When I don't see my surroundings as just a whole lot of work...I guess I'm pretty blessed. A few hazy photos from the beginning of a very hot day here at Little Red Wagon Vineyard and of course home! Stay cool!
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Monday, January 26, 2015
30 in 30....day 26
A quickie for today!
Bills to pay, walls to mud, kids to chauffeur around and help with homework in just a couple hours!
I have inspiration for larger paintings but to actually complete in one day wasn't realistic so I asked April what to paint. She said "daisies"! So I did!
Bills to pay, walls to mud, kids to chauffeur around and help with homework in just a couple hours!
I have inspiration for larger paintings but to actually complete in one day wasn't realistic so I asked April what to paint. She said "daisies"! So I did!
9 x 6
watercolour
Thursday, January 22, 2015
30 in 30....day 22
Another quick image today.
I always like this view of the old farm while heading into town. I suspect this is the barn that will invoke more memories for my in-laws as they enter their golden years because most of their lives centred around it. This is Glad Crest Farms...made a lot more picturesque by the neighbours' charming white fence and omitted old implements around the yard! -That folks is called artistic license! ;)
This is the place where I started doing the odd shift of milking before Scott and I were married and where I continued to milk every morning with him for the first few years of our marriage along with helping in calf rearing, herd management and more. Considered a "big farm" in its time for this community it was quite a thrill then to work there....especially alongside my sweetheart.
Times changed and now the main dairy is situated up the road and across from our home, it is a much larger barn, a more complex operation, but the old barn and yard are still very much an integral part of the farm. My role changed too, and although I suspect I am less respected than when I did the daily grind, I now manage financials from home and very rarely make my presence known in the barn other than to snap some picture of the lovely ladies to paint or help catch the girls when they go on the occasional gallivant.
On the farm we undergo monumental changes, not always pleasant, and yet again this is what we are going through. As a result I had mixed emotions while painting this image. The word that kept popping up in my mind the most was "big".
Big business, big headache, big dreams, big successes, big losses, big fun, big work, big tears, big laughter...I could go on and on and on.
Although these days I seem to dwell on the negative "bigs" I needed this list to see that there have been and will hopefully continue to be just as many positive "bigs" down the road. Just like any path in life there are ups and downs and there is likely no business with more volatile swings from negative to positive and back again than agriculture. I've learned to hang on in spite of a little voice screaming at the top of it's lungs in the back of my head saying "Run for the Hills!" because there's a big piece of my heart wrapped up here too, unbeknownst to most.
Maybe the tiny scale of the barn in this painting should remind me that we're really not all that "big" after all. Our problems are small, our lives are maybe irritating but more or less manageable and healthy and I suspect that if we're privileged enough to reach our golden years we will also look back on our "big adventures" with more happiness than sorrow. I also hope everyone else that has touched Glad Crest can someday say the same.
I always like this view of the old farm while heading into town. I suspect this is the barn that will invoke more memories for my in-laws as they enter their golden years because most of their lives centred around it. This is Glad Crest Farms...made a lot more picturesque by the neighbours' charming white fence and omitted old implements around the yard! -That folks is called artistic license! ;)
This is the place where I started doing the odd shift of milking before Scott and I were married and where I continued to milk every morning with him for the first few years of our marriage along with helping in calf rearing, herd management and more. Considered a "big farm" in its time for this community it was quite a thrill then to work there....especially alongside my sweetheart.
Times changed and now the main dairy is situated up the road and across from our home, it is a much larger barn, a more complex operation, but the old barn and yard are still very much an integral part of the farm. My role changed too, and although I suspect I am less respected than when I did the daily grind, I now manage financials from home and very rarely make my presence known in the barn other than to snap some picture of the lovely ladies to paint or help catch the girls when they go on the occasional gallivant.
On the farm we undergo monumental changes, not always pleasant, and yet again this is what we are going through. As a result I had mixed emotions while painting this image. The word that kept popping up in my mind the most was "big".
Big business, big headache, big dreams, big successes, big losses, big fun, big work, big tears, big laughter...I could go on and on and on.
Although these days I seem to dwell on the negative "bigs" I needed this list to see that there have been and will hopefully continue to be just as many positive "bigs" down the road. Just like any path in life there are ups and downs and there is likely no business with more volatile swings from negative to positive and back again than agriculture. I've learned to hang on in spite of a little voice screaming at the top of it's lungs in the back of my head saying "Run for the Hills!" because there's a big piece of my heart wrapped up here too, unbeknownst to most.
