Marshall School Christmas Program

     Thursday night Marshall students put on one heck of a Christmas Program. Each grade had to perform in some way. All of the students did a great job. Right before my students went on the stage they told me they were too nervous. I told them that all of the people in the stands were there for them and they wanted to see their performance. My kids did a really good job. Unfortunately a couple of my students didn't show up so I had to step in a say a couple of lines, but other than that the play went well.
   

The background for our stage

 The kindergarteners singing Ruldoph the Red Nose Reindeer

 The 1/2 graders read a Merry Christmas poem each letter had its own meaning

 The boy on the end was to cute I had to put this picture in

 My class did a skit Goldilocks and the Christmas Eleves 

 I wish there was more than one mic

 Santa came in and stole the show

Santa getting mobbed on the stage (we found a chair for him to sit in)

     Overall the program was a success. There were a few hiccups, but I think that is normal when you are trying to put on a show that includes students from grades K-12. All of the students did a great job learning songs and skits. I hope that the parents enjoyed the show their kids put on.

The New Digs

     Well its about as done as I can get it without Shelly here. The house still needs a few things to be complete. One thing is blinds in the windows. I'm not sure why the district did not have these to put in, but they didn't so we are waiting for those (so don't mind the towels over most the windows). Another problem is that our front door doesn't fit correctly with the frame so there is a pretty sizable gap between the front door and the jam. This causes snow and water to come into the arctic entry and make a mess. This too is supposed to be fixed soon, however the contractor, supplier and district are all pointing fingers to whose problem this is so it could be a while before that is fixed. Who would of thought that you need to have doors that fit in Alaska. It only gets well below zero with daily winds of 10-20 mph not to mention it SNOWS. Other than those couple of things the house is really nice. I'm going to stop talking now because I know most of you just want to see pictures.

 The front of the house (Flora's dish to the right)

 Arctic entry

The living room looking from the dining room

The door on the far right goes outside, moving left the next door is the downstairs bedroom and the door to the left of the TV goes to the bathroom

 The kitchen

 Not a lot of counter space, but I think it will be okay

 Dining room the door on the left is to the pantry

 The laundry room/storage. With Joe's help we were able to move the washer/dryer in

The downstairs bathroom

The downstairs bedroom/playroom full of boxes for when Shelly gets here

 Lots of boxes

 Bedroom closet

 Leading upstairs

Logan and Jack's room

 More of the boy's room

 The closet in the boy's room

The upstairs bathroom

Hallway closet

 Shelly and my bedroom

 It's a pretty good size room

It even has a bookshelf, perfect for Shelly

     I forgot one more thing that will make this place complete. Its missing Shelly, Logan, Jack and Wyatt. Once they get here It will feel like a home. When I talk with Shelly on the phone she can hear my voice echoing. I am excited for Shelly to decorate and make it feel a little more cozy here. I am also excited for the boys to finally see the "Alaska House."

What I Wont Miss About the Old House

     Now that I have everything moved into the new house. I thought that it would be fun to write some things that I wont miss about the old house. Not to say that it was a bad place to live, however there were several things that were annoying.

 The broken window in my bedroom there was a piece of plastic on either side, but when the wind blew I could feel the cold air coming in

 We ran out of oil twice, waking up to the house being 50 degrees is not pleasant

 This shelf was at the bottom of our stairs. I never hit my head on it (shockingly) but I was always afraid that I would

 Brian and I both fell down these stairs, they are very narrow.

 I will not miss using a step to get in and out of my shower

Lastly I will not miss the mice. I caught eight in this trap. 

    

Moving Day (Vancouver)

     While in Vancouver over the Thanksgiving Holiday Shelly and I had two major objectives. The first was to move her and the boys into my parents house for the remainder of their time in Vancouver. The other was to ship a whole lot of boxes to Marshall. With the help of family and friends we were able to make that happen. I have to say that without them the task of moving and shipping would have been much more difficult.

Here is my list of THANK YOUS

First Shelly thank you for being the wonderful wife and mother that you are. Thank you for being strong while I am away. Thank you for taking care of most of the moving related issues (storage unit, packing boxes and endless phone calls to change our address and phone numbers) I love you so much and I am so proud of us for taking this leap of faith.

