Tender Mercies

Merry Christmas Eve!! 3600 miles so far, and we have yet to make it to our new home. 1500 miles to go. But that's okay because we are spending the holidays with family in Henderson and Mesa. This is a nice break. I've been really surprised at how smooth our road trip of 7 days in the car went. No flat tires. No accidents. Wonderful scenery. Big Skies. Wildlife. I am so grateful for the chance we have had to drive the Alaskan Highway. Below I have written a rough sketch of our journey. British Columbia is truly beautiful. This doesn't even capture it. Tuesday: Departed Fairbanks at 1:45 PM and drove to Beaver Creek, Yukon Territory by about 9 PM (PST). We stayed the night at 1202 Motor Inn. Wednesday: Woke up without an alarm clock at 7 AM and drove 12 hours to Watson Creek, Yukon Territory and stayed at the Big Horn Hotel. I took a lot of cat naps this day, and I soon came to realize how much these cat naps saved my sanity during the week.  Highlights o...

As I sit here in my hotel room in Yukon, Canada, my heart is full of gratitude and peace about the past two and a half years, though I feel like part of my heart has been ripped out and left in Fairbanks, Alaska. It was such a wonderful life, my first home with my husband. A final picture in front of our cabin in Fairbanks as we were driving out. I will miss it dearly. And for the record, it was 9:45 AM at the time the photo was taken. I will miss that too. It was in Fairbanks that I grew up, got to know my husband, improved my relationship with Christ, and learned to truly love the outdoors. I also had opportunities coaching skating that I would not have been able to have if the skating program were larger.  During the good-bye/appreciation dinner the skating club put together this past weekend for my colleague and I, I realized how incredibly lucky I was to have been able to coach SO many amazing skaters and work with great parents. I have to admit that there were times whe...

Hello again! The final countdown has begun until we drive out of Alaska onto our new adventure. I coached at UAF for the last time this morning. It was surreal. One thing I am going to miss about my town is the continual winter wonderland. I'm also going to miss the short winter days, although I know that sounds surprising. There is just something magical about it. It has been very important for me to get out every day during lunch time to get some sun, even if the sun isn't directly overhead. I've heard a study that explained how a rainy day in Seattle provides far more lumens--the amount of visible light given off by an object--than a bright TV studio.  Wow! So, I use this as a reason for me to get out in the winter, no matter how cold it may be. In order to accomplish this, I have chosen to walk to the rink instead of drive. I've counted myself lucky that it has been a warm winter so far, staying above 0 °  F most days, so all it takes is some proper bundling u...

"So do you think you will have as many adventures when you move to Kansas?" asked my friend and colleague at dinner the other night. Hmm. That's a good question! While I know we will be having our own Kansas adventures, I am pretty sure they won't be looking like this: Per our anniversary tradition on Black Friday, we began the morning at the Anchorage LDS Temple for a session and then had a lovely lunch at Sack's Cafe  (seriously a great spot for foodies and families alike!) I have a difficult time sitting all day, so I suggested that we go on an "easy-ish" hike, something we could see great views of the city and surrounding mountains. We chose to hike the popular Flattop Trail , a 3.4 mile round-trip hike with a 1300 feet elevation gain. Doesn't sound too bad for a fun afternoon with your hubby does it? Though I am so glad I completed this hike (which would have been impossible without Marshall), it was the most difficult hike I have ever don...

Happy 3rd Anniversary!! I love celebrating my anniversary. On Monday night I expressed my excitement for tomorrow's celebratory day and Marshall insisted that our real anniversary was on Black Friday. My reply to this was, "Okay, I can spoil you tomorrow and you can spoil me on both days!" We both laughed and he told me I was "adorable." I can live with that. Some of you may know of our anniversary song tradition (you can find the past year's songs by clicking here. ) This year's pick goes to Amos Lee's "Sweet Pea." It's adorable. Just like me, according to my husband :). When I woke up this morning, I was surprised and so happy to see a fresh blanket of snow and the snowflakes still falling. It was a gift from the Heavens! Naturally, I took a video.  Keeping with tradition, I made coconut pumpkin waffles for breakfast, though this year I made them the day before so that they would be ready for a quick grab-n-g...

We finally have an answer as to where we are moving to. You think I am joking? I sure hope not. Two days ago we received confirmation that Marshall was awarded the Green-to-Gold scholarship. *happy dance* Originally denied the scholarship for the Fall 2014 semester, he was given another chance back in August for the Spring 2015 semester and he submitted all his paperwork again for that opportunity. After what seemed like continual back and forth communication between him and the offices in charge of the scholarship, losing paperwork, having to re-submit forms, having to get more doctor's appointments and signatures, and a few tears on my part, the journey is finally won! I can't say it is over because, well, another one has just begun! We are so excited to move to Lawrence, Kansas and attend The University of Kansas and become members of the Jayhawk family. It is hard for me to think that I am going to college again, except for this time I will be the wife instead ...