Maybe the tiny scale of the barn in this painting should remind me that we're really not all that "big" after all. Our problems are small, our lives are maybe irritating but more or less manageable and healthy and I suspect that if we're privileged enough to reach our golden years we will also look back on our "big adventures" with more happiness than sorrow. I also hope everyone else that has touched Glad Crest can someday say the same.
14 x 11
acrylic on canvas board
Monday, January 19, 2015
30 in 30....day 19
Today was a mixed up day. There is a good deal of uncertainty in our lives these days surrounding our occupations and the choices we've made throughout the two decades and more that Scott and I have been working together to build our lives. Nothing monumentally critical, we have our health and sanity (most days) and family and love so nothing that we don't believe we can't find the tools to handle, just not the somewhat more relaxed winter days of planning and dreaming with some rest and rehabilitation as in years past.
So, when I went to my easel today I went with an empty cup. Frustration, resentment and not an ounce of desire to create anything new or inspirational went with me. The project I settled on was not started this month, I actually started well over a year ago and just got away from it. Again, not my "usual" style but something I really enjoy doing, when in the mood...I call these pieces my colouring book pages. I had inked out the image before and had done a small amount of filling in with watercolour. I decided that colouring was about all I could handle today.
What really helped is that it is my mom and dad's. My childhood home. With the riotous, very ambitious and yet well tended flower garden and raspberries which took over much of the vegetable patch after we kids left home.
Soon enough I was mesmerized in examining the photo and laying down the colours of the yard where I grew up and the place I will always think of as "home" and soon enough everything fell back into a more manageable place again.
Almost as good as a hug from them both. Or like, snuggling up in the corner of one couch in the living room while dad watches television (likely curling if I'd gone today) on the other sofa all the while offering a running commentary or opinion on the broadcast while slipping in quiet phrases of encouragement and support.
Or flopping across their bed upstairs watching mom doing needlework or knitting in her armchair while pouring out my woes, which would eventually lead to us both lamenting choices made, then recalling better days, then laughing at the so many amazing memories that would not have been made had the choices been different. Finally, that would lead me back to dreaming of what tomorrow may be.
In no time at all I'd be filled up with love to overflowing. Fixed and as good as new for the next thousand miles, not to say that we don't have vast differences in opinions, or that I didn't take completely opposite paths than they would have if they could have chosen for me, but there's something so rare and precious about just going home and being unconditionally supported by your parents. Even when you feel like a complete failure, even when you're supposed to be all grown up....it is a feeling I will always carry with me and always treasure.
Hoping this colouring book painting is a gift that they will enjoy during all their tomorrows no matter where life takes them. Hoping I will have them to continue to support me for many years yet and that I am adequate at supporting them too. I also hope they know that when I think back to my childhood, this is what I see, a picture perfect storybook life, a beautiful home overflowing with creativity and love, a secure and safe haven, that's what they and this place will always be to me.
So, when I went to my easel today I went with an empty cup. Frustration, resentment and not an ounce of desire to create anything new or inspirational went with me. The project I settled on was not started this month, I actually started well over a year ago and just got away from it. Again, not my "usual" style but something I really enjoy doing, when in the mood...I call these pieces my colouring book pages. I had inked out the image before and had done a small amount of filling in with watercolour. I decided that colouring was about all I could handle today.
What really helped is that it is my mom and dad's. My childhood home. With the riotous, very ambitious and yet well tended flower garden and raspberries which took over much of the vegetable patch after we kids left home.
Soon enough I was mesmerized in examining the photo and laying down the colours of the yard where I grew up and the place I will always think of as "home" and soon enough everything fell back into a more manageable place again.
Almost as good as a hug from them both. Or like, snuggling up in the corner of one couch in the living room while dad watches television (likely curling if I'd gone today) on the other sofa all the while offering a running commentary or opinion on the broadcast while slipping in quiet phrases of encouragement and support.
Or flopping across their bed upstairs watching mom doing needlework or knitting in her armchair while pouring out my woes, which would eventually lead to us both lamenting choices made, then recalling better days, then laughing at the so many amazing memories that would not have been made had the choices been different. Finally, that would lead me back to dreaming of what tomorrow may be.
