little boys, and our last week

I am a melting pot of emotions tonight.  I am excited, sad, scared, anxious and joyful.

This post will, therefore, be a bit all over the map.

I am finding myself proud for completing our second year in rural Alaska.

And I am sad for the close of another year, the loss of more staff, the goodbyes...

I am looking forward to being done cleaning & packing.  I am looking forward to getting on that plane Saturday morning, and arriving in civilization that afternoon. I am excited for the twins' birthday party once we hit Washington, as well as our Branstetter family get together at Lewisville that same weekend.  I am excited to see the house we're staying in, and to go to the beach; excited to drive and grocery shop; eat at a restaurant and buy bread; excited to run out of something and "run to the store", and also to hit up the local craft store.  Oh, and I'm excited to go to the movies. Oh, man have I missed the movies!

Meanwhile, I have been enjoying my last fews days here with my boys.

This afternoon I gave myself a pedicure in our mop bucket.  The twins wanted to know what I was doing, so once I was done, I let them each have a turn.  They loved it!  I guess it's okay that I didn't have a daughter after all!

After I soaked my feet, I was taking off my old nail polish and trimming the nails, and the boys were hilarious playing with the cuticle push back tool and the clippers like they were weapons.

We were watching Big Miracle, which you have to watch, and Jack goes, "I wish we could go to a restaurant!"  I told him soon. Very soon!

(You have to watch Big Miracle because it takes place in Barrow, Alaska. It's the northernmost point of America.  So much of what the village life is like in Marshall, what the natives are like as a people, and what our village looks like are portrayed in that movie.  I loved it!)

 In addition to soaking our feet and watching good movies, we've picked up bike riding again.  The snow is (mostly) gone and that means we've taken to riding at the school.  The last few days I have been working to teach them how to start on their own.  Jack mastered it the first day, getting the pedals just right and going gung-ho as fast as he can to go.  

Logan was taking a little longer to get it. About the twelfth time he fell yesterday, he looked at me, laying on the ground in a pile with his bike and said resignedly, "I don't think this is my thing."

I just cracked up and encouraged him to keep trying.  He has since gotten it down, and is so proud of himself.  But his grown up verbiage about it "not being his thing" just cracked me up!

(my front door is the one on the left)

Focusing on enjoying my last few days here with the kids, has me feeling sad to leave. This is my home.  All my belongings are here, and this house is now chock full of memories for us.  Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to head home for the summer, but I also think I'll be ready to head back in the fall.

My Mother's Day was really good. I got to sleep in, play with the kids, and clean house.  I told my sister-in-law that I am pretty sure cleaning house is against rules of Mother's Day, but I was excited to get it done so that I can try to enjoy the last week here in Marshall.  She said as long as I wanted to be cleaning, I could get away with it.

When I woke up and came downstairs, Logan climbed into my lap and told me he had missed me. (I went to girls night Saturday, so Josh had put them to bed himself.) I said, "When did you miss me?" and he told me that he was sad because he didn't hug me.  It melted my very heart.

Tonight was the final Potlatch of the school year.  We gathered with the other staff & members of the community to celebrate everything the teachers put into their jobs.  It was fun showing Wyatt off, asking him to spell his name, where he's from, how old he is, having him count to twenty (which he does perfectly now!), and demonstrate his letter recognition.  Everyone is amazed at his abilities and impressed that he's only 22 months old.  Sharing him (and the twins) with people is one thing I do miss about living closer to my friends and family, so that was really fun tonight.

 This week I have committed to waking up before the kids.  I write in my journal and  I look out the window at the sun, already rising when I wake up at 6am, and enjoy the peace, the solitude.  I hope it makes for a calm, controlled week for me.

I am still reading The Dive off Clausen's Pier by Ann Packer.  The first half was slow, and I almost gave it up. Then I hit Part Two and it picked up.  Now I am in the last bit, and I cannot put it down! It's a HUGE book, so I am hoping to finish before I go just so I don't have to travel with it!

 Tonight after the twins had said their prayers, Wyatt wanted to pray.  So I said, "Dear God" and he copied me. Then I said, "Thank you for..." and he filled in the blanks.  When he was done, he said, "Amen" all on his own.

This was his prayer:

Dear God,

 Thank you for cookies.

Thank you for outside.

                                     Thank you for David. {His "No David" book}

Thank you for potluck.

Amen

"If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough."

-Meister Eckart