Sister Surprise!

So over the weekend of my birthday, my sister Emily came and surprised me along with her husband Joe and my nephew Brannon! It was the BEST surprise ever. Ever. Ever.

As you can see, I was SO surprised and happy and excited! I love my sissy and couldn't believe she was able to make it up to Alaska to visit me! It was such a sweet way to show me she cared about me and to spend time with Tony and I. 

Most of the weekend was spent with my sister and I hanging out with my cutie nephew Brannon and Joe and Tony spent time going fishing and enjoying nature together. They took 3 total fishing trips and caught different kinds of fish each time which they loved.

Emily also helped me set up my classroom and her help really motivated me to keep working in my classroom and create a theme and after she left I was able to finish what we had started.

Emily and Joe and little Brannon came in on a Thursday and so we spent Thursday driving South a bit to show them the ocean and mountains and the beautiful drive down that way. We took some pictures at a pull out spot. On Friday, Tony and Joe went fishing on the Kenai River and Emily and I went shopping for some fabric for the bulletin boards in my classrom :) I also took Emily to this incredible little bakery/ sandwich shop here in town called L'Aroma which is in the New Sagaya Market. New Sagaya is wonderful- they have fresh fish and asian food products. They also have fresh veggies and fresh fruit. The other side of the market is a Kaladi Brothers Coffee Shop (Kaladi's is a really yummy and well known Alaskan brand coffee maker) and the L'Aroma Bakery and Sandwich Shop. On Saturday, we spent some time with the guys and went to breakfast and then to the Anchorage Saturday Market which has lots of local vendors and yummy food. We also made Emily and Joe try a reindeer dog (classic Alaska must-try). Emily and I had a girl's night that night and then Tony and Joe went to fish some more. On Sunday, we went to Seward for my birthday. We went to the Sealife Center which is amazing and walked around the fishing town of Seward. We went to the Brewhouse at night back in Anchorage to get some fresh Alaskan King Crab which is my favorite thing to eat and then went to open presents after :) The last day they were here was Monday and Emily and I spent that day getting my classroom all ready which was awesome! We made fajitas that night before they went back on the plane.

It was an incredible time with Emily and Joe and Brannon. I was SO surprised and SO thankful for the time with my sister. Can't wait for them to come visit again! (We are trying to convince them to come skiing in the winter) Until then, I am so thankful for the gift of their visit.

"Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!" Psalm 133:1

Looking for bulletin board fabrics!

Matchy matchy colors

Final selections

Little Brannons with his sunglasses

Sis time

Love these two SO SO much :)

Brannon loves the fishies!

Aquarium

Exit Glacier

Precious Nephew Time.

Already miss my fam and can't wait to see them again!

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Answers to Prayers

So, these past few weeks have been FULL of the Lord answering prayers for Tony and I. We found out the last week in July that Tony did not get into the Marines as an officer. We have been simply praying for the Lord to answer our prayer and lead us where He would have us to be and so, here is our answer.

That answer came with mixed emotions- for me, I had been so excited to support and come alongside Tony in the military and also was looking forward to the idea of possibly living closer to my family and friends in Texas. The answer that we would not be in the military was to me a shock, surprise, and was disappointing. But, from the start, our hearts were that the Lord would lead us where HE would have us be and where HIS WILL leads. So, I know that the Lord has a plan and a story for Tony and I and I can't wait to see what that is.

Tony and I have been talking about lots of different ideas for Tony- Tony is thinking about applying to be an Alaska State Trooper (which would mean we may move to a different part of Alaska) or to the Coast Guard. It has been a frustrating process for Tony- he started applying to the Marines last November and we did not find out until the last week in July for sure. It has been hard to be in a place of waiting and waiting and waiting, but I know that the Lord teaches us and uses us in HUGE ways as we rely on him more and more for HIS answers and how he leads. Tony's heart is for the Lord and we continue to wait.

It is biblical to wait on the Lord with patience and hope.

