2010 in review



January- Trip to Hawaii with Mom and Dad






Febraury- Callen, Photo by Blasing Shots Photography

  


March- Back to Alaska- Star Wars Exhibit



April- Easter in Whitter, Mom in AK



May - Kodiak



June- More Kodiak and Mike in MN



July- Tattoo, Mom and Dad in AK, Camping with Samantha and Hans, Fishing 



August- Camping, G&G I and Mike Sr in AK



September- Marja in Ak, 2 year Anniversary

October- Fall hikes, went home to MN



  



November: Home in MN, Thanksgiving Photo by Blasing Shots Photography



December- Winter wonder land and Christmas

Alyeska 2010

SUN RISE CHRISTMAS MORNING FROM OUR CONDO

START OF OUR SNOW SHOE ADVENTURE

ON THE TRAIL

BEAUTIFUL TREES

TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN SKIING SATURDAY

MIKE ON THE HILL

PRETTY ICE

ON THE SKI LIFT

Merry Christmas

May your Holidays be filled with Love, Joy and Peace.

Happy Birthday Jesus

Are you Ready For Christmas?

Now that Alaska is gaining light again...
I might be ready for Christmas. 
I still have a present to wrap and the food to make.
I have to go get some powdered sugar from the grocery store. 
but over all I think we are ready.
I am ready to have a 3 day weekend with Mike.
I am ready for the Candle light service at church.
I am ready for the birth of our Savior.
I am ready for a relaxing night at Alyeska.
I am ready to go show shoeing.
I am ready to hit the slopes.

Ten Month and a Birthday

Callen,

I cannot believe you have been gone for 10 months!  I miss you every day.  The winter weather, long night and short days have not helped.  I am not in the holiday spirit this year.  I just wish you could come back.  Kim posted on Facebook that you made Kiya's Christmas list.  I think you are on a lot of peoples Christmas Lists.  Some days I am good, I miss you but I am functional. Other days it is like walking in the fog, wandering aimlessly.  I know if you were here you would be enjoying life, making a difference.

Callen on his 22nd birthday

Your 22nd  birthday is on Sunday.  We have to best pictures of you with your brownie on your birthday last year.  You look so excited to eat it.  I also have picture from your 3rd birthday with your cake, it has Fire Trucks on it.

Not sure why it is sideways but so cute...

Happy Birthday Callen... Thank you for all the gifts you have given to me. These past 10 months.

Christmas Decor

Willow Angel Nativity

Stockings (Megan, Java and Mike's)

Swedish stuff and Santa

Mike Shoveling, not as much snow as MN but still 3 inches

 

Me



Precious Moments Nativity Scene

Santa and  Christmas bear

Wine bottle Snowman

Nativity and snowmen

Our tree

New Nativity Scene

Feeling better

As the previous post said I have had a bit of winter gloom.  Yesterday was by far the worst.  I woke up at 6:00 really missing Callen and not wanting to get out of bed.  After crying for almost 45 minutes and talking to Mike I decided that going into work was just not going to happen.  I went back to sleep, called in to work at 9, then slept until 11.  When we woke up I stayed in bed reading until 12:30.  Mike the wonderful husband he is brought me breakfast/lunch in bed. 

After getting up cleaning a bit we did some running around.  We went to the Vet office to get Java some more food, to Office Depot to get some ink, and then to Alaska Mill and Feed.  Mike had called Alaska Mill and Feed to see their prices on Christmas tree and found out they started as low as $15.  Well the $15 trees were only 3 feet tall so we went up to the $35 4-5 foot tree an got a bushy tree.  I have to highly recommend Alaska Mill and Feed to anyone in Anchorage looking for a tree, they were really helpful, had the trees in a ware house that smelled really yummy, wrapped the tree ina plastic bag so you could but it in the back of the car instead of on top, and I felt better buying from a local company vs a national chain like Home Depot.

We go the tree set up last night and will decorate it this weekend.  I am happy to say I took my last test for the Arctic Engineering course I am/was in!  It only took me 1.5 hours!  After I finished my test Mike and I went out to Carrs and got some Chinese food for dinner.  They have this "Feast for Two" for only $10.99.  You get 2 egg rolls, 2 entrees, a fried rice and a LowMein box.  We ate our fill and still have enough to eat another meal. Last night we vegged on the couch and went to bed early.

I am happy to say waking up Friday morning I feel 100% better.

I also want to say Happy Anniversary to my Grandma and Grandpa Bjerke.  They celebrated 50 years of wedded bliss yesterday!  Congrats!

Winter Gloom

Sorry for anyone who's following my blog I have just not been in the writing mood the last couple of weeks.

This holiday season is hard for me and the darkness of an Alaskan winter seems me be pressing on me more this year than in the past. 

A friend, Liz, from high school posted on her facebook for extra prayers today, her little brother, JP, passed away two years ago today at the age of 21.  JP, like Callen, was a lovable guy.  He had the greatest sense of humor and could make everyone laugh, with the crazy stories he told.  Both Liz and JP were on the Shot Put and Discus team with me in high school.  I remember after Saturday practices we would all load up and go to OCB (Old Country Buffet).  Getting the soup bowls to use for ice cream, since the ice cream ones were so tiny.  I also worked with JP as a cart person at Target in high school.  He made the hours go by faster, was a hard worker and would make everyone laugh.  It sucks that both Liz and I have to go through losing our only sibling, our younger brother, someone who could light up a room with their charm.  It sucks that our parents had to lose their only son, and youngest child.  It sucks that all the family functions in the future look so much different now than they did before.  JP is missed by many.

     

In other news Mike and I have been busy decorating for Christmas.  Changing the table cloth and candles.  Exchanging the fall decoration with leafs for snowmen and Santa's. And I put out our 3 nativity scenes.  I have a Willow Angel set, a Precious Moments set and a new porcelain set  this year from my mom (her and my grandma have the same one).  We are debating whether or not we will get a tree.  As Grinchy as it sounds a live tree is a lot of work and who other then us is going to see it?  And we have no place to store an artificial tree. One of the locally owned green houses has some small trees so we might go get one of those to put a few ornaments on and the presents under.

Speaking of presents we are 100% done with Christmas Shopping.  I just have a few things to finish wrapping and then we will ship the box off to Minnesota for Mike's family.  We gave my parents a sign for their cabin in November, as their Christmas gift.  Can I say that it hits me over and over again that I do not get to buy Callen a gift this year.  I wish I could buy him a ticket to come and visit us up here because I know that he would LOVE it.