Saturday, December 29, 2012

“Four weeks in Manley”

Today marks the fourth week that we’ve been in Manley. I feel truly blessed to have been able to visit this small community and get to know the people here. As usual, I’ve posted a few thoughts from what we’ve been learning and our experiences here in Manley, AK.

-         It might be time to give our children showers, when our three year old tells you that he needs to take a “shower with soap”! J

-         Our children are becoming increasingly familiar with life here as demonstrated by Chandler earlier this week. He got up about 6:00am. and made a HUGE disturbance by “stoking the fire”. He had on Roger’s wood gloves, and he was being very careful but extremely loud! Not exactly the alarm clock I would have preferred!

-         People are people regardless of where they live. Some are pleasant and some are more challenging. Learning to love people as Jesus loved them is a daily challenge and a learning experience.

 

Since the washateria was closed earlier this week, we haven’t been able to do laundry all week. Needless to say, it’s a necessity today! Plus, everyone needs a shower with soap. The Hot springs is a nice bath, but no soap is allowed in the springs. You can lather up with soap outside the bath and then pour water over yourself with a pitcher. That’s what we usually do, but we don’t always wash the kids…and now they need it! J

Today will probably be a little bit like Christmas for our family! J Art and Damaris took a trip into Fairbanks, and they offered to pick up anything we might need. We gave them a list of a few extra things that we would enjoy but aren’t a necessity. I’m looking forward to fresh fruit, vegetables, and a few other foods that we haven’t had in a while! J We’ve been watching their dog, Bernt, while they’ve been gone as well. The boys have enjoyed him immensely and they’ll be sad to see him go home (but Bernt is probably looking forward to going home J).

This week was a busy week with Christmas, wood cutting, people visiting at our house, having dinner at someone else’s house, and having the girls from church over. Roger is preaching tomorrow at church, so I’m praying for him to have wisdom and clarity of thought. As always, we appreciate your continued prayers; and of course, the mail you send! J

Sarah

 

 

Friday, December 28, 2012

It’s always good to remember that the Lord has a perfect plan even when it doesn’t seem like it! I feared that this morning was going to be an absolute disaster, but God turned it into a great memory.

Last Sunday, after the Christmas program, I invited the girls to come up to our house today to make cookies and have lunch. We agreed on 10am. and I was looking forward to this time. I got up early to get all the baking supplies together (even borrowed chocolate chips from a friend! J) , and getting lunch together. Well, ten o’clock came and went and then 10:30pm. and by now I was starting to think no one was coming. Because we don’t have a phone here, I wasn’t able to call the girls to remind them; and I was thinking that maybe they hadn’t wanted to come. I went outside for a bit and took a little walk, trying not to feel sorry for myself and have a pity party. I came back in the house, and got the boys out of their snow gear. I was about to put all the cookie stuff away, when at eleven o’clock, five girls showed up at our door. J The Lord must have known, I just needed to learn to trust Him some more!

At first, it was a little challenging trying to get to know them and the conversation seemed awkward, but everyone appeared to warm up. They seemed to have a really good time making cookies and visiting, and I know I did. After the cookies were in the oven, I taught the girls how to play the wonderful game of Dutch Blitz! J We played for about two hours, and also enjoyed lunch together. I made chili, (splurged and bought a bag of corn chips…don’t ask how much! They were expensive! J) and we enjoyed talking and visting. The girls stayed until around three pm. and we made plans to have another girls date next Friday. I’m looking forward to it! I’m thankful that the Lord brought the girls and that He strengthened my faith through the experience.

Roger spent the morning cutting up the wood that we had hauled in on Monday and Wednesday, and helped the boys stay entertained outside while the girls were here. Today is Friday, so we have to take a walk down to the post office later to see if anything came in! J

I took a walk down to the post office this afternoon to pick up our mail. We received a few letters and cards, and Dana also gave me a little sweater that she had knitted for Travis. It’s so cute!

Tomorrow is washateria day! It is a necessity now as we haven’t done laundry all week and everyone is about out of clothes to wear! J

Thursday, December 27, 2012

The day turned out to be busier than anticipated. The weather held steady at temperatures around -8 degrees. I got busy right away this morning working on making dessert for our dinner tonight. We went to the Behr’s for supper this evening. They have three small boys, and the children enjoy playing together. It seems like since we’ve come to Alaska, I’ve tried a myriad of new recipes…some great, some okay, and some “not so great”. I decided to make cream puffs for the dinner with friends. (I also made cookies in case the puffs were a flop!) Actually, the cream puffs turned out delicious, in fact, I wish I had taken a picture! J In spite of the oven turning off (sometimes the oven has a hard time staying lit), the puffs finally cooked and the end result was great.

We were planning on heading to the washateria this morning, but making dessert took a little longer than planned. The boys played outside, working on the igloo and sledding and Roger worked on cutting up wood. Around 12pm. we had some visitors stop by. Lyman and Carol live out in the busy about 40 miles downriver. They’ve been trying to get out for a month, but with the cold temperatures, then snow, then more really cold temperatures, it’s been a challenge. They snow machined out on Wednesday, and came to visit us on Thursday afternoon. They are a wonderful couple, and we had a great time visiting with them. They were trying to get their truck here in Manley started, so that they could get to Fairbanks to visit family.

