Jamin's Farewell Party

We met tonight to officially say farewell to Jamin...can you believe he is moving Florida? I love the banner Bre found. 

In all seriousness, Jamin had been planning to move the fall of 2023. We are thankful he stayed up for the last couple of years but it's time for him to get back on schedule with his plans. 

We asked Jamin for his favorite dessert. He said, "Apple pie, cheesecake and ice cream." We had all three. Bre brought an apple pie, Arielle brought fruit, Nolan brought ice cream and toppings and I supplied the cheesecake.

We gave Jamin a framed family photo, a calendar with all our birthdays and helpful notes on it, and a book of must-see/must-do things in FL. We all circled the things we thought he needs to be sure to do and see. The kids drew helpful photos. 

Bre, Jared, Melia

Bella, Melia, Gideon, Bre, Jamin & Nolan

Melia, Stacia, Nolan, Jamin & Michael 

Ellie was saying, "My mama, my mama!"
Ellie, Arielle & Trudy

Melia played games with the kids. They LOVED it. 

Melia, Gideon, Ellie, Benny, Bella, Annie

Charles and Danny

Trudy & Papa

Cory, Arielle & Bre

I found Charles in my nook. The lights were off and he has the heating pad on the back of the chair as well as the heated blanket on. He gets over-stimulated and knows where to go to find peace. LOL 

Charles & Noah

Uncle Jared & Trudy

Allie Has Left the State...

...and the 2025 Holiday Season is officially over. One of the hard things about holidays these days is the moment when all the adult kids have headed back to their homes. In the blink of an eye, though it was really a lovely month break, we find our feet back at the airport.  (Note: I tried to take a subtle photo during our group huddle, hug and prayer. I ended up with an atrocious nostril shot...forget subtlety let's take a foot shot).  

Our month of celebrating began when Allie arrived home on Dec 11th. When one of the Gherkins come home our house is full of not only them, but the others come around much more often to visit. We love to see the visible love they have for one another. Allie's arrival signaled a full month of game nights, visits, movies, Krista and Luke arriving, birthdays, Melia moving in and Christmas and New Years. 

The day began for Melia and Stacia with school. I love this photo. Allie was off to catch some time with Nolan. 

I availed myself of the treadmill and noted with the warm temps much snow has melted, and I can see the tops of the garden beds now.  Temps, of course, cooled down again and we now have an ice rink in our driveway. 

About the time these two finished with school, Allie and Nolan arrived. We kept Allie company while she packed and did laundry. She is going back with a second suitcase. United certainly doesn't have the great deals on baggage Alaska Airlines has. 😀If only they flew all the places we need to fly. 

Jamin and Jared stopped by to visit and say goodbye. We all went out for a rushed but yummy dinner after which the five of us caught a local presentation of The Magician's Nephew. 

We left for the airport in Anchorage immediately after the play. The roads were nasty. We counted 15 separate accidents on the trip. In the winter we plan flights so Michael can drive. I am horrible on ice and simply don't want the stress. I could tell it was bad as Michael drove with two hands firmly on the wheel.  Before we knew it Allie was checked in, we had been assured her plane WOULD leave tonight, we huddled and prayed, and it was time for airport hugs. 

Stacia made sure I got an airport photo this time

Allie & Michael 

Melia & Allie

Stacia & Allie

We came back home around 1:30 a.m. The girls and I had a bit of a talk before I called it and went to bed. Michael came home and went right to bed.  (Note: Allie has landed in Roanoke at 1:20 p.m. our time - 5:20 her time and will be met by friends for the drive to Lynchburg).

And so, ends the 2025 Holiday Season at our home. 

A Slow Day/Evening

 Here it is Thursday of our first full week of homeschooling. Unfortunately, we are still on vacation sleep schedule. I keep hoping if we persevere in getting up and starting school at a set time, we will all eventually start SLEEPING when we go to our rooms. Anyway - up and at it; another full day of school for Melia and me. 

I am NOT heartless, honest. She starts school at 11:00 and has 2 - 3 hours of work to do every day. Heartless would be insisting on an 8:00 a.m. start! I am proud of the work Melia has accomplished this week.   We have finally been assigned a contact teacher. I will meet with her next week. She has some placement tests which she thinks will be helpful. I told her we are simply continuing with the classes she was taking and will figure out the holes, gaps and make up we need to do by spring. 

