While in Regina, we were also able to attend an indoor soccer game (I'm not sure if I should say it was my sister's game or my sisters' game. Both of my sisters are on the team, but my younger sister was nursing a disgustingly multicoloured ankle after a none-too-graceful fall off the bottom step of the stairs at my mom's house. That's right. One stair. You are a picture of grace and beauty, Lyn!). My older sister, Heather (who DOESN'T HAVE A BLOG) was in goal. They boys had a great time running around the facility and might've even looked up once or twice to watch the game.
Again, to save you the trouble of having to scroll through two dozen pictures, I made some mosaics. Normally, I would only post 3-4 pictures (and only the best ones), but I like how these mosaics tell the story of whatever it was we were doing... even if I'm not completely thrilled will all of the pictures.
That's my sister in goal (2nd row, 1st on the left).
Liam with his cousin, Xavier. These two are great friends. Liam mentions
Xavier's name eleventy billion times a week. Give or take.
If I had had to narrow it down, it would've been to these black and whites above. I know they're noisy (it was dark in there), but I love the texture of the netting, especially in the top right one where the lines lead to Simon's face. Love it.
(What do you think of the mosaics? Like them? Hate them? Should I even bother?)
Some more pictures from our time in Regina over Christmas... OVER TWO MONTHS AGO. (sigh) I'll get through them eventually.
These next few are of my nephew Rowan. HE. IS. A. HAM. At four years old, he is a devilishly angelic looking little boy. That's an oxymoron, I KNOW. He really is beautiful, almost cherub-looking. You might even be fooled into thinking he was cherubic... except for the wicked twinkle in his eyes and the fact that he's likely pointing his fingers-in-the-form-of-a-gun at you.
Cute, right? Right.
Proof that Simon and Rowan did get along at least some of the time.
And my sister and brother-in-law's Christmas tree. Although it looks like there was some sort of nuclear holocaust going on outside, it's really just the result of long-exposure photography. This picture was taken at around elven at night.
We celebrated Valentine's Day this year a few days after the fact by inviting four other homeschooling families from our church over for lunch, crafts and general mayhem fun. I couldn't decide on only a handful of pictures to show you, so decided to waste hours find a site to help make mosaics using the images I'd already uploaded to Flickr.
(Luckily, Peter was wasting hours watching the Canada vs USA olympic hockey game (the good guys lost... boooo!) next to me on the couch.)
In addition to exchanging cards, making Valentine's crown and bracelets, we also had a gluttony of yummy red foods: fresh raspberries and strawberries, cherry tomatoes and red peppers, red tortilla chips, salsa and sour cream dip, pink grapefruit, bruchetta, raspberry muffins (that actually turned blue! who'd a thunk!), red apples, homemade bread with strawberry cream cheese and raspberry jam, along with pineapple and cheese cut into sweet little hearts. And that was without the red grapes and pink(ish) cold meats I'd meant to put out. It was all delicious and all naturally pink/red without there being any added food colourings (since some of our guest are sensitive to red food dyes).
You might recognize some of these kids from thisfamily
(oops, looks like I need to add some more pics to that post).
Looks like fun, right?
IT WAS.
an overhead shot of our craftiness
gratuitous shots of raspberry-faced Andrew
the party-goers
For not having actually said, "Hey, let's all dress ourselves and our kids in red!" we sure did well, eh? (Thanks to Grandma for sending my boys' new red shirts.)
And did anyone else count?? Two sweet girls AND ELEVEN BOYS. By the end of the afternoon, my basement looked like a Lego factory exploded and smelled like a gym locker. Thankfully, adding to all their other amazing qualities, (at least) one of my friends always stays to help clean up. Here we are:
(I realized after everyone left that I hadn't run EVEN MY FINGERS
through my hair that morning. Am thankful for curly-ish hair)
And if you think that looks fun, wait til you see what else we did last week!
Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. We aren't Catholic, but Peter and I have often given up something for Lent. Not under threat of mortal sin, like in the good ol' days of the Inquisition, but more out of a desire to participate in some sort of a lead up to Easter. For us, observation of Lent is a choice, not an obligation. In years passed, we've given up TV (ouch!.. and impossible during the Olympics... we love the Olympics), various items of food or drink, meals on specific days, etc. This year, however, will be a bit different. For me at least.
Last night, I decided what I would give up for Lent... my much beloved social networking. For me, that means Twitter, Facebook*, and reading blogs. I will miss my blog reader VERY. MUCH. But part of Lent is to abstain from something in order to use that time/money/energy to grow closer to God.