"Wait on the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!" Psalm 27:14

I once heard a good description of waiting on the Lord that I have never forgotten. A friend from the Christian Camp (Pine Cove) that I used to work at described the kind of waiting a believer should have to be much like waiting for presents at Christmas time. The Lord is the giver of good gifts, and we should wait with excitement about what is to come. This kind of waiting looks exciting and overflowing with joy and anticipation. This is compared to the kind of impatient, stomp your feet waiting that happens when, for example, you are waiting in the car for your spouse to finish what they are doing inside and come to the car. "Hurry up, you are taking forever!!" is what you are thinking. I don't want to be impatient with the Lord. I am glad for his answers when they come, and look forward to his leading. It has just been a hard year of waiting for us.

Another answer to prayers is starting my teaching job at Grace Christian School here! I can't wait to teach my 7th and 8th graders. I have had so much fun meeting the new teachers, staff and administration at Grace and feel it is SUCH a blessing to work in a Christian environment with other believers who are serving the Lord with me. What a blessing to be able to not only share your faith and pray with children, but to be ENCOURAGED to do so. I always for some reason pictured myself teaching in the public school environment but I feel so blessed that the Lord has led me to teaching at Grace. I will be meeting my students this Wednesday for the first time and I can't wait! I have been working hard on my classroom and will be sure to put up those pictures, along with lots of updates on teaching and how it's going.

Another blessing that has happened over the last few weeks is that my sister Emily and her husband Joe and their baby Brannon (my sweet nephew!) came to visit me!! It was such an incredible time of intentionality, love, and family and I am just so thankful to my sister for that time.

When we found out about the Marines, we decided that a wise financial next move was to look for a house in Anchorage. So, currently, Tony and I are house hunting! It is such a process. We have been at it for almost a month now with some definite ups and downs. We are so excited about finding a house that fits us and are trying to be prayerful, wise, and patient in our decision, waiting on what we know is right.

And so begins another chapter of life for Tony and I. I have said goodbye to working as a social worker at The Office of Children's Services and am now embracing this new season as a Middle School Science Teacher. And for Tony, I will walk alongside him as he embraces contentment in his current job and seeks the Lord for further leading. Alaska is our home for now and we are seeking ministry, community, and Jesus where we are at.

Lord, we lay our lives down to you to shape and mold as you will. It is all for YOUR glory in the first place. May your name be made known and declared boldly as the leader of our lives.

Goodbye, OCS. 

Thank you, Lord, for your leading. 

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Fitness Friday: Weeks 31, 32, and 33

It has been the MOST beautiful summer here in Anchorage. I have been loving the weather! Now that it is August, it is getting more and more rainy but that is okay :)

Fitness Update: Been doing lots of biking on my new bike that Tony bought me for my birthday! This bike is AMAZING. Can't wait to keep up my biking and eventually train for another triathlon. 

Here is a picture of my new bike! :)

The hiking here in Anchorage has been incredible this summer as well. Over these past few weeks, my sister Emily and her husband Joe surprised me! I got to spend some sweet time with my sister. Also, Tony's friend JP Franco came to visit and we did some hiking with him as well.

I am realizing very fast that hiking and biking are two of my favorite ways to exercise and that I want to focus on those forms of working out because they are so enjoyable to me!

To be honest though, the discipline of working out and using Fitness Fridays as a New Year's resolution has been EXTREMELY difficult. It is hard to be disciplined to work out and to focus on that as a priority. 

Tony and I are also thinking about canceling our current gym membership to The Alaska Club and moving to a different, cheaper gym. 

With starting teaching this UPCOMING WEEK (Wow!), I want to really find a workout schedule that I enjoy and that will keep me motivated. This is more difficult than I originally thought! But I know that keeping our bodies healthy is so important and my heart is to really realize that as I work out my body, it is a way to worship the Lord for blessing me with a healthy body and for how he made me. 

