Welcome Home, Monica!

Today was baby Monica's homecoming. She and Robyn were discharged from the hospital this morning, and they were met at home by the four smiling faces of her siblings eager to get another look at their new baby sister.

So far Monica has proved to be our quietest newborn. I have yet to hear her raise her voice. I don't know how long this will last, but for now we are enjoying her soft-spoken ways.

The last two days have been harbingers of winter: strong winds and frost on the car in the mornings. And the snow is already half-way down the mountains. Alaskans call the first snowfall visible on the mountaintops "termination dust". Summer is officially now over.

One nice thing about this fall, however (apart from the obvious blessing of a newborn), is that we are going to receive our Alaska Permanent Fund dividend for the first time since we've been here. Many years ago when Alaska hit the jackpot with oil revenues, the government set aside a special fund, from which investment profits are sent to every Alaskan resident who has lived here at least two years (that's the simple version). This year's check for each Alaskan will be $1,305.00. Not a bad deal, I say.