Merry Christmas
Our morning started really late for us. David and I didn't turn on the lights until around 9:30am. Of course we can't rely on the sunrise to wake us. We've wondered just how long we would sleep without an alarm. I set mine for 8 every morning, so I don't sleep too late. I guess we found out this morning that we can't get past 9am...
Last night we wrapped the couple presents that we got for Gwyneth to open this morning. She had been asking the past couple days if we had gotten any presents for her. We teased her and said we already had Christmas in San Antonio before we moved. She was happy when we invited her into our room this morning and had her presents for her. We just got her two CD's (Dora's World Adventure, and Veggie Tales Worship songs.) a DVD (Nanny McPhee) a set of girly rings, and another set of Littlest Pets to go with her little house we bought her when we arrived here. We cuddled in bed the rest of the morning watching "A Christmas Story." TBS has been playing it all day. Such a classic! Hilarious! We did catch part of our traditional Christmas movie "Christmas Vacation" the other night.
The rest of the day was spent just hanging around our room. Gwyneth has had a slight fever all day. Of course being Christmas, nothing is open. So no thermometer, or Children's Tylenol. We had to resort to cutting a 325mg tablet and having her swallow that. She did surprisingly well. I made Mexican Chicken Soup for dinner. Now I think we will just settle in for the night and watch a movie. We get the keys to our house tomorrow! Yay! We're going to start taking things from our room over there, and I am going to clean. Can't wait to move in!
Catching up...
Rather than rack my brain trying to remember what we did this past week, I will just give you highlights with a couple pictures.
I think that my photography addiction serves a good purpose. I have the most horrible memory of anyone I know, and when I look at my digital photos of the last week I can remember what we did...and since I take pictures of EVERYTHING I can even remember what we ATE! HA!
So here is our week...with pictures:
Last Sunday we drove around town and looked at a few houses for rent. Most looked like dumps on the outside. I was not impressed by ANY of them! The most outrageous one we looked at was a "cabin." Sounds great right? Well we drive out there...off the beaten path. Steep inclines with snow, and no snow tires...not a good mix. Well we arrive at what we believe is the address, and we see before us this TINY shack with walls of plywood! Not kidding! And if this was the correct location of the listing we were looking at, they wanted over $1,000/mo. rent! Ridiculous! Had to laugh at that!
Monday night was kind of a rough night for me. I was anxious about where we would live. After seeing the houses the day before I was very discouraged. See, the Army only allows you 20 days in temporary lodging. That's how many days they will pay for. After that you are on your own. So we had this deadline of January 2nd to find a place to live. The places we looked at didn't meet our standards, and the rent for some places were outrageous! People around here don't really advertise that their house is for sale in the form of signs in the yard etc. I guess with all the snow they don't bother. The listings in the paper weren't too promising. I was very down that night. On the brink of despair...shame on me... I tend to worry so much, and not really trust God to take care of us, like he has SO many times before! David was a little worried...he gave me a bi hug that night and told me to stay strong...and that he needed me...sane...We did build a gingerbread house that night. We found this all-in-one kit at the local grocery store. Very cool. Everything including the icing was in the box. Gwyneth just ate it up! Literally. They finished the last of it last night...
Tuesday evening we finally bundled Gwyneth up and took her out to the playground to play in the snow. The slides were really slick and fast! She loved it. When we first got out there David threw a snowball right in my face! The ONLY part of my skin exposed, and BOY did it burn! It was SO cold! I got pretty mad at him...I mean hit me anywhere else and I would have been fine. I didn't even have soft mittens or a cloth to wipe it off...so I had to go back inside and wipe it off. We've established some snow play rules since then. No throwing snow on exposed skin, especially the face! Here are a couple pictures before we went out. It was too dark to take pictures outside.
That night we finished up our Christmas cards. I'm sure they all arrived late, but we actually sent them out this year! And if you have received yours did you notice the postmark? It should have said "North Pole, Alaska 99705" and had a picture of Santa. Cool huh?
On Tuesday night I was browsing some rental listings online and came across this listing for housing on the post that you can rent. (It is like this secret section of housing...I'm not kidding. The housing office didn't even tell us about it! I called the number listed and the lady I spoke with told me that housing still manages that property, but in May it is being privatized. I told her that the housing office never told us about it...she said "They won't." Oh... sounds weird. It basically came down to walking into the housing office, saying we were there to talk to someone about that area of housing. Talked to the guy, he printed a list of available units, (tons on the list) he told us to go out and scope them out and pick two we were interested in, and come back and tell him. All the while we were in the waiting area, I heard counselors telling other people about housing out in town and about the preferred tenant program, and giving them the bad news that they will have to wait for family housing. They never mentioned the section of housing available for rent...it's just sounds so weird! They definitely do not broadcast that this section is available!
Anyways...we drove by all the listed units, and picked two. One we were really hoping was still available. It is connected to three other houses. In the middle kind of. Good thing in the winter as we won't lose heat from the sides of the house. The back yard is small but has trees that separate us from the other houses. The house is located really close to the ski lodge where we can ski and tube. It is also across the street from a pretty good sized playground.
We went back and told the guy at housing which two we were interested in and he said to come back the next day and he would issue us keys to see the inside of the units.
Wednesday we looked at the inside of the two houses we picked and really liked the one with the trees in the backyard. David went in after lunch and told the guy which one we wanted and started the paperwork for the lease and such.
Thursday both of us signed the lease and got a move in date of December 26th. Our household goods will be delivered the following day. YAY! We found a place to live in less that a week! I am so thankful! Now the stress of unpacking and setting up home will set in on Wednesday! yippee...
Thursday evening we went and checked out a gym for Gwyneth to continue her gymnastics with. She was evaluated (kind of like try-outs) by the owner of the gym and was invited to become a part of their "Hot Shots" team. It's sort of a pre-team...team. She will move from that team to level 3 gymnastics later on.
