We finally broke the record for how cold we've experienced it here when it got to 53 below zero today. 
Below: A moose and its calf were eating right outside our window.
53 degrees below zero. Church on Sunday morning. Ruthie gets into the car and says, "Why does the seat feel funny and hard?" Daddy replies, "Because it's frozen."
Only in 50 below temperature do church attenders keep their cars running throughout the whole service...if not, the cars may not start again.
I went skiing with a friend from church and she took me outside our village. It was so beautiful out there! Miles upon miles of emptiness. On our way home we ran into a moose. I've never been that close to one without some protection (ie. inside our house or car...or at least with more distance between us). She came toward us but veered away when we made lots of noise and waved our arms around. I told my friend I might stick to the road next time I ski. :)
Below: I rearranged our pantry to make room for a homeschooling area. Unfortunately the floor gets pretty cold with 50 below weather so we haven't used it this weekend much. The bottom shelves of our pantry freeze when its this cold out.
Please keep praying for our boiler. The night it got to 50 below it shut off and thankfully Brad noticed early that morning and fixed it. It could have been a bad deal if all the pipes in the boiler room froze on us. God is gracious that Brad caught it in time. Please pray it won't shut off again...especially at night when it's this cold and we might not notice until the next morning.
I called my parents and informed them that it was 100 degrees warmer there in Montana than here in Alaska.
Below: Brad and I wanted to see if hot, boiling water evaporated in such cold temperature...it worked!
Even with the 50 below temperatures Brad and I still had to do our weekly maintainence up on the roof. In such cold temperatures the opening to our septic tank freezes up and we have to break the ice off it. So we bundled up, grabbed the ladder and climbed to our roof to fix it again.
Brad had to check on a friend's house while they were out, so Naomi wanted to pray for safety while he was away. She prayed, "Dear Jesus, please keep Daddy safe and.." She then looked at her Daddy and said, "Watch out for bears!" Then continued praying, "...and please help him not get sick. Amen."
Above: I made pizza for New Year's eve dinner.
To give you an idea of how cold it is in our bathroom: We woke up this morning to find a bucket full of water frozen overnight.
We had Grape Nuts for breakfast one morning (this was Nae's first experience with Grape Nuts), and Naomi said, "Why we eating crumbs for breakfast Mommy?"
When I put Ruthie down for bed she sweetly said to me, "I love only you Mommy. No one else."
The propane for our oven froze and thus I couldn't cook my family anything for meals today. But thankfully we love cereal. :)
We just found out tonight that our toilet isn't working because the pipes are frozen (I guess we must then resort to the honey bucket idea)...the Lord seems to be working in me a content and joyful spirit. It's easy to be joyful when things are going well, but harder when difficult times come. I pray I represent Christ well to my daughters and the villagers here...that they see me joyful and content in Christ regardless of when my earthly conveniences taken away.
