Wow! What a year. As I sit at our computer desk with the heat from the wood stove warming my back (it's -18 outside), I reflect on God's incredible faithfulness and peace amidst the chaos of life. Our family has not only survived, but flourished in this year of great transition.
2009 started off with the passing of my dear Grandfather, Nick Byrne. I was able to fly down to Seattle for a few days to be with my family. It was the first time in years that all Grandpa's children and grandchildren were together under the same roof. It was a blessing to re-connect and catch up with my loved ones.
Scott both graduated from college and retired from the Air Force after 21 years of service in June. We had a big retirement party, and a lot of family flew up for the event to include my parents and brother, Scott's Dad, sister, and brother-in-law. The ceremony was spectacular. We are extremely thankful for our country and consider it a privilege to have served her. Scott took about 2 weeks vacation and then began his new job as the human resource manager at Home Depot. He actually works just as many (if not more) hours as a civilian than he did as a first sergeant, and we are SO PROUD of him.
I began teaching junior high at North Pole Christian School. There are five 7th graders and two 8th graders in my class. These young teens are very active and keep me on my toes!! We have been able to do several ministry projects this semester. We 'adopted' three sets of grandparents and have completed several projects around their houses such as raking leaves and shoveling snow. Our class hosted a carnival last month to benefit the Fairbanks Rescue Mission (the only homeless shelter in interior Alaska) and raised $450.00. Just today we drove to the mission and presented the executive director with the check. That was fun.
Our family still loves living in the city of North Pole, population: 2,212. This summer afforded me the opportunity to organize and direct the 4th of July North Pole Parade. What a blast that was! We had antique autos, floats, bikers, walkers, and all kinds of participants. I look forward to running it again next year. Our winter festival, Christmas on Ice (www.christmasinice.org) runs in the month of December. Scott and I were both involved last year, and this year I am blessed to serve as the organization's treasurer. If you have a chance, check out the website and see all the ice carvings!!
Kaylee graduated from high school in May. Grandpa Feely and his wife Celia flew up to help us celebrate. Our eldest has just completed her first semester at the University of Fairbanks. We are so proud of her - she brought home better grades from college than she received in high school! That is an amazing accomplishment being that she missed her entire first week of classes due to a bad case of the Swine Flu. Kaylee lives in the dorms, works part-time at the registrar's office during the week, and comes home on the weekends. Now that she's had a taste of college life and likes it, she has decided to transfer to the University of Anchorage in January. We will miss seeing her, but I think it's cool that she will graduate from my alma-mater!
Jackie turned 17 in July. That just blows my mind! She has been working at Safeway since April as a courtesy clerk (bagger). Her job is a little more challenging this winter as she has to deal with collecting carts in temperatures that have thus far reached -25 degrees and will reach -40 and -50 in January/February. Jackie is very excited to graduate high school next year. Our youngest girl cracks us up. She has informed Scott and I that when she graduates she wants to move to Japan and either be a model or a high-priestess. We're not exactly sure what a high-priestess entails, but she is confident that she would be a successful one!
Jonathan turned four years old in October, and we celebrated his two-year adoption anniversary on December 10th. We took his adoption DVD to his pre-school and the class watched it - the teachers cried (as I do everytime I watch it). I can hardly believe how fast these past two years have flown by. Johnnie is growing like a weed and LOVES having us read to him. He attends the pre-school where I teach. Jonathan continues to be very active and currently has a big scab on his forhead. He took a nose-dive off of our Bowflex (which we use as a coat hanger); he was using it as a slide. Johnnie also took his first ambulance ride in August when he was fishing with Daddy. He got into the bear mace and sprayed himself with it! He came through the ordeal OK (better than me!) but refuses to go fishing anymore!
I truly enjoy writing our annual Christmas letter. Reminissing on our family's mile stones and life-changes remind me of the greatness and faithfulness of our Creator. No matter where we are financially, emotionally, or physically, we know the One who watches over us, and we are able to praise Him with confidence that comes from a history of following Him. We give glory to God for sacrificing His beloved Son so that our sins could be paid for and forgiven. It is our prayer that you too would give glory to Him this Christmas season. We love and appreciate you, our family and friends, who enrich our lives and coninually support us. We are blessed to have you in our lives! Merry Christmas!!
Friday, December 18, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
We Are Blessed!
Wow! It's been a long time since I've updated this blog, and so much has happened. Here's the scoop on the Watson 5!
Scott's last day of work in the Air Force was June 19th. He started his Human Resource job at Home Depot the first week of July. He works a lot of hours - as many as he did when he was a first sergeant! The good thing is there are no middle-of-the-night phone calls from the military police about naughty airmen!! Scott finally turned 40 on October 3rd. I say 'finally' because I was getting tired of him making fun of me for being in my 40s while he was still in his 30s the past two years :).
I started teaching the 7th and 8th grade class at North Pole Christian School on August 17th. I LOVE IT!!!!! I have a class of seven junior high students, and we just finished our first quarter of school on Friday. It is such a blessing to work at a Christian school. I get to teach the kids about the Bible every single morning except Wednesdays when we have a guest pastor come in for a school Chapel service. North Pole Christian is small - only eight main teachers for pre-school to 12th grade and a student body of 80 or so -but I love the size. It feels like a family. I had the opportunity to be the assistant soccer coach for the 4th-6th grade soccer team this fall. I know God has a great sense of humor because I know NOTHING about soccer. The head coach had her wisdom teeth pulled out the weekend of our Anchorage/Fairbanks tournament, and I had to be the lead coach! We placed 2nd out of six teams, though, and had a great time. I'm preparing to direct this year's Christas musical for grades 3 through 7. I love my job and praise God every day I go to school!!