In no time at all I'd be filled up with love to overflowing. Fixed and as good as new for the next thousand miles, not to say that we don't have vast differences in opinions, or that I didn't take completely opposite paths than they would have if they could have chosen for me, but there's something so rare and precious about just going home and being unconditionally supported by your parents. Even when you feel like a complete failure, even when you're supposed to be all grown up....it is a feeling I will always carry with me and always treasure.
Hoping this colouring book painting is a gift that they will enjoy during all their tomorrows no matter where life takes them. Hoping I will have them to continue to support me for many years yet and that I am adequate at supporting them too. I also hope they know that when I think back to my childhood, this is what I see, a picture perfect storybook life, a beautiful home overflowing with creativity and love, a secure and safe haven, that's what they and this place will always be to me.
18 x 12
watercolour
Thursday, January 15, 2015
30 in 30....day 15
Once again today I went out of my comfort zone, starting to enjoy exploring out there on the fringes of my capabilities! I'm pretty pleased with the results. Far from perfection ...but considering I do one watercolour painting in about every 30 acrylics...and portraits and people almost never (mostly if and when I cannot talk someone out of a commission) I think it went not too bad.
These are my girls. They are very musical, they don't get that from me. Don't get me wrong, I love to listen to music, I just never made it past "I am C... middle C" in piano lessons as a kid myself....one word. Boring. That's what I thought then.
Well, I'm happy to report my girls are far past the beginning years. They are very gifted, each in their own unique way.
Emma is excellent at reading music, advances really well through formal lessons and plays beautifully. She also has a soft, melodic voice that is a treasure to hear, although mostly she plays and sings for her own enjoyment.
April started with formal training but after several years began to struggle with reading the more complicated pieces and became frustrated...so we changed things up. She still takes lessons but more informal, still works on reading music but also plays by ear, chords beautifully and now is over a year into voice lessons...and the girl has pipes!! Blows me away! -Every time.
Needless to say, I'm a very proud momma. I tell people their playing is the soundtrack of my life. I'm going to miss it when they go away to school, which is sneaking up way too quickly. No matter how bad or busy the day when they sit down at the piano my heart warms, I smile and all is well with the universe.
These are my girls. They are very musical, they don't get that from me. Don't get me wrong, I love to listen to music, I just never made it past "I am C... middle C" in piano lessons as a kid myself....one word. Boring. That's what I thought then.
Well, I'm happy to report my girls are far past the beginning years. They are very gifted, each in their own unique way.
Emma is excellent at reading music, advances really well through formal lessons and plays beautifully. She also has a soft, melodic voice that is a treasure to hear, although mostly she plays and sings for her own enjoyment.
April started with formal training but after several years began to struggle with reading the more complicated pieces and became frustrated...so we changed things up. She still takes lessons but more informal, still works on reading music but also plays by ear, chords beautifully and now is over a year into voice lessons...and the girl has pipes!! Blows me away! -Every time.
Needless to say, I'm a very proud momma. I tell people their playing is the soundtrack of my life. I'm going to miss it when they go away to school, which is sneaking up way too quickly. No matter how bad or busy the day when they sit down at the piano my heart warms, I smile and all is well with the universe.
15 x 18
watercolour
NFS
-unless, my husband says, you'll pay 5K, then it's negotiable, there's a price on everything apparently! Ha!
Saturday, March 23, 2013
March Break Art
The kids were on March Break a couple weeks back.
I had also been asked to teach an art class for kids as a fundraiser for the Pontiac Artists' Association which didn't transpire. Hope is that next year more people will be looking for activities for their children and register. There is a plethora of super talented instructors in our area who anxiously share their skills with kids one week a year at the Young Artists' Workshop and this was to be an expansion of that.
I was to be the novice teacher and had bought the supplies before the classes got cancelled so half way through the week when we were all going stir crazy I pulled out the canvases and told them "Today is art day...put down the electronics and follow me." and so they did.
The project I picked was Kid's Silhouette Art. I found the tutorial online, but the link I used is eluding me completely!
What we did was pretty simple:
-I used a light and traced their outlines for them.
-Set them up at the table with Black Sharpies and told them to draw things that they liked, were about them or important to them within their images.
