Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2015! We passed the winter solstice and the shortest day of the year. We still don't have direct sunlight shining into our house yet, but the days are growing slightly longer and we look forward to the return of the sun over Teepee Ridge within the next few weeks!

It's been a very snow-less winter for the rest of the state of Alaska, but we have maintained at least a dusting here at Victory. Right now we have a solid foot which is meager by normal comparisons but for this winter it's a lot! This is Packsaddle, which is the mountain we see most of from our house.

The kids cheesing while out sledding

Evie striking a pose after sliding down

Winter around here gets very long, especially at this time of year, and I really struggle with missing the light...good thing there are beautiful skies to see even if the sun is absent!

I'm not sure of the reason for the face but it's classic Evie so I had to post it! :)

For Christmas, Justin's parents came up from Minnesota and his cousin Megan stuck around on break from her internship here. We had a fun Christmas enjoying family! Here Grady tries to feed Megan some gingerbread house decorations.

Putting together the gingerbread house! It's one of our evolving family traditions.

 We are all eating gluten free now out of necessity, and we are taking Norah through some different elimination diets to try and help her eczema. It made the holiday cooking different because I had to rethink a lot of things. But we still managed sugar cookies!

Grady says 20+ words now and new ones every day...he is his sisters' most treasured possession and also their worst enemy! He keeps us all on our toes!

Double tricycle rides! I love how siblings develop all their own little games and routines.

The girls showing off their Christmas Eve gift of pajamas!

While the grandparents visited, they spent many hours playing with the kids. Norah shows off the puzzle she and grandpa put together.

Norah shows off her ballet moves. Evie is teaching her everything she learns in ballet and Norah is hoping she will be big enough for her own dance classes this fall!

Sometimes on long winter days you have to come up with some creative entertainment!

Our friends the Engles came out for the day earlier this week and we had lots of fun! 4-wheeler sled rides on the lake was a favorite!


Life right now is not too rushed for us. We are preparing for it to get crazy, though, as soon as spring rolls around and Justin begins his job of promoting summer camps within lots of local churches, and also interviewing prospective summer staff. There is still a constant flow of guest groups through camp, and we pray we can be good witnesses to everyone we come in contact with!
Here are some ways you can be praying right now:
-That God would begin working in the hearts of all who come this summer to work here. We don't know yet who God intends to send us, but He does!
-There are several new families coming on to permanent staff and we had to say goodbye to a longtime staff family who heeded God's call elsewhere. Changes are good and important but sometimes it's hard to go with the flow! Pray for an easy settling in for new permanent staff and for travel mercies for the Scherrer family, some of whom are currently driving the Alcan to the lower 48.
-Pray for Norah. Her eczema, which she has battled since she was a baby, has gotten exponentially worse in the last month or two. We had her blood drawn to do more in-depth allergy testing than we did the first time, and we are also having her thyroid tested due to some alerts from her last bloodwork. Pray that we'll get answers and we will be able to figure out what is causing this mean old itchy rash!
-For me as well, my health continues to be less than stellar, just good enough that I can carry on with life but just bad enough to make life slightly miserable. :) We are waiting on some tests to come back but my Dr. is suspicious of thyroid problems. Pray for me to have grace and lots of energy which I am lacking so I can care for my kiddos!

25 Questions with Evie and Norah

We returned from Florida early Saturday morning. Our girls spent a week at the grandparent's house. All our worries about them missing us too much were for naught! We had a good time enjoying warm weather. Justin sort of had to drag me onto the plane back to Alaska. This woman was made for sunshine. :) We got to take a short boat tour of part of the Everglades...it was awesome to see the wildlife and experience a climate I'd never been to before!

 

We came home to a little bit of snow (finally!) and it feels like Christmas! This picture's a little blurry but I always enjoy watching Justin put the lights on the tree. We like finding Charlie Brown-esque trees from the woods around camp. It's always an exciting hunt to find one with just the right amount of character!

Back to Florida because my photos loaded out of order and I am technology deficient. This is a happy little boy eating his chocolate at the marina. We had just spotted a crocodile sunning on the boat ramp!

The girls were very excited to help decorate for Christmas. They got to fill their own side of the back doors with window stickies. 

I love how the gap from her two missing teeth on bottom is visible even from this far away!