Kaylee moved into the dorms at University of Alaska Fairbanks in September and started her first semester of college (pre-nursing courses). She is taking 13 credits and is doing well in all her classes except for Anatomy/Physiology. She wanted to drop it after the first test but has hung in there. A wonderful lady at church who is a physical therapist is tutoring Kaylee, and Kaylee has joined a study group with some of her fellow students. I reminded her that if she dropped the class, God wouldn't be able to show Himself strong in her weakness. She's working hard, and I am proud of her. Kaylee was hired part-time in the registrar's office at the University. The job is great! It's walking distance from her dorm and schedules her hours around her college classes. Kaylee got sick just before her classes started. I took her into the ER when she started having breathing problems. They tested her, and it turned out she had Swine Flu. That girl was the sickest I've ever seen her, and she missed her entire first week of college!! We quarantined her to her bedroom, and, thankfully, the rest of the family didn't get it. Kaylee wants to transfer down to my alma mater, University of Alaska Anchorage, because they have a bigger nursing program. She applied for a transer and was accepted. She will be moving down to Anchorage in January. We will miss her terribly but are very excited for this opportunity.
Jackie is a junior at North Pole High School. She is still working at Safeway as a bagger, and she turned 17 in July. Jackie's school counselor has asked Jackie to start thinking about what she wants to do after college. She thought about it and informed me that she wants to move to Japan and work with the Pokeman company. I applaud her adventerous spirit, but I had to bring to her attention that she doesn't speak Japanese, and she doesn't know anyone in that country. She wasn't deterred. Our lives would be pretty boring without Jackie around.
Jonathan turned 4 years on on October 17th. Scott, Johnnie, and I were all getting over nasty colds so decided against a party. I did take him out to see Toy Story in 3D. It was cool! The theater didn't give us those cheesy paper 3D glasses but real, plastic ones. They worked wonderfully! Jonathan was so funny. We were watching a preview for the Scrooge movie coming out this Christmas, and the snow was falling. It looked like it was right in front of our noses. I looked over at Jonathan, and he was trying to grab the snowflakes! Oh, the innocense and delight of children. We stopped by Cold Stone Creamery where he picked out an ice-cream cake, and then we went home and celebrated. Jonathan is attending preschool at North Pole Christian school and loves it. He he is in a class of 18 students, and he loves his his teacher, Miss Pam. Jonathan is learning to write out many of his letters. He proudly displayed his handiwork on the bathroom cabinets using Kaylee's eyeliner. You can tell you are older and more patient when things like that happen because instead of yelling at him and having a fit (like I would have done with the girls in my younger years), I admired the his penmanship and then gave him a washcloth to clean it up. Yes, God is good!!
That's it for now. I'll write again before Christmas. Love and miss you all!!!!
Scott's last day of work in the Air Force was June 19th. He started his Human Resource job at Home Depot the first week of July. He works a lot of hours - as many as he did when he was a first sergeant! The good thing is there are no middle-of-the-night phone calls from the military police about naughty airmen!! Scott finally turned 40 on October 3rd. I say 'finally' because I was getting tired of him making fun of me for being in my 40s while he was still in his 30s the past two years :).
I started teaching the 7th and 8th grade class at North Pole Christian School on August 17th. I LOVE IT!!!!! I have a class of seven junior high students, and we just finished our first quarter of school on Friday. It is such a blessing to work at a Christian school. I get to teach the kids about the Bible every single morning except Wednesdays when we have a guest pastor come in for a school Chapel service. North Pole Christian is small - only eight main teachers for pre-school to 12th grade and a student body of 80 or so -but I love the size. It feels like a family. I had the opportunity to be the assistant soccer coach for the 4th-6th grade soccer team this fall. I know God has a great sense of humor because I know NOTHING about soccer. The head coach had her wisdom teeth pulled out the weekend of our Anchorage/Fairbanks tournament, and I had to be the lead coach! We placed 2nd out of six teams, though, and had a great time. I'm preparing to direct this year's Christas musical for grades 3 through 7. I love my job and praise God every day I go to school!!
Kaylee moved into the dorms at University of Alaska Fairbanks in September and started her first semester of college (pre-nursing courses). She is taking 13 credits and is doing well in all her classes except for Anatomy/Physiology. She wanted to drop it after the first test but has hung in there. A wonderful lady at church who is a physical therapist is tutoring Kaylee, and Kaylee has joined a study group with some of her fellow students. I reminded her that if she dropped the class, God wouldn't be able to show Himself strong in her weakness. She's working hard, and I am proud of her. Kaylee was hired part-time in the registrar's office at the University. The job is great! It's walking distance from her dorm and schedules her hours around her college classes. Kaylee got sick just before her classes started. I took her into the ER when she started having breathing problems. They tested her, and it turned out she had Swine Flu. That girl was the sickest I've ever seen her, and she missed her entire first week of college!! We quarantined her to her bedroom, and, thankfully, the rest of the family didn't get it. Kaylee wants to transfer down to my alma mater, University of Alaska Anchorage, because they have a bigger nursing program. She applied for a transer and was accepted. She will be moving down to Anchorage in January. We will miss her terribly but are very excited for this opportunity.
Jackie is a junior at North Pole High School. She is still working at Safeway as a bagger, and she turned 17 in July. Jackie's school counselor has asked Jackie to start thinking about what she wants to do after college. She thought about it and informed me that she wants to move to Japan and work with the Pokeman company. I applaud her adventerous spirit, but I had to bring to her attention that she doesn't speak Japanese, and she doesn't know anyone in that country. She wasn't deterred. Our lives would be pretty boring without Jackie around.