-I then brought out tempera paints and showed them how to use them like watercolour and fill in their images. (Sam decided he was done slightly before filling it all in...and I decided that was fine...a true reflection of his artistic fortitude at the ripe old age of 6)
-After the paint was dry I pulled out black acrylic and had them paint around the images (mom did that step for Sam)
-All done!
I've always liked Silhouette art and yet have none. Although these are pretty flashy and bright, they are really stunning and look incredibly fun in their rooms....and the best part is they say this was the best thing we did over the March Break! Points for mom!...Gotta love that! ;)
I had also been asked to teach an art class for kids as a fundraiser for the Pontiac Artists' Association which didn't transpire. Hope is that next year more people will be looking for activities for their children and register. There is a plethora of super talented instructors in our area who anxiously share their skills with kids one week a year at the Young Artists' Workshop and this was to be an expansion of that.
I was to be the novice teacher and had bought the supplies before the classes got cancelled so half way through the week when we were all going stir crazy I pulled out the canvases and told them "Today is art day...put down the electronics and follow me." and so they did.
The project I picked was Kid's Silhouette Art. I found the tutorial online, but the link I used is eluding me completely!
What we did was pretty simple:
-I used a light and traced their outlines for them.
-Set them up at the table with Black Sharpies and told them to draw things that they liked, were about them or important to them within their images.
-I then brought out tempera paints and showed them how to use them like watercolour and fill in their images. (Sam decided he was done slightly before filling it all in...and I decided that was fine...a true reflection of his artistic fortitude at the ripe old age of 6)
-After the paint was dry I pulled out black acrylic and had them paint around the images (mom did that step for Sam)
-All done!
I've always liked Silhouette art and yet have none. Although these are pretty flashy and bright, they are really stunning and look incredibly fun in their rooms....and the best part is they say this was the best thing we did over the March Break! Points for mom!...Gotta love that! ;)
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Anniversary day
'Tis our anniversary today. Seventeen years married, not a particularly momentous number but an accomplishment none the less. I now wait for many relatives to descend upon us as today correlates to a Christmas in July party that is happening at our home I'm reflecting quietly on how much I've changed over the past 17 years of married life. Although I can look in the mirror and lament some not so favourable changes to many parts of my anatomy, I can say without a doubt that marrying my high school sweetheart and hanging on for dear life through the years and rocky roads and roller coasters that ensued is the single best decision I ever made. Years back I would be in total panic mode at the present time as I wait for 30 plus people to arrive and in my mind scrutinize how I look, how my kids are dressed, how clean the house is, if the environment is favourable and so on.... Today I'm not throwing all my standards out the window, not at all as the passage of time has guaranteed us the privilege of a nicer home and more mature kids that can (for the most part) act accordingly but I am remarkably very relaxed. I am what I am, warts and all and if people haven't accepted me for who I am by now, no sense getting my knickers in a knot!
A huge part of this self acceptance comes with the love and unconditional support of the wonderful boy, now a man that I fell for all those years ago. Lets face it-there's only so many occasions, so many years that can pass with me acting like a psychotic whirling dervish of panicked energy while this calm, cool and casual man remains completely unfazed by my side before even I, slow learner that I am realize that I'm expending quite a bit of energy on really nothing much!
A glass breaks, clean it up. The button pops on my pants as I head to the bathroom one last time before guests arrive...oh bloody hell!....but no biggie, go get the needle and thread it will be long fixed before anyone comes!, the house is unbearably hot as we endure yet another week of unbroken heat wave, so what! I cannot control these things, so why stress?
I have so much to be thankful for, my great children, beautiful home, financial comfort, friends, family and of course Scott, the rock in my life, unwavering and unshakable.
I do still have complete psychotic moments, no doubt, life does still deliver many, many bumps and yes, I still over-react at least half the time but I calm down quicker, explode a little slower and I don't believe it's simply because I care less or am too old only that I was very blessed to find the Yin to my Yang so very long ago. He compliments whatever it is that I've got and makes this journey such a fun and terrific adventure! Thanks Mr. Judd for spending your life by my side!
A huge part of this self acceptance comes with the love and unconditional support of the wonderful boy, now a man that I fell for all those years ago. Lets face it-there's only so many occasions, so many years that can pass with me acting like a psychotic whirling dervish of panicked energy while this calm, cool and casual man remains completely unfazed by my side before even I, slow learner that I am realize that I'm expending quite a bit of energy on really nothing much!
