New Year's Eve

 As we have flexed with our family, we have settled into a routine that includes individual family plans on Christmas (meeting up for games in the afternoon for those who would like), a family exchange and celebration on New Year's Eve and then a household exchange near epiphany on Jan 6th.

The first year we saved all gifts for New Years Eve we were in Japan and our college kids wouldn't be home for Christmas but would be home by New Years. This allowed us all to celebrate. It also took a LOT of pressure off this pastor's family during a busy Advent season; it allows us to focus on Jesus at Christmas...and a lot of the busy stuff just doesn't rear its head.  As adult Gherkins married it allows them to spend time with the "in laws" as they decide, and for immediate family traditions in their own homes without always having to be with Papa and Bachan on Christmas day. It's worked well. 

 Michael and I usually buy for each adult Gherkin as well as each grand. The rest of us also draw names. Krista set us up on Draw names (yes, she's organizing us from overseas) and the fun began. 

Most of the group in one shot 

Gideon front - Michael with C & D and Stacia

Eagerly watching Trudy open a gift

Ellie helped Uncle Jamin open gifts

Bella got shoes from Aunt Mary

We got Noah a hot wheels garage - storage thing

Alex!

Krista made this collage from sea glass she and Luke collected in Okinawa. The bottom left is a tree trunk and Michael and I....and then each family and gherkin has their own square...together they make a tree and branches. 

Stacia, Bella & Allie

Cousins! 

Ellie & Noah

Krista made all these squares for us...and she used full names and even added Melia (who was to join our home Jan. 1st).  Michael and I need to assemble it on a wall...

Ellie & Uncle Jamin - funcle

All the pieces together....

For years we've had a gingerbread competition but the heart of it left with Josiah. Maybe we'll do it again someday. This year we visited, played games and colored. We also opened a time capsule for 2013 and put new items in for the 2025.  I may as well just say what we all felt. JOSIAH IS SO VERY MISSED. Every day, but especially on New Year's Eve. He used to go with Michael to the town over to buy fireworks, he'd come over early and shovel paths to the firepit and help Michael set out all the fireworks. Opening the time capsule from 2013 was a leap of faith, and there were reminders that brought tears...and 2025...what a year! It began with a trial, had a sentencing in the middle and saw Krista and Allie both leave the state. BUT - we are still standing. We still love each other. We still had much to laugh about, but the tears and ache are real too. 

Catching up 

Charles

Roman Candles - closely supervised

Alex, Allie & Stacia

Jamin stepped in to help organize fireworks. He and Jared went with Michael to buy them. We didn't have much snow this year and we simply didn't shovel a nice path to the firepit. LOL 

Check out the stand Michael built

Alex, Stacia, & Luke

Benny

Keeping warm

Jared, Noah and Charles

Noah

Jared and Jamin 

Ellie & Cory

Luke, Krista, Arielle, Jared

CoRielle

Krista

Sparklers - Stacia, Krista et al 

Ellie & Cory 

Arielle & Ellie

Inside snuggles - Danny & Papa

Jared or Larissa sent this one late in the night. Noah needed to get out his gift and play with it before bed...seems perfectly reasonable to this Bachan. 

Making Memories

 Stacia, Allie and Nolan joined CoRille and Bre and the kids to the local theater to watch Zootopia 2. 

We're all making memories while Allie and KrUke are home for the holidays. While they went to the movies Luke and Krista took Michael and I and Mark and Mona, Luke's parents, to Orso in Anchorage. It was a yummy dinner.  

Memoires were made and fun was had by all. 

Sibling Tattoos

 I know there are various feelings so let me just say this now. We believe we are saved by grace through faith and what one has or doesn't have on their bodies is a personal preference and has nothing to do with salvation. You are free to believe differently. Michael is old school and doesn't like the look of tattoos, so he doesn't have any. I'd like to be attractive to Michael, so I don't have one either. But NO, he has not told me I can't have one.  

The kids have been talking for months about getting sibling tattoos. The plan was for them to go together and now that KrUke have arrived they are implementing the plan. They took over the business for the day. One Gherkin decided he's not a tattoo type. One Gherkin is still deciding what he'd like and one has two all planned but has been ill and unable to get one at this time. The rest prepared for their ink - many of them for the first time.  Kelly inked 7 tattoos for us this day. 

They all created their own design with a few common elements. All of them have a number symbolizing their order in the birth order and the arrows symbolize family and I think pointing down meant something specific too - but Bre can tell us latter. LOL Many have "3" ribbons, beads, feathers - memorializing Josiah as the 3rd in the group.

These six plus Jamin, Jared and I visited, played games, ate snacks, offered support and had fun being together. I'm glad they were able to do this when they were all together. Here are photos in no specific order. 