As long as she enjoys it and wants to continue. It's a little more of a financial and time (3 hours a week, 1.5 hours two days a week) commitment than we are used to, but it is worth it as long as she still finds it enjoyable. She was so excited to become a part of the team, and was disappointed that they don't start working out again until January 10th. :o) It's going to be great for her!
Friday we took our car over to the Honda dealer to get our radio fixed. When David took it to get it winterized the previous weekend they had to disconnect the battery, and doing so made our radio display an error message and it wouldn't let us listen to the radio or play CDs. It has an anti theft device and we didn't have the code to reset it. It's in our shipment of household goods. Ugh! They fixed it though! Yay! We got pizza (it was after all "Pizza Night.") from a local pizzeria. Really good pizza. Far better than Boston's from last week!
Saturday we had to pick up some more bottled water from Sam's club and picked up paper towels and toilet paper for the new house. Then it was off to Walmart to round out our shopping trip with new cleaning supplies to give our new house a good cleaning prior to us moving in, and picking up new bedding for Gwyneth's new room, and all the needed items for the full bathroom we have gained with this rental. It will be Gwyneth's bathroom, so we went with a flower theme. David isn't crazy about it...he would have rather outfitted it in the fishing theme! Complete with a soap dish that resembled a tackle box! HA!
Today we went and attended a church in town. It was nice. The service was a little different as it was Christmas Eve. Gwyneth stayed in the service with us. She was a little antsy, but all in all, she did pretty well. I think we'll go back and see how their normal worship services go. They offer AWANA there. Gwyneth can resume SPARKS! It's on Tuesday evenings which is really convenient since she will have gymnastics on Wednesday evenings (the night AWANA typically happens.)
In a few minutes we are going over to David's new boss' house for Christmas dinner. They have two children. A boy in middle school and a girl in elementary, I am hoping Gwyneth and her are close enough in age to enjoy one another's company.
That catches you all up! If you read that in one sitting you get a big pat on the back from me! Hopefully I can keep up now, and not fall behind on the goings ons here!
Have a great Christmas Eve!
I think that my photography addiction serves a good purpose. I have the most horrible memory of anyone I know, and when I look at my digital photos of the last week I can remember what we did...and since I take pictures of EVERYTHING I can even remember what we ATE! HA!
So here is our week...with pictures:
Last Sunday we drove around town and looked at a few houses for rent. Most looked like dumps on the outside. I was not impressed by ANY of them! The most outrageous one we looked at was a "cabin." Sounds great right? Well we drive out there...off the beaten path. Steep inclines with snow, and no snow tires...not a good mix. Well we arrive at what we believe is the address, and we see before us this TINY shack with walls of plywood! Not kidding! And if this was the correct location of the listing we were looking at, they wanted over $1,000/mo. rent! Ridiculous! Had to laugh at that!
Monday night was kind of a rough night for me. I was anxious about where we would live. After seeing the houses the day before I was very discouraged. See, the Army only allows you 20 days in temporary lodging. That's how many days they will pay for. After that you are on your own. So we had this deadline of January 2nd to find a place to live. The places we looked at didn't meet our standards, and the rent for some places were outrageous! People around here don't really advertise that their house is for sale in the form of signs in the yard etc. I guess with all the snow they don't bother. The listings in the paper weren't too promising. I was very down that night. On the brink of despair...shame on me... I tend to worry so much, and not really trust God to take care of us, like he has SO many times before! David was a little worried...he gave me a bi hug that night and told me to stay strong...and that he needed me...sane...We did build a gingerbread house that night. We found this all-in-one kit at the local grocery store. Very cool. Everything including the icing was in the box. Gwyneth just ate it up! Literally. They finished the last of it last night...
Tuesday evening we finally bundled Gwyneth up and took her out to the playground to play in the snow. The slides were really slick and fast! She loved it. When we first got out there David threw a snowball right in my face! The ONLY part of my skin exposed, and BOY did it burn! It was SO cold! I got pretty mad at him...I mean hit me anywhere else and I would have been fine. I didn't even have soft mittens or a cloth to wipe it off...so I had to go back inside and wipe it off. We've established some snow play rules since then. No throwing snow on exposed skin, especially the face! Here are a couple pictures before we went out. It was too dark to take pictures outside.
That night we finished up our Christmas cards. I'm sure they all arrived late, but we actually sent them out this year! And if you have received yours did you notice the postmark? It should have said "North Pole, Alaska 99705" and had a picture of Santa. Cool huh?
On Tuesday night I was browsing some rental listings online and came across this listing for housing on the post that you can rent. (It is like this secret section of housing...I'm not kidding. The housing office didn't even tell us about it! I called the number listed and the lady I spoke with told me that housing still manages that property, but in May it is being privatized. I told her that the housing office never told us about it...she said "They won't." Oh... sounds weird. It basically came down to walking into the housing office, saying we were there to talk to someone about that area of housing. Talked to the guy, he printed a list of available units, (tons on the list) he told us to go out and scope them out and pick two we were interested in, and come back and tell him. All the while we were in the waiting area, I heard counselors telling other people about housing out in town and about the preferred tenant program, and giving them the bad news that they will have to wait for family housing. They never mentioned the section of housing available for rent...it's just sounds so weird! They definitely do not broadcast that this section is available!
Anyways...we drove by all the listed units, and picked two. One we were really hoping was still available. It is connected to three other houses. In the middle kind of. Good thing in the winter as we won't lose heat from the sides of the house. The back yard is small but has trees that separate us from the other houses. The house is located really close to the ski lodge where we can ski and tube. It is also across the street from a pretty good sized playground.
We went back and told the guy at housing which two we were interested in and he said to come back the next day and he would issue us keys to see the inside of the units.
Wednesday we looked at the inside of the two houses we picked and really liked the one with the trees in the backyard. David went in after lunch and told the guy which one we wanted and started the paperwork for the lease and such.
Thursday both of us signed the lease and got a move in date of December 26th. Our household goods will be delivered the following day. YAY! We found a place to live in less that a week! I am so thankful! Now the stress of unpacking and setting up home will set in on Wednesday! yippee...