Wikipedia includes this description of Lent:
There are traditionally forty days in Lent which are marked by fasting, both from foods and festivities, and by other acts of penance. The three traditional practices to be taken up with renewed vigour during Lent are prayer(justice towards God), fasting (justice towards self), and almsgiving(justice towards neighbour). Today, some people give up a vice of theirs, add something that will bring them closer to God, and often give the time or money spent doing that to charitable purposes or organizations.
This year, my "fasting" will be in regards to my internet use. I feel slightly hesitant about this (especially the ban on blog reading) since I know that many of you come here everyday and I feel selfish not reciprocating. It will be a huge stretch to get out of the habit of checking my blog reader every morning. It will mean missing Lynn's next 6-7 pies, not hearing about Charlie's EEG results (although I'd love an email if you get the chance, Tia), missing out on all the great info/writing/pictures over at the Mothership and the Fishbowl, swooning over Kym's amazing pros, and not being able to keep up with the goings on of so many more of my favourite bloggers... who I can't link to because just going to the blogs of those last five has taken over 20 minutes BECAUSE I HAVE NO SELF CONTROL and couldn't help reading. I am weak.
In regards to the renewed vigour for prayer, I plan to read Contemplating the Cross: A 40 Day Pilgrimage of Prayer by Tricia McCary Rhodes. I've tried to do this in years passed, but life with little boys has gotten in the way. I'm considering reading it aloud to Liam, although I'm not sure how he will handle the descriptions of the whipping and the actual crucifixion... he might do better with an abridged version.
I hope to accomplish the focus on our neighbour by having a few new families over for meals, which does not quite emphasize social justice as much as I'd like, but it's something that we've fallen out of doing since Christmas. I also have an idea of something I could do with my photography in order to raise some money for Haiti. More on that later.
So anyone else giving up something for Lent? Anyone other than Peter doubt I can stay away from Twitter and blogs until April 4th?? Good grief that's a long time!
I'll miss you, my tweeps and bloggy friends! See you in the Spring!
*The exception I'm making for Facebook is that I've just started a Fan Page for Muddy Boots Photography. I don't want to just drop off the face of the earth on that one. So I'll be checking my fan page and my inbox, but the challenge will be to stay away from my main FB wall. If you haven't already, feel free to become a fan.
ETA: Just to clarify, I'm not giving up the internet entirely. That'd be just, well, impossible. I use the internet for too many things: email, banking, checking the weather, reading the news, finding recipes, homeschool stuff, and answers to other various questions from the mundane to finding the meaning of life, the universe and everything**. Plus we use Skype to talk to our family in western Canada, the States and Egypt. Skype is, duh, over the internet. There's just no way I could give it up. It's more the highly enjoyable yet time-sucking-black-hole of social media sites that I will be fasting from. One day down. (le sigh)
**extra points if you caught the Douglas Adams reference.
These are some more pictures from our time in Regina over Christmas. We took advantage of one of the balmy -15C days (that'd be about 5F) and headed outside to play.
1. I was a voracious reader as a young girl, spending my babysitting money (I started babysitting at the age of nine! Can you believe it? I'd never leave my kids in the care of a nine year old!) on books from The Babysitters Club series or books about horses. I'd come home from the mall on a Saturday afternoon with two or three new books and often have them read by the end of the weekend. These days, the list of books I'd like to read/re-read is getting longer by the week. (le sigh)
2. I was a band geek. A serious band geek. I played alto saxophone. I played in the one of the high school wind orchestras (which is just a way of trying to make "high school band" sound fancy) and one of the school jazz bands. THE TOP ONES, at that. I was also a part of a community band. In its hey day, this organization was recognized by Canada's Governor General as the "citizenship machine of Canada" and HOW CORNY IS THAT. I was a member of the concert band, jazz band, jazz combo, and within the marching band (yes, marching band) I was at various times either in the auxiliary percussion (ie, xylophones, marimbas, tympani... I'm not making myself sound any cooler, am I?) or the cymbal line. Yes, I played cymbals. But only in marching band, the rest was all saxophone, all the time.
(Except for part of one year when I was convinced to give the oboe a try. Mostly this was for image purposes, as a band just didn't look complete without an oboe. APPARENTLY. They went so far as to schedule and pay for private lessons with local legend and published Canadian composer, Elizabeth Raum, who told me I'd have to file my front teeth down if I wanted to be a SERIOUS oboe player. Um, oookay. What I didn't tell her was that I only agreed to play the oboe because it let me sit closer to my friends during practice... and because the maker of the oboe given me shared a last name with my crush at the time (who I ended up marrying, so good thing I liked the name!). Aren't teenage girls silly things?)
My older sister and I, circa 1996. (Yeah, that's right, I got a cape.
