The last few weeks in pictures

It was beautiful out so we went sledding with friends a few times. Molly's sled has a buckle and holds her in and for the most part she really likes it EXCEPT when we go down the hill and the snow flies in her face - then not so much a fan. We love sledding and can't wait to show Jon all the fun new hills we have found out about this year!

Since we are a winter wonderland I figured we could pull out Molly's winter dress. The dress was pretty cute on the hanger and I think it looks even better on Molly. Don't worry - for now Molly is adventurous AND still likes to wear tights with ruffles on the butt. I am sure one day one of those will go away I just wonder which one will first - my beat is the ruffles.

And then the last 3 days of our life have been sad. We have now made 3 trips to the ER. The first one we found out she has pneumonia and possibly the flu. A few hours after we left her temp went to 105.5 so we were back and got a 4th medicine. After one day on all our new meds last night at 10pm she started throwing up and her temp wouldn't come below 103 so back to the ER. We are back home and hoping that today there will be no more crazy temps or anything. She doesn't look this miserable now - the above picture was our First Thanksgiving shot.

Update from Jon:
They have had a few soldiers come to accept Jesus as their savior and Jon got to baptize one.
My thoughts on what he has told me:
*He understands how the Israelites in the Bible could forget that manna from heaven was a blessing. The same food over and over for a year while it is provision gets very old
*All in all he says being at war is a lot like Groundhog Day - most every day is the same with nothing crazy and then there are a few days throw in there where major catastrophes happen and you have to be ready to be there and show the love of God in terrible circumstances.
*While at war you sometimes do things you wouldn't do at home just to do something different. He has learned that non-dairy creamer is extremely flammable and this brought a smile to his face!
*It is the little things that make a difference - a package from friends or a letter from kids and of course a few good snacks.

World Record Mattress Dominoes

I got to participate in a World Record attempt today at a local furniture store. It was for Mattress Dominoes - as you can see I was #152. Molly and I went to watch after our friend Ashley told us about the event. I realized after watching for a few minutes that Molly could sit in the stroller and supervise while I got to participate so why not give it a try!!
Molly posing as #151 knocking me down - she was not very pleased to participate.

There were over 189 people each holding a mattress going throughout Bailey's Furniture some in the show room like Molly and me and some in the warehouse that was attached. It was a good thing this wasn't outside b/c it was blizzard conditions and I would not have been able to do that. The best part was that the event was in honor of Veteran's day so Molly and I dedicated our performance to Jon who couldn't be with us this year - we only hope we can find something as exciting as this to drag you to next year.



For those who are visual learners here was the demo they gave us so we wouldn't mess up.

First Sled of the Season

We finally had enough snow to shovel which means there was enough to sled!!!!! Molly and I joined our neighbors shoveling the driveway this morning and took our sled out for a test run on the driveway. Molly got to sit in the sled bundled up for about 15 minutes until another neighbor came out and held her while we finished up shoveling. Then it was back in the sled for her first ever sled ride.
Doesn't she look like she loves it!! She did at one point I promise.Going in circles - this prepared us for the "big hill" that we went on tonight. We joined the Lewis family for a fun filled sled-a-thon that lasted a whole 20 minutes for Molly until she decided she would rather be back in the house instead of being pulled up and down the hill.
Tina telling Molly sledding secrets. With gloves and mittens on it is very hard to undo the buckle to get Molly out of her sled when she was having a melt down so we had to pick her up sled and all to give her hugs.
Before the sled-a-thon. We came back with rosy red cheeks but no photos of that moment. Molly really is an Alaskan baby, she loves the cold weather.
This is our toy of the month! Our friends the Hick's who have finished with the baby stage gave us one of their boys favorite toys - the leap frog table. Molly can hold herself up while making the table do all sorts of fun things like sing and light up for her. The moment before this photo I promise she was smiling but as I clicked she got a little over confident and started to fall.



Moose have been enjoying the pumpkins around our neighborhood. This one got really close.

Realities of war

The 425 deployment ceremony

While I know that Jon is deployed to a war zone where people are trying to kill/hurt/get rid of us it has not really effected me in my home life too much. I have gone to some memorials and been truly sad for the families and pray for our soldiers but this week reality struck when a neighbor's husband was severely injured. It is amazing to see the women in our bible study and on our street step up to help out this family. The soldier is being sent to burn unit and his wife is getting to go be with him. Neighbors stepped up to take care of their 2 elementary girls and are trying to make it the best for them as possible while their mom is away helping take care of their dad who they know is really hurt.
Please pray for my friends the T's:
1. Quick and complete healing for the soldier
2. Travel safety while they travel to the burn unit
3. Stability and security for the 2 girls
4. All provisions that are needed while away in the lower 48 away from the girls

Back in Alaska

Jon left last week to go back for the remaining 4 months of this deployment - we are 2/3 the way throw!! Molly and I flew back to DC for a two night recovery and then headed home to AK. She had been a little cranky and snotty so when we got back we got an appointment with a doctor and found out Molly has a double ear infection. Last night after she got her medicine she crashed unfortunately that was at 6pm and this morning at 6am she was ready to start the day.
Molly and I had a great 6 weeks in the lower 48 visiting friends and family but are glad to be home in our own beds again. Molly is going through a little withdrawal since it is only me in the house with her but we have hung out with friends so she can get the love and attention she is used to.

While in the lower 48 we had some pictures taken of Molly by Jon's sister Kaitlin and then when he came we had another friend take some pictures of all 3 of us together. Here they are for your viewing pleasure.