After they left, we ate lunch and put the boys down for a nap. I finished up making the filling for the cream puffs and then took a short rest as well.

We headed to the Behr’s about 5:00pm. Nicole made a delicious meal of moose roast, scalloped potatoes, squash, beets, and bread. Carol and Lyman were also there since they weren’t able to get their truck started early enough to get to Fairbanks safely. We enjoyed a great visit with new friends, and of course, the boys enjoyed playing with other children. It’s wonderful to have friends to fellowship with that love the Lord and are seeking His will for their lives. 

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

“A day to cut wood”

Today was an interesting day. We left our house shortly after daylight, about 10:30am. The weather was colder at about -14 degrees. We headed to the washateria as everyone needed showers and laundry is piling up. But to make matters interesting, the cleaning lady still hasn’t come, so the washateria is still closed! L

Since we were unable to shower or do laundry, we headed out to the dump. We dropped off the trash, then headed to the well to fill up water jugs. Following that we went to the post office to drop off some letters and pick up mail. J We received about 4 letters and cards and a Christmas package from Roger’s Aunt Carole and Uncle Bob! YAY! Then we headed home to unload the water and to hook up the wood trailer. Since we couldn’t get clean, we might as well get dirtier! I packed up a lunch of bread and butter and a few of Aunt Carole’s treats, while Roger got the wood trailer hooked up and ready to go. Off we headed to the wood cutting place. It’s about a 45 minute ride (about 20 miles).

We were able to get a load of wood fairly quickly before the boys were stating that they were getting cold. The snow was pretty deep for Travis, so he was pretty unhappy about being out there! Because it’s a burned area, the wood is dirty but dry. So Roger cut down the trees, while Garett and I worked on hauling them towards the trailer. However, the boys grew weary, and they all climbed in the truck (and ate all the food!) J We were back in Manley about 2:45pm. and we were all really dirty! So, we went to Art and Damaris’ home to call the lady about using the hot springs. Thankfully, the hot springs were available so we were able to get clean again!

Back home we unloaded the trailer, made supper and waited for the dog to come over. J Art and Damaris are taking a trip for a few days to Fairbanks, and they asked us to watch their black lab, Bernt. The boys are so excited! Bernt will receive lots of loving attention the next few days, and I think he’ll be happy to go home! J

Hope all is well with you all, we’d love to hear from you!

Sarah

A Drive to Manley Hot Springs

Many of you have asked me to describe more of our surroundings or more about Manley Hot Springs. I’m going to try to write at least one post per week for the remaining weeks we are here. Please understand that this is life/surroundings and Manley from my perspective and someone else might describe things differently!

Close your eyes and picture with me. We are in a vehicle heading north east out of Fairbanks, AK. The road is paved and plowed and is a two lane highway.  Although the drive is only 160 miles, we are prepared for emergencies as well as a four-hour drive.  We have winter clothes, water, some food, and a jerry can of gasoline. The road is fairly traveled and vehicles are traveling in both directions. However, once we pass Chena Hot Springs which is about 5 miles outside of Fairbanks, the traffic decreases greatly. Now most of the vehicles traveling are either tankers headed to the oil fields, semis hauling various items, or people heading out to their homes.

Once we pass the Chena Hot Springs, we travel about 50 more miles wandering through the mountains. The road we are on is commonly called the “Haul Road” because this road will travel all the way to the Arctic Ocean. Now we’ve gone 50 miles, and we are ready to turn off. We turn onto Elliot Highway. We still have about 80 miles to go, but this is the most rustic road. It’s still a snow-plowed road, but the snow drifts are more abundant and it’s far less traveled.  Sometimes, you can travel all the way to Manley without passing a single vehicle. Along the way, we pass several cabins, maybe a moose or two, and lots of beautiful scenery. No matter how often you drive it, the drive is still beautiful and wild in the way God made His creation. The road is narrow in places due to snow drifts and although it’s meant for two lane traffic, it’s best to slow down and pull off the road as much as possible when passing vehicles. Of course, by now the children have to go potty! So, we just pull off the road and everyone takes care of business. After piling back into the truck, we pull out snacks and drinks to help occupy little minds and hands. The drive continues, and on we go upward and over the mountains through the Tanana Valley. We pass the turn off road to Minto (another little town) and now we are about 30 miles out from Manley. About 13 miles later, we pass through Eureka. Unless you know that this area is Eureka, you probably would pass through without even blinking. This is where many people come to cut dry firewood as some of the area is a burned area. Although it’s called Eureka, there isn’t a whole lot in the area. A few cabins and turnoffs and that’s about it. However, it is home to a few families.

