I just had to share this with you guys

When Nicholas and I were heading to Anchorage the roads were not repaired from the runoff of the spring thawing of the snow so we had to find our own way down to the airstrip instead of the agent picking us up with his truck. I asked my sister-in-law Beck and as we were riding down she asked if I had a cell phone. I don't, so she offered hers and I accepted. Trouble was I was unfamiliar with the type she had and could not find her number. I called my girls and informed them that I had their auntie Beck's phone, but they had to call her for the number and did not expect a phone call from anyone. The next afternoon I received a call but pressed the wrong button in my haste to answer the phone and missed the call. I was tired and did not recognize the number on the received calls so I called the number to notify them that if they were calling for Becky she was at home. I did not recognize the person on the other line, and was not expecting anyone to call me yet so my explanation was kinda rushed into their ear rather abruptly practically as soon as they said, "hello." There was silence for a couple seconds then that someone asked, "are you a single lady?" I was shocked and alarmed, because I did not know who this man was and blurted, "NO!" and hung up the phone. The phone rang again, I did not answer.

I was still not familiar with the phone's dynamics but I was able to answer other calls and replied to two text messages after Nicholas and I returned to the Quyana quarters. In total I got five different people calling to reassure me that the mystery man was my younger brother Steven, along with two different people texting me the same information. When I treated him like a stranger when he answered cell (sort of newly acquired-and yes, I did recognize it when I finally got settled safely in my room,) he decided to see if I would recognize his voice, which obviously I did not. I got so much mixed emotions from relief to only God knows what else. There was no one else besides Nicholas there but I felt so embarrassed! I had a good laugh over it later, after I quit being jumil. I still waved my fists at him playfully when I seen him and said, "You were lucky to have been way over here when I found out." This story definitely will be told for years to come. By golly when I finally get me another cell phone his number will be the first one I identify on my contact list! :D

Nicholas' had tubes put in his ears

On the 6th of May Nicholas and I began our journey into Anchorage to put tubes in his ears. At first I was worried about his age and, to be honest a whole lot of other "what if"s. The third attempt at traveling was the charm, so to speak. The first try was stopped by Mt. Redoubt. The second by a high fever and ear infection. The weather was nice and warm down there, warmer than Russian Mission.

Nicholas was a big hit with the people there. Everyone was amazed that he was only 15 months because he looks to be at least a year older. We seen people I have not seen in a long long time which was nice. The last night there we watched a native dance group in the main lobby. I tried taking him for a walk around the hospital to "wear him out" for his nap and ended up the one worn out.

By the third night I was feeling a bit lonesome for my family and so was Nicholas by the uninterested manner in which he approached our activities. It was good to come home but the travel took its toll on my energy level. At home earlier today my cousin Irene and niece Tanya and six other seniors had their graduation ceremony. Tonight the prom. lol I ended up babysitting but it is one thing I hope never to tire from, kids are kids for such a short time.

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Steven and Katie Nick

My Brother Steven and Katie Lease got married on April 26th. It was a very beautiful ceremony. My family from Bethel and her mother and sister-in-law came to attend this happy event. It was a bit challenging with the snow melting so quickly. My sister Olga was on-call the night we were decorating the cake. My nieces and cousins helped decorate the cakes. Thank goodness it was not as elaborate as my cousin John's cake! Afterwards Steven and the Russian Mission band played and my dad even went up and joined them in song. Fun times. I personally did not see that. I was worn out from all the celebrations. Nicholas is getting heavy! Katie's daughter Reanna whispered to me during the ceremony, "Now Ruby is my sister, I have two sisters now," speaking of Ruby, Steven's daughter who is adopted by my sister Olga and Katrice, Reanna's younger sister. She calls Steven dad, which warms my heart. Love is truly one of life's greatest blessings!

