Little Heartbeat!

I ordered a Sonoline B Fetal Heart Rate Monitor from amazon.com about 4 days ago and it arrived in the mail last night.  It is the most amazing thing ever to be able to listen in on my little one's heartbeat whenever I feel like it.  We listened last night and it was the first time Steve had gotten to hear the baby ever.  It was such a special moment.  Then I listened in this morning, and baby made me laugh.  I found it right away, but then baby was swimming all over the place so it was hard to keep listening.  I guess I have an active little one growing inside me! Oh, and for old wives sake, the heartrate has been about 155-163 everytime...so...

Thinking about Christmas...

For those of you who know me, you know that I love Christmas and start counting down for the holidays to begin usually by the end of July.  This year it is starting even sooner, but for a much different reason.  Steve and I will be getting the best Christmas present ever this year, and I am trying SO hard not to wish the summer away.  I am finally getting around to sharing this news on my blog, and am going to try to start back up with regular posts now that I'm feeling better.

Here is a picture of our little one at 10weeks and 3days! 

This was the first time I saw the baby and it was definitely an emotional experience watching my baby floating around inside of me.  It was also somewhat unnerving because I still looked exactly the same, hadn't gained any weight (maybe 1lb), and couldn't feel anything!  Steve didn't get to go because he is way to busy at work :(  But he will get to go to the gender scan, which will be even more exciting.  I got to hear the heartbeat at 10weeks 5days and it was so amazing.  I can't even describe how crazy it is for this to all be real!

a little bump!

Other than thinking about baby 24/7, I have been working at REI, sewing, and being out in the sun as much as possible!  Hope your summers are going great too! :)

Memorial Day across the bay

Steve got a day off work so we headed down to Homer to visit family. It was so fun! We spent the night with Steve's brother and family, then hitched a ride on a water taxi to spent two days at Steve's dads across the bay. It was a peaceful, beautiful trip and I wish I was back there right now, watching the sunset from the cabin. We went kayaking and brought home some fresh halibut too. What a great trip! I forgot my camera though :( here are a few phone pics, and I'll add some more when my father in law sends me some of the pictures he took. Oh and PS...happy June!

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Relay For Life is coming up...

The Anchorage Relay for Life is coming up:  it will be June 3rd and 4th at the parkstrip here in downtown Anchorage.  I am the team captain for our REI Anchorage team, and fundraising is a little slow this year.   Every single person in the United States has been affected by cancer, and unfortunately, if they have not yet, they will.

From left to right:  Grandpa Wes, younger sister Beka, older sister Kelsey, Grandma Jan, and me - wearing an REI jacket too, I might add.  

My personal reason to Relay is the memory of my Grandma Jan, who passed away almost 15 years ago from lung cancer.  Me, and my entire family, miss her every day and so I relay in the hopes that other families may not have to go through what we did.  Every dollar raised increases the chances of more effective treatment and maybe even an eventual cure for cancer.  So please, consider donating to this important cause!

I, along with a group of fellow REI employees, will be on the track from 6pm Friday evening to 6pm Saturday evening.  Because cancer never sleeps, neither will we while walking for a cure.

To donate, please visit my Relay for Life website.

7th Annual Bike to Work Day

Hello Anchorage!  Tomorrow is the 7th Annual Bike to Work day and there are estimated to be at least 2,000 people participating.  If you've been wanting to try out commuting to work on your bike, tomorrow is the day for it!  Check out the Bicycle Commuters of Anchorage website or facebook, and read up about the various commuting stations throughout Anchorage (Bacon and bread, how can you go wrong there!).

For inspiration, I thought I'd post some pictures of myself and other friends commuting throughout the year...

This is my friend and coworker Mark Haldane commuting yesterday morning.

He was teaching a class on Kayaking at work, so he brought his own Kayak with him on his commute!

Me biking to work in the beginning of February.

