Arrival in Fairbanks!

YAY!

Praise the Lord, after a long day of traveling yesterday across the Yukon and into Alaska, we arrived in Fairbanks...finally! Our children are tired of traveling, the truck looks like we hauled little pigs across the country with lots of crackers, smashed pretzels and unidentified sticky items, the novelty of watching dvd's has worn off, and everyone is a little on the grouchy side! We've traveled over 3,800 miles to reach Fairbanks, and we are planning on making the final 160 mile journey to Manley Hot Springs tomorrow. Exhaustion is running high in both parents, and we have four children that are just delighted to not be traveling and sleeping is about the last thing on their minds!

We've learned alot on this trip, and I've included a few things below: These statements are stated with humor, because if you don't learn to laugh, you'll spend a lot of time crying! :)


Mom and Wyatt

1) When traveling this long in a small space, you really learn to decide how much you love your family, and I learned to throw organization to the wind and just toss food and drink in the back!

2) The Alaskan highway is probably not overly crowded in the summer, and in the winter you get the benefit of having the whole road to yourself! (Of course, there is the drawback of limited places that are open, and you put gas in at about every stop you come to since you don't know how far away the next stop might be.)

3) Having boys is probably easier than having girls for the sake of peeing beside the road. Although they get alot more distracted watching to see if the pee will freeze before it hits the ground!

4) When staying in hotels at night, it's a good idea to get a room on the bottom floor as close to the end of the hall as possible. Staying on any floor other than the first floor could lead to complaints from the people below as the patter of little feet is not on their list of entertainment!

5) Be sure to spend the daylight hours looking out the window and taking pictures because time is limited!

6) I am not cut out to be an over-the-road driver, and thankful that Roger drove most of the way to get us here. (However, I think he did that because he didn't want to provide the entertainment and be the steward) Just Kidding! Roger is an amazing daddy and pitched out in many, many ways to help with the kids.

7) Plastic becomes very hard and brittle in about -20 and colder and anything dropped out of the car has the possibility of shattering. (We did manage to rescue the alligator dentist game before it crashed into the ground and became smashed alligator!)

8) It may take time, but eventually your children will learn to keep track of hats and gloves, and to put them on BEFORE opening the truck door!

9) After about day five of traveling, most of the children will stop asking every hour when you're  going to get there. About day seven, your children will assume that you're never going to get there and will start crying to go home. On days eight, nine, and ten, after 11-12 hour days of driving, they'll just start getting up in the morning and getting dressed to travel.

10) Dry shampoo (the kind in the aerosal can) will leak out and become a white, powdery substance that will get all over everything.

Our children have been amazing travelers, and other than a few minutes of complaining every day, they survived the trip with happy spirits.

 When we were driving through the Yukon, most of the animals we spotted were at least in groups of three of more. So, when we spotted a lonely buffalo, Wyatt made the comment, "That buffalo out shopping for food 'fore the others come!" (I guess he figured since the buffalo was by himself and pawing in the snow, he was "shopping" for food!)

In Calgary, Alberta, most of the major roads are called trails, like Glenmore Trail, Deerfoot Trail, etc. When driving through there, we were looking for a specific trail. Chandler told us that these roads are not trails..trails have dirt and rocks, and these are called roads. "Whose in charge of naming these roads?"

Garett is our easy going child. You could tell him that we are going to the moon, and he would be estactic. He has spent most of his time in the back seat watching a movie, looking out the window, and wearing his coat and hat. He's the first one out of the car and can't wait to spend "a long time" outside!

Travis has been great about sitting in his car seat. It did get long for him across the Yukon and into Alaska, but he has been entertained with food and drink!

Garett at the hotel in Whitehorse, Yukon

We can feel the affects of your prayers, and we are thankful for each of you. Please pray that we can use this "rest" day to get a lot done before heading to Manley. We need to get the oil changed in the truck, do laundry, grocery shop, find a gun shop, and all kinds of other odds and ends. Pray that we will be efficient with our time and that we will spend our money wisely. Love you all, Sarah

One long day...day nine!

