One Fine Day

Well, it's a gorgeous, if a bit chilly, day in Chugiak/Eagle River/Peterscreek, Alaska (Where in the world do we live anyway? We take the Peterscreek exit to get to our home, have a Chugiak address, pick up our mail in Eagle River, go to church in Wasilla, and work, shop, and fly out of Anchorage. It's not like they all run into each other either. Wasilla is 50 miles from Anchorage!). Well anyway, since I last wrote about the snow, we've accumulated about six more inches! Of course, during the day it melts away. It's like having break-up on a stuck record (or skipping CD). We get it over and over and over again! Every day walking Titus we discover new patches of mud that are then covered in snow that then become mud again. I can't wait for green grass! When I was donning gloves Wednesday morning, so that I could sweep and scrape off the three inches of snow and ice crusted all over my car, it seemed a little unfair for April 15. Other people in America are harvesting salad greens and asparagus, and we're still wearing snow gear and the snow plows are running! I guess it gives us something to talk about when standing in line at the post office to mail in our tax forms!

Last Saturday, James took his 8 hour FE exam and somehow survived the grueling, brain numbing experience (his brain was so numb afterwards that he picked up the movie Tron for us to watch when he came home that evening!). James spent Friday night at an elder’s house in Anchorage so that he would be closer to the test location in the morning. He was given a very specific list of suggested items to bring for the test including headache medicine, a cushion for the chair, and a hand towel! James went to Wal-Mart and bought a watch for the occasion. I packed homemade granola bars, fruit, trail mix, water, and food for the five meals he would have while away from home. At 6:30 Saturday morning, I called him to make sure he was awake. He was already pulling up to the testing place (more than an hour early), so I went back to sleep. At noon, he called me to tell me that the morning session went really well. He felt great about his answers and had plenty of time left over to check them again. The afternoon turned out to be a little more taxing, although he still had enough time to complete everything. Since we would not know his specific scores on each section unless he failed the test (the information would help him study for retesting), we are hoping that we never find out how he did specifically on each section, but overall, James feels confident that he was well prepared and did his best and that his best was good enough to pass. We are not worried. Thank you, God!




Now with a little over two weeks until James’ graduation, we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. One more week of classes and then a week of finals and special events and James will burst out on the other side blinking in the sunlight. It’s a very dynamic time for us. James is deciding on which job offer to accept, where we should live, what to do with our finances, and how to spend our summer. I am getting to the end of another school year with a summer of promise and possibility in front of me. James is getting to the end of an era for him (did you know that he has spent every winter in school for the last 20 years?). God has been good to us. He has brought us to this point even when there were many times we thought we’d never see it happen. May all of our decisions for the days to come be in His will.