This photo is at Westchester Lagoon; I'm about to head up the hill toward West High School...

my roadie enjoying some fresh pow

Enjoying the wildlife while biking across town to my parents house...

(last summer)

Oh and PS...I'm teaching my first ever class at REI tonight:  Bike Maintenance for Women 101, wish me luck!

Graduation!

May 1st was graduation, and I haven't been doing much since then!  Bike rides, reading fiction, and generally relaxing and being a lazy bum.  I did start working full time again last week though and that has sort of taken it out of me...but I thought I'd post a pic of me at graduation to share with my blogger friends.

Me on the left and my friend Lindsey on the right...

This is the best pic I have so far, I'll have to hit up my parents for some better ones...

dust in the wind

I close my eyes, only for a moment and the moments gone. All my dreams, pass before eyes with curiosity. Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind. Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea. All we do, crumbled to the ground though we refuse to see. Dust in the wind all we are is dust in the wind.

Now don't hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky. It slips away, and all your money won't another minute buy. Dust in the wind all we are is dust in the wind. Everything is dust in the wind.

The lyrics to this song have a lot of truth to them. When your life is over, what will you have to show for it? What have you lived for?

Isaiah 40 says:
6b All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.

I'm glad my Gods word and love are everlasting!

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Rejoice

Rejoice in the Lord

by Ron Hamilton

God never moves without purpose or plan
When trying His servant and molding a man.
Give thanks to the Lord though your testing seems long;
In darkness He giveth a song.
I could not see through the shadows ahead;
So I looked at the cross of my Savior instead.
I bowed to the will of the Master that day;
Then peace came and tears fled away.
Now I can see testing comes from above;
God strengthens His children and purges in love.
My Father knows best, and I trust in His care;
Through purging more fruit I will bear.
O Rejoice in the LORD
He makes no mistake,
He knoweth the end of each path that I take,
For when I am tried
And purified,
I shall come forth as gold.

A little bit about the author, Ron Hamilton, also known to many children as Patch the Pirate...
 
When Ron Hamilton was 27 years old, the eye doctor discovered something in his left eye that worried him. After several weeks of testing, he was rolled into the operating room, not knowing what the outcome would be. As Ron slowly regained consciousness after surgery, his wife gave him the startling news that the doctor had found cancer and had had to remove his left eye. The doctor gave him his first patch, and suddenly, Ron was a pirate! Kids were fascinated by the patch and soon began calling him Patch the Pirate. The song Rejoice in the Lord was born out of this experience, and the Lord has used Ron's Patch the Pirate story and song recordings in a tremendous way.

Love

These are my nephews, 4 and 2.  

Don't you wish we all could love each other like these little guys do?  

Spring Hikes

So I have decided that my favorite time of year to go hiking is definitely in the early spring.  It is sort of a downside of course that it isn't even green outside.  But there is plenty of sun, the temperature is perfect for working up a sweat, and there are NO MOSQUITOES!!!!!!!!!!!!  Actually there was one big one that kept following Steve around as he ate his salmon salad,  but still, usually a herd follows me everywhere I go and I get like 20 bites that itch like crazy!

We went hiking today on a nameless trail about 21 miles from Anchorage on Turnagain Arm, straight up the mountain side next to a chattering stream that ended in a majestic waterfall by the highway.  We were only out for two hours, but the trail ended and we stopped for lunch then headed home.  Steve had gotten a massage in the morning while I had done a strength training workout at the gym, so we did not want to overdue it.  The sun felt beautiful and the 54 degrees was a welcome change from the 20s and 30s.  So if you live in Alaska, don't let the lack of green hold you back, just get out there! It's gorgeous and there are no bugs?  How much better can it get?!

breathtaking and peaceful 

 happy to be out in the sun!

 my lunch spot :)

 Steve getting crazy on some deadfall stumps

 And it's down!

 How can anyone live anywhere but Alaska?

 having a "swinging" good time lol

We had a great trip and can't wait to go back and search for the continuation of the trail :)