A glass breaks, clean it up. The button pops on my pants as I head to the bathroom one last time before guests arrive...oh bloody hell!....but no biggie, go get the needle and thread it will be long fixed before anyone comes!, the house is unbearably hot as we endure yet another week of unbroken heat wave, so what! I cannot control these things, so why stress?
I have so much to be thankful for, my great children, beautiful home, financial comfort, friends, family and of course Scott, the rock in my life, unwavering and unshakable.
I do still have complete psychotic moments, no doubt, life does still deliver many, many bumps and yes, I still over-react at least half the time but I calm down quicker, explode a little slower and I don't believe it's simply because I care less or am too old only that I was very blessed to find the Yin to my Yang so very long ago. He compliments whatever it is that I've got and makes this journey such a fun and terrific adventure! Thanks Mr. Judd for spending your life by my side!
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Dear Sam,
Once upon a time back in the very early days of motherhood I made a promise to myself, at the time I was basking in the delicate beauty of my firstborn's new tiny face, hands and toes it seemed like an entirely realistic promise. I'm sure too, there are many moms out there who made similar promises and managed to keep them. I'm also equally as sure that there are a few who will understand just why I broke it.
You see, my promise was that I would write a letter to my child each and every year upon the anniversary of their birth outlining all the wonderful things about them, how far they'd come, how much they meant to me and the wishes that I had for their future. I admit that Emma, being the first will someday receive a small pile of letters, perhaps 3, maybe 4...they're tucked safely away somewhere among the detrious of our busy lives, April being our second has at least 1 maybe 2, Isaac, our third has one for sure but Samuel...the last little miracle that appeared in our lives hasn't got even a one and for that I am ashamed.
I remember being a kid and wondering why there were albums dedicated to my older sister whereas when I arrived I dotted the albums but certainly never became the prime focus. Being a relatively vocal individual in and around our home I didn't hesitate to whine about my lack of importance in my parents lives...so obviously displayed by their disinterest in capturing my precious and fleeting baby and childhood days with the same attention they devoted to their first. Mom and Dad, just in case you're reading...please rest assured that even back then I kind of got it, I was only half upset and being the cantankerous kid I was, I was simply doing my best to stir the pot, but then I suspect you know that too! ;)
Life was easy with one baby, she slept, I slept or did work around the house or wrote my love letters, life with two was somewhat more challenging, when baby slept, I gave my attention to number one, with three I just kept up and with four I ran. Not to say anything was harder because I firmly believe you grow and adapt to your circumstances and you are only forced to grow as fast as your children do so it was all a very intrinsic and necessary process but the promise of beautiful letters went by the wayside so for today I will take just a few moments to honour my little Samuel, who may never even see this but if I'm being honest with myself, that's okay too because I hope that if we raise our children half as well as we ourselves were raised with time and maturity they will know too that they were loved, each individually and differently but unequivocally loved.
So Happy Birthday sweet Samuel!, it seems like only yesterday I was meeting you for the very first time but in fact five years have gone and you being my last baby have received quite a lot from us all. Your mom and dad have spoiled you in ways we know we may someday soon regret and still find it excessively hard to set boundaries when we hate to see that cute little smile turn upside down. You know that though and it's a constant struggle to remind ourselves just how much you're really playing us! We must remain firm to help you to become the caring, compassionate and unspoiled individual we hope you will grow to be.
The day of your birth was different from all your siblings, mom had been through two normal deliveries and then when Isaac appeared all bets were off, he became an emergency section and so 3 years later my choices were taken from me and you were my first elective C-section. So your birth was really quite simple and straightforward, I knew what to expect and just couldn't wait to see who you were. Being a farm family, when the doctor lifted you out he congratulated your daddy saying, "You've got yourself a farmer!" That was our first laugh because dad quickly asked the doctor what that meant since the best farmers in the family have been the girls. We were so happy to have a second little boy though and felt like we'd won a jackpot, two sisters close in age and now two brothers too...how perfect!