Jonathan turned 4 years on on October 17th. Scott, Johnnie, and I were all getting over nasty colds so decided against a party. I did take him out to see Toy Story in 3D. It was cool! The theater didn't give us those cheesy paper 3D glasses but real, plastic ones. They worked wonderfully! Jonathan was so funny. We were watching a preview for the Scrooge movie coming out this Christmas, and the snow was falling. It looked like it was right in front of our noses. I looked over at Jonathan, and he was trying to grab the snowflakes! Oh, the innocense and delight of children. We stopped by Cold Stone Creamery where he picked out an ice-cream cake, and then we went home and celebrated. Jonathan is attending preschool at North Pole Christian school and loves it. He he is in a class of 18 students, and he loves his his teacher, Miss Pam. Jonathan is learning to write out many of his letters. He proudly displayed his handiwork on the bathroom cabinets using Kaylee's eyeliner. You can tell you are older and more patient when things like that happen because instead of yelling at him and having a fit (like I would have done with the girls in my younger years), I admired the his penmanship and then gave him a washcloth to clean it up. Yes, God is good!!
That's it for now. I'll write again before Christmas. Love and miss you all!!!!
Monday, July 13, 2009
New Life Transitions!
Wow! So much has happened over the past seven weeks since I last updated our blog. Here are the highlights:
SCOTT: Scott retired from the military after 21 years of service on June 19th. My parents and brother, Scott's Dad, and Scott's sister and brother-in-law all flew up for the event. His prior commander, Lt. Col. Petito, flew in from Hawaii to perform the ceremony, and it was all so wonderful! We had a blast. Scott took a few weeks of vacation time and then started his new job as the Home Depot human resource manager last week. He likes it. He says it is a lot like his job as first sergeant but without all the stress :). He flies down to Anchorage tomorrow for a week of training. Scott was able to get two black bears this spring. He received a meat grinder from some of his buddies as a retirment gift, and he ground up the bear to make burger and sausages a couple of weeks ago. It is delicious!
Scott and Kaylee went salmon fishing down south at Klatina River for a few days, and they caught their limit of 12 salmon (six each). Scott actually landed a small King Salmon, but he had to throw it back because the king season hadn't opened yet.
JULIE: I was hired as the 7th and 8th grade teacher at North Pole Christian School. Classes start on August 17th, and I'm very excited! I will teach all the subjects; it is very similar to my homeschool experience. I have a small class of nine students, and I think we are going to have a blast! Jonathan will start pre-school (the grades go from pre-school to 12th grade). I am confident he will love it, and I will be right there in the next building if he needs me. Our little busy boy is more than ready to get into the classroom setting. Not only is his body on the move every waking hour - so is his precious mind!
I was the coordinator for the 4th of July North Pole Parade this year. It was really fun and turned out wonderfully (praise God!). We had about 100 entries in the parade - motorcycles, antique autos, floats, animals, boy scouts, girl scouts, churches, clowns, etc. The weather was fantastic (about 80 degrees), and everyone had a good time. After the parade was a community festival with all kinds of booths and then a bed race. Our church's youth group was one of the entrants in the bed race, and we raced against another church. If you've never seen a bed race, it is hysterical. You need a bed with big wheels on it. There is a five-member team (four push and one rides on the bed in PJs). The teams must push the beds to a half-way point and every person on the team needs to run over and around the bed and get back to their original positions (like a Chinese Fire Drill). At the end of the road, the person on the bed needs to take off the PJs and pass it to another team member who needs to put them on and get on the bed, then the team turns the bed around and pushes the bed back to the mid point where they do the Chinese Fire Drill again and then back to the starting point. Well, since there was only two teams who entered, they did three races. The best 2 out of 3 won the 1st and 3rd prize. We smoked the other team in all the races and end up winning $400! I've attached some pics.
KAYLEE: Kaylee just successfully completed her first college course. She needed to take a math class so she could enroll Biology in the fall. Kaylee has always hated math, but she worked very hard and ended up with a 'B'. Yeah!! She will move into the dorms on August 29th. She has been assigned her roommate for next year - a freshman from New Mexico. Kaylee has been in Anchorage the past week with her friend Janet doing some mission work with the lady who headed up her China mission trip in December. She was also able to spend some fun time with her friend, Steven, who will be leaving for college in Alabama in a few weeks.
JACKIE: Jackie got her learners permit!!!! Oh my, I barely made it through teaching Kaylee how to drive! Kaylee and Jackie are like night and day. I had a hard time getting Kaylee to slow down, and Jackie is afraid to go the speed limit. I'm not sure which is more terrifying on the highway - going 90 with a teenager behind the wheel or going 35 with irrated drivers racing past you. Lord, have mercy!! Jackie is still working at Safeway and turns 17 years old on Sunday! Where has the time gone??? She is looking forward to starting her Junior year at North Pole High School.
JONATHAN: Dad took Jonathan fishing for the first time yesterday at a nearby lake, and Jonathan caught his very first trout! He called me on the phone and said, "Mommy! I caught fish!!" Scott is trying to instill the 'fishing bug' in him early. I weighed and measured Johnnie the other day, and he has grown to 40 inches and 40 pounds! He is thoroughly enjoying the summer and loves being outdoors. He is quite the character and has me cracking up several times a day. I just love that little guy! What a blessing he has been to our family. He went to his first birthday party a few weeks ago - it was a GI Joe party, and the kids dressed up accordingly. They all brought their nerf guns and had a blast. I've attached a picture.
Oh, I forgot. I am beginning a six-month Nutrisystem journey to take off the adoption weight I put on over the past year and a half. My goal is to get back to my pre-adoption weight, so I would appreciate your prayers. I've noticed the older I get, the easier it is to put on weight, and the harder it is to take it off! I think that's it for now. May God bless you!!!
