Shawna's Thoughts...Surviving Alaska

Today is my last day of work. After the first day of school, I questioned whether I would make it to this point. By October, I'd figured God had made a mistake, or I had mistakenly thought this was His plan. It was difficult to get up and keep going back, and I agonized over how I was going to be able to sustain until May. By February I knew I wouldn't survive unless I gave up. So I did. I gave up trying to solve problems and just said, "God, whatever you're going to throw my way, I trust you to get me through. Bring it on." Things got better, but then I hit a wall at the beginning of May. I really didn't know how I was going to make it through to this day. I can tell you this, it wasn't by my power, and though my faith was as small as a mustard seed, God was gracious. I made it. I'm still alive and most of my wounds have healed.

I'm looking forward to next year. My office will actually be in the elementary building and that will make a huge difference. I have been asked to become the Lead Teacher in addition to my counseling duties, and even though I don't know exactly what my responsibilities will be, I am looking forward to the challenge. We will have a new administrator next year and I'm really looking forward to working with him. He's a man of integrity, someone who will work toward building positive relationships, cares about others and has great leadership skills. (And did I mention he's my newest nephew?)

For those of you who prayed me through this year, thank you. To my amazing husband who at times had to literally hold me together, thank you for your patience, prayer, love and support.

I’m looking forward to the summer and the visits from family. It will be a balm to my soul.  I’m also ready for some Alaska adventures, which we will continue to share in the Goodwin Gazette-Alaska Edition. Who’s ready to hear about a bear hunt? Stay tuned!

David's thoughts...remodeling

Remodeling Achievements...

My nephew-in-law, Kean, and I started remodeling our Alaska home at the end of May, 2014.  We tore out walls, lots of sheetrock, and totally gutted the kitchen.

We knew from the time we started it was going to be a monumental undertaking. We were able to put in about two weeks time before I was scheduled to fly back home. It all sounded good.  Hey, they remodel homes in an hour on HGTV every day.

The plan was…we would pick up our stuff on Cherokee Rd.  Sign the papers on our house, and be eating steak with Kean and Rylee in Alaska on the 4^th of July.  Then with a couple more weeks worth of work, we would be ready to move into the "new" home well before Shawna had to start work at her  counseling job in Glennallen.

As is well chronicled in Shawna’s earlier posts, the move was much more epic than anticipated, but God was in constant control. Eventually, it worked out and we were breaking into our “new” home late one night in the latter half of July.  I knew from the moment Shawna stepped through the window into our front room, (by the look on her face and the not-so-kind words coming out of her mouth)that I had been looking at the house through rose colored glasses. 

Our earlier thoughts were... get to Alaska, work on the house, and spend a day here and there fishing or gold panning or exploring.  The midnight stop at the house changed everything.  Basically, besides a couple of partial days to clean salmon, I rolled up my sleeves and did not come out for about 2 months.

As we were rolling through September, Kean stopped by after work one evening to check out my progress.  We were out in the yard talking when he said, “You might have a week, you might have a month, but once the snow starts falling you won’t see anything laying in your yard for the next seven months.”  The yard was full of stuff the former tenants left, my stuff, and deconstruction piles.  Coming from Kansas, I hadn’t given any thought to the fact that snow doesn’t melt up here until spring.  Oh Brother!

Yard work…

By the end of September, the snow was falling.  The kitchen and downstairs bathroom were operable. All the 1950’s wiring and plumbing had been replaced and the water tank had been installed in the crawl space. The worst windows had been torn out, boxed in and replaced, and the new wood stove was heating the house.  We were ready to move in. However, summer was over. Shawna and I hadn’t taken the time to have fun.

The next big thing was getting a spare bedroom ready.  My mother-in-law, Janet, was flying up to spend a few days and we needed that room. Sheetrock work, wiring, and paint and the job was done.  I was on to the next project. 

It was finally during this time that I decided to start looking through my boxes and doing a few things to would make life more enjoyable. Plus, I decided to start reading again.  Reading really helped occupy my mind and help me get through some of the loneliness I was experiencing.

Over Thanksgiving, my brother and sister-in-law came up for a few days.  He is not able to be still, so we launched a couple of new projects.  We started remodeling the master bathroom and my man-cave-corner-gun-reloading workspace.  We got a good start, and then I finished up the bathroom and refinishing the walls and floors after he left.

By the end of December, we were ready to fly home and see friends and family.  It was a great trip, but my mind was often on my home in Alaska and tasks that I was ready to have completed.  The trip left little doubt in my mind, we were in the right place.

January was filled with little jobs and babysitting.  Kean and Rylee’s baby sitter got a new job and I had to fill in some gaps here and there to get them through until the birth of their fourth child and maternity leave.

By the end of January, I could no longer avoid the one task I had been putting off for months… refinishing the oak living room floor.  It is just not feasible to rent a big floor sander in Anchorage, so I had to figure out how to do the job with smaller sanders and minimal mess.  I divided the floor into two sections, then moved the furniture to the smaller section.

