What wonder beholds.

It has been 2 1/2 months since we landed on Alaskan soil now and I personally can look back and see the changes which have taken place both in the physical sense of "being here" and the relocation process itself, as well as emotionally or within my being. It is kind of weird actually in some senses. For example, 2 days ago I finally had to change the ring tone on my local cell phone. I got it so I would have a local numbered cell phone for new clients here, and of course didn't start using it until about the time we arrived in June. But I realized the other day that every time it rings now I would feel an uncalming feeling about me. It dawned on me that when it rang, I would here the same ring tone as I heard when times were a little insecure a couple months ago. I was mentally drifting back to a couple months ago when all I wanted it to do was ring as a ringing cell phone meant business and business meant money. A time when my Psyche was most vunerable to the 'vacation syndrome' (for those who have never experienced it, it is the feeling that your just on vacation and it will be over soon.....just sucks!) and the fear of "what if we cant make a living here". In general just the feelings of being out of place, not having your normal ties and life just being like living on a thread essentially. Yes....I was feeling that at times back then..... But now I am feeling much more secure, faith has kicked in full throttle and it was just time to eliminate those creepies from my head and change the ring tone. You know....new start, new ring tone! Other things are more in your face. Like the ability to see what my dashboard lights look like on my 2 month old new truck. Something I hardly had the experience of seeing because it didn't get dark 2 months ago. Being able to finally figure out what outside lights are burned out, and which of the hundreds of light switches in our home activates those many outside lights. The compound can be lit at night! Again, it is just hard to do when it doesn't get dark out. I even discovered that at the end of our road, someone installed one of those mercury lamps up on the power pole, so when you come off the main road onto ours you can see the turn off. I guess I never looked up enough at that intersect, but now that it really gets dark....baddabing! There it was....the light! Anyways, there are alot of neat things in that respect. Some are nature oriented with fall upon us. Like earlier in the summer when you heard a moose howl....you knew it was a moose. Now with open season here, when you here a moose....you wonder if it is a moose or Jedediah's moose call. I am not sure if the moose have figured out the difference, but I have! Then there are spiders. They must spend the summer fornicating, because they are out like no other now. I mean in the past few days it's like spider webs everywhere. I mean those really cool geometrical ones! With the somewhat warmer days the past couple days and the dropping temps at night the fog is rolling in off of the bay at night and it is just like a scene out of on of those fairy tale/fantasy movies. Just awesome. I actually got to plug in my fog beams on the truck last night and level them. And, we got to see the full moon the other night as it came up on the horizon. Was spectacular. John says that he specifically wakes up at night so he can go out and look at the stars. Try to imagine not seeing any stars since June. Oh it's a trip man! It is just a neat experience to be able to be so involved with the changing season and all of the wonders it is bringing about. Cool thing is that this is just one of several more to come. Mind you, we did our homework long before we made the move, and also visited a couple of different seasons. So in some senses we kind of know what to expect, but that aside it is totally different to experience it first hand. You can only simulate so much but usually have to 'live' it to experience it. My folks are coming up to visit here in the next couple of weeks and that ought to be fun. Although I somewhat know what to expect of our new surroundings come that time....I really don't know. I wonder what range of the senses they will get to experience while here, and feel really blessed knowing that we as well will get to experience those senses for the first time. Really is spiritual when you think of it. This morning it is fogy at 47 degrees with 14 hours and 50 minutes of daylight. Hope you will find some serenity in your world today. It just takes the peace in your soul to feel it sometimes what with the quick pace and frustrations that life will throw at you. God bless, and we love and miss you.

-Greg