Skagway!

Second stop: Skagway

Adrian and I have each spent 5 summers in Skagway.  I was there summer of '98, and he was there summer of 2000.  Then we were both there that fateful summer of 2001 when we met one another and, well, our love began to bud in Skagway.  We both landed year round jobs, decided to get married, and began our life together in Skagway.  In October 2004 our career choices took us elsewhere, but it's no wonder we were excited to return to our "old home" 8.5 years later.  

(And we couldn't have possibly imagined we would be returning with 5 children!)

  

boarding the Malaspina
~a very familiar sight~
it is about a 6 hour sailing from Juneau to Skagway
Because there is no road connecting the two cities, the other option is a 1 hour flight in a bush plane.

We passed the Matanuska and a lighthouse at the same time!

breakfast on the ferry!

Enroute, you can see mountains, islands and glaciers galore!

a sea otter greeted us at the Skagway ferry terminal
(as well as Aunt Patricia, Uncle Charles, and Elda!)

Tessa on my favorite hiking trail of all time

many many kid-less memories on this trail...
now here they are enjoying it along with us!

We got to go on a round trip on the famous White Pass & Yukon Route Railway

While Orion slept...

the other children made new friends

White Pass Summit
I would have been disappointed at the view
if we had paid full price for train tickets....
Thank You White Pass
for treating a past employee!!

a very special agate!

oops, this is actually a Juneau photo.  Cuties in the sun!

Tessa's Birthday Bash in a beautiful castle on the hill!

Aunt Jauna baked an amazing strawberry cake
at Tessa's request!

love Tessa's expressions
~opening gifts with Aubrey G~

Thank you Jaci!

And then came the gift of all gifts... 
Tessa had mentioned that all she really wanted for her birthday was to ride a horse...
Aunt Jauna caught wind of that wish, and made it come true!

grooming Sonny

such a good, patient boy with all the kids!

D&B came over from Haines to visit us,
so all got to join in on the horse treat!

A Birthday Girl and a horse...
what could be better?!

And of course everyone got a turn to ride Sonny!

and Orion got to say hi...

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Aunt Jauna (and Orijan) also treated us to a carraige ride!

(Adrian stayed with our Orion while he napped)

homework on the return ferry

I was blown away by how much I've missed Skagway!

With the population only 800 in the winter, it was a community where you knew most everybody.

Visiting 8 years later, I could still pick out locals amid the crowds.

I knew who lived (or used to live) in the houses.

I discovered much of what was the same, and what was different in town.

At one point, I heard a train give its road crossing signal.  I thought to myself, "that sounds like the engineer ___ ____".  When the train passed, I peeked into the engine, and sure enough, operating the engine was the engineer I had imagined.  Working for the railroad for 3 years I knew the engineers, conductors and brakemen so well, I could even tell their crossing signals apart. When we departed on the ferry, we talked to the employees like they were old friends.  Word had traveled very quickly that we were in town.  We didn't have near enough time to go everywhere and do everything in this little town, only 5 blocks wide, 16 blocks long.

So, time to plan the next visit!  :)

Anchorage!

Finally, we flew to Anchorage to visit Uncle Dennis, Aunt Susana and their 4 handsome boys!  We had some splendid times with all of them, and Aunt Patricia tagged along for some of the time as well!

our welcome to Anchorage:
vast, largely unexplored, beautiful Alaska

ice cream after a day at the Alaska Zoo!
(with 11 kids 13 and younger)

Tessa & Jonny were fast friends!

A Day at Eklutna Lake!

snacking before playing begins

Cub insisted he wanted to sit in the icy cold stream
(for a few seconds anyway)

kayaking with my honey

peaceful, quiet, calm, still

One kid is done with mud...

...the others are just beginning!

up to their eyebrows and under their fingernails...

mud, mud, mud!

Another gorgeous lake, still melting off

Alexander is a natural

Tessa got another birthday celebration!
Gracias Tia Susana!

We did see a wild moose grazing next to the road,
but this bull was at the
Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

Hand feeding Mr. Moose

We were glad this big guy was behind  a tall / electric fence
Estimated weight: 1200 pounds

Farewell Picnic near Flat Top

Happy Mother's Day

I Corinthians 13 for the Homeschooling Mom

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and teach my children Latin conjugations, Chinese and Portuguese, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal, and no matter what I say, they will not hear me.

If I have the gift of prophecy, and know my children’s bents and God’s plan for their lives, and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and am the keeper of the teacher’s editions and solutions manuals, and if I have all faith, so as to move mountains, and even keep up with my giant piles of laundry and dishes, but do not have love, I am nothing, even if all the people at church think I’m Supermom.

And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and my formal dining room gets turned into a schoolroom and our family vacations look more like educational fieldtrips, and if I surrender my body to be burned, never having time to get my nails done, put makeup on or even take a bath, but do not have love, it profits me nothing, because all my family cares about is the expression on my face, anyway.

Love is patient with the child who still can’t get double-digit subtraction with borrowing, and kind to the one who hasn’t turned in his research paper. It is not jealous of moms with more, fewer, neater, more self-directed, better-behaved or smarter children. Love does not brag about homemade bread, book lists, or scholarships and is not arrogant about her lifestyle or curriculum choices. It does not act unbecomingly or correct the children in front of their friends. It does not seek its own, trying to squeeze in alone time when someone still needs help; it is not provoked when interrupted for the nineteenth time by a child, the phone, the doorbell or the dog; does not take into account a wrong suffered, even when no one compliments the dinner that took hours to make or the house that took so long to clean.

Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness or pointing out everyone else’s flaws, but rejoices with the truth and with every small step her children take in becoming more like Jesus, knowing it’s only by the grace of God when that occurs.

Love bears all things even while running on no sleep; believes all things, especially God’s promise to indwell and empower her; hopes all things, such as that she’ll actually complete the English curriculum this year and the kids will eventually graduate; endures all things, even questioning from strangers, worried relatives, and most of all, herself.

Love never fails. And neither will she. As long as she never, never, never gives up.

Misty Krasawski is the overly-blessed mom of eight children whom she homeschools in sunshine-y Florida. She has been clinging ferociously to the hand of her Lord since she was knee-high to a grasshopper, homeschooling for the past thirteen years, and has eighteen more years ahead of her with the children who are glad she will have done most of her experimenting on those who went before. Her wonderful husband Rob has much treasure laid up for him in heaven for having been called to such a daunting task. After the house goes to sleep she can sometimes be found gathering her thoughts at http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MistyKrasawski.

Tessa at Track

Tessa is such a cutie.  Now, we have sometimes likened our little Tessa to a turtle.  After meeting Ella, who is a snappy, everything-is-done-so-fast, you knock things over kind of girl… it was funny to meet our Tessa, who we saw from early on that she was on her own time.  She can’t be bothered to hurry up.  She is just on a different timeline than her sister.  While Ella is a natural runner, Tessa is not.  However, I decided to register both girls in this bank sponsored community track program.  It is a very low pressure, fun way to interact with coaches and team mates, and explore track and field events.  They have had 4 practices, and yesterday was the first meet (350 area kids are registered).

I could tell Ella & Tess were both a little nervous before the track meet, so I described to them what they could expect (as much as I knew) so they would be put at ease.  

We also repeated our Bible memory verse Colossians 3.23 ~ “And whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, working for the Lord and not for people!”  Only we substituted the verb for this case: “Running for the Lord, and not for people!”  

I told them to do their best, and they knew they would be earning a ribbon regardless of when they came in.  

Fast forward to the evening after the race, and here are Tessa’s comments:

“Mom, didn’t I do great?”

“Mom, I did really, really good on those hurdles!”

“Mom, look at my ribbon!  Can you believe I did 100 meters in only 21 seconds?”

I LOVE track!  I can’t wait until the next meet!”

…and this morning:
“Mom, I still can’t believe I ran that race in only 21 seconds!”  

I encouraged Tessa emphatically, because she did do great!  She ran her little heart out!  I was able to be next to the track for this race, and see her begin (she is the runner 3rd from the left, in brown leggings):  

Ready...

Set...

Bang!

 I watched her run beside 7 competitors.  

 I watched her cross the finish line.  

 She was so proud of her ribbons..... (ellas were misplaced by a coach?)

...and I began to wonder if she knew she came in dead last.  I didn't ask, but it did come out in conversation: yes, she did know—but she was proud of herself.  She ran her best!!

"Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it". (Mark 10.15, Luke 18.17)

I am proud of my Tess!  Yes, because I am a mommy, but also because she did exactly what I told her to do.  She ran for Jesus and not for people, and she was filled with the joy of having done a good job.  

I am quite sure that across our valley, there were tears over not earning a blue ribbon.  Over being *so close*, but just not being faster than the other kid.  Over it not being “fair” that they jumped the gun.  I am so glad that when Tessa’s heart was exposed in this competitive venue, she was overjoyed to overflowing.  That’s the difference of running for Jesus, versus running for yourself.

Now, before you go thinking that my kids just aren’t competitive, you ought to know better!  I’d invite you to come over on any given night, and watch us play a family game!  We have tears shed weekly when we are playing game, and so-and-so doesn’t win.  Or it’s not “fair”.  Or comes in 2^nd place.  It happens. 

I’m just glad that this 6 year old gem showed me what it is really all about.  

Bless the Lord, O My Soul!  (Psalm 103)

Ella at Track

Let me just say, I am very proud of both of my older girls!  I decided to enroll them in Highlanders this spring, because it is FREE, it is only a 3 week commitment, and because everybody wants to get outside and enjoy this amazing spring weather we are having!  They have had 4 practices, and yesterday was the first meet (350 area kids are registered).

I am so proud of the way Ella ran during the relay.  During practice, it didn’t look like they really knew what to do.  But on track meet day, they shined.  She waited for her team mate, then began jogging.  As her track mate approached, she began running.  She waited for a secure hand –off, and then she began sprinting!  It was so cool to watch!  I have no idea which placement their team got; for some reason all of Ella's ribbons went missing.  I was just marveling at what kind of job they did!  

running at practice 

stretching with the team
(and by the way, we think the coach in the foreground
 looks so much like my brother Joel!)

waiting for team mate

beginning to jog before the hand off

the secure hand off at a run

ready to run!

sprinting!

the track is very near to a private airport, so there are constantly small planes flying overhead,
much to the delight of Jaci & Aaron!

Tessa running hurdles

finish line!