Mom and Dad thank you for flying me home for Thanksgiving. Allowing me to help Shelly with the huge task of moving. Mom thank you for watching the boys so that Shelly could get things ready for our move. Dad thank you for letting us borrow your truck all the time. Both of you thank you for allowing us to take over your house for a couple of months. I hope that the boys haven't driven you crazy yet.

Julie thank you for watching the boys whenever Shelly needed it. You have been so willing to take them at a drop of a hat. I know that it has been so nice for Shelly to get a minute to catch her breath, before she dove into whatever task she was going to get done without two three year old boys helping.

Marilynn and Barry thank you for being there for Shelly for anything be it watching the boys, buying them clothes, or just a shoulder to cry on. Thank you for helping with the move. Barry thank you for they heavy lifting and Marilynn for watching the boys. These past few months have been stressful for Shelly and I, and you have been great for both us.

Samuel thank you for all of your help with the move. Your brute strength always amazes me. Thank you for being so sweet with my boys. Seeing them wrestle with you and play with you makes me so happy.

To everyone else Laura, Andrea, Christine, Lisa, Roxanne, Thom and anyone else who has helped my family thank you. I know that this is an unusual situation that I have put you all in. Thank you for all for your help, support, love and prayers during this crazy time in my life. Hopefully in a few weeks we will all be moved up to Marshall and we will be able to develop a "normal" way of life. THANK YOU!

 One of the boys last meals at the old house

 The mess before we moved

 Samuel taking down the TV mount

 It's empty!

 Clean and empty

 Bye bye old bedroom

The boys empty bedroom

     Shelly was saying that she was going to miss the old place. When she first said that I thought that she was crazy. Now looking back at the pictures, I am feeling a little nostalgic. This is where we brought home all of our babies. Where Shelly and I lived the longest over five years. I don't think I will miss the home itself, but I will miss the memories. We had a lot of good times in that old place. 

One more time thank you for all the wonderful people in my life who are willing to help take care of me and my family.  

Suprise Visit Home

   Several weeks ago my parents were discussing a trip up to see me here in Marshall during Thanksgiving since I wasn't planning a trip down. My sister Laura overheard the conversation and said that instead of them flying to meet me here, instead they should fly me home as a surprise. So my mom called me up and told me that they wanted to fly me home over Thanksgiving, but I couldn't tell anyone especially Shelly. It was really hard to keep the secret from her especially since she was stressing about moving into my parents house and shipping things to Marshall. The morning that I arrived in Portland I was pretty tired (I had been awake for over 24 hours). When I got into my Mom's car it was so HOT! The heat was on plus she had the seat warmers on. I was wearing my big winter coat with several layers underneath and my snow boots. When I left Marshall it was 9 degrees. When I got into Portland it was in the low 50's a big temperature difference. We drove straight to my house to surprise Shelly. When we got there my dad banged on the door a few times, but to no avail. He was about to call when Shelly answered the door. My dad yelled HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Shelly was a little confused until my parents moved out of the way and I stepped forward. All I heard Shelly say was "I'm not wearing very many clothes" to witch Laura replied "I don't think he will care" It was a wonderful moment. When the boys woke up they were surprised to see me. Logan didn't want a hug at first he went over to Shelly (he was probably thinking who is this guy who came in the night, I don't know him). Jack on the other hand came in and gave me a big hug. It felt so nice to hug and kiss my boys after not seeing them for nearly four months.  

 Julie invited us over for a pizza dinner. No way I was turning that down

 Looking over the choices Pepperoni, Hawaiian or cheese

 I missed my sleeping buddy

 Unwrapping presents at Shelly's party at Marilynn's house

 I forgot the joke behind this shot, but apparently it was pretty funny

 The boys helping Shelly blow out her birthday candles

     Shelly and Wyatt

Family photo Me, Wyatt, Logan, Shelly, Jack (we were almost all looking)

     So a funny side note about surprising Shelly. After my dad shouted happy birthday to her, she hadn't seen me yet, and she was thinking to herself Carl its 6:00 in the morning and its not my birthday. Her birthday was on Friday and I showed up on Thursday. However she quickly changed her tune when she saw me. 

     Mom and Dad I wont ever be able to thank you enough for this gift, flying me back to see my family after being apart for so long. Thank you is not enough, but it will have to do. Also thank you for taking in Shelly and the boys. It has been an a huge weight off Shelly and my shoulders.