While we worked upstairs, Stacia took over the study. She had a 5-hour online meeting with Alaska Commission on Post Secondary Education, where she serves as a student rep. She is currently the only student rep on this board. 

I blogged, paid bills and balanced our checkbook. This took extra time as I have a new laptop and needed to find all the files and transfer them all over. I also took care of the ever-growing ash problem so we could build a fire. 

At my doctor's direction I have added workouts into my Bright Line regime. Snow has been sliding off our roof all morning as it has warmed up to the 30's. I stare at the garden and dream of being outside a bit more. LOL  My A1C is coming down as is my weight and my blood pressure is now in the normal range. All good things. 

Those posts are the garden

Allie met with friends for brunch/lunch....and the day marched on. We had been planning all day to go to life group. I had just enough time to take down Christmas decor. Allie came home and helped. Stacia had gone to the college for classes. Suddenly we realized if Mike, Melia and I went to life group Allie would be home alone.  We hadn't realized it was the LAST evening we have at home before she flies back to VA and we really wanted to spend it with her. We switched gears. I put a chicken pot pie in the oven. Stacia came home. We had dinner and played games. 

Stacia, Allie, Melia and Michael 

We are still surprised at how much fun "The Bible is Funny," can be. 

We were sad to miss group again, but this was the perfect way to spend this evening. We were concerned Melia would be disappointed as she isn't used to being home as much as she is now. She said she was glad we stayed home - she didn't feel like going out either. 

A Wednesday in January

This was Melia's first full day of school.  She felt like it was a LOT, but I have no doubt she will get used to the routine...it was only 3 hours of focused schoolwork. That's doable. It is less than the 6 1/12 hours she would spend at a public highschool...but it is also FOCUSED work, so I know it feels longer. 

I want to be nearby and available for Melia while she is schooling and I found the time to blog etc was motivating.  She's off and running. At this point we are still waiting for an IDEA contact teacher to be assigned though we have heard that we are an accepted IDEA family. ::snort:: They won't provide an allotment as she is registering mid-year - I don't understand that. BUT it was easy enough to simply enroll her in Acellus Academy (the program the state uses) and sign up for the classes she had begun at her last high school.  We aren't "catching up" with this plan but we aren't losing ground either. When she finishes these four classes, we can begin catch up with the things she missed in her freshman year. We will get there. We have a plan! 

After school was done Michael, Melia and I went on a shopping spree. Our goal was winter snow gear. We went to Walmart and found a jacket. She received a beautiful new winter jacket at Christmas; we want one she can sled and ski in without fear of tearing her new jacket. We found a gorgeous jacket on sale for $19. We didn't like the $45 price of snow bibs. We headed to Play It Again Sports, Sportsman Warehouse, Fred Myers and ended up back at Walmart. Michael kept the car warm and we ran in, picked out a pair and bought them. Maybe the moral of the story is Walmart really has the best prices in town. 😂 We could have thrifted. 

We dropped Melia off at Alex and Nolan's. Jamin, Stacia and Allie were there for a sibling hangout/game night. 

Michael and I headed out to catch dinner and have some rare alone moments to chat. It was great fun. 

It's a bit bemusing we have had months of so much time alone in the house...and then December arrived and we've had lots of activity, guests in the house, and now a new daughter in our home. We are going to have to make time to go OUT for dates to connect rather than simply being together 24/7 with lots of alone time. LOL 

Stacia came home at 10. Melia had stayed with Allie. We realized - oh yeah - we should set a curfew time especially for school nights, I suppose. The things one so quickly forgets. We'll have to figure out what is reasonable and we can pick her up if Stacia is staying later in future weeks. 

We all went to bed tired. 

Busy Sunday

We ended our Sunday in the living room watching the next movie in our Marvel Marathon. Tonight's movie was Black Widow. It was a relaxing evening to a busy day. 

Nolan, Stacia, Melia & Allie 

The day found our family scattered at various churches and activities around the area. Michael, Melia and I drove in early to Eagle River. We were able to meet up with her former guardian, an uncle and girlfriend, her two sisters and the family who is their guardians as they came out of the 1000 service. We attended the 1130 service, grabbed lunch and made it back to the valley for Annie's party.

Stacia and Allie had a leisurely day - probably their last full day together before Stacia is back at work and college and Allie flies back to college.  We met up at Annie's party. 