Next, I built a large plastic tent to contain the dust and started sanding with a nice belt sander my landlord found at a garage sale. The sanding was difficult because the bottom of the belt sander was worn out and it didn’t want to sand evenly. Eventually it bit the dust, and I had to get online and purchase parts. I was able to finish the job with a sander attachment for my hand drill and a small orbital sander, which made the final work much better. 

The finished result of the first part of the floor was so exciting, I immediately launched into the second part.  With the new parts on the sander, I was able to get much more pleasing results in much less time. 

My next job is finishing the second guest bedroom and putting some built-in shelves and counter space in our work areas upstairs. As the weather warms, we will work on the greenhouse room and eventually paint the exterior of the house.

We are excited for visitors in the spring, so we can share our little piece of Alaska.

P.S.  I know many people are wanting to hear about Shawna’s experiences.  However, between work and the college classes she must take for her Alaska teaching certificate, she is very busy.  Until her life slows down, I hope you can enjoy my occasional ramblings.

David's thoughts...

I really enjoyed our trip to Kansas over Christmas.  It was great to spend time with family and friends and on December 27, we officially welcomed our daughter-in-law, Kayla, into the family.  Ethan made a great choice. I just hope she can put up with him.

During the trip to Kansas, I made a few interesting discoveries.

• We have a lot of stuff in storage that is never going to see the great state of Alaska.

 •When you figure in the wind, Kansas is much colder than Kenny Lake, Alaska.  On Sunday in Alaska, we enjoyed an hour of snowshoeing at temperatures in the -20s.  However while working in our storage unit in Burns, blocked from the 20 mph wind, with temperatures 15 to 20 degrees, we were miserable.

•I can send a lot of stuff through the mail for the $3,000 in gas it would take to drive down and get it.

•I was excited to see family again, but after a week in Kansas, Alaska was starting to feel like home.

•”United” should be considered an airline of last resort. Every flight was either canceled or late on the way back.

•Chicago has spent an insane amount of Taxpayer dollars to make their airport fancy….Kansas City needs to find a few dollars to make their airport less of a dump.

When we got back to our home, we discovered the moose had moved in and made themselves at home in our yard.  Moose are so big and fearless that it is now more important than ever to look around the yard before going outside. 

I decided that my new years resolution would be to not let the Alaska cold confine me.  So yesterday, Shawna and I strapped on our new snowshoes and went for a little hike around the house.  It was really fun and a good work out, even though the temperatures were in the -20s.

We are beginning to hear from people who are thinking about coming up this summer.  We are quite excited about the prospect of visitors.  In fact, we remodeled this house to be visitor friendly and still give Shawna and I our own private spaces.  So, give us a call or send us a message and let us know if you are thinking about coming up.

Some Considerations:

•It is best to fly into Anchorage and rent a car there.  An SUV type vehicle is probably best if you want to drive to McCarthy and see the Kennecott mine.

•Before heading out of Anchorage, plan on stopping at a grocery store and getting food that you will enjoy while staying with us. 

•You will likely fly into Anchorage late at night.  Plan on getting a motel room before heading out.  We have discovered that America’s Best Inn is a good place to get a night’s rest at a reasonable price.  It is far from fancy, but it is clean and the beds are comfortable. Plus, it is close to the Airport.

David's thoughts...

Winter Solstice

It is 7:30 a.m. as I sit down to write this.  Looking out the windows in our living room it is still pitch black. I know that I still have at least two hours till the sun comes over the mountains. I find myself looking forward to the 21^st of December like I looked forward to Christmas when I was a kid.  The 21^st is winter solstice in the northern hemisphere.

Solstice in Alaska is the magical date when the minutes of daylight start increasing each day.  I’ve never given it too much thought before, but up here it is a really big deal. 

The Alaska we fell in love with and dream about is green and beautiful, with more hours of daylight than a human can handle. It is a place with trails to hike, rushing rivers and streams full of salmon and mountains too big to describe. That Alaska seems like such a distant memory that I have to remind myself what it was like to keep my spirits strong. The Alaska of winter is mostly black and white.  It is still amazingly beautiful, but in an Ansel Adams sort of way.

 

If my calculations are correct, by the 21^st we will have lost about 40 more minutes of morning light and another 40 minutes of evening light.  That should put direct sunlight times somewhere around 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., give or take.  That doesn’t mean it is completely dark after those times.  There is twilight, the time right before the sun comes up and after it goes behind the mountains.  It doesn’t seem to get “nighttime dark” until 4 to 5 p.m. Since the ground and trees are covered with snow, there is a serious amount of reflected light all night long from the moon and stars. However, when it is cloudy, it is seriously dark for long periods of time each day!

David's thoughts...

Life is full of perspectives.  How you choose to look at things, your opinion, your point of view, all point to whether you see the cup half full or half empty…Here in Alaska a “greenhorn” has to change his perspective mighty quick or that cup won’t be even half full, it will freeze and break. 

As a teacher in Kansas, I got irritated every winter when the kids weren’t allowed to go out to recess because 32* was too cold or when people ignored the real temperature and talked about the “feels like” temperature. Looking back, I can see that people in Kansas, including me, judged the cold by how close the thermometer was to the 32* freezing mark. Any number approaching that freezing mark was COLD.  On those rare occasions when it dipped down to 0*, it seemed too cold to do anything, inside or out.