And really, it has been. You've been a calm and sweet kid from the day of your birth, maybe requiring a little more attention and longer cuddle times as a baby when we were helping you to sleep, but then we were only too happy to supply as we realized fully by then just how fleeting baby days are. Otherwise you've always been thoughtful and interested in examining or discussing how things were put together or what was said and analyzing it all. Quite a little man actually. Last year your wish was to be a scientist or a vaccuumer when you grow up, this year, I think the scientist still makes the list but with your own little responsibilities made clear by now in assisting your siblings with picking toys up and putting bedrooms back together the other occupation has gone by the wayside. You love your lego and although delight in getting a new kit to construct are at your happiest with a fistful of mismatched pieces that you will spend hours working and reworking into different creations each night after your school aged siblings have gone to bed and showing us your self proclaimed "latest vention". We still let you cuddle down occassionally between us in bed as much for us as you, there's absolutely nothing sweeter than watching you drift asleep little guy and I know too soon you'll be too grown up to even ask. I savour each of those nights and it really doesn't require much effort at all to lift you up and gently settle you back into your own bed just a little later. You are the image of your father, the cutest little thing Emma has ever seen, perfect little student for April and the best of chum Isaac could ever have. For me you are more precious and wonderful than I could ever attempt to vocalize. I wish you health and dignity, I hope you continue to grow to be as thoughtful and analytical as you have always been, always thinking things through first, I think that's a trait that will serve you well in years to come. I hope you're kind and compassionate and treat all people with respect and honour. I look forward to seeing the man you will someday become but for now I hope you are happy and that life is joyous, I know you are smart, I hope kindergarten is wonderful...and I hope that not a day goes by that you don't know that we love you! Happy Birthday! Love, Mom
You see, my promise was that I would write a letter to my child each and every year upon the anniversary of their birth outlining all the wonderful things about them, how far they'd come, how much they meant to me and the wishes that I had for their future. I admit that Emma, being the first will someday receive a small pile of letters, perhaps 3, maybe 4...they're tucked safely away somewhere among the detrious of our busy lives, April being our second has at least 1 maybe 2, Isaac, our third has one for sure but Samuel...the last little miracle that appeared in our lives hasn't got even a one and for that I am ashamed.
I remember being a kid and wondering why there were albums dedicated to my older sister whereas when I arrived I dotted the albums but certainly never became the prime focus. Being a relatively vocal individual in and around our home I didn't hesitate to whine about my lack of importance in my parents lives...so obviously displayed by their disinterest in capturing my precious and fleeting baby and childhood days with the same attention they devoted to their first. Mom and Dad, just in case you're reading...please rest assured that even back then I kind of got it, I was only half upset and being the cantankerous kid I was, I was simply doing my best to stir the pot, but then I suspect you know that too! ;)
Life was easy with one baby, she slept, I slept or did work around the house or wrote my love letters, life with two was somewhat more challenging, when baby slept, I gave my attention to number one, with three I just kept up and with four I ran. Not to say anything was harder because I firmly believe you grow and adapt to your circumstances and you are only forced to grow as fast as your children do so it was all a very intrinsic and necessary process but the promise of beautiful letters went by the wayside so for today I will take just a few moments to honour my little Samuel, who may never even see this but if I'm being honest with myself, that's okay too because I hope that if we raise our children half as well as we ourselves were raised with time and maturity they will know too that they were loved, each individually and differently but unequivocally loved.
So Happy Birthday sweet Samuel!, it seems like only yesterday I was meeting you for the very first time but in fact five years have gone and you being my last baby have received quite a lot from us all. Your mom and dad have spoiled you in ways we know we may someday soon regret and still find it excessively hard to set boundaries when we hate to see that cute little smile turn upside down. You know that though and it's a constant struggle to remind ourselves just how much you're really playing us! We must remain firm to help you to become the caring, compassionate and unspoiled individual we hope you will grow to be.
The day of your birth was different from all your siblings, mom had been through two normal deliveries and then when Isaac appeared all bets were off, he became an emergency section and so 3 years later my choices were taken from me and you were my first elective C-section. So your birth was really quite simple and straightforward, I knew what to expect and just couldn't wait to see who you were. Being a farm family, when the doctor lifted you out he congratulated your daddy saying, "You've got yourself a farmer!" That was our first laugh because dad quickly asked the doctor what that meant since the best farmers in the family have been the girls. We were so happy to have a second little boy though and felt like we'd won a jackpot, two sisters close in age and now two brothers too...how perfect!
