Its November...

Hi Folks

It has been a while since I have had a moment to write.
Grabbing life by the horns...if ya know what I mean!

Hannah is doing very well at school. The first three days were ROUGH for me and her. The first day she had the confidence that "I got this mom". Marissa and baby Lexi were also with us on this day. So plenty of smiles and excitement to go around.
The second day not so good. Marissa took us to school and stayed in the truck with the baby.
I walked Hannah inside the classroom and I could see the fear in her eyes. Lots of comotion from the other children hanging up thier coats and backpacks. Hannah asked if I could walk her to her seat. She clinged on to me like never before. She was crying and saying "I wanna go back home to Indiana - back home to Kiddie Kollege." I said Hannah I will stay for the pledge of alligiance and then I have to go. The other children at her table we so nice to her. They said "Hannah we were new students too. It is ok, you will get used to it" I was leaving and heading towards the door and she came a running after me. Then grabbed a hold of my leg with all her might. Her teacher came over and picked her up. I could hear her down the hallway and sobbing "Mommy don't go" It was a brutal day.
Kiddie Kollege was a school that was 99% female teachers and staff. Her new teacher is MR. Raines.
It has taking a while for her to warm up to him. I think this will a good change.
Here we are 2 1/2 weeks later and she is all good with school.
We depart from each other and give loves in the hallway instead of the classroom.
The school had a Halloween Costume Ball. She had a great time. Saun and I had big smiles to see her run and play with the girlfriends. She is growing up so quickly. She made her way to the DJ speakers and danced all night.

Saun is busy at work. He accepted a postion as Warranty Specialist/Punch Out. He is working for a family owned business like he did in Indiana. He first week he was framing homes. He had not framed in years. It was definatly a "Icy Hot" week for his legs and lower back...lol. The past two weeks he has been doing punch out work. This is final touchup/install work before the owners tour thier new home. The company has provided him with a work van, so that means that mama has wheels again....yes!!! Love driving the truck.

As for me, I am doing ok. My day consist of getting Hannah to and from school. Finding coffee shops with free wi-fi. Touring mom and pop stores around the area. Appts with mortage loan officers. My daily attire is jeans, hoodies, and tennis shoes. I am diggin not wearing dress clothes and heels. I do plan to look for a job maybe after the new year if not sooner. With Hannah's Thanksgiving breaks and Christmas breaks coming up is does not make sense for us to expense child care at this point.
Marissa is a stay at home mother as well and could help with Nah, but she will be traveling back home to MN for the holidays. So jealous! When I see holiday items at the store or on tv ads it already gets me teary. I am not going to lie I miss home already.
Indiana is all I have ever known for 33 years. It is a weird feeling to know the only immediate way out of this state is by plane. Going from a land locked state to seclusion is going to take some time for adjustment.
I will take one day at a time and embrace all that has been given to us and our future here.
Thank you to my great friend Shannon for lending her ear and daily scriptures. We all know she and her husband inspired me to make such a huge leap of faith.

Fun times...
So we plan an adventure to Knik Glacier. A group of us on 6x6, 4x4, and Razors.
All of our winter gear is still packed in the trailer. Poor packing skills on our behalf, cause we have no clue where or what box they are in. We venture to Anchorage to the Army/Navy store. It is expensive to gear up, but it is a must to have the right clothing to keep you warm here.
Aunt Mona came over to the house to watch the girls for the day and Uncle Joe came with the crew for a ride.
We get started on our 2hr ride to the glacier. The sceanery is amazing. We travel through woods and then we hit the open flats. Holy Burrr!!! I was all good except I did not have a face mask. It felt like needle pokes all across my face. The sun was beating in on our faces as well. So we had some warmth. I toughed it out and eventually my face went numb for a little bit. I am totally diggin the Razor and off roading in it. One of Marissa's girlfriends was driving. I would ride with her any day. Saun was on a 4x4. He was in heaven. Really, I have not seen him this happy in a while. Just him and his thoughts on the open road to no where. He did get stuck a few times in the iced over areas, but muscled it out.
So tra-lah-lah we are following eachother through the woods and Travis goes across an ice patch and slides into a frozen fallen tree stump. This broke the axle arm on the front of his 6x6. Bummer Dude! We all shut down our rigs, got out snacks and made a campfire. We all knew this was going to be a while to fix. Travis was Johnny on the Spot! Funny to see him in action so quickly, but up here it is all about who you know. He called the ATV shop and they did not have the parts needed plus it was Sunday. He then called a buddy who has the same 6x6 and had him wrench off the parts needed. Next he coordinated the meeting between buddy with the parts and his buddy that is a pilot. About 1hr 30min we have the parts! Awesome!!! We continued our journey to the glacier. What a breath taking view!
The sun went down behind the mountian and you could instantly feel the change in temp. I froze my butt off on the trip back to the vehicles. My hand warmers inside my gloves were already dead. Again I got throught the numb feeling in the hands and feet. I better cowgirl up...it is going to be a long winter.

Travis departed for the east coast last week to help in the recovery from Sandy. He is an electrical lineman here in AK. Very proud of his courage and wishing him safe travels back home. Poor Saun he is the only man in the hen house, even the dog is female...lol.

My cat Woody is doing a little better. He was at the vet for about 2wks with kidney failure. My last day at Calumet Saun sent a bouquet of Roses and Easter Lillies to me. There is a posibility that Woody had nibbled on the Lillies which is very toxic for felines.
He is now back home with my parents. They are trying to fatten him up and keep him hydrated. I miss him too!!! I miss his purr and snugling while watching Parenthood.

This week we hope to get some final answers on a home we have our eye on. We have driven by close to 30 homes and we have one that has met our fancy. The market up here is totally different. It is really hard to find homes with land for a child to run and play. On top of that you will find a great looking house and then drive to it...the location may be too far and the neighbors have so much junk in thier yards that you will need a tetanus shot. Then you will find a beautiful home and location, but out of our price range.
Again patience is the key. This is is all we have done for the past six months...being patient and grateful for what we have received.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we are very eager to get this party started!!!