Buffalo

                                                                 One very long day!

We left Fort Nelson, BC, this morning about 7:15am. It’s a 12 hour drive to Whitehorse, Yukon, so the day has been long. The scenery has been breathtaking and majestic. I’m thankful that driving on snowy, winding, mountain roads doesn’t bother my husband because if it was up to me to get us there, we’d probably still be at the top of the first mountain! Roger asked me if driving up and down the mountains made me nervous and I pled the fifth. However, it makes me more than a little nervous! The first several hours, I was nauseous, but was reminded of the verse in Isaiah. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” It was a reminder that nothing can happen that is not God’s perfect plan. After that I was able to relax and truly enjoy the ride.

Wild Horses

The sun came up about 8:30am and is getting ready to set at the time of this writing (3:00pm.) It’s been a brisk, clear cold day. We started out with the temperature right at 0 degrees, but as we’ve traveled it’s continued to go down. It’s about -20 degrees, but we are thankful that the roads are clear (as clear as they get this far north!). We’ve seen two moose, lots of caribou, deer, a wolf, bison, wild horses, and a fox. The boys were thrilled to see all the wildlife!

Upper British Columbia and the Yukon is a very isolated. In eight hours of driving, we’ve only passed 52 vehicles! (Definitely a place you want to make sure that you’re not going to run out of gas!) I’m sure that there is a lot more touristy type places open during the summer time place, but this time of year it’s quite a hike between gas stops. We paid $6.60 per gallon of gas at one of those stops! We stopped beside the road more times than I can count to “water the snow”. It will be a late night before we get to Whitehorse, and we have another 12-14 hour driving day tomorrow to get to Fairbanks.

Update: We arrived in Whitehorse, Yukon about 7pm. The kids did a great job traveling, all things considered. Thankful for a hotel room and a place to sleep tonight.

A summary for days six, seven, and eight!

 

Traveling North

 

 

Now traveling on the Alaskan Highway!

The last three days have been busy with seeing family, friends, and traveling. I think it's been a tad overwhelming for them, as today three of the four were crying in the truck wanting to go home!

 

 

Enjoying time with the cousins in Calgary

We spent Sunday visiting family in Calgary, Alberta. We visited Solid Rock Baptist Church with Elle and Becky in the morning. Then we caught up with some friends that I went to college with, Joy and Eric Jensen, and  visited with their family. It was a condensed visit, but they are such good friends that it was kinda like just picking up where we left off seven years ago (minus the six boys between us!). Following that visit, we headed to church at Old Path Baptist Church where our brother-in-law, Jason Bueckert, is pastoring. Since Jason was out of town, they needed a piano player for the evening service. I am so THANKFUL that my parents gave me piano lessons and for the years that Mrs. Hammond poured into me.  I really enjoyed the opportunity to play, even though I wasn't familiar with all the songs! Roger gave a brief synopsis of our trip and they took up a love offering. It was an unexpected blessing and one for which we are very thankful for their generous giving.  After the evening service, we headed back to Roger's sister house and enjoyed a joyous and chaotic evening celebrating Christmas early together. We are thankful for the opportunity to visit family, and it was truly a blessing.

Nancy Falconer, myself, and an unhappy Travis

We left Calgary, Alberta on Monday morning. We traveled for 8.5 hours to Grande Prairie, Alberta. Roger has friends there from long years ago, but they were willing to host us. Dustin and Nancy Falconer opened their home, blessed us with their hospitality, and gave us a place to rest without having to pay for a hotel room. We gathered up our belongings and pulled out of Grande Prairie about 9am. It was a crisp morning, starting out at -9degrees. But the scenery was gorgeous as we traveled north, and our thermometer did reach 17 degrees at one point. No amount of picture taking can do justice to God's creation out here...but I've been taking pictures anyway! We spotted our first caribou and that was fun. The farther north we travel, the father apart the gas stops become, and the fewer cars we see. We probably traveled over 200 miles without passing more than 20 domestic vehicles. We saw quite a few pulp trucks, but you definitely get the feeling of isolation.

