Life After Mexico

At the end of January I was able to be with my sister during her last Homecoming. We had a weekend full of girlish pampering. She was voted Princess of the Sr class and I got to be her personal assistant for the weekend. Seems fitting, since she got to serve us older siblings most of her childhood ;) Ms. Amie Smithwick - stylist extraordinaire, drove all the way from Soldotna to blow our minds yet again with a fabulous updo. What a treat!

Princess Jodi

Stylist Team

Eric and Jodi <3>

So blessed by this lady all the time

This is what Costco shopping looks like when you have to shop for months at a time

My dad is the Head Coach for the Tanalian Lynx basketball team this year. Jordan helps out when he can and it's been so fun watching them work together.

Jordan was the Assistant Coach for the Lynx's only home game

Just another beautiful sunset as the lake was freezing over

 Jordan is working hard building The General and we are constantly praying for our summer/winter plans. There are so many unknowns, but He holds our future and we are trusting His guidance. Please join us in prayer for discernment in decisions, for His purposes to prevail in our life and for opportunities to selflessly love each other and our community.

January

As you can well imagine, Mexico was incredible. We had a great time just being together! It was the first time we've been able to hang out exclusively for an extended period of time since before Jordan and Danis joined the family. We had lots of adventures and lots of time reading by the pool or beach. My most favorite adventure was discovering "White Clam Beach". We were driving to a town North of Loreto and happened upon this little cove tucked around one of the road bends. We decided to forget the Northern town and followed this little dirt road to our "postcard" beach with white sand, shells galore, crystal clear shallow water. The girls laid out and the boys hit the water. Not too long after our arrival the boys started hollering...clams! We all raced to the water to see what all the fuss was because clams aren't usually anything to shout about especially to us Alaskans. What we found was a jackpot. They were everywhere. All you had to do was grab a handful of sand and voila you had 3 clams. In about 5 minutes we had WAY more than we could ever eat. We spent the rest of the day snorkeling, reading, sunbathing, playing frisbee, etc. Once home we had a clam bake and with lots of leftovers we made clam chowder the next day. It was quite the memorable experience. When Riley Smithwick joined us in Mexico we hoped to take him there, but cloudy days deterred our plans. Instead we toured a beautiful Mission and explored a dry river bed. Not the same, but still fun.

Anyway, now we are home and back to reality. The first week is always the hardest when your tan fades and sleep in days become a distant memory, but we survived and are now back into the routine. BethAnne came home with me, which helped with the transition. It was wonderful getting that extra time with her. Since we've been home the boys have worked extra hard on Jordan and I's room (we had to move out for the spray foam job and didn't want to move back in until the sheet-rock was up). Yesterday I was thrilled to move our things back into our room. There is still ALOT of work to do, but we have our own space again and that is delightful. It is amazing how the "normal" things in life become such a privilege after taking them for granted for so many years.....closets, dishwasher, a decent bed, shelves, rooms, etc. We still don't have all these and are getting them back slowly, but I've decided that its okay. The only way my organized brain and controlling heart have survived living in this beautiful mess for so long is because of my Jesus and He will carry me through until its over. A potentially miserable few months has become a blessing filled with great memories. I think I'll be a little sad when its all over....maybe.

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Merry CHRISTmas and a Happy New Year!!

2013 has caught us moving again! We felt the Lords tug for change throughout January and February. After our early (6th!!) anniversary celebration trip to Hawaii in March Jordan was offered a job in Port Alsworth, AK. His acceptance awhile later began a whirlwind of activity. Before August we had to get our house ready for renters and find renters and store our belongings and find a place to live in Port Alsworth and find a job for me in Port Alsworth and squeeze in a trip to Oregon and figure out what belongings we needed in Port Alsworth and train new hires at the dental office to take over for me and most importantly....find time to enjoy our first HOT summer in years.

We are now settled in Port Alsworth and thoroughly enjoying its beauty. Jordan is working as a laborer for Goodwin Enterprises building The General, Port Alsworth's first store and inn. There will also be a cafe, which I have been hired to help manage once opened. Until then I have been dispatching with Lake and Peninsula Airlines. Jordan has also begun his guiding career (a dream come true). This fall he worked for my Uncle Jeremy at Lake Country Lodge guiding clients on moose and bear hunting trips. He will most likely continue to do so each Spring and Fall as needed. Once The General is open Peter Goodwin of Goodwin Enterprises will continue his Alaska Ventures business guiding "eco-tours" (camping, hiking, float trips, bear viewing, scenic glacier tours and more) in the summer months with Jordan as his field guide.