And really, it has been. You've been a calm and sweet kid from the day of your birth, maybe requiring a little more attention and longer cuddle times as a baby when we were helping you to sleep, but then we were only too happy to supply as we realized fully by then just how fleeting baby days are. Otherwise you've always been thoughtful and interested in examining or discussing how things were put together or what was said and analyzing it all. Quite a little man actually. Last year your wish was to be a scientist or a vaccuumer when you grow up, this year, I think the scientist still makes the list but with your own little responsibilities made clear by now in assisting your siblings with picking toys up and putting bedrooms back together the other occupation has gone by the wayside. You love your lego and although delight in getting a new kit to construct are at your happiest with a fistful of mismatched pieces that you will spend hours working and reworking into different creations each night after your school aged siblings have gone to bed and showing us your self proclaimed "latest vention". We still let you cuddle down occassionally between us in bed as much for us as you, there's absolutely nothing sweeter than watching you drift asleep little guy and I know too soon you'll be too grown up to even ask. I savour each of those nights and it really doesn't require much effort at all to lift you up and gently settle you back into your own bed just a little later. You are the image of your father, the cutest little thing Emma has ever seen, perfect little student for April and the best of chum Isaac could ever have. For me you are more precious and wonderful than I could ever attempt to vocalize. I wish you health and dignity, I hope you continue to grow to be as thoughtful and analytical as you have always been, always thinking things through first, I think that's a trait that will serve you well in years to come. I hope you're kind and compassionate and treat all people with respect and honour. I look forward to seeing the man you will someday become but for now I hope you are happy and that life is joyous, I know you are smart, I hope kindergarten is wonderful...and I hope that not a day goes by that you don't know that we love you! Happy Birthday! Love, Mom
Saturday, January 1, 2011
The New Year & The Year We've just been Through!
Well, it's a sort of dismal and grey New Year's Day here at home and in ways this is reflected in my mood. I've heard and read many stories of how 2010 was a challenging, sorrowful and hard year for a lot of people and I know it's true because I've been witness to some of these trials.
The year for me and mine has actually been pretty sweet though....and I suspect my "dis-ease" has a bit to do with that. Can I really be fortunate enough to experience another good year or is this coming one my turn at the bad stuff? Scary thoughts like these plague me from time to time and I suspect it's due to just a bit too much downtime in recent days, so my solution is to get busy, but before that, some wonderful (and some just plain average) blessings that happened in 2010 are as follows!
-my 4 kids continued to grow and flourish, they drove me crazy alot, made me laugh even more and created dirty laundry like nobody's business but stayed healthy and strong and usually intelligent...what more could a momma want?
-my hubbie...he stayed! Weaker men would have just thrown up their arms in desperation and left my sorry ass many moons ago, so the fact that he's as crazy as me has really worked in my favour!
-he also finally grasped the courage to sing...first, to me (he's been singing to his cows for years) and then, as the year progressed, even to others...this is BIG 'cause he's finally doing something just for him!
-my home, although not still (or likely ever) entirely finished is pretty cool and well, very much my HOME!
-my parents, relatives, friends all made it through 2010 and seem as though they are up to the challenge of living large in 2011.
-after over a decade of diapers, I finally closed that chapter of my life and did not regret it's passing!
-we planted 500 live and 1100 cuttings of cold tolerant grapevines on land we've been eyeing for years...now to see if our fledgling vineyard will flourish or fail, a new and exciting venture!
-I participated in my very first art exhibition ever...in my mind it was a success, I sold quite a few canvases and got my foot in the door of the art community.
-I am blessed to be part of a wonderful church where we meet as extended family, laugh, cry, discuss and support each other in what we do and have forged relationships that will last through and beyond all the daily junk that gets thrown in our way if we just remember to hang on!
-I've laughed, cried and lived and hope to continue with more of the same....all GOOD STUFF!
So, nothing really all that spectacular, but in putting my thoughts to print my grey mood has just about vanished and rather than look forward with hesitation and trepidation, I'm excited to see where 2011 will go!
Some challenges and maybe sort of resolutions for 2011 are:
-to get in better shape, not the running up and down the sliding hill a gazillion times without losing my breath kind of shape that my incredible sister got herself into over the past year, but taking the time regularily for physcial activity to strengthen body and clear my mind.
-to create enough art to successfully participate in the "Pontiac Studio Artist's Tour" which I have signed up for to take place the middle 2 weekends of June.
-to later hold an exhibition at the local Cafe of the same art...or more...depending on just how well June goes!