 

Beautiful scenery

Please continue to pray for us as we have a long travel day tomorrow. From Fort Nelson, BC, to Whitehorse, Yukon is 670 miles. The scenery will be breathtaking, I'm sure, but it will be a long time between stops. The truck has run amazingly well since Rapid City, SD, so we are very thankful for God's mercies. Please pray that the boys will adjust quickly once we reach our final destination. Traveling is getting old for them, and Wyatt was crying in the car today saying he just "wants to go back to 'consin!" Garett hasn't asked about doing school...so we'll have a few days we need to catch up on once we get to Manley Hot Springs. We've been trying to do a little in the car  but space is limited! Also, I have a wisdom tooth coming in that is really bothering me. I haven't had any trouble with my teeth for years, but it does seem that as soon as we stepped off of our home porch and into the truck, Satan has been hard at work to discourage us.

 

We have a lot to rejoice in tonight and I've listed a few below:

Thankful that we weren't in the ditch

1) We made excellent time today traveling and found a hotel in Fort Nelson, BC.

2) Driving on the Alaskan Highway has been breathtaking and gorgeous.

3) We been especially encouraged with the stops we have made to visit family and friends and are thankful for the blessing they have been to us.

4) The love offering on Sunday night was a special encouragement to us just solidifying in our minds that God will provide for us every step of the way.

 

We love you all and appreciate your prayers.

 

 



Safely to Canada! Just inside the border.

“All in a good day (or night’s) work”

Isaiah 40:29 “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

I picked this verse today, since we traveled through the night. The Lord gave Roger an extra amount of alertness and the ability to drive long hours in the quietness of the night. We praise the Lord for His safety and protection.



We left Rapid City, South Dakota, about 6:30pm. last night. We headed west through Wyoming and Montana, and at the time of this writing (5:30am). we are heading north to Canada and about an hour from the border. Please pray that we will be able to cross over with no complications or delays. Yesterday morning, it seemed like a great idea to drive through the night to try to make the trip a little easier for the kids. However, about 11pm. I was really thinking that maybe it was not such a good idea! I was tired, but God gave grace and strength to Roger to keep him alert and driving. Roger drove from 6:30pm. to about 3:15am. Then I drove for about an hour, and I was really starting to get tired! So I played the stewardess role again, making children comfortable, passing out drinks, finding missing socks, and searching for the elusive blankets that somehow disappear! We are hoping to make it to Roger’s sister’s home in Calgary, Alberta today in time to enjoy visiting, and being outside before getting a good night’s rest (I’m already looking forward to the rest part, and I didn’t even drive that much!).



Snow in Alberta, Canada

We said good-bye to my parents and sister, Jenn. For me, the mission trip became a lot more real at that moment. We were leaving behind people that I’m comfortable and familiar with and stepping out into the unknown, but I’m also excited to be continuing on with our journey. My parents help out with watching the boys, and taking them occasionally overnight, and I’m going to miss them. Next to my husband, Roger, the man I respect and admire most is my dad. He taught me to work hard, not to quit, to love God’s word, to love people, to pray daily, and to strive for Godliness. We may not always see eye to eye, but I know my dad loves me and prays daily for us. My sister, Jenn, took such good care of us while we were visiting, spending time with us, making meals, and going on walks with me.

On a note of praise, the truck is running MUCH better! On the way out to South Dakota, we were getting between 12-14 miles per gallon, but now we are getting between 15-17 miles per gallon! Thanks for your prayers; the truck seems to be much improved.

UPDATE: We passed through border patrol in under ten minutes! YAY! And we arrived at Roger's sister's house at about 12:30. We are pretty tired, but happy to have arrived and looking forward to spending time with family.

