Below are some interesting bush experiences and I want to record them mainly to remember how our first year was in the bush.
~ Showers. Our house isn't insulated very well and the bottom of our bathtub isn't insulated at all. I'm not sure how it will feel to step in the shower when it's 60 below out...we'll find out soon I suppose. But at least it will be cold enough that we won't sweat and thus not need as many showers. :)
~ Diapers. I already made the mistake of not buying enough diapers and resorting to buying them via Amazon. Before our Amazon shipment came we had to buy them from the store here...it cost us $25 for 24 diapers...let's just say that Naomi was forced to wear her diaper ALL day to conserve the diapers until the shipment came (and to save our checkbook).
~ Ice cream. It costs $20 for a gallon of ice cream. We bought some for Ruthie's bday which is coming up and that's her present this year. :)
~ Sewers. Besides the water being expensive here, all our water (ectera) goes into a holding tank in our garage (right next to our bathroom). Well, unfortunately we didn't realize it fills up pretty fast so we've already experienced the horrible smelling odor that comes from a holding tank that's about to overflow. We weren't able to use water for a couple days until the city could get a truck over to pump our sewer out (the man who does this lives next door but doesn't work on weekends or holidays). Lesson learned: When guests/family come into town, make sure to get the septic tank pumped...or our guests might not like the odor and never come back to visit. :)
~ Food pantry. Our food pantry isn't insulated either so we were advised by the previous renters to put all liquid items above the ground shelving....otherwise they will freeze. We also have to move all our shelving away from the walls so our food won't freeze to the wall.
~ Mice. We kill about one mouse per day.
~ Tilted house. Part of our house is tilted six inches. An example of the effects of this on the girl's craft time: All their markers run off the table if a book is not placed there. Also, our book shelf has to be at one end of the room or it will tip over due to the slant of the room.
Ah, the joys of living in the bush...memories to cherish! :)
Our mission organization had a day long conference at Tanalian Bible Camp earlier in the week. Honestly, I wasn't that excited to go because we were just getting into a good routine...BUT on the upside, they had a dentist give us free service and our family doesn't have any cavities!
When we returned home it had snowed the day before and our house was a "cozy" 48 degrees inside! Before unpacking Brad had to start a fire...the girls and I kept our coats on for awhile until the house warmed up a bit.
We stayed in a cabin with four bunkbeds and a heater. The bathrooms and showers were about 100 yards from our cabin. Our neighbors had a fox visit them at night and our other neighbors had some bears visit them. When walking to the bathhouse we were instructed to make lots of noise since bears frequent the camp quite regularly.
Our return trip took us five hours because of weather. There were some squalls so our pilot had to go around most of them to get us home. I was so thankful to be home once we landed. The girls did a great job traveling, praise the Lord.
We wanted to order one prayer card to view it before buying it in bulk...the shipping cost was $54! Let's just say we're finding an alternative route to getting our one prayer card mailed here.
During one of the meal times at the camp the girls were fighting over a full glass of lemonade. Ruthie gave up and let go of the glass but Nae didn't. The momentum of Ruthie letting go and Nae still holding on tightly resulted in their Mommy being covered in lemonade. Being the simplisitic packer I am, I didn't have any extra pants or sweatshirt...so I made do...it eventually dried which helped with the chill. :)
Nae girl has been sleeping through the night for a few weeks now! Praise the Lord! For those who may not know Nae usually gets up about 3-5 times every night. We tried training her but to no avail. The other day both Brad and I thought about how we haven't slept through the night for 2 1/2 years now.
Below: Martin and Silke. :)
Bush planes and float planes would come and go all day at the camp. We went paddle boating and some of the time I was concerned when a float plane came in or took off...being as we were right near them.
Below: Evening devotions with the girls.
Below: There was great low-bush cranberry picking on a hike we did after one of our meetings.
Below: Our spacious cabin. :)
When we got home Ruthie said, "Mommy, you know what I would do if I saw grandma? I would run to her and sit on her lap for a long time and she would read to me."
Nae girl and I had the backseat in the plane...apparently Brad and the pilot were "roasting" up front but my little girl and I were shivering...we even saw our breath during the long voyage home.
Below: Snowy mountains. Last night would have been a good time to see the Northern lights but it wasn't clear enough...our friend was suppose to call us at 2am if it was clear outside but I was content sleeping through the night anyway.
There's been about three men in the village who have been stealing vehicles at night, driving them around and crashing (wrecking) them. Lately I wake up and check outside to see if our car is still here. It's funny because it's not like someone can steal a car and drive away with it...there are no roads leading out of town. Apparently these guys are just bored and want some action/excitement in their lives. Our teammate's car was stolen and wrecked last Sunday night...when Ruthie heard about what happened she said, "Those guys need Jesus!"