SCOTT: Scott retired from the military after 21 years of service on June 19th. My parents and brother, Scott's Dad, and Scott's sister and brother-in-law all flew up for the event. His prior commander, Lt. Col. Petito, flew in from Hawaii to perform the ceremony, and it was all so wonderful! We had a blast. Scott took a few weeks of vacation time and then started his new job as the Home Depot human resource manager last week. He likes it. He says it is a lot like his job as first sergeant but without all the stress :). He flies down to Anchorage tomorrow for a week of training. Scott was able to get two black bears this spring. He received a meat grinder from some of his buddies as a retirment gift, and he ground up the bear to make burger and sausages a couple of weeks ago. It is delicious!
Scott and Kaylee went salmon fishing down south at Klatina River for a few days, and they caught their limit of 12 salmon (six each). Scott actually landed a small King Salmon, but he had to throw it back because the king season hadn't opened yet.
JULIE: I was hired as the 7th and 8th grade teacher at North Pole Christian School. Classes start on August 17th, and I'm very excited! I will teach all the subjects; it is very similar to my homeschool experience. I have a small class of nine students, and I think we are going to have a blast! Jonathan will start pre-school (the grades go from pre-school to 12th grade). I am confident he will love it, and I will be right there in the next building if he needs me. Our little busy boy is more than ready to get into the classroom setting. Not only is his body on the move every waking hour - so is his precious mind!
I was the coordinator for the 4th of July North Pole Parade this year. It was really fun and turned out wonderfully (praise God!). We had about 100 entries in the parade - motorcycles, antique autos, floats, animals, boy scouts, girl scouts, churches, clowns, etc. The weather was fantastic (about 80 degrees), and everyone had a good time. After the parade was a community festival with all kinds of booths and then a bed race. Our church's youth group was one of the entrants in the bed race, and we raced against another church. If you've never seen a bed race, it is hysterical. You need a bed with big wheels on it. There is a five-member team (four push and one rides on the bed in PJs). The teams must push the beds to a half-way point and every person on the team needs to run over and around the bed and get back to their original positions (like a Chinese Fire Drill). At the end of the road, the person on the bed needs to take off the PJs and pass it to another team member who needs to put them on and get on the bed, then the team turns the bed around and pushes the bed back to the mid point where they do the Chinese Fire Drill again and then back to the starting point. Well, since there was only two teams who entered, they did three races. The best 2 out of 3 won the 1st and 3rd prize. We smoked the other team in all the races and end up winning $400! I've attached some pics.
KAYLEE: Kaylee just successfully completed her first college course. She needed to take a math class so she could enroll Biology in the fall. Kaylee has always hated math, but she worked very hard and ended up with a 'B'. Yeah!! She will move into the dorms on August 29th. She has been assigned her roommate for next year - a freshman from New Mexico. Kaylee has been in Anchorage the past week with her friend Janet doing some mission work with the lady who headed up her China mission trip in December. She was also able to spend some fun time with her friend, Steven, who will be leaving for college in Alabama in a few weeks.
JACKIE: Jackie got her learners permit!!!! Oh my, I barely made it through teaching Kaylee how to drive! Kaylee and Jackie are like night and day. I had a hard time getting Kaylee to slow down, and Jackie is afraid to go the speed limit. I'm not sure which is more terrifying on the highway - going 90 with a teenager behind the wheel or going 35 with irrated drivers racing past you. Lord, have mercy!! Jackie is still working at Safeway and turns 17 years old on Sunday! Where has the time gone??? She is looking forward to starting her Junior year at North Pole High School.
JONATHAN: Dad took Jonathan fishing for the first time yesterday at a nearby lake, and Jonathan caught his very first trout! He called me on the phone and said, "Mommy! I caught fish!!" Scott is trying to instill the 'fishing bug' in him early. I weighed and measured Johnnie the other day, and he has grown to 40 inches and 40 pounds! He is thoroughly enjoying the summer and loves being outdoors. He is quite the character and has me cracking up several times a day. I just love that little guy! What a blessing he has been to our family. He went to his first birthday party a few weeks ago - it was a GI Joe party, and the kids dressed up accordingly. They all brought their nerf guns and had a blast. I've attached a picture.
Oh, I forgot. I am beginning a six-month Nutrisystem journey to take off the adoption weight I put on over the past year and a half. My goal is to get back to my pre-adoption weight, so I would appreciate your prayers. I've noticed the older I get, the easier it is to put on weight, and the harder it is to take it off! I think that's it for now. May God bless you!!!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Graduation 2009!
What a busy and monumental weekend! At long last, Kaylee walked the stage of Ben Eielson High School and received her high school diploma on Friday, May 15th. She was one of 73 graduates. It was a beautiful ceremony that lasted about an hour and a half. Her Grandpa Feely and his wife, Celia, flew up for the event (the rest of the family will be flying up in about a month for Scott's retirement on June 19th).
After graduation, we all went to the base gym where we locked ourselves in for the Grad Bash from 10:00pm until 5:00am. Many parents have worked since August to put on this awesome party. We had almost $29,000 worth of gifts to give away including a Chevy Blazer worth $5,000! We have a very generous community here in North Pole and Fairbanks! There was a DJ, losts of food, Vegas Night, Sumo Wrestling, Group Pictures, X-Box, Dance mania, Movies, and lots and lots of gifts! Kaylee came away with a 19" flat screen TV, a computer printer, lots of food coupons and other gifts. Additionally, each senior was given a Nike Duffle bag with about $80 worth of merchandice inside. Each one walked out of that gym Saturday morning with their arms loaded with gifts!
Three parents from our small church had graduating seniors, so we went together and had a church graduation party yesterday at our pastor's house (they live less than 1/4 mile from us on the same loop). I put together a fun treasure hunt utilizing both of our yards, so the kids were going back an forth about five times. It was fun to watch them sitting comfortably in my lawn chair eating delicious food. The weather was perfect - all sunshine and over 70 degrees.
