SNUGGIE TIME

My husband got the gag gift of the year this year~~ a Snuggie.





Yeah, yeah I know. He keeps telling me I need one and I say if I need one I'll take his:0)

We were sitting on the couch watching TV and he looked over and said something so sweet about us being married. I responded to him by saying, "Thank you for choosing to be married to me."

I've been thinking a lot about the words we exchanged last night. They were simple yet honest.

There are so many married couples today that aren't choosing to stay married. Oh, they have plenty of excuses. Most of them a 5 yr old could blow holes through.

I can't stand to hear "We just fell out of love." If you want to get my blood boiling just say those words as you are CHOOSING to walk out on your spouse and child(ren). That falling in love thing is a myth. That's right you heard me~ A MYTH.

LOVE is not about falling anywhere it's about putting that person AHEAD of your own comfort and your own needs. It's about fixing supper when you feel like you have a 50 lb weight on your back and you just want to sit down.

It's about not spending the money you don't have just to make yourself feel better for 15 minutes. It's about doing what the other can't do for themselves without complaint or condescending attitude. It's about living through richer and poorer, sickness and health and CHOOSING your marriage above it all.

My marriage started off hard. I was selfish and insecure. I still am sometimes. I was immature and unwilling to compromise. I still am sometimes. I know that I can be a pest and unreasonable. I am flawed and I know it.

After over 18 yrs of marriage I feel like I have learned a whole lot and I have a lot more to learn. My prayer is that I always to choose my marriage and that I am continuously looking to the needs of my husband. Because he's as much a gift from God to me as my children. And I love him dearly.

NOT ME! MONDAY

I did not get to the LAST Jesse tree devotional and neglect to do it. The most important one!!

I did not eat cheese ball and other rich leftovers for breakfast 3 days in a row.

I most certainly didn't decide to forgo laundry over the Christmas holiday and run out of towels with my parents visiting. I am just too Martha Stewart-esque for that!

There is no way on this earth that I sent my son to work this morning wearing a girl's uniform shirt because he ran out of clean ones (see above:) and he some how acquired a girl's black Chickfila shirt.

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE NOODLES

December 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello from the Kernodle household. We have had great and wonderful things happen this year but we have also had struggles and setbacks. We have uncertain and scary times. Through all the ups, downs, ins, and outs we have clung to the One that holds it all and is worthy of all glory and praise.

Mike is finally done with college this year. He turned in his last paper over a week ago and except for an exit exam he is completely done. He will graduate in May with a Bachelor’s Degree in Pastoral Ministries. It has been a long journey but the Lord has given him strength to finish strong. We are praying that He will direct us where to go from here. Mike, the girls and I traveled to Alaska this summer to visit the mission work up there. We met the Wallaces and fell in love with them and the church there. We will be meeting with Home Missions about possibly going to help that mission work. We are seeking the Lord’s will.

I have been chief cook and bottle washer. Trying to keep everyone in clean clothes and eating with clean forksJ Mike always says I am the manager of our household so that is what I’ve been doing. Supporting and loving my husband is my main priority but I fall short a lot. The Lord is really uprooting many lies from Satan that I have believed for a long time and replacing them with His Truth. To be honest it can be quite painful at times but it is so necessary for my growth in the Lord.

Trevor graduated from High School this year and Mike and I couldn’t have been prouder. He has been working at Chickfila for almost 4 years and most weeks he works full time. He loves music and plays bass for our praise band at church. He hasn’t decided about college yet.

Shelby is almost 10 and loves to read, sing, and play on the computerJ. She makes us laugh when she talks with all kinds of funny accents. She is learning how to do lots of things in the kitchen. She is in a choir for 9 to 13 year olds at the music school she attends. She has read all the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” books and pretty much loves to read anything.

Abby is, well, Abby. I just got a text from my sister that said Abby didn’t want to eat breakfast there (Shelby and Abby are spending the night at her house) because Saturday is Pancake Day at our house and she didn’t want to miss it. I told my sister to tell her not to worry that we will have Pancake Sunday this week. Abby is almost 8 and keeps us on our toes. She marches to her own beat and we wouldn’t have it any other way. I wish you could see her when she wears her BIG, floppy hat and her Punky Brewster high tops to church.

