can see its 40 below zero!!
The top picture was taken at the Institute where we spend most of our time with the young single adults. We thought it had a Christmas flavor with the manger scene in the middle. Since the University of Alaska at Fairbanks or UAF as the students call it is closed for a three week Christmas break our classes have ceased as well. We are in a planning and preparation time for spring semester where we will be doing all of the teaching with student day classes, night classes as well as stake sponsored adult classes. The next picture down is of the ubiquitous moose. We are starting to see more and more of them. We were right behind a truck that had just collided on the icy road with a moose that pretty well caved in the front grill of the truck. Then that afternoon when we arrived home we found that couple of moose had been at our very door eating some of the dry dead flowers and grasses at our window. Literally they were inches away from where we look out to our car when we remote start it in the mornings.
The next picture is where we drove right next to the Trans Alaska petroleum four foot in diameter pipe which runs parallel to the road by the Tanana river. The last picture is in the yard of family in Delta Junction where we stayed the night while on a trip to Delta Junction and Tok to visit early morning seminary classes. However when it is thirty below zero the classes are canceled so we just had a nice trip, met the young missionary elders and made so new friends with the people we stayed with for two nights. Our car has done some strange things in the extreme cold like having idle speeds vary from zero where the engine just stops to two thousand RPM where the car will do fifty on the road without touching the gas peddle.
This evening we were able to attend a fireside and met many new people in the ward we really live in. We had a delightful time remembering special Christmas times, singing, and hearing wonderful stories. It made JoAnn think of the kindness and effort her parents put into making Christmas special. Her favorite memory, though was when Michael was born just before Christmas. It brought the spirit of the Christ Child into our home that year. May you be blessed with love and happiness this season and throughout the year to come.
Have a Merry Christmas.
Jim and JoAnn