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Somebody in our family turned 50 recently. 50,000, that is. On June 10th, 144 miles through a tank of gas the reliable, trustworthy, efficient, useful 2005 Subaru Outback began the second half of its journey to 100,000 miles.

This car has been through quite a bit with this family. It brought all three of our kids home from their places of birth (hospital for Elizabeth, birth clinic for the other two). It's taken Crystal and me on two anniversary get-aways. Carried lumber for the house remodel. Made five trips to Anchorage (one of those being a one-day round-trip for shopping and to pick up an oven). Helped us move into (and out of) two places. Carried pallets for a contract job (five in the back, four on top). Dozens upon dozens of shopping trips. Been an impromptu baby-changing station.

It's been a great car. We look forward to another great 50,000 miles.

After several months of no progress on the house (due to finances--mostly--and other things), some more work is being done on the house. NextStep ministries from Wisconsin is sending teams up to Fairbanks this summer to do construction projects in the area. Our house was one of the locations chosen, and we are excited!

So far on the agenda: new stairs, vapor barrier, new kitchen window (done!), some electrical work, plumbing installation, and sheet rock on the upstairs ceiling. We'll see what else we can accomplish.

We have a list of todo's to get the upstairs livable so we can move back in, and that is our action plan. Our finances are tight (still working part time, looking for a full time job), and the team has a limited budget, but we know God is in control, so we'll see what He has in store.

Keep praying! We're making progress!