"Look at the lilies of the field, they neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his splendor was not arrayed like one of them...But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." ~Matthew 6:28,29,33,34~

Please keep Wynn in prayer today. Yesterday while working at the site he stepped on a nail and his foot is sore and looks as if it is getting infected - we plan to take him to the doctor today. Psalm had to go to the doctor yesterday for a bad cough.

Doug models his flight uniform which we unearthed in our excavations yesterday. It might use a little spit and polish before he can use it, though.

It took our entire family five hours to clean half of the porch yesterday. The key to success was focusing on a small area as though it was the only area left needing attention.

After the cleanup.
Seth found his letter to the editor which was published in Clubhouse Jr. when he was five years old.
The dumpster on its way to being filled again.Marlyn tackled the tedious task of photographing the covers and title pages which had previously been removed from the books.

First: Arrange the covers on the table.

Next: Gain some elevation for proper angle and shoot.

Last: Clear the table, start over with another batch, and smile.

The three oldest boys just safely returned from TeenPact National Convention in Tennessee.

Micah's cabin "dad" at TeenPact NC turned out to be a good friend of our friends Len and Pauline whom they had met in Germany. It's a small world!

The house where the three oldest boys stayed while they were in Atlanta waiting on standby flights. What a hospitable and gracious family! Diane and family took great pains to make the boys feel at home this year, as they did last year, and went the extra mile patiently making airport runs hoping there was room on the plane.

Sam, Seth, and Kenton play frisbee after Sam demonstrated how to use the "jungle" zip line in the nearby woods.

Diane gave each of the children a chance to pick out one of her books as a gift for them to keep. She has many of the book sets which we lost in the fire. Thanks Diane!

Seth continued to plug away at his Constitutional Law summer course while on his travels.

Dinner at the airport in Seattle hit the spot.

Kenton and his small group ~ TeenPacters from across the nation.

Life in the Boy's Cabin

Alaskans Seth and Jonathan in Tennessee at the final frisbee game.

Four of the ten Alaskans at NC: Luke, Jonathan, Seth, and Micah.

~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.