We have been living in our family's summer cabin, which my Grandad built himself in the 70's. My dad and cousin Robbie also moved out to Port Alsworth recently, so we have had the privelege of being housemates. The cabin was not originally built for winters, so the boys have been working hard together to make the cabin warm for me and for my mom when she moves out this spring after Jodi graduates. Jordan and I bought land here and are hoping to begin building our own cabin next summer :)

The move out to Port Alsworth has not been easy on our pets. We had to make the heart breaking decision to only move Sampson, our lab, out here since Kiska, our mutt, and Willow, our kitty, wouldn't be happy or well received as outdoor animals (neither played well with others). Since we are living with others and not in our own home, we decided that outdoor pets are best until we get our own place built. Sampson did wonderful with the transition and enjoyed his "backyard" immensely. Since swimming was his favorite activity he was in heaven having a lake for his playground. We also loved having him around for hikes and walks around the community. He immediately became everyone's favorite. However, due to unfortunate events he has gone to be with Jesus. We are crushed, but are thankful that he was taken swiftly without suffering. Our lives will never be the same.

We don't have much planned for the future except a vacation to Mexico over Christmas with my family. After guiding next fall we hope to find Jordan a winter job, but we'll leave that in God's hands. We hope to be in Port Alsworth for a few years or more, but I've found it hard to plan very far in advance with the way the Lord's frequently been moving us place to place since we've tied the knot.

We wish you all God's peace and joy this holiday season. I've always found Christmas to be a season of reflection on all Christ's work throughout the year. It is quite humbling and makes me so grateful for his patience. God is good and always faithful.

Our new mailing address: PO Box 206 Port Alsworth, AK 99653

The Alaska Bush

     A friend asked me awhile ago to write a blog entry on the differences between living in "town" and living in the Alaska Bush. The first difference I suppose is that any place on the road system is considered "town" and every place else is the Alaska Bush. Not sure who came up with that term or why...maybe because we live in the woods with trails as roads, which would be the 2nd difference. A road here is not your typical paved avenue or highway, but is a roughly worn trail. Port Alsworth is unique in that its two main "highways" are runways, with trails in between for foot, 4-wheeler, and yes, automobile traffic. Nothing is over 2 miles away so biking or walking has been my transportation of choice. Over the last few years more and more residents having been barging in trucks, SUVs, and the like. There are no roads to the villages on Lake Clark, so in order to get anything here is must be barged or flown. The barge only runs during the summer because the lake freezes over making it impassible.
     My grocery "runs" have actually been quite uneventful so far. My dad flies to town most weekends to see my mother in Anchorage and she loads him up with my groceries. Waiting a week in-between grocery shopping isn't much different from living in town except that when you start cookies you better make sure you or your neighbor have all the ingredients! Neighbors are great. I never really got into the whole neighborly thing in any of my other residences, not sure if  its because we were never in one place long enough or if it is just my personality, but here the whole community are your neighbors. I hear the winter is full of great community activities, game nights, ice skating, festivals at the school, etc. I have only been here to visit during the winter a couple of times when I was very young. I don't remember much except that every time I went outside I'd have to wear my snow clothes or else I'd freeze sitting on the 4-wheeler going to church or wherever. I'm sure I'll be learning a lot of the town vs bush differences in the months to come. Fall brought enough of its own.
     The bears travel through our village on their way to winter hibernation in their caves, so I had to walk around with either pepper spray or a handgun in case I happened to run into one. My dad found one in our driveway in the dark on his way to work one morning and flipped a quick U-turn back to our cabin to sound the alarm. There was quite the clamor among the boys living here :)
     Mostly I find living here to be quite peaceful. I have so many great memories here from our time spent here during the summer months that it already feels like home. "Town" is great; I definitely miss the ease of shopping and coffee drive-thrus ;), but here there is a sense of refreshment that "town" never gave to me. This has always been my "happy" place and moving here I was afraid that would change. So far, its only become better. I love waking up to the mountains singing His glory day after day and being awed as the Lake changes daily. Camping trips and days spent in our cabin are the highlight of my childhood, now its become my life, my home. Blessed does not even come close to describing how I feel about this place. It is a slice of Heaven on Earth,  a breath of fresh air amidst our fallen world. I pray daily that I do not become immune to its beauty or take advantage of its unique landscape.

BTW, Jordan is home! He had a great time and can't wait for next season. Thank you all for your prayers. I hope you'll get to enjoy his stories one day, but for now I have to tell this one...His first client in Canoe Bay was a cop from Texas and was after a big one (aren't they all??). After 10 days of 50mph winds and non-stop rain the weather broke and they saw one to their liking and went after it....long story short it wasn't a great shot and the bear ran off into an Alder patch never to be seen again. Jeremy flew in 2 guys from base camp to help look, no luck. Unfortunately for the client once he draws blood his hunt is over. The winds picked back up, so the pilots couldn't pick up the 4 people in Jordan's camp or even fly over and drop off extra supplies. Their food supply started running low and right before anyone got too worried they found 9 crab pots washed up on the beach filled to the brim with live crab! They feasted like kings for 2 days, then the day the crab was gone and they each had a top ramen pack left the weather broke again! They got back to base camp on day 16. "I wonder how many of our disappointments have been answers to other people's prayers.  I'm sure somebody else was upset over losing those.  Interesting thought." (Rebecca Herd). I am sure glad someone's lost crab pots became Jordan's manna from the sea. What an incredible story and testament to His character. He is good, He will provide, He will get the glory, and He can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine (Eph 3:20-21).

