sunshine and sweaters

sometimes i refuse to take my camera with me on trips or walks as i really think it important to be in a moment instead of trying to always capture the moment. i believe that a different element occurs when looking at memories through a lens and so sometimes i just want to see with my own eyes how my family is growing, interacting, and experiencing each other. and yet other times all i want is to somehow capture these moments in 'film'. somehow have them documented and recorded so that when scott and i are left at home by ourselves and are just a little bit insane, we can look back and remember what adventures our days were filled with.

this is my favorite. red noses, bright sunshine, blue skies, cold bitten cheeks, and homemade sweaters.

-a rare occasion when sophie asks to have her photo taken- -the "don't mess with me" eyes, along with the rug burnt chin and raisin chewing mouth-

-how do you capture love, love between a father and his children?-

tutus and friends

although she doesn't turn three until the twelfth of this month, a party was had to celebrate our sophie rayne. in the belief that with an ounce of encouragement and a whole lot of tutu goodness, any day can be made beautiful, so this day was made. joined by three other dancing, and twirling friends we played the afternoon away in the hope that she would know how much she is loved, how much she is cherished, how much she is treasured.

in and amongst the giggling friends these were some of the pictures taken to remember the day.

-the cake-

-decorations hung from above-

-stars of magic-

-dear beautiful friends-

charlee

taeya

halle -penelope and jane- -dance lessons from the wonderful juliet- -the tutu gang...charlee, taeya, penelope, sophie, halle and jane- -cake time- a blessing really, to be surrounded by and loved by friends. it is hard to find people who care deeply, who will love deeply regardless of where life brings you, who will hear you as you share your heart. it is a remarkable thing, friends. to enjoy ones company so much that you will show them your crazy side, fall to the ground in a moment of dramatic out pouring, run with them without letting go, or dance so hard you just need a break. yes, true friends are a remarkable thing.

Christmas time

a new way of understanding Christmas for me has been in the explaining of it to sophie, who is almost three. she seems to be in awe of all things Christmas and has some of the best lines, which brings a new excitement and joy to the whole season.

while holding the soap that sits by the kitchen sink and is held in a metal soap dish, sophie said, "mom, this is baby Jesus and this is where He laid, can i take Him to bed with me?"

after seeing a play with an angel, wise men, shepherds, mary, joseph and cloth that was wrapped up to look like a baby, sophie said,"it's okay mom, maybe next time i will get to hold the baby Jesus, okay?"

pretty much every day she wakes up and asks, "mom, is it baby Jesus' birthday today?"

when seeing yet another Christmas tree, sophie replied, "mom, look, that is for baby Jesus' birthday...there sure are a lot of His birthdays around."

little artists

i confess i lack any artistic ability whatsoever, and perhaps this is the reason that i subconsciously stock our house full of art supplies. smocks for painting, even if not needed they create a more painters feel. canvas for the safe keeping of the girls earliest work. pencil crayons of all colors, even displayed for easy access. and an abundant stock of white and colored paper on which to capture these profound and intricate pieces of art.

it has been raining a lot lately, and i refuse to complain about it, so it means there has been a lot of art created at our house, and a lot of thanks to Jesus for all the rain.

the painter;

another day with more artists hard at work; finished products; the last two are captioned and i hope fairly self explanatory as i feel rather embarrassed to share about the toilet water.

enjoy the rain today and remember to give thanks.

outtakes

oh the joys of having children who don't like having their picture taken...

or perhaps i should say, child who doesn't like her picture taken.

family adventures

i don't have strong views on halloween, i simply believe that what you choose to do, you should do so without guilt. without the feelings that you need to sight the ten sources on which you took this stance, without the need protect your views. i believe that as long as we are always willing to listen and search for truth, we will find it. we are all in this together, we all hear differently, we all want the best for our families and others.

on this day we decided to play at the aquarium.

and although there was a snow white whom i don't think mr. disney would be all that impressed with, there were some fun costumes to look at, great friends to share time with, and lots of pictures to help us remember our day, our day with five children, ages three and under.

sophie, gary, jane, charlee, bodhi, carleigh scott and penny

watching the beluga whales "whale, whale, whale" discovering sea life together...and feeding that life their lollipops waiting in great anticipation for the dolphin show to start

i have to say, i am so thankful for this friendship, they are truly beautiful people. seeing the dolphins from below through the sunlight tired and through a few tears, we say goodbye to the fish it was a great day. a day with treasured friends. a day to play with family. a day to remember God's creation is so very good.

a love affair

i have had since grade seven....that's eighteen years.

my ears are still ringing,

my voice is still raspy,

there is still a bass pounding in my chest.

but lets start at the beginning.

it was the summer between grade six and grade seven and we were up at cowichan lake on the island. we were at our friends cabin enjoying a piece of summertime, while music played softly in the background. vinyl records of a band i had never heard of before. todd showed me his whole collection. i was in awe. i was twelve.

when we returned home and before grade seven started i bought my very first tape, ever. i wasn't sure which one to buy, i had not remembered which album i liked the best from the time up at the cabin, but i had to choose one. so i did. zooropa. i played it over and over and over. flipping it from one side to the next. playing it in my walkman as i weeded outside. falling to sleep before the side was over and then hearing the sound of the play button popping up would wake me in alarm...time to flip it over. it was a great album.

over the years my mom and dad would tell me to turn my music down, what were they singing about anyway? and as i grew, i found other bands to listen to, the cranberries, sinead o'connor, ani difranco, jack johnson...but the constant, U2.

having being the lucky recipient of a friend who bought me tickets in grade twelve, i attended their "pop" concert. not the best, but it didn't matter, i was with my four favorite boys. adam, larry, the edge and bono...the world could not get any better than this.

then...

i was at camp with the boy of my dreams. it was a concert night and the band (russ smith) played mysterious ways, with reference to God so to be applicable to bible camp. i was so excited...but what made it even better, this dream boy of mine was beside me and grabbed my hand, put them up and the air and waved them back and forth, back and forth. are you serious, my life could have ended right there and then, i would have been fulfilled. sigh. side note...this boy doesn't remember any of this, but it's true!

so then,

they were coming to vancouver...dude, so excited...but don't have tickets. so sad. julie had VIP tickets, everyone was going, not me. until the afternoon of the day they were playing...yesterday. my dream boy found us tickets, we were going to hold hands during mysterious ways one more time...my heart was racing. for the rest of the day my armpits were sweaty with excitement. and then it hit me. there are 65,000 other fans who feel the same way about them as i do, and they (the boys), don't even know i exist. how is it possible to feel so excited about someone, somebodies, who don't know you? how is it possible that so many other people feel the same way about them that i do?

somehow it doesn't matter. half way through the concert i threw my arms around scott and hugged him tight.

i saw U2 last night,

my love affair continues,

my ears are still ringing,

my voice is still raspy,

there is still a bass pounding in my chest.

thank you scotty for a wonderful night.

there is still a smile on my face.

this is how i documented the night.

section 441, row zz, seat 4.

the very back.

in the parking lot...the start of the adventure on the train, it has been a really long time since we have done anything just the two of us! the stage the back row dude, here we go

the edge larry their first encore was a set of three songs, "one", "amazing grace", and "where the streets have no name"...this was the highlight of the highlight.

are you serious, i have to stop typing, i am getting excited all over again.

thanks scotty.