Days two and three

Rest, Relaxation and Thanksgiving Day!

Days 2 and 3

November 21 & 22, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving!

We’ve been enjoying two days of visiting with my sister, Jenn, in Rapid City, South Dakota. It’s been a time to rest after the flurry of activity to get ready for our trip to Alaska. Yesterday was a beautiful day, so we enjoyed time outside with the boys, and I enjoyed a walk with my sister. Today is a day to reflect on all that we have to be thankful for and to rejoice in the blessings of our Heavenly Father. 

While I have much to be thankful for, I wanted to mention just a few that are on my heart right now.

       * I’m thankful for my salvation. I have the blessed assurance of knowing that I have a home in Heaven for all eternity.

        * I’m thankful for my family, and that many of us can gather together at Thanksgiving.

        * I’m especially thankful for my husband, who is stepping out on faith to take this trip to Alaska

        * I’m also thankful that the truck is fixed again (and praying that this will be the last of the repairs we have to make!).

       * I’m thankful that Travis is feeling better and seems to be much on the mend today.

I have much, much more to be thankful for but that is just a few, I hope that each of you take some time this Thanksgiving Day to write down what you’re thankful for and spend some time with your loved ones. 

I do have a few specific prayer requests. While we have enjoyed time resting and relaxing, Satan has been hard at work to discourage us. First, we had some troubles with the truck running smoothly on the way out here. We were able to get it looked at yesterday, and $xxx.xx later, it appears to be running efficiently. Secondly, Chandler has an infected tooth that is really bothering him. Pray that we will be able to find a dentist tomorrow that will be able to take care of the problem. Thirdly, Travis was running a fever and vomiting yesterday. He appears to be much improved, which is a huge praise, but please pray that no one else will get sick. 

View from my sister's apartment in Rapid City, SD

We are planning on leaving Rapid City, South Dakota, tomorrow around 7pm. We will be traveling through the night to arrive in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, sometime on Saturday. We would appreciate your continued prayers for safety and protection. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!

Day One: Travel

Loaded and ready!

Although I am sure that we’ve forgotten at least a few items, I have a sense of relief that we are in the truck heading North (well, first west, then north). We had planned on leaving at five this morning, but since Roger and I didn’t go to be until after midnight, we didn’t get on the road until 6:04. The suburban is full, and I am once again thankful that God allowed us to find a suburban! The kids actually all got up on their own as we were loading last minute items and packing the truck.

I'm thankful for rest stops with playgrounds!

 As is our habit, whenever we get in the car, we prayed for our trip to Alaska. Each of the older boys took a turn praying, and it was a special encouragement to my heart to hear them pray. Garett prayed for safety in travel and that we would get to see some deer and moose. Chandler prayed that we would have enough money to get to ‘laska, and that we would be able to come back to Wisconsin!  Wyatt told us he was tired and didn’t want to pray. I love that our trip to Alaska has become their trip as well. They are excited and anxious to get there.

          We made it about twenty minutes down the road, before we heard…”How much longer to Alaska?” Oh, dear…!!! The boys have done a good job so far of traveling today, although I’m a little weary of pretending we are flying in an airplane and mom is the stewardess! (Maybe we’ll pretend we are on a train tomorrow! If it makes the hours pass by more quickly, and the children enjoy pretending, we’ll keep on doing it!)  We are planning on driving to Rapid City, South Dakota. (Update: 11/21 We arrived in Rapid City about 8pm. We would appreciate your prayers as the truck has been running rough, and we will be needing to find a mechanic to look at it.)

 For those who don’t know our itinerary, I’ve posted it below.

Day one: Travel to South Dakota                                                                                         

Day two: Wednesday…spend time with Sarah’s sister in South Dakota

Day three: Thursday…Thanksgiving in Rapid City, South Dakota

Day four: Friday…leave about 6pm at night to begin the drive to Calgary, Alberta.