Camp is staying pretty busy despite it being the holiday season. There are lots of upcoming family getaways and groups coming through this month. Dusk is falling at about 3:30pm and it's dark by 4:00. This is the time of year I really struggle with living in Alaska (more specifically, living in the mountains, which block even more sun) so it's very healthy for me to be able to get out of state once in a while and I am very thankful that I was able to!
All three of our kids are down with a stomach bug right now and I am only praying I don't come down with it until the little ones feel better and I am caught up on laundry and disinfecting everything! Growing up, my mother never caught the stomach bug when we kids did so I have decided it's very unfair that I always end up getting it along with the kids. ;) Justin is the one in our family with the iron immune system! At least we should all be better by the time the Grandparents come from Minnesota for Christmas. The girls are eagerly anticipating their arrival and they already have some fun things planned!

I wanted to share something precious: Yesterday morning, Evie asked me, "Mom, can you be rich in something besides money?" I asked her what exactly she meant and she said, "Well, we have a lot of toys. Does that mean we're rich in toys?" I replied yes and she began to list all the things we are 'rich' in. I love her perspective and her heart, and how she cultivates that heart of gratitude from such a pure, childish point of view. It was so valuable for me to hear her words as well, since at this time of year I can easily make my goal for everybody to get everything they want as far as presents and the whole Christmas 'experience'. She reminded me that I don't need to worry or stress about budget and material things for Christmas because we are already rich in so many, many ways! She concluded our little conversation by saying "Wow, we're really rich, aren't we?" Sometimes I am the student and she is my teacher. :)

Last year I did an interview with Evie and Norah that I enjoyed so much and found so amusing I wanted to make it a tradition (at least till they're a little older). So here are this year's 25 Questions with Evie and Norah!
(if you want to read last years' interviews and see how their answers have changed, here is 2013's: http://hostettersatvictory.blogspot.com/2013_12_01_archive.html )

Evie's Interview

1. How old are you? 6. 
2. What makes you happy?A hug from my parents.
3. What makes you sad? When I'm sick.
4. What makes you laugh? A trampoline. It's so much fun. I laugh at fun things.
5. What do you like to draw? I love to draw elephants, and other animals.
6. How old is Mommy? 27.
7. How old is Daddy? 32.
8. What is your favorite thing to do? Have a friend over, and they stay all day.
9. What do you want to be when you grow up? I want to be a schoolteacher.
10. What are you really good at? Ballet.
11. What is your favorite food? I don't have one yet.
12. What is your favorite Christmas song? Away in a Manger.
13. What do you hope you get for Christmas? I hope I get like an Elsa and Anna house. And there's Elsa and Anna and a bunch of furniture. And Kristoff, and Hans...
14. What does Daddy do for work? He probably writes stuff on papers and does stuff on laptops.
15. What does Mommy do for work? Take care of the kids.
16. Do you know why we have Christmas? 'Cause Jesus was born.
17. Where do you live? In Victory Bible Camp.
18. Where is your favorite place to go? Disneyland!! Well, I want to go there. So that would be my favorite place in the world to go.
19. What are you going to do on Christmas? Spend time with family.
20. Who are your friends? Lucy, Alison, Taylor, Raeghan, Makayla, Kannika, Elizabeth, and I have one more...what's her name? Darci.
21. What is your favorite thing about bathtime? Getting wet.
22. What are your favorite books? A Frozen book.
23. What is something that Mommy always says to you? Turn that frown upside down.
24. What is something that Daddy always says to you? I'll see you after work.
25. What is love? Um, it's when you like to do the same things. And you just really like each other.


