This Week

Loving the new pens I got from my friend Kori!  They write like a dream, and come in every color a girl could dream of.  Best mail I got all week!

Reading How To Be a Woman.  I am cracking up and underlining like crazy.  I finished If I Stay, and I'm sorry, but I hated it. I didn't super love the book, and I thought the ending sucked!

Looking forward to our new bible study by Ann Voskamp.  It's about 1000 Gifts which I read a year and a half ago and constantly refer to.  So excited to fill my soul with inspiration.

Wishing that we had cheese.  We are on week two of no cheese, and it's getting a little hard to be creative in the meal department.  Meatloaf? Check.  Sloppy Joe's? Check.  Golden Mushroom Soup Patties? Check.  And for lunch? PB & J everyday.  We'll be so happy (like, jumping up & down, throwing the good confetti excited) when the cheese Uncle Samuel bought us arrives!

Craving more of the awesome creamer people sent me in their care packages.  I drank through it all and am waiting for more from Amazon. (#becauseihaveaproblem)  In the meantime I am drinking Hazelnut, but only because I'm desperate!  (I prefer vanilla caramel).  I know, #firstworldproblems.  What can I say? I'm a mom, I don't sleep a lot, and a warm cup of coffee makes me a much kinder homeschooler/human being.

Nailing my goals for April!  Not swearing, blogging everyday and working out five days a week! I am killing it! Woot Woot!

Thankful that Jack traded beds with Logan, so he no longer fears mummies under his bed.  That kid and his anxiety can wear me out emotionally.  He's so similar to me, it's eery.  And I am often at a loss as to how to guide him through it.  So Jack's big heart gave me a free pass this week.

Enjoying the apple muffins I made with Wyatt earlier this week.  I took the apple cake recipe my mom gave me, and mixed it with the streusel recipe I found in my Betty Crocker cookbook and made muffins instead of cake with caramel frosting.  The kids like them, and I love them!

Laughing at the boys wanting to snuggle together in Wyatt's bed.  We barely fit, but they loved every second of it!

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PS- I will be compiling a post about life in rural Alaska soon, and would love to answer any questions you may have about rural living, homeschooling or our family in particular. As you know, I'm an open book, so please ask away!

Care Packages

We have been so blessed by care packages the last few weeks! Holy moly!

From Susan, Mandy & Deena we got an amazing package with something special for everyone.  There was beef jerky, a book for me, cars and Wyatt's *favorite* new bath toy, a boat from Ikea. He adores that thing.

From Karen we got this awesome box of goodies.  Hilarious fake teeth, yummy breakfast cereal and lots of snacks.  Snacks are one of the things we go through fastest around here, so I am always grateful for extra goldfish, teddy grahams and granola bars!

{We got a second box also from Karen that I haven't photographed.  I lost our Easter box in the mail, (sad face!) so our boys were going to have nothing but the Easter eggs their aunt sent, until I got Karen's most recent package.  She didn't know it, but she was this years' Easter miracle (and Easter bunny!) and I am SO grateful! She sent a super fun Thomas the Train game, HUGE Monsters Inc color books and a myriad of other things that delighted our boys on Easter morning.  I believe God had a hand in the timing of her package!}

From Josh's sister Julie we got delicious treats for me to make (coffee cake, muffins, Red Lobster biscuits) & easter eggs that looked like Ninja Turtles.  She does so spoil us!

From my parents we got raisin bread, creamer, granola bars & much more.  We wished they were able to visit, but when it didn't work out, their gift luggage made it anyway, and that was awesome.  The boys loved talking to my mom as they sorted through everything.

From my sweet text-pal Erika we got mustaches (hilarious!) a book by Kate Gosselin (I love her!) cozy socks, whoopie cushions and a ton of yummy food, plus coffee creamer!  Oh, and since she's from Wisconsin... she always sends cheese-- we love that!

From the Peterson's we got pudding, Nutella, cereal (the boys are DYING to open the Trix) and two boxes of creamer.  Yum!!!

I am so grateful for the care packages we receive.  They are a highlight on our ordinary days and make feeding my family and entertaining my boys so much easier.

Thank you to all of you who have thought of us and put all that effort into a box-of-love for our family.  Thank you for taking the time (& money) out of your lives to support us on this crazy adventure we call life.

xoxo

Our Weekend

I started the weekend off by trying a Pinterest recipe.  My bestie sent me a box of devil's food cake mix, a can of pumpkin & pumpkin flavored Hershey kisses.  So I gathered those up and attempted my first Pinterest dessert.

They were disgusting.  

Those pumpkin kisses are like a nutmeg bomb, and the "cookie" part was equal parts undercooked and overcooked.  I know that doesn't make sense, but trust me. They were.  And it was awful.

