More Heart Stuff

I was still feeling pretty good when this picture was taken.

I had a trans esophageal echo cardiogram done at the hospital today to see what is actually happening with my heart.

They basically knock you out with some really good stuff that makes you sleep so deeply and then put a camera down your throat to get a good view of your heart.

Well, it appears that my body does not like having a new valve.

It is creating a lot of scar tissue around the valve and they predict that it will probably only last about 1-2 years now.

It's frustrating.

But I am trying to come to a place of peace with this.

There is a foreign object in my body that is keeping me alive.

If it is gone, I am gone.

I just keep thinking about a line from my patriarchal blessing that says, "I bless you take care of your health. The Lord wants you to live a long time upon the earth."

So I am trying to do my part.

I am trying to be healthy and be in tune with my body enough to know when something is not right.

This is something I will deal with the rest of my life.

I could have a pity party and worry about it but I imagine that mental stress is opposite of taking care of my health.

My new normal is not a normal I ever wanted but it is what I got.

I am still so grateful for this body and all it has brought me through to this point.

"Hope on. Journey on."- Jeffrey R Holland

After the appointment Matt took me to Friday Fling to get a sweetie pie and lemonade.
That actually made me feel a lot better. :)

Kite Flying and Cheesecake

Tonight the wind picked up and it was wonderful outside.

We could not miss the chance to go out and fly kites.

We waited for Matt to get home and then we each took a kite out to the greenhouse lawn and launched them.

There is something so therapeutic about flying kites.

I loved every minute of it.

The dog played with us and the light was filtering through the trees.

It was just this perfect night.

Then we went inside and celebrated National Cheesecake Day with a freshly made cheesecake and homemade jam.

I love this life!

A Quick Trip up April Bowl

Corban was at work and I had a dentist appointment and didn't want to go back to normal life yet so I decided to go hike up April Bowl again.

I love where we live this time of year.

I love it so much.

I love the temperature, the green and the abundance every where.

As I was hiking up I passed a young man with two older women.

He was on crutches and had two legs braces.

I just had to smile at him and praise him for his efforts.

There is something about doing hard things.

I was grateful for his example to me.

No matter what life throws at you there is always a way you can still do the things you love and find a way to make things happen.

Blueberries and Raspberries

I love this time of year when all the fruits and veggies are ready to be harvested.

For years we have seen people parked along the sides of the road this time of year picking something.
This year I decided to stop and see and they are blueberries!

Yummy, beautiful wild blueberries.

I'm so excited about this find.

Next year I hope to be able to go and pick a lot more, but today I picked on a beautiful day and loved it.

We also have tons of raspberries on the farm that I have been picking and freezing.

It is amazing to me just how abundant and good God is.

A tiny seed makes SO much food.

I love that our God is an abundant God!

Seward Getaway

I wanted to get away for the weekend and found out that there were cute little cabin rentals in Seward discounted for Alaskan residents.

So I jumped on it.

We stayed at the Orca Beach cabin in Miller's Landing.

 It had a queen bed and then bunk beds.

But the view was the best.

The sliding glass door opened up to Resurrection Bay.

There was also a little woodstove that we fired up because it was a little chilly with all the rain.

The only downside was that we were flanked on both sides by lots of people with kids.

I think that's funny that I say that considering that used to be us.

Corban and I adventured out when the tide went out and I spent a ridiculous amount of time building a cairn.

It had 15 stones.

That is a first for me.

 We also spent time in town shopping and eating.

We ate at Sea Bean cafe and Apollos for dinner.

It was just good to get away for a minute.

 

Bumpy Road

Today there were some bumps in the road of my life.

It reminds me of a message Pres. Nelson gave in June where he said, "The road ahead will always be bumpy, but the destination will be serene and secure. So fasten your seat belt, hang on through the bumps and do what's right..." 

I felt like I was holding on by the time I went to bed, however, there were three really good things that I was thankful for at the end of the day.

First, was being able to watch Harold the Tortoise eat grass on the lawn at Brittan's house.

It was fun watching him walk around and he is actually really heavy.

I think she said he weighs 35 pounds.

Second, was finding wild blueberries on my drive home.

 I love these kinds of discoveries.

I really, really do.

I didn't have my boots on and they are in a place that is pretty marshy, so I hope to go out and get more soon.

Finally, we had a EAC Zoom reunion.

There were six of us that ended up coming out of our group of 11 from all those years ago.

Some of those faces I hadn't seen in 27 years and it was SO good to see them and remember how much I love them.

 We are all in different phases of our life journey.

I just love them all so much.