We continue our drive towards Manley, crossing over Baker Creek; so we are now entering land that belongs to the Native Americans. At about mile marker 148 we see a sign that says…”No shooting: Residential Area”. However, there is not a single house or building in sight! Traveling on, we pass the sign that states “Sanitary Landfill”. At about mile marker 149 now, we are at the driveway to the dump. We pass that driveway and mosey on down the road. We are getting closer and when are about  .25 miles from the dump we are passing the washateria, also on the right side of the road. Here we find a log building that houses the Council and a single wide trailer that contains both the health clinic and the washateria.  Passing on, we travel about another .25 miles and see the sign that states, “Manley 1”. Beyond that a little ways, it the welcome sign for Manley Hot Springs and the well that provides water to Manley and many surrounding dry cabins. The well is on the right side of the road, and almost across the street is the Department of Transportation. Various snow removal equipment, trucks and a building occupy the area here. On we go, passing a few more cabins and a road that is called “Tofty Road”. Since it’s one of the few roads that actually have a sign, it’s an honorable mention. J We’ve traveled downhill since the washateria, and about .25 miles past Tofty Road, we see the Manley Hot Springs Bath house on the right side of the road. Because of the hot springs, the trees are always frosted in this area of the road. We pass the “plastic house” also on the right side by the hot springs. This house is covered in greenhouse plastic and the house is heated with water from the hot springs.

Just before we get ready to cross the one-lane bridge crossing the slough, we pass another road heading up a little hill. This road is kinda like a frontage road along the slough heading to a few homes, the Preacher’s cabin, and the cemetery. We cross over the bridge and are greeted by a small snow-covered park. Here we find a few picnic benches and a swing set. Almost directly in front of us, a little off to the left, is the Manley Road House. It doesn’t appear to be open too much in the winter, but if someone needs lodging they might try there. The road in front of the Road House twists around leading to a few more log homes and Manley Baptist Fellowship.

But coming off the bridge, we take the road winding towards the right. We pass a few dilapidated old stores, turn left to pass the airport runway, and head towards the post office. Here on the right side, is the hub of the town: the post office and the “Manley Mall”. The “Manley Mall” is a store that sells a few items and some liquor and is also the gas station. It’s not really the “Manley Mall”, but that is what it is affectionately known by.  Our stop is at the post office as that is one of the most important places in town. You can find all sorts of miscellaneous tidbits of information. If we continued on, we’d pass the school house, and the Manley Community Hall. Also, we’d pass the new runway that was just built but not in use yet, and then we would end up at the end of the road. Literally, it is the end of the road! The road ends at the Tanana River. If we want to visit Tanana village, we will either travel by snow machine, airplane or boat (if it was summertime). However, that completes our journey for today. I hope you enjoyed your drive and will plan on staying a while! J

Christmas Day

December 25, 2012

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11

Merry Christmas! We trust that each of you is enjoying this Christmas even if far from family. We truly have a lot to rejoice in and to be thankful about as we celebrate the birthday of the KING of KINGS and Lord of Lords! It’s a wonderful thing to have a day to celebrate the Lord’s birthday, but it is far more important and wonderful to recognize Him as Lord of your life! Yes, Jesus came as a baby; but He came so that one day He would die on the cross for your sin and mine. But the cross was not the end, Jesus Christ rose from the dead three days after the cross. Praise the Lord, I serve a risen Savior! 

 

We had a wonderful Christmas together. The kids slept in until 7:45am. Then everyone had breakfast, dressed, and we sat together to read the Christmas story from Luke 2. Following the Bible reading, we prayed together and then opened our presents. The boys found books, legos, candy, coloring books, matchbox cars, and assorted other goodies under the tree. They spent the day playing with their stuff, losing the pieces, re-finding them, borrowing their brother’s toys, and for the most part playing nicely…amazing!  Roger gave me some Alaskan handtowels, salt and pepper shakers, and an igloo nativity set. After opening gifts and playing with the new treasures for a bit, Roger, Garett, and Chandler headed outside. 

 

The weather today was ….unbelievable! It was 20 degrees here for Christmas Day! The sledding hill was fast today as the snow softened up enough to really become a fast hill. The older boys loved it and the younger two…not so much! Everyone laid down for a nap about 12pm, but unfortunately Travis was the only one who fell asleep! 

We headed to Art and Damaris’ house about 1:45pm. They graciously invited us to spend Christmas dinner at their house, so we really enjoyed that treat! I made cheesecake and chocolate peanut butter pie for dessert, and Damaris made turkey, stuffing, salad, corn, potatoes, pineapple, and bread for lunch! Wow! We had an enjoyable afternoon with them, and both Roger and I were able to call our families to wish them a Merry Christmas. (And Damaris sent us home with left overs, so I’ll have an easy day cooking tomorrow! ) Damaris and Art also gave gifts to the boys, so they have truly been spoiled! Damaris made a beautiful hat, scarf, and neck warmer set for me, which will definitely be used! We are blessed to have wonderful friends here in Manley Hot Springs.

We ended the day at home, enjoying our new Christmas gifts and just talking about the day. Wyatt asked for a bedtime snack, so I asked him what he wanted. “Rice,” was his reply! We have LOTS of rice and beans, so we’ve been eating quite a bit of that, but apparently the kids don’t mind! I made a pot of rice for a bedtime snack, and it’s a good thing I made extra as all the boys came along and asked for a bowl of rice. Personally, I’d much rather feed them rice than beans, as beans and boys do not seem to be a good combination! 

