~Psalm 39:3-8~

"My heart grew hot within me, and as I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:

'Show me, O Lord, my life's end and the number of my days;

let me know how fleeting is my life.

You have made my days a mere handbreadth;

the span of my years is as nothing before you.

Each man's life is but a breath.

Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro:

He bustles about, but only in vain;

he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it.

But now, Lord, what do I look for?

My hope is in you.

Save me from all my transgressions...' "

Right now we relate to the "bustling about" phrase in the above passage. Some crucial decisions are to be made this week. Within the next several days the site must be cleared by an excavator if we are to build this season. However, before we excavate we need to know the shape of the foundation, which requires knowing the house plans, which we are scrambling to figure out. We don't quite know what we are doing. Pray for wisdom and direction.
On Memorial Day we took a break from fire-related work for several hours and attended the service at the Veteran's Wall of Honor. Meeting and speaking with "Alaska's True Conservative Choice" for US Senate, Joe Miller, proved to be an encouraging change from the ash scene.Our friend Eddie Burke, who is running for Lieutenant Governor, was also at the ceremony. Eddie is the only candidate we know of who is a passionate advocate of the Right to Life and the passage of Alaska's Parental Notification bill.This beautiful cloud formation seen near our property was just too pretty and unusual to pass up.A few of the photos recently discovered in the ashes are shown below.

My dumpster assistant extraordinaire. I fill the wheelbarrows and Wynn empties them bucket by bucket by walking up a plank to the top of the dumpster.

If you look at the two trees in the center of the two photos below, you can see the progress which is gradually being made cleaning up debris.

Jessica and her family brought us a delightful meal which they delivered on the same night as her high school graduation.

"Little Boy Blue" by Eugene Field is one of my mother's favorite poems.

We immediately thought of the boys' writing teacher when we dug out this artifact.

Seth and Margaret use their muscles on metal-moving day.

"But I trust in your unfailing love;

my heart rejoices in your salvation.

I will sing to the Lord,

for he has been good to me." Psalm 13:5-6

~Pansy photo by Psalm~
To the rescue~ Pauline, Josh, and Rachel helped us work at the site for several hours yesterday. Thanks guys!Lately we have been able to spend some time with our old neighbors; we miss living near them.
Our neighbor Bernadette uses the beautiful area of our property to exercise her horse, Lux, while Rachel watches.
We shared a wonderful time with our neighbors Hope, Vladimir, and Tom yesterday when they made us a tasty Russian dinner before Tom headed back to Seattle. Mr. Williams, Tom's dad, died on January 8th this year. He was our good friend and we miss him in the neighborhood. On Tuesday with our other neighbor Margaret's help, Wynn made this reversible pillow while I worked in the ash.

"Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;

The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.

When other helpers fail and comforts flee,

Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;

Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away;

Change and decay in all around I see;

O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes;

Shine thro the gloom, and point me to the skies:

Heaven's morning breaks and earth's vain shadows flee:

In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me."

Early on May 23rd our dear friend went home to be with the Lord. We were so grieved to hear of her death. Please pray for her godly husband, Frank and their children and families as they mourn the loss of their precious wife, mother, and grandmother. Several years ago Pastor Frank came to Wasilla to baptize Seth and Micah and to dedicate Wynn in a very special ceremony. The ministry of Frank and Adelaide has meant so much to us through the years.

I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ~Romans 8:38-39

Tomorrow a few of us plan to work at the site photographing for inventory purposes in order to clean up more piles of stuff. We really need to make some progress quickly so we can move forward with our next phase. Please pray for God's direction and wisdom. If you want to come assist in the endeavor, we would appreciate your help. The May Tree is in full bloom as of yesterday!

Today we spent many hours seeking advice and ideas from Bruce, Wanda, and Tony; what a help they have been to us. Then Miriam brought us a delicious dinner again. And before we left the property, a four-legged visitor came by to greet us.

Evidently Mr. Moose found the ash to be as irritating as we do.

In our files was hidden this signed photo of the TeenPact class.

We highly recommend you visit the North Star Bakery!

The North Star Bakery man provided us free bread as a gift when he discovered that our home had burned, and we were happily surprised to discover that his daughter, Jessica, was one of the hard-working and valiant firefighters who fought our fire.

Kim and Molly and their family have done so much for us I don't know where to begin to thank them. From the day of the fire when they rushed over to be with us as we watched the inferno, they have been there to support us. They provided us the clothes to wear when we were in our jammies (or underwear) and socks, ferried us to the DMV office to get our driver's licenses reissued, gave us rides to the eye clinic to replace glasses and a way to get Psalm to gymnastics, a new purse (otherwise known as a "command center") for me, set up the e-mail communication system, worked on the site, loaned us a cell phone, brought us food, helped us clean, and let us borrow their covered trailer for moving. "Thank you" doesn't seem nearly adequate. We only wish they all had been available to grace the photo.