Thursday evening we went and checked out a gym for Gwyneth to continue her gymnastics with. She was evaluated (kind of like try-outs) by the owner of the gym and was invited to become a part of their "Hot Shots" team. It's sort of a pre-team...team. She will move from that team to level 3 gymnastics later on.
As long as she enjoys it and wants to continue. It's a little more of a financial and time (3 hours a week, 1.5 hours two days a week) commitment than we are used to, but it is worth it as long as she still finds it enjoyable. She was so excited to become a part of the team, and was disappointed that they don't start working out again until January 10th. :o) It's going to be great for her!
Friday we took our car over to the Honda dealer to get our radio fixed. When David took it to get it winterized the previous weekend they had to disconnect the battery, and doing so made our radio display an error message and it wouldn't let us listen to the radio or play CDs. It has an anti theft device and we didn't have the code to reset it. It's in our shipment of household goods. Ugh! They fixed it though! Yay! We got pizza (it was after all "Pizza Night.") from a local pizzeria. Really good pizza. Far better than Boston's from last week!
Saturday we had to pick up some more bottled water from Sam's club and picked up paper towels and toilet paper for the new house. Then it was off to Walmart to round out our shopping trip with new cleaning supplies to give our new house a good cleaning prior to us moving in, and picking up new bedding for Gwyneth's new room, and all the needed items for the full bathroom we have gained with this rental. It will be Gwyneth's bathroom, so we went with a flower theme. David isn't crazy about it...he would have rather outfitted it in the fishing theme! Complete with a soap dish that resembled a tackle box! HA!
Today we went and attended a church in town. It was nice. The service was a little different as it was Christmas Eve. Gwyneth stayed in the service with us. She was a little antsy, but all in all, she did pretty well. I think we'll go back and see how their normal worship services go. They offer AWANA there. Gwyneth can resume SPARKS! It's on Tuesday evenings which is really convenient since she will have gymnastics on Wednesday evenings (the night AWANA typically happens.)
In a few minutes we are going over to David's new boss' house for Christmas dinner. They have two children. A boy in middle school and a girl in elementary, I am hoping Gwyneth and her are close enough in age to enjoy one another's company.
That catches you all up! If you read that in one sitting you get a big pat on the back from me! Hopefully I can keep up now, and not fall behind on the goings ons here!
Have a great Christmas Eve!
DAY TWO
This first picture was taken around 3:30 pm. You never really "see" the sun right now. It just kinda peeks over the horizon for a couple hours and becomes dark again.
The last photo is through our room window. Gwyneth pines away at this playground every day. I told her she couldn't go play on it until it was 0 degrees or "warmer." (ha! "warmer") She wants to play in the snow SO bad! On our way into the hotel I let her grab a little snow and throw it and David and I. But only on the way in, so if she gets wet and cold we can get her dry and warm. She knows she isn't allowed to do that on the way out, because once you get cold outside, you can't get warm again!
DAY TWO
We all got up really early. David and I at 5:30. Which was really 8:30 in San Antonio, so it didn't feel so bad. We needed to allow time for mine and Gwyneth's hair to dry before venturing out in the - degree weather. I've heard that if you go out with wet hair in those temperatures, it will break off...
We went down and ate the complimentary continental breakfast that is offered here at the hotel every morning. Of course Gwyneth only ate an apple...so picky.
David's new boss sent someone over from where he will work to drive us to pick up our CR-V. We arrived there a little after 8:00. It was really quick signing out our car. We asked if the generous individual who gave us a ride there would lead us to the local Walmart, and then give us directions back to the base from there. She obliged us and we wandered around Walmart for a good while. I needed some more Long Johns, and a few other essentials that were hard to find in the warm climate of San Antonio.
Walking around this Walmart I noticed that there were more employees in blue shirts than customers! It was the quietest Walmart I've ever been in! I felt like they were all staring at me though, as if I didn't quite fit in there...probably all in my head. ha! We've since been back at varying times of day and I have noted I only want to shop there on weekday mornings! Being the only Walmart around it's really busy later in the day, and on the weekends.
When we walked out the doors we discovered with the illumination of the recently risen sun that there were mountains surrounding us! COOL! Maybe not classified as mountains per-say...but high ground nonetheless.
We successfully made it back to the base, and took a ride around in the daylight to get a peek at our surroundings. I took all these pictures through the windows of the car. Too nervous about the cold and how my camera will react to it!
Since it was pizza night (Friday) we decided to try a restaurant called Boston's. The pizza wasn't what we expected, and Gwyneth was disappointed that they were all out of the kid's "Worms & Dirt" I did try a beer called Moose Drool (When in Alaska...) very interesting name!
We all arrived back to our room satisfied and kind of tired. The time change, and early sunset was catching up to us.
ALASKA
A couple pictures of Gwyneth goofing off in Seattle, and taking pictures with her camera Aunt Laura had given her, and my "last" Starbucks Mocha...
We arrived Thursday evening. December 14th. I want to post details so I will start with day one...
DAY ONE
We arrived in Fairbanks after a LONG journey! From the time we stepped foot on the plane in San Antonio, to the time we stepped off in Fairbanks we had been traveling over 15 hours. We had a close connection in Dallas (we were practically running to our gate, and were the last passengers to board) and an arrival gate change in Seattle that had us walking a good distance to our connecting gate. David was splashed with orange juice, and Dr Pepper during our flights. We had a really turbulent ride over the Rocky Mountains, but they were so beautiful to gaze at through our window! We ate dinner in Seattle and I enjoyed one last Mocha from Starbucks as there are none in Fairbanks.
Once we arrived in Fairbanks we walk to "the" baggage claim area (there is only one) all the while keeping an eye out for David's boss who is picking us and our large amount of luggage up. Thank goodness he was wearing a name tag! We meet him and David and him get acquainted while waiting for the luggage.
Gwyneth and I put on our long underwear in the restroom. We dug out all our coats, hats, and gloves.