-to think about me and mine before I take on or agree to numerous projects...this sounds a little selfish, but as our lives have spiralled into high speed in the past few years because of decisions made, I realize I need to strengthen the "foundation" of the family before I go out there throwing it around in high winds on a daily basis!
-to organize my time, the home, the business, the financial situation, the mind...so that if or when that wind starts whipping around we will STAND.
-to take a couple of days to just BE with just hubbie and me, no shopping list, dairy seminar, dental appointment, or renovation project tagging along, but just us...something that we have simply not done for more than a couple hours since our honeymoon over 15 years past, I cannot wait!
I really didn't write a whole lot of exciting up there, just average, so if you've managed to stay awake...congrats! BUT!... I think average is so much better than so many people throughout this great big world ever get the chance to have that I must be truly blessed! May you be able to live your lives fully in 2011 and also be blessed in more ways than You can imagine...thanks for tuning in and hopefully the New Year will rock!
The year for me and mine has actually been pretty sweet though....and I suspect my "dis-ease" has a bit to do with that. Can I really be fortunate enough to experience another good year or is this coming one my turn at the bad stuff? Scary thoughts like these plague me from time to time and I suspect it's due to just a bit too much downtime in recent days, so my solution is to get busy, but before that, some wonderful (and some just plain average) blessings that happened in 2010 are as follows!
-my 4 kids continued to grow and flourish, they drove me crazy alot, made me laugh even more and created dirty laundry like nobody's business but stayed healthy and strong and usually intelligent...what more could a momma want?
-my hubbie...he stayed! Weaker men would have just thrown up their arms in desperation and left my sorry ass many moons ago, so the fact that he's as crazy as me has really worked in my favour!
-he also finally grasped the courage to sing...first, to me (he's been singing to his cows for years) and then, as the year progressed, even to others...this is BIG 'cause he's finally doing something just for him!
-my home, although not still (or likely ever) entirely finished is pretty cool and well, very much my HOME!
-my parents, relatives, friends all made it through 2010 and seem as though they are up to the challenge of living large in 2011.
-after over a decade of diapers, I finally closed that chapter of my life and did not regret it's passing!
-we planted 500 live and 1100 cuttings of cold tolerant grapevines on land we've been eyeing for years...now to see if our fledgling vineyard will flourish or fail, a new and exciting venture!
-I participated in my very first art exhibition ever...in my mind it was a success, I sold quite a few canvases and got my foot in the door of the art community.
-I am blessed to be part of a wonderful church where we meet as extended family, laugh, cry, discuss and support each other in what we do and have forged relationships that will last through and beyond all the daily junk that gets thrown in our way if we just remember to hang on!
-I've laughed, cried and lived and hope to continue with more of the same....all GOOD STUFF!
So, nothing really all that spectacular, but in putting my thoughts to print my grey mood has just about vanished and rather than look forward with hesitation and trepidation, I'm excited to see where 2011 will go!
Some challenges and maybe sort of resolutions for 2011 are:
-to get in better shape, not the running up and down the sliding hill a gazillion times without losing my breath kind of shape that my incredible sister got herself into over the past year, but taking the time regularily for physcial activity to strengthen body and clear my mind.
-to create enough art to successfully participate in the "Pontiac Studio Artist's Tour" which I have signed up for to take place the middle 2 weekends of June.
-to later hold an exhibition at the local Cafe of the same art...or more...depending on just how well June goes!
-to think about me and mine before I take on or agree to numerous projects...this sounds a little selfish, but as our lives have spiralled into high speed in the past few years because of decisions made, I realize I need to strengthen the "foundation" of the family before I go out there throwing it around in high winds on a daily basis!
-to organize my time, the home, the business, the financial situation, the mind...so that if or when that wind starts whipping around we will STAND.
-to take a couple of days to just BE with just hubbie and me, no shopping list, dairy seminar, dental appointment, or renovation project tagging along, but just us...something that we have simply not done for more than a couple hours since our honeymoon over 15 years past, I cannot wait!
I really didn't write a whole lot of exciting up there, just average, so if you've managed to stay awake...congrats! BUT!... I think average is so much better than so many people throughout this great big world ever get the chance to have that I must be truly blessed! May you be able to live your lives fully in 2011 and also be blessed in more ways than You can imagine...thanks for tuning in and hopefully the New Year will rock!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)