Midnight Sun Video

(copied and pasted from our adoption blog)

This past Wednesday was the Summer Solstice. To pass the time while we waited, and since there are basically 24 hours of daylight here just south of the Arctic Circle, we decided to let the kids stay up all night until the technical sunrise, which was at 2:30 am (the sunset was technically at 1:26 am). The kids had a blast playing toys, games and watching movies, as well as having a midnight pancake breakfast. We thought all the kids would konk out before 2:30, but everyone except Arwen made it!

2 of the kids slept until 10am and the other 2 slept until noon the next day. We suffered groggily  until 8pm and thankfully got back on a normal bedtime schedule.

Since most of our friends and all of our family are in the lower 48, we put together a video showing the progress of the sun over the 24 hours, using an outside Lego house as a prop. Check it out!

Bantha for Father's Day

It's been sitting in our freezer for more than 3 months, a huge chunk of Musk Ox meat, or, as we like to call it, Bantha. Last night I pulled it out and told Alice we were having it for dinner today.

She, predictably, said over her dead body.

I said I'd cook it anyways.

In what can only be described as a sprinkling of pre-Father's Day magic, she relented instead of boxing my ears in (confession: my wife can beat me up). We were having Bantha for Father's Day!

Now how do we cook this thing?

The chunk of meat, by the way, was over a foot long, about 8 inches high and 3 inches wide, with only a small bone inside. It didn't fit in the Crock Pot, so I grabbed my trusty hunting knife (I don't hunt, but it's been lucky enough to cut up moose, caribou and musk ox so far) and sawed the meat in half, then dropped it on the skillet for some quick searing.

Photo found here

We have two windows in the house, and there is no direct airflow between the two. Within minutes, the trailer was filled with smoke and all the fire alarms were going off. Alice yelled at the kids to hit the ground, and Macy and Molly run to the furthest room (which, coincidentally, was the least ventilated) and drop down under blankets to avoid the smoke. I, of course, am enjoying the pandemonium that my bantha meat has caused and keep the meat on the skillet. It gets worse, and they all run outside, which lasts 10 seconds before the mosquitoes chase them back. No escape.

24 minutes of searing later (3 minutes each side of the two 4-sided blocks), I squeeze the chunks into the crock pot with water and the game mix and set it for 10 hour low. We let it cook for almost 24 hours.

By the time it was ready, we had been smelling delicious game for a whole day and were ready to dig in. The bantha had fallen off the bone and shredded perfectly like BBQ sandwhich meat. It ended up being a fantastic meal, coupled with baked potatoes and baked cabbage. Thora got a plateful of fat and meat, which, after looking at us worriedly a few times to make sure we weren't tricking her, disappeared instantly when Alice and I turned our backs.

The rest of Father's Day was awesome. Being in the Bush means you have nowhere to go, which can cause a panicked feeling a lot like claustrophobia, but also means you spend a lot of family time together. We played Legos, did magnet crafts, played 2 rounds of Disney Trivial Pursuit and Uno Moo, and a round of Mario Party 7.

The day was a pretty good reminder of why it rocks to be a Dad.

Alice won this awesome adoption shirt for Father's Day. You can get one here.

9 facts about our 9 year old:

1. He likes to make lists. Once he made a list of all the spells in the Harry Potter books!

2. The boy has zero dancing abilities and loves to dance.

3. Gavin can read a 200 page book in one day.

4. His favorite things to build out of Legos are swords... actually any giant weapon will do.

5. He is absolutely convinced that it's not enough to push the button to make Mario jump, you have to do the jumping for him in real life, too.

6. Gavin asks everyday to play the role playing board game Legends of Drizzt.

7. He loves animals, especially our last two dogs, Meeko, our late German Shepherd/Husky, and Thora, our English Mastiff.

8. Gavin adores his sisters, but is equally excited about adopting a younger brother!

9. He says thank you for dinner every night without fail, even when he looks like he's about to vomit!

Gavin at our wedding 03/04/05. (A month before his 2nd birthday)

4 years old 

4 years old--first soccer team 

4 yrs old @ a friend's wedding

5 yrs old-dog sled race in Venetie, AK!

5 yrs old on the drive from Alaska to Tennessee

8 years old (right before we left TN to come to AK... the 2nd time)

8 yrs old

HAPPY 9th BIRTHDAY!!! (April this year--2012)

O you of little faith

Last night someone called to ask Joe to pick him and his family up at the airport today. They were coming from Anchorage in our usual visitor's/pastor's place. J. is still in the lower 48 trying to fundraise for a fancy new boat to bring him up the river to Stevens Village... the one he rents isn't very nice it sounds like. 

