Long Enough

You would think that in over a month one of us would have found the time to make at least a quick post. I'm sure there was some down time in there, but honestly since we have been back from Minnesota we have been on the go 100%.

Our first week back was spent readjusting to the time difference. I felt that it was much harder this time than when we came in the summer, but that could be because we are on a more strict schedule than we were in August or that I am pregnant. Probably a combo of the two. Our first week back I was asleep and out for the entire night at 7:30 pm. Makes it really difficult to get things done at night!

We are still tutoring every Monday-Wednesday after school. It's hard being at school for another hour each of those days but the kids really do get a lot out of it. For many of the kids there, the snack they get at tutoring will be the last food they get until lunch the next day. It's also a quiet place for them to get work done and to turn it in so it doesn't get lost between home and school.

Last weekend we had a birthday party for our friends Loren and Tara. Their birthdays are only two days apart and it was nice to have an excuse to have people over. We had soup, homemade blueberry spice cake, upside down pumpkin pie, salad and bread. As hard as it was to leave Minnesota at Christmas time, it will be hard to leave Nome whenever we choose to as we have made so many wonderful friends. The people that we have met have truly been the highlight of this adventure.

Last Sunday Andrew and about 8 other people went out to make a hole in the ice to drop a crab pot down. It took them 3 hours to make the hole in the ocean and they said it got to the point that they couldn't hold the auger anymore as the ice was too thick (3 feet). Everyone came back with smiles and they seemed to have a good time. Thursday night Caleb and James (friends of ours) were able to pull up a crab and it was AMAZING! Tasting fresh Alaskan King Crab just minutes after it was caught would be well worth the trip for anyone. It was so sweet and wonderful that you didn't even need butter. I'm hoping they are able to get some more this weekend!

This week we were all busy with Rachel's Challenge coming to Nome Beltz. Rachel's Challenge is a program that was started by Darrell Scott the father of the first person killed at Columbine High School (Rachel). 6 weeks before she died she had written a paper in school about her ethics and how if one person went out of their way to show kindness to another, it would start a chair reaction of kindness. It was a very powerful presentation on what hatred can do and what kindness can do. Many of the students were crying.

Andrew went to Anchorage on Wednesday evening with three other teachers for a conference on Smartboards. Anchorage has been having a warm spell (much like the entire state so there is hope for you down in the Midwest) and has had flooding in the streets from all the rain. Mix that with 80 mph winds and you've got a mess. School was cancelled Wednesday-Friday for all Anchorage schools. Their conference was cancelled on Thursday so he with all the other teachers had a free day to go shopping, out to eat and general relaxation. They were able to get in on Friday and were able to learn quite a bit but will have to go back in February to finish off the training. I will pick him up from the airport today at 1 pm, assuming the weather cooperates and that we don't get any more rain like we had last night.

This weekend we will spend trying to get ready for the coming week. We had something going on every night this past week and have neglected a few housekeeping things (dishes, general pick up etc.). We also were able to get a dresser and bedside table from the district office. They had some extras sitting around and they offered it to us to use in the baby's room which is wonderful. I hope you guys all have a wonderful weekend and that it will start to finally warm up for you guys. I do have to tell you though that Alaskans are laughing at the national news coverage of the cold weather down in the lower 48. They think you guys are a little weak :)