 

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Sarah

Monday, December 24, 2012

It’s Christmas Eve!

It was a different sort of Christmas Eve for us here, but it was a good day. The weather was nice…actually even warming up to 9 degrees! It feels so warm after last weeks temperatures of -40 degrees and colder!

Roger and Garett went wood cutting today. About 18 miles outside of Manley is a burned area. The wood is dry and ready to be burned (again!) so the wood cutting is fairly easy work. They left at daylight (about 10am.) and headed out. They picked up a man who lives out that way and who offered to help cut wood. They just cut the trees into 6-8’ lengths and loaded them on the trailer. Once home, Roger will cut them up into lengths for the stove. It went fairly quickly and Roger and Garett were home again by 1:30pm.

Roger enjoys taking the boys on excursions like wood cutting as it gives him an opportunity to talk to them one on one. Roger said on the way back home (it was about an hour ride with the loaded trailer) Garett looked like he was thinking. So Roger asked Garett what he was thinking about. “I miss Wisconsin,” Garett replied. “Why is that?” asked Roger. Garett replied seriously, “Well, Wisconsin has Subway and that’s my favorite.”  Roger told Garett that there was a Subway in the Walmart in Fairbanks, and Garett asked when we could go there. “Well, it’s a four hour ride, Garett, so probably not until on our way back to Wisconsin.” Garettt replied, “Okay! Maybe we can go to Subway on the way back.” (I think he might be starting to miss bread, as that is still not my forte!) It was funny to hear Garett tell about what he missed and at the top of his list was Subway! 

I had some Christmas cookies to give to the mail lady, and the boys wanted to go to the store to pick out some Christmas treats (soda pop). So, about 10:30am. I bundled the other three up and off we went to the post office. Since we usually cut across the frozen slough, it’s only about a .25 mile of a walk. The mail plane hadn’t come in yet, but we dropped off the cookies. BUT, the little store was closed! Oh dear, I had three very disappointed little children. Chandler suggested that we walk to the store out to the washateria, and I agreed. I should have thought on that decision a little more! It’s a mile walk from our house, and since we were at the post office, the walk was already a little further! We had the toboggan and the other plastic sled hooked on behind. At first all three of the kids were riding in the sleds but since it’s an uphill walk (both ways! Just kidding!) to the washateria, I had to have Chandler walk. At about .75 of a mile, I was thinking what a bad idea this was, but by then we were close and Chandler was still excited about going to the store. Travis was crying on the sled, and Wyatt was asking when we were going to get there! AHH! But, finally we made it to the store! (I had been praying the whole way that it would be open, since it was Christmas Eve, after all!) It was open…Praise Jesus! We picked out some treats for Christmas and a small candy bar for the boys stockings. I also splurged and bought a red pepper ($2.50) and a cucumber (also $2.50)! The bad thing about walking out to the store is that everyone is usually okay about walking out, but the way back…well, it’s a long walk back! I was starting to feel tired, but what goes up must come down! So, we started back, going downhill this time which was easier, but the back sled tended to want to pass the front sled leading to a tangled up mess of boys, groceries, ropes, and sleds! Grrr! Oh, and by that time, Travis was ready for a nap and wanted me to carry him! Not to mention the snow grader that passed by us (but that’s another story entirely!). BUT, the Lord had mercy on me, and about .5 miles from town, a man came along in a pickup truck. He asked if we wanted a ride to the post office. I didn’t know him from Adam, but I accepted! He loaded the sleds and treats in the back of the truck and we piled into the truck. We arrived at the post office and picked up our mail. Then we noticed that the little store next to the post office was now open!!  So, I bought a small bottle of ranch dressing to go with the veggies and some sour cream and spent $6.48! (I may not be able to use coupons in Manley, but I’m saving money by walking!)  Good thing we walk and only buy things as a treat…or we’d go broke in a hurry!  By this time, all the children were cold and we still had to walk .25 to home, across the slough and back up the hill to home. Travis insisted that I carry him, but I only carried him until we reached the slough. Since the trail isn’t a road, it’s harder walking. So he wailed in the sled until we reached home. Chandler was a few steps ahead of us as he announced at the post office that he needed to go potty. By the time I reached the top of the hill and into our driveway, Chandler was at the front door. But he couldn’t get the door open with his mittens on, so he wet himself…snowsuit and all on the front porch. So, he was crying because he had an accident, Travis was wailing because he was tired and cold, and Wyatt was whining that his toes were cold and he needed his boots off! I was never so glad to walk in the door and sit down! We survived and I got my exercise for the day (or the week!). So why did I do it? Well, it’s Christmas and three little boys! (However, I’m thinking that will be the last time for that adventure!) Chalk it up to experience and a lesson learned! 

Naptime was wonderful! Everyone took a nap, then we got up and headed to the washateria (by truck this time!) for showers...Roger and I needed them after him cutting wood and my walk! However, when we arrived at the washateria, the place was closed. Apparently, the cleaning lady hasn’t come in a few days, and the place is shut down until further notice! So, no showers for us! 

