In which I break the silence and announce a new blog

It's been a long time since I've posted here, long in the internet sense of the word where everything is kept up to date to the second. 

It's been a good break, I've been living life and trying to be a little more intentional off-screen. 

We've unpacked and set up house, we've gone through final exams and papers, we've gone through a lot of coffee. 

We've had a deliciously refreshing Christmas break and we celebrated our little Kilmeny's third birthday. 

And now, it's back to school for Jared and back to routine for the rest of us. 

It's also a new year and a time for new beginnings which is why this will be my last post here. I've started a new blog, thisvintagemoment.com  and hope to share more photos, stories and life with you over there. 

I started this blog mainly as a place to share pictures and little bits about our days with our family and friends when we lived across the country from them. I'll still be sharing photos and stories about our life just in a different place and with a different focus. 

Thank-you so much for being here, for reading, for commenting (or not!), it's been lovely. Join me, over at this vintage moment where we make the most of the moments we have in a beautiful, simple, and intentional way. 

Growing and Being Quiet

Our household stuff has been packed up, driven across the country and will arrive at our doorstep tomorrow evening accompanied by some delightful people. We will go from living in very temporary surroundings to having all those rubber maid bins I packed up in June. 

It's going to be busy around here. 

The last couple months have been not what I thought they would be but they have been good. They have also been very hard in a lot of ways. Good and hard often go together to promote growth. 

I think I have growing pains. 

And so, I am going to take a little break. A little break from blogging, a little intentional quiet time. 

I'll be focusing on the very real life I live with my Jared and our two little girls. I'll be unpacking all.those.boxes. I'll be making the transition from hardly anything to everything as smooth as I can for my girls (really for all of us) and that requires me to be purposeful. 

I'm not sure how long of a break I'll be taking but I know that is needed.

Thank-you, as always, for reading and sharing this story with me. XO 

Five Minute Friday: Roots

I wasn't planning on writing anything today but I saw the prompt and I had too. Maybe you have to write as well or read stories of others, it's all at the gypsy mama's site.

4 provinces. 4 years. 2 little girls. 1 dream. 1 journey. 

I cried a little when I saw this week's prompt: Roots. Cried because that word resonates deep within me right now. 

We're doing something hard, something a little crazy but something that makes us so happy and so fulfilled. Something that we've been talking about since before we said our vows. A pursuit of a dream and a lifestyle that when we're old and gray and rocking away, we'll be glad we took the jump. 

It means uprooting, it means moving across the country. Twice. 

It means tears. Lots of them sometimes. It means deep happiness and the knowledge that we are more together then ever before. 

It means that our roots don't go down in just one town, in just one province, in just one country. It means that our roots are each other, that home is where ever we are. Together. The four of us. 

It means that our story is being written and these are the first few chapters. The hard bits. But the roots are going down.

linking up with Five Minute Friday, five minutes to just write. 

Don't Think. Just Breathe.

Sometimes I think too much, too much quiet pondering with not enough quiet around me. Sometimes I just need to close everything up and open the doors on a brisk autumn day and pick apples.

I could tell you about how the tide was out and the banks of the Cornwallis river were bare and exposed. Or how the farm was completely deserted except for our little band and that we just put our money in the honesty box. I could tell you all about the apples and how we taste tested to see which ones we wanted to bring home. 

I could tell you how the little one sat right down and ate apples and how the older one ran and ran. I could tell you how the clouds were brilliant, the sun so bright and all the leaves set aglow.

 I could tell how we filled our four bags in no time flat. And that I have no idea what I'll be doing with all the apples but they will be enjoyed.

I could tell you how the petting zoo was full of animals and one manical donkey who nibbled on everything, including us. And how Kilmeny knows exactly the sound pigs make and she will forever say that pigs are grumpy and that they don't say oink. It's more of a gutteral noise from the back of the throat, that makes us all laugh and laugh when she imitates it.

 I could tell you about the good it does one's soul just to stop thinking, to let all the wonderings be and fill one's lungs with fresh, brisk air.

I could tell you how we came home and made apple fritters and then ate them for supper with boiled eggs and tea, in true hobbit fashion. 

I will wish you brisk autumn air, and clarity for all the thoughts swirling in your mind. And for you, the chance to let it all go and just breathe. 

the gift of the hard times

Sometimes, the words come readily. Sometimes they don't. Sometimes there's time and quiet and a refreshed spirit. Sometimes there's not. 

But, all of it. It is all a gift.

Sometimes you miss your own family so bad. And friends. And the freedom to cry and share and know that she will understand you whether it's teething or tantrums or late nights or style quandaries or emotional roller coasters. 

And sometimes? You step out of your comfort zone and accept an invitation to a bonfire even though your husband is out of town and you have to be the parent, the extrovert, and yourself. Sometimes, you push the stroller all the way up the hill and join in celebrating a little friend's birthday. And through the laughter and sugar-induced excitement and the freedom of little children, you feel small roots going down and friendships becoming. 

