Alaska | A Heart for Alaska

August 4, 2016
by Rose Leave a comment

Spring 2013 – Life continues to Change

Been awhile since I last posted. It would seem that my “good intention” for this blog have been blogged down with the thing we call life.

Life happens!

You can make all the plans you want, and be a person who has discipline but no matter how you try, LIFE will happen. Something or someone will throw a wrench into the best laid plans.

And as “Life Happens” time does not stop and wait for you to take a breath and say, “OK, Lets go” it marches on whether we want it to or not.

2012 will be a year that time for me stopped. I could not move forward, I lived in the now and day by day. My son was DEPLOYED. Into a war zone, the sand box. I survived that time and felt the knot I carried go out of my gut when I saw him walk in that gym, in October, 2012.

But of course Time did march on. Those months just marched right on by.

After he got home it was a whirlwind of activity, he was getting married. (You can see my blog on the marriage)

And time marches on……

It seemed to accelerate Before I knew it my son was married and the very day after took on responsiblity of twin baby girls, born the day after their wedding.

Senior Year

December 1, 2012
by Rose Leave a comment

Wedding 2012

Today, December 1, 2012, my second son Jeremiah was married to Victoria Metoyer. It was the grand finale of months of planning, by her mom, Kara, and her.

The proposal was in May, while Jeremiah was home in leave from Afghanistan. Yes, Jeremiah serves in the United States Army. He was deployed in December, 2011. (See other post on this)
Their love grow long distance. Through Skype & Facebook, the occasional phone call. Victoria stayed with us during this time as well. My husband and became well acquainted with her and she became a part of our family long before the wedding date.
As some families go, mine is not an easy one. First we are self employed, then we are finding ourselves starting over again after a devastating financial lost. Myself, going through the normal changes in life as a mother, wife and a woman. We work long hours for a little bit to make it through.
Different from what Victoria came from. But she gave this family a chance. A chance to get to know us and for us to know her. Not an easy task on either side!
Then after 10 months of deployment, Jeremiah comes home. October, 2012.
Home from war. Home to parents who hover a little more than normal. Parents who lived day in and day out with the knowledge that today could be the day. The day that is a parents worse nightmare. But this time THAT did not happen.
Jeremiah home to Victoria! Home to the person he wanted to give his heart with. To join lives with. To start a family with.
Now having missed my oldest wedding, I had no clue to the amount of stress that comes with the knowledge of your son moving on in life. Add to that the army factor and well I can say this mom made some mistakes.
But despite those mistakes, two people were wed. Two people have now started on one of the greatest adventures of life.
Victoria; welcome to the Walker family. We may be crazy but we are loyal!

March 8, 2012
by Rose Leave a comment

Faith tested

Sometimes walking through life can mean more happiness than you can imagine. Other times it can give you pain unimaginable. I have learned that through both we must stand firm in faith. Faith that God has our backs. Our backs, our fronts, our sides.
We need to let go and trust. This can be the hardest thing for us to do. In a life we have to be responsible, take control of our selfish attitudes, control our thoughts and our tongues. Control our actions to be productive adults. But in gaining this control we can take control of things we have no business taking control of. The future, the past. We became so absorb in controlling we forget who truly is in control. Who has control of our very lives.
Yes we have to do what we know we have to do, but we are to have faith that God will control what we cannot. That He will never gives us more than what we can handle, nor will he ever leave us unprepared for what is to come. All that we go through today prepares us for tomorrow.
We are not to become consumed by worry. Today, tomorrow is but a fleeting moment when compared to eternity. Yes, sometimes eternity can seem an “eternity” away and tomorrow just full of pain. This is why we must all just stop a moment and look around. As the saying goes, “Stop and smell the roses”
Even in pain, we need to look up and see this creature that God has made. In it we can glimpse forever. We can see his handiwork and maybe just for a moment we will feel happiness, and our spirit will know a moment of peace.

Finding food.

Raven tracks.

This picture was taken by Connie, not myself.

February 12, 2012
by Rose Leave a comment

Today!

Today! Today is a Sunday when most people wind their way to churches. To sit and listen to an inspirational sermon, or maybe one of conviction. Both to try to bring us a closer understanding of who God is. To ease our conscious of this that we did wrong or we perceived were wrong. To right a wrong.

Others finish chores before their work begins. Dishes done, laundry folded, kid’ homework finished for the next week.

Always something to do, to keep us distracted. Distracted from what it truly important. And I ask what is important. What are we missing in the time when work and school is put on hold for two days. How bout a little peace?

How bout a little down time to reflect on what we did this past week?

Not so much on what we accomplished but did we help someone.