Arielle 

Allie & Jared

Arielle & Nolan

Jamin, Arielle & Nolan

Krista & Stacia

At some point in the day Michael stopped by and he, Jamin and Jared left to drive out and buy fireworks for New Year's Eve. 

Jamin

Bre, Krista, Stacia

Bre's had the most color and lots of symbolism. The arrow for family, the 10 different colored beads one for each child and their color, the three little ribbons memorializing Josiah's place in the family and I think something on here stands for Izaak and the kids too. 

Stacia's is an arrow with the number 10 clearly seen, three somethings and it's in a spot that can easily be hidden while in Japan. 

Krista, Bre, Stacia

Allie's is the numeral 9 with the x being made with arrows.  She had previously gotten a salmon with "love you" from a note Josiah had written her to memorialize Josiah. 

Krista ended up getting two. 

Bre's took the longest...all those colors. 

Nolan's is a number 7 and the crossbar thing is an arrow.

Arielle is the only one who chose to have it on her ankle. 

I love this verse and this tattoo. We all triple checked Krista's numbers. ::wink:: 

Krista's tattoo has her maiden name, the arrow, 3 beads for Josiah
 and 2/11 for her birth order

Sunday in December

A fun thing about having KrUke home is that they are EARLY risers and everyone around here is to content to sleep until afternoon. Krista got up and made us omelets. We talked. I miss my Krista talks. I absolutely love and revel in having Krista and Luke in the house. 

Luke and Krista had been looking forward to a couple of weeks at ACF. This is the only chance Krista has to simply enjoy a service with no chaplain responsibilities. Unfortunately, our church didn't meet on the 28th.  We promised them next week. LOL People stopped by throughout the day to welcome them home. 

Michael and I drove to Anchorage to meet Melia's father and to sign guardianship papers with a notary. We also met the father of the family who is taking Melila's sisters. It is sad, somber and humbling to commit to love and raise another's child. No matter what good comes of the story we are aware there is pain, brokenness and trauma at the beginning and here at the point where we enter her story. Our circle expands as we commit to pray for Melia's family of origin for as long as we live.  

Melia will be moving in on the 1st. 

Luke & Krista are Home!

Michael and I are back at the airport for another midnight pickup. This time we are picking up Krista and Luke (KrUke). They have spent the past week in CA with Luke's children and are now here for a week of glorious family time and fun. Luke is flying from CA to MT and then to AK. Krista is flying from CA to Denver and on to AK. We are figuring out these late pickups...we wandered down to the COMFORTABLE chairs. (Note: we realized later we can avail ourselves of the military lounge in the future).

Both landed within minutes of each other. We picked up luggage and headed home to the valley.

Much earlier in the day I had enjoyed breakfast with the girls at Sophia's. Our family gift exchange is NYE and our household exchange is after that...so we went shopping and enjoyed the clearance deals. LOL

We wrapped gifts this afternoon....and it looks much more like Christmas under the tree.  These are our gifts for the kids and grands. We also draw names so there are more gifts to come from others before NYE.

During our Christmas Eve services Pastor Brian talked about the real nativity scene ala Revelation....we added a red dragon to our set. It symbolizes the fact that from the moment Jesus was born a battle rages...and sometimes life just stinks when we are caught up in the battle. 

This speaks to me. The past few years have been hard as we bumped into evil and it impacted us in big ways. That first Christmas I pushed through and decorated the tree, and it was hard and depressing. Our ornaments are photo and we missed Josiah so much.  By last Christmas I had learned it was OK to allow grief space, all the old things don't have to be done to prove we CAN do them and so we didn't put a tree up at all. We put up the nativity. 

This year the tree is up - with lots of lights but no ornaments. Maybe I'll pull the ornaments out next year. Maybe not...but that dragon makes sense to us. 

Another Powerless Evening

 We didn't make the drive into Eagle River for church today. We visited CoRielle's church. Sure enough - we lost power again - but we are so prepped for it now! Sunday night games and ice cream in the glow of the flashlights. 

Changing Plans

Our plan had been to visit vendors, watch a parade and enjoy Colony Christmas. HOWEVER, it has been cold and windy, and we didn't feel like being outside. We changed our plans.  

Everyone moved to our home where we created a little gingerbread village (remember that missing village set up), made and decorated cookies, had hot chocolate and visited inside instead. 

Danny & Allie

Jojo (Josiah)

Annie

Playing games with the boys - not this day but the
photo is on this day? 

Noah and Jared came by and joined the fun! 

Noah

Jared questions Noah's decorating decisions

The day turned out to be great fun even though we didn't do what we had planned on doing.