Our first step out of the airport was a little shocking. I breathed in through my mouth and found myself coughing from the chill...(note to self: breath with mouth closed.)
The ride to the base was not long. The roads were icy and there was snow all along the sides of the roads. David's boss informs me that there is in fact a Starbucks in town. Inside the larger grocery store chains here. (Yipee!)
We arrive at the Northern Lights Inn on post. It is a very nice Inn. Our room is spacious. It has a bedroom separate from the kitchenette, and living area. The couch has a pull out bed for Gwyneth to sleep on. The commissary (grocery store) and PX (dept. store) are directly across the street. The bowling alley is across the street as well, and Burger King is behind us.
We were all kind of hungry when we arrived, but had no transportation, so we raided the vending machines. Gwyneth and David got Doritos, and I got microwave popcorn. Oh, and WATER...we were all really thirsty too. We tried not to drink too much on our flights, because it's so inconvenient to use their lavatories! ugh!
So here ends day one...
Cold weather...
We've had a few days of cooler weather here in South Texas. It's about to warm up again though. Then Thursday we travel to even COLDER temperatures! Alaska here we come!
So with the cooler weather I had the urge to bake. Chocolate Chip Cookies... I've finally used a recipe that works! (Rachel, I can forward it to you! :o) I've always struggled with chocolate chip cookies. A few months ago I was flipping through a scrapbook magazine and saw a page that referenced this lady perfecting her chocolate chip cookie recipe...well every one has a blog these days so I "googled" her name and emailed her through her blog asking if she would share her secrets. To my surprise she replied and generously shared her tips!
Viola! YUMMY melt in your mouth cookies! They are irresistible!
Gwyneth got the biggest one! It was almost 6 inches in diameter! (I didn't let her eat it all in one sitting!)
Gingerbread Men
Tonight was supposed to be pizza night but it was moved to tomorrow since Gwyneth's cousins were a little sick today. We had planned to decorate Gingerbread men/women together. Gwyneth couldn't wait till tomorrow, so we went ahead and decorated ours. Our local gorcery store had the gingerbread bodies already baked and packaged in four packs ready to decorate! Easy peasy! Wilton also has icing in a can like squeeze cheese!!! Makes is SUPER easy! We had a good time!
Photo Post
Only one week until we board a plane to Alaska! We are so excited, and kind of nervous! Mostly nervous about the cold!We've been busy doing our Christmas shopping. We're having a small
celebration with David's family here on Sunday. Gwyneth is super exicted!Lot of viruses going around here as well. David and I got a stomach bug, and others here are sick with flu symptoms. Gwyneth and I got our flu shots on Tuesday, so hopefully it stays away from us.
She has not been sick so far...hope it stays that way!I'm just going to share some random photos from the last few days. The last one is from tonight when Gwyneth and I wrapped some of the first presents to go under "Pop Pop's" tree.
I'll post some more in the next few days before we head out of the lower 48!
Our Late Thanksgiving Meal
We had our Thanksgiving meal Sunday. David's dad was in town, and David's brother flew into town to spend the holiday here. We had TON of food! Even a fried turkey compliments of my friend Steve and his family. It was all so yummy! I didn't have much of an appetite after cooking it all, and I think I am coming down with a cold so my taste buds aren't 100 %. But I had my fill...Here are a few shots I snapped...Nothing spectacular...just capturing the moments.
We pray you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving spent with the people you love and are thankful for!
David pulled out all of his Dad's Christmas decorations and lights. The kids got to decorate the tree. I'll share those photos later.
Happy Thanksgiving
We are still alive and well...We are not having our big Thanksgiving meal until Sunday. David's brother is coming into town and we're going to celebrate then with him and David's sister and her family.
We're enjoying our stay at David's dad's house. We are currently car-less, having sold David's Civic this last Monday! Yeah! That's a relief! We had it advertised on Auto Trader for nearly three months with many interested people, they just weren't willing to pay our asking price. Finally a father buying his daughter her first car offered an appealing amount and we accepted! I'm glad that's taken care of. David is really excited to get a truck after we move to Alaska.
So now we wait...
We are flying out of here on the 14th of December. Our CR-V is expected to be there no later than that date. And our household goods should be there as well. Please pray that housing is open for us on the base there, and if that is not available that we will find the perfect home to rent.
Instead of going back a few weeks in pictures I really wanted to post some pictures from today. I will eventually work my way back to the pictures from the previous three weeks, maybe even post a few. I'm not real sure how these images will look color wise as I am still not that pleased with my laptop's color capabilities...Working on it. Here are a couple images of Gwyneth outside enjoying the clear, sunny, 78 degree, Thanksgiving day. I added one of her with her buddy Midnite. They get along famously (most of the time) and
love to play together. 
Halloween
Here's Gwyneth's Halloween costume! When I did that last senior photo shoot, she got to dress up and we got a few photos of her in the studio!
I hope to be able to work on the pumpkin patch photos and post a few before the weekend. I have to do all my photo editing on our house computer instead of the laptop because the color is way off on the laptop. I am getting a color calibration kit tomorrow so hopefully that will fix the color problems with that! The movers come to take this computer away on Monday, so hopefully I get the laptop in tip top shape!
New Photos...
...at my photography blog (link on the right) and also found here: 
That's what I've been up to lately. I plan to have a photo up of Gwyneth in her costume soon. She was adorable as Tinkerbelle!
Happy Wednesday!
That's what I've been up to lately. I plan to have a photo up of Gwyneth in her costume soon. She was adorable as Tinkerbelle!
Happy Wednesday!
Halleluja!!!
I finally figured out the wireless router! I had to just give up last night. Woke up fresh this morning and got it right away! Dummy me, I had two of the cords swapped in the wrong outlets. Ugh! What an unecessary headache! If I had just had fresh eyes last night!
Yipee! Now we have both computers hooked up to the internet!
On to getting this computer monitor colors to look right... I'm asking another favor. Have a look at the photo to the left and tell me which looks best to you. Left or Right?