Kaylee, Jonathan, and I are headed down to Anchorage for a few days. We are leaving tomorrow morning. Jackie can't go with us because her last day of school is tomorrow and she has to work the rest of the week. Kaylee is going down to see her friend, Steven, graduate tomorrow night. He's going to drive back with us for a week and fly back home.
Scott got the HR manager job at Home Depot in Fairbanks and will be starting the 2nd week in July. He's excited to have the pressure of finding a job off of him. He finished his last college class on Wednesday and is now a college graduate! We are so proud of him for completing this challenge - he has never cared much for school.
Jackie is doing well working at Safeway. They schedule her a lot of hours. She got her first big paycheck on Friday and was very excited. I am now in the process of teaching her how to live within a budget.
Jonathan is doing well. He loves the sunshine and almost 24-hour daylight. He's looking forward to our trip down to Anchorage. He's been having a blast with our dog, Bo. They actually play together in the back yard. Sometimes he gets in Bo's way when I'm throwing the ball, and he gets knocked down, but he always gets back up smiling.
I'll post a new blog in a few weeks. Have a wonderful summer!!!
After graduation, we all went to the base gym where we locked ourselves in for the Grad Bash from 10:00pm until 5:00am. Many parents have worked since August to put on this awesome party. We had almost $29,000 worth of gifts to give away including a Chevy Blazer worth $5,000! We have a very generous community here in North Pole and Fairbanks! There was a DJ, losts of food, Vegas Night, Sumo Wrestling, Group Pictures, X-Box, Dance mania, Movies, and lots and lots of gifts! Kaylee came away with a 19" flat screen TV, a computer printer, lots of food coupons and other gifts. Additionally, each senior was given a Nike Duffle bag with about $80 worth of merchandice inside. Each one walked out of that gym Saturday morning with their arms loaded with gifts!
Three parents from our small church had graduating seniors, so we went together and had a church graduation party yesterday at our pastor's house (they live less than 1/4 mile from us on the same loop). I put together a fun treasure hunt utilizing both of our yards, so the kids were going back an forth about five times. It was fun to watch them sitting comfortably in my lawn chair eating delicious food. The weather was perfect - all sunshine and over 70 degrees.
Kaylee, Jonathan, and I are headed down to Anchorage for a few days. We are leaving tomorrow morning. Jackie can't go with us because her last day of school is tomorrow and she has to work the rest of the week. Kaylee is going down to see her friend, Steven, graduate tomorrow night. He's going to drive back with us for a week and fly back home.
Scott got the HR manager job at Home Depot in Fairbanks and will be starting the 2nd week in July. He's excited to have the pressure of finding a job off of him. He finished his last college class on Wednesday and is now a college graduate! We are so proud of him for completing this challenge - he has never cared much for school.
Jackie is doing well working at Safeway. They schedule her a lot of hours. She got her first big paycheck on Friday and was very excited. I am now in the process of teaching her how to live within a budget.
Jonathan is doing well. He loves the sunshine and almost 24-hour daylight. He's looking forward to our trip down to Anchorage. He's been having a blast with our dog, Bo. They actually play together in the back yard. Sometimes he gets in Bo's way when I'm throwing the ball, and he gets knocked down, but he always gets back up smiling.
I'll post a new blog in a few weeks. Have a wonderful summer!!!
Friday, May 8, 2009
Senior Prom
Saturday, May 2nd, was Kaylee's senior prom. She got ready at her friend Sara's house, and Kaylee asked me to dress up Jonathan in his suit and bring him over for pictures with her. I got Jonathan all dressed up. He was very excited to see his sister in her prom dress and take pictures.
Sara's parents built their house last year out in the boondocks. The walkway to their front door is not completed yet, and the only way to get into their house is through the garage or walking across their lawn to the front door. Well, Johnnie and I decided to go to the front door. I had never been to their house before and felt weird walking through their garage. When I stepped onto the lawn, my foot sank about 3 inches into mud. I immediately tried to step back while simultaneously turning around to warn Johnnie to stay put. As luck would have it, he had already stepped on the lawn with both feet. Just like a movie in slow-motion, I saw his eyes get really wide, his eyebrows arch up and mouth open wide as he began to fall forward - feet stuck in the mud. I tried to reach out to stop him, but my foot was stuck! There Johnnie went in his beautiful suit.....SPLAT!
Jonathan looked up at me from his hands and knees and started bawling. I started laughing in near hysterics as I pulled him up and told him not to touch anything. I brought him into the garage and checked him out. From the knees down he was caked with mud. His hands and the cuffs of his shirt were the same, but thankfully, his shirt, vest, and tie were OK. Sara's Mom came out with a towel and we were able to get his shoes and and pants off and clean his hands. I washed out his pants in the sink, and Karleen through them in the dryer. We took pictures with Kaylee, but in some of them, Johnnie has no pants on!
Kaylee graduates one week from today. This is actually her last full day of school. She took her national CNA (certified nursing assistant) test yesterday and will find out if she passed in about a week. If she did, she will be working at the hospital this summer.
Jackie got a job at Safeway. I was so proud of her because she went through a very long interview with the HR manager. Jackie has a speech disorder, and it is was terrifying for her to go one-on-one with her interviewer. She did very well and has been working as a courtesy clerk (bagger) for two weeks now. She really likes it.
Scott had a 3-hour interview with Home Depot last week for their HR manager position. He has another interview with the store manager this week. He's still putting out his resume, though, and we should know what job he's going to take in a month or so. Scott is exactly six weeks away from his retirement!
I have an interview on Monday with North Pole Christian School to be a teacher next year. They have 5th/6th grade and 7th/8th grade classes open. The school goes from pre-school to 12th grade. Please pray that I will be able to discern God's will for me in this endeavor.
I think that's about it for now. I'll post some more pictures after graduation. Have a blessed day!
