General Life Update

This morning I am proud to say that I made Nathan breakfast in bed to inaugurate our first night spent in our new home! I am sad to say I didn't let him eat it in bed because we only have the one set of sheets that we just purchased yesterday and I don't want to sully them with sausage grease or muffin crumbs.

If I could do over the PCS (Permanent Change of Station) move to Anchorage, I would have packed up a separate box of checked baggage that included a set of sheets, pillows and pillow cases, two of each type of towel that we needed, the shower curtain, bath mat and a comforter. We were misinformed that such items would be loaned to us as we await the arrival of our TMO (which indicates "our stuff", but the original phrase of which is unbeknownst to all whom we ask) which can take up to 90 days because we are at an OCONUS (Outside the Continental US) base. Other HHG (Household Goods) items that have been loaned to us by the FMO (Furnishing Management Office), though, are a dining set and full bed, box springs and mattress pad. God has been very gracious to us in allowing our mattress pad to be brand new so we can sleep easy not wondering about bed bugs, dandruff and other particulates undoubtedly left behind on a used one. A separate office on base also loaned us some basic cutlery and food preparation items so that we can use the pre-furnished kitchen appliances in our house!

The Chris and Marsha Ball family and their excellent daughter Sharine have made our transition much smoother and have aided us invaluably with the use of their guest bedroom for a night, Sharine's car for a day, and loads of frozen salmon for our freezer. This is what it looks like to be the hands and feet of Christ. We will not forget their blessing of generosity, their outpouring of love, or their eagerness to help. It has been most humbling and simultaneously uplifting to be served by them.

Nathan was given the entire week off of work because of an exercise in which his squadron is required to participate! Praise God for his mercies, they are new every morning. It's amazing how many errands can be accomplished with three days off work and a rental car! We have discovered a few important things about shopping here in Alaska. Local advice is to check dry goods' expiration dates before purchase because the long shipping time can make foods nearly expired by the time of arrival. Our own discoveries:

• Fred Meyer is Kroger which makes it Anchorage's equivalent of Owen's which makes me nostalgic. Groceries are cheapest here, though it's off base and a ways away out of Government Hill gate (the closest gate to our house)
• Target is outside Muldoon gate (the farthest gate from our house) but has the cheapest cleaning supplies
• Home Depot has great sales on appliances and rugs and is slightly closer than Target
• The BX/PX/Commissary Mall offers the most convenient shopping (being on the joint base) but is pretty expensive. It is just inside Boniface Gate (the main gate to JBER - Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson)

We are adjusting well to life here and have been learning a lot. I was instructed to memorize the AMH (Aurora Military Housing) rental housing manual because we will get fined hundreds or thousands of dollars for any damage they perceive we inflicted on the house. Trivia: Grass may not exceed 3" in height, nor may it be trimmed below 2" on base. Because of the steep penalties, we are going to meticulously comb through the house today and copiously record all discrepancies (anything wrong with the house or perceptibly flawed in any way, shape or form) on our 15 Day Discrepancy Form. Our motivation is decently strong, as one acquaintance was fined $4000 for carpet replacement due to a single discrepancy and another was fined $900 for not having her windows properly cleaned.

And for all our hard work, tonight we will be rewarded by the midnight showing of the next installment of the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn Part 1. Needless to say, I am pretty excited, though not enough of a fanatic to be wearing the franchise attire to the theatre as many Twilight crazies will be.

To everyone out there with whom I used to live, eat, work, hang and go to church, I ardently miss you.