We are closing in on the final pages of the Alaska chapter of our life.  It has been a marvelous chapter, one that I am sad to be finishing. Yes, I am excited for the next chapter and its adventures, but this one has been so good to us. I can count the number of weeks we have left in my new favorite state on one hand. And yet, there are still enough weeks for some last-minute adventures! Hiking the Mount Healy Overlook Trail was one of them. When my dad came to visit us a couple of weeks ago, we took a drive down to Denali National Park to hike around a bit and show him the fantastic scenery of interior Alaska. We hiked the Mt. Healy Overlook Trail because it was only about 4.5 miles roundtrip but had spectacular views we could enjoy at the top.  It was pretty chilly when we started our hike at 2:30pm, Here I am, sporting my Arctic Winter Games gear! The trail was 2.3 miles uphill, with a 25% grade. It wasn't long until we ditched our overcoats on the side of the tr...

I remember the first time I saw a Bod Pod while touring a potential college during my senior year of high school.  I thought it was so cool that this school had a machine for the Athletic Training students to use to measure and learn about body composition. While I would have loved to have gone to this particular school and learn about and use the Bod Pod, the university I ended up attending and graduating from did not have such luxuries. I never thought I would have my curiosity appeased and actually get to use one until last month when I heard that the Army Wellness Center on post had one.  Naturally, I made an appointment to be tested so that I could have a baseline of what my body fat % is as well as my resting metabolic rate, though I know numbers are not everything.  (If you are interested in this kind of testing and you are in the military, I would highly suggest checking out your wellness center to make an appointment because it is FREE.) It's an egg-spa...

I know I am biased, but I absolutely love this picture After 13 months of waiting, my husband was finally promoted to Sergeant! **Happy Dance** He passed the promotion board in August 2013, but had to wait. and wait. and wait until he earned enough promotion points as well as for the points to drop to a reachable level.  I don't agree with the point system, but since that is the way things work in the lower enlisted side of the Army, I suppose we will just have to play the game until he can switch over the officer side. In terms of pay, he was promoted on October 1, 2014, but he waited an entire week to get pinned, just so that I could do it. I was really surprised he did this because he can't be called Sergeant Adams until he gets pinned. It would have driven me crazy if I were in his position, but I am really touched that he sacrificed so that I could take part in the event. Being in the Army can be silly sometimes. Most of the times.  But, it is the small thing, lik...

It is now safe to say that summer is officially over. The temperatures have cooled down to below freezing at night, there is now less sunlight than night, and we picked up our final share of farm-fresh veggies last week from our CSA farm. What is a CSA you ask? It stands for Community Shared Agrilculture , which is a program where you have a direct relationship with the farmer and where your veggies grow. We payed $365 at the beginning of the season and picked up our fresh veggies every Monday from June through September.  There are a handful of CSA farms in and around Fairbanks, but I am glad we picked Calypso Farm ( click for link ). I had the opportunity to go to the farm a couple of times to help out with farm, talk with the wonderful farmers, Susan, Christie, and the other farm hands, and get my hands dirty! I was able to help out with some thinning of the carrot plants in the early season, and then in August I was able to help with their compost pile. The season official...

For dinner last night, we ate chili. Caribou heart chili to be exact. I have to give thanks to our friend, Grant Petersen, for giving us the heart from the caribou he shot a couple of weeks ago. While many people to not enjoy organ meats, we really do. Other than the fact that they're delicious, it is also probably because I did not grow up on them, and only began incorporating them into our meals a year ago. Did you know organ meats were highly prized by native groups traditionally? I've read that they would eat the organ meats first, saving the muscle meat for the dogs. This was especially true for their warriors and pregnant and lactating women. Organ meats just have a greater nutrient profile than muscle meats. I know I feel SO great after a meal that contains organ meats.  Let's look at the nutrient profile of heart meat: (This is for beef, but caribou is going to be similar, with probably greater values since it is wild game). Heart Nutrients High in zi...

My favorite mode of learning is from other people's examples. On Monday I was reading my little sister's weekly letter from the mission field, and I really liked this part: "My new companion is Sister Kira Barker--and I couldn't be happier! She is always happy and I asked her how she stays so happy all the time, and she says she is just super grateful." Super Grateful. The wheels in my mind began to turn, and I felt like I wanted to put this to the test. Although I have been taught countless times to show gratitude, it is so easy to slip into the "wo is me" attitude. I really have LOVED these past four days because I have been SO much happier and more my true self.  Here are some examples of ways I have changed my thought patterns: "I can't believe Marshall is gone again and this time I do not know when we will see each other again," to "I am so grateful Marshall has a great job that he is good at, and that we are so good at havi...

Earlier this summer I stopped by the farmer's market to pick up a couple of things on my shopping list. While I was there, I ran into an acquaintance and FRG leader of my husband's company. I said hi and we exchanged "how are you," but that was it. You see, I was in a hurry. I didn't think I had the time to talk and grow a friendship. I was subconsciously going through my list of things I needed to accomplish that afternoon and nothing was going to stop me from my goal. Wow. I am really embarrassed to share this story, but it helps to make a point.   I used to be the queen of to-do lists, so much so that if I completed a task that was not on my list, I would write it down just so I could check it off.  But I've now realized that when I had these lists, I would get so caught up in getting everything done, that I would often miss small moments in my day that are really precious. Things like a conversation with a friend you run into at the farmer's m...