Did we even notice if someone needed something?

Did we hear their pain when speaking to them? The pain etched around their eyes that they tried to hide with a smile and “I’m fine.”

Or in our own pain not see someone else’s. Did we let our own worries and fears cloud us from seeing someone else’s? I know that there are days that I can diffidently say I did not see or want to see. So all-consuming was my own pain.

But this is not to beat us up but to offer a way of peace.

Nature! In all its glory!

It is there for us to pause a moment to reflect that there is something more than all the pain.

Something that is beautiful and breathtaking. All we have to do is open our eyes. Maybe look up to the sky; even down to the ground.

God’s creation is all around us. We only need to open ourselves to this beauty and then the worries fade for a moment, the pain is eased for a while. Maybe a hurt can be soothed and allowed to start to heal. If we only look. Look at the trees, the ground, the rocks, the ants, the spiders, the sky, the snow, all around us is a beauty that is there waiting to be appreciated.

I have tried to capture some of those things here. Take a moment and reflect on God’s creation.

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January 26, 2012
by Rose 3 Comments

Time Marches On

So here I am 5 weeks since my son left for Operation Enduring Freedom. I have gone through many emotions and have come to terms with most of them. I have also come to figure out why people say “We walk through deployment.”
It is not something that you can put aside you have to literally learn to live with it and see it all the way to the end. My hat is off to all who have to “walk through deployment”.
Anyway, I have taken the camera out and here are some of the pictures I have taken.
I hope you enjoy them!

Snow January 2012

January 15, 2012 by Rose Leave a comment

Winter!

In Alaska you are never assured what the winter is going to bring. Sometimes it can be warm, little snow, and windy.

Other times there can be lots of snow and sub zero temperature.

This winter of 2011/12 seems to be filled with snow and sub zero temperature. Valdez and Cordova had a record 10 feet of snow within 24 hours. Now that is alot of snow.

Here north of the city of Anchorage, we have had snow but not the 12 inches the forecasters were saying we were suppose to get.

Now today, January 15th it is -17 F. Now that’s cold.

Official Temperature for 1/15/2012

In the following days I will be posting pictures of this marvelous wonderland.

STAY TUNED!

2012

January 12, 2012 by Rose Leave a comment

This new year is starting out with SNOW!
In the City of Cordova, the new year brought 15 inches of new snow. The guard was called in to help clean it up before the weather warmed up.
In Wasilla, there was about half of that. Snow makes the landscape beautiful but the roads hazardous. Anywhere else life would come to a halt. Not so here. Kids still have school, adults still need to make it to work.
Ah! Living in Alaska is never without adventure.

January 3, 2012
by Rose 2 Comments

Deployment? What’s that?

A Story I just have to share!
My second son joined the army in November 2009, during his senior year of high school. In May, 2010, he graduated.

In July, he was off to basic. Being raised an army brat gave me an advantage. So I knew things and of course my mom filled in the blanks.

We went to graduation at Ft Benning and of course I believed that would be the last time I would see my son for awhile. I do have to say that going to the Basic graduation is a must for any parent.

Then the most amazing thing, what I can only describe as a true blessing from God. It only happens like less than a half a percent. My son was stationed in his home state of Alaska. Not 40 miles from where he grew up. I was amazed and felt so blessed.
During his year at Ft Richardson he was able to come home on weekends and nights if he wanted. He also brought home the most amazing young men.Those young soldier who were far from home became part of my family. They would come out and stay on weekends. One of them was married and hiswife arrived here in September. She is like a daughter that I never had.

The Gang!

The Weekends!

Anyway, I knew my time was limited, I knew this young battalion was going to be deployed this December. But it seemed so far away in the

summertime of Alaska’s long days. Then the days grew shorter.

Finally after many false starts: dates were set. Ceremony was held.

Casing the Color

The first were sent.

Then came my guys turn.

That night in December is a night I will never forget. The pride, the fright, the struggle to keep it together. Not just for my son but for the other guys and my family who had grown to include not one but four young girls.
That night I watched my son became a soldier. I watched as he checked his gun and gear. And I wanted to yell and scream but I stood with pride. Because he was proud. Proud to be an American army soldier as his grandpa, my dad, was. All my guys were proud to be serving their country.
I’m so glad I had a year to watch this transformation to get to know the other four so far from home. Proud sons of proud mothers.
Now we walk through this thing called deployment. But for me, I still have fear, I still don’t sleep much waiting for that call. But I rejoice in the

blessing that I was given. I know God is in control.
God watch over the Task Force the Spartans. The 3/509th task force gold Geronimo. Keep them safe. But most of all keep them focused.

Please enjoy this slideshow of that night.