Sara's parents built their house last year out in the boondocks. The walkway to their front door is not completed yet, and the only way to get into their house is through the garage or walking across their lawn to the front door. Well, Johnnie and I decided to go to the front door. I had never been to their house before and felt weird walking through their garage. When I stepped onto the lawn, my foot sank about 3 inches into mud. I immediately tried to step back while simultaneously turning around to warn Johnnie to stay put. As luck would have it, he had already stepped on the lawn with both feet. Just like a movie in slow-motion, I saw his eyes get really wide, his eyebrows arch up and mouth open wide as he began to fall forward - feet stuck in the mud. I tried to reach out to stop him, but my foot was stuck! There Johnnie went in his beautiful suit.....SPLAT!
Jonathan looked up at me from his hands and knees and started bawling. I started laughing in near hysterics as I pulled him up and told him not to touch anything. I brought him into the garage and checked him out. From the knees down he was caked with mud. His hands and the cuffs of his shirt were the same, but thankfully, his shirt, vest, and tie were OK. Sara's Mom came out with a towel and we were able to get his shoes and and pants off and clean his hands. I washed out his pants in the sink, and Karleen through them in the dryer. We took pictures with Kaylee, but in some of them, Johnnie has no pants on!
Kaylee graduates one week from today. This is actually her last full day of school. She took her national CNA (certified nursing assistant) test yesterday and will find out if she passed in about a week. If she did, she will be working at the hospital this summer.
Jackie got a job at Safeway. I was so proud of her because she went through a very long interview with the HR manager. Jackie has a speech disorder, and it is was terrifying for her to go one-on-one with her interviewer. She did very well and has been working as a courtesy clerk (bagger) for two weeks now. She really likes it.
Scott had a 3-hour interview with Home Depot last week for their HR manager position. He has another interview with the store manager this week. He's still putting out his resume, though, and we should know what job he's going to take in a month or so. Scott is exactly six weeks away from his retirement!
I have an interview on Monday with North Pole Christian School to be a teacher next year. They have 5th/6th grade and 7th/8th grade classes open. The school goes from pre-school to 12th grade. Please pray that I will be able to discern God's will for me in this endeavor.
I think that's about it for now. I'll post some more pictures after graduation. Have a blessed day!
Friday, April 17, 2009
ANOTHER ADOPTION!
Hello Loved Ones!
Scott has started to feel the testosterone power in the house since we adopted Johnnie and he likes it! Estrogen has ruled our family these past 18 years, and my hubby has figured out a way to turn it around - we adopted a beautiful 8 to 9 month old male black lab from the animal shelter. His name is Bo, and he is a sweetheart! We brought him home last night, and he took to our family immediately. OK, there is one exception......our cat of ten years, Lucy, wasn't too thrilled. She has never fully recovered from us bringing Johnnie home. Queen Lucy displayed her dominance over the house by immediately puffing up, hissing, and smacking Bo a good one upside his head with her paw. Lucy remains on her throne as both Bo and Jonathan are scared of her!! :)
Bo is almost 50 pounds and has the biggest paws! He loves to be loved and cuddled. While still a puppy at heart, he isn't in size. It is a little awkward when I'm sitting on the floor and he tries to crawl on my lap to lay down. Bo pulled out of his collar this morning as I took him outside, and he actually came back to me when I called him! I thought he was going to bolt for sure.
Kaylee is to the point in her CNA (certified nursing assistant) classes that they are done with most of the bookwork and have started clinicals. She is beginning to work with patients now and really likes it. She looks adorable in her scrubs! She bought a blood pressure cuff and is using her Sunday School class to practice taking blood pressure. I think one young man has lost most of the feeling in his left arm. Kaylee graduates in four weeks from today!!! She is all registered in her college classes for the fall and is looking forward to finding out who her dorm roommate will be.
Scott is looking forward to retirment in June. He's started job hunting. I applied to teach at a local Christian school next year. They have classes ranging from pre-school through 12th grade. They have teaching positions open for the 5th/6th grade and the 7th/8th grade. I'm praying the school will hire me. If not, God will show me where I'm supposed to be.
Jackie is wanting to get a job this summer. There are several summer positions open for high school students around here, she just needs to find one which will suit her. I'm excited to find out what will happen there.
Jonathan continues to grow in every way. We bought him this Leap Frog computer that hooks up to the TV. It teaches him how to use the keyboard and mouse. He loves it and is catching on quickly. He can identify almost all his letters now. It's funny to hear him sing the ABC song - he leaves out the entire middle section of the alphabet! He cracks me up!!
That's about it for now. I'll update with a new blog and pictures after Kaylee's graduation :).
Scott has started to feel the testosterone power in the house since we adopted Johnnie and he likes it! Estrogen has ruled our family these past 18 years, and my hubby has figured out a way to turn it around - we adopted a beautiful 8 to 9 month old male black lab from the animal shelter. His name is Bo, and he is a sweetheart! We brought him home last night, and he took to our family immediately. OK, there is one exception......our cat of ten years, Lucy, wasn't too thrilled. She has never fully recovered from us bringing Johnnie home. Queen Lucy displayed her dominance over the house by immediately puffing up, hissing, and smacking Bo a good one upside his head with her paw. Lucy remains on her throne as both Bo and Jonathan are scared of her!! :)
Bo is almost 50 pounds and has the biggest paws! He loves to be loved and cuddled. While still a puppy at heart, he isn't in size. It is a little awkward when I'm sitting on the floor and he tries to crawl on my lap to lay down. Bo pulled out of his collar this morning as I took him outside, and he actually came back to me when I called him! I thought he was going to bolt for sure.
