These Happy Days

Moose on the Loose!

2009-10-19T16:42:00.000-07:00

Home-Sweet-Home in Eagle River

2009-10-14T08:33:00.000-07:00

I suppose I've waited long enough. My 6 months have gone by and it's time for a new post. For those that still check on us using blogger, thank you for your patience. I usually get around to updating sooner or later, usually later.

To begin, I'll just say we made it to Anchorage safe-and-sound in August and have settled into living up north quite nicely. We've found a church that we enjoy and have made some good connections there with the people. It's always hard breaking away from what we know and love, but the Lord is teaching us as we allow Him too. I've also found a play-group for the kids that meets every Tuesday morning, just like our group in Ketchikan. It's held in the gym of our new church. Not as warm and cozy as Caren's house, but still fun.

Adam was hired on with the city of Anchorage as an apprentice lineman. We are so thankful he is working for a utility right now, which means he's home every night, and the job will probably last for a year, which is wonderful. This type of work is difficult when you start out because you just don't know where you'll be placed.

I've been enjoying the chamber singers which I started soon after we got here. Our first concert is actually this weekend. I'm very excited. The website is "alaskachambersingers.org" if anyone wants to read my profile. Or, if you're in the area this weekend, come to our concert!

In the midst of our busyness, we've tried to have a little fun here and there. The kids love to go the bounce house here in town and also the pool. We've also been on a hike and have loved being outdoors when we can. It's nice not having all the rain for a change. Hasn't gotten very cold yet, but I know that's coming soon. I suppose the highlight of being here has been the alaskan wilderness right in our backyard!! Yes, we had our very own moose for an entire morning, munching away at our bushes. It was very exciting.

Well, I've included some recent photos of our adventures so far. Hope everyone is doing well. And I'll try to be better about posting. :)

King Adam and Queen Rachael
This dress was made by my Aunt Annebeth from Norway for her daughter. It was handed down to me as a little girl, and now Rachael is wearing it. Joel is wearing a norwegian sweater onesie.
Out first hike with Mom leading the way. Kind of risky, but we made it to the river and back all in one piece.

Joel was so tired after our exhausting hike. (Actually, it was more like a liesurely walk).
Fun in the pool with Dad and...Hello Mrs. Moose!!!I have to include this because it just happened this morning. This is Rachael's prayer before breakfast, paraphrased: "Thank you God for music...and singing and dancing...and all the ballerinas...and for making my owie feel better...and thank you God for the food we eat. Amen

Finally, a new post!!!

2009-04-17T09:01:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been long time since we last updated, but a lot has been going on in the Day household. Adam is now in Anchorage going to school to be an apprentice lineman. For those of you who don't know, Adam was 1 of 8 chosen for this program and they interviewed 130. It was an amazing accomplishment and we're so proud of him. His school will last until the end of May. In the meantime, the kids and I are staying with my Mom until things settle down up north. (The school is very full-time and it's better for us to be here so Adam can focus.) We're on week 3 of being apart and we all miss each other terribly. It will be a great reunion when we're all together again.

Although we can't be together, being with Mom and Grandma is the next best thing. It's been a great help to me and the kids love all the attention. We've been keeping busy with the normal things here in Ketchikan - play groups, church activities, family get-togethers and visiting all the new babies! It's so exciting, kinda makes me want another one...well, maybe not yet. :) Adam would say, "well, maybe never". Anyway, things are keeping busy. Here are a few pictures of the kids. Hope you enjoy. And God Bless!!

Joel's new girlfriend, Willow Moore. Doesn't he look excited???

It's a new "Day"!!!!

2009-01-28T16:10:00.000-08:00

I should also say a "big" Day. Yes, he really was over 10 lbs and is growing steadily. He is now 6 weeks old and just shy of 16 lbs. But as you can see, he's also growing in personality and sweetness. He's quite the cuddler and loves being held. Even Rachael has been enjoying holding him, but only for a few seconds. We're trying to get her to say "all done" instead of just pushing him off her lap. Needless to say, things have gotten really exciting in our house since December 15th. For a while I didn't know if I'd be able to keep up, but as any mother can attest, you just do what you can and let everything else go, which mainly means the housework. But I'm getting more energy everyday and able to prioritize better too. Hope you enjoy these highlights of the past few weeks.

