Motivation

I've been convicted of something, and then neglected something.  First, I have been convicted of my need for appreciation.  Not that that's bad, necessarily, but I need to find my confirmation in God, not people.  I'd been using this blog as a brag board.  And then I just neglected the blog entirely =).  I want to change this into a place of encouragement, joy, and helpfulness.  I don't know if it will even look too different from the outside, but I'm trying to change my heart motive behind it.

What to do with the Carrot Harvest

Just in case this may still be of benefit to any of my lower 48 friends, I'm going to just throw out some of the basics for using up the carrot harvest of 2012!  This is my first year of having an abundance of carrots and it made me feel like a rich woman!  The last couple years, they looked great on top, but when I pulled one up it would look like a miniature octopus! 

For the record, I'm not a big fan of cooked carrots by themselves.  So what was I going to do with all these?  First of all, the joy of Fynn helping me pull them out of the ground made them worth the effort!  Then he even helped me wash them all!

My big helper!  Okay so...

1. Dehydrate: This is my first year using this lovely contraption that we actually got as a wedding gift!  But I love it!  I dried a ton of my green onions this year, too.  The dried carrots don't look too pretty, but I can't wait to put my own carrots in some moose stew this winter!

2. Boiled.  I said I don't like cooked carrots, but Fynn adores them!  I left a little crunch in them and he just put them away!  I'm pretty sure he's going to turn orange with all the carrots he's been eating!  Side note: I can't get him to eat store-bought carrots!  What does that tell you?

3. Shred for...

         Carrot Cake!  The best use for carrots in my opinion! =)  This awesome recipe here!

4. Save some fresh for dipping in ranch.  Josh love taking these with his lunch to work

5. And finally you're left with just chicken feed!  Or compost fodder?  

Although I haven't tried it yet (I saved some carrots out to give it a go later), this recipe for carrot soup actually looked pretty amazing, too!

Fynn's 15 Months (Already!?)

Didn't I just have my birthday party?  Hm, oh well I guess a lot has changed with me (Fynn) lately!

1.  I walk pretty great!  And sort of run, too!  It's my favorite thing to do!

2.  Summer was amazing!  So much to see and explore!

3. I love my family!  Immediate and extended!  I give pretty awesome bear hugs!

4.  I'm eating whatever Momma and Poppa are eating.  I've really developed a taste for soup, Lorenzo's salsa, wild cranberries and the ice cream that Amma and Appa gave me!

5.  I don't talk a lot, but I do love my sound effects!  I regularly say "Boom," "Crash," Rawr," "Vroom," and a variety of animal noises!

6. My favorite toys are trucks, trains and balls

7. I LOVE Sunday School!  It's my favorite part of the week!

8.  I don't like to sleep.  I might miss something.

Gotta go for now!  There's exploring to be done!  I'll be a year and a half soon enough and give you another update!

Josh's Job

I'm so proud of my hardworking honey!  He started his new position at Fort Knox Gold Mine in August!  Not mining but working on their ginormous equipment!  He really loves it and the guys he works with.  The only catch is that it's night shift.  He sees it as a bonus and actually enjoys it, but Fynn and I are still getting used to the new routine.  Bonus blessing: the timing of this was amazing!  He was told by management to apply for this job withing a couple weeks of me resigning from my position as RN and Fairbanks Memorial to be a stay at home mom!  I just feel like it was God confirming that it was the right choice for us right now!  Josh's dad and I got to go visit one day this summer, so here is just a glimpse of where Josh is working now:

The massive size of the pit is unbelievable and these photos really don't do it justice.  Every tier here is 30 feet.  The red rectangles to the right are conex containers lined up.

Each of these trucks are bigger than our house!  Oh and those brown streaks in the rock behind them?  That's gold.

Me sitting in the wheel of one of the trucks.  I think Josh said that this wasn't one of the bigger ones.

Holding a gold bar = 1/2 million!  They ship out something like a dozen of these a week!

Good bye Summer! (and Autumn!)

Okay, the summer is undeniably over as the snow falls out my window (waa!)  Our summers are so short and packed full of life that I decided blogging was one of those things that had to be put on hold for a while.  What a lovely time of year here in Alaska!  We packed in lots of fishing, hiking, gardening, home projects, visits, and even a vacation (post to come)!  Not too warm this summer, here's a progression of a pond Fynn and I walk to (almost) every day:

Ah, it goes by so fast!  Okay, all this just to say, many summer recap posts to come.  Right now, time to snooze!

Puppy Party!

We celebrated Fynn's first year with one of his favorite animals: dogs!  His clancey was the only real dog there, but the theme was fun.  We had...

Hot dogs, of course,

Puppy Chow,

"Pup" corn,

"Pup" Cakes,

and "Leashes!"

Fynn loved his decorations, too.  His eyes got all wide and he kept pointing to everything.  And, as expected, the baloons were a hit, too.  Such fun celebrating his arrival into our life!

Hot Dog Octopus & Book Review

I have been blessed with a fun mom and I'm trying to remember the things she did so that I can pass them on to Fynn.  He's being a bit of a picky eater right now.  He takes bites great, and chews them, but then he spits it out and tries to throw it on the floor!  I got him to eat a bit last night, though, by making one of our old favorites: Mac & Cheese and Hot dog Octopus.  Or Quadpus as the case may be.

Take a hot dog and make two opposing cuts about two thirds up like so:

Then hollow out two "eyes":

Boil until the arms curl and use to top the noodles!

I am having so much fun going to the library and reading books with Fynn.  There are just so many I really love, I have a hard time choosing!  I just thought I'd post about some of my favorites for those with similar tastes (and so I can remember them for futures).

Right now Fynn's favorite is Time for Bed by Mem Fox.  (Check it out at Barnes & Noble).  He wants to read it every night!

Ages: 6 mo. - 3 yrs.

Format: Large board book = not easily mangled by sharp new teeth.

Story: Relaxing, rhythmic rhymes of mama animals telling their little ones it's bedtime

Illustrations: (this is really important to me!) Gorgeous!  Large watercolor animals that Fynn loves to look at.  He points out the eyes, ears, nose...