Hope all of you are enjoying Mother's Day and treating your moms very special today. I believe this is possibly the first Mother's Day that I have spent away from my mom and Eric. They however are enjoying the day together.
Last Sunday at church we had a baby dedication. It was the neatest thing I have ever experienced. The family has been fostering and/or adopting children from the village for awhile now. If I counted correctly this makes 5 or 6 and they also have kids of their own. Anyway, they had a glass vase and many different colors of sand. White represented Christ the head of the house and that sand was placed in the vase first. Then each parent, sibling, grandparent and godparent placed a spoonful of different colors of sand in the vase representing the blending of family and the prayerful support for the child. After service anyone in the church who is praying for and supporting this family then put a spoonful of sand. Very moving celebration.
This past week was graduation at the school that I work. The day before graduation they have what is called Senior Passage. It is a time of congratulating and recognizing each senior individually. Scholarships are also awarded at this ceremony. But the most touching event happens when each senior is presented a handmade quilt. There is a small Baptist church that at the beginning of the year gets a list of the seniors and their favorite colors. The church prays for each senior throughout the year as the quilts are being made. Once the quilts are finished they are hung in the church sanctuary where the entire church prays for these seniors. We have 12 seniors and there were 12 different and unique quilts. The next evening was graduation and it is a combined graduation with the other Star of North campus. There were 60 graduates. It was so exciting to watch these students receive their High School Diploma. Many of these students were given very little hope of graduation and had no parental support.
I do believe spring has arrived and break up is happening. Actually, most of the snow is GONE. We now have about 18 hours of daylight each day. The cleanup has begun. The rocks are disappearing off the roads and Richard is so glad as he not only has a cracked windshield but about 5 different rock pings. Makes driving and seeing very interesting. One bank actually showed that is was 70 degrees yesterday.
Today we had a Mother's Day brunch as church. The sanctuary was filled with beautiful flowers and tables. Following the brunch, Pastor Aubrey brought the Mother's Day message.
Well, I believe that sums up this past week. Did I mention TEN MORE DAYS and I will be in Oklahoma. Looking forward to being with friends and family for about 2 1/2 weeks.
Hope you all have a blessed week.
Sally
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Is it Really May?
It is a beautiful, sunshine day in Alaska. One catch...we STILL have snow and I personally am a little tired of the stuff. The people who have lived here a long time are even tired of the snow. We keep hearing that this is very unusual and that by this time the snow is usually all about gone. They have changed community clean up twice now because of the new snow. A good note, no snow is in this weeks forecast. We may even see the 50's by the end of this week. YIPEE!!!!
It is so hard to believe that we have been here going on 11 months. This year has gone by fast in some ways and slow in others. Richard continues to love his job. The Major will be leaving this month for Korea, one of the military techs is on maternity leave and the other still doesn't have security clearance so the civilians are running the clinic. Richard is going to help with the church softball team this summer - that could be interesting and he is also helping to teach Sunday School and continues to play drums at church and in the community Jazz Band.
Me...well I will be teaching computer classes this summer at the senior citizen's building beginning the middle of June and will attend church camp with the 7-9 year olds in July. We hope to be able to go to Valdez or Seward this summer and take in some more of the beautiful sites of Alaska. Next Wednesday is our last Wednesday night kids service until September. My job, well all I can say is it is a different challenge everyday. If this is where God wants me to stay I will, but if he chooses to move me, I won't argue. I'm still planning to get my Alaskan certification this summer.
In 17 more days I will be boarding a plane for OKLAHOMA. Hopefully there will be no delays and I will make it Clinton for 8th grade graduation, then the next day is high school graduation, the next day is class reunion. Then I will have about 2 weeks before Rachel's wedding. Not sure how Charlie and Richard will handle being in Alaska that long all alone. Well, Richard will be fine it is Charlie I worry about since he is a mama's boy. Richard will join me just in time for the wedding and then he and I along with mom will fly home on June 10. Mom will be here a week before going to Seattle for a week and on the Sacramento for a week. When she returns, Rachel will be married and out of the house. Not sure if she is going to want a new house guest or if she wants to try it on her own for awhile.
I walked (yes I am out of shape) in the Autism 5K last week. Very different from walking/running in Oklahoma. Coat, hat, gloves, etc...and no time piece on my shoe. It was cold but not too cold. I hope to eventually get back to running. Okay, stop laughing but at least it is a goal. LOL..
That about sums up our recent events/days in Alaska. Take care. Have a blessed week.
Love to all and for those in Oklahoma..SEE YOU SOON!
Sally
It is so hard to believe that we have been here going on 11 months. This year has gone by fast in some ways and slow in others. Richard continues to love his job. The Major will be leaving this month for Korea, one of the military techs is on maternity leave and the other still doesn't have security clearance so the civilians are running the clinic. Richard is going to help with the church softball team this summer - that could be interesting and he is also helping to teach Sunday School and continues to play drums at church and in the community Jazz Band.
Me...well I will be teaching computer classes this summer at the senior citizen's building beginning the middle of June and will attend church camp with the 7-9 year olds in July. We hope to be able to go to Valdez or Seward this summer and take in some more of the beautiful sites of Alaska. Next Wednesday is our last Wednesday night kids service until September. My job, well all I can say is it is a different challenge everyday. If this is where God wants me to stay I will, but if he chooses to move me, I won't argue. I'm still planning to get my Alaskan certification this summer.
In 17 more days I will be boarding a plane for OKLAHOMA. Hopefully there will be no delays and I will make it Clinton for 8th grade graduation, then the next day is high school graduation, the next day is class reunion. Then I will have about 2 weeks before Rachel's wedding. Not sure how Charlie and Richard will handle being in Alaska that long all alone. Well, Richard will be fine it is Charlie I worry about since he is a mama's boy. Richard will join me just in time for the wedding and then he and I along with mom will fly home on June 10. Mom will be here a week before going to Seattle for a week and on the Sacramento for a week. When she returns, Rachel will be married and out of the house. Not sure if she is going to want a new house guest or if she wants to try it on her own for awhile.
I walked (yes I am out of shape) in the Autism 5K last week. Very different from walking/running in Oklahoma. Coat, hat, gloves, etc...and no time piece on my shoe. It was cold but not too cold. I hope to eventually get back to running. Okay, stop laughing but at least it is a goal. LOL..
That about sums up our recent events/days in Alaska. Take care. Have a blessed week.
Love to all and for those in Oklahoma..SEE YOU SOON!
Sally
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