When I got up this morning, I glanced at the thermometer as I was fixing my pot of coffee. (It is always nice to know whether I need to put a coat on to move Shawna’s car out of the garage. Negative numbers often times earn a coat.)  This morning, the number I was looking at was 21.  I looked closer to make sure that I wasn’t missing the little "-" that has been in front of the numbers lately. Nope! “Heat wave!” I yelled to Shawna.  While she scurried off to find her cooler shoes and decide if her sweater was going to be too warm today, I debated whether I really needed to warm up her car at all.

I guess my point is, that our perspectives are changing as they relate to the cold.  Already this winter, we have seen more subzero temperatures than I have seen in all my 48 years combined and all the Alaskans are telling us to enjoy the mild winter weather.  My view of warm has changed also. To me, if it has that little “-“ in front of the number it is cold and anything above zero is pretty nice.  Temperatures rising above 32* are exciting to think about and toasty warm in my mind.  I have noticed that the moisture in my nose hairs starts to freeze at anything lower than -15 and I prefer mittens instead of gloves at all temps below 0.

I am also realizing that my view is going to probably continue to change about this topic as the temperatures get lower.  Shawna tells me that kids go out to recess until the temps hit -20, maybe lower and the locals were operating as normal on the day the temperature bottomed out at -19.  I find I must continue to remind myself that life up here is built to survive in the cold and God didn’t bring us all the way up here to live in fear of what the weather each day may hold.  I remind myself that God is in control and when I place my focus on him, there is happiness and reassurance that life will be fine. Perspective.

Random November Pics

On the road to Chitina

Copper River, Chitina

Valdez, Alaska-Taken by Teresa

Pippin Lake on my commute home

Shawna's Thoughts-Adjusting

When we first arrived in Alaska, a seasoned resident told us that Alaska is always trying to kill you. I thought he was talking about the animals and elements, but I believe there is an emotional aspect to that as well.

Although we are blessed to have family here, have met some wonderful people, live in a warm house with electricity and running water via a holding tank which David hauls in from the nearby fire station, adjusting to our new life in Alaska has been neither quick nor easy. I’ve kind of got the hang of going to town once in a while (a four hour drive to Anchorage) for the bulk of our shopping. I make lists of what we need, sort them by the store, and map out our route. So far I’ve been able to handle the weather, however I know winter has yet to truly occur. My car is stocked with a warm coat, snow bibs, boots, ice cleats, blanket and I make sure my cell phone is charged so that if I have trouble during the 40 mile commute, I can get help. I’ve got a plethora of wool socks on hand, a great supply of snuggly throws, and the pantry is stocked with food and lots of tea so my evenings at home are warm and cozy.

A difficult aspect of relocating has been moving into an unfinished house, living out of boxes for months and waiting to pull out the few knickknacks, baubles and windows treatments that make a house seem like a home versus a construction zone. David has done an incredible job on the renovations and has put in countless hours getting the most crucial tasks finished before winter. He’s been able to do some cosmetic touches lately and we are both enjoying the results.

 

I knew that there were going to be challenges at my new school. A counselor’s job is all about problems, if there weren’t any, I’d be out of a job. I was hired to do several tasks that typically don’t fall under the “counselor” category, but that’s the way it usually is in a small district and I have the credentials to tackle the jobs the principal needs me to undertake. I was aware of the demographics of the school and knew that I would be helping kids who have challenging home lives. Hang around any school long enough and you’ll also find kiddos who have significant issues with behavior and it’s my job to assist if I can. What I was not prepared for was the adult factor.

The elementary side of the building does not have space for my office so the Jr./Sr. high principal graciously gave me a spot to work in his end of the building. I am grateful for my space, however I am physically not a part of the elementary, which makes it difficult for the staff to get to know and trust me. Communication is hit and miss and mostly occurs via email which can be one-sided thus creating confusion or miscommunication. I’ve learned this the hard way and it can be a lonely lesson.

Learning to live and work in Alaska has presented its challenges, but the greatest challenge has been dealing with extreme homesickness. There are many times I’ve wanted to call and visit with friends and family, but knew if I did, I would cry and not be able to carry on a conversation. The pain of who and what I’ve left behind has almost consumed me at times and it’s been all I can do to breathe and press on.

I know God called us to come to Alaska. We have story after story of how he blessed us and paved the way for our move, and I have no doubt we are meant to be here. That is what I’ve held onto during this painful period of adjustment. My mom gave me a devotional book right before we left Kansas, and every single time I’ve hit the emotional wall I’ve been comforted by the words in that book and God’s word has sustained me. It’s been spooky, but more times than not, the words address specifically what I’m going through. The fact that Gods knows exactly what I need to hear on a specific day is humbling and although I do not know what the future holds for me, one thing I can be assured of is that the one who called me here will always be by my side and I will not be forsaken.

“I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lords’ great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Lamentations 3:19-23