On Friday, May 21st, the Frontiersman ran an encouraging article describing some of the obstacles which Micah had to overcome in order to successfully compete in the piano competition. Thanks to many of you (including Fairview Loop Baptist Church, Lucky and Leslie, Dr. Resinger, the Barnes, Svetlana, the Halley's etc.) who graciously provided him a place or avenue to practice.

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee." Isaiah 26:3

Unknown to Wendy's Aunt Margaret, this verse held a very significant place in McKinnis Family history. This was among Aunt Harriet McKinnis' favorite verses that she often quoted to help her through the rough spots of her life. She passed it on to Doug and it has become a verse often remembered by him as well. Our hope is that our children will take hold of it also, so that in the difficult times of their lives, their eyes of faith will rest upon Jesus and that they, too, will experience the peace of God's powerful comfort. Aunt Margaret placed this card in Doug's Bible, one of the gifts she gave us after all our Bibles were destroyed by fire.

Surprise Cove, Alaska: One of the peaceful & gorgeous displays of the beauty of God's creation in Prince William Sound. In late May, ice still forms on the salt water and 5 feet of snow still rests unmelted on many areas at the water's edge.

And the pinnacle of God's beautiful creation: Long-time friends! Life is all about relationships, and we certainly have been blessed by God Himself and by the wonderful people He has graciously sent our way. Scott and Theresa stopped by from Kodiak for a nice visit. This is as close to Doug as they would dare come until after the shower. No hugs for Doug! Friendships only go so far:)

Seth came by to lend a hand after studying Constitutional Law and practicing gymnastics. We sure enjoy having him around.

Dante & Kenton worked hard and used available tools creatively to get a couple of aluminum wheels off the trashed Suburban before the scrap metal guy comes by to take it away. Progress is being made and the phase of building is coming soon. Pray for us, so we will always remember that "unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it."

One of our favorite trees in the yard, the May Tree, is beginning to bloom with its beautiful, white aromatic flowers. Only the nearby lilac excels the May Tree with its sweet fragrance, but the May Tree blooms first and is the sure sign that the long-awaited summer is soon on its way. Wynn Christian asked Doug if we would have to cut down the May Tree due to its being damaged by the fire's heat. You can see the delight of the children after learning their leafy, branch-covered friend would stay to support and cheer them for many days to come.

Doug works hard to blend in with the dumpster and the neighboring trash.

Wendy instructs Wendy A. and her daughters on the finer points of specialized bibliographical archeological preservation and archiving techniques required to excavate the site! :)

Wendy A. and her seven children faithfully worked another day to help sort out books of the library, painstakingly taking pictures of scorched covers and title pages to help document what was lost. Wendy McKinnis had prayed earlier in the day that if God wanted someone to work with us on very short notice that they would be moved to call--shortly thereafter Wendy A. called to see if we needed help at the site!" What an answer to prayer and a blessing to have their family come.

Dante and Heidi pause for a quick smile after arguing about who would get to sit in the front seat on the ride home:) Dear & affectionate 'Seppe looks on with interest while an escapee is caught on camera leaping daringly through the window on the opposite side.

The boys met with their friend Caleb for a nice visit after Caleb returned from his first year of college in Wyoming.

Tom, Shirley, Yetta, Caleb, Cora, and Grandma offered their home to us for fine fellowship and a delicious meal. Grandma topped off the meal with cookies only a grandma could make.

Skipper Sue and Svetlana blessed us with an incredible fishing trip and sight-seeing adventure to Prince William Sound.

Doug proudly takes credit for a huge red snapper caught by Micah Lee.

Wynn Christian holds the pole and looks on to see his first halibut being harpooned and hauled in by Dad--a real team effort! Though the large flat fish was a bit longer than Wynn, it weighed the same as he does at 64 pounds.

Wynn Christian is mighty happy after being assured that this time, the big one didn't get away

Shrimp! Delicious shrimp! We learned how to catch them, head them, shell them, de-vein them, and package them, but we liked the practice of eating them most of all. Galley Chef Svetlana prepared for us a delicious feast.

Two trophy shrimp on display: a spotted shrimp and a rare, red-necked, yellow-chested beauty

Micah bravely endures the rough Alaska waters while Coastie Doug gets seasick!