Arctic Care Arrives at Russian Mission

On a warm afternoon of March 10th as I was getting Nicholas ready for our walk to the clinic I heard something very unusual, the sound of choppers. Puzzled I looked outside my living room window to see two military helicopters circling the village. Not knowing what was going on I called Jim. "It is the Arctic Care," he replied. As we talked I noticed something very alarming. One of the helicopters was descending right between the clinic and post office! "Oh My God! What are they doing!" Images of broken power lines tangling the people inside filled my mind such that I could not talk for a few seconds. I could not understand why they would land there when we have a big airfield with plenty of room on the apron. I watched as the second helicopter tried to find a landing spot within the village, hovering over various places before returning back to the area of the first helicopter. The one that landed eventually took off and they parked on the apron of the airport. What an adventurous and unexpected entrance! This is one day I will not soon forget. Later when talking to my daughters and niece about our exciting afternoon I heard that there were some other more dramatic conclusions to seeing the copters hover over the village. Apparently one of the young girls on the road next to my grandpa's house where they were exclaimed, "They are going to kill us! Its the end of the world!" These do make very good conversations. There is now personnel here to help see to the health of our people until the 18th, a dentist, a physical therapist, an optometrist, an audiologist, and two main doctors. We are blessed.

Daylight Savings Time, and updates of the family

I don't know if it's because of the increase in the amount of times I actually look at the time lately or just the usual trouble adjusting to the new time whenever I deal with daylight savings time but I am TIRED today yet I cannot sleep...maybe I am just too tired. The spring cleaning bug has bitten earlier than usual and I have spent most of today going through boxes of clothes I had hidden away, sorting out the ones to give away, refolding ones that Nicholas grabbed and threw on the floor, over and over again. He has become a human version of Curious George. So far he has ransacked my kitchen, dug in the trash, emptied a number of drawers in the bedroom to the point where I actually told him, "Nicholas - you have a whole year before you become a terrible two! There is no skipping!" This weather does not help much with all the snow and wind...but at least we got a break yesterday and most of today.

Yesterda my daughter came back from St. Marys where the regional tournament was held. Her team came in third, the boys second and she won first place in the free throw contest. Her sister asked what she got for it, she replied "just a piece of paper" referring to the certificate. Silly kid. I am very proud of her. The team actually traveled in the freezing rain, then literally pouring rain in order to make it to the tournament because the planes could not pick them up. Talk about dedication! They survived without getting sick so that is a great thing. Part of me admired their dedication, the mother in me thought they were nuts to even think of traveling. Like I was at that age, Felicia loves to travel. Here is to ongoing athletic efforts of our youth!

Amateur Cake Decorators

In the tiny villages of rural Alaska there are usually no cake shops where one can order a special cake so sometimes those of us who do not normally design and decorate wedding cakes find ourselves stacking tiers and placing stairs and flowers... My cousin John Askoak got married last weekend to his long time girlfriend Darlene "Tassie" Nickoli. She asked me if I could make her cake. I replied that only if my sister Olga was willing to help decorate. Olga is a health aide here and she was on call - thank goodness no one called her. She left my house at 5:30 A.M. Sunday morning, we were almost done. The parents of the bride helped bring the cake to the gym, and my sister and I finished up the cake with time to sit and anxiously await the happy crowd. One of the people asked me how much cake mixes we used, and another asked other questions - my response to all was "I have no idea, I lost count. I am just so glad it turned out okay!" After I recover from this case of flu I have a few people asking about taxes...such is life in rural Alaska.

Sad start of 2009

During the end of 2008 and start of 2009 the villagers of Russian Mission knew that two of our elders were not well, but still their passing was a bit of a shock to me. Our Christmas "Slavic" celebration was in progress when on January 10th Norman Housler Sr. passed away. A great example of Christian piety and faith, a gentle man who did so much for our village during his years, greatly loved by many. We will miss him greatly. The day after his funeral we lost Sarah Askoak, a former chior leader and member of the sisterhood of the church. Norman was my mother's uncle, Sarah her aunt. To make matters worse some younger villagers spent the time during our holiday drinking. Hopefully our situations here will improve.
During this time of saddness I forgot my registration. Hopefully I will be able to do something later on to get back on track with my educational goals. Until then I have my children, my grandchild and my grandparents to think of... Keep me and my little village in your prayers and I pray that your 2009, your family friends and communities are safe, healthy and all things positive.