Kaylee is to the point in her CNA (certified nursing assistant) classes that they are done with most of the bookwork and have started clinicals. She is beginning to work with patients now and really likes it. She looks adorable in her scrubs! She bought a blood pressure cuff and is using her Sunday School class to practice taking blood pressure. I think one young man has lost most of the feeling in his left arm. Kaylee graduates in four weeks from today!!! She is all registered in her college classes for the fall and is looking forward to finding out who her dorm roommate will be.
Scott is looking forward to retirment in June. He's started job hunting. I applied to teach at a local Christian school next year. They have classes ranging from pre-school through 12th grade. They have teaching positions open for the 5th/6th grade and the 7th/8th grade. I'm praying the school will hire me. If not, God will show me where I'm supposed to be.
Jackie is wanting to get a job this summer. There are several summer positions open for high school students around here, she just needs to find one which will suit her. I'm excited to find out what will happen there.
Jonathan continues to grow in every way. We bought him this Leap Frog computer that hooks up to the TV. It teaches him how to use the keyboard and mouse. He loves it and is catching on quickly. He can identify almost all his letters now. It's funny to hear him sing the ABC song - he leaves out the entire middle section of the alphabet! He cracks me up!!
That's about it for now. I'll update with a new blog and pictures after Kaylee's graduation :).
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Waiting for Spring!
OK friends, it may be March 29th, but there is still a ton of snow outside, and it just barely hit above freezing today. "March Madness" means something a little different to us folks who live up here :).
It has been awhile since I last updated our blog, and not much has changed. I do have to brag on both of my daughters for a couple seconds. As many of you know, neither is very academic.....although, if there was a degree in texting, I'm sure Kaylee would have a doctorate by now! However, this past quarter both of the girls earned the best GPAs they have ever had. Kaylee earned a 3.5 and Jackie a 3.66!! Moving Jackie over to North Pole High was a very good decision. She is finally in classes she can keep up with and that she is comfortable in.
I signed Johnnie up for his first set of swimming lessons. Parents of pre-schoolers are allowed to walk out to the pool with their children, but just until the swim coach comes and gathers them. All parents and visitors must then get into the "cage" (bleachers that have an iron gate separating the viewers from the pool). Jonathan's class has six students. They spend their time in the kiddie pool (3 ft in depth), and pretty much learn to be comfortable in the water through a lot of water games. Well, on that first day I had my camera with me. I was taking a lot of pictures, but for some reason, my camera was being rude and wouldn't focus for me, so some of the pics on this blog are a little fuzzy. The coach had all six kiddos line up on the side of the pool and asked each one to jump in (remember, the depth is only 3 feet, but the kids don't understand that). Four of the six had no trouble jumping in - I could tell they'd done it before. Little Jonathan and another little girl standing next to him both politely shook their heads at the coach when it was their turn. You have to imagine, I'm laughing out loud in the stands completely enjoying the scene. I could hear the coach calming coaxing them to take the plunge, and then Johnnie did the funniest thing! He sweetly put his arm around the little girl, with his hand on her back, and tried to shove her in! It's like he was saying, "Ladies first!" She squirmed away from him and took a few steps back from the pool glaring at him while Jonathan smiled at her. By this time, I'm howling and slapping my knee (people started scooting away from me). I just wanted to tell all the young parents (I was, by far, the oldest one there) who were spending more time talking with other parents than watching their little ones that time flies by way too fast. I wanted to tell them that they need to enjoy the funny things their kiddos do in their younger years, but I didn't because no one would make eye contact with me :).
Kaylee is 1/2 way done with her CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) class, and she will be able to take the state test in May. If she passes, she will be able to get a good job at the hospital. Tomorrow we are attending an all day college orientation at University of Fairbanks. She was accepted into their allied health program to take the 34 credits of pre-requisite classes before she applies for nursing school.
Scott is starting to actively look for jobs now. This is an exciting time in our lives. He is finishing up his LAST college class (Business Ethics) and then he is finally done! Scott has been taking college classes part time for about six years now, and I don't think he thought he would ever finish.
The senior parents are getting ready to put on one heck of a Graduation Bash for our kids! Graduation is May 15th, and that evening the seniors will have a lock-in at the base gym all night (from 10 pm to 5 am). We have all sorts of games, food, prizes, music, etc. It's going to be a blast!
I guess that's about it for now. Talk to you soon!!
It has been awhile since I last updated our blog, and not much has changed. I do have to brag on both of my daughters for a couple seconds. As many of you know, neither is very academic.....although, if there was a degree in texting, I'm sure Kaylee would have a doctorate by now! However, this past quarter both of the girls earned the best GPAs they have ever had. Kaylee earned a 3.5 and Jackie a 3.66!! Moving Jackie over to North Pole High was a very good decision. She is finally in classes she can keep up with and that she is comfortable in.
I signed Johnnie up for his first set of swimming lessons. Parents of pre-schoolers are allowed to walk out to the pool with their children, but just until the swim coach comes and gathers them. All parents and visitors must then get into the "cage" (bleachers that have an iron gate separating the viewers from the pool). Jonathan's class has six students. They spend their time in the kiddie pool (3 ft in depth), and pretty much learn to be comfortable in the water through a lot of water games. Well, on that first day I had my camera with me. I was taking a lot of pictures, but for some reason, my camera was being rude and wouldn't focus for me, so some of the pics on this blog are a little fuzzy. The coach had all six kiddos line up on the side of the pool and asked each one to jump in (remember, the depth is only 3 feet, but the kids don't understand that). Four of the six had no trouble jumping in - I could tell they'd done it before. Little Jonathan and another little girl standing next to him both politely shook their heads at the coach when it was their turn. You have to imagine, I'm laughing out loud in the stands completely enjoying the scene. I could hear the coach calming coaxing them to take the plunge, and then Johnnie did the funniest thing! He sweetly put his arm around the little girl, with his hand on her back, and tried to shove her in! It's like he was saying, "Ladies first!" She squirmed away from him and took a few steps back from the pool glaring at him while Jonathan smiled at her. By this time, I'm howling and slapping my knee (people started scooting away from me). I just wanted to tell all the young parents (I was, by far, the oldest one there) who were spending more time talking with other parents than watching their little ones that time flies by way too fast. I wanted to tell them that they need to enjoy the funny things their kiddos do in their younger years, but I didn't because no one would make eye contact with me :).
