A new perspective - and great reminder!

“What do you think an artist is? An imbecile who has only eyes, if he is a painter, or ears if he is a musician or a lyre in every chamber of his heart if he is a poet, or even, if he is a boxer, just his muscles? Far from it: at the same time, he is also a political being, constantly aware of the heartbreaking, passionate, or delightful things that happen in the world, shaping himself completely in their image. How could it be possible to feel no interest in other people, and with a cool indifference to detach yourself from the very life which they bring to you so abundantly? No, painting is not done to decorate apartments. It is an instrument of war." - Pablo Picasso (NEW PARAGAPH)I just had to share this quote, which I found on a friends blog a few minutes ago. I thanked her for sharing it b/c it really opened up my eyes and straightened my spine a little! Since being introduced to the busyness of Atalie & Aiden my interests and time have shifted in their direction. Spare time is now spent doing practical enjoyments like baking, catching up on sleep or cleaning up the house (yes, I admit to enjoying that one... somehow). My developing photography skills (among a few others) have seemed to stop developing as I have little to no time for them. The thing that draws me to a photograph is the ability to capture a glimpse of a person in less than a second, and yet be able to keep it for eternity. Something inside of me has the ability to see this in a person and capture it (the "capture" part is still a working progress) - it is unexplainable really, a gift which only God can give. For Kevin, it is the ability to hear and play music; for my Dad, it is the ability to figure out how to make/build/fix something without being taught; for my Mom, it is the ability to create a delicious recipe from scratch. All these gifts must be developed of course and some may take more time to perfect than others. With photography I feel as though I was just getting the hang of certain things when my kids came along and it was all put on hold (for a great cause none the less:)). I felt silly calling myself an "artist" when I hadn't held a paint brush or taken a worthy photograph in years. However I am now encouraged to call myself an artist in the respect that I long to express what others feel. A "warrior", in Picaso's words. I can be a warrior for my kids in prayer, sharing in their joys and pains. I can be a warrior for my husband and friends in the same way. When I get more time I will be a warrior through my photography, and if I get the opportunity I will be a warrior for those I don't know... however I somehow feel as though I have my hands full with the battles at hand;) and so I'll start there. Thanks for the post Natasha!

Fireworks, Framing, Fireplace & Frusteration

FIREWORKS: We took the kids downtown tonight to have a chilly evening stroll for the annual winter festival. The festival tied into the big World Cup ski event, being held at Panorama this weekend, so there were lots of extra people in Invermere, taking in the evening activities. It was fun! There were a few bonfires set up along the street with hay bails to sit on, free hot chocolate, apple cider and cookies everywhere, the lighting of the Christmas tree, a parade, live bands and fireworks. Kev and my Dad (here with Mom to help with the house) worked later than usual today so after much ado with bundling up the kids, we only left the house in time to take a quick stroll up and down mainstreet and see the fireworks. Atalie got quite a scare for the first few bangs but seemed to warm up to the idea of pretty lights in the sky once she heard everyone else say, "ooooh!" and "aaaaah!". She chimed right in! Not too shabby for a point and shoot I might add. FRAMING: Kevin and Ethan got the basement stairs built on Friday... after a "trial and error" run... we'll leave it at that. The heating guys also stopped by Friday to install the fireplace, electric furnace, etc etc. My Dad was also there doing the electrical. It was a FULL house! As you can see, the basement was FINALLY(!!) poured and Kevin was able to frame the basement, along with help from Tyler last weekend. The pic below is a sneak peak at the shingling on our chimney. FIREPLACE: Our snazy new fireplace:) will look more fireplace-like once we get the stone in around it... much, much, much further down the road I think. FRUSTERATION: We went to Calgary on Wednesday with the intention of picking up our kitchen cabinets from Ikea. When I say "intention" I mean we had a preconceived idea that it wouldn't take more than say, 2 or 3 hours, maybe 4 tops. Well, lemme say that it's a good thing my parents were there with us b/c we would have achieved NOTHING with Atalie as miserable as she was and Aiden pooping all over himself a million times. Ug! Talk about frusteration at its highest!! We sorted through our kitchen plan (which I had all laid out ahead of time so as to avoid this hastle) making sure we had everything perfect, then perfected it some more, and more, and more. The littlest most unexpected things come up when you're planning a kitchen to the exact 1/8 of an inch (so as to avoid the cabinets sticking out into the hallway - rather important actually). It's rediculous! Anyway, to sum things up it took 5 grueling hours on Wednesday and another 6 even more grueling hours Thursday (also due to waiting an insanely long time for them to put our order together). We weren't planning to spend the night so there was extra time and $$ spent, not to mention the fact that my Dad lost an entire day of wiring at our house to 11 hours of babysitting cranky kids in the biggest metropolitan maze on earth (yes, Ikea) and now has to take more time out of his own work schedule to make up for it. Sorry Pops. Don't worry, I've got my fair share of parenting sacrifices coming up that you can laugh at in return. In the end we came out with beautiful kitchen cabinets, a functional floor plan (almost identical to the one I had planned out, I must mention) and fantastic flooring, which we bought at an actual floor store in 1/20th the time it took to get our cabinets. Was it worth it? I'll say yes. But almost not! Here's a look at the cabinets we chose (pg. 38 & 39). We have white countertops as well, however the island will have a solid oak countertop for easy food prep (and a little eye candy:) - come on, you know I'm thinking it) and overall much more rustic, as opposed to sleek and modern. Our floors are laminate with a walnut look. Eating breakfast at Ikea ($1!) before the store opens, in a desperate attempt to go home. Grandma the babysitter! Atalie is watching "Finding Nemo" in one of the display rooms... what a relief!!