                                        Norah's Interview
1. How old are you? 3.
2. What makes you happy? That I would get an Elsa doll.
3. What makes you sad? That Grady hits me with a super hard thing.
4. What makes you laugh? When Daddy tickles me. Then I laugh like this: (proceeds to giggle)
5. What do you like to draw? Pretty princesses.
6. How old is Mommy? 27. And Daddy's 28. Is Daddy 28?
7. How old is Daddy? 28.
8. What is your favorite thing to do? Feed the cats cat treats.
9. What do you want to be when you grow up? A chef. I would cook food you like, and Evie likes. Like sausage, and beans.
10. What are you really good at? Well, painting pumpkins. Really good at painting pumpkins.
11. What is your favorite food? Jello.
12. What is your favorite Christmas song? Jingle Bells. I like Away in a Manger too, but I like Jingle Bells a little better.
13. What do you hope you get for Christmas? Well...a Frozen set, and it's like Elsa and Anna and they have their own castles with lots of furniture...(describes everything in detail)
14. What does Daddy do for work? I forget.
15. What does Mommy do for work? I don't know.
16. Do you know why we have Christmas? Christmas lights.
17. Where do you live? Camp. And we do live in camp!!
18. Where is your favorite place to go? Lucy's house.
19. What are you going to do on Christmas? Open presents.
20. Who are your friends? Lucy, Makayla, Alison, Kannika, Darci, Raeghan and Raylee.
21. What is your favorite thing about bathtime? Playing with the toys.
22. What are your favorite books? I have a Frozen coloring book. And You Choose!
23. What is something that Mommy always says to you? Do chores.
24. What is something that Daddy always says to you? We're going to go to Disneyland someday.
25. What is love? Kissing and hugging. Now can I have chocolate chips?

November 16th Update

Here are the girls in our first snow, trying to catch a snowflake. It snowed early, September 29th,and now here it is mid-November, and we still haven't accumulated any! It's OK with me because it still feels like fall and winter in AK is long enough. :)

We took a trip to Kansas in the beginning of October so Justin could officiate a wedding for friends of ours, and Evie could be one of the flower girls. The girls were very excited to be on an airplane! Evie remembers being on an airplane for other trips but it was the first time Norah has been old enough to enjoy flying.

We went to Iowa and got to see Justin's parents for a day. We went to a pumpkin patch that the girls absolutely loved. Grady wasn't so sure!

We had to take advantage of some family time out of state! We went to the zoo in Wichita.

This isn't zoomed in! The hippo swam right up to say hello!

It was a beautiful day for an outdoor wedding! We were so excited to see our friends Jessica and Mark get married. 

Evie and Norah pose with their friend Darcy, Evie's fellow flower girl!

When we got home it was pumpkin time! Evie was a little grossed out by the inside of the pumpkin.

Grady really liked scooping around the pumpkin guts!

We have 5 1/2 cords of birch to put in the basement for winter.  Moving the wood is a job for the whole family!

Even Grady can carry kindling!


Around camp, conference and retreat season is still in full swing. We will have less groups on the grounds as we get closer to Thanksgiving and Christmas. We just finished hosting the Church on the Rock ladies, around 200 people, and we staff wives got to throw a surprise baby shower for a former staff member who was attending the retreat! It was awesome!
Our high school retreat, SnoMania EXT, will be December 5-7, and I know there are still spots left, so if you know of any high schoolers who would enjoy a crazy weekend of fun before Christmas break, register on our website! 



Here are some ways you can be praying right now:

-We have more travel ahead of us- 
Camp Li-Wa in Fairbanks- we will head up to our sister camp next week with the Outpost students to help out around the camp. This means 12+ hours round trip of driving for the kids to do. Pray they'll be the good little travelers they usually are and that our trip is effective!
-The day after we get  back from Fairbanks, we're taking a 5-hour drive to Kenai for Thanksgiving. We will leave the girls with Grammie and Papa and take Grady and fly out Thanksgiving night for Florida. Pray for safe travels as we head down to the peninsula!
-We'll be in Florida for a week- This was supposed to be a trip to the Christian Camp and Conference Center Association national conference, but we found out that camp was unable to send any of its staff after we bought plane tickets, so we are still planning to go. When you live in cold snowy Alaska you just don't say no to a trip to Florida! But pray that the girls will do well without us for 8 nights. Norah has only been apart from mom and dad for 1 night at a time so this is a big step for her. Good thing they're being left in good hands! :)
-Not feeling well has been a source of stress for me, and we are going to be very busy over the next month or two. Please pray for peace even amidst uncertainty for me. I am a worrier so this is something I really struggle with!

Thanks for your prayers and support. We love & value each one of you!
 

Falling into Autumn

My goal of updating the blog twice a month has changed to once a month! You know how it goes, right? :) So I am just barely squeezing one in for September and looking back through our pictures over the last month or so, we have been super busy! We got to hike to the fossil beds here at Victory as a family and get a nice picture! We are all facing the camera...it's amazing! We also got a few neat fossils to take home.

