EMT/ETT

Two years age Paul & Abigail took a two week course to become ETT (Emergency Trauma Technician) (first responder) certified. Paul's motivation was to become knowledgeable since he usually gets to help out if there is an emergency in the village. This year Abigail renewed her ETT certificate, Deborah earned her ETT certificate and Paul went to class for close to 3 weeks and earned his EMT (emergency medical technician) certificate.

Paul and the girls had lots of fun with the emergency scenarios.

Below Abigail, Betty and Jesse are securing Paul to a backboard.

Below Deborah and Rollie are working to strap down a young man with a simulated head/spinal injury.

I gave Abigail and Deborah credit for Health Sciences in their home schooling. It was a fun way to do school, especially when they got to practice driving the ambulance.

Paul finished his test Monday and before the results were even back, he was asked to be on call when both health aids had to leave the village because of personal emergencies. The health aid left Friday assuring Paul nothing would happen, he just had to answer the clinic phone (the only mobile phone in the village) and tell people that the health aids would be back Wednesday. Of course not two hours after he stepped on the plane the clinic phone rang with a request for a medivac for a six year old boy. After an hour of apprehension, Paul determined that while it wasn't an immediate life or death emergency, the boy did need to get to Anchorage to get his medicine changed and it had to happen before the health aids were scheduled to return. So, Paul spent the next four hours learning a great deal about the Alaska Native/medicaid health program. He finally got all the paperwork straightened out and had the boy and his father on a plane to Anchorage.

Please pray with us that the clinic phone doesn't ring with another emergency until the health aids return.

Lavonne's Birthday

Lavonne celebrated another birthday. We had a couple of parties for her over two days and she got several nice cakes. Below is a picture of the delicious cake her Mom got her.Lavonne's son Josh was very creative and made colored cupcakes. We had fun sticking candles in all the cupcakes and lighting them.

Sarah is helping Lavonne blow out her candles.

Sarah really enjoyed the cake, especially the frosting.

Being the ever practical gift giver, I bought Lavonne a cast iron skillet. She can use it for the rest of her life and it will always remind her of me!

Knowing that she loves beautiful things, I also gave her a necklace that was special to me because some friends from South Africa gave it to me.

Sarah is admiring her necklace in the picture below.

It has been a real joy watching Lavonne grow and mature over the last few years. She loves the Lord and finds real joy in reading scripture and applying it to her life. Often, she will call me on the phone and tell me about a passage she has just read. She always has wonderful insight. She and her son Josh are great neighbors and cherished friends.

Computers

As our kids get older they want to use computers for useful things. So, they have inherited any of our computers that are still working when we get a new one. My Mom and Dad even sent them their old laptop. Quentin has been able to put parts and pieces together and keep one going at least some of the time.

Abigail has learned some HTML code. She is helping Paul format a comment he was posting on a blog so it would look more professional.

I use the computer off and on all day. Below is a picture of my command post. The kids line up for me to help them with their schooling. Our TV can act as a computer monitor so, I've got it hooked up as a second monitor to my computer. I found a program that allows me to monitor the rest of the computers on our network. http://www.networklookout.com/ The same program comes in another version that only allows you to monitor up to 3 computers.

http://download.cnet.com/Advanced-Net-Monitor-for-Classroom/3000-2085_4-10223285.html

It works pretty good and allows me to keep track of what the kids are doing their computer. It keeps a record of everywhere each computer navigates to. Sometimes Paul will have a group of kids gathered around him laughing at something on his computer and I can put his monitor full screen on either of my monitors so I can see too! You can send messages to the screens of the other computers and even control the other computers (I had to ban the kids from doing this to each other from my computer as it was annoying.)

On the wall beside me you can also see a marine band radio which is used to talk within the village and between villages. Plus an aircraft radio and the phone. As the unofficial dispatcher in the village, sometimes I am on all three of them at once.

Two computers being monitored on my computer.

Another one of my favorite programs is Zionworx http://www.zionworx.org.uk/ It's a free program that works as well or better than any program I've seen in a big church. We use it for our worship services we have in our home. Everything can be cued from one monitor and displayed on the other. Our TV/computer monitor works great for that.

Fooseball

Our Basement has many uses. Our library is shelved along one wall, we have a guest apartment where Lavonne and Josh lived for a year. We also have tables set up and I instruct students who are studying to take the GED tests for and hour or two most days. It's very flexible. We also have a thrift store down there which has taken on many forms over the years. At times we've had all the clothes displayed on hangars on the walls, now all of the sizes are separated into totes and whenever someone comes to shop we just empty the tote and fill it back up as we look through the clothes. There is also a fooseball table in the basement and in those rare moments when all the thrift store clothes are sorted and stored in their proper totes we can actually play fooseball. The kids convinced Paul to play with them.

Sarah is trying to play along.

They even got me to play a game or two.

I don't play much so normally I'm quite a handicap. Anna and I had to resort to drastic tactics. I had Anna use her toes to start the ball in play. It grossed the guys out so bad it was good for a point. The rest of the points we scored were because my balls rolled so much slower than everyone else's, it caused their timing to be way off. I think Anna and I actually won.
The last match was the four youngest boys (I can't really say little boys any more) against Paul and I.

They each had their own row of players to manage.

Kids sure are fun!

Mountain Sledding

Since we have had very little snow this year, Paul and most of the big kids headed up the mountain to find snow to sled on. They ended up going all the way up to the base of Castle Rock that we climbed last fall http://quiverfullofkids.blogspot.com/2009/10/climbing-castle-rock.html and sledding all the way back down the trail.

Everybody jumped off the Honda while Abigail took it up a steep hill.

They had to help push a little because it was so icy.

Caleb was the youngest to get to go.

Joshua getting a running start.

They left the Honda's a little past halfway and hiked to the base of Castle Rock.

Snowball fight!

Paul watching the snowball fight from a safe distance.

Josh A. giving Abigail a push.