Perspectives on Anchorage

(Anchorage from Flat Top)

So, (as everyone knows from the previous post and other forms of communication such as the old fashioned verbal) Stacy Jo and I took this fabulous trip to Anchorage. What made this trip special? Friends - yes! (previous post) Much Meaningful History - yes! (current post).

To begin, Anchorage was the city of new beginnings for us. During this time, I began the sanctifying process of letting the old baggage go and started a new walk with Jesus. Anchorage later became the city of our honeymoon, the city of our getaway, the city where we spent the first few years together. Anchorage is the city of many fond memories for us; the city of new beginnings, and it is the city of adventure, grandeur, wildness, trails galore and the last frontier.

So, why not, I feel compelled to write a blog about this city that I love in many ways, and to be fair, share in the conflicting perspectives about this city; the good the bad and the ugly.

To start, let me share my originating perspective on Anchorage. I’ve always loved the idea of adventure and going off into the unknown. So, sixteen years ago when a cross-country running coach from the University of Alaska Anchorage came to North Idaho College to recruit, I was on it. Six months later and after much time spent studying the Alaska Milepost, various Alaska books and the University of Alaska Anchorage catalog (before the days of rampant internet usage) I was hopping off of a flight in Anchorage with a suitcase of cloths, running shoes and a mountain bike (separate box). That’s it; I was dropped off in a dorm, which was essentially an independent living facility with no food service. So, consequently, I started out using the 400+ miles of trails in Anchorage to get around.. by foot and by bike. My perspective on Anchorage was a cool city with trails everywhere filled with trees, moose, creeks, lakes and ponds. The background of Anchorage consisting of the Chugach Mountains being terminated by the dust of winter. I walked on the trails to get to school, I ran on the trails for UAA cross-country, I rode on the trails to get food, I skate skied on the groomed trails to.. start something new. By the way, skate skis and downhill skis are completely contradictory to each other. Cocky downhill skier me on skate skis found myself visiting the snow in close proximity on many occasions. There’s no control on those silly skinny things. Anyway, Anchorage was all about the trails and the unknown city yet to be explored and I loved it.

(Anchorage Trails)

(Chugach Mountain Range)

(Stacy Jo in Downton Anchorage)

The following year my wife and I got married (blipping way forward and skipping many details) and were spending our honeymoon on the ALCAN Highway and pulling into the big city of Anchorage with our Geo Metro completely stuffed full of stuff. Yes, we began with a Metro full of stuff and now we have 2 acres full of stuff. What happened, I don’t really know.. anyway, life in Anchorage would be different now from what I once knew it as, but we were in LOVE, newly married and nothing was going to stop us. Especially money. Talk about tite-wads. If anybody could penny pinch, we did it. And speaking of penny pinching, Stacy and I found a fabulous apartment complex nestled between the liquor store and the homeless shelter. The parking lot was part of the trail in between the two facilities. But hey, the price was right and a penny was saved. Things looked pretty good though, other than the main public hall and stairway was smelly, dark and creepy looking. Not a bad place. We were pretty proud of ourselves. Then, I had to leave for a week and suffer down in Arizona with the cross-country team while I left my newly wedded bride at our cozy home in AK. By now it was getting light around 9 – 10am and we had a good foot of snow on the ground. Needless to say, Stacy had a most dreadful week fearing for her life. But hey, I thought things were still pretty darn good. Then one day we heard screaming and yelling in between cursing and plates crashing on the parking lot. Then one day we heard gunshots going off. Then one day we had the police show up for a presumable drug bust (the lady was in our apartment a few nights prior trying to make an urgent phone call). Then we had the homeless passed out in our parking lot with subzero temps (unfortunately, as I write this I do not recall much ministry attempts on our part). Then we had all night parties going on up above us. Okay, so I am beginning to wonder about my newly wedded wisdom. The pennies were not looking so shiny anymore and Anchorage a little more gloomy.

(Liquor Store - must be profitable)

(Our 1st Apartment)

Upon returning to Anchorage, I have been told that the city has gone downhill, the crime rate up and the homeless up. Several homeless have died sporadically around the city this last summer. Two homeless brutally murdered a non-homeless with a bat while we were up there. Stacy and I had two, (again presumably homeless), walk by us on the trail and seriously try to intimidate us with racist and derogatory remarks but I think they became confused by Stacy’s kind reply. Spray paint is sprayed across the beloved trail signs and glass is broken on the trails. Is Anchorage becoming a darker place or has my perspective changed or both? Well in general, zooming out to a thirty thousand foot perspective, the world is becoming a darker place, which does include North Idaho.