Early Morning Blog

2008-12-09T05:42:00.000-08:00

Well, it's 4:45 AM here in Ketchikan, wind howling and rain pounding against the house. Haven't been able to sleep since 2:30, so thought I'd update our blog. Has it really been 5 months since we've updated? I wish someone would've told me!!! (Actually, many people have given slight hints regarding our time between blogs). Well, here we are again. Be thankful I couldn't sleep, (due to pregnancy, of course), otherwise this prime opportunity in the middle of the night probably wouldn't have happened.

Just a few highlights over the past few months. Adam's been working hard on all kinds of construction jobs, as well as different projects at home. He built me a wonderful office detached from the house which gives a little extra room, and also enables us to have a small nursery for the baby when he comes. He's also been on lots of "Daddy duty" while I've worked at Alaska Airlines. It's actually worked out very well, as I have mainly worked nights. And when Adam was busy, Uncle Ashley would usually step in, like a good uncle should. He's been staying with us for a few months helping Adam before heading back to school. It's been great having him and Rachael sure has fun playing with and teasing him. My last day was Friday and I am officially on maternity leave. Now all I do is clean, clean, clean while I wait patiently, (and at times not so patiently), for this baby to be born.

As for me, I have all the wonderful symptoms of being 9 months pregnant. Rather uncomfortable, I look forward to meeting this new little person. I just realized our due date is tomorrow. Maybe he's just very punctual and is waiting for that anticipated date. We'll see. I do hope he's not a procrastinator as he is getting larger every day!!!

Rachael adds excitement to our lives daily. She's 18 months old and learning new things every day. It's so much fun to watch! She's become very interested in anything "baby", (which I'm thankful for), and loves helping Mommy get everything ready for her new little brother. I can't wait to see them together. She also loves spending time with her friend Hannah. Just last night they had a play date so Adam and I could go on a date...to the grocery store. Isn't that romantic?? We actually did get a bite to eat first, but it's amazing how those precious times alone together are just that, precious. Even if it's only to the store, we have to take advantage of them when the opportunity arises.

Well, enough blabbing, here are a few pictures from the last few months. Hope you enjoy!

Fishing this summer:

Eating rocks can be yummy!

Fun at the Anchorage Zoo:

Story time with Auntie Kristi and roasting smores on the beach:

Fun at the John's house:

Quality Uncle time:

Big Momma's!!!!

Work, Work, and of course, Play!!!!

2008-07-19T12:21:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, I recently began a new job at Alaska Airlines. After 5 full weeks of training, (3 of which were in Seattle), I proudly accepted the title, CSA - Customer Service Agent. Granted, it was a lot of work, and still is, but thankfully, we had the help of family and friends who graciously cared for our precious little one. I think she handled the change better than the rest of us!

But a lot sure has happened since the beginning of summer. Rachael turned 1 early in June, we took a trip south where she spent some time with Adam's side of the family, my wonderful mother-in-law decided to stay 3 weeks here in Ketchikan while I finished my training, and about two weeks ago Rachael started walking!!! Now, she's REALLY into everything! We still are adjusting to having both of us work, but so far, it's going great. And hopefully things will slow down a bit this fall. But until then, it's work, work, work, (and as you can see from the following pictures), Rachael is doing all the playing.

Happy Birthday, Rachael!!!!

These are my new friends I made at Nana and Papa's house in Spokane. This is Bud.

And this is Tina.This is what happens when Mommy's at work. I get to take a bath in the kitchen sink...with Gracie, too!!! Just out for a stroll.This is also what happens when Mommy is too busy rolling out pie crust and isn't watching me very closely. :)

A Day At The Park

2008-05-28T20:49:00.000-07:00

It's been beautiful here the past few days and we've really been taking advantage of it. Just the other day we took Rachael to the playground. It was her second time and I wanted her dad to see how much she loves the swings. Really, who doesn't love the swings? They had so much fun together, and I loved snapping pictures of all the many kodak moments.