This is a tiny bit of our lives over this past year and I wish we could sit and chat for hours with each one of you. We hope you have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

THE STREETS ARE FILLED WITH CHRISTMAS CHEER

Today we did a little more Christmas shopping. Mike took the girls shopping for me and I took the girls shopping for me. Just kidding. I had to take something back that I bought for Mike. Lines were not too bad but the traffic was. It took us about 15 minutes to drive a little over a mile:P

We spent 2 hours at the pool and it was awesome!! I actually went down the HUGE water slide!

We are going to spend our evening eating Taco Soup and watching a Christmas movie.

IT'S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE

A few weeks ago, while decorating for Christmas, I pulled out a rug that my secret pal had given me last year.

I accidentally left it in the back of the car til after Christmas last year so this would be my first time using it. It had pretty ribbon wrapped around it so I just left it on and stored it away. When I cut the ribbon to put it down in the kitchen something fell out and landed in the floor.


It was a CD!!! I got a present!! And I love the CD!!!!











Merry Christmas to me!!! From my secret pal last year!!!

NOPE IT'S NOT MINE

The other day I got a text from my friend asking me a sensitive question. Since I am not sure if there are men reading this blog, let's just say she asked what size I wear in a certain woman's undergarment.

I was very puzzled but sent her the info she was inquiring about. Around 10 minutes later she called me and was explaining that she found an undergarment on the top of her dryer and wondered if it was mine. WHAT??? Why would my personal belongings be at her house on top of her dryer?????? I sputtered and stuttered and said, "I don't think so!!!"

She said she had called her husband at work asking him about this undergarment. HE had no clue what the heck his wife was talking about.

She reminded me that I had given her some clothes that were in my garage. Okay~but I don't wear the size that she is claiming is on the top of her dryer. It wasn't the brand I wear either which only added to the mystery of how this thing got to my friend's house. On top of her dryer. She was so insistent that it was mine that I just said okay it must be~knowing good and well that it WASN'T!!!

I talked to my Mom and she said,"Oh it's probably one I left when I was out there." And~yeah that sounds good but doesn't make sense because my Mom hasn't been out here in a while.

I have been wracking my brain trying to figure out where this mystery undergarment came from until it hit me this morning.

Here's the explanation:

When I was in Virginia this summer my friend gave me a couple of her undergarments that didn't fit anymore. I brought them home and one of them didn't fit me. I put it in the Goodwill box and forgot about it. When I took my friend some clothes from my Goodwill box this particular undergarment must have gotten wrapped up in the clothes because it ended up on my friend's dryer.

It is the Sisterhood of the Traveling Undergarment!!!!

SLEIGH BELLS RING

I spent the day with my family. We didn't do anything special. We just hung out together.

Enjoying each others company. It was nice. It was easy.

It was unhurried. It was just what I needed. I love Christmas time.

WONDERFUL TIME

Abby and Shelby~Feb '09

Well~I cleaned my daughters room yesterday and let me just say~THANK THE LORD IT'S OVER!!!

Honestly, I could not imagine going through Christmas and getting MORE stuff to put in that room. It was so cluttered and messy that by the time I put most of it on the rug you couldn't walk in there.

I hate Polly Pocket shoes and Puppy in My Pocket stuff. It was everywhere.

Now this wasn't all the girls fault. When I tell them to go clean their room I don't actually go in and inspect it ~~I need too!! The junk that came out from under their beds was terrible.

Candy wrappers from Halloween candy they got without my knowledge, cups from drinks that shouldn't be in there, coloring pages Oh my the coloring pages, VBS crafts, beads from necklaces, and more missing socks than I care to admit.

Oh and I sustained an injury that almost made me cuss out loud (I think I did say one in my mind and I repented for it already~so don't send hate e-mail:) I was working steadily on the parameter of the room~yes, I clean with a plan~ when I stepped on a card of about 8 pairs of earrings. Read that again folks~8 PAIRS OF EARRINGS and the BACKS WENT INTO MY FOOT!!!

Oh the pain! Oh the stars! I just about fainted. I felt like I was going to throw up. It was enough to make me want to give up and go watch the Cosby Show. But I didn't. I persevered and now it is done and I am so glad I did it.

Hopefully the girls won't report me for threating bodily injury if it doesn't stay clean til Christmas.

IS IT JUST ME?????

Is it just me or are people more rude lately?

Usually I can just shrug or laugh off people's rudeness but lately it has gotten kind of ridiculous.

This morning Mike and I went grocery shopping. We got to see someone shoot another driver the bird, lots of horn honking, and a lady gave me attitude because HER shopping cart was blocking the aisle at Sam's.

Still I just smile and go on but honestly sometimes it's hard not to get snarky.