Bottom-line, of course, being the sin factor. The removal of God and thereby the decline of morality is the cause/effect (as many have already said and I am simply regurgitating). It is amazing to me that in such a wonderful, magnificent place; sin abounds in the form of addictions and violence (including North Idaho). I think change can be so subtle over time in an environment, community and personally our hearts to which either becomes darkened or lightened for Christ. Thanks be to God though that the day is coming when there will be a new heaven and a new earth. But I digress..

I still love Anchorage. I love the idea of Anchorage. I love the 100’s of miles of trails that course its way through town providing recreation and transportation for the walker, runner, hiker, biker and skier. I love the creeks that fill with salmon every year. I mean really, how many cities can you say have salmon running through them? People can walk off a four-lane highway with skyscrapers to boot and catch a 10lb salmon for dinner while viewing the moose downstream. And so yes,..... (Moose Abound in Anchorage - close up shot)

I love the moose that permeate the city as well. I love the treeless jagged mountains beckoning to be hiked and climbed in the background. And I love the spirit of Anchorage that comes from those Alaskans that hold its ideals. Such Alaskans are still eager to share in their discoveries of the magnificent geography and the culture of the city. Such Alaskans hold to that spirit of being free, wild and adventurous. And, yes, most of all Christ loves the homeless, the murderer, the abuser and the addict in Anchorage and so it is with me. I can’t help but think there is a ministry their.

There be it, my two confusing cents worth. So, yes, there will always be a piece of my heart in Anchorage Alaska. It is where I began my adult walk with my Lord and Savior as I made the Christian religion truly my own and thereby began to experience freedom from my own bondage to addictions. It is where I began my wonderful marriage with my most beloved wife that God has truly blessed me with. And, the land will always hold captive my sense of adventure and the unknown… and if you made it this far, sorry for the lengthy blog.

- Jeromy

(Alaskan Range)

(Chugach Range)

Back to Alaska!!!

We have recently had the privileged of going back to Alaska to visit some friends and remember the good ole days.

Back in 1995, soon after Jeromy and I began to get to know each other, he headed off to school at UAA on a running scholarship. After about a week we realized we couldn't live without each other. In Oct. began dating via the phone and letters and I visited him in Anchorage in March. He proposed to me out on a frozen lake at Portage Glacier.

After we got married we drove to Alaska in 4 1/2 days in our little Geo Metro. We got our first apartment and survived the neighbors. We both worked at the University and spent a lot of time there. We spent lots of time with Grace, Danny and Elizabeth, studying, running and just hanging out. Yes back in those days even I gave running a try. 6 miles was my max.

Then we fell in love with Girdwood and moved there the next spring. We both got jobs at the local resort. Alyeska! We lived at the base of the ski mountain and got free passes to ski because we worked at the resort. Oh, the life of newly weds.

I was extremely homesick and I convinced Jeromy to move back to Idaho. I wanted to be with our families. I missed mine and I hadn't had the chance to get to know his family very well. So back to Idaho we went. We love it here and truth be told we will probably be here for ever, but we do love and miss Alaska. We have almost moved back many times and if God ever calls us there we will be there in a second. But finding contentment where we are is a blessing.

So we went back for 5 days and relived our 1st 2 years together. We reconnected with many great friends and we came home with no moving plans.

First we surprised Jeremy and Amanda. Oops! I typed in our flight arrival at 3:34 instead of 1:34. Well we showed up 2 hours earlier then what they expected. They were so gracious and we had a wonderful time hanging out with them and their beautiful family.
They began dating the same time we did, so needless to say when we lived in AK. we were all a little smitten and didn't spend a lot of time together, but Amanda and I have gotten in touch via FB and blogging and we have so much in common. They are passionate about Jesus and they are passionate about adoption. They have a beautiful family and I can't wait for our kids to get to hang out. I love how God can bond people together even over many miles.

(Jeromy and I with our friends Jeremy and Amanda and one of their precious 5 )

Jeromy squeezed in breakfast with his former college rummie, Jason. Jason and his wife live wayyyy up north. He is a social worker in Nome and just "happened" to be in town the same time we were. God is so good to allow us to keep in touch.

Next we headed to Grace and Travis's house. We met Grace's husband for the first time and I am so excited to say "Grace you found a wonderful man". Travis and Grace have two wonderful little guys. We had an awesome time being with them. We all hiked the backside of Flattop and survived. The guys packed the kids and the girls packed the cameras. Except, I stole the baby for half the way down.

We hustled back down to begin our journey to Kenai. What a trip down memory lane driving the Turnagain Arm and I didn't even take pictures because I was stuffing my face with a very messy Carl's Jr. burger.