Even Daddy decided to have a little fun!

Remember the days when all you needed was a dandelion to entertain you?

Overall, it was a wonderful day at the park. Unfortunately, we are now trying to recover from whatever new bug is going around town. And the Cooke children are so good at sharing, they decided to share their pink eye with Rachael. But it's alright, we share everything with the Cookes, even our diseases. :)

Catch-Up Time

2008-04-28T20:51:00.000-07:00

Always a lot happening around here. Sometimes it's hard to find time to share the news with everyone. But here's a quick synopsis. Adam recently did some herring fishing, thanks to the help of Jeremy Baum, to stock-up on bait. He was very proud of his success. Maybe now he can catch that big halibut we've been waiting for.

My Mom and Rachael and I took a short trip to Petersburg last week and had a great time. We were visiting my Aunt and Uncle and some other family that we haven't seen in a while. The weather was beautiful and it was very relaxing. Rachael did great and just stole the show most of the time.

She also had her first taste of salmon...this salmon.

And she loved hanging out with her "great" Great-Uncle.

And Mom thought the ice floating down the channel was pretty cool.

Oh, and one more thing. For those of you who don't know yet...

Rachael's going to be a big sister in December!!!!!!!!

Busy Sunday

2008-04-07T10:58:00.000-07:00

Sunday, the day of rest, can sometimes be the busiest day of the week, at least yesterday was. We didn't stop until bedtime. Adam has been leading worship, (and doing a great job), on Sunday mornings, and Pastor Mike asked if he would speak at the jail also. We used to go in regularly, but after Rachael was born, it became too difficult. He spoke about "power", something the Lord layed on his heart a couple days before. I wasn't there, but the others that were said he did great. We then went to the hospital to see the new baby in our family. Adrian's wife, Sarah, had a beautiful baby girl, Aden. It's always fun seeing a new baby, and she sure is lovely. After we got home, we had just a little while before our FOLD group meeting at 6:00. Adam led the music and also spoke again. Come to think of it, I think he was the one with the busy day! Anyway, he did just great, and we're proud of him.

Waiting to go to church in my best Sunday dress.
Here's a picture of the new baby!

I want to get my picture taken too!!
Hello, what's your name?

What's going on?

2008-04-02T14:27:00.000-07:00

Adam just got back from his fishing trip down south with his Dad and 2 brothers and 16 other guys. He said it was pretty crowded in the cabin and he had an "OK" time. He said he missed us lots and he likes us there when he goes on trips. Anyway, he got right to work on the logs outside. Our property used to be mostly covered in trees. Now it looks like this.

With one tree left standing, he'll have to cut it down eventually, but he's used to it. He cuts down trees like this.Dale Baccula came over with his portable saw mill and he and Adam spent the last couple days milling and sawing all the logs.

And now, all those logs...

look like this.

Inside the house, we're having lots of fun just looking cute. Who else thinks she looks like Bam-Bam?

New news!

2008-03-29T23:31:00.000-07:00

For those of you out there who are still hopeful of something new to appear on our blog, the anticipation is over! After over a year of avoidance, I have finally learned how to blog. And it's not that hard; (why didn't anybody ever tell me?) And I have exciting news to share on this first post...we had a baby!!!! I think the anticipation was worth it, don't you? Our beautiful daughter Rachael Grace was born on June 6, 2007 and was 8 lbs 7 oz and 21 inches long. She has been such a joy! But my how she has changed since that day. This is a recent picture of her. She loves smiling for the camera and never fails to show off her pearly-whites, (she has 6 now) when she sees the blinking light.

Life sure has changed since "The Crack". New baby, new house, and new guitar. Hopefully this will be the last; of the guitars, I mean. I've been keeping busy at home and Adam has been very busy at work. Right now, he's actually on a fishing trip with his Dad and two brothers, but other than that, he's very busy. He's also been leading worship at church which has been really great to see. He's doing wonderfully and getting better every week.

