The Last Frontier

We made it back from our week cruise in Alaska last Thursday! We had a fabulous time. I mostly spent time in the spa, in the hot tub and sauna, ate food, and looked for adventure on land. I also met a handsome, amazing man on board the ship whose identity must remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of his job! (How's that for a little mystery?!) Unclassified details of the cruise will now follow in the form of pictoral narration:

I am aboard the Carnival Spirit with a breathtaking view of Alaska behind me:

This is what our ship looked like in port:

Here we are striking it rich in Juneau. Panning for gold is painstaking and addictive (rollin', rollin' at the river!):

In port, the rugged Alaskan terrain brought out the raw adventurer in us:

Time on the ship was spent doing a variety of things like towel folding!! This is a dog:

Even a big ship like us had to be careful of Pirates!:

New

For those of you who do not yet know (thanks to my mother that leaves mighty few of you), I got a job teaching in Holland! I'm not a full fledged teacher thanks to the over abundance of candidates and scarcity of available positions, but there is room for growth and I have my foot in the door of my choice school! I will be working with struggling students many who qualify for special education. There is a high school and an elementary. I will work with the 4th/5th graders. Here is a picture of the main building and high school:

I will be working in a smaller building wich houses the upper elementary:



I have also been cruising around in a new car which, we (Katie, Mary, and I) have named Summer Girl (as an ode to our summer days together):



Of course when anything new comes about, there is always a death of the old. That is why change is so difficult. My life is changing, has been changing for some time. I am in transition, which is at times depressing. I am missing a lot:

I miss Barak, he was my friend
I miss my girls, whom I have 4 days left with
I miss my cousin
I miss my band, and singing, and leading worship (at times)
I miss having friends I can call up at any time, they are all gone
I miss having a hopeful picture of my future
I miss believing good things will always happen to me
I miss my dreams and expectations, they are shattered

The hardest thing is moving forward.