Evie stands by the loader (forgive me if I don't know my heavy machinery). We got a new roof put on our house by the owner and an awesome work team. It was noisy and exciting!

We went camping and hiking in Hatcher Pass at the end of August. It was gorgeous!

Adventures by the river while hiking

Grady was VERY excited for an entire marshmallow to himself!

Our campsite neighbors did an impromptu fireworks display as darkness fell! 

What a cute bunch of kiddos. It's bizarre how well they are all looking at the camera and smiling! We were 2 for 2 on photo ops. :)

A snowmelt lake in April Bowl at Hatcher Pass

We celebrated Evie's 6th birthday. She is our helper at home and such a good big sister! What a blessing from God she is to us.

Norah helps Grady maneuver the dump truck he 'picked out' to use his birthday money on. :)

This boy is 13 months old now! Here he is on his birthday destroying a cupcake. It ended up in his hair, his ears, and his nose...exactly what I expected! 

We made a trip to Kenai that ended up being on my birthday. Yes, late summer/autumn is birthday season in our Hostetter household! Norah is preparing to help me blow out my candle. It was heartwarming to get to have my big family sing happy birthday to me.

Before...

Norah is a Cubbie this fall and Evie is continuing Sparks! We have the whole family involved in AWANA club this year. Justin has stepped in to be commander since our regular leader is in Ireland for the fall. I have been teaching Cubbies, and Grady comes along to be an honorary Cubbie. We have also begun our 2nd year of homeschooling and it is such a joy, albeit crazy and chaotic at times. It's a good thing Evie is a smart little cookie and that she's patient with a sometimes less-than-stellar teacher. :)

We were BEYOND excited to have a family that supports us fix up and donate a 4-wheeler to our family! This makes life much easier (and also more fun!) around camp for us and saves us on gas too. We are so thankful that God has blessed us in this way!

A lovely sunrise view from the front window of our house

...and after! This goofy girl and I decided she needed a new do now that she's the ripe old age of 6. I think she was more excited to realize that it takes less time to brush her hair now. :)

Here are some ways you can be praying for us, and camp, right now:
-We have 7 Outpost students here or in process of arriving for a yearlong internship. Outpost is the new name for our internship program and I believe it is also now college accredited! These awesome young college age guys and girls are here to serve God for the next year and learn all about camp ministry. Pray for safety, health, and a teachable spirit as I know they will be at times out of their comfort zone, missing home, and learning a lot. Pray for them to grow closer to their Heavenly Father as a result of their time here.
-Pray for the shifting of roles as we continue to cover guest services as a group rather than just one person. Pray that any tensions or faulty communication this may cause will fall away and that we will have one goal and one heart for our guests, and to effectively show them God's love through our actions and words.

-We have a mama moose and her baby who have taken up residence on our stretch of road. Unfortunately she is a very grouchy and aggressive mama and our pets and children aren't always safe outside their own homes. (She took a run at Justin and gave our dog Mercedes quite a beating!) Pray that she chooses to move on and that we can remember to be alert when going outside! Only in Alaska, right?

-I have been experiencing lots of health issues in the last few months. It makes life difficult and I don't have time to be sick right now! :) Health insurance (or lack thereof) is also a big hurdle when it comes to healthcare. Please pray for direction and knowledge so we can pinpoint exactly what's going on. 
Thank you for your love, prayers, and support!

A Shifting of Gears

Grady samples one of our greenhouse cucumbers and declares it good! This picture was supposed to appear lower down but after accidentally deleting it, my ineptitude for all things technology only allowed me to stick it back up at the top. Computer 1, me 0. :)

Summer camp season has concluded and we are shifting into conference season here at Victory. It seems like the summer has passed by at lightning speed but I guess time flies when you're having fun! We had family visit a couple of times over the summer...here are Norah and Max playing pirate ship in the yard!

Grady checks my potato plants for me. I have tried my hand at greenhouse gardening for the first time and the outcome has been...um...not spectacular. I have realized that this is an in-depth science/art, and also realized that I don't have the time at the moment to devote to the plants if I want to have a great crop. But we have had a few veggies pop out and it's been fun experimenting!

