It's been awhile

First, I apologize for not updating this in a very long time. It is hard for me at the end of my day to sit down at the computer and just type. I am use to actually writing with pen and paper when I want to write my thoughts. I also usually want to do something that doesn't involve thinking. I am usually so busy all day and all I want to do it veg out in front of the TV. But I will get better at it, because we are now in Alaska and I am sure you all want to hear about it all, right?? :)
Secondly, I have another reason for being so lazy. I am 19 weeks pregnant for those of you that do not know. It has been a very hard pregnancy for me for many reasons. I have had morning sickness (all day sickness) that put me in the bed. I have had no energy to do anything. I feel bad for the girls, because for a few of those weeks it was so bad, I could not get out of bed. Getting pregnant so soon after the miscarriage, I have had some excitement issues with this one. I want to be excited about it, but it is hard. I am very thankful that we were able to get pregnant and I am able to carry this one. I won't feel relief until I can actually hold this one in my arms. JT is thrilled and so are the girls. Ella keeps asking when the baby is coming out. Olivia tells everyone she meets that I have a baby in my belly. I am sure we will find out soon what we are having. I don't want to, but JT does and there just really isn't any compromising in that situation. I can honestly say that I do not care what we have.
So, we are finally in Alaska. We got here April 7. JT was like a kid on Christmas when we stepped off the plane. I was thinking more, "What have we gotten ourselves into?" as I looked around at all the wild game in cases at the airport (they were dead). There was snow everywhere except the roads. The mountains were breathe taking. We were about to go into the unknown. We didn't know anyone or anything.
On the plane, I did meet a lovely lady who gave me her email and phone number if we needed anything. I have yet to need her, everyone we have meet has been so helpful.
JT's sponsor met us at the airport with another soldier. A sponsor is someone that is assigned to you when you go to another duty station. I am so thankful that they were assigned to us. I think God knew what he was doing. ;) We went to dinner with them that night at the Sourdough Mining Company, it is not that great just in case you ever want to eat there. There isn't anything sourdough bread about it. It is called Sourdough, because people that live in Alaska are called Sourdoughs.
Anyways, the Roquemoores have become good friends.
We have been able to see so many moose on our little outings. JT has seen a bear. I pray I do not! There are also wolves in the area. The wild life here is crazy. It is stuff I have only seen in pictures or the zoo.
The things about Alaska that I have found interesting...there are no lines on the roads that divide the lanes. It is a guessing game at where to go. The ice on the roads destroy the paint. In the Spring they go back and repaint the lines. THANKGOODNESS!
Snow melts snow here. I have never seen it before. When we first got here the girls were begging to go play in the snow. I wouldn't let them because the snow was mostly ice and there was a layer of volcanic ash on top. After about a week of being here, we got fresh snow. 2 days later all the snow melted...even the stuff that had been here awhile.
Going to bed at 11 pm and the sun is still up, is very different. I have been told that we gain 6-7 minutes of daylight everyday. You can tell! When we got here, the sun set at 9 pm, now it is 11ish pm. The girls have blackout fabric on there windows, but that doesn't block out all the sun. There were a few nights we had to battle out going to bed...I won 2 hours later.
We were able to get housing on post. It is so small! I was really upset about it at first, but after being here and having some of our stuff put away, I am getting use to it. I know I should be thankful for having a roof over my head. It is just hard when we are about to have 5 people in our family and we live in a 2 1/2 bedroom, one bath house. I say 1/2 room because it use to be a closet...no lie.
Good news, it doesn't take long to clean!
Our neighbors are nice and informative. I have met most of them. We were told that a bear lives in the dumpster in front of our house during the summer. JT is the one that takes out the trash and will forever be for that reason. As nice as our neighbors are we have to limit our time around them. I feel like my ears need to be washed with Holy water when I am finished talking with them. Unfortunately, you can't really get away from it when you are on post. Thankfully, the girls haven't picked it up. JT and I are just going to have to tell them that we do not talk that way, those things are not right to say, and that other people say them, but it doesn't mean that they (our girls) can. We try hard to keep them from it, but you can't control everyone's mouth.
It has been an adventure to say the least since we have been here. JT does work a lot and I mean a lot. They love him and he has been put in charge of his own shop. It is a great career move for him. It is going to take the girls and I more time to get use to being here. Maybe more me than the girls. I had a meltdown one night. Alaska, right now, is only a place I would have been fine visiting on vacation. Being here for 3 years, it something I am not so sure about. I do think that life is what you make of it. I am trying to have a good attitude about it, but sometimes it is hard. I am sure I will grow to love this place just like almost everyone else, but I will be thankful to be close to my family and friends when our time here is over.
I do have many pictures, and I promise I will get those up. I got on our lap top just so I could load pictures on here, but apparently they aren't on here anymore. So, pictures will have to be done later.