climbing system didn't work as expected. What a character. 

Izaak spent the afternoon with the kids and I came home to tend to cleaning and prepping some food for Life Group. We had dinner and then Stacia and I went back to watch Gideon and Bella, while Izaak went to bring BreAnne and Annalise home.  Josiah and Larissa (Jared's wife) dropped by to meet Annalise. We played with the kids, visited and waited. 

Gideon was "running," while Larissa held him - it was hilarious but my phone didn't quite catch it. 

Finally, we heard the car in the driveway. Gideon was entranced with the baby. This picture seems symbolic as Annalise calmly sleeps, and the other two swirl around her. LOL 

His first really good look. He was ready to get her out of the car seat. 

"Baby, Baby"

Bella brought Bre over to introduce her to Annalise. It was crazy cute.

"Mama, this is baby." 

We had always had our newborns bring gifts to the older kids. BreZaak carried on the tradition. The kids were happy to get a tea set and a tool set/train engine. 

The picture of an experienced dad

 Auntie Riss and Annalise

Larissa face timed Jared so he could meet the new one too. 

Uncle Jamin and Annalise

Josiah had gotten into a "bit of a mess" at work today. He opted not to get close to Annalise tonight. It was an exciting day for BreZaak. How fun to be in town and get to share the day with them. I even got photos of Jamin and Rissa meeting Annalise.  Being together is well worth the annual winter adventure. 

Life is good in Alaska.

It was a long day for a little girl. 

We Meet Annalise

Meet Annalise Rae Lynn - the newest member of the Alaskan Gherkins*. She was born at 10:48 p.m.  Annalise weighed in at 7 lbs 1 oz and was 20.5 inches long.  Annalise is named for her great-great grandmother and her two grandmothers.

Rae is my middle name. I'm thrilled to have a
namesake in the bunch. LOL 

The Story: 

I was, literally, picking up my bag to head for Bible study (Tuesday), when my phone rang.

"My water just broke," Bre said.

I know one usually has 12 hours before birth when this happens, but I strongly suspected this would not be Bre's case.  She wasn't feeling contractions, but they wanted her at the hospital ASAP.  Michael and Stacia headed to BreZaak's to wait for Izaak to get home and to watch Bella and Gideon.

After study, I headed to BreZaak's for the evening and Michael went home. The kids had a fairly restless evening. They are too young at 2 and 1 to understand all the hubbub - but mom was excited, Dad was excited, and they were GONE. Auntie and Gemma were spending the night. Cuddling with them was priceless.

Stacia summed the evening up well, "I've slept better on AIRPLANES." ::Snort::  She texted Nolan bright and early and asked him to bring us some breakfast. He made a run to McDonalds and gladly joined us.  What a rock star of a brother. Bella was happy to see, "Oh No!" (Uncle Nolan)

Bella and Oh No. 

Meanwhile, at the hospital, they began meds for Strep, checked Bre and waited. Izaak reported and Bre confirmed,  once she felt contractions it was 45 minutes until Annalise was in their arms. When your labors progress like THIS, it doesn't make any sense at all, in an Alaskan winter, to hang out at home until one feels contractions.

Izaak came home to shower and see the kids this morning. Stacia and I ran home. We needed to help Michael return the car we've been borrowing, and then we all stopped by to see Bre and Annalise. A note here - we LOVE the local birthing unit. It's beautiful. The staff is friendly and the traffic is slow inside the unit. It's much more restful than any hospital I've been in. We are thankful BreZaak were able to deliver out here and didn't have to make the winter run to Anchorage.

She's gorgeous! She was soon to learn the immutable truth all other Gherkins have learned....when you see a great light, Gemma is around.

Our first look 

 Yes, I did ace everyone out! I called first dibs. 

Michael was close behind....

Resting peacefully in Papa's arms

 Auntie brought the two blankets she made to the hospital. 

Auntie Stacia and Annalise

Annalise decides to check out Auntie

Uncle Alex with Annalise

Everyone needs an "Oh No" in their life. 

Uncle Nolan and Annalise

Stacia and I went back to BreZaak's. Izaak had to run by work and take care of a bit of paperwork and then back to the hospital. The birthing center treats new parents to a steak and shrimp dinner. He reports it is fantastic.

Around 8 p.m., Stacia and I came home and went straight to bed!

*Gherkins - (In case you're new to our idiosyncrasies) Gherkin is used on this blog to describe any descendant from Michael and De'Etta. Michael's forebears were pickle makers in the old country. While Annalise is not one of OUR children, she IS one of our descendants. Thus, you can be a D or an S and still be a Gherkin.