Day five: Saturday…arrive in Calgary, Alberta, and spend time with Roger’s sisters and family

Day six: Sunday…church with family in Calgary

Day seven: Monday…Traveling

Day eight: Tuesday….Traveling

Day nine: Wednesday...Traveling

Day ten: Thursday…Traveling...arrive in Fairbanks, Alaska

Day eleven: Friday....arrive in Manley Hot Springs, Alaska

Our tentative date for arrival in Manley Hot Springs is November 30.

This schedule is tentative, and we make have to make some adjustments based on weather, children, etc. Please continue to pray for safety while travel, and that the vehicle will run well. Pray for the health of our family, and that we will meet people receptive to God’s Word along the way.

 

The Robertson Home...a flurry of activities!

As most of you know, we are preparing to leave home on Tuesday to embark on a ten-week mission trip to Alaska. I can't describe the emotions that run through me on a minute to minute basis, and I'm thankful that amid all the confusion (i.e. packing!) going on in our home, that I can stay in constant communication with my Heavenly Father.

Apple pie crescents...pie filling, crescent rolls, and cinnamon!
YUMMY!

Today has been filled with many projects, a long to-do list (that won't be completed today!), and some fun times with my children. Chandler was the treat bringer for his 4-k class today, and I forgot about it until about 7p.m. last night. At that moment, I didn't want to stop after church with the kids to pick something up, so I got up at 5a.m. this morning to bake treats for his school. Since I'm trying to clean out my fridge and pantry, options were limited! However, I came up with a delicious recipe that I'm sure I'll make again. I've included photos and the ingredient list in this post.

Following the treat making, I enjoyed my coffee, writing in my journal, and reading my Bible. My mama called and graciously offered to teach Garett kindergarten, so I could continue to work on projects and house cleaning. (Thank-God for mamas!). At 8 am. the neighbor dropped off her little boy for the day. (I've been watching him on Tuesdays and Thursdays). This is my last time watching him, and there are four little boys that are going to really miss baby Lane! After the baby was put down for his morning nap, I started in on making strawberry/rhubarb jam, only to realize that my potato masher was broken, so I couldn't mash the berries and rhubarb up as well as I would have liked. So, I pulled out the blender, threw it all in there and blended it up. It worked great, however, my children thought I was making smoothies, so everyone had to come and sample the mixture! Finally, finished up that task!

Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam



Spices in a pill box!

I've also been trying to figure out how to take up spices that I need for cooking and baking, without dragging along the whole container. My wonderful husband suggested that I get a large pill box from the pharmacy and put the spices that I don't need a lot of in there. It worked perfectly! I put spices and seasonings that I don't use alot of, but might need, such as poppy seed, paprika, cumin, cream of tarter, and other such spices in each compartment, and viola...perfect!

After picking up Chandler from 4K, we headed off to pick up Garett from my parents house. I had decided that we needed to take a trip to the library one more time before our trip, so off we trotted to the library (now with five little boys in tow!). We went to a little library in a neighboring town, and I loved it! The librarians were great with the kids, (they actually LIKE children to come to the library, unlike the one in our local town!). We stayed at the library for over an hour until Travis was starting to use the the stuffed animals for a pillow, and Wyatt was asking me to read to him...a sure sign that he is tired! Hooray for home and nap time!

Boys at the library...beautiful fall day!

Seven jars of camel sauce...
DELICIOUS!!

Another project I've been trying to accomplish before leaving is getting Christmas presents together for the kids teachers. I made a small batch of carmel sauce earlier this week, and I really liked how it turned out and tasted. So, I tripled the recipe, got out my canning jars again, and whipped up  seven jars of carmel sauce for Christmas presents. One more thing done...yay!

I'm about ready for bed, however, we are off to the Christmas parade in town tonight. The kids are really excited about going, but I'm sure it's because of the candy, not the parade! My parents are taking the kids overnight tonight, so Roger and I can pack the bags tomorrow (without HELP...spelled KIDS). The boys have been dragging out all kinds of things that we "need to bring" to Alaska, so I'll be relieved to have the clothes at least packed up tomorrow.