Cause I was part of the drum line. And drummers need capes.)
3. During college, my older sister and I were in a ska band. A Christian ska band. We even recorded an album. STOP LAUGHING. It was fun. I'll have to dig up a picture from somewhere...
4. I have a irrational fear of sharks. I grew up in a COMPLETELY LANDLOCKED province, yet I am terrified of sharks. Like, I feel ill just thinking about Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. Click through to that link and look at the ad. Two seconds of that has my stomach in knots and my throat tightening up.
This image freaks me out,
even though I know it's just a dolphin.
This one actually makes me teary and faint-feeling...
EVEN THOUGH I KNOW IT'S COMPLETELY FAKE.
5. We've been living in this house for over a year and a half and the only things up on the walls are a world map and two maps of Southern Sudan (both in our bedroom... I know, romantic), and a ceramic gecko that Liam made at a birthday party just before we left Calgary. There happened to be a nail already in the wall in our basement bathroom, so we stuck it up there. There are also a few homeschool aids (calendar, weather chart, numbers to 100, etc) and an advent calendar leftover from Christmas. AND THAT'S IT. Sad. Gee, if only I had a few pictures of my kids or knew someone who could take some...
6. There are two food items that I refused to eat as a child and now, as an adult, really love. The first are olives, which I didn't try until our trip to Europe in 2001, and didn't fully appreciate until our trip took us down to Argentina where there are olives on/in EVERYTHING. I love them now. The second item is avocado. I still don't like guacamole, but I adore avocados. In smoothies, salads, dips, spreads, on crackers or toast... mmmm. Looooove 'em.
7. I've never tasted beer. I'm pretty sure my Canadian passport might be revoked if the authorities ever read this blog, but it's true. After 12 years of community and school band AND BOTTLE DRIVES TOO NUMEROUS TO COUNT, my mind just can't erase the smell of old, stale, months -or even years- old beer. *shudder* Sorry, but beer stinks.
Thanks, Tia, for tagging me with this meme (over a month ago now, I think... do I get a prize for being last to finish??). For my part, I would looove to read seven new things about the following seven blogger (in no particular order, of couse):
my sister Lynette (who has -I think- the only blog out there on becoming a funeral director... and it's pretty good WHEN SHE ACTUALLY BLOGS)
my sisters-in-laws, Susanna (who innocently suggested on day that I start a blog and unleashed a monster *wink*), Sara, and Kristi (whose blogs I won't link to prior to asking if they actually want a hundred strangers visiting)
and now a few of my favourite Ottawa bloggers: Julie from Thoughts of a Smother Mother (because she actually seems to participate in meme... ha! how's that for pressure!), the pie-making phenom (or at least soon-to-be-phenom) Lynn from TurtleHead, and Kym from Relishing (whose writing is so poetically beautiful I sometimes have to take a little moment to myself after reading... even if that moment is to try to pretend that I understood it all)
One of our goals for our family is to be able to live overseas and to give our children the opportunity to live in and experience as many cultures as possible. We want them to see "how the other half lives". We don't want them to grow up with the sickening sense of entitlement we see everywhere, but want them to truly appreciate just how lucky they are to have been born on this continent. How lucky we are to be Canadian.
And in case this video isn't always available for my boys to watch, here's the transcript:
We Are More
by Shane Koyczan
When defining Canada
you might list some statistics
you might mention our tallest building
or biggest lake
you might shake a tree in the fall
and call a red leaf Canada
you might rattle off some celebrities
might mention Buffy Sainte-Marie
might even mention the fact that we've got a few
Barenaked Ladies
or that we made these crazy things
like zippers
electric cars
and washing machines
when defining Canada
it seems the world's anthem has been
" been there done that"
and maybe that's where we used to be at
it's true
we've done and we've been
we've seen
all the great themes get swallowed up by the machine
and turned into theme parks
but when defining Canada
don't forget to mention that we have set sparks
we are not just fishing stories
about the one that got away
we do more than sit around and say "eh?"