 

We came home and feasted on taco dip, fresh veggies, enchiladas and jell-o! Yummy! Then the kids watched a Christmas movie while Roger and I wrapped a few gifts. Afterwards, we read a couple of Christmas books, the Christmas story from the Bible and headed off to bed. I’ve got a feeling that we’ll all sleep good tonight as lots of fresh air and exercise usually help the body sleep great!

Sunday, December 23, 2012

“Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine…Praising my Savior all the day long!” Those are some of the words to a song that I believe, Fanny Crosby wrote long ago. The words are very fitting for how I feel today and for what God has done for me.

It was a very special day. The weather was about perfect for tonight’s Christmas program. The temperature was right at 0 degrees. A wind was blowing this morning making it seem colder, but tonight the wind was still.

We spent the morning getting ready for the dinner after church. I made baked salmon, and then I put it in the crockpot. I also made a coffeecake, which Roger said was fine…but… Okay, so when a recipe calls for fresh or frozen cranberries, dried ones do not work the same way. Just sayin’! J

When it was light outside, about 10am. we bundled up to go outside. We spent some time sledding and playing and then walked to Art and Damaris’s home. Since we do not have a phone, they graciously allowed us to use theirs so that we could make some phone calls. I was able to talk to my dad and my sister, Hannah. Roger was able to call his parents as well. It was good to catch up on other news, and to share some of ours with them.

After making our calls, we headed home, ate lunch, took a nap, and then got ready for the program. Obviously, life here in Manley is becoming familiar to our children. Garett and Chandler got themselves dressed first and went outside. By the time Roger and I had dressed the other two and ourselves in outerwear, the older two boys were gone! They walked to church by themselves…taking the sleds with them. This meant that Dad and Mom were left with the two youngest children, whom usually ride on the sleds, the crockpot, cake pan and Bibles! Oh yes, we were just tickled pink! Or NOT! Needless to say, Dad had a few words with his sons when we arrived at church. One…was leaving without telling us. And two was taking off with the sleds! Well, we resolved the issue and life moves forward! J

The program went really well. The younger kids had their parts memorized, for the most part. You couldn’t always understand what they were saying, but they were cute! The older kids read the Christmas story and we sang lots of Christmas Carols. I think Roger counted 48 people that came, so that was wonderful! I played the keyboard, Damaris played the violin, and another lady played the guitar. Two weeks ago, I sat on the floor to play the keyboard. This week, we set it on something else. It was too high, so I had to stand. I wonder what the proper piano technique would be for standing and playing! J I was praying that people would come, and the Lord truly answered our prayer! The potluck dinner was delicious, and most of the people stayed around to eat. We had salmon, ham, salmon salad, vegetables, and salmon with broccoli, jell-o, bread, and lots of other delicious delectables! J We stayed to help clean up and straighten up the church building, but made it home around 7:30pm. I’m thankful that the Lord blessed us with good weather and that people made the effort to come to the program. May God be praised!

 

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Three weeks in Manley

Weather wise the weather started out cold here this morning at about -35 degrees; however, the wind shifted and the temperature went up fairly quickly. By the afternoon, the temperature was about -5 degrees.

This morning (when it was cold J ) we went to the washateria. We did laundry, updated the blog, showered, took trash to the dump, and filled up the water jugs. Unfortunately, my shower today was way closer to the three minute mark! L And Roger’s was closer to six, so next time…I’m going first! J

After morning errands, we came home. After lunchtime and naptime, everyone headed outside for a bit. Chandler and Roger are working on building an igloo, and the other boys went sledding and played in the snow. At 3:30pm, I headed to the church building. Damaris and I worked on getting the church building ready for the Christmas program tomorrow. We also put together little gift sacks for each of the kids that came to the program. Since it took longer than either of us anticipated, I’m glad we did it today instead of waiting until tomorrow.  I walked in the door at about 5:30pm., and I was really missing the number to call for carryout pizza! J Instead, we pulled out the moose sausage, made the pizza dough, mixed up the sauce, whipped up some cheese (okay, I’m kidding! It was already shredded) J, and made homemade pizza. It was so yummy! We was after 7pm. when we sat down to eat, but the pizza was delicious!

Since today marks our third Saturday in Manley, I thought that I would share with you all the new things we’ve been learning! J

-         In cold weather always try to wear the same neck warmer. Oh, I also wouldn’t recommend letting anyone else use it! At -20 to -30 degrees, you can feel the nose hairs freezing in your nose; however, at -40 degrees and colder your nose will just run…continuously! So, you really don’t want anyone else to wear your neck warmer. But, if someone else does…just turn it around or inside it out as that “crusty” part can be rather disgusting! J

-         You can substitute spaghetti noodles for lasagna noodles when making lasagna. The texture of the dish does not come out the same way, but the taste is still good.

-         I need to be sure to thoroughly dry my baking pans before putting them away in the drawer under the kitchen stove. When I went to use the pans this week, they had frozen together…that’s INSIDE the house! J

-         At -40 degrees, toilet paper is no longer soft. Instead it becomes more of a white, crunchy, cold cardboard!

