Alaska!

We are in Alaska! We left our house at 4:45am on Monday and arrived in Anchorage at 12:45am eastern time, 8:45pm Anchorage time. We had a few minor delays. The boys did amazing considering all the sit down time on planes. We finally got in the bed around 11:30pm Anchorage time and that would be 3:30am eastern time. So that is 24 hours with no sleep. Then the boys woke up at 6:40 this morning. But enough of the negative! The view on the plane was incredible especially flying over the rocky mountains and into Anchorage. The mountains are huge and magnificent! The pictures do not do them justice. Today we hope to get an up close and personal view! I almost forgot! On our way to the hotel, we saw a young moose!

Life is an adventure

What a wild adventure life is! It does not slow down. Things we have been up to: baseball, swimming, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, friends, enjoying spring, planning a concert, getting ready for Alaska, reading, video games, making up our own stories, getting ready for Passover, learning about the things of Jehovah God, (it is amazing how God responds when we start asking questions and really seek His truth. You sometimes get more than you bargained for). And Cade lost his first 2 teeth with the help of the dentist! We are enjoying this wild ride:} Adventure is out there!

Life has been a blur in January and February. The weather has been mild and we have had lots of time to be outside. That has been one thing that has made the crazy schedule bearable. The boys have been continuing thier study of the Cherokee Indians. We went to Oconee Station and was able to go into the trading post and the military outpost buildings. The ranger was very informative and generous with his time, considering the park was supposed to be closed! Today, Isaac and his friend Jaycee, worked on thier own version of The Annoying Orange video. That will be interesting to say the least. I do not think the first cut will make it onto youtube though. Russ and I have been very busy with ministry things. Point to Hope has been in the area for the last 2 months and we have traveled with them doing various meetings in SC and GA. If you have never heard of Point to Hope Ministry then I encourage you to check out thier website, http://www.pointtohope.org/. Our life has changed drastically since partnering with Nancy Haney. We are launching a new fund raising project called Kickstarter to raise the last of the needed funds to finish Russ' newest CD, "Face to the Ground". It should launch within the week. I will post a link as soon as it is up and running. I will also have a link from facebook and from the ministry website, russelldeanmusic.com. Next up is promoting kickstarter as well as promoting the premiere CD concert at Walhalla High School auditorium on April 14th. So much going on around here which is why I rarely have time to post here! One amazing thing that Russ and I had the privelege to experience was The Potter's Place in Central, SC. It is the creation of Don and Shannon Shaupp. They created a place for prayer. You can go for an hour, a day, or several days. We were there for a weekend. We stayed in their overnight house. It was extremely relaxing and rewarding. You can feel the presence of God when you get onto the property. They have small cabins set up just for day use and the house for longer stays. They provided all the meals. It is truly a time for seeking the voice of God. It is a respite for anyone in any form of ministry. They are serving the ones who serve. We were truly blessed and refreshed that weekend. Remember, Life is what you make it. Adventure is out there!

Cherokee Heritage

Isaac and Cade started a club last month. It involves 4 families with boys ranging in age from 4-12. They have learned to talk in code, have code names, and are learning interesting things together. The first topic is the history of the Cherokee Indian in this area. So this past thursday, we met with Dave Lavere so he could show us some artifacts and some points of interest.

We walked through the Oconee Heritage Museum. They have two dugout canoes that were really cool. Dave showed everyone a bow and arrow, a blow gun, as well as other artifacts. Then we went to see two trail trees and a place where a Cherokee village used to be. I think everyone learned a lot and had a great time. We will be spending more time on this topic. We plan on making our own bows and arrows next.
Aventure is out there.

Day in the life!

What our days have been looking like! Sunshine! Outside! Warmth in January! Tunnels! Waterfalls! Woods! Cherokee study! Finding objects to make bow and arrows! Optical illusions! Music! Guitar lessons! Photo shoot for new CD

Friends! Computer games! Church! Smores made with nutella! Wii! And many more things I cannot remember right now! Adventure is out there!

Sunshine!

Today was the first sunny day since I can remember! It just seems like it has been a long time. We have totally enjoyed it. We played in the back yard some, then we went to Yellow Branch. We didn't hike all the way because we had small ones with us but we walked until we got to Sherwood Forest. That is what I call it cuz that is what it reminds me of. We went there today because one, it was such a gorgeous day, and two, because we could, and three, because we are looking for tree branches that we can use to make bows and arrows. The boys started a club a few weeks ago and we are studying the Cherokee Indians right now. We are going to find all the materials and make our own bows and arrows. Sounds like a fun boy thing to do. Yesterday we were at the grocery store and Isaac found a coconut. He made sure it had liquid in it. We brought it home and poked a hole in it. He drank the water with a straw. He didn't like it plain so I added stevia and then he drank it. Cade didn't like it at all. Then Russ sawed it in half. Today we got all the meat out. Now Isaac wants to use it for a bowl and cup. Amazing how much joy something like a coconut can bring. Now go out and buy your kids a coconut! You might just find out you enjoy the process as much as they do. Go online and find out how to poke a hole in it and how to hit it just right to break it open. I wish I had watched the video yesterday. Oh well, live and learn!

Russ and I went to Augusta last week for ministry with Point to Hope. It was very enlightening! We are going to Alaska in April with Point to Hope. That is going to be amazing. The flying itself will be an adventure! 15 hours on a plane with Isaac and Cade. While we were gone, Cade made his first basketball goal in a game. He was very proud of himself! We were proud of him also. I just hate I missed it.

How can so much time pass between my posts? I think God has sped up time. Even my 6 year old made a comment about how fast time seems to go by. When I was a child, time crawled by. Anywhooo, December came and went in a flash! We celebrated Christmas and Hanakkah this year and had a great time with both. No, we are not Jewish but we wanted to learn about Hanakkah and all of God's festivals so we are going to learn about them as they come up. It was very fun, educational, and enlightening. When December started, we knew nothing about Hanakkah. Then we started reading and researching and found out all kinds of awesome things! The whole holiday is a celebration of God's deliverance. About the Maccabee's and how God delivered them thousands of years ago after one man, a priest named Mattathias, decided he had had enough of the Greek's telling him to worship their god and to sacrifice a pig on God's alter and eat the meat. He killed the soldiers that came to make them do that then fled for his life. Most of the village followed him and the rest is Maccabee history! We read stories, ate latkes, and played with dreidels. It was a great December!