Yipee! Now we have both computers hooked up to the internet!
On to getting this computer monitor colors to look right... I'm asking another favor. Have a look at the photo to the left and tell me which looks best to you. Left or Right?
Ahhhhh!!!
I WANT TO PULL OUT ALL MY HAIR AND SCREAM AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS!!!!
Our wireless router turned out to be more of a booger to hook up than I anticipated! I consider myself pretty savvy when it comes to computers, but this has got me so stumped and thouroughly frustrated!
But hey, the laptop is here...I am posting on it now. It's verrryyyy sweeeet! I love it! I'm thinking the colors are a little off on it though.
Our wireless router turned out to be more of a booger to hook up than I anticipated! I consider myself pretty savvy when it comes to computers, but this has got me so stumped and thouroughly frustrated!
But hey, the laptop is here...I am posting on it now. It's verrryyyy sweeeet! I love it! I'm thinking the colors are a little off on it though.
Neck Deep
I'm neck deep in scheduling Gwyneth's school for the rest of the year. I needed a little break! I'm trying to get it all scheduled up to the last week, so while we're in between homes and moving we won't get behind. She's going to be learning some really cool things through the year. I think my favorite subject it Phonics. It's so exciting to see your own child learn to read. I'm so proud of her! She loves Math. Her book it pretty tough too, but she is always up for that challenge! I hope she keeps that enthusiasm, because it certainly was not one of my strongest subjects! I would go as far as to say I HATED Math! ick!David comes home today! He spent the last 3 nights in the field! He says he's tired and ready for a nice hot shower and his own bed! We've missed him. Gwyenth didn't like him being away very much. Every night she would say she missed Daddy!
Happy Thursday!
Friendship
Grab a cup of coffee, and sit tight. This is long but worth a read. I hope to apply these traits to my current friendships as well as future ones.
( I found this on the internet)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's one thing to start a friendship, it's quite another to maintain it, to keep it, to stay on what Lewis called "the same secret path." Even strong friendships require watering or they shrivel up and blow away. That's why George Bernard Shaw touched an exposed nerve when we read the words he scribbled to his friend Archibald Henderson: "I have neglected you shockingly of late. This is because I have had to neglect everything that could be neglected without immediate ruin, and partly because you have passed into the circle of intimate friends whose feelings one never dreams of considering."
It's so easy to take good friends for granted. And in a sense, we should. Like a comfortable pair of gloves, old friends wear well. But friendships that suffer from busyness and over familiarity can't afford to be neglected too long. They need renewal. If you want and need to keep true friendship alive and well, please, consider and think over a list of the most important qualities offered to help you. Like Shaw, you may neglect your intimate friends from time to time, but if you fail to cultivate these qualities—loyalty, forgiveness, honesty, and dedication—you can't expect to keep true friends.
Loyalty
The quality that tops the list in survey after survey of what people appreciate most about their friends is loyalty - support that you always give to someone because of your feelings of duty and love towards them.
Harry Truman's secretary of state, Dean Acheson, caused quite a stir when he visited his friend Alger Hiss in prison. Hiss was a convicted traitor, and it was bad politics to have any association with him. But when prudent politicians condemned Acheson publicly, Acheson simply said, "A friend does not forsake a friend just because he is in jail." That's loyalty.
The famous maxim that "a friend in need is a friend indeed" is not the entire story of loyalty, however. A friend in triumph may be even harder to find. Isn't it easier to be a savior than a cheerleader for our friends? It takes twenty-four-karat loyalty for a friend to soar alongside us when we are flying high rather than to bring us down to earth. Loyal friends not only lend a hand when you're in need; they applaud your successes and cheer you on without envy when you prosper.
Forgiveness
As important as loyalty is, our friendships don't always have it. Enter forgiveness. Every friend you'll ever have will eventually disappoint you. Count on it. That doesn't mean that every offense of a friend requires forgiveness; some slights need only be overlooked and forgotten. Winston Churchill's mother, Jennie, understood this when she said, "Treat your friends as you do your pictures, and place them in their best light."
Too many good relationships fade because some slight - real or imagined - cancels it out. Some people pout, brood, or blow up if their friend is not speedy enough in returning a phone call or if they are not included in a social event. They set such high standards for the relationship that they're constantly being disappointed. They can't let little things go, every minor lapse becomes a betrayal.
By the way, forgiveness is a two-way street. Unless you are a saint, you are bound to offend - intentionally or unintentionally - every friend deeply at least once in the course of time, and if the relationship survives it will be because your friend forgives, the friends we keep the longest are the friends who forgave us the most. And the essence of true friendship is knowing what to overlook.
Honesty
Honesty is a prerequisite to the true friends' relationship. "Genuine friendship cannot exist where one of the parties is unwilling to hear the truth," says Cicero, "and the other is equally indisposed to speak it." Does this require brutal honesty? Not exactly. It requires honesty that is carefully dealt in the context of respect. In the absence of respect, you see, honesty is a lethal weapon. Perhaps that's what caused Cicero to add, "Remove respect from friendship and you have taken away the most splendid ornament it possesses." Honesty is not only expressed in words; it means being authentic.
True friends aren't afraid to be honest and they aren't afraid to be themselves. True friends follow Emerson's advice: "Better be a nettle in the side of your friend than his echo." Translation: If you are afraid of making enemies, you'll never have true friends.
Dedication
When was the latest you and your best friend met? Dedication refers to the ability of two people to influence each other's plans, thoughts, actions, and emotions, to spend time and effort on friendship, to give up something important or valuable for sake of friendship. Think about it.
Back when you are a kid, the hours spent with friends were too numerous to count. Contemporary life, with its tight schedules and crowded appointment books, however, has forced most friendships into something requiring a good deal of intentionally and pursuit just to keep them going.
Of course, dedication becomes most salient in times of crisis. When a friend's emotional bottoming out, for example, means canceling a date to provide a shoulder of support. That's what friends are for. So don't complain about having fair-weather friends if you are unwilling to be inconvenienced.
