Long Update

Got a few free moments, I thought I would update on how life is going in Fairbanks.

It is SUMMER here!! Our spring and summer kinda of blur together, and I personally think it is more accurate to say that we go from winter to summer. The weather is gorgeous. 70s-80s during the day and 40s-50s at night. I like the cooler temps at night because it helps cool everything off. Our townhouse gets SO hot upstairs and having the cool nights helps cool it off. P.S. There is no such thing as central air here. People have heat or fans. Only place you are going to find central air is the hospital and Walmart. Our windows are too big for window AC units so we are learning to be creative with fans.

Summer for us means LOTS of daylight!!! Sunrise was at 4:06am this morning and the sunset is set for 11:31pm. That is a LOT of daylight. No worries, we have dark curtains and my one nightshift a week isn't quite as harsh because at 4am, you can watch the sunrise out the windows. It is a nice change from winter where, regardless of your shift, you go to work and come home from work in the darkness. June 21st will be the lonnnngest day of sunlight...in fact, there will not be a sunset that day for us. Nearly 24 hours of daylight! Isn't that amazing!?!?

The other thing summer means is mosquitos! Little known fact if you haven't been to AK, but we have mad mosquitos..mosquitos everywhere!! We have a mosquito net that goes over Kaden's stroller but it hasn't been that bad yet. Summer also means, for our family, lots of cookouts and hiking and fishing and in June, my entire family is coming!!! We will be seeing glaciers, snow covered mountains (yes, in June there are still snow covered mountains!!), hopefully seeing whales on our cruise in valdez, going halibut fishing and just hanging out. I can't wait!

KADEN UPDATE!!
I can't believe that he is nearly 7 months old! In two weeks, he will be that old! Can you believe it?? He had a dr. appt. this week for his ear infection and weighed 18lbs 12 oz. He is getting longer, I think but she didn't measure his length. Last time (which was 1.5 months ago, he was 27 inches) He is such a joy and we love having him around.

He is still just drinking milk. We have tried cereal, green beas, peaches, applesauce and bananas but he spits them all out and makes horrible faces. Like, "gee mom, why are you torturing me??" The pediatrician said to just keep trying, he will like it sometime. He does love biter biscuits though, which he can munch/gum on. No teeth yet but he drools all the time and everything he picks up goes to his mouth. He can sit up great in his highchair, infact at restaurants, mom and dad can now eat with Kaden sitting in his own chair. Such a big boy!!

He loves to sit on the floor and play. He doesn't like being on his tummy as much, but he is good at it. He has tried to scoot a few times, but no success yet. He can roll over now! I read that it is a 3 month skill, but it took him a bit longer. If you put a basket of toys in front of him, he will take them out one at a time and play with them. Then you've really got a mess! He has a jumparoo that he loves. And he has a play saucer at grandmas, which has lot of different things to play with. It has a swivel chair, which he just this week learned how to swivel around in. He loves empty water bottles because they make a great noise!

Kaden loves being around other kids, which really get his attention. He likes daycare because of that, I think. He watches and watches the other kiddos. And yesterday at daycare, I went to visit him on my break and he was sitting in a bumbo chair watching the fish swim in the fishtank. He also loves going to Grandma's house and playing. Usually there are some cousins there, which is a bonus cuz they love to play with him!

He is learning how to make new noises every day and new facial expressions. I need to get the camera out to capture some of them. He is also so smart now. He can see us across the room. You can just raise your eyebrows or smile at him and he bursts into a huge grin. He also loves to dance and really likes music. We have music on lots in the car and at home, and we love making him dance. He loves going for stroller rides and likes to listen when we read him books. And sometimes, we catch him sneaking a peek at the tv. We tell him, "you are too young to watch tv, mr. grant!"

Still waiting for his first words, first crawl, first foods, first walking, etc. Those things will come soon enough but for now, we are loving being parents!

Jon's job is going well. His shop is very busy in the summer, with the influx of tour buses on the roads and the RVs on the roads. He is working as the service writer right now, opening and closing all their jobs and doing customer service. The benefit is that he doesn't have to do the manual labor, but the downfall is dealing with people with broken vehicles. Not such happy people sometimes. But overall, I think his job is going well.

I continue to work in the ICU 1-2 dayshifts a week. I have been a preceptor to new staff as of late. I really like my job there. The people I work with are great. And the patients are both nice to take care of and nice to chat with. We have already seen a bunch of tourists come through our doors, so they always have stories to tell! Sometimes they don't speak English though, which can be challenging. I am also working as the Nursing Supervisor for the hospital one nighshift a week. I am in charge of bed placement, staffing, all codes/emergency situations, getting supplies/materials to patients are needed, calling in OR/cath lab crews, etc. Every shift is different, every shift I am learning something and every shift, I have enjoyed so far. It is thus far, the most intellectually stimulating thing I have done in awhile...gotta think quick and get ready for anything!

Youth group has been a blessing this year. Always challenging though! We just finished up for the summer, but have many activities planned for summer. We will resume weekly meetings in the fall. Looking ahead, we are excited for the returning youth as well as the new kids we will be leading. Continue to pray for us in this area.

We continue to live in Fairbanks in a townhouse, very near to downtown. We miss being more rural but enjoy the benefits of being close to work, stores, restaurants, etc. We are hoping by this time next year to be buying or building a house, or making arrangements to do either of those soon after that. Who knows what the Lord has for us!

In July, Jon and I will be married two years. It is amazing to think where God has brought us in the past 2+ years. Having Kaden is the best thing that ever happened to us. And having AK as a home, where God is using us for his kingdom is a tremendous blessing!

Enough rambling. Hope the update helps us not seem so far away. We miss you all. And baby is awake. More updates and pics to come!