Kaylee is 1/2 way done with her CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) class, and she will be able to take the state test in May. If she passes, she will be able to get a good job at the hospital. Tomorrow we are attending an all day college orientation at University of Fairbanks. She was accepted into their allied health program to take the 34 credits of pre-requisite classes before she applies for nursing school.
Scott is starting to actively look for jobs now. This is an exciting time in our lives. He is finishing up his LAST college class (Business Ethics) and then he is finally done! Scott has been taking college classes part time for about six years now, and I don't think he thought he would ever finish.
The senior parents are getting ready to put on one heck of a Graduation Bash for our kids! Graduation is May 15th, and that evening the seniors will have a lock-in at the base gym all night (from 10 pm to 5 am). We have all sorts of games, food, prizes, music, etc. It's going to be a blast!
I guess that's about it for now. Talk to you soon!!
Monday, February 16, 2009
BUSY BUSY BUSY!
Wow! It's been a long time since we updated our blog. So much has been going on in our lives! Here are some updates:
Scott is finally in his last semester of college. He will graduate with his BA in management this May and then retire from the Air Force June 19th! We are planning a huge celebration for his retirement and both his parents and mine are flying up to join us. Scott is in the process of building his resume and figuring out what his next career will be.
I (Julie) have been very busy being a Mom to a beautiful and extremely active 3 year old. I've also been heading up Kaylee's GRAD BASH. A bunch of us senior parents have come together and done some fundraising so her senior class of 70 students can have a wild and crazy all-night lock-in at the base gym. Kaylee has applied to the University of Fairbanks and will be leaving home to live in the dorms this September. At least she'll only be about 20 miles away :).
Jackie moved to North Pole High School after Christmas (she was going to a much small high school on the base). She has transitioned very well and has some fantastic teachers. After over 2 1/2 years, she finally got her braces off! She looks beautiful!!
Jonathan is growing like a weed and talking full sentences now. He actually talks almost as much as I do, so you can only imagine how hard it is for anyone else in the family to get a word in :). He still loves to pretend he's flying. He got a toy helicopter that shoots out disks from the front of it for Valentine's Day. He has become quite the marksman. Scott told me last night that he's looking forward to getting himself and Jonathan Nerf guns..........I don't know if I'm quite as excited.
My Grandpa went to Heaven in January, and I was able to fly home to Seattle for the funeral. It was a beautiful service in his Catholic church followed by a military funeral at the Veteran's Cemetery. He was in the Navy during WWII, and they had the Navy honor guard there with the 21 gun salute and everything. It was beautiful.
We have about 8 more weeks of snow on the ground before the long-awaited spring break-up hits. We call it break-up because the ice starts to melt and break up. It's very messy but is a sign that our beautiful Fairbanks summer is on the way. We survived a terrible cold snap at the end of December/beginning of January where we had temps between -40 and -52 for two weeks straight. We had ice build-up on the inside of our doors and windows and even had to use a hairdryer to thaw out the door locks from the inside because they were frozen! That was a long two weeks! Today it's about 3 degrees above 0 and Scott & some buddies went ice fishing for the day.
Stay strong in the Lord, and I will talk to you again soon.
Scott is finally in his last semester of college. He will graduate with his BA in management this May and then retire from the Air Force June 19th! We are planning a huge celebration for his retirement and both his parents and mine are flying up to join us. Scott is in the process of building his resume and figuring out what his next career will be.
I (Julie) have been very busy being a Mom to a beautiful and extremely active 3 year old. I've also been heading up Kaylee's GRAD BASH. A bunch of us senior parents have come together and done some fundraising so her senior class of 70 students can have a wild and crazy all-night lock-in at the base gym. Kaylee has applied to the University of Fairbanks and will be leaving home to live in the dorms this September. At least she'll only be about 20 miles away :).
Jackie moved to North Pole High School after Christmas (she was going to a much small high school on the base). She has transitioned very well and has some fantastic teachers. After over 2 1/2 years, she finally got her braces off! She looks beautiful!!
Jonathan is growing like a weed and talking full sentences now. He actually talks almost as much as I do, so you can only imagine how hard it is for anyone else in the family to get a word in :). He still loves to pretend he's flying. He got a toy helicopter that shoots out disks from the front of it for Valentine's Day. He has become quite the marksman. Scott told me last night that he's looking forward to getting himself and Jonathan Nerf guns..........I don't know if I'm quite as excited.
My Grandpa went to Heaven in January, and I was able to fly home to Seattle for the funeral. It was a beautiful service in his Catholic church followed by a military funeral at the Veteran's Cemetery. He was in the Navy during WWII, and they had the Navy honor guard there with the 21 gun salute and everything. It was beautiful.
We have about 8 more weeks of snow on the ground before the long-awaited spring break-up hits. We call it break-up because the ice starts to melt and break up. It's very messy but is a sign that our beautiful Fairbanks summer is on the way. We survived a terrible cold snap at the end of December/beginning of January where we had temps between -40 and -52 for two weeks straight. We had ice build-up on the inside of our doors and windows and even had to use a hairdryer to thaw out the door locks from the inside because they were frozen! That was a long two weeks! Today it's about 3 degrees above 0 and Scott & some buddies went ice fishing for the day.
Stay strong in the Lord, and I will talk to you again soon.
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