Closing thoughts about Alaska

So many great and terrible things happened to the Elston family while living in AK for the last 2 years and 10 months and 3 days.

With so many life events crowded into the first year of marriage it was bound to be one helluva ride. And, so it was. Marriage, moving, new job for Kristi, pregnancy #1, graduation, new job for Josh, 5 weeks in AL away from Kristi, packing, moving to AK, buying a first home, buying a first crib, painting a baby room and delivering baby #1 all thrown into year number one of marriage we thought we would never catch our breath.

I was busy learning my new job working many, many long hours when Lily came along on a dark, winter day, close to the shortest day of the year. It was -10F when we brought her home that first day. Then Kristi stopped being a nurse to be a full-time mom. Raising Lily for the 1st 9 months, with a tired stressed mama and a tired, stressed dad was probably one of the worst times of my whole life. Lily was miserable so, therefore, mama was. Mama was miserable, so, therefore, I was too. We hung on as best we could to God and to each other. We didn't find a church (and friends) for almost a year and a half. With no outlets for either of us and a sick baby, it all just seemed too much at times. We began to HATE Alaska and resent the beauty of it that we could only ever admire from our home window. With no energy to venture out with Lily, we just survived. Al the while, Kristi and I's relationship grew and grew. All for the better.

After Kristi took the time to figure out Lily's ailments things got better. Kristi found a lousy job, but it gave her time to talk and think like an adult, it gave Lily some time to socialize, and it gave me some peace of mind knowing that both were doing better. I won't tell the terrible stories of how we eventually found our wonderful nanny but I'm sure any parent could fill in the blanks about that, eh-hem, adventure. Peace came again, but only shortly, when pregnancy number #2 was bestowed upon our house. Just 8 months after Lily's birth news of #2 was already thundering down the halls. Suddenly, our house, and my paycheck seemed much smaller than before. Too shocked ourselves, we kept #2 quiet until halfway through the 2nd trimester. Baby two has to be different we thought. Easier to raise, no allergies, please God.

Reese Caroline came in the summer time, close the longest day of the year. She was born around 9pm but the sun was still out. God had been working on mom and dad while Reese was cooking so we both felt slightly more prepared. And, at least, we had a full wardrobe of pink clothes already purchased for her. Maybe my wallet can stretch farther than I thought. Reese is certainly mellower and less dramatic than Lily but also comes with food allergies. So be it. If we can deal with it with one kid, two shouldn't be too much. After all, buying dairy-free, soy-free, and gluten-free in bulk should be cheaper, right? Well, in Alaska it's not.

Today, we are more a family than ever. Kristi is the most wonderful mother. She's so loving, a wonderful teacher, a great discipline-er and still finds time to make a me a hot meal before I come home from work. I admire, respect, and love her with all of my heart. I love her more than when we left for Alaska, more than when Lily came, more than when Reesie Piece came, and more today than yesterday.

The Air Force was and has been very, very good to me. There's something intangible serving in the military offers me that gets me out of bed and off to work everyday. Most days I may even carry a smile on my face into work. God blessed me with the right job, the right boss, the right staff, and the right place all at the same time. Heading to CA, I feel quite prepared for my next position. And, I greatly look forward to the sun and a shorter winter.

Alaska is big. Huge. It's wonderful, majestic, and beautiful. You should come visit. You can't help but worship the Creator of such a place. Sometimes I think He made those mountain outside my front window just for me. Even though I saw the same mountain out my window everyday, I never grew tired of them. I never wished for another view. I was satisfied. What a rare feeling for me on this earth. But, make no mistake. It was never the creation that was amazing, it was only ever the Creator.

God is bigger than Alaska (which, by no small coincidence, is also bigger than TX). He's bigger than unplanned pregnancies and colicky babies. He's bigger than the 18 hour plane ride home to either TX or NC. He's bigger than school loans or home loans. And, best of all He's bigger than the struggles we've endured up here. Halelujiah, we've survived and, dare I say, even grown as a result of living in AK.

Kristi and I have grown closer than ever. Our kids have grown. I have grown a lot as a dad but am amazed at how slow my growth has been. Two kids and I still feel like I'm just figuring out how to be a dad, let alone a good one. I'm so selfish. But, I have learned one thing about being a dad so far- time is what matters most to kids. Their toys get old and they don't care about my money. But, they long for my time. My kids think I'm the coolest when I'm laying down in the middle of the floor with them, just being there with them, as if I were one of them. Jesus does the same thing with me. Cool.

