Draw from the Well

Walk Across America

And the creativity award goes to...

Here is how they did it...

Best of Alaska: Hiking

Iditorad Headquarters, Eagle River Nature Center; Thunder Falls; Cottonwood Lake

Types of meat I've eaten in Alaska: Elk, Reindeer, Halibut, Moose

Animals I've seen in Alaska in the "wild": Eagles and Hawks, Moose, Sea Otters, Seals

 

Best of Alaska: Flying

Knik Glacier in a two seater plane.

Lesson Learned:  Ziplock bags are a wonderful thing.

There should be more photos, but my SD Card ran out of room.  Huge bummer!
 
 
 

Best of Alaska: Day 4

Hatchers Pass; Independence Mine State Park; Friday Fling - Palmer

Lesson Learned: Enjoy the sunny Alaska days!

Best of Alaska: Day 3

Whittier, Surprise Glacier, Anchorage

Animals viewed: bald eagles, salmon, sea otters, moose

Lesson Learned: One can be cold when viewing a glacier in July.  Very cold.

Best of Alaska - Day 2

Alyeska Resort & Tram; Portage Glacier; Double Musky

Lesson Learned: It is possible to paint on moose poop.

 
 

Best of Alaska: Day 1

Beluga Point; Seward Highway; Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center; Girdwood

Lesson learned: Destinations look much closer from the highway.

 
 

North to Alaska

The rush is on!  Vacation is in my sights. I'm so excited.  Alaska is on "my list".  I've wanted to go forever.

Several people have asked what I will be doing. Not taking a cruise (nothing against cruising!)

Home base is one of my small group friend's parents based out of Wasilla (yup, on the lookout for Sarah Palin sightings!)

Right away we will head south and spend a few days in Girdwood.  While there we will tram up a mountain, see some wildlife, go on a boat ride on a lake to see a glacier, and go on a boat ride on Prince William Sound and see many glaciers. 

Back in Wasilla, we are going to hike up Hatchers Pass and see some mining stuff, go to Anchorage and goof around there for a few days.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the beauty of the "final frontier".  I'm also interested to see how I fair with 23 hours of sunlight a day. 

Since I will be on vacation, I don't know how much I will blog.  Perhaps is I have some really cool pictures!

Cheerio!

Thoughts about Haiti

As with everyone, my thoughts have been on Haiti the last few days. 

The latest news via CNN is that more than 100,000 are dead.  Wondering what you can do?  Check out this page for ideas:  http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/impact/

Here are some Prayer Points for Haiti:

The Caribbean island of Haiti is reeling after an earthquake caused devastation. Please use the following prayer points:

• Pray for the people of Haiti as they deal with the aftermath of the earthquake, ask the Lord to comfort those who are injured and mourning.
• Pray for rescue efforts to find survivors trapped in destroyed buildings and for communication links and power supplies to be restored quickly.
• Pray for a swift and generous response from the international community to help this disaster-prone poor country.

Finally, some of you may be wondering about our missionary team in the DR - Rich and Kirsten Root.  Here's an update from them:

Hello all !
 
I just wanted to send a quick update to let you know that yes, we are all ok down here! We did feel the quake but thankfully that is where it ended (our dog tried to jump off our balcony when she felt it, that was more traumatic for our kids!) We just moved to an apt. and have no telephone or internet yet, so I am sure you all found out information quicker than we did! Strange but true. Many have asked about how to help and we are in the process of figuring that out.  Our supervisor will probably be making a trip in the next day or so to assess how we can best be of help. If you are interested in knowing more, please contact me again via email, and I will keep you posted.
Thank you for all your prayers! Please continue to lift all those there up, they need it. It is a country already afflicted by so many things. Please pray against any other quakes, that one was just a little too close for comfort.
 
Much love...hope to be on line again soon!
 
Love
 
Kirsten and family!!

Vacation Time...Almost

Officially my vacation begins in 17 minutes.  That's when the clock rolls past midnight and it's Monday, June 15.  I am always torn when I have to get up early for a trip to the airport - do I just stay up or try to get a few hours sleep?

Well for now I still have a few things I need to finish for work, some laundry drying, and then it's off to dream land for a short three hours...maybe.

Before I head off to San Diego for 9 days of fun, I wanted to share something I felt the Lord has been speaking to me about this vacation...that I'm to go minimal technology this time.   Unlike some, I do not have a hard time turning work off...I'm a very much "what's in front of me now" kind of person. Therefore the technology deal hasn't been that big of one for me on past vacations.  I could take it or leave it.  As I've prepared for this vacation, I've felt the nudging of the Lord to "leave it behind."

First it was my laptop.  This is actually a relief because I hate carrying it through the security check.  And I don't really need it, since I have the nifty iphone (which Jesus has made no mention of yet!)  It did feel liberating to contemplate not bringing it...so this was an easy decision.

But then I realized I'd left my noise-canceling, little-slice-of-peace-and-quiet headphones at work.  These babies are a lifesaver on airplanes...they really do work.  And slapping those things on insures peace and quiet from my neighbors.  As I headed to work to retrieve them, I felt the Lord suggesting a better way.  While the laptop was easy, these are not...even a three hour airplane ride is enough to tip this poor introvert over the edge.  Nevertheless, I'm trusting Jesus' leading and leaving them behind.

What do I think is going on?  Not totally sure, but here are a few thoughts (only 6 minutes left I need to write fast!)  My new role at work is technology laden.  My own personal learning curve has been off the charts.  I do think I'm techno-tired.  I also know that I've really been asking the Lord to speak in new and fresh ways.  Clearing out some of the things that can clutter will help with my hearing.  Finally, it just feels good to be less burdened down with stuff.  This is one thing I really miss from China - life was much simpler and less filled with extras. 

All in all, I'm looking forward to it.  Just wanted to share a bit of my process with you.  I don't know if I will post much in the next two weeks...I can from my iphone, but much more than pictures are a pain.  Well see how it goes.  Later!