Hello, Little One

     Hello, little one. Your daddy and mama are among the most giving people I know. Last Christmas alone they supplied funds toward a snow blower and stove to Papa Mark and Gramma Miish.  And now for us, they have provided an all expenses paid trip to Alaska all the way from North Carolina: flight, food, car, cabin, and even a suitcase for me, Mamachelle, and Extra Tuffs for Papa Mike. 

     This trip was in lieu of the one planned for Papa Mike to tour the Western US with Mama and Daddy. I think Mama, with you on the way, wanted to do what could potentially be Papa's last big trip, considering the condition his health is in. Little did she know that Alaska instead would be the "hoorah," not necessarily the "last" but one that can never be replicated.

     Getting there was hard for your mama. She got a migraine on the second flight of the three it took to get there. The first night we all four stayed in the room together at a hotel in Anchorage. The drive to Soldotna, your daddy's hometown, was cloudy and foggy. But then it all lifted for the rest of the 12 days! Upon arrival at Papa Mark and Gramma Miish's, a favorite meal of your daddy's, fried fish and sushi, was soon underway and then something I've never done, the "processing" of a moose, which went on for days actually. 

     We were introduced that same afternoon to our "cabin," a mini-cabin really, which was perfectly charming to me but quite tight for Papa Mike! I thought I'd give him the bigger bed, which happened to be the one in the loft. His cumbersome descent gave me one of the biggest laughs I've ever had in my whole life. Of course, we switched. 

     When, in the night, I had to make a mad dash for the glorified outhouse, the charm suddenly turned to alarm. I had seen pictures of the wildlife that roam the property. So, I added a new level of thanks to my prayers each time I got back in my bed unharmed!

     Papa Mark and Gramma Miish, and your Aunts Neakita, Alaina, and Katelyn gave us the grand tours of both Homer and Seward, port cities surrounded by strikingly beautiful waters speckled with colorful boats against the back drop of nothing less than glaciers! 

     We were totally unprepared for another trip we got to take! A fellow church member of theirs, Jim, took us up in his plane while Papa Mark flew in the co-pilot's seat. Papa Mike and I sat in the second row, with Mama and Daddy in the back. Just because we all had headsets did not mean that I understood what all was about to take place. We flew over the oil rigs and along the coastline of the national park. It wasn't clear to me that we planned to land anywhere until we were practically on the beach, a beach where the only residents were wild. I wasn't anywhere nearly as interested as everyone else in exploring, regardless of the scenery that leaves one breathless. The discovery of bear AND wolf tracks confirmed my suspicions. I was relieved when Papa Mark revealed that he was "packing" a formidable weapon. Then, and ONLY then was I comfortable enjoying our picnic of sandwiches and salmon dip. 

     Our exit was not as smooth as our entry, and I was to the point of tears with excitement before I even knew that we barely missed the waterline before take-off. And that was after we got stuck in the sand and had to dig out the plane!

     As we went on down the coast, we finally found the prize, grizzly bears digging for clams in the muddy inlets. Jim flew us low to see all that we could, just as he did through the mountain range and into the "bowl" where the glacier lay and where your mama still fighting morning sickness, a pilot herself, gave up the contents of her stomach to the turbulent flight. 

     The intermittent events at Papa Mark and Gramma Miish's led to more significant happenings than these. We had game night, and there was a party for Daddy where lots of family friends came to celebrate his birthday! But there was a Sunday afternoon meal that made the whole trip take on new meaning. Your Daddy's youth minister asked if he'd been baptized. When I heard him, I went and inquired, "Did anyone suggest you ask him that?" When he replied, "No," I KNEW that God was at work because we had just been discussing it a few evenings ago.

     While Daddy's parents gathered as many people as they could, we all headed toward Sports Lake to witness both your daddy hold back tears as he testified of the time he knew he could not go on without the Lord and walk down into the cold, cold water to be baptized in order to publicly show the outer cleansing that happens on the inside of a Believer in and Follower of Christ. I, of course, cried as with every other baptism I've been present for. Sometimes I laugh at myself and say that's the reason I know that I myself am saved!

     The "water" plays such a big part there on the peninsula. We went on beach strolls with Daddy and Mama to find shells and rocks and your daddy's favorite, agates. My favorites were the small green rocks and tiny pink shells. I brought them home and put them in Aunt Madalynn's flower pot. The boat ride we got to take out to the camp site where Daddy and his sisters used to go with the church was to me the most beautiful of all, just because I couldn't stop gazing at the aqua color of the glacier water. 

     We got a fire going, snacks out, and bug nets on. There was bear skat everywhere, so I was keeping my eyes peeled at every turn, especially hiking up the waterfall with brush all around! Papa Mark, Daddy, his sisters, and their dog, Tundra, all climbed to the top, while Gramma and I had to be escorted down from our halfway marks. 

     Papa Mark's mom, Grandma Dawn, had us over twice and had everything just so! We got to see the horses Aunt Katelyn works with and where Gramma works to get the Gospel out to the natives and from where Papa Mark flies staff, volunteers, and supplies for Samaritan's Purse! Papa Mike got to see even more than we did. We'll call that an upgrade just like the cabin one we got. When everyone left from the last tourist weekend of the season, we were placed in the Honeymoon Cabin for free. It was many times bigger than the first and not only had "indoor" plumbing but also had a jacuzzi!

     We saw moose and caribou right on the sides of the roads. More importantly I got to know your aunts on these rides. Katelyn is a bundle of laughs. Alaina listens and helps. And Neakita has struck out on her own and is someone I could talk with all day. This kind of thing was the true objective of the trip. 

     Meanwhile, Aunt McKala, Abigail, and Autumn were in North Carolina staying with Uncle Macklynn and Aunt Madalynn. He had broken the growth plate of his pelvis sprinting during football practice and was still dependent on crutches. Then, two weeks before the trip, Aunt Madalynn fell on her skateboard (that Papa Mike had given permission but not blessing for - God does that too, so remember it) and broke the radius bone in her arm in two and had to have it reset. That was it; I called the trip off, until I found out that Daddy and Mama couldn't get refunds. So three days before, I changed my mind when Madalynn said she was feeling better and when McKala continued to convince she could handle two three-year-olds and two broken-up teens for 12 days!

     Now, Papa Mike, Daddy and Mama, and I are back in the Lower 48 awaiting your expected March arrival. You've begun moving in Mama's belly, which reminds me of what David said, "I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly" (Psalm 22:10). You have ones going before you seeking and serving Christ. Child, may you always do the same.