Last night we went to supper and the Christmas parade with my sister, bil, and Noah. I am not exaggerating when I say it took us almost an hour to drive about 2 miles. People were blowing their horns and almost hit us a couple of times. It was a little crazy.

We had a good time and the traffic was worth it just to hear Noah say "Thank you Holy Spirit" when the nice driver let us merge into their lane. And, the girls and Noah sang "The Twelve Days of Christmas" loud enough for my parents to hear in Maryland.

Oh well, I guess it's just me. Or maybe not.

Be nice!!

MY LIFE IN A LIST

Here is a brain dump of all that I am thinking about today:

• I am praising God for the good report my Dad got yesterday from the heart cath.
  
• I am praying for a situation in the lives of people I love dearly that can only be resolved through God's help and guidance.
• I am cleaning and preparing for traveling this weekend.
• I am grieving a little over the fact that this is the first Thanksgiving I will be without Trev since he was born. I love him so and will miss him terribly. I keep reminding myself this is what happens when babies grow up and start leaving the nest. My head knows this but my heart stings.
• I am rejoicing with my friends that through some turn of events and MUCH prayer they will be able to keep their house.
• I will get to spend Thanksgiving with not only my parents but my in laws as well. All of us together.
• I have friends that sticks close and tell me the truth even when it smarts a little. Because they care and they want me to do right. I am blessed.

HONDURAS ISN'T SO FAR AWAY

Well, actually it's around 3,400 miles as the crow flies.

But not really.

Because last night Honduras was sitting beside me on a round, red leather couch and teaching me a few words in Spanish.

And, no, her name isn't Honduras but she's from there.

She is my friend that doesn't speak much English.

She has two beautiful daughters and a handsome, hardworking husband.

Last week I asked her to come to my church and Sunday they did. They couldn't find the church at first~she said she tried to tell her hubby where it was but he didn't listen. That made me laugh~it sounds familiar:)

They brought their Spanish Bible and sat with Mike and I.

Last night while we waited for our daughters to finish practicing for Select Singers I asked her if they enjoyed the service. She said they really liked it.

And then she asked me something that pierced my heart.

She pointed to her skin with a concerned look and asked me in broken English, "Is this problem? Most people American."

I told her emphatically as I could that it was NOT!!!

A huge smile spread across her face as she nodded and laughed as if she were relieved.

I had no hesitation about inviting her and her family to my church because I know the color of their skin isn't an issue. I am so thankful that I didn't have to even think about whether inviting them would be an issue.

I am praying that we will continue to build a friendship and that they will feel God's love through me. I am absolutely going outside my comfort zone and it's scary but I am pressing forward.

NOT ME! MONDAY!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did not let my library fines get out of control because I just couldn't get it together enough to actually take the books, CDs, and movies back to the library. I am always very responsible and always stay on top of everything. Not me!!

I did not make a deal with my oldest daughter that if she wore tights on Thanksgiving she didn't have to wear them to church yesterday. I would never "make a deal" with a nine yr old. I would demand that she wear them to church because I said so. Not me!!

I did not laugh with my youngest when she accidentally peed on the closed toilet lid at a friends house Saturday night. I also did not laugh when she asked me if I had ever done that and say "More times than I can count". I would never pee on the lid of the toilet because I waited too long to go to the bathroom and didn't realize it was down. Not me!!

FRIENDS ARE FRIENDS FOREVER

Our weekend has been full of great friends and great food. We have laughed and cried with friends that are VERY close to losing their home. They are trying to make the best of a bad situation. It's all in the Lord's hands and whatever happens He will get the glory. It's amazing how in the midst of uncertainty God's children have the certainty of His love and grace. He is faithful and kind. He can be trusted.

So many people are going through this right now and it is something that is being experienced by believers in Christ as well as unbelievers. The difference for believers in this situation isn't that they aren't sad, upset, or even scared. The difference is that they know that no matter what comes Christ is there comforting, guiding, and directing. He knows the pain because He has experienced it.

As children of God, I think we go through things sometimes to be able to help others and point them to Christ. Because, honestly, it's not about "us" it's about Him.

THINKING

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Phil. 4:8 ESV

I AM GOING TO CALL OFF WHITE~DIRTY WHITE!!!

We went to a Holiday Crafts Festival today and I am now ready for Christmas.

I didn't buy anything Christmasy I bought Thanksgiving stuff but they were playing Christmas music and it smelled like Christmas.

There was a booth set up that I loved. They had childrens clothes and they were adorable.