-         Never go anywhere without a flashlight and hand warmers. It generally gets darker sooner than I think it will. And the hand warmers may not be for me, but for the little person that is walking or riding and needs a little extra warmth.

-         Wyatt sleep walks and sleep talks. Since the cabin is small, the two little boys sleep out in the main room with us. (Not in our bed but on the couch and a cot)  Wyatt usually sleep walks or talks every night about 11:30pm. Somehow, he seems to be subconscious of the wood stove as he always walks around it. We usually just gently guide him back to bed, he climbs in, we cover him up, and he goes back to sleeping. (To be honest, it’s not “we”. Roger is the one that usually gets up with the boys. Yes, I have an awesome husband!) J

Friday, December 21

Mail is from Wednesday's mail plane; the packages we picked up on Thursday along with a registerd letter from Santa (pictured in the middle bottom row) with a gift of money...Thank-you!

Friday, December 21, 2012

First of all, Happy 33^rd Wedding anniversary to my parents! Since I will not be able to call them, I’m just letting them know that I did not forget! 

The weather is still bordering on the frigid side! It’s about -45 degrees, and I would love to see the temperature warm up to -20 degrees! We still haven’t been able to go out for wood, since it is just too cold for vehicles, chainsaws, trailers and children.

I’d be surprised if the mail plane makes it into Manley today. The plane didn’t come on Monday, due to frigid temperatures and since it’s about the same temperature today…I have my doubts that we will get mail. So we were able to get mail one day this week. The good thing is that the mail plane will come on Monday, providing the weather is good! 

With the temperatures, we are facing a little bit of cabin fever. Grumpy children with limitless energy can make for a long day. I’m thinking of bundling them up to go outside, but it will take longer to get them dressed then they’ll be able to stay outside!  So, I’m thinking of another craft project and maybe some cooking making. (The cookie making depends on how much sanity I have left after the craft project!) I have to say though, Roger is amazing with the kids. He helps with the craft projects and cleaning up. But at these temperatures, Roger has to keep stuffing wood in that stove to keep us warm! (And of course, the emptying of the honey bucket, dirty wash buckets, etc.)

The lid fell off the water barrel this morning. It is next to a table that had some magazines and Roger’s art paper sitting on it. Chandler was in a hurry to get something, and oops! into the water barrel went Roger’s paper and the magazines! I’ll admit I wasn’t very happy, and it was not one of my finer moments of parenting! So, now the papers are sitting in front of the stove. We are trying to dry them out to see if they are salvageable.

Woo Hoo! The mail plane DID come today! Yay for mail! We received four letters and a package from my other sister, Jenn. It was a pleasant surprise to have the mail plane come in today.

Today was also the last day of school for the students here. Since we’ve gotten to know the teachers, I invited them to dinner next Saturday. We are looking forward to sharing dinner with them in our home.

Please pray that the temperatures will warm up a little bit. I’d love for our family to take showers before Sunday!  Also, there are many families trying to travel into Fairbanks or other parts of the state, but the frigid temperatures can make traveling dangerous. Since we also have the Christmas program on Sunday, it would be a huge blessing if the temperatures would warm up a little for that as well. I’m going to the church tomorrow to help put together goodie bags for the young people that come to the program. The boiler was turned on today to get the church warm enough for Sunday.

Top Row, left to right: 10am, 11am, 12pm: Middle Row:1pm, 2pm, 3pm: Bottom Row: 3:45pm
Dark by 4:15pm

Christmas is very different for our family this year. We’ve foregone a lot of the traditions we normally have just do to limited accessibility, availabity and money. But, it’s been good for our family to focus on the real reason for the season…Jesus Christ! We’ve been able to study people of the nativity scene rather than just Mary, Joseph and Jesus. I love that! We’ve discussed Zechariah and Elizabeth, the shepherds, the angels, the wise men, and Simeon and Anna. So, for that I am very thankful! We did bring a few presents for the boys, and people have been VERY generous to them. The only things I forgot were items to stuff the stockings!  So, using my creativity…I’ve decided that I will spend $4.00 and the boys can each have a can of soda for their stockings! Watch and see…that will be their favorite gift! 



Thursday, December 20, 2012

Cold, cold, cold! The temperature today is -42 degrees, so we were not able to cut wood today. It’s too hard to take out the truck, trailer, and children in such cold conditions. We received 15 letters in yesterday’s mail…yay!  And, because the mail plane was late (it did not get here until 1:30pm.), we didn’t pick up the packages until today. So, it was like getting two days of mail! We received packages from my sister, Roger’s sister, and our friends from church in Wisconsin, the Scherzers. It was so much fun to see the boys opening the boxes and their expressions of delight. The Scherzers sent us a little fake, green tree with ornaments and lights to put on it. It adds such a nice green look in our cabin especially since our real tree is losing needles by the pound (if that’s possible!). 

We also received craft supplies, so we spent part of the morning creating a huge mess crafts. The boys had fun; and since it was too cold to spend any length of time outside, the crafts provided a nice distraction. Our friends also sent us some banana bread wrapped in newspaper. Roger and I spent about 20 minutes reading the paper that the bread was wrapped in to catch up on news! (I think we’re a little news deprived!). My sister sent Christmas movies, lotions, coffee, and small gifts for the boys. The older two received little guns that shoot marshmallows. Hannah also sent along a bag of marshmallows for the guns, but Travis and Wyatt keep eating the ammunition… much to their brother’s dismay! 

