Mount Redoubt = Ash

Many of you have probably heard that Mount Redoubt has been watched closely over the past month or so and finally last week it began to spew ash...however we have been fortunate to have the wind pushing the ash clouds away from the Anchorage area. Today however was a different story. Early evening today Anchorage received its first dusting of ash. There was no doubt when you looked outside and saw the hazy skies and instantly smelled the scent of ash/sulfur. Also all that snow that I have been longing to disappear has now turned to a dirty gray instead of the beautiful white it use to be.

Thankfully we have only gotten a light dusting as Anchorage received the outer edge of the ash cloud. We are hoping this is all we get but with the mountain spewing ash clouds several times a day we will most likely see more.

Here is a picture of my footprint in the snow on our deck. You can see the white snow in the footprint appear under the thin layer of ash.


Guess we're in for a new adventure as we wait and see if more is to come...and Yawkey is in for lots of baths as we have to wash his paws ever time he goes out to piddle

Winter Walks and Girly Talks

Not to much has been going on at our home lately. But we are managing to keep our evening full with friends, family, and movies. This past week it was so nice outside that I took Yawkey out for a walk almost every day. Yawkey actually does great walking on the snow packed trials as long as he keeps moving but the minute we stop his poor little paws get so cold.
Yawkey and I don't every have to go walking by ourselves since half of my friends up here also have dogs. It has been fun to get to call up my girl friends and meet up with them for a short visit and brisk walk with the pups. Even though the sun is shining and the day is beautiful it is still very cold outside so the walks are short but fun.

Tyler has been keeping very busy with his new business and in trying to create a good client base and get his name out there it has required some long hours at the office. Though I miss having him home in the early evenings with me I have had a great time just hanging out with my girlfriends.

My friend Melanie had a girls night at her home a few weeks ago which was a blast. There were about 7 of us who took the night away from home and come over to Melanie's house for a night of pampering ourselves and watching girly movies. We did pedicures, manicures, facials and of course had some chocolate. And since it was all girls we got a little distracted talking and didn't get around to watching a movie. As I left to go home that night I was filled with joy, praise and thankfulness to God for the wonderful women he has place in my life. I am so blessed to have these gals as my friends who love the Lord, love their husbands and desire to follow God.



So winter is still here and yesterday we got another 6-10 inches of snow but I wouldn't want to live anywhere else right now. What a huge blessing from God to have the friends He has give me up here in AK.

Fur Rondy 2009

It is once again time for the annual Alaska winter festival - Fur Rondy!

We spent a few saturdays ago downtown enjoying a few of the activities that were going on. It snowed all day that day which made for a great winter backdrop for all the activities and made for some fun pictures. However. it also made it very cold outside. We bundled up anyway and headed down town with our friends Kyle and Natalie and decided that snow was not going to stop us from enjoying Fur Rondy.

This year we decided to watch the annual outhouse races. There were over 20 teams racing. Each team builds their own "outhouse" and places it on skies so it is ready to either push or pull down the street. The whole race was way far more exciting then I had imagined. When you have 4 people pushing and one person riding in these "outhouses" it makes for some great entertainment. They push the "outhouse" down the road and try to turn them around and push then back the other way on the slippery snow and ice. There was lots of laughter a few toppled over outhouses and only one or two team members dragged or almost run over.



(sorry no sound in the video)

Only in Alaska do you see stuff like this. It was fun but the cold finally got to us sooner then we had hoped and we called it an afternoon after only a few hours. We came home to warm up and then headed back out later that night to watch the fireworks.

2009 Goals / New Year Resolutions

Well it's 2009 and the new year is almost a month over. I have never been a fan of coming up with New Year Resolutions, and I have definitely never shared them with everyone 'cause that means I would really have to work on them. But this year is different I guess 'cause here I am about ready to share with all of you my New Year Resolutions.

GOALS for 2009 --

1. Finish memorizing the book of Philippians - (I memorized chapters 1 and 2 last year so only have 2 chapters left to go) - My friend Natalie is memorizing Philippians with me so we are trying to keep each other on track

2. Participate in the Eagle River Triathlon in May. -- My sister Amie is coming up to compete in it with me so I am very excited and training very hard since i am way out of shape.

3. Find a ministry to get involved in at Chapel by the Sea

4. Read through the Bible

I know there is a lot more I want to do for 2009 but for now these are the goals I'm really focusing on.

Progress thus far:

1. Philippians 3:1-2 (memorized)

2. I have gone to the gym 6 days a week for for the whole month of January

3. Have an application started for the church support ministry at CPC (Crisis Pregnancy Center)

So as the new year is already under way I have to say thus far I'm keeping up with my goals (I know we're still in January so don't laugh).

I'm looking forward to a great year.

A Very Special Day

Today (or really in a few hours from now - the 15th to be exact) is my mom's birthday. Happy Birthday Mom!


I am always sad not to live closer to help celebrate a special day like this. Mom you are a woman who seeks the face of God and delights in his teaching and the truth of Scripture. I can never come away from a conversation with you without a nugget of wisdom or new view of God's character. Thank you for everything that you do and for you constant faithfulness and devotion to us -- your family.





I love, miss you, and want to wish you the best birthday ever.

Cold Outside

You know it's cold outside when:

1. You can see you breath the minute you step outside
2. You take in your first breath and the cold air makes you cough
3. Taking that first breath of air makes your nose hairs freeze
4. You car takes 20 min to warm-up enough to drive
5. You dog can't stay outside long enough to do his business
6. There's no cloud in the sky, sun shining and you feel no warmth from the sun
7. You look like Rudolph every time you walk into a building
8. You do a happy dance when the 7 day forecast shows temperatures of 10 to 20 degrees at the end of the week.

It is more then freezing here. The past few weeks have been frigid and I have experienced all of the above events every single time I step outside (or watched my dog outside). The high the other day in Anchorage was -10 and on our way out to Palmer last weekend we drove through an area that was -30. I'm thinking that 10 degrees sounds pretty hot right now and am so thankful I don't live in Fairbanks where it by far colder.

White Christmas

This year was the year for Tyler and I to head down to Seattle for Christmas and spend it with my family. Little did we ever expect in Sept. when we bought our tickets that we would be having a white Christmas. There was about 9 inches of snow at my parents house and it was rather cold outside. The best thing was that it snowed on Christmas day. What a perfect backdrop for a wonderful and perfect day.

We managed to fit a whole lot into just 5 days. We had Christmas, Rosemary's 1st Birthday party and lots of friends to visit. We managed to see almost everyone we wanted to. We had a great time playing games with the Tholls and the Platts. I got to have coffee with my good friend Doris-Rai from High School. We had a delicious breakfast with the Olanders and hope to get to see them up here in our neighborhood soon for another visit; and we also got to spend time with the Smalls. We are so blessed to have so many good family friends down in Seattle. You all have an impact on our lives and we love catching up with you all.

The greatest joy of being down in Seattle was spending time with my family. Tyler got to meet Rosemary for the first time and PJ entertained us all with her dancing, singing and continual comments. My mom made an amazing dinner for about 17 people and like always we had the traditional Greenfield family sharing at the end of the night where we all share what we have learned or experienced over the last year. It is a great time of reflection and fun for Tyler and I to hear from everyone since we miss so much living so far away.

Out time was sweet and as always way to short. But we have lots of pictures to remember our time and we hope to see all of you some time soon.