While I was browsing a lady that was working the booth came up and started talking to me.

She pointed to a lady sitting there and told me that all the proceeds made were going to her for a domestic adoption.

We left the booth and finished our "look at everything first and then decide what you're going to buy" manuvers:)

When we got back to that booth I looked at Mike with tears in my eyes and a catch in my throat and told him I thought we should buy something. He called me tender hearted and told me to buy something.

When I picked out what I wanted the woman that was adopting took my information because she would have to mail my purchases to me.

She said that the baby they are adopting will be born in January and they had just decided two weeks ago to have this booth.

All those precious things had been sewn by those women in two weeks to bring home a precious child,

I left that booth thankful that I, in some small way, had a part in bringing that baby home to it's forever mother.

FRIDAYS ARE FABULOUS

Abby, Anali, and Shelby at the church in Alaska.

Mrs. Janice, Pastor Ron, Abby and Shelby
at their house on our last night in Alaska.

AHHHHH

No rain for 5 days so far!! AND they aren't calling for it until Monday:)

It has been so nice to have bright and beautiful days!

I am getting ready to make an apple crisp with apples that need to be eaten. The girls are playing nicely in their room.

AHHHH~~or maybe not.

The Lord has really been dealing with my heart lately and as I ponder and seek His counsel I am reminded of how much grace HE gives.

I don't want to be satisfied with my spiritual walk. I want to always be hungry for more of Him. I want to stand and do right even when it's hard and misunderstood by others.

I don't want to look at things and judge them by the world's standards. I want to measure them against God's standards.

And if that makes me weird or kooky or having too high standards or unrealistic or uncool or too much of a Jesus freak. I'm okay with that.

I want to love and be compassionate. Loving and be willing to stand for what is right.

Unwavering.

Lord, help me to be a vessel used by You. Strong in faith and love.

NOT ME! MONDAY!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did not clean out my pantry shelves and decide to cook some dried beans I have had for a while. I most certainly didn't make so many that I came away with 6 QUARTS of beans to freeze. Not me!

I did not have people over last Friday night and neglect to clean the cobwebs off the ceiling fan~HEY it was kind of a Halloween party:) Not me!

I most certainly did not eat the butterfingers out of the Halloween candy after everyone went to bed. That wasn't my candy and I would never take cand from my children without them knowing it.

I did not start switching summer clothes to winter and get side tracked so now I have extra work to sort out because they kinda got mixed together. Not me!

COMING DOWN OFF A SUGAR HIGH

November 1st!!

Wow, where did October go?

I can't believe it's time to bring out my pilgrim salt and pepper shakers from Publix~"Where shopping is a pleasure".

We feel water logged here in middle TN because this has been the 5th wettest October on record.

That means it rained~A LOT!!

So much, in fact, that most of the gravel in our driveway has washed away.

And~now driving on it is like being on one of those off road courses (not really but this is my blog and I can embellish if I want to)

I'm hoping November isn't so wet and that it goes by slowly. I'm tired of looking forward to the weekend or another special event or tomorrow.

Don't get me wrong~I don't think it's a bad thing that I do that sometimes but I also don't want to wish my life away because I'm waiting for the next thing instead of living in the right here and now.

I want to focus on thankfulness this month and how the Lord has blessed me.

Today I am thankful for dish soap:)

THESE DAYS.....

We are getting ready to head out in a couple of hours to join some friends for

50 cent corndogs from Sonic

some trick or treating

and some Project Pumpkin

In others words, we are going to have FUUUNNN.

As I take my little ladybug and Sarah Palin around to get as much candy as they possibly can

I want to soak in all their kiddy-ness

because it will fade soon and then they will be too big for all this

dress up stuff.

Live in the moment, Jennifer, because it will pass.

Live in the moment.

THURSDAY AFTERNOON

I thought I would share with y'all where I go on Thursday afternoons. The girls have music classes.

For 2 hours on Thursday I volunteer at the front desk to try to give back a small portion of what they give to us.

Their school use to be in 2 REALLY old houses and now they have such a beautiful building to enjoy.

I am so very thankful for Mr. Jonah, Mrs.Lynn, Mrs. Katie, and all the wonderful volunteer teachers that my children have had over the years.

This is Abby's Musical Beginnings Class.

Shelby takes Music Theory and starts playing an instrument at the beginning of the year. She thinks she may want to learn piano. That is subject to change:)

Shelby is also part of Select Singers so we are there for about an hour on Monday evening.

Here is a video of the school and Abby is the last little girl coming through the door at the beginning.