Roger walked over to visit with a dog musher today. They had a good visit, and Roger enjoyed lunch with them as well. We are headed to the school in a little bit to enjoy the Christmas program. It’s sure to be a cold walk with the little ones, so we’ll have to dress warm and get out the hand warmers.

We had a great time at the Christmas Holiday program. Probably about 40-50 people attended, which was a good turnout considering that the temperature was about -45 degrees. The school kids did a good job with their program, and it was fun to play the hand bells in the community group. After wards, we had desserts and punch. One of the differences between having desserts here and having desserts down south is the fact that up here there are not nearly as many pre-packaged goods. Out of about 15 different treats, only one was a store bought treat. Everything else was home made! It was all very good...cheesecake, jelly roll, chocolate muffins, oatmeal cookies, etc. Yummy! We had a good time meeting and visiting people.

Every year, the Native American Indian Counsil (I think that's right) picks two villages from the surrounding area to give gifts to the village children. There are about 36 different villages that they do this for, and this year Manley and Minto were the two villages chosen. A gift was given to every child in Manley! These are nice gifts like remote control cars, Barbie dolls sets, big Nerf guns, and other gifts! Every child received a gift, including four little Robertson boys! Garett received a remote control monster truck, Chandler received a construction vehicle and trailer, Wyatt a pull-back racing car and car hauler, and Travis was presented with a sit and spin toy! The boys are enjoying the new toys, and it was so nice to have them included in the toy receiving. It was totally unexpected but a great surprise!

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Well, yesterday we did laundry and took baths, BUT life would not be an adventure if everything went smoothly!  Travis threw up last night all over himself, his bed and his brother’s bed! YUCKY! Since our blanket supply is a little limited, I guess we will be spending more money doing laundry later today.

Today is Wednesday, the weather is about -21 degrees and the skies are fairly clear. All that to say…there is a good possibility that the mail plane will make it into Manley today! YAY! I’m hoping for mail.  The lady that is the post master here is very nice, and I’ve enjoyed getting to know her. I’m praying for our friendship to grow, and I’ll get to know her better.

Roger is busy scrounging around the house, shoveling out the piles of snow surrounding a trailer. We’d like to get it out, so that we can use it to haul wood. We are hoping to go out tomorrow to get wood. The interesting part will be getting the trailer back into the yard. Our home is up on a hill and the road to our home is on a hill, so we will need to back up the road hill and then pull forward into our driveway. (I think that sounds easier written on paper then it’s actually going to be!)

Tomorrow is also the community Christmas program, so we are looking forward to that too. Please pray that we will be able to meet a few more people as well.

Well, as I sit here finishing this post for the day…I’ll need to make an addendum.  We did get the trailer shoveled out; we did not get to the washateria; we did take a walk as a family, and we did get mail today! YAY! Since the mail plane was late…as in very late…we picked up our letters. We’ll go back tomorrow to pick up the packages as Dana said we had some waiting there, but she needed to process them first. Woo Hoo! 

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Busy, busy, busy! The temperatures were quite a bit warmer today. It was about -20 degrees, so we were able to get to the washateria to do laundry, catch up the blog, and take showers. 

By the time we completed all of those errands, it was time to go home to hang up the wet laundry, re-stoke the stove, have lunch, and take naps. Roger also went to the neighbor’s house to see if they might have a hitch for the trailer that’s sitting in our yard. We’d like to use it to haul wood, if we can get it shoveled out!

Tuesday is our day to use the bath house. Because we are trying to save on gas and wear and tear on the vehicle, we decided to walk. Let me just say: that was the WORST idea ever! It’s about a .5 mile walk. I wasn’t too bad going out to the bath house, as the kids were excited about going. Travis and Wyatt sat in the sled, and the older two boys walked. However, once we arrived, we had to change everyone out of their outer wear, inside clothes, and then into swim clothes. Then after the relaxing waters, we had to change everyone back out of wet clothes, into dry clothes, and into the outerwear! By that time, all the kids were tired and no one wanted to walk home! Travis was on the back of the sled, fell off, and was not easily convinced to ride it again.  Needless to say, we were all ready to get home. But, that’s not the end of the story…I had forgotten to put the meal in the crockpot, so supper wasn’t ready.  However, we did eventually get everyone fed, devotions done, and into bed…that was my favorite part of the day! 

On that note:

-We appreciate your prayers

- I am going to bed 

Monday, December 17, 2012

Another cold day!

Although it did warm up a little today (-43 degrees), it was still too cold to start the truck. Hence, we did not take a trip to the washateria nor did we get water! We are in water saving mode as we are on our last 1.5 gallons! Tomorrow is supposed to be a little warmer and if it is warmer than -40 degrees, we will try to take the truck to the well and the washateria. Otherwise, Roger will have to take the sled and some water jugs and get water that way. Normally, we would all walk to the well or the washateria, but -40 degrees is simply too cold for the kids that sit in the sled and do not walk the whole way!

