Kids and Moose

It's been a little while since I've posted some new pictures. Ignore the dates on the pictures. We switched back to our "old" camera and forgot to make sure the date was correct.

We had a great Halloween. Our church youth group put on a Fall Festival for the first time in at least 5 or more years. They did an AWESOME job! Everything was free, kid friendly, positive, and just plain fun!

Here is our little Pooh Bear. Payton wore her costume all night and looked adorable! Excuse the carrot in her mouth and orange drool! Preston was Tigger....again. He's had this costume for three years now and loves wearing it, even when it's not Halloween! He had his face painted at the Festival and he cried when he had to clean his face for bed!
Here is Preston, Payton, and our good friend Faith (aka. Piglet). Faith's mom (Kimi) had the Pooh Bear costume for Payton, Piglet's costume, and a little Honey Pot for her 6 month old little girl. The four of them together looked so cute....we just couldn't get a picture! Notice the two girls holding hands! Believe it or not Faith is actually 2 years old, but Payton has almost outgrown her (Faith has always been on the small side though)!

And of course our annual "dig the seeds out of the pumpkin so we can roast them" day. This year Preston actually dug in and helped. He would only get one hand messy though. And our seeds were delicious!

And for those of you who love seeing all things Alaska, here is a sweet little moose bedded down in our front yard a few weeks ago. There were actually three moose eating from the trees and bedding down, but it was hard to get good pictures. This one was right next to the drive way.

It is finally snowing here. I don't think it has ever waited this late to snow in the eight years I've lived here. We got a few inched on Sunday and another inch or so today. It's still "warmer" (in the mid 20's) so that's been nice also. But we're ready for LOTS more snow. If it's going to be cold, it may as well be beautiful and snow!

Hope you're all having a great Fall and getting ready for the Holidays!

Hockey Girl

So I've been posting about my hockey games on Facebook and many of you can't believe I play hockey and have asked for pictures. So I thought I would blog about it and give you a little "proof" of me on the ice! :)

I started playing a couple of years after I moved to Alaska because my girlfriends were playing. Believe it or not, it's quite a popular sport in here, even for women. I guess it helps us stay half way in shape during our hibernating months of winter and gives us something to do! :)

I played for about 3 years until I got pregnant. I've taken a break, but my girlfriends have kept at it. They were already good, now they're great. I haven't played in several years and wasn't planning to play again, but they had an opening on their team and talked me into it. I'm loving playing again, but still not great and way out of my league with these girls. Somehow, I've managed to score the two out of our three games so far!

Here is the six of us (from left to right): Becca, Kimi, me, Marta, Hannah, Marquel

These were my first girlfriends here and these are the girls I have Bible study with every Tuesday night and girls campouts once a year. I truely LOVE these ladies!Becca, me, Marta, Kimi, Marquel, Hannah....sweaty and stinky after our game

There is me in action.....notice I'm even on my feet and not my rear-end! I'm getting better! :)

This is my (in the black and gray socks) and Marta (#9) celebrating my goal!

Here is me (in the green) waiting for the puck.

So, there you have it. Me and hockey! An uncoordinated, long-legged Texan on ice. Can't get much more humorous than that! :)

Out of the Mouth's of Babes

Just wanted to share a couple of the cute things the kids are saying.

We are blessed to spend lots of time with friends and their kids. When we leave, I generally say "Bye guys" while waving to all the kids. On Friday, we had been playing with our friends and I said my normal "Bye guys." While putting Payton in her carseat, she was excitedly waving and saying, "Bye duys, bye duys, bye duys!" So cute.....

Payton is also starting to mimick the way I sit on the floor to play with her, trying to lean on her hand exactly like I do. :)

Driving home yesterday, it got quite in the car for a moment. We were driving by some new hydroseeded grass and Preston said, "Mom, are they making grass all over the Urth (Earth)?" I explained that they had made this new road and were making the sides look pretty by planting grass. Another moment of silence, then, "Mom, why does God give them Urth a big dwink of water when the Urth doesn't have a mouth?"

I love the innocense of a child! :)

Catching Up

I know it's been awhile since I've posted, so this is just a catch-up post. We are doing well, just very busy. Darron is desperately trying to finish up a Master's Program by Oct. 15th. He still has one test and four papers to write, so he is spending most of his extra time studying. That means, the kids and I are spending our time together and trying to leave D alone! :)

It is definatley Fall time in Alaska. The leaves are all golden and falling from the trees. The temps are in the 40's during the day and 30's at night. "Termination dust" has hit the mountains. This is the first snowfall that starts at the tops of the mountains and slowly works its way down to us in the town....therefore, it is slowly "terminating" our summer and Fall.

