Ahh, Alaska!

My husband is home.

He had an incredible experience and I am so thrilled for him.

He was there ten days and the eleventh day he was in the air.

We picked him up from the airport and he looked strong, but gently. I could see how happy he was to see us, although he was fighting off sleepiness. It was so good to see him.

He told us of how he saw anenomes, starfish, a killer whale, sea lions, bald eagles, mossy trees and salmon.

The people that he worked with up there were all much older than him by about 40 years. They worked on siding a cabin, inside and out. He also learned how to use a saw mill to make the trees into boards (the pictures are really great).

I could tell how much it meant to him to go up there. He just was so humbled by it all, so loving and so understanding about what a blessing this trip was for him and all that were involved. The older folks there took care of him. He said that it was noticable, and he appreciated it.

I am so thankful that he got to go, he so needed it.

~B

Alaska: Day 8

The left overs are sitting on the hutch needing to be put away.

The children are sleeping in my room.

The radio plays quietly and I am on this thing that they call the "internet".

I don't know if it's the mood or not, but it seems like everything I am reading is "doomsday-ish" and I don't like it one bit.

Two hunters killed in Alaska by a bear while hunting.

A plane crashes in another part of the world.

and the list goes on and on and on.

I shouldn't be on here you know, I should be putting away the left-overs, picking up the house from a busy weekend. I should be getting ready for a busy day at school, but nope, I'm on here, getting freaked out by bad news.

Oh yeah, and by the way, my husband said that he would call me around 9, and it's already 9:45pm. IF only I wouldn't have been reading the news!

The time that I have been away from my husband for this very short amount of time has been good for me. I have learned a lot about myself. That I need to not be so melodramatic and that I just need to handle it that he's gone. And I have done pretty well with it.

It's the distance that has been the hardest. I hate the distance. You know, if he was just 10 hours away in another state it would "feel" different, less strange. But he's there and I am here and it's just so.... DULL without him here!

Life is so much nicer with his spice around. I'll call him Se*xy Spice. ;-)

Hopefully soon he'll call and we'll chat for an hour and it will be utterly delightful. The phone calls from him have been scrumptious, I have just loved talking to him every night. It almost feels like we are dating again.....

I can't wait for Wednesday to come, I can't wait for the colors to be vibrant again.

Oh and by the way, I'm so glad that I am still this in love with my husband after all these years. :D I have been in love with him now for almost 18 years....EECK!! :)

~B

Alaska: Day 4

Dear Husband,

In case I never mentioned it to you:

I. Miss. You.

There's no way around it.

The cell phones are a blessing.

Oh! It's been incredible talking to you about your adventures!

Thanks for calling a lot so that I can get "a fix" of you, it's been great.

I have had you go away before, but never, ever this far.

It's funny what a hole is left when a husband is gone.

I can't imagine ever living without you, what a dreary existence.

I hope you call again soon and oh, please send some pictures, isn't there anyone up there with internet access?

Love,

Your Wife,

~B

Alaska: Day 2

Last night at 1am my sweet hubby called to let me know that they were finally in Anchorage. He sounded tired and discouraged from the nine hour flight.

He said that when they were flying over Washington it really hit him how far away from home he was and he got a bit homesick. The long flight and the exhaustion added to those feelings, I am sure. He had to stay at the Anchorage airport for the whole night just to get on the plane in the morning to fly an hour to get to Kodiak Island!

Today was a bit exciting for me and the children. He called us around 9am to say that they were getting in the plane to head for Kodiak Island. The next time he called he was SO excited and just so blessed by what he was seeing. He told me that he was standing on an incredible dock and that there were fishing boats everywhere and that the water was clear and you could see all the way to the bottom of the water. He told us about the sea anenomes, the starfish and then about a seal that was about 20 feet away from them. His enthusiasm just shone out of the phone like an enormously large halogen light.

Unfortunately, where he is at, he can't send any picture messages, though we can send text, which we don't need since we can just call one another (another bonus that we didn't know was possible that far away).

I told him to take tons of pictures.

He called about another hour later to tell us that he had arrived at Camp Woody and that it was beautiful, surreal and incredible. He sincerely told me with pain in his voice that he only wished that me and the kids could be there.

I have been beaming all day. Just trying to picture what he's seeing, just trying to feel what he's feeling. I can't believe he's SO far away and experiencing this. Never in a million years...........

So, this is day two. It's been so nice. He's been so super loving on the phone, and so caring. It's been so nice.

I'm so glad his feet are planted on the planet again and not up in the air anymore.

He's supposed to call soon. It's three hours earlier there, so I'll probably be asleep when he calls, but of course I'll answer it.

~B