It snowed overnight! Quite a lot! It is ironic and sad that we got all this lovely deep snow when Luke left. He had so looked forward to snow machining while home from Okinawa. He gave it a valiant effort...going to different locations and finding a bit of snow. 

Stacia and Melia 

Jamin has been sick. He had to get up to deal with a plumbing issue at his 4-plex. 

Jamin

Noah and Jared came over after the party to spend a bit of time. He loved my glasses. 

Noah and Bachan 

Note: the gloves are because the tops of several of my fingers had split open due to the dry cold. I covered them in antibiotic cream and Vaseline and wore gloves for a few days. 

Ice cream and hot bevvies...it's a thing. 

Allie & Noah

While we all dealt with the extreme cold and snow...Carrie and the girls enjoyed the Caribbean!🌴🩷 🌞 Josi is living her best life onboard ship! I've shamelessly ripped the photos from Facebook and family chat posts. 

OH! Allie gave Melia a crochet lesson. It was a bit tricky as Melia is left-handed. 

Annalise's 7th Birthday Party

 Annie's birthday is Jan 15th. We gathered today to celebrate her 7th birthday with her friends. 

Annie

Annalise is a delightful spitfire! She has a zest for life that few match. She knows her mind and isn't afraid to advocate for herself. This Bachan and Papa know that God is going to use that zeal for His purposes.  We laughed at her costume - Annie can pull it off. 

Her party had a winter theme - because Annie is one of our favorite things about winter.  There were gingerbread houses, cookies and a hot chocolate bar.  Here are some photos Bre sent from the party. 

Noah

Jared

Stacia and Me

Michael, Allie and I

Michael & Trudy

2026 - Surprising us Already!

 Yes, we DO still have a blog and it's time I give it some attention, before it ceases to be a family journal for the ages. ::snort::  I am once again homeschooling (and I need to go back and capture the feelings of having completed homeschooling before I forget) and so while our student works on, I plan to sit nearby and blog...or at least organize photos... This should keep me available to Melia. 

January 1, 2026! 

Allie, Krista and Luke are all still home for Christmas. I have memories and pictures to sort. 

Michael, Stacia and I drove into Eagle River early to bring Melia home. 

Backstory - The day before Thanksgiving we were asked if we ever have provided a safe haven for children/teens.

We have. We spent some time considering taking in 3 girls. Our family raised valid concerns which helped us see we simply aren't in a season where we can commit as many years as would be required to raise 3 girls. We committed to pray and to be a short-term solution if a longer-term solution wasn't forthcoming. 

Time blurs but sometime in December we were asked if we'd consider taking in one, 16-year-old girl as a permanent placement. Again, we prayed and discussed the situation. We can commit emotionally and financially to one teen. We also have the stamina and health for one extra person in our home.  We met with Melia and the guardian she had had since late October. We met with her father and signed papers and Melia moved in on January 1st. 

Millie loves having another girl in the house

First selfie - certainly not the last. ::snort:: 

Stacia, Melia and I sat down to get to know each other and to have our first tea party.  I am a firm believer there are healing properties in sharing tea and table fellowship. 

It was a crazy time to move into our home; we had three extra guests and lots of activity. Melia was thrilled to be on an air mattress in our study. Moving in now gave her a chance to get to know Krista, Luke and Allie. Luke and Krista moved the treadmill out of the guest room before they left. Krista rearranged the guest room, so it looks much bigger, and Melia is now comfortably at home in what used to be the guest room. Guests can stay on the air mattress in the study. LOL

Krista picked up this diamond art kit of a pug for GG. We all enjoyed sitting, talking and working on it.  Here we see Melia, Krista, Stacia and Nolan working on the psychedelic pooch.  

Even the moose came out to greet Melia. 

I will not be sharing much more about Melia's story here but here is one amazing fun fact. Melia's grandfather was a Japanese man who immigrated to Hawaii. Her father is of "full Japanese descent."  She is interested in learning and visiting Japan and in learning the language. We contacted Kim, who gave many of our children Japanese lessons. Melia was able to immediately begin Japanese lessons. We have hopes of being able to visit Luke and Krista and see a bit of Japan this year.  

 2026 is off and running in ways we hadn't expected. We are excited about what God is doing in our midst. My word for this year is restoration, and I can't help but notice a sense of purpose and activity has already been restored to our lives this year.