Well, I can't believe I'm up this late, but I wanted to finally update our blog. This is really fun and I can't wait to do it again next year. Just kidding, I hope to keep this more up-to-date. Thank you to all our faithful viewers who did not give up on "These Happy Day's".

The CRACK Cont.

2007-03-05T11:38:00.000-08:00

So i spent about six hours last week trying to get the info I needed to send to the shipping company and when i finally get all of i together except how much it was insured for i find out that it was not inusred at all because the guy who filled out the shipping info did not know how to fill out the shipping insurance part. So now i have to wait to see what it is that the dealer is going to do. I will keep you posted.

The Crack

2007-02-28T13:42:00.000-08:00

So I waited and saved and waited and saved some more, sold the old one and finally bought a new one. It shows up three days late and i open up the case and bam, a crack. Talk about disapointing. Well it is litigation between the distibutor and DHL so i have to sit back and wait. Any guesses on how much it will cost to fix?

A New Day

2007-02-15T08:55:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, We know it has been along time since we have posted but there has been so much going on and I (adam) could not remember out password but now we have that all undercontrol and we are back in the game. So what's new? Well I think everyone knows that pumpkin has passed on, she was a good hamster, but now we are going to have a new memeber to the family. I guess it might be a little late but better late than never. I think it's a boy, and Kristina has been a little back and forth but she at this time thinks that it is girl. I think that we have settled on the name Cameron for a boy which I like alot by the way and Laurel for a girl, Kinda iffy for me but it's nice. What do you guys think?

Well I am just working, have been working on the same house for about three months now and getting closer to the end, I started my own buisness which has beeen a blessing for us. I am also doing a little bit of diving, here and there. I want to go jump in the narrows and see if can find some king crab but I just have not done it yet. Kristina is still working at the school and she is doing really well, she enjoys most days, sometimes those wee ones can really be a handfull. Gradma really takes alot out of her but she is usually really patient with her and is always offering a loving hand, she doesn't even know who I am so when she catches site of me first thing in the morning she is a little leery. Talk about a new day, everyday is a new day for her. Talked to my brother Adrian last night, also his girlfriend Sarah, It's hard to talk to him sometimes you can't seem to get a word in edgewise when Sarah is around so we aren't really sure what he is doing but we do know that he needs prayer. It sounds like he is trying to get a job with a friend in Nevada doing core drilling which I hope he gets, he hasn't had job for about 5-6 months know and so I hope this works out for him.
I am selling my toyota which has been a fiasco, I put it in the local paper and they ran it one week and then for the next two weeks they have forgot to put it in which is really irratating. I also bought a new truck and I like it alot, Kristina has a little bit of a hard time getting into it so i think I will have to start carrying a ladder around so she can get in.
Well all is well just wanted to give a little update of the Day's news. Kristina says she is the one who is going to take over our blog so she needs a little ecouragement because she does not like to sit at the computer and try to figure thes things out.
God Bless
The Day's

Our new member of the family

2006-04-25T21:16:00.000-07:00

Last month, we inherited a cute little furr-ball. Actually, she's not little by any means. She's quite large for a hamster, but we love her and are trying to be good first parents by limiting her food intake. She seems to have adjusted well, and so have we. We love watching her and usually let her out in the evening to run around our tiny apartment. We've only lost her twice, and have found her both times. The first time, she found her way into a heating vent and we were quite nervous thinking she would get into the walls. We could hear her but not see her. Adam finally had to take the vent off, and she thankfully came running out on her own. We were thankful too, a lost hamster that died in our walls would be a terrible thing to explain.

Love at first site

2006-03-16T12:09:00.000-08:00

There she was. Out of the dark she appeared, where she came from I don't know but she was beautiful. I don't know how I had gone this long without her, how could I have accomplished all of the great feats that I had, without her by my side. I didn't yet know how I was going to afford all of the things that she was going to need down the road. I wasn't sure I could even take proper care of her, it would be a huge responsibility but I had to have her no matter the cost. So now, knowing all I had to go through I would do it all over again. I am so thankful I didn't wait to long or someone else would have taken this beautiful prize away from me.