Just the Beginning....

Well, it's not even supposed to get up to 50 degrees here in the 10-day forecast, and there are a few lows in the 30's! It's 45 degrees out now, at 3 in the afternoon. Just about all of the leaves have turned, and the woods and driveway are paved with fallen ones. Somehow, 40 and 50 degrees here doesn't seem quite as cold as it did back home; I think I'm becoming slightly used to this cooler weather! We'll see how I do throughout the winter! : )

I'll update more later! There's half of a honeymoon post written; hopefully I'll have time to finish it this week!

Later,
Lauren

Yes, We're Still Alive!

Hello everyone!!! Lauren here.

We had a beautifully wonderful honeymoon in Prince Edward Island, Canada, and are now enjoying life together in Alaska! I'll have to say that married life is even better than I thought it would be (and I had some pretty high expectations), and that I am married to the best young man on the face of the earth. Our relationship has grown closer each day, and we're looking forward to 80 more years together! Tait keeps saying that he's extra tired and is having strange cravings. Any guesses why?

We're working on getting pictures up, as soon as we get all of the pictures back from the photographer. There are pictures up on the photographer's website, but you can only get to it through a password. I'll be e-mailing it out to all those who were in the wedding as soon as I can, though!

Tait is out right now, working on our house (we're staying downstairs from his parents' right now; it's a sort of duplex). I'm normally out working with him, but several guys are out there helping him, and I'm making dinner for all of those hungry people here tonight. Our house is coming along slowly but surely!

We've enjoyed reading all of ya'll's comments! We'll be starting our own blog shortly, and will be sure to post the information about that.

Blessings to all of ya'll!

~The New Tait and Lauren Zimmerman : )

9 More Days!

www.TaitandLauren.com

Weather Warning, from weather.com

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ANCHORAGE HAS ISSUED A WIND CHILL ADVISORY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 9 PM THIS EVENING TO 12 PM AST TUESDAY.

INCREASING NORTH WINDS COMBINING WITH BELOW ZERO AIR TEMPERATURES WILL PRODUCE WIND CHILL READINGS OF 30 TO 45 BELOW ZERO THROUGH CHANNELED TERRAIN. THESE CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO PERSIST THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING.

A WIND CHILL ADVISORY MEANS THAT VERY COLD AIR AND STRONG WINDS WILL COMBINE TO GENERATE LOW WIND CHILLS. THIS WILL RESULT IN FROST BITE AND LEAD TO HYPOTHERMIA IF PRECAUTIONS ARE NOT TAKEN.

The high down South here at my house tomorrow is ... 79 degrees. :D

99 Days...

...until our wedding on May 3! This is the first time our countdown has been fewer than triple digits! :D Yes, I have it all figured out to the second: 99 days, 16 hours, 55 minutes, and 36 seconds!

I'm working on getting our wedding website finished, and will let ya'll know when that is all done!

Oh, Funny!

This is an absolutely hilarious short video about a "homeschool family." So cute!

* * * * *

http://www.timhawkins.net/video/homeschool.swf


* * * * *

Christmas in California

This post was originally published today on my family's blog, The Name Fitz.

Two weeks ago, Mom and Dad and Dr. Thiel (the doctor we're working with in California) decided that Dr. Thiel needed to see Katelyn Grace as soon as possible. One week ago, Mom and Leslie left with the baby for California. They were gone for Mom and Dad's 25th wedding anniversary on the 18th, and will be gone for Christmas as well. Hopefully they will come home around the 28th or so. It will be our first Christmas separated. But we'll just reschedule! :D

Please pray for wisdom for Dr. Thiel. We believe he is a Christian, and he has been absolutely wonderful to work with. His son had both Down syndrome and epilepsy (a type called Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, which is nearly impossible to control), and is now seizure free through his father's treatments.

Pray for Mom and Leslie. The Lord has been good in providing a good, safe, economical hotel, good rental car deals, and so many other things. Leslie has her kitchen set up in the hotel room, which is not an easy situation (and I speak from experience). They've had their hard days ... like the time there was a late-night Christmas party going on that kept them up half the night; then the keys got locked in the car the next day; and once they were finally on their way home, they missed the exit and ended up having to go miles out of their way. : ) But not all the days have been like that, thankfully.

Oh, and we have some good news! Leslie says that Katelyn Grace has maneuvered herself into a sitting position twice!!! All by herself!

We have really come to realize recently how dangerous these seizures can be. Actually, we're thankful in some ways that she's not crawling or walking. Any seizure would make her fall. And she has them all the time. Hopefully we'll figure them out before she becomes extremely mobile! Also, we're just praying that they're not causing brain damage.

Thank you for your prayers for our sweet little baby!

And Merry Christmas!

Our High in the South Here is 65 Degrees Today

Anchorage, AK - My home come May

Currently:

Fair

-3°F
Feels Like
-19°F

Updated: Dec 20 09:53 a.m. Alaska ST

Today	Tonight
PM Snow Showers High 7°F Precip 50% Wind: NNE 6 mph Max. Humidity: 64% UV Index: 0 Low Sunrise: 10:13 AM AT Avg. High: 23°F Record High: 47°F (1969)	Light Snow Overnight Low 7°F Precip 70% Wind: N 6 mph Max. Humidity: 74% Sunset: 3:42 PM AT Avg. Low: 11°F Record Low: -34°F (1917)

Anchorage at 10:40 this morning (Alaska time), as seen on one of my webcams

Tait sent me these pictures fairly recently of their backyard:

Oh, isn't it beautiful?

My Husband-to-be's Goals for the Education of Our Children

After we discussed practical home education on the phone one day, Tait sent me the following points in an e-mail:

1. We will emphasize character education. We will work on character prior to formal education, and emphasize it just as one would academics. We will emphasize our children’s relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ much more highly than we will academics. Our motto must be “No amount of education matters if our child goes to hell.”

2. We will heavily, heavily emphasize reading first out loud, then on their own. This will be the major thrust of our teaching.

3. We will work heavily on phonics and basic mathematics. Once these tools are mastered we will expect our children to do the bulk of their learning on their own. This does not mean that they will be unguided or not have to report in; it means that we will help them to set realistic goals, and work through those goals with accountability. On the flip side, this does not mean that we will use any curriculum type standard for what they work on. For example, if one child is interested in archeology, we will feed rather than discourage that interest, meanwhile helping them to balance that passion with other needful interests.

4. We will emphasize a notebook approach to school. The goal: That our children would not just learn to digest spoon fed mush, but would be able to accurately digest information for themselves through a biblical worldview.

Go to Tait's blog

Photo of my fiance, Tait, holding his two youngest nephews, Liam and Aiden

Katelyn Grace Needs Your Prayers!

I have a post up on my family blog explaining the situation. There are also some cute pictures!

Read the Post