Here is a video of Trevor's last(sniff,sniff:( ) performance as a music student. He is in the band and you can see him peeking out every once in a while:) He is sitting by the guy with the awesome afro:) It's not a great recording but that's okay:)

And here is Wynonna and the WannaBeatles singing at W O Smith:) Enjoy!!

NOT ME! MONDAY!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did not stick my favorite spatula in the blender when making hummus and chop the top off it. Then, I did not look for the part that had been chopped off and heave a sigh of relief when it was all in one piece. A normal person would have just thrown the hummus out. I did not sit down and eat that hummus for lunch. Not me!



I did not just wash the spatula and put it back in my tool turnabout. Why would I still want to use it after the end was chopped off by the blender? When my husband saw it and asked if he should throw it away I did not respond~Absolutely Not!!! Not me!

I was not late for Shelby's dentist appointment because I dilly dallied around and did not get in the shower til 10:40 when her appt was scheduled at 11:00. That would be irresponsible and inconsiderate. Not me!

I did not threaten my child with a spanking if she ever unlocked my door with a pair of scissors again because she wanted to get on the computer. I am always the picture of self control to my children and would never lose it with any of them. Not me!

When taking Trevor to work last week I did not make my kids sit in the car while I went into Chickfila to get our lunch~for half price. I would never let my kids sit in the car in the parking lot to be able to run in and run out of a fast food place. Not me!

THIS WEEK IN REVIEW

*If you clickon the picture you will be able to see it bigger:)
This was a place outside of Denali National Park. The adults ate Halibut and chips. The girls ate Elk sliders. Delicious!!

Wow!! This week has gone by soooo fast! Blogger seems a little wonky so I think I am just going to make a list~ I love lists:)

1~Mike and I worked out together three times this week. We are trying to make better choices and Mike gets class credit for it~so it's all good. One day we even took the girls because Trevor had to work. They were bored and told us so ever 2 minutes.

2~Trevor's car still isn't running right and that means a trip back to the mechanic. He is a little stressed right now. Court was Thursday and he had traffic school today. Hopefully this is it~please let this be it:)

3~The girls were sick at the end of last week and through the weekend but they are over it now with just some congestion and a cough to go with it.

4~Mike has worked 13 nights straight and tonight I am going to love snuggling with my man. Ahh~blissful.

5~School is going well. Things are progressing nicely.

6~Our garage flooded early Thursday morning. When I opened the door to the garage to unlock the outside door there was about 2 inches of water standing at the bottom of the steps. I thought it was the water heater at first but thankfully it had come in under the garage door. I tried to get out as much as I could before Mike came home. I am sure I looked lovely with my nightgown on and tennis shoes sweeping lots and lots of water out the door. There wasn't much damage~nothing of significance was ruined. So thankful!

7~Mike cooked today and my mouth is watering just smelling it! I can't wait to try the BBQ and coleslaw. ~from scratch~my man's own two hands:)

8~I am in a purging mood for some reason. I love it when I get this way it makes everything so much easier to manage when there is less of it!!

9~Book study started this week!!! WOO-HOO!! We had 25 ladies show up! Can't wait to get to know some of the new ladies and catching up with the ladies that came last year. (Hi, Heather and Emily~y'all made my night! Thanks for the sweet words about my blog:)

10~I think I am getting my blog groove back~oh wait a minute~I better be careful. Last time I said that I didn't blog for 2 months:)

Hope your weekend smells as good as mine!!!

NOT ME!!!! MONDAY

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did not consider wearing pajama pants to work out in this morning. Mike and I were going to the college gym and could run into any number of people we go to church with and I would never wear pajama pants out in public. Not me!

I did not, in an attempt to impress my husband, run on the tread mill. I am way too out of shape for that and would never try something so ridiculous! Not me!!

This past week I did not decide to leave a load of clothes in the washer 2 days just cause I didn't feel like putting them in the dryer and folding them. I am always on top of such household chores that the thought never even crossed my mind. Not me!!

THIS IS MY 300th POST

Fireweed in Denali National Park
The honey made from this flower is delicious!

In honor of my 300th post I will tell you 300 things about me.

Just kidding!!!

I will tell you some things about my life right now~

• We are enjoying Mike's last semester of college~the only class he has at the college is on Monday night. The other two classes are weight training and research with his professor so they are pretty flexible.
• The girls are loving their tutorial class. They have dressed up twice-Abby as an Indian and Shelby as a pioneer woman.
  
