Winter Wonderland!

Falling snow, cold crisp days and beautiful sunsets inspired me to doodle in the outdoors taking pictues of God wonderful nature.



My parents stone wall they finished this summer. As you can see it has disappeared under the blanket of snow that fell all Christmas day long.





The trees were heavy laden with snow and the cold crisp days to follow solidified its presence until warmer weather to come.



Jimmy, Alex and I ventured off to Talkeetna to find this beautiful view near the Talkeetna Lodge. The only catcher in this was the lodge was closed and we had to find our way around the building...through feet upon feet of snow. Yep we were drenched and cold after 10 minutes of this and hurriedly headed for the car once capturing these beautiful photos.

Christmas events

I was fortunate enough to have christmas day off, took paid time off for the 26th and then had the next three days off this year....totaling 5 days off for christmas!!! Yeah!

Gerry wasn't as fortunate as he missed christmas and will miss new years as well. Looks like he'll have it off next year though because he's switching to a 2-on-2-off schedule. Woohoo!

I spent several days in Willow with my parents, sister Jen, bro-n-law Jimmy, friend Alex. We had a nice meal in the early afternoon Christmas day, talked, sang christmas carols, thanked Jesus for this year, sang Happy Birthday to Jesus with the kiddos, and finally opened up gifts at around 9pm.


Mom & Dad, Jen & Jimmy, Alex, Me, Darren, Chris & Ethan, Jeremy & Amanda


Niece & nephews, Chris & Ethan kiddos


Jimmy playing with Jasper. Jasper won over the hearts of this family with his quarky behavior-isms and silly disposition. Even my mom bonded with him after he shed his coat all over the house, scooted his rear end on the carpet (eewww!), and threw up wood chips at 4 in the morning.


Jasper taking turns opening gifts, ha ha!


Playing with awesome camera equipment Alex brought with him provided hours inspiration and creativity.

Belated Christmas "Card"

Merry Belated Christmas to Everyone!

Again this year flew by and I hardly had enough time to breathe. Thus the christmas cards I had hoped to send to everyone once again did not get to the mail, much less created. So, here's our christmas card via blog yet again.

2008 Events
Gerry:
1-Promoted to Coordinator/Planner on the slope in July
2-As we moved to Alaska, he is enjoying not commuting via airport/airplane anylonger
3-Went to Dallas, TX to experience another NASCAR race in November
4-Turned the big 31 this year in May

Heather:
1-Graduated from internship/residency in May
2-Passed National RD Boards August 1st! YEAH!
3-As we moved to Alaska, she accepted a clinical acute care RD position at ANMC
4-Longs for warm sunshine as Alaska is VERY COLD (or she's become a light weight)

Gerry & Heather Highlights:
1-Went to the Boise Humane Society and picked up Jasper in January
2-Went to Utah to visit numerous National Parks in May
3-Decided to move back to Alaska, moved in September
4-Went to Haakonson Reunion in June
5-God provided housesitting job for winter in Alaska
6-Finally got out of debt!!! Big victory!
7-Bought a new car...we're now a 2 car family for the first time ever!

What will 2009 bring???
A house? A baby? A new job? A vacation to someplace warm? Who knows but our Lord and Savior. I thank him daily for this journey called life he continues to lead us in. We are grateful for the many blessings of 2008 and are excited about what is to come in 2009!

Merry Christmas everyone and Happy 2009!

Heavy laden with snow

I really do love wintertime. All of the snow, the change of seasons, a reason to start a fire and snuggle up on the couch with some hot chocolate. Hmmm, all good reasons to love a little cold weather. This year we've been blessed with quite a bit of early snow as you can see by the tree in our front yard. There is so much snow that it hangs into our driveway and blocks where we need to park the car. The other day I tried to shake some of it off but it's frozen in place, probably until next spring. Guess I'll have to continue to run through it.

The Total Money Makeover By Dave Ramsey

In our family it just makes sense that I would be in charge of the finances. Gerry being gone half of the time sort of forces me to be BUT I also am the one who really digs reading up on budgeting, where to invest, comparing interest rates, etc. I'm kind of a numbers dork and I like this math stuff. So when I stumbled across The Total Money Makeover By Dave Ramsey I was thinking "Yeah, it's probably got some of the same stuff I've read in other books but I'll check it out just to see if there's anything new and exciting to consider." WEEELLLLLL...this funny white guy BLEW my mind with how simple he makes things. Now first you have to be a goal oriented person to love this book because it's all about completing 7 different step, one right after the other. It's not easy either. He talks about living a debt free life...even your mortgage. He tells you exactly how to invest, how to purchase a home, what percentage you need for an emergency fund, etc. And he does this by comparing all the other options out there and exposing why they don't work. THIS BOOK IS AMAZING!!! It's a must read for those who feel stressed about their finances or simply want to live like no one else now so they can later live like no one else(quote from book). Check it out for yourself and get on board. You won't be disappointed!

Happy (belated) Thanks Day!

We'll I know this is a tad late, but HAPPY THANKSGIVING to everyone!!! Thanks to my mom, Amanda and MarlaKay, I only had to show up with some sparkling apple cider in hand. We had a full feast of Turkey (of course), mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, greenbeans with almonds, spinach-cranberry salad, artichoke-mushroom stuffing, gravy, whole wheat rolls, pumpkin soup and many a dessert. WOW...what a day of eating. Here are a few memories for you to enjoy...