We are fortunate to be in a house with an enormous front yard that's big enough for all the summer staff to play flag football in! Most of the staff have gone home now, with just a few sticking around to help with the guest groups for the month of August and a few planning to return for a year of Victory's internship program. I was so blessed to be included in a prayer group this year and to get to talk with several precious summer staff girls about their weeks of camp and what God has done in the lives of the campers they've had. It was awesome seeing the "Unsinkable" board, to go along with our theme, and the tiny paper sailboats that kids had the opportunity to use to write what God had done in their life during their week of camp, and stick them on the board. I saw many "salvation" ones, many "rededicated my life to God" ones, and countless notes about answered prayer. It is so refreshing to see this, as it reminds me why we live and work where we do! The power of God is amazing!

This boy LOVES his watermelon! He is fast approaching his 1st birthday. His birthday present will likely be a frisbee, since he spent the summer trying to run off with every frisbee he could find that may have been left unattended. He's working on his throw.

We got to watch my sister Jessie in the rodeo that completed her week of Ranch Camp. My sister Annie was her counselor and spent the summer counseling at Ranch. It has been neat to see some of the thoughts that the staff have shared about their summer after reflecting on their time here. I wanted to share a couple from two of the girls in my prayer group:"Boarding my plane home and feeling overwhelmed in how much God blessed me this summer; letting me play a small part in His plan for these campers' lives, and spending two months serving, surrounded by His beautiful creation every single day."

"What a blessed summer. A third year of Victory still just as full of memories, lessons, surprises, blessings, joy, and the humbling honor of being a part of forwarding God's Kingdom in the lives of our future. If i've learned anything, it's this: 

"As for God, His way is perfect. All the Lord's promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to Him for protection." ~Psalm 18:30"

We got a few hot days in July! Perfect for squeezing into the wading pool together!

Couldn't resist including the naked baby picture. Is it obvious that this boy doesn't miss a single meal?

We got the joy of being around Justin's cousin Megan for the summer as she was here being a SALT counselor. She was my baby whisperer, always appearing to take Grady off my hands at just the right time, and returning with him sound asleep! It was fabulous!

We spent some days at the waterfront digging in the sand. All's well until somebody small with red hair tries to sprint out into the water and drown himself....giving mommy and child a scare. :)

The girls play outside in a rain shower. It is so wonderful to see them and the things they come up with to play. They are best friends and depend on each other. I love listening in on their conversations too, so many of them book-worthy!

When Daddy is in charge of bath time, little girls get bubble beards. 

One of Grady's latest tricks, along with headbutting me when I'm not expecting it, and stabbing me with silverware, is tearing all my dishtowels off the rack in the kitchen and playing peek-a-boo with them.

Berry picking on a sunny Alaskan summer day...does it get any better than that?!

Grady charges around looking for blueberries...and trouble.

90% of the berries end up in their mouth, and 10% end up on the ground. They have returned to the car with empty containers every time we go out to pick...but they love it! My favorite quote from Norah: "Mom, can you put some of your berries in my bowl? I ate all mine."

Here Norah shows off what we DID return home with. 



We hope your summer has been wonderful! Ours has not been without struggles but God has been teaching me through the tough moments. It's sometimes hard to surrender time with my husband even when I know his job is so demanding and busy in the summer. My best way to support him is to be understanding of that! As we shift into conference season, we look forward to seeing more of Justin at home and for a change of pace in the hustle and bustle of camp.


Here are some ways you can be praying right now:
-Our Guest Services director has moved on to what God has next for him in his career. We are excited for him but sad to lose a beloved camp family. Also this leaves a big gap as we kick off our guest services season! The staff are pulling together and splitting up the responsibilities collectively, but it is a challenge! Pray that communication is good and permanent staff are patient with each other and work for the common goal of showing Jesus to the folks who come here for retreats and conferences.

-The work on water lines around camp continues. We are privileged to have some work teams here to help. Pray that the job goes smoothly and that it is done well so that we have less issues with freezing and bursting pipes in winter time.

-Pray that the work that God did in the hearts of campers and staff here this summer would continue after they go home! Many children will go home to unthinkably tough family lives, in a spiritual desert with no connection for anyone to mentor or encourage them in their faith. Some kids are brand-new believers in God who need to be able to stay strong in the hope that comes from Him...pray for these children! Pray that their faith will spread to their families and friends and not sputter and die. Pray that they can keep contact with their counselors to stay encouraged, and to find a church home where they can learn more.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support! We hope you know that by praying and giving you are a part of this ministry too!