• Trevor is having a difficult time with his car and work. It is hard to watch your child learn hard lessons.
  
• We are still praying and seeking the Lord's guidance about Alaska. We are looking forward to moving ahead with plans.
• Fall can't get here soon enough~bring on the cooler weather withOUT mosquitoes!!!
• I LOVE Goodwill!
• Abby used the word cattywampus the other day when referring to her bed and it made me smile~true southern girl:) Made me proud.
  
• My book study starts back on Thursday and I. CAN. NOT. WAIT. In fact, I thought it started this past Thursday and was quite disappointed that it didn't.
• The ladies of our church had a tea at this mansion and it was wonderful. My friend, Carol and I hosted a table and we used a Japanese tea theme. My sister was a guest at our table and I am so glad she came.
  
• Am I the only one that has been considerably frustrated with driving lately? A guy pulled out in front of me today and then yelled at ME. Excuse me?
• Did I mention I love Goodwill? Oh, well~it bears repeating.
• I HATE wrestling and to my chagrin my girls love it. Thank you, dear hubby:)
• If I could I would rip up the carpet in my living room, take it outside, and set it on fire. Seriously! I would. I can't stand it. For real.
• Much to my family's chagrin I could eat hummus EVERY. DAY.
  

That is all. 300 posts done~Woo-hoo!

MARK ALL AS READ

I'm taking a break from the Alaska posts to share something else. I have to put one picture of Alaska up because, well, I miss it.

My son gave me an iPod touch for Mother's Day this year. It was a sweet surprise and totally unexpected. Let me just say, I heart it completely!! I can get online with it and I rarely get on the laptop anymore.

I LOVE it! I have a Google Reader account that has all the blogs I read it one location and I only see the updated blog posts. I LOVE Google Reader!!

But~it can be a bit overwhelming. There are so many recipes and parenting tips and decorating ideas and homeschooling tips and sewing projects and cleaning tips and recommendations of books to read and organizing ideas and well, I think you get the picture.

On my nifty iPod touch, the buttons are real close together and you have to touch the screen and sometimes my little fingers hit the "mark all as read button" instead of the refresh button when there are still LOTS and LOTS of posts still left to read.

And to be quite honest I am a little relieved because even though I love reading all the well written and informative posts, sometimes it is nice to start over with a clean slate. I started thinking about this in my own life.

It's the beginning of the school year and I feel like I hit the "mark all as read button" and the pressure to do, read, make, etc. isn't there because it's a clean slate. O, I'm sure the pressure will hit around January when I start thinking of all the stuff I have to do before the end of the year but for now I'm going to enjoy the feeling of no pressure and no demands.

We can read that book on Leonardo DaVinci we found at the thrift store, we can just sit back and take our time doing math. I'm going to enjoy it while I can. No pressure.

Hope you have a "mark all as read" kind of day:)

ALASKA PART 4,004,886 (just kidding;0)

Abby and Anali playing salon:)

Pastor Ron had to take all three girls om the 4 wheeler at the same time.

Denali National Park

Pastor Ron and the girls

Mike coming out if the drop toilet and yes, it was cool enough to wear a jacket at the end of July.



It was absolutely breath taking to see those mountains. I'm a mountain girl~I like the beach and I would vacation there in a heartbeat but there is something about the mountains that speak to my soul. I loved just standing there gazing at them.

ALASKA PART 3

Tuesday, July 28,2009

The girls went over to a friend's house, Anali. Mike and I just stayed around the RV and rest. I caught up our travel journal and Mike looked at all the Alaska magazines we had.

Mike made me take this picture on the side of the road.

If you can't read it, it says "Ted Nugent United Sportsman of America"

Musk ox are native to Alaska.

Mike, Abby, and Shelby outside of the Sportsmans Warehouse.
It was kind of like Bass Pro Shops.

Wednesday, July 29,2009
On this day we went to Pioneer Park.

Abby goofing off in the wheel house of a ferry.

One of the first churches in Fairbanks.

Needs no explanation~I wouldn't have one anyway:)

One of the first houses in Fairbanks

These are only a few of the beautiful flowers we saw at Pioneer Park

Abby took these pictures.

This is where a radio station is broadcast in North Pole.
KJNP~King Jesus North Pole
As you can see the roof is made of sod.

This is a cache where you would have to put your provisions
to keep it away from bears and other wild animals.

These buildings were lovely.

Here is Abby, Shelby, and Pastor Ron doing what the girls loved to do best~ride the 4 wheeler.