We arrived at Danny and Elizabeth's late but stayed up and caught up a bit. Elizabeth is an amazing decorator and has done some really creative bedrooms for her kids. I forgot to get pics but too cute they were. Danny is a nurse and it was so fun to see his love for The Lord and his passion for nursing. What a neat family, and super cute kids.

We all drove out to the Captian Cook Inlet and had a wonderful time on the beach looking for precious stones. We even saw 3 moose in someones front yard on the trip over. We (Jeromy and I) being tourists and all had to stop and grab some pics.

(Elizabeth, Grace, baby Trace, Amanda and Stacy)










(Jeromy and Danny out searching for precious stones)

















(David, Danny, Vince, and Amanda looking over the amazingly beautiful Cook Inlet)





On our way back to Anchorage Jeromy and I stopped at Girdwood. We stayed the night at our beloved Hotel Alyeska. It was more beautiful then I remembered and it was fun to be there as guests this time.
Jeromy was also able to squeeze in a visit with his old buddy from highschool. Matt and Jeromy were on the highschool team that went to state. They have many great memories together and hopefully we can continue to make many more.











While Jeromy was out with Grace and I got a little girls time doing some errands. Then the next night her and I went out for dessert. Yummy!! What a nice time just getting to be girls. One our way we saw some commotion in the intersection. Low and behold a moose had just crossed via the crosswalk and was standing at the corner waiting to cross New Seward highway. The honking cars caused it to change direction and it then meandered down the side of the road.

One thing I love about Anchorage is all the moose. We rarely see them in Idaho and I love their crazy big heads. Just for old time sake I have to tell a couple of moose stories.
*We have actually gotten off the ski lift to look up and see a moose running straight toward us. It ran past us while some kids skied behind it.
*We also actually saw a moose in the Mc Donald drive through in Homer. I guess it was tired of weeds.

So, we are planning another trip for next summer to take the kids to enjoy Alaska. While we were gone they watched our Alaska videos and Gavin was convinced we were still driving a little red Geo and I was still wearing my red Alyeska Ski jacket. We missed them so much while we were gone and everything we did we said Oh, the kids would love this. Time away is so good for our marriage and it is nice to have time to be stress free, but the kids add so much joy and for some reason with this trip we really missed the kids. I can't wait to show them where life started for the Jeromy Scheel family.

Abigail Has a Family!!!!!

Yeah, for Abigail! She is the little girl I linked a post to a couple of weeks ago.

She has a family that is working toward adopting her.

Thank you all for praying for her!

(Sorry Jamie, tell Sadie there are lots more Abigails out there.)

Story: "Disability doesn't stop best friends competing together."

Love these kind of stories! Enjoy.

Jeromy

________________________________________________

Disability doesn't stop best friends competing together

September 30th, 2010 @ 10:36pm
By Kathy Aiken

WEST JORDAN -- They are as close as brothers: best friends from West Jordan who are inseparable. One of the boys can't talk or walk, but that doesn't stop him from running cross-country.

At 2:30 each weekday afternoon, 17-year-old Mack Bawden makes his daily pickup. But it's no ordinary pickup. Mack is picking up his best friend, Cameron Judd.

Cameron has cerebral palsy. Because he can't speak, he uses a computer to communicate. He and Mack have been best buddies since age 4.
Mack Bawden (right) and Logan Anderson (left) push Cameron Judd (center) as they run cross country. (Mike Terry/Deseret News)

"There's something amazing about those two, both of them," says Denise Judd, Cameron's mother. "They went to kindergarten together, first grade through junior high and now high school, and they're inseparable. They do everything together."

Everything, including running. Each afternoon when Mack picks up Cam, they go to practice; both are part of the Copper Hills High School cross-country team.

"Mack just come up and says, ‘I'll sacrifice my senior year and run with him and just push him along,'" says cross-country Coach Garth Rushforth.

So, for three miles, Mack pushes Cameron on the junior varsity team and the two seniors become one.

"We've been best friends for like 11 years now, so I can just figure out ways to include Cam in the things I do," Mack said.

The two play video games together, jump on a trampoline together. Mack even took Cameron and his date to Homecoming this year.

"I get emotional, because to see Cam have that kind of experience is amazing; and to see him be treated like any other teenage boy, in his condition, is amazing," Denise Judd says.

The two also ran track, where they finished the mile under six minutes. Cross-country is more difficult, though. Mack has to push 150 pounds along uneven terrain. Copper Hills senior Logan Anderson also gives Mack a hand.

"We end up beating over 30 kids like every race," Mack says. "We're not like the best, but we're not bad."

