"How did you end up here?"

At the end of my last post, I said that I would have a lot of updates. So consider yourselves warned. Here goes... The Outhouse Races! This was actually February, so we'll call it Pre-March Madness. The idea was to push/pull your makeshift outhouse on skis racing one other team at a time in elimination rounds. Our St. Elias group had a girls' team (The Skidmark Fairies) and a guys' team (The Skidmarks Unlimited). Classy, I know. They've participated 7 years in a row now, and this was the first year that they won any division let alone all 3 (Standard, Unlimited, and Women's)! I only ran once out of the 4 women races, but it was such a blast! Cory got to come too :) The following weekend my dear friend Sara Scoville was here to continue the Fur Rondy celebration (the annual 2-week-long festival of Alaskan events)! She was most excited about seeing the Iditarod racers! Tourists came from all over the world to watch! The coolest part was seeing the ...

I haven't been keeping up with this very well, but not too much has happened since my last post over a month ago. This week is especially uneventful since Cory is temporarily deployed to Fairbanks, 6 hours away where it's -32 degrees, for wilderness training. I pray I never have to find out what THAT kind of cold feels like! I really hate for him to be gone (especially since Valentine's Day is Friday), but it's only for a week and it's good "practice" for a full 4-6 month deployment which could happen in the near future. I have no idea what I'll do with myself then. In the meantime, I'm home alone as Debbie is on a trip with her mom and I have the house to myself. I spent some time with a friend earlier this evening (or last night, I should say), but she leaves town today too. It's a little bit lonely being completely on my own this week, but it's kind of nice at the same time. I've been trying to not be a complete bum by sitting arou...

It's difficult to explain how my heart is torn in two. It's not broken, but it longs to be in two places at once all the time. The joy that fills it when I'm home in Phoenix is equal to when I'm home in Anchorage. But wherever I am, I'm always missing someone. I've accepted that this is how it will be until, Lord willing, my two worlds wind up in the same place and my heart is whole. This being said, I need to emphasize how extremely grateful I am for my current situation. I've been given this invaluable opportunity to live outside of my comfort zone in an entirely new place with new people and a new career. I'm more independent than I've ever been in my life, and I'm constantly learning. Not to mention how much I'm enjoying this closeness with Cory and how God is leading and protecting our relationship. I've never been big on New Year resolutions, but I can feel the word "patience" that God has been speaking into my heart. It...

I wrote this post 2 mornings ago on the flight home to Phoenix from Anchorage, bored and exhausted: I’m 4.5 hours into this redeye flight with an hour left before I land in Phoenix. I’m probably past Seattle by now, but “Sleepless Over San Diego” or wherever the plane is isn’t a very good title. I don’t know why I thought I’d be able to sleep. Sleeping upright is not natural. No matter how tired I am, there’s just no way. I bought sleeping pills intending on trying one, but then I realized that I don’t have the 8 hours you’re supposed to allow yourself to sleep with those. I worked all night last night and got in about 3 hours of sleep during the day. Lots of coffee for me tomorrow. I mean today. Shoot. No time to nap! I’ve got people to see and things to do! First off: visit Brynley Elizabeth and be amazed that she was born 2 years ago today! That little nugget continues to make my heart melt every day that I get to interact with her. I missed her “friend” birthday party on Su...

    There's something uniquely special about watching your sibling be a parent. I love my sister so dearly, and now I get to see her love this little girl who loves her back immensely. It's surreal and beautiful. Needless to say, I was beyond thrilled to have them up here for a whole week! It just so happened to be the coldest week of the season yet (lots of snow and -1 degrees at one point!), but we still had the best time together! Ben joined us later on in the week and added even more happiness :) We played in the snow as much as we could, went sledding, ate really well, drank lots of Starbucks, played games, enjoyed the cozy fireplace, and saw breathtaking views that you would NEVER see in Phoenix!   I know how people get really annoyed when people go on and on gushing about their kids, but this is my niece, so it's different. I'm going to gush away.   I was amazed at how much Brynley had grown up since I last saw her in Se...