So, in a nutshell, that's what we've been working on and we are making progress towards leaving on Tuesday!

EL- SHADDAI...The Lord Who is Sufficient for the Needs of His People!

As we continue to prepare for our trip to Alaska, (leaving in 10 days) I am amazed at God's continued blessings upon our trip preparations! People have given gifts, both monetary and physical, that have helped immensely. I went to a ladies meeting last night (once a month we have a special get-together where the older women mentor the younger women), and I was blown away by the surprise going away shower they hosted for me and my family. I was blessed and overwhelmed by the kindnesses shown to me and feel extremely loved by my church family. I was gifted with skirts, socks, all kinds of craft things to do with the kids, assorted travel treats and goodies for the kids, lip gloss, a coat for my son as well as boots, along with several gifts of monetary value...absolutely amazing!

As my mind is constantly going, and the stack of items to take with us continues to build, I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that I see God at work. The blessings we have already been bestowed with as well as the love, support, and prayers that people have offered have been truly overwhelming! Roger and I truly desire to be a blessing as we continue on this missionary trip, and we want to be good stewards of the gifts that people have bestowed to us.

I am overwhelmed by the love and gifts that have been given to our family!

We are at 40% support of what we are estimating our family to need, and I have been challenged in this opportunity to allow my faith to grow and my dependence on my GREAT God to deepen. God is truly good, and I feel like I have already learned several important lessons. One being that I know that we will be a lot more willing to give to someone else's mission trip now that we am in a position of needing people's support and prayers!

JEHOVAH-JIREH...Jehovah will provide!

My mind is overwhelmed with many thoughts today. The  overcast sky reflects my thoughts in the disappointing results from yesterday's  presidential election. (And I'm sure that there are some who do not share my disappointment, but for me and my family it was and is a disappointment.) America has voiced her opinion and turned her back on God, but I'm thankful that God doesn't want me to place my confidence in man anyways. Truly I'm thankful today that "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." (Psalm 46:1) I would have loved to see a different man take over the oval office for the sake of my children and future generations, but I rejoice in knowing that nothing catches God by surprise, and He is NOT worried about the future or wondering what's going to happen next!

On a different note entirely, the Robertson family is continuing to move forward with plans for Alaska. My mind is constantly spinning with questions, packing details, and I constantly feel like I can't focus on the task at hand without my mind wondering off to something else! I'm excited, overwhelmed, and thankful that "...when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I." (Psalm 61:2) God has provided for us this far and will continue to do so.

As many of you know, we have been searching for a vehicle for our trip to Alaska, and I'm happy to report that God has done just that...provided for us! We looked at Envoy's, Trailblazers, Explorer's, and Suburbans, and discovered that our options became extremely limited as a family of six! A family of five...no problem...but since I couldn't decide which child to leave behind (Just kidding!), we needed something bigger. We searched Craigslist more times than I can count, and compared prices with Kelley Blue Book until we needed to buy a membership to Kelley Blue Book to compare anything else! (I'm kidding!)  However, last Saturday, my husband made a phone call to a man offering a suburban for sale. The price was in our budget, and it would fit our family. Upon looking the vehicle over, we made an offer and the man accepted it! WHOO HOO! We are know the owners of a 2000 suburban! It is fully loaded with more options than I ever dreamed...heated seats (yay!), remote start (I'll let you know how that works in Alaska!), bucket seats in the middle row, and leather interior. The kids have been asking to drive everywhere in it, but I don't think they realize that by the time we reach Alaska, they will have had their fill of sitting in the truck! I'm excited to see that the Lord provided the right vehicle for us and not very excited about filling it up with gas! We are planning on leaving in 13 days, on November 21st, so time is flying by. We appreciate your prayers as we continue to move forward in our plans.