The kids are both doing great, growing like weeds. Preston is getting so tall and we're continuing to work on expressing our frustrations without major fits....the joys of a 3 1/2 year old! He is surrounded with wonderful friends and has a group of about 4 little boys is "hangs with" on a regular basis. Here's a great smile from my big boy!


Darron went Halibut fishing this summer with some of his buddies. They had a great trip and came back with a lot of fish for the freezer. This was D's biggest catch of the day...about 70 lbs!

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Payton is also doing great, growing up so quickly! She is such a momma's girl and I LOVE it! She is so happy (most of the time) and always smiling and laughing. She is learning so many words and tries to repeat everything we say. Her favorite thing to say right now is "no, no" while shaking her head....this is her general response to anything we ask her.

Preston and Payton love each other (for the most part) and their favorite thing to do together is wrestle and tackle. Usually, it's Payton taking her brother down. A few tears are shed if it gets out of hand, but most of the time the tackle sessions are full of laughter! It's so cute to watch!

Pres and Payton also love trying new things together...like Preston pulling Payton in a miniature red wagon around the living room! I think her toppling over was the funniest part for both of them. :)



These pictures are obviously out of order but here is Darron and his buddies with all of their fish....halibut, sea bass, link cod, and a red snapper!

And last, but certianly not least, the beginning of our summer was filled with putting in a backyard...a three year long project has finally come to life! When we bought this house 5 years ago, the backyard was mainly dirt, little grass. Over the years, the little grass became all dirt. We have spent the last two summers putting up fences so Maverick, our dog, would have his own area. We also had to take down old decks and make a deck for our hot tub (a big $200 purchase from Craigslist). Then, we had to move sheds, level out the yard, bring in 2 dump loads of topsoil, and spread it all. Finally, the hydroseed. I had pics of the entire process, but can't locate them now. However, this is the finished product! Complete with a hamock, an outdoor firepit, a box for a veggie garden next year, a trampoline, and a fort/slide/sandbox for the kids. We LOVE our backyard!! Thank you to my main man for working so hard to give our kids such a great place to play!

Well, that's our mid-summer/Fall catch-up. Now it's getting colder, my hockey season has started (yep, I play hockey with my girlfriends!), school is going, and we are beginning to hibernate for the long, cold winter!

Hope you all are doing well and thanks for checking in on our family. Leave us a comment and let us know how you are!

Aching Heart

Tonight, I had the honor to go to a Celebration of Life for a sweet little four year old named Hannah. I first met Hannah a year ago when her older sister, Katie, was one of my fifth grade students. During Parent-Teacher Conferences in November, Katie's mom told me she would be traveling out of state for her younger daughter, Hannah. I asked a little about what was going on and little did I know that was the beginning of a year of prayer and thankfulness over this special little girl.

When Mrs. Kingsley was pregnant with Hannah, they discovered by ultrasounds that she had some heart defects. She wasn't suppose to live through birth, but that was the first miracle God performed in this little girl and families life. Hannah was born with Congestive Heart Failure and at just 8 days old she had her first heart surgery. The doctors told the Kingsley family that she would most likely need a heart transplant at some point in her life, and they were amazed she had even lived this long.

During her 4 years and 9 months of life, Hannah lived through 5 major surgeries and countless procedures. Just over a week ago, Hannah got sick and it began to turn into pneumonia. Her little heart finally gave out and she had congestive heart failure and passed away on August 28th. Although the family knew that each day was a blessing they weren't suppose to have with Hannah, they thought and hoped they would have many more years with her.

From the time I met Mrs. Kingsley a year ago, we have both been very open about our faith in the Lord. I have had numerous conversations with her and have prayed through the most recent surgery this past January for Hannah. The Kingsley family is, and has been, an incredible witness for the Lord. Little Hannah loved the Lord with all her heart and wasn't ashamed to tell people of the love of Jesus. Mr and Mrs. Kingsley have always thanked God for sharing HIS little Hannah with them for the 4 years they had, thanking Him for each added day. They have not been asking "why us" but, instead, have known that Hannah was HIS and they were blessed by her life and are thankful the Lord took her to be with Him, healthy and pain free.

My heart is aching tonight for the Kingsley family. As a mother, I can't imagine watching my child go through so many procedure and surgeries, many of which were very painful. I can't imagine watching my baby be sick and fragile. And I can't imagine saying my goodbye's for the last time on Earth. I came home tonight and just held my "baby" Preston and cried over him. I am so thankful for my two beautiful, healthy children.

Please join me in lifting the Kingsley family up in your prayers: Gary, Brenda, Meagan (19), Ryan (12), Katie (10) and Zachary (2). And if you have children, be sure to love on them and give them extra hugs and kisses.

May the Kingsley family continue to be a great witness for the Lord and an encouragement to you and I.