We. Are. Here.

Whew! This was a challenging trip. But we made it! Two kids, too much luggage (business attire for two, PLUS Alan's uniforms), car seats, a dog in an oversized kennel (Lufthansa's requirements are quite spacious) are all in our pet suite in the Army hotel in Wiesbaden.

Our sponsors left us a gift bag, full of homemade Christmas cookies, Gluehwein, candy, snacks and pamphlets about the local area and services.

The usual challenges of moving seemed to have been compounded by the imminent arrival of our renters (less than a week separates our departure and their arrival) and the unusually cold weather (unusual in coldness and duration). The removal of furniture brought back to mind imperfections that never bothered us but would probably displease renters. We rediscovered a gash in the carpet (we had placed a sofa over it) and a section of the wall where trim was incomplete (concealed by a toy box). So, in the midst of packing, we had carpeters, cleaners and repair people trooping through the house as well.

Then, in our last couple of weeks, temperatures hit rock bottom for the year. Our movers had a lot to endure, carrying and loading in subzero temperatures, and putting chains on their giant trucks to get up the driveway. So we didn't get angry when they left the garage door open for hours, causing our pipes to freeze. Twice.

I slipped and slid down the driveway on my backside. Which was fine, because it shortened my trip to the rental car...which was parked at the bottom of our hill...because I had gotten it stuck in a snowbank earlier that morning.

But we really did feel bad for the movers, even though they're tough. I even had sympathy for packer E. (not his full name) who must have been unaware that plants need three things--air, light and water--none of which are available inside a sealed cardboard box, in a cargo hold, in a barge, on a two-month voyage across the Atlantic.

A: Heather what does the label on this box look like to you?
h: Well it can't really be what it looks like to me.
A: Why?
h: Because to me it looks like "plant."

It was.

But despite all that, and sprinting up and down three flights of external stairs in -16 Fahrenheit to to get to our motel room, and getting rental cars (2-wheel drive, no studded tires) stuck in our driveway, we made it here.

And I can also say, from a distance (a great distance), that Alaska's winter has a beauty of its own. When it's around 0 degrees, ice crystals encase even the slimmest twigs. Trees look like they've been plucked, swirled in sugar and replanted. If the low temperatures persist, the hoar frost grows thick on the branches. The trees downtown look like coral right now, and when the afternoon sun stretched over the mountains this week, the reefs glowed orange and gold.

Before Christmas break, Laurel and I made a morning trip to our local Wal-Mart. It was still dark, of course, because the sun doesn't rise until late morning, when Laurel stands at the window and says "Ooooh, oooh, rainbows" while the sky changes from blue to green to red to orange and back to blue. But as we crossed the cold parking lot, I stopped under a lamp, because Laurel was throwing her head back and saying "Ooooh, ooooh, preeetty." Snow was drifting down around the light. Then she started to giggle and said, "Tickles!" as the flakes brushed her cheeks. Then she started to make slurping noises and said, "Mmmmm, mmmmm, delicious" wagging her tongue to catch the snow.

Living in Alaska has been pretty and has tickled us, and it's been just delicious. Even in this very cold winter.

But we're excited to try something new. And we're glad we made this move safely and on time--with the help of lots of wonderful friends and professionals.

Best to you,