A Much Overdue Post :)

Happy 2011!
Wow everyone, sorry for being so long in updating this thing! :) The last five months have just flown by since being up here. We have enjoyed our time so far and can't believe it's already 2011. Many exciting things have happened, the number one being the anticipated arrival of "Little Guy" in late April. Only a few months away! As you all know, we are expecting our first child... (if you didn't know that I am SO sorry!) Everything is going well, and mom and baby are fine and dandy. He has started to move around quite a bit and yesterday he was really active. It's fun to feel him. So far he hasn't kept me (Lacey)...or Jeremy for that matter....awake yet.
The first month or so, I (L) didn't do a whole lot as I was dealing with some morning sickness, but now that I am feeling better, I am definetly in the nesting stage! :-D I have been researching online and reading books, looking at name ideas, and finished our registries the other day. If you are interested in looking, you can go to http://www.target.com/ or www.amazon.com/baby
Jeremy has kept plenty busy between being involved here at the radio station, church activities, random projects, being "Mr. Fix It" on just about anything you can think of, and also doing some flying.
Below are some pictures to recap August-December.....

First up: Baby's 1st photos!

Above: Leg and arm
Below: Profile (head shot)

Here is something fairly new- 4-D ultrasound! SO amazing!! We were able to see his whole body, but only captured half his body in this pic. He is on his side and you can see his little bottom, leg and arm. Here he was only about 12 oz or so. Now he should be a pound and a half or so.

A few side shots of Lacey as she progresses.

21 or 22 weeks- can't remember. :)

Here are some Ptarmagin that showed up at the station in mid September. If you look closely you can see some white on them. During the Summer/Fall they are brown, but start to turn white for Winter. Just the other day I saw several of them and they were completly white and really pretty. We hear they taste good too. :)

Sunday Evening Church Service on the Beach... one of our last warmer days.

Tilt your head, can't figure out how to turn this.....remember for any of these pictures you can click on them to make them bigger.

The end of September, Jeremy and I had the privelage of helping out with a Fall Retreat for the youth of the area. By Area, we mean, surrounding villages too. About 1/2 the kids were from here in Naknek/King Salmon, but the other half were flown in. Praise the Lord for nice weather for the pilots. It was a very fun weekend and it's nice to be able to get all the youth together.

Chapel

This is a picture of the church in the village of Egegik (pronounced Ig-a-gik) - about a half hour or so flight from here. This fall Jeremy, Bob Lee (radio station manager) and Pastor Jeff flew there to check out some of the radio equipment. We are able to broadcast to several surrounding villages. Isn't technology something else?

Egegik

Flying to another village
Welcome to Winter! I don't remember when this picture was taken, but it was probably the end of October or beginning of November. Winter seems to go on for quite a while here (especially since it's only January), but boy, it sure is beautiful when the sun is shining, and everything is covered with sparkling snow or ice. We have had many sunning days, for which we are grateful. Especially when it is about 2 degrees with a windchill of -30 or -40!

A trip that Jeremy and Pastor Jeff took to deliver some quilts to a village.
Whoops, back to Egegik :)

A beautiful double rainbow here in Naknek

Christmas Program put on by our church and the Community church- the kids did great for the amount of practice time they had.

And that about sums it up!

Thank you all for your prayers and support! We appreciate it! We're looking foward to the next coming months, especially when April rolls around! We'll be headed down to Washington State for the birth, so we look foward to being around family and friends. Sounds like it will be a busy next couple of months until then, especially for Jeremy.

May God Bless each one of you!

Here’s a bit more of an update! Actually, I (Lacey) was able to add A LOT more this time! Praise the Lord for better internet connection today. So, being that we need to update you on events that have happened since MAY (!), I am typing this up on Microsoft Word, before typing everything on the blog first and then by chance losing it. J (remember that you can click on the photos if you want to see a larger image) Oh, and before I forget…We got our own P.O. Box, but you can still use the one on our prayer card too. Our personal one is: P.O. 507 Naknek, AK 99633

Ok, here we go….! *deep breath

We’re going to back up all the way to Colorado. We had a wonderful time there, meeting so many great people. The church family was very friendly, and we hope to be able to go back there to visit someday! We were only there for five months, but we were able to create memories that we won’t forget. Pastor Haagenson and Jeremy enjoyed working together, and it was a blessing that Jeremy could be there serving. Pastor Haagenson is also a chaplain at the Denver Hospital, and so his schedule is very busy. I had fun working with the kids and being available to help with decorating, serving at funerals, etc. I miss my “partner in crime”, Gloria. (Hi Gloria!) J It has only been since May that we left, but in a way, it seems like forever ago. So much has happened since then, we can’t believe it.