Personal sacrifice. Selfless devotion. Commitment. These are the noble qualities dedication requires.
( I found this on the internet)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's one thing to start a friendship, it's quite another to maintain it, to keep it, to stay on what Lewis called "the same secret path." Even strong friendships require watering or they shrivel up and blow away. That's why George Bernard Shaw touched an exposed nerve when we read the words he scribbled to his friend Archibald Henderson: "I have neglected you shockingly of late. This is because I have had to neglect everything that could be neglected without immediate ruin, and partly because you have passed into the circle of intimate friends whose feelings one never dreams of considering."
It's so easy to take good friends for granted. And in a sense, we should. Like a comfortable pair of gloves, old friends wear well. But friendships that suffer from busyness and over familiarity can't afford to be neglected too long. They need renewal. If you want and need to keep true friendship alive and well, please, consider and think over a list of the most important qualities offered to help you. Like Shaw, you may neglect your intimate friends from time to time, but if you fail to cultivate these qualities—loyalty, forgiveness, honesty, and dedication—you can't expect to keep true friends.
Loyalty
The quality that tops the list in survey after survey of what people appreciate most about their friends is loyalty - support that you always give to someone because of your feelings of duty and love towards them.
Harry Truman's secretary of state, Dean Acheson, caused quite a stir when he visited his friend Alger Hiss in prison. Hiss was a convicted traitor, and it was bad politics to have any association with him. But when prudent politicians condemned Acheson publicly, Acheson simply said, "A friend does not forsake a friend just because he is in jail." That's loyalty.
The famous maxim that "a friend in need is a friend indeed" is not the entire story of loyalty, however. A friend in triumph may be even harder to find. Isn't it easier to be a savior than a cheerleader for our friends? It takes twenty-four-karat loyalty for a friend to soar alongside us when we are flying high rather than to bring us down to earth. Loyal friends not only lend a hand when you're in need; they applaud your successes and cheer you on without envy when you prosper.
Forgiveness
As important as loyalty is, our friendships don't always have it. Enter forgiveness. Every friend you'll ever have will eventually disappoint you. Count on it. That doesn't mean that every offense of a friend requires forgiveness; some slights need only be overlooked and forgotten. Winston Churchill's mother, Jennie, understood this when she said, "Treat your friends as you do your pictures, and place them in their best light."
Too many good relationships fade because some slight - real or imagined - cancels it out. Some people pout, brood, or blow up if their friend is not speedy enough in returning a phone call or if they are not included in a social event. They set such high standards for the relationship that they're constantly being disappointed. They can't let little things go, every minor lapse becomes a betrayal.
By the way, forgiveness is a two-way street. Unless you are a saint, you are bound to offend - intentionally or unintentionally - every friend deeply at least once in the course of time, and if the relationship survives it will be because your friend forgives, the friends we keep the longest are the friends who forgave us the most. And the essence of true friendship is knowing what to overlook.
Honesty
Honesty is a prerequisite to the true friends' relationship. "Genuine friendship cannot exist where one of the parties is unwilling to hear the truth," says Cicero, "and the other is equally indisposed to speak it." Does this require brutal honesty? Not exactly. It requires honesty that is carefully dealt in the context of respect. In the absence of respect, you see, honesty is a lethal weapon. Perhaps that's what caused Cicero to add, "Remove respect from friendship and you have taken away the most splendid ornament it possesses." Honesty is not only expressed in words; it means being authentic.
True friends aren't afraid to be honest and they aren't afraid to be themselves. True friends follow Emerson's advice: "Better be a nettle in the side of your friend than his echo." Translation: If you are afraid of making enemies, you'll never have true friends.
Dedication
When was the latest you and your best friend met? Dedication refers to the ability of two people to influence each other's plans, thoughts, actions, and emotions, to spend time and effort on friendship, to give up something important or valuable for sake of friendship. Think about it.
Back when you are a kid, the hours spent with friends were too numerous to count. Contemporary life, with its tight schedules and crowded appointment books, however, has forced most friendships into something requiring a good deal of intentionally and pursuit just to keep them going.
Of course, dedication becomes most salient in times of crisis. When a friend's emotional bottoming out, for example, means canceling a date to provide a shoulder of support. That's what friends are for. So don't complain about having fair-weather friends if you are unwilling to be inconvenienced.
Personal sacrifice. Selfless devotion. Commitment. These are the noble qualities dedication requires.
Checkers & Viewmaster
So I did end up getting 7 hours of pretty good sleep last night. I slept with Gwyneth. Her bed is so comfortable! She kicked me quite a bit, and she grinds her teeth in her sleep! Ahh...it makes my toes curl when I hear it!Before bed last night we played a game of checkers. (Cute little princess checker set courtesy of Aunt Alice...thank you!) Gwyneth has become quite an opponent! She's actually really good! The end we were down to 4 (me) and 2 (her). All kings. She put up a good fight, and I know the day she beats me is not far away!
Oh, and instead of books at bedtime, we read the viewmaster reels. So fun! She has David's viewmaster from when he was a kid, and quite a few of his old reels. (Pictured is Alf...remember him? Some of the others include: Pee Wee's Playhouse, The Muppet Babies, Scooby-Doo, and Dennis The Menace.)
Today I don't have too much on the to-do-list...going to get my hair cut, and some more online shopping for winter gear, maybe hit JCPenny to see what they have. Oh, and gathering everything in one place that I am going to want to install or load onto my laptop when it arrives! I can't wait!!!
No sleep for me!
I'm not going to get a lick of sleep tonight. For one thing it's weird not having David next to me, and....I just bought one of these!!! Ugh... big purchases like this make me feel like I have to throw up!
Ha! But it's going to be SWEET! I will still have the ability to blog while we are between homes, and still save and edit all my digital photos! I'm going to love it! David and Gwyneth will love the fact that they will get our current computer for games and such when I get my cute little laptop!
So here's to a sleepless night for me...
We're back!