Just Life

Jordan and I had a great time together during his visit home a couple weeks ago. I got a whole week with him! Much more than I expected. We went on a few hikes and got to Anchorage for a date and shopping. He is loving his time in the woods. He borrowed a SAT phone for the October hunts, so we've been able to communicate!! I seriously don't know how the wives survived without technology for so long. Those 2 weeks without hearing his voice were downright awful. I am so thankful for Peter Goodwin and his sharing heart. His SAT phone has made this season go so much faster. Jordan is now guiding out of Canoe Bay with Canoe Bay Outfitters, which is on the Aleutian Chain. The clients are hunting for coastal brown bears. He has one client so far and they have seen a lot of wildlife, but not anything worth shooting at or within range to shoot at. He hopes to get one soon because the weather is fierce down there. Howling winds and rain all day. Thankfully he has a cabin to call home instead of a tent this time around.

Life for me has been good mostly. I am just taking things one day at a time. Work is going well. The cabin remodel is coming along. The upstairs has been spray foamed and all but one window has been replaced, so we are warm again! Hallelujah! Now my dad is working on a duct system for upstairs and a piping system downstairs so that the flow of the heat will cover the whole cabin. In the meantime we are living a cluttered life. The library is sharing the kitchen space. Jordan's closet and Robbie's bedroom are also sharing the kitchen/living room. Maneuvering has been a bit of a challenge. To quote my dad "things have to get worse before they can get better!" Let's hope the worst is over.....not sure how much more I can take. I have gotten to town almost every weekend Jordan's been gone. It has been wonderful to be with my sister and to see my mom. Jodi's xc team just won state the 6th year in a row! Grace boys also won making that their 8th championship in a row. We are all so proud!

I'd like to leave you all with some photos of our goings ons....

 The Lord has blessed us with some INCREDIBLE sunsets 

 Our hike around Beaver Pond while he was home.

 My "carpool" buddy 

 Our "road" to Anchorage

Road-trip to Seward for XC Regions

 The cuties and I

 Gorgeous fall day in Seward

The lovely Mary Katherine Goodwin 

Sunset in Port Alsworth turned Tanalian Mountain bright red

 Tanalian Falls

 Hiking with Tana

 Kontrashabuna Lake

 123A State XC

She rocked it at 10th place!

 Getting ready for her last Fall Social. She's dressed like the 1930's.

xoxo

Daily Bread

Quick word for the day. Jordan has had to deal with pretty crazy weather out there these past few weeks. 55mph winds one day, fog to the ground most morning and rain practically everyday. They say its been our rainiest Fall in quite some time. Seems only fitting after our sunniest summer in decades. He does not have phone capability so I have only been getting Spot messages (basically a quick 50 character text that links me to his location coordinates). From what I've gathered he is having a grand ol' time. He saw 12 bears with his last client (not sure why they didnt get one down) and this week he is hunting with two clients trying to get them moose and bears. We hope to get a satellite phone to him next week (YAY!). It has been extremely lonely not talking with him. I cannot wait to hear his voice again! My work has been good. It has been wonderful getting to dress up for work, work a small amount of hours, and then have the rest of my day to blog, talk with old friends, read, get dinner ready, etc. The work itself isn't what I've always dreamed of doing but it gets me out of the house and distracts me from missing my other half.

The Lord has been so good to me and is always so faithful. It has been a hard season but I have seen His handiwork more clearly than ever before. I get up each morning wondering how I can survive another day without Jordan or without my babies, but after a Bible reading, a prayer, a chat, or a walk in this beautiful place I am reminded of why I am here sloshing through life. It's to grow so close to Him on this Earth that Victory shines from within and reaches out to those surrounding us. It's to be real with one another, to support each other in the journey and to help each other realize this Earth is not our home. He gives us today our daily bread. He gives us enough to face each day if only we remember to seek His face. The remembering is the difficult part for me and I am still (will always be this side of Heaven) in training, but to live this truth is Life itself. So I am here struggling each day to understand the whys, but He reminds me daily that the figuring is already done and I am to just keep finding my Joy and purpose in Him. 

On a side note....I have pretty amazing roommates and we had a great campfire dinner in our backyard last night!