I don't have a catchy title so this will be a "no title".

I had a little urge for something different when I went to my hair appointment on Wednesday: And this is what I got. Atalie... Atalie has a nack for "decorating" her brother, who remains unimpressed by it all. At least they're farm animals and not dolls this time;) As for news on the "home"front (har har har), Tyler came this weekend to help us frame the basement and it should be done today:) Yippee!! I'll try to get some pics soon.

Whatever works...

Yup, sometimes it comes down to "Whatever works". If it wasn't for "Snuggly's" and a little creativity we'd get nothing done... including dinner!

So I guess I haven't put pics up recently, considering there was a weekly appearance for awhile there... Aiden is about 2months and 1week now. As for the house, Kevin has been trading work with a friend who's also building so there's not any new pics to show on our house right now. Once they switch over to working on our house there should be lots... in the meantime here's a couple of Aiden. That's one handsome little boy!! :)

2 walls down, 2 to go!

There's now siding on two of the walls. Minor details but oh so exciting:)

Prayers Please:)

So without sounding too terribly desperate, I'd like to ask that whoever reads this send up an assertive prayer request for lots of help on our house this month... since it's all we have left! The slab is being poured early this coming week and then Kev will frame the basement so we can do the heating, electrical, plumbing, drywall, cupboards, painting, flooring, etc....... CAN HE DO IT? YES HE CAN! (That's from "Bob the builder" incase you haven't seen it) And I'm referring to both Kevin and God, since we need them both to complete this:) Thanks!

Lil Country Bug:)

Well he does have coveralls on... can't say he doesn't look a little big like he belongs on the farm;) I bundled him up for a chilly walk yesterday. This snow suite is for ages 0-6mo and he's a big boy, so you'd think it'd fit right? It was gigantic! But dang he looks cute:) Like a little marshmallow. We had our first snowfall November 1st, about an inch... Atalie probably doesn't remember it from last year b/c she was extremely curious. She didn't even mind being out in the cold in her socks to check it out!

That's one heavy diaper!

Yikes! It seems like we laughed forever about this one yestserday. I've never seen a diaper so heavy before (and purely from liquids!)... I think she had at least 3 cups of milk and 2 cups of water yesterday and went through twice the diapers. Wowee girl! (have you ever seen a cuter tush??)

A new do:)

My friend was kind enough to colour my hair for me last night:)

Siding Goes Up!

Well it's not all up but here's a taste anyway :) :) :) Somehow the pictures look insanely dark - the siding is "country red", not black like it may appear (good grief).