Anchorage Museum

 My first day in Anchorage was beautiful. The flight in was breath taking. Seeing all those snow capped mountains and untouched land spread as far as the eye could see was inspiring. It really made me think about how small I am on a global scale. (It sounds cliche, I know... but it's true!)

 How could a sight like this not make you think of God & life being bigger than you?

I am in love with this beautiful building.  This is the Anchorage Museum, and it's the most sparkly building I think I have ever seen.

Not only is the outside of the museum beautiful, the inside boasts all kinds of artistic renderings of the great state of Alaska. Here the Northern Lights.

 And here a snowy sunset.

 I am sucker for clouds, and this one really took my breath away. It was huge!

 More Northern Lights.

 An artsy shot of a glacier.

 City Lights... Soon I won't see those!

 Josh had fun in the hands-on part of the museum, and watching him tinker with all the machines reminded me of his dad. 

 We both tried to get this to make bubbles all the way around us, but it kept popping!

 We slowly meandered the museum, taking in the sights, and holding each others hands.

 I  just kept looking at Josh. He was so familiar, yet his weight loss & super long hair were all new to me. We talked and talked. We talked about the boys, his students, the housing, the weather, our families. It was so nice to talk to him, laugh with him, be with him again after ten weeks apart.

He told me the thing he missed most about being in a city is the convenience.  The ease of running to the store, or grabbing a bite to eat. But the absence of such conveniences is also what he attributes his weight loss to. No fast food, no soda.

What he misses most about us is rough housing with the boys, holding Wyatt and kissing me... So sweet!

What I miss most about him is his hugs, and having him step in when I'm losing it with the boys. It was good for us to be together to remember all the wonderful things we love about each other.

I feel so lucky that we got four days to experience life as a family of three. When the twins were born we went from a couple to a family of four in one fell swoop!  So getting the chance to enjoy our littlest blessing alone was awesome.  Going out to eat with him sleeping in his car seat, shopping & touring the museum with him in the Ergo, and laying in bed, watching TV with him asleep in one of our arms was so precious.

The best part about being with Josh was just the everyday things we did. Those are the things I miss. Those are the things that make me cry when I'm at home. Thursday night we watched The Office, and that brought me more joy than you could know. I hate watching it by myself because it was "our show." We also watched lots of shows like NCIS and Law & Order, which I can't watch by myself cause I get scared.

We shopped for some things for our Marshall house at Walmart and I so enjoyed walking the aisles, hand in hand, discussing towel colors & prices, like we were back home.  It was also nice to brush our teeth side by side and have his side of the bed occupied.  I just felt complete again. It was a great feeling.

It was fun to get a taste of Alaska, enjoy my husband and have a break from the monotony of caring for our three kids by myself.  I am now on the countdown to when I get to hug him again, and for those counting, it's 64 days! (I even put a ticker at the bottom of the blog, so you can check in to see how close we are!)

After he gets here, we will celebrate the holidays & squeeze in as much family time as possible.  Then on January 8th our real adventure begins as we will load our three kiddos & all our earthly possessions onto a plane headed (eventually) for Marshall, Alaska with a small layover in Anchorage. It's really happening, and it's so exciting!

Stay tuned!