We were able to be there in the Spring time and it was fun to see all the beautiful flowers blooming in our backyard and seeing Elk a little ways out of Loveland was not an uncommon occurrence.

Life was pretty busy and crazy for my birthday, but about two weeks after my birthday, Jeremy took me to Colorado Springs. We went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and the Garden of the Gods. The zoo was the best we had ever been too. All the animals were out and about, and it was a really well designed zoo and everything. It was a fun day!

You could touch and feed the giraffes!

Tapir

These guys had such personality! It was crazy...

Baby Gorilla :)

Sorry for those of you who are terrified of snakes, especially ones during feeding time. This was definetly the best part of the zoo.

Garden of the Gods

Leaving Colorado, we headed straight for Minneapolis. It was time for Jeremy’s graduation! The past four years (3 married)of seminary life have just flown by. He really enjoyed his time at seminary, and it was fun to be on campus with friends. He learned so much and it prepared him for this time. We both enjoyed the time immensely and praise the Lord for this time in our lives.

Dr. Monseth, Dean of the seminary, handing Jeremy his diploma.

We had lots of family there, including my grandparents from MI!

Us with Brett and Theresa Boe- we miss you guys!

Graduation was the middle of May, and so between Graduation and Ordination (which also included the AFLC’s Annual Conference for a week), we spent the time traveling around visiting people. Our best friends, Dary and Anna Finck, came out for graduation. They stayed an extra week, traveling up to Roseau, MN with us where Jeremy’s mom (Lori) is living. We also spent a day in Duluth with Dary and Anna and Lori and Adrian, Jeremy’s brother. After the Fincks left, we made an appearance in Fergus Falls and Dalton, MN, and a few other places. Thank you SO much to Paul and Laurie Nash for letting us crash at their place for several nights. In one month, we slept in 11 or 12 different beds!

A couple of us had a "Girl's Day Out" which included a trip to the Tea Garden in Minneapolis for bubble tea! Liz, it was fun too see you too!

While we were in Roseau, we celebrated Anna's 25th Birthday!

HAHAHA. This is the biggest gun I have touched in my life. One night we went shooting at a range.

Duluth, MN

A tight, but super fun sqeeze on a "Surry" in Duluth

A day with Caribou Coffee is always better :)

Although we saw our "seminary best friends", the Boes, for a few days during Graduation and Annual Conference, we stopped at their new place in Dalton, MN. Brett took a call as an Assistant Pastor of three parishes there. It was fun to stay with them for a few days. Gideon, their closer to 3 year old (wow!) has changed so much and talks up a storm, and Bridia was a lot more grown up then when Anna and I visited her in February.

We also took a trip to Fergus Falls for a couple of days to visit some friends. Last year, while we were here, a work team of 8 from the church in Fergus came up. It was fun working along side of them and getting to know them. We had a dinner with some of them one Sunday afternoon at Loren and Sharon Tungseth's house. We also stayed with the Tungseth's for a few days. Thanks you guys- you're the greatest! (and I can't believe we didn't get a picture with you!)

On a ride on the Tungseth's pontoon

On June 19th, Jeremy was ordained as a pastor on the AFLC Campus in the Chapel. It was a very touching service, and I am so proud of Pastor Jeremy Crowell. :) Also in the service, they had a comissioning for the two of us and Bob and Margaret Lee. (who are the new station managers here at KAKN radio) It was such a blessing.

Left to right: Pastor Paul Nash, director of Home Missions and our boss, Bob Lee (radio station manager, who also graduated with Jeremy), Jeremy, and Lavon Bohling, director of FLAPS (Free Lutheran Association of Pilots and Supportors)

Some of the family were able to be there as well. Pastor Cal Willard (J's step dad), Lori (J's mom), Lacey, Jeremy, Adrian (J's brother), and Kathy Jolly (J's Aunt)