Exciting News!

So many exciting things have happened to us this last week that it's hard for me to not think of them as one great big cool thing. :) But I'm going to try. These come in no particular order. They are all fantastic in their own way:

Local Shop Carrying our Jewelry
A local business has made an agreement with us to carry our stuff on consignment. The Alaska Rag Company has two locations, one is in the downtown shopping district and the other one is in Pioneer Park, a wonderful tourist trap. Pioneer Park has little tiny shops with Alaskan-made items, a steamboat, a big fish fry dinner, The Palace Saloon- an Alaskan silly musical, a park for kids to play... It used to be called Alaskaland and all the locals still refer to it as such. We are excited and already working hard to make enough product to meet their request... Our stuff will be in front of the public year round instead of just at bazaars!!!!

Tax Return
We got our tax return money and have actually come to an agreement on how it is to be dispersed. (which is cool all on it's own - the agreement I mean) So, some fun things have happened around here in the way of- Jake has new work shoes which he BADLY needed; I'll have new shoes by the end of the day which I needed; The girl's clothes are in a new dresser instead of plastic tubs in a book shelf; and etc.

New Car
Jake found someone at work who was selling their car for a very good price, and that's where the largest chunk of the tax return went. We had all been sharing my mom's SUV since our little Dodge Omni died about a year and a half ago. Very annoying. Now I don't have to get up and take Jake to work! He gets to go on his own!

Church
We are joining a church- Friends Community Church. It's a LARGE (means around 600, very big for Fairbanks) non-denom based loosely on the purpose driven church model... (purpose driven church- a completely different discussion which I will NOT have at this time- there are good things about it and bad things about it- they seem to be maximizing the good and minimizing the bad) Of course it's not perfect- we're all just messed up sinners. But we are both excited about the possibilities. Good music, good preaching, focus on small groups and reaching the lost around us. We'll be looking for a small group of our own, which will be a challenge, but now that Jake's getting off at a decent time it will be possible. Deborah LOVES the Kids Church program.

Exhibition
The First Friday Jewelry show, which I've already blogged about. This will take place May 4th, and we are working like crazy to make it happen.

Water
Okay, this one's silly and personal. There's been something wrong with our pipes for about 4 months. The pressure for the hot water has been all messed up and we've had to hand wash all the dishes and take these really sad showers. Today someone is coming to fix it! Yay!

Washer
Our clothes washer's been on the fritz since January. The repairman has been here three times trying to fix it and determine the actual problem and if it's worth us repairing it rather than replacing it. Ridiculously, the stupid thing was only 3 years old, but that also meant that it was still under warranty. Two weeks ago, the repairman finally got it all taken care of! We have clean clothes!!

So, thank you, God for all the good things you've blessed us with in the last 2 or 3 weeks. You've been very kind to us.

And, because I will be so busy with the show and getting stuff ready for Alaska Rag Company, I don't know when i'll get back to my blog... I'm sure I'll get a chance to drop in, but I don't know when...