We are going to try and do it again soon and hope to get more of them together. 

So basically, the moral of today's story is that even if there are huge bumps in the road there are also moments of beauty that can be seen.

I just need to remember to see those happy points when the bumps gets overwhelming. 

Andi and Wild Raspberries

Today I got to go over and snuggle little Andi!

She is so absolutely adorable.

We only got her to open her eyes a few times.

She's so fun.

I love her!

Then when I drove home I noticed on the driveway that there were a ton of wild raspberries ready to be picked.

I went out and enjoyed the afternoon and picked a big bowl full and then came in the house and turned it into jam.

I love this life!

 

Pioneer Falls

I have been so amazed this year at finding hidden gems that have literally been hidden to me for the last 17 years we have lived here.

My friend posted on social media how they had gone to Pioneer Falls and I had no idea where that was.

Well, it is right around places I have been for years and never knew it was there.

It was so awesome to pull off the road and walk a few feet to see this beauty.

Corban I explored up the falls as far as the trail went.

I just loved it!

I'm so grateful for the beauty that surrounds me!

 

Hidden Lake

We didn't get to do our Hidden lake last year because the Parks and Rec required a lot more money for parking to hike.

But this year they went back to the normal fee and we decided to get out and explore.

I love this hike and I love these kids. 

Since it was Saturday Makenna got to come with us because she didn't have work. 

I wish summer lasted longer.

 

Date Night

I got the text this morning saying that the showing we had might produce an offer.
The people were working on getting one together.

To say that I am excited at the prospect is probably an understatement.

Since we had that news we decided to look on the MLS and go drive around and look at properties in the area that we want to buy.

We found basically the perfect piece but it is really expensive and actually two pieces being sold together.

I am holding out some hope that we might be able to make that happen.

The view is incredible and I would be only 30 minutes from my job teaching seminary at the Strawberry building in Anchorage.

Anyway, while we were exploring we came upon this beautiful old boat on the side of the road.

It was so cool because it was made all out of wood and now there are trees growing on the top of it.

From wood to wood.

Kind of awesome!

The Homestead Life

I've been loving being here at Harvest Point Farms this summer.
I am grateful for this time that we've had here. 

I've harvested so much kale and made kale chips so many times. 

I am loving that!

I've also made 12 pints of strawberry jam and strawberry rhubarb jam.

We've enjoyed strawberries, kale, cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, squash, basil, chives, oregano, some turnips, beets, cabbage, and I even dug up a few potatoes.

I am so grateful for the miracle of being able to grow our own food.

A Showing and April Bowl

We had a showing and needed something to go and do.

Hiking is ALWAYS on my list of favorite things to do and we hadn't done April Bowl yet.

I dragged Corban with me and it was so beautiful.

I love Alaska in the summer so much.

It's really my favorite. 

 

I got a bike!

I've been on this journey of healing and trying to be my best self.

I had sold my road bike some time back and I had been wanting a mountain bike. 

Once we went bike riding the coastal trail on  my birthday I started looking. 

I am trying to move my body every day and one way to be successful in that is to do things that I actually want to do.

I love bike riding and hiking and actually really enjoy yoga.

Well, I found a bike for only $50 and it is doing the job.

I love going out in the mornings, when the world feels new, and riding.

I think this is a great example of doing what you love!

Flowers in the Farm: episode Four!

All new flowers this week!

It's been really fun to pay close attention to what is growing wild outside to find flowers that I haven't photographed yet.

There is one that was not taken at the farm...

The little blue bells in the bottom right corner were on a hike we took.

But I bet if I walked my 41 acres I could probably find some. 

 

Escaped!

Matt has been working so much lately and we just needed a minute to reconnect with each other so we left our kids and escaped for the night.

It was much needed and so much fun to just be us for a while.

Everything in Alaska is discounted for residents since we have very few tourist as a result of the pandemic.

Because of that we got a discounted room at the Hotel Captain Cook.

Our room looked out to the ocean and it almost made me feel like I was somewhere other than Alaska.

We at the Crows Nest and the food was so good I think I will be dreaming about it for years to come.

We had some king crab fritters for appetizers and just wow.

Then I had the halibut with wild morels and peas. 

It was so simple and so, so good.

The halibut was cooked perfectly and the morels were really yummy.

Our dessert was good too but not as good as the food was.

After dinner we went to Kincaid park and walked to the beach.

We talked about all the dreams we have and what we want to accomplish over the next several years.

Then we saw a HUGE bull moose off the trail as we headed back to the truck.

It was really a perfect evening.

I loved everything about it!