Update

I have meant to post more pictures and movies but I have not. I will make that a goal in the coming weeks. Everyone is doing well. William is a delight. He is getting more motivated about moving around. His sounds are also starting to resemble human speech although we aren't recognizing any words yet. Perhaps he is speaking Albanian and we just don't know it (that is the language he hears all day at daycare). He has been so healthy, we are really lucky. I was fearful that he would get sick since he was going to daycare but overall he has been sickness free. I think his caregiver is very careful about about cleanliness. There are a lot of respiratory problems here in the Delta but luckily William seems to be unaffected. He also avoided the flu which has been going around

James received another report card and he is advanced in reading and math. He is very social and enjoying his time with friends. He has also been sickness free this year.

Work has been challenging and rewarding. We have had some good outcomes lately which is a welcomed change. The lack of basic services including housing and mental health services continues to appall me on a day to day basis. I don't know how the people here deal with it but somehow they do.

Camai Dance Festival is this weekend. I will try to get some pictures but this event fills the high school with wall to wall people. We went last night for about two hours and William really liked the Yupik Dancing.

Time

The picture of our back yard was taken at 8pm local time. Day light savings doesn't make a whole lot of sense when in a few months we will be experiencing almost continual daylight. I am really looking forward to our Alaskan summer this year. Last summer I was too pregnant and too tired to appreciate the daylight but this year we are going to get out and enjoy it. We are going to spend a lot of time out on the river, camping and fishing.

We are also looking forward to our vacation in Indiana and Michigan. We have acclimated to the long flights and they really aren't so bad. It is so nice to know that we can jump on a plane and be home in less than a day. It was really comforting to be able to make it back for Grandma Jane's funeral. It assures us that even though we are in Alaska we can still make it home and spend time with family.

Maybe, on a good day

As the world celebrated International Women's Day Tuesday, researchers in Britain revealed that an average working mother gets barely 26 minutes to relax in daily life.

Juggling a job with looking after children means the average British mother does not even get half-an-hour to herself, the study revealed.

Family

Grandma Jane passed away and we were fortunate enough to be able to attend her funeral. Within twenty four hours of receiving the bad news we were in the midwest and surrounded by family.

William was able to meet so many relatives. James really enjoyed being able to be there with his family. We all really enjoyed being able to celebrate her life.