A Welcome Visit

 Last week we had quiet the wonderful surprise, Abigail and her friend and roommate Emma, came back home for a visit!

Abigail has been going to school since September at Montana Wilderness School of the Bible, a tiny Christian university out in the mountains of Montana. She's loving it there, but we have missed her so much! Her friend Emma had never been to Alaska, and they had fun romping around Juneau.

The last night they were here, Mom and Dad organized a farewell dinner for them both, complete with Quinn's favorite: stuffing! I had just gotten off work, and everyone else had just gotten back from a full day of skiing up on the windswept mountain tops. We were all pretty tired, but the smell of food drew everyone into the kitchen - which meant you got roped in to helping!

Quinn wouldn't give me a proper smile with his little sister right next to him, oh well. And doesn't Emma just look fabulous stirring that gravy? That's the face she gave me when I told her so, haha!

Outside, the sun was sending out it's last rays over the cold snow and frosted evergreens. The thermometer on the porch read 10 degrees, making me thankful for the warm home and beds we would later snuggle into.

Around the table Abigail set out Mom's very best dishes with oil lamps setting a warm glow of light. Dad was busy cutting the roast chicken, which sparked Greta's interest. I had taken her with me to work for the first time, and she was just as tired as those who had gone skiing. The clients at work had played with her for eight hours straight! She loved every second of it, I'm sure.

Dinner, as I'm sure you can imagine, was wonderful. It was so nice to have everyone together again - why - it felt almost like Christmas!

Quinn had been gone all week in Sitka (he has been traveling there every-other week for work), so the home-cooked meal was a treat for him. And Emma had us rolling in our seats with laughter at her funny stories.

Abigail told us all the goings-on at school and told us how excited she was to get back and see all her friends again. I'm sure it will be a sad day come May, when she will say goodbye and graduate (but how she and I talked about all our plans for this summer! There will be something to look forward to!).

As dinner finished Mom got up and started icing a special treat: a homemade angel food cake with puff candy frosting! We had all been eyeing the cake, beautifully set under glass on one of the ovens as dinner was still being prepared, and everyone had made a promise to themselves to leave room for a nice slice.

Dad got a bit too excited and offered to help mom...

I can't really blame him, that cake looked amazing! It looked even more beautiful with pieces of chocolate covered puff candy sprinkled over it, and carefully set on the table (right next to me! Wahoo!).

Mom cut the cake and I heaped sugar-covered strawberries on the plates and passed them around the table. It was divine! I hope we don't have to wait too long before she makes it again...

The rest of the evening was spent in laughter around the table, talking and catching up. In the back of our minds we knew Abigail and Emma would soon be sleepily getting on an early morning flight to go all the way back to their school in the mountains, but for the moment we concentrated on the love we had for them, and how that love would span all the miles from Alaska to Montana.