After posting here for almost a year, I don't know what compelled me to mess with a good thing. Typepad was great, but not worth the cost to me. So we're back here... Feels like a good pair of worn in shoes...Anyways...I found an awesome layout for this site. You like? I do!
To show our Autumn spirit here is a recent picture of Gwyneth...I couldn't pass up this shirt at Target! She is getting excited for Halloween. Counting down the days until our church's Fall Festival. She is dressing up as Tinkerbell.
Been busy here with preparations for AK. Friday we went and got our applications turned in for our no-fee passport to travel to AK. Glad that's taken care of!
I made a ton of phone calls today regarding shipment of our car, housing in AK, temporary lodging when we arrive, and insurance issues. I absolutely dread making all those calls and taking care of all those important things. Unfortunately David is unable to help with much of the preraration as he is in a month long school. It's local, but very time consuming and stressful for him. He's actually in the field for a couple of days this week. (Meaning he's camping out in the elements with a bunch of Army dudes, and dudettes and playing war games! He was thrilled!...not...) So needless to say I'm a bit stressed... But I have a month living with David's dad to sit back and relax...breath...maybe. I hope so.
I've also been looking online for a lot of our winter wear. So many choices, but I am so ignorant as to what we will really need! I have never lived anywhere where cold weather gear was necessary, so I don't have the slightest clue what we absolutely need. I think I am pretty close to actually ordering things. I found all of us boots, and Gwyneth and I coats. I am just afraid I am not going to either order things we will end up never using or not ordering what we will really need! ha! My over analytical mind! It drives me nuts sometimes. I also am trying to be careful with the expenses as I don't want to spend a fortune on unnecessary items. My friend Courtney (an Alaska native) has been a great help! She's offered much advice on what we will and will not need. I just need to listen to her and bite the bullet. CHA CHING! I can hear the registers ringing now! Oh, another disadvantage for us is that we really have not other option but to buy through the internet since we live in TEXAS!!! So no trying things on for us. I hope everything fits! You can't find much cold weather gear here! We did find one ski shop...we'll see what they have to offer. You should have heard the responses we got when calling local dealers to see if they would winterize our car with the engine block heater and other elements...it was like we were speaking a foreign language! HA!
Ah... the adventure! Please pray for my sanity to stay intact through this move!
other site
Still posting on the other site... http://runyenfamily.typepad.com/ through the end of October when I will decide which blog format to use permanently...
Trying Something New
For the next month or so, I will be posting regularly to this blog address:
http://runyenfamily.typepad.com/
I want to try it out and see how it goes. This type of blog allows more control over certain aspects of a blog that I am finding very time consuming to do on blogger. I can add photo albums of certain events, and I have greater control over the appearance of my blog with just a click of a button among many other perks. Also if in the future I see that we need a password protected blog this can convert to one....
So, see you on the "dark side." (you'll get it once you read my first post over there...)
http://runyenfamily.typepad.com/
I want to try it out and see how it goes. This type of blog allows more control over certain aspects of a blog that I am finding very time consuming to do on blogger. I can add photo albums of certain events, and I have greater control over the appearance of my blog with just a click of a button among many other perks. Also if in the future I see that we need a password protected blog this can convert to one....
So, see you on the "dark side." (you'll get it once you read my first post over there...)
It’s been a while, so I thought I should update this. Last week I didn’t feel like doing ANYTHING! I was sick the whole week. 10 days to be exact! (so about the same amount of time I have neglected the blog.) I had an awful sore throat, and a cough, almost lost my voice at one point. I went and got a strep test, but it came back negative, so I knew I just had to tough it out. LOTS of water and zinc lozenges, and I am back to good as new.
Life just shifted to high gear for us. David set up our trip to Alaska yesterday and we now have plane tickets for mid December. It kind of stinks that we will be moving during the holidays, but that time frame seemed the best. We’ll actually get there before the first day of winter…as if it makes any difference in ALASKA! Ha! We have less than 80 days left in the lower 48!
I am attending the overseas transportation briefing next week to set up a date for the movers to come and pack out our household goods, and set up shipment of my CR-V.
We know that we will be moving out of this house the middle of November (That’s only a month and a half away!). David’s dad has already opened up his home to us for the month we will be here before we fly out. We are so blessed to have such wonderful family! We get to stay in a newly decorated queen suite! (We’ve been helping him redecorate his home for the last few months…David and I picked out the bedding and new queen sized bed frame he now has in that room.)
I can’t believe how soon we will be moving! It’s right around the corner!
This past weekend was a good one. On Saturday we went out shopping and then to Coldstone Creamery for ice cream... NEVER go to Coldstone and order plain vanilla ice cream! That’s what I did…but in my defense I ordered it because Gwyneth ordered cake batter flavored ice cream with rainbow sprinkles and Oreo cookie mix-ins. I was certain one of us would be stuck eating her concoction, so I ordered the safe ice cream to give her when she decided she didn’t like her choice. She ate it ALL, save two bites for mommy and daddy. Next time I’m getting the cake batter ice cream! It tastes just like a yellow cake batter! Mmmm…. David got cheesecake with white chocolate chips. A pretty good storm came through just as we went to get ice cream so we got it to go (in case it brought hail), and enjoyed it at home.
Shortly after arriving home our power went out. It was out a total of 3 ½ hours!
Since it wasn’t bedtime yet we lit some candles and played Sorry by candlelight. After we put Gwyneth to bed David and I played Canasta by candlelight. It was kind of nice not having the modern distractions we have everyday. It was so quiet without the refrigerator, and A/C running. No TV, or computer….just us and a good old fashioned card game.
Of course I took pictures, silly!…
Bedtime stories by flashlight...