__________________________________________________


There is more on this story... if you wish, follow the link below for the video.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=12646567&ref=nf

Diaper Update

Bummis is the Brand we chose to go with mainly because of the price and the fact that they sale a cloth diaper and cover that can fit a child up to 45 pounds.

We do not use any pins, I would be dangerous with pins and babies at the same time.

I began a wish list that I may try to fullfill watching for sales or coupon deals. First up I want to try an all-in-one sometime. I didn't start with them because I didn't want to spend the money on a diaper that the boys would outgrow too quickly.

I also ordered the disposable liners. These little guys are similar to a baby wipe. In the likely event the child poops then you take the soiled liner and flush it, leaving only the wet diaper to be washed.

Next on my wish list is a cloth swim diaper. This would be wonderful to use for our hot tub therapy. If you have ever tried finding swim diapers between Sept. and June you know how nice it would be to have a washable one.

Last on my list is a Snappi. I don't really need it but is looks kind of fun. Maybe it will be one of Eli's stocking stuffers.


So far we have done the cloth at home and night time with Eli. Two nights so far and no leaks. I love waking up in the morning and not having to put Eli in the bath first thing.

Gavin hates the cloth diapers and he has chosen to wear his underwear instead. This is a great benefit I didn't expect. Now he has a great incentive to try to remember to go in the potty.

It is a learning process for me. Cloth diapering is a whole world of its own. I have just dabbled a little but it is kind of fun.

trying something new

No, I did not go all organic.

Yes, I do care about the environment, but it doesn't really cross my mind that often.

No, I am not a tree hugger.

Yes, I do want to be chemical free if possible, but I don't think about that much either.

I really do not know why I made such a rash decision other that my friend Amanda made it sound soooo easy.

I have thought about it before but thought probably "NOT".
But they make them so cute and really quite easy.


I did it! I bought Cloth diapers. They are in the washer now being prepped to absorb the gallons Eli will test it with. We will see if they work. We will see if it really is that simple. We will see how long I last.

Sighning off- Nature Girl :)

Have you considered........?

ADOPTION?


Many of you have adopted and or considered adopting. Many of you are just waiting for God's timing to bring another child into your home. But some of you may have only had the thought skip through your mind. I just want to ask and plead for you to consider adoption and or foster care. I ask that if you have never been on your knees before the Lord God Almighty concerning adoption that you would do it today.

Please do not allow any earthly concern to stop you from at least asking the Lord if this is something you should consider. Please be willing to pray for His will. I know God does not call everyone to adopt but I do believe He calls us all to be willing to care for the orphan. This can be done in many ways and He will guide each of us down whatever path He has for us.

My heart is so broken tonight as I see another sweet child desperate for a family. I never knew this before but it seems in Eastern Europe it is possible that they will move children with disabilities to an institution when they turn 5 years old. Gavin just turned 5 and if he were there in an orphanage his hope would be gone. He would no longer be on a list to be adopted. I know God can touch and minister to kids, even those in institutions, but I know I would die before I let Gavin be raised there and I Hate, Hate, Hate to think any child could not know the love of a family.

If you have concerns about your age or you income tell the Lord and He will show you if this is something He wants to overcome. He loves these children more than we all could put together. I know He loves us as much too. He will not lead you down a path He is not going to light. I am not promising it will be easy or that all issues will melt away, but I am promising if He calls you to adopt or be a foster family then He will equip you and He in his time will show you the way He has for you.

Would you consider taking teenagers. There are so many that think their time is up. No one wants to take a teenager. The teenagers we have had have been such a joy. Problems-probably, but worth it-yes!

If you have room consider a sibling group. We know 3 sisters that were adopted together and if you have ever seen them together they are like one. I think if they had been separated they may not have survived. They are so fortunate to have been chosen by an older couple that was willing to say yes to all of them not just the baby.

If you don't have money to pay for an adoption consider foster to adopt. This program places children in your home as a foster child. You are paid the foster care rate. It isn't a bunch of money but it does help cover the costs of having an extra child in the house. Then if the child becomes free for adoption they can be yours for ever. When we adopted our boys we were able to get adoption assistance because of their special needs. It is no guarantee, but it is a very inexpensive way to adopt.

I do not know your situation but I am seeing more clearly everyday the situation many children are in. Some here in our community some all the way around the world. They all need love and many of them are in great need of homes and families.

Here is a link to a beautiful little girl with lower limb arthrogryposis. There are so many kids of every age, race and need. Only God knows the child He has chosen for you.

Arthrogryposis Adoption: Abigail has a $5000 Grant: "Abigail has a $5000 grant through Brittany's Hope this grant expires in less then 3 months!!!! She has lower extremity Arthrogryposis is sh..."