We are back and praising God for a gorgeous week in Alaska! The scenery was amazing!!! We can never seem to get enough of snow-covered mountains, so a trip to Alaska was a good fit for us. One afternoon I think we literally "watched" the mountains for 3 hours! We had beautiful weather, and were able to take a few mountain hikes that allowed us to see the "Alaskan rainforest" and get some fantastic views of... you guessed it, mountains! :) The hikes also reminded us that's it's been awhile since we climbed 2000 feet in 2 hours! Fortunately, there were over 8 hot tubs on-board the ship (cruise ships are all about everything in excess you know!), so we were able to soak our aching muscles while taking in more of the breathtaking scenery. And as for the sea-sickness, it wasn't too bad. The rough ocean waves were a little difficult, but as soon as we reached Alaska, it was smooth "cruising"...a little windy and chilly, but smooth! We are truly thankful for this chance to see more of God's amazing creation...seeing those snow-covered mountains was such a reminder of how BIG our God is! So, we're praising Him for the beauty He's created, and for the chance to rest up before our big move! We will be packing like crazy this week, and
this Saturday we'll take the plunge into home-ownership! Thanks for all your prayers!
No laughing at my head-scarf...it was cold!!
This mountain range just went on and on...in a good way! :) The mountains were HUGE and we had the blessing of sailing by them for hours! It was the best part of being on a boat!
And just to give a little perspective on how HUGE the mountains were, here you can see a "tiny" lighthouse we passed. Can you imagine living there?!
I had to post at least one picture to prove we were on a cruise ship, right? ;) The boat was huge and kind of surreal...kind of like Las Vegas on a boat. This is the "formal night" picture, and yes, this is as formal as the Parkers get! :)
A beautiful sunset at sea.
It is official: we are homeowners! Although things did not go quite as we had planned (do they ever?), we are finally in our new home! I'll spare you the crazy details (you're welcome), and just get to what you're probably interested in...pictures! ;)
Well, before pictures of the house, credit must be given to the mighty movers ;) In God's providence, David's brother Andrew was in Seattle the weekend we moved, and we are so thankful he was willing to help move all our junk! :) We had a few other friends help out as well, and we're quite thankful for all their help...moving is no fun, especially the lifting-crazy-heavy-boxes part.
They were kind enough to leave a tiny walkway to get through this mess! :)
You're amazed at how quickly we got rid of that mess of boxes? Well, in truth, most of those boxes are still there, and they don't make for great room pictures...so, I'm only posting the pictures taken by the professional stager (aka: optical illusionist paid to make seller's home look better than it really is). Eventually I'll get pictures with our stuff...maybe. :)
Dining Room
The Kitchen...although all the pretty appliances went bye-bye with the seller. We went about 4 days without a fridge or oven, and then some friends graciously gave us their old appliances, so now we're set! We're so thankful for God's provision!
The downstairs living space
The deck...although the picture conveniently leaves out the welcome team that came with our new home (see below).
Yes, we were welcomed by a family of raccoons...that I think mistake themselves for house cats. They would actually stand at the back door waiting to be fed! Although the 5 babies are kinda cute, we've decided they need to look elsewhere for food (and hopefully that won't mean our garbage can!;).
The Momma lounging around on our deck...they really act like they own the place!
The end of a crazy day's work! We are so thankful to God for providing this house, and for providing the family & friends to help move (thanks a bunch Andrew!!). We are praying that God will use this house for His glory!