I pray for blessings on blessings for the friends we have made up here. To the Wagners, The Rizer's, the Braquet's, the Schlei's, and the Wilson's...thank you. Thank you for going through our struggles with us; for consistently and lovingly offering to help us carry our burdens. Jesus used you to rescue us out of the miry pit (Ps 40). I learned how to love my wife better, be a better dad, and to know Christ and his goodness more because of you all, my friends. Thanks for sharing your love and your state with my family.

 

Happy Easter Everyone!!! The Lord has risen!! He has risen indeed!!!

What happens when you ask big sister to kiss little sister...






Reese is crawling... and pulling up on everything!


The girls are starting to play together -- of course in Lily's terms!


The first day of spring has sprung in Alaska... so we went sledding in the front yard!






And Lily's been driving... (me crazy... LOL)




And this post wouldn't be complete without our little dance party. Guess who's the break out star? I think her daddy taught her that little hiney-shake!

Shutterfly | Shared Picture Detail

Shutterfly | Shared Picture Detail

Santa?!!!!!!!???

We told Lily we were going to see Santa. She was excited and was ready to put on her "hoHO" hat! As we circled through the mall looking for him - she called out "Santaaaaa where are you." And then we found him. We were all still kicks and giggles until it came time to sit on his lap... She was less than thrilled and quickly pulled out all of her little cute/sad tricks. All I can say is that Santa was.. um... less than jolly himself. He truly summed up what we expected an Alaskan Santa to be. We paid for our pictures and laughed all the way home -- we'll surely be able to tell Lily about her trip to see her Alaskan Santa. At least it wasn't all out bawling this year!

DISNEY WORLD!!!

We had a blast... what can I say. We had a great time in a magical place, with some great friends, food and fun!! Mozzie and Papa Pernell GRACIOUSLY flew all the way up to Alaska for us to have our fun in the sun. As you can see from the pictures.... we desperately needed the sun.
We had a wonderful time - the kids did great AND Mozzie and Papa survived! Thanks to them... the only way we were willing to go was if we didn't have to fly with the kids!
We were able to see all the parks with the great military discount that we got! We spent day 1 in the Magic Kingdom doing all things Disney. Days 2 - 5 we saw Epcot, toured the countries, Hollywood Studios and the Animal Kingdom! The food was amazing and Disney was SUPER helpful with all of the allergies/food restrictions I had while there. We enjoyed our hotel and even swimming in the pool.... OUTSIDE? Can you believe that? People can swim in water that's outside without freezing. Who would have thought...
I tortured our friend when I made them endure Figment's ride... my favorite as a child. It wasn't my fault that we rode the Jungle Snooze (Cruise) OR this fine ride showcased here.

We were able to ride Space Mountain even though it was closed... thoroughly enjoyed the Hollywood Tower of Terror and the Toy Story Mania rides! Those were some of our very favorites among others. We even enjoyed all of the Christmas decorations! What a GREAT time of year to go to Disney... we hardly waited in lines at all. We even had a great team plan our trip and itenarary at NO charge to us! Let me know if you're planning a trip to Disney and I'll pass you their information!

Lily and her veggies...

And this video is older... but still so cute. Lily LOVES Nemo and she gets really worried about him - she's constantly telling him what to do! LOL So before he gets taken away Lily tries to warn him several times. Now when she watches it, she repeats several full lines... mimics everyone (Bruce the shark is hilarious) and usually always screams about 2 seconds before anything scarey happens and then reassures me "ok mama, it's ok" HAhaha. Funny girl. I had some of Reese giggling.. but I deleted them by accident. Oops!

Christmas Cookies and Bathroom stories... wait, did I say bathroom?

Yep - that's right. Bedtime stories sounds more appropriate - but not here :o) Lily is currently taking notice of the potty and occasionally wants to sit there... She's made a little progress and managed to do her thang once or twice - but we don't hold our breath. Today was particularly funny because not only was she tring to do her... um.. #2 thang (again, only partially successful and even funnier to watch Josh clean it up) - she asked for her book and politely sat and read it. What did we do? Grab the camera like good little parents.

We decided to have a little fun... err - make a little mess. Ok, more like A LOT of mess and make some Christmas cookies! I made them all up, allergen free of course -- and prepared the icing during nap time! Then it was time to decorate. Lily had a BLAST and especially loved the sprinkles. She would get so excited when asked for the sprinkles that she'd start saying "skpwinfoisoid" and look at you in a hurry for you to pass them her way!! Despite her sprinkling MUCH more than her cookies - it was a good time AND the cookies? YUMMMMY.