Okay, here is one looooonnnnggg overdue post. We have been so busy unpacking, getting settled in to the house, and setting up utilities (like internet) that it has been impossible for me to get a post up. Currently, we have been in the house just short of two weeks and I don't think either of us have stopped moving since trying to get everything situated and caught up.

Below are pictures I have taken of the house as we were unpacking. I love before and after pictures so I knew I wanted to capture the house as we moved in to see how we change it over the years to make it our own. As you can tell, we have already began a few "face lift" projects inside and I can't begin to explain the work Jim is doing on the yard. I have no pictures of the process, but with the help of me and our friend, Aaron, Jim has dug a long ditch on one side yard to try to drain the back yard. Right now, the back yard is very saturated and constantly muddy. Countless hours have been spent outside working, shovel load by shovel load. Moving dirt, filling the ditch with gravel, putting in a hose, covering it with gravel, and then covering it back up with dirt. I wish I had a picture of Jim covered chest-high in mud after a day of hard work. As far as other yard work, we have also starting our flower gardens in the front of the house and produce in our greenhouse. Luckily we have a WONDERFUL ocean view and awesome weather to make being outside in early Spring in Alaska not so bad.  :)

                 

                                      

My weekly "God thing":

As you may have seen in the pictures, the source of heat for our house is a wood stove. I have very limited experience for using a wood stove for heat. Thankfully, Jim has been in charge of keeping a fire going and regulating the heat in the house. Some firewood was left under the porch of the house that got us through a few days. Our neighbor came over to show Jim tips and tricks for using a wood stove and helped us determine it was safe to burn. After a few days, we realized our wood supply was nowhere near enough to get us into the warmer months of summer. I posted online the need for dry, split firewood, and we bought a truckload locally for a small fortune. However, there were only a few pieces that were dry enough to burn. As stored heat in our house got less and less, we became slightly worried. Then a patient of Jim's said that she and her fiance had a load of firewood in their basement. It had been sitting there for years and they did not need it because they had since started using electric heat and would be moving soon anyway. If we could come pick it up, it was ours free to take. Jim went one afternoon to pick it up, the generous man helped him load up the truck, and we had a coworker, Shermaine, help us unload it at our home. Not only that, but when Jim offered a small amount to help compensate for the expense of the wood, the man replied, "Give it to the church." If that's not God supplying us with much needed firewood, I don't know what is. As we were finishing the unloading process, I found this heart shaped piece that reaffirmed that God's hand and love was shadowing over this event.