Luckily things turned around in the cooking department when Josh took over and made us pizza for date night.  We enjoyed our delicious dinner while watching M. Night Shyamalan's The Village.  Super good, scary movie.  I love that one. And I'm not normally one for scary movies.

 Saturday we had Saturday Social at the school and the boys had a great time.  When we got home Josh went to the post office and brought back the best care package.

 A new friend of mine (Hi Angie!) whom I met via another blog, sent me the iron I needed to combat the dizziness I have been dealing with for the last two and a half weeks.  My doctor thinks that excessive loss of blood during my D&C may be responsible, and iron should rectify that.  (Along with rest, which is unfortunately even harder to come by around here.)

Angie herself used to live in Bethel, and now lives near Anchorage. So when she reached out, offering to help me if ever the need arose, I was beyond touched.  I knew that she got it.  Having lived in the bush before, she understands my struggle.

Herself being a mama to little boys, she also understands the joy of unexpected goodies.

 And her box was chalk FULL of unexpected goodies.  Coloring books, crayons, stickers, candy, snacks, full size candy bars (...I may or may not have had two of those today!) plus crafts for the kids and, much to their delight, a little Lego set for each brother.  They were entertained all afternoon on Saturday by those sweet little Lego creations!

And for the mama? Angie sent this beautiful set of journals by Katie Daisy (whom I love!) and a set of brand new pens.  We've decided that we are twin spirits, and I am so grateful the universe arranged for us to connect!

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Also on Saturday we cleaned & reorganized the playroom.

When I woke up this morning I was even more pleased with the new arrangement.  My desk now looks out the window, and this view...

Well, it's quite lovely.

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This week I am going to start addressing my Christmas cards (eek!) and I'm excited.  We will have school as usual, plus a few extra Thanksgiving crafts.  Tuesday is my birthday (Hello, 32!) and the boys are anxious to decorate the house and make me a chocolate cake.

I am mostly hopeful to start feeling better (and not so dizzy) and to allow myself the chance to rest as needed.  In addition to the the iron making me feel better, I've also upped my vitamin D per doctor's orders, which will help with the darkness that is spreading across Alaska. 

I will close with some inspiring words for the week...

"One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle 

will strike you as the most beautiful."

-Sigmund Freud

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Care Package!

 Friday we received a care package from my dear friends Kari & Kori's mom, Kymberlee.  

It was a box full of joy for my boys!

 Glitter crayons 

(and two other boxes of Crayola joy)

 Twistable colored pencils

 An awesome Human Anatomy floor puzzle

 And three packages of Sands Alive easily molding sand for the boys.  It was a huge hit!

And for the mama? Four bath bombs that smell amazing!

Thank you, Kymberlee for spoiling us.  

You brightened our whole weekend!

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First Care Package of the 2014-2015 School Year

{Forever Sunshine lotion & body wash :: a picture of Julie & I reunited circa 2013}

 Josh's sister Julie is my bestest good friend, and the best aunt on the face of the planet.  Yesterday we received our first care package, which was from her, and it put the BIGGEST smile on my face!  (And maybe, just maybe, a tear in my eye...)

 She sent Matchbox cars for the boys-- with a Police car just for this little guy... He loves it!

(Since arriving in Marshall, he's been wearing his glasses each day.  It's going really well!)

 She also sent Rio 2 for movie night (which is tonight!) and some special character Macaroni & Cheese.

 For the house she sent these seasonal decorations that I plan to use in the arctic entry.  

Aren't they adorable?!?

And in addition to Rice Krispy treats, she sent Take 5 bars (yum!), York Peppermint Patties (Logan's favorite) and Red Vines (my favorite).  

{Photo of a happy mom taken by Wyatt}

She for sure spoiled us and even texted yesterday that there's more on the way.  

Man I love that girl.

I feel so blessed to be loved by her.

Care Package

 Erika and her kids sent us another amazing care package two weeks ago,

and it saved me the following Tuesday.

We normally have lasagna for dinner Tuesday while Josh is in class.

But we ran out, and our Span order hadn't come yet.

So when we received Erika's package with Goldfish mac & cheese inside, 

we opted for a mac & cheese dinner Tuesday night.

 They also sent us some movies,

and that same Tuesday night we watched A Turtle's Tale.

It was a big hit!

I loved it because the girl turtle's name is Shelly, like me!

Wyatt was mostly excited about these spring marshmallows.

Here is asking if he can have some! 

A few days later the boys and I made pizza with the supplies she sent. They LOVED helping make their pizzas and have really enjoyed everything else in the box, too.

Thank you so much, Erika, for the amazing care packages you've sent.

We love opening them so much!!!