Sunday we went to church and had a lazy afternoon at home watching football, and each doing our own thing. Later that evening we went to “Pop-Pop’s” for our middle niece’s 11th birthday celebration. Gwyneth was asking all day “Is it time to go, is it time to go?” It was a nice evening, with more football, good food and cake, and family. Here's a couple pictures of the real party animals:
Yesterday it was back to the daily grind. I made it to the gym, for day 1 of 3 (hopefully) this week. School… washed all the bed linens… and mowed and edged the entire front and back yard! I had a little energy…but boy and I hurting today! Ha! The backyard had gotten too high for me to be comfortable with Gwyneth playing out there. I have never liked our backyard here. We have so many bugs, mosquitoes, spiders, and an occasional snake that leaves behind it’s skin (see this post.) Last night was the first night in a while we were able to go out and actually enjoy it. I lit the citronella tiki torches and the candle on the patio table. It was a cool 75 degrees or so. Gwyneth drove her Barbie car in the dark (the porch light was on but parts of the yard were still pretty dark.)
and David and I played darts.
We pulled the computer speakers out on the patio and had some music going too. It was really nice!
Today is a pretty slow day, I did Pilates this morning (I plan to do that three days a week as well) school with Gwyneth, and we’re about to head out to the grocery store for some much needed provisions! Just to hold us over to the weekend, then we have to do some major shopping! (yuck!)
So since I have now written a book I will close for now. I need to post more often than once every 10 days to prevent long posts like this! I will try…
Update on my Mom: She had the endoscope and they did not find anything cancerous, but she did have a bacterial infection so they gave her antibiotics. She will however be having surgery to correct one of her bones in her foot on October 6th. So please keep that in your prayers.
Life just shifted to high gear for us. David set up our trip to Alaska yesterday and we now have plane tickets for mid December. It kind of stinks that we will be moving during the holidays, but that time frame seemed the best. We’ll actually get there before the first day of winter…as if it makes any difference in ALASKA! Ha! We have less than 80 days left in the lower 48!
I am attending the overseas transportation briefing next week to set up a date for the movers to come and pack out our household goods, and set up shipment of my CR-V.
We know that we will be moving out of this house the middle of November (That’s only a month and a half away!). David’s dad has already opened up his home to us for the month we will be here before we fly out. We are so blessed to have such wonderful family! We get to stay in a newly decorated queen suite! (We’ve been helping him redecorate his home for the last few months…David and I picked out the bedding and new queen sized bed frame he now has in that room.)
I can’t believe how soon we will be moving! It’s right around the corner!
This past weekend was a good one. On Saturday we went out shopping and then to Coldstone Creamery for ice cream... NEVER go to Coldstone and order plain vanilla ice cream! That’s what I did…but in my defense I ordered it because Gwyneth ordered cake batter flavored ice cream with rainbow sprinkles and Oreo cookie mix-ins. I was certain one of us would be stuck eating her concoction, so I ordered the safe ice cream to give her when she decided she didn’t like her choice. She ate it ALL, save two bites for mommy and daddy. Next time I’m getting the cake batter ice cream! It tastes just like a yellow cake batter! Mmmm…. David got cheesecake with white chocolate chips. A pretty good storm came through just as we went to get ice cream so we got it to go (in case it brought hail), and enjoyed it at home.
Shortly after arriving home our power went out. It was out a total of 3 ½ hours!
Since it wasn’t bedtime yet we lit some candles and played Sorry by candlelight. After we put Gwyneth to bed David and I played Canasta by candlelight. It was kind of nice not having the modern distractions we have everyday. It was so quiet without the refrigerator, and A/C running. No TV, or computer….just us and a good old fashioned card game.
Of course I took pictures, silly!…
Bedtime stories by flashlight...
Sunday we went to church and had a lazy afternoon at home watching football, and each doing our own thing. Later that evening we went to “Pop-Pop’s” for our middle niece’s 11th birthday celebration. Gwyneth was asking all day “Is it time to go, is it time to go?” It was a nice evening, with more football, good food and cake, and family. Here's a couple pictures of the real party animals:
Yesterday it was back to the daily grind. I made it to the gym, for day 1 of 3 (hopefully) this week. School… washed all the bed linens… and mowed and edged the entire front and back yard! I had a little energy…but boy and I hurting today! Ha! The backyard had gotten too high for me to be comfortable with Gwyneth playing out there. I have never liked our backyard here. We have so many bugs, mosquitoes, spiders, and an occasional snake that leaves behind it’s skin (see this post.) Last night was the first night in a while we were able to go out and actually enjoy it. I lit the citronella tiki torches and the candle on the patio table. It was a cool 75 degrees or so. Gwyneth drove her Barbie car in the dark (the porch light was on but parts of the yard were still pretty dark.)
and David and I played darts.
We pulled the computer speakers out on the patio and had some music going too. It was really nice!
Today is a pretty slow day, I did Pilates this morning (I plan to do that three days a week as well) school with Gwyneth, and we’re about to head out to the grocery store for some much needed provisions! Just to hold us over to the weekend, then we have to do some major shopping! (yuck!)
So since I have now written a book I will close for now. I need to post more often than once every 10 days to prevent long posts like this! I will try…
Update on my Mom: She had the endoscope and they did not find anything cancerous, but she did have a bacterial infection so they gave her antibiotics. She will however be having surgery to correct one of her bones in her foot on October 6th. So please keep that in your prayers.
One Year
One year ago today, a wonderful woman passed away from our world.
She was the heart of our family. She was always watching out for us. The Wife, Mother, Grahamcracker, Hugger, helper, confidante...… She loved her family with a passion, they were her world. She would rather go without something for herself, if she knew it would benefit someone she loved. She was such an incredible example of unconditional love and selflessness. I was blessed to be loved by her, as if I was one of her own children.
The following is from a card I gave her for her birthday in 2004:
"If it hadn'’t been for you, Mom, I may have never known how truly strong and courageous a woman can be, how welcoming and assuring a home can be, how beautiful and lasting a mother'’s love can be...… Your journey has not been easy, but your faith has never faltered and your heart has never surrendered...…You are my courage, my hope, and my inspiration, and I love you with a love I will never outgrow."
We miss her so much...
{one of my favorite photos of her, taken by one of her grandchildren in 2003}