and yes
we are the home of the Rocket and the Great One
who inspired little number nines
and little number ninety-nines
but we're more than just hockey and fishing lines
off of the rocky coast of the Maritimes
and some say what defines us
is something as simple as please and thank you
and as for you're welcome
well we say that too
but we are more
than genteel or civilized
we are an idea in the process
of being realized
we are young
we are cultures strung together
then woven into a tapestry
and the design
is what makes us more
than the sum total of our history
we are an experiment going right for a change
with influences that range from a to zed
and yes we say zed instead of zee
we are the colours of Chinatown and the coffee of Little Italy
we dream so big that there are those
who would call our ambition an industry
because we are more than sticky maple syrup and clean snow
we do more than grow wheat and brew beer
we are vineyards of good year after good year
we reforest what we clear
because we believe in generations beyond our own
knowing now that so many of us
have grown past what used to be
we can stand here today
filled with all the hope people have
when they say things like "someday"
someday we'll be great
someday we'll be this
or that
someday we'll be at a point
when someday was yesterday
and all of our aspirations will pay the way
for those who on that day
look towards tomorrow
and still they say someday
we will reach the goals we set
and we will get interest on our inspiration
because we are more than a nation of whale watchers and lumberjacks
more than backpacks and hiking trails
we are hammers and nails building bridges
towards those who are willing to walk across
we are the lost-and-found for all those who might find themselves at a loss
we are not the see-through gloss or glamour
of those who clamour for the failings of others
we are fathers brothers sisters and mothers
uncles and nephews aunts and nieces
we are cousins
we are found missing puzzle pieces
we are families with room at the table for newcomers
we are more than summers and winters
more than on and off seasons
we are the reasons people have for wanting to stay
because we are more than what we say or do
we live to get past what we go through
and learn who we are
we are students
students who study the studiousness of studying
so we know what as well as why
we don't have all the answers
but we try
and the effort is what makes us more
we don't all know what it is in life we're looking for
so keep exploring
go far and wide
or go inside but go deep
go deep
as if James Cameron was filming a sequel to The Abyss
and suddenly there was this location scout
trying to figure some way out
to get inside you
because you've been through hell and high water
and you went deep
keep exploring
because we are more
than a laundry list of things to do and places to see
we are more than hills to ski
or countryside ponds to skate
we are the abandoned hesitation of all those who can't wait
we are first-rate greasy-spoon diners and healthy-living cafes
a country that is all the ways you choose to live
a land that can give you variety
because we are choices
we are millions upon millions of voices shouting
" keep exploring... we are more"
we are the surprise the world has in store for you
it's true
Canada is the "what" in "what's new?"
so don't say "been there done that"
unless you've sat on the sidewalk
while chalk artists draw still lifes
on the concrete of a kid in the street
beatboxing to Neil Young for fun
don't say you've been there done that
unless you've been here doing it
let this country be your first-aid kit
for all the times you get sick of the same old same old
Earlier this month I was able to photograph some friends with their new baby. This is one of the families in the kissing picture, taken while baby Joey was still cookin'. One of the nicest things about this photography venture has been the opportunity to photograph so many of our friends here in Gatineau. Luckily we have some good looking friends! *wink*
It was difficult impossible for me to narrow these down to just a few images, since I know and love these people. So you all get to see A BUNCH.
These two make BEAUTIFUL children together! My Simon is buddies with the little guy in front.
Awww, I love you guys!
Is it cruel of me to like taking pictures of pouty/crying babies? They're always some of my favourites.
And, again, here's a little slideshow of some of my favourite images. If you're reading in a reader, you might have to click through to see it. Only 30 seconds long and TOTALLY worth it (in my not-so-unbiased opinion).
Can I ask what you think of these videos? I haven't bothered to pay for a full subscription (which would let me make videos longer than 30 secs and also have access to some other design/editing options). It's only $30/year, but I'm thinking I should maybe wait until I have more clients booked to see if it's something they'd even want. Would you want a video slideshow of images from a photo shoot, or would you rather make one yourself? I'd love your feedback.
(Also, if you have a few minutes to spare, would you mind heading over to my sister's blog, Life with the Dead List, to congratulate her on finishing her last final... on her way to becoming a funeral director. (I know. Weird.) Actually, maybe we should save our congrats UNTIL WE KNOW IF SHE PASSED.)
A few things I don't want to forget about what my boys are doing and saying right now:
Liam
Whenever you have a particularly good or clever idea, you'll exclaim, "I know! It's Liam Wisdom!" like Quack's "Duck Wisdom" from Peep and the Big Wide World.
I'm amazed at how well you can read, considering that four months ago, you could barely read a word. I'm also amazed at how your tiredness level effects your patience for it. But still, you're reading. AND I TAUGHT YOU.
You would talk to Xavier every night on the computer if we let you. And you would talk of NOTHING ELSE, other than your Lego Star Wars games and who's unlocked who, and who's beat what level, and blah blah this colour lightsaber and blah blah droids and blah blah free-play and blah blah canisters and... Seriously? How can you not get tired of it?? And the thing is, neither of you two is really listening to the other. You just talk at and over each other until I can't take it anymore and say it's time to hang up. At least you have some sort of outlet though so that I don't have to bear the brunt of it. P.S. I still love you, my little gamer geek.