Here are some pictures from some hiking I did this summer with my sister in law Holly. We hiked the Reed Lakes trail which is in the area of Hatcher's Pass. It was the MOST BEAUTIFUL hike I have done here in Alaska and I loved it. It was incredible open and there were 2 different lakes you could hike to! My heart for the Lord was stirred by his majesty and his fingertips creating such a beautiful wonder. It was a very rewarding hike as you hike to see one lake, and then another. It was about 10 miles and took us from 11 AM to about 6 PM in total. Incredibly Fun! If you are in Anchorage, you should look up this hike and give it a try. 

Reed Lakes Trail

Our friends Hope and Crissa that I went with!

Holly and I

This was the first lake.

This was the second lake!

Holly getting her feet wet

Our group!

Hope you are enjoying your summer and finding some fun exercise activities to do and get going! I will keep you updated as school starts and I try to get into a routine.

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Fitness Friday: Weeks 29 and 30

Even though it's not Friday, I have a fitness update for you. Been doing some WONDERFUL hiking the past couple weeks. Also went swimming with Tony at the Alaska Club which was nice.

Tony got me a bike for my birthday which I am VERY excited about! It is a "hybrid" bike which is a combination of mountain and street bike so will be very nice to try out.

I have not been doing what I committed to originally which was 4 times a week at this point in the year, so I really want to up my work outs with hikes and bikes this summer while it is still nice.

Especially these next couple weeks that I have off before school starts. Will keep you updated! :) Pin It

Fuller Luiken Vacation Palooza

Our friends Ben and Trisha Fuller came to visit us in Alaska for a week over July 4th. It was a sweet time of catching up with them and having adventures together! They are expecting their first child, Jackson, in October and we are so excited for them.

Tony and I both took the week off of work while they were here which allowed us to have lots of time with them and gave Tony and I a vacation too which was really refreshing.

Our week looked like this: On Monday and Tuesday, we showed them around Anchorage and the Palmer/ Wasilla area (which is about an hour north of Anchorage). During this time, we hiked and walked around an old gold mine. On Tuesday, we went to Girdwood, Alaska (a town about an hour south) where the ski resort is and we went gold panning together. On Wednesday, we drove out to the Kenai Peninsula and went backpacking on the Fuller Lakes Trail. We backpacked up 1.5 miles and camped at the Lakes which was BEAUTIFUL. It was one of the best backpacking trips I've been on. The guys were able to fish at the lakes. We spent the night and on Thursday after backpacking back down we went to the Ptarmigian Campground by Seward and set up our campsite. On Friday, the guys went fishing at the Russian River. On Saturday, we all took a fishing charter out of Seward, Alaska for salmon. It was a blast! I caught 4 salmon which was my best fishing trip ever. On Sunday, we took Ben and Trish to our favorite restaurant in town, The Brewhouse, and then took them to see the Saturday Market which is a little market with shops and food vendors and Alaska specific gifts.

Here are some pics from the "staycation":

This is actually in Hope, Alaska where Tony and I camped the weekend before Ben and Trisha came to visit.

Hope, Alaska

Thunderbird Falls - Our first spot to take Ben and Trish to hike!

Ben and Trish at Independence Mine near Hatcher's Pass- this was an amazing area to hike where an abandoned gold mine is.

A waterfall that comes down through the abandoned mine

Learning and practicing how to pan for gold at Crow Creek Mine

Fly Fishing at Fuller Lakes (where we backpacked to)

Ben and Trisha

Me and Tones

We also took some time to go to the aquarium in Seward, Alaska which is amazing and has sea lions, seals, lots of different kinds of fish, and a viewpoint

Fishing at the Russian River

The Russian River

One of the salmon I caught on the Fishing Charter! We used Seward Fishing Club as a charter and really enjoyed it.

Tony with his salmon

Gotta kiss the fish you catch!

We are absolutely loving this summer! I am looking forward to some time off before school starts in August and can't wait to do some more camping and hiking during the beautiful summer months. 

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