Tender Mercies

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...