We get up this morning and start getting dressed for church. I don't express it out loud but I don't want to go. This is the first time I have not wanted to go to church in the village. It's usually so very nice to meet someone new and to make new friends. Lately, though, I feel like a circus side show. These guys have never been to a remote village before (like the last family he sent in his place) and in fact the guy doesn't even preach on a normal basis. He is a sunday school teacher. I started to wonder if they just thought of us as an attraction rather than people who needed the fellowship. I felt guilty about this of course and prayed that God would help me deal with the bitterness and open my heart to the message he came to share. *By the way- everyone He has sent has been wonderful to us and I enjoy their company very much. I was just in a funk today... read on.*

Some village homes- viewed from the church doorway

The walk to church was simply lovely. The air was warm but the wind was blowing so the mosquitos didn't swarm. There was slight cloud coverage so it felt more like dawn than noon. It gave the feeling of just waking up while camping... everyone slowly emerges from their campers/tents and gathers around the smoldering camp fire remains from the night before sipping their instant coffee or water. You know, the feeling of togetherness. Of family. Which in turn made me long for my family... and made me slightly more bitter. Alaska is so amazing... and sometimes lonely. 

When we got to church we were the only villagers there. So it was our family of 6 and the visitor's family of 7. The power had not been turned on. The man who usually does it was out of town but had lined someone else up to come out and hook it up. He never came. So we had service by the light through the windows. It was a bit of an awkward start with just us four adults singing and a bunch of wee ones belting out the tunes... I think we sang 2 songs before we called it quits. Then it started raining and we had to close the door, blocking out further light. Onto the message!

The darkish church building

It wasn't one of those move you to tears kind of sermons. In fact, it was a very simple message. He talked about faith. It just so happens that I have been struggling with faith in certain areas. Great! Now I realize just what a boob I had been to God and myself this morning... but He was going to be kind to me anyhow and tell me what I needed to hear. He covered verses like:

Philippians 4:13- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Psalm 78:24- He rained down manna for them to eat; He gave them the bread of heaven.

Numbers 20:11- Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the staff, and water gushed out. He talked about never being good enough and how we have to have faith that God can do all things. 

It made me think of Romans 8:28- And we know that in all things that God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Afterwards, we had a really good time talking with the family and I was so glad they came! One of their daughters had made flower hairbows and handed them out to the girls. Another daughter painted the girls finger nails! They were a really nice family and the message, like I said, was perfect for me.

The thing I have struggled with most lately is how we are going to fund the travel to Uganda. With the 6 of us going and 7 (or 8) of us coming back it's really adding up. It seems like an unreachable goal. I have no idea how we will do it. I know we can't... not yet. It would take at least another year before we could afford that. Lucky for us we have God. He can do it. And that's where I tack on "if He wants to." And I am not good enough. Why would He work miracles for us when I am nobody special? I am sure there are better people out there... someone who deserves a miracle. I can think of at least 2 of my favorite people now who need a miracle and they are far better than me. I know you are probably rolling your eyes at me. Joe does it too. O you of little faith (Matthew 8:26).

So my goal this week is to work this out within myself. To have faith! Whether we succeed in getting the remaining funds or we don't I KNOW God is working for the good of us. This has a purpose and it is a good one. Oh see?! I am getting better at it already.

3 more children showed up at the very end... just in time for candy and tag

This was our first time seeing a squirrel in Alaska. It was quite small and seemed to be living in this house.

Tut tut it looks like rain

It has been about 2 weeks since we first saw bits of green popping up here and there. Since then all of our surroundings have turned green! Yesterday we spotted flowers buds for the first time and today we have this!

 Normally when we take walks we head down to the bank where a few of the boats are kept tied up. We like to throw rocks from the shore. Now, the rain and ice have filled the riverbed up about 10 feet higher, drowning our "shore"! This is a camera shot where we used to look down to the frozen river below, now it's running swiftly at the top of the bank! 

We rushed through lunch today in order to get outside while it was raining. When it rains the mosquitos go into hiding. Too bad for us that the rain stopped half way through our walk. The mosquitos swarmed us! So we let the dog off the leash and ran for home... through the mud puddles, of course.

The rocks here are all kinds of colors. We have red, black, spotted, white, green, striped, purple, and every shade of brown you can imagine. I love looking for unusual colors while we walk. The red from the lady bug caught my eye while we were running so I stopped to take a photo. It's a rare thing to see a bug you actually like here. It wasn't the best idea I have had today. The mosquitos caught me bent low to the rocks-- back exposed. Now, I am itchy.