You want to learn to play the trumpet, so you can play the tuba when you grow up... like grandpa did.
You are becoming a huge fan of mysteries. Stories (the Bobbsey Twins books), episodes of Adventures in Odyssey, movies, anything where there's a mystery. You love it.
Simon
Instead of saying someone, you say everybody. As in "Everybody needs to open the gate!" or "Everybody needs to help me eat! or "EVERYBODY NEEDS TO WIPE MY BUM!"
Your best friend changes daily, if not hourly. Sometimes it's Liam, sometimes it's Andrew, sometimes mummy is your "best friend in the whooooole world" (awww!). And sometimes it's the guy standing behind us in line at the grocery store, who no doubt gets a huge kick out of the little english kid in the bright green toque whispering that you're best friends.
There are several things that you repeated talk about doing when you grow up, the top two being to stay up all night and have Liam teach you how to play his Lego Star Wars computer game.
Every day when daddy leaves for work you yell, "Have a good day at work with your friends!" (except it's more "HAVEAGOODDAYATWORKWITHYOURFRIENDS!") and as soon as you see him at the end of the day it's, "Hi daddy! How was your day?"
Andrew
You are teething. ALL FOUR PRE-MOLARS. I just hope we survive.
Your love of cracks (yes, you read that right) is hilariously funny (ie, how you like to sneak up behind me when I'm squatting down playing with your brothers and try to stick Lego down my butt crack*... while giggling madly), yet often embarrassingly ill-timed (ie, trying to stick objects down my shirt during worship time at church.... while giggling madly).
At your one year check a couple of weeks ago, the doctor gave us quite the scare. But don't worry, she was wrong. And it'll make for a good story when you're older/at your wedding.
*a disgusting amazing rainbow-colour butt crack after the spectacular fall I took last week. I'm shocked I didn't break something. I am all shades of red/purple/blue turning green/yellow/brown. IT'S UUUUUGLY. I'd post a picture, but I don't think your father wants his wife's butt crack posted online. Pity too, cause it's rather impressive.
I was excited when I read the theme for this week's challenge at iheartfaces was "we heart kisses". Immediately, I knew which picture I'd submit.
This was taken over the Thanksgiving weekend when I photographed three of my great friends -who happen to be three sisters- with their husbands and kids. I know this image isn't perfect, ie. the highlights are blown out, but I still LOVE it.
I love the baby in front eating rocks. I love his brother behind him striking a pose with his hip jutted out. I reeeally love the face the little guy is making in the back row (to the right). And I especially love all the people in this picture.
Since moving out here TO A PLACE WHERE WE DIDN'T KNOW A SINGLE PERSON, they've brought us in and made us a part of their family. They (and others... hi, Elise!) are going to make it VERY difficult to leave this place when the time comes.
Just wait til you see how cute this little fellow is! And get a load of his name... Romeo L'Amour. As in Romeo Love. These french Canadians are CRAZY! But we love them.
This little sweet heart is the fourth child of some friends from church. After dropping their older kids off at school/daycare, they stopped over for a makeshift photo shoot in my less-than-ideal living room. The lighting made me cringe (bright, BRIGHT, sunshine streaming in through the window instead of the soft cloud cover I've come to expect), but we made it work.
Here are some of my favourite images, with a little slideshow at the end... that I hope works.
While not exactly a Christmas post, these pictures were taken over the holidays (Dec 12th), just before the boys and I left for our three weeks in Regina.
It's getting harder and harder to get a nice picture of Liam. At 6 1/2, he has little interest in smiling nicely and even less patience for me constantly sticking the camera in his face. I need to perfect my stealth photography skills and accept that the only nice pictures I'll have of him for a few years are ones where he hasn't seen me coming and is therefore not looking at the camera. Otherwise I'll have a hard drive full of pictures like this...
(sigh)
Mouth full of carrot, but I'll take what I can get with this one, too!
Simon is going through a phase where he likes to spontaneously break into pirate-speak. Not happy to go it alone, he will insist that others around him also talk like pirates. I BE BLACKBEARD AND YOU BE BLUEBEARD! And when I protest that I don't, in fact, have a beard he responds by pointing an accusatory finger at me and growling.
I'm pretty sure his love of pirate talk has nothing to do with an affinity for skulls and crossbones, but more a love of yelling and growling and scowling. Because apparently pirates growl a lot. While pointing. And scowling. Arrrrrghh!
Not even a smile from you, Andrew? At lease your daddy's looking rather handsome.
That's better.
A bit out of focus and more than a bit noisy, but at least they're both smiling. Chances are, someone screamed/burped/farted/growled just before this picture was taken.