The older three kids did go outside today for a little while; Garett lasted the longest staying outside for about 35 minutes. I took a brisk walk to go to the school to practice the hand bells. I think one of the hardest things about walking or any type of outdoor activity for that matter is learning to pace yourself. If you walk to fast or exert too much effort, you will break a sweat. But when you stop or go inside you can cool down too quickly, which could cause a cold and causes the body to shake! 

But everyone did get some exercise! We are getting ready for the community and school Christmas program on December 20. I’ll be playing in the ladies hand bell group, and we are hoping this will be a good opportunity for our family to mix and mingle with others. We are also hoping to find a family to come to dinner on Friday night, and we are praying for a little warmer weather so people will be willing to come to the church program on Sunday night.

Tomorrow, Lord willing, will be an influx of lots of news on our blog! It is also our day for the Manley Hot Springs bath house visit at 4pm. Hooray! I’m looking forward to our family being clean again! 

Thanks for your prayers, our love to you, Sarah

Sunday, December 16, 2012

“An Alaskan winter day”

Well, I’m not going to lie…it was a rather discouraging day for me. The weather was at -52 degrees, so it was beyond cold. It was downright frigid! It was too cold to go outside; in fact we found a piece of insulation and covered up our door from the inside! The propane lines froze on the stove, so I’m thankful that we have a crockpot and a wood stove to heat water! I was hoping to get my hair washed today, but since we haven’t been able to get water for the past several days, we’ve had to ration it out. Tomorrow we will have to go out for water, so hopefully it will be a little warmer.

We had our own worship service together, but I sure did miss the fellowship with other believers today! The boys are doing quite well with their Christmas program parts, and next Sunday is the program. Please pray that the weather will be warm enough for people to come out and hear the Gospel.

I made bread in the crockpot today, and amazingly enough, it was delicious! We’ve eaten leftovers today along with warm bread and cheese. We had one bag of microwave popcorn, so we popped the bag in the microwave. Then we reused the bag by filling it with a quarter cup of popcorn seed and microwaving it. The result: deliciousness! For supper, I think we will heat soup on the wood stove and finish off the bread. I probably don’t need to say it…but I’m hoping for a warmer day tomorrow! 

December 15

Saturday: Two weeks in Manley

We have been learning again,  so I’ve posted those thoughts below.

     *Garett and Travis learned this week that water freezes quickly! They were helping Roger get water, and they accidently spilled a jug of water. By the time Roger had filled the next jug, their boots were frozen in the ice!

        * Roger learned not to place his boots near the water barrel. Since the kids have been filling water pitchers, the boots were a little on the damp side!

          *We did our little experiment of throwing hot water in the air, and it really does disappear into ice crystals! Amazing!

        * We are becoming accustomed to the cold, as we had ice cream for dessert at -44 degrees!  (Of course, since we store the ice cream outside, it took about ½ hour for the ice cream to thaw enough to even eat it!)

      *  While egg replacer works in many recipes, do not use it in a fudgy brownie recipe. I’m assuming that you must need real eggs in order to achieve the fudginess. My brownies were more like a chocolate brick that couldn’t even be softened by dipping it in hot chocolate!
 
        * At -40 degrees, the leather seats in the truck become very hard. Just about the time the seats are comfortable to sit on, we’re done with our errands!

We’ve now been in Manley for two weeks. Our weather here is bitterly cold today about -50 degrees down in Manley, and about -44 degrees where we live up on the hill. Either place, it’s very cold! We spent the day in our cabin, and it was an hourly job of putting wood on the fire to keep it warm. We finished decorating our little tree, painted, played with Legos, watched a dvd, and drank hot tea.  There is frost on all of the windows, the door hinges and the inside door knob!  But, we’ve stayed comfortably warm, as long as you have on your slippers…the floor is chilly!

Roger did venture out to empty the dirty honey bucket, empty the dirty water pails under the sink, and also to walk into town to find out about church tomorrow. Much to our disappointment, church is cancelled for tomorrow.  As some families come from a distance, it is just too hard on machinery or the dogs to go out in the cold. So, we will be worshipping at home tomorrow, and working on our Christmas program parts.

Since I had hoped to get to the washateria today to do laundry, take a shower, and update the blog, I’ll be figuring out how to wash little boys and wash my hair at home. Dry shampoo can only help so much! With the temperatures so low today, it would have been too hard on the truck to take it out. Roger would have to have the battery plugged in as well as the truck. And it’s just rough on any machinery to operate in these cold temperatures. So we stayed at home, and enjoyed the Alaskan weather from the inside. Garett wanted to go outside today, so he bundled up and went out for a little bit. That’s one little boy who loves the outdoors. We told him to stay in the yard for safety reasons; and after about 20 minutes, he came in covered in frost.

We appreciate your prayers. With the beautiful snowfall this week, I’m reminded of the verse in Isaiah 1:18. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” I love the thought that Jesus’ blood has made my sins white as snow. While far from perfect, knowing that I can have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ encourages me on a daily basis.