And it is all a gift. 

p.s. I wrote this last week but never shared it, Jared is away again this week but I have my brother visiting. I'll share more from our adventures later this week. Thanks for being here. 

Embracing the Messy {finger paint recipe}

The mess that goes along with being a mom at times makes me (inwardly and sometimes outwardly) freak out. The toys, the books, the stuff pulled out of cupboards, the outfit changes, the laundry. It's a constant balancing act of washing, tidying, and putting away.

 But this, this creative mess. I love it. 

The delight on their faces when they realize they can smear the paint everywhere. The mixture of colors that creates new color. The mess that comes when they create.

It's beauty. 

And their sodden pieces of paper are works of art.  

Simple kitchen ingredients come together fast to make the paint. It didn't keep the kids occupied as long as I thought it might but it was fun. I loved the bright colors and smiles as they oozed the paint everywhere. They loved being able to make a mess and create beauty.

What messy beauty are you embracing today?

Project 365- Week 17

May 29-June 5 

1. A quick family picture, this is one of my favorite shots of us. Just happy and outside and together. 

2. A trip to the doctor resulted in both girls being on antibiotics. Not my first choice but it seemed to clear up the infections. 

3. And with the antibiotics, I upped our yoghurt intake by quite a bit! 

4. Beautiful tulips that Jared bought for him, and his picture of them. 

5. Love this picture of my girls sharing life and books together. Their jammies are adorable and I love being able to capture moments like this. 

6. Late-night cuddles with the Khaira-baby. 

7. Chilling at Mosher Sr. house. 

 

Adventures of the Moving Sort

New York City, 2010

I  remember the conversation well, we were sitting on the couch and talking about some of our dreams and what we wanted out of life. He said how someday he wanted to take his wife on a year long trip around the world.

I smiled. 

I think I said something along the lines of, 'oh, that would be an amazing trip.'

Inside, I was jumping and down, saying 'pick me! pick me! I want to travel the world too! '

New Zealand, 2008

 9 months later, we were walking through security together, having just hugged our families goodbye. We were headed on that trip around the world.

 First stop: Hawaii. 

Since that time we have lived in three out of the ten provinces in Canada. We've rented basement suites in the heart of the city, we've lived on a farm in rural Alberta, we've lived with family and we've lived with friends. 

We've never stopped dreaming big, never stopped talking about what we want out of life, and what we feel our calling is. 

Beijing, China, 2009 

This fall we're going to be embarking on of our biggest adventures yet. 

We're moving across Canada. 

To Nova Scotia. 

Land of New Scotland, of beautiful scenery and most relevant to us: home of Acadia University.

Jared will be studying music at the university and I will be thrilled to be at this side, sharing in this incredible opportunity. 

2 years ago, we took a plunge into the world of music. We lived out East for most of 2010, playing with the National Academy Orchestra and studying with some of the masters in Montreal. We came back to Edmonton hoping to win a symphony audition but with only one chair available and 12 candidates, it was not meant to be. 

We spent the next year and half working at a bank and settling into life. We had two girls now and figured that the music dream just wasn't meant to be.

 Then things started happening and the music door opened. It opened wide with an invitation to attend Acadia with a scholarship. It opened wide with hope and direction and peace and incredible excitement. 

We've been quiet about it for a few months, figuring a lot of the details out and discerning if we should do make this move or not. It's been stretching, emotionally exhausting, and yet the best thing for us. 

Edmonton, Alberta, 2012

 Our flights are booked for the end of August. And we're excited.

 

A little Soul Nourishment

We took a little time away, my man and I.
 We flew across the mountains to a place by the ocean, where winter's grip has lessened.
 We stepped outside to blue skies and fresh breezes and cheery yellow daffodils swaying in the wind.

 

I couldn't stop smiling. I took huge gulps of the fresh, salt-scented air, hearing the calls of the gulls, the warmth of the sun on my face and letting my spirit become quiet. I.love.the.ocean. It has always been one of my very happy places. I feel at rest inside and everything seems okay when I'm by the water.

We ate. A lot. We had a couple specific restaurants that we were really looking forward to trying as well as re-visiting some favorites. 

We took a lot of pictures, trying in some way to capture the beauty that surrounded us. To freeze those feelings.

We talked. A lot. Life is different when it's just the two of you and a happy, content baby without her spunky, never-sits-still older sister. We slept. We explored new places and got caught in the rain.

 We walked. A lot. Alongside the harbor, past the float planes, amongst the yachts.

We spent time, how much I don't even know, at an old favorite bookstore finding new treasures for our shelves and just soaking up the old book smell and perusing pages of old friends.

 

We spent time with family, talking and laughing and making new memories to add to the treasure box. 

It wasn't everything that I expected it to be, I'll be honest. There was a little detox that needed to happen, a lot of talking things over, and time to just be quiet and let it all sort itself out.

And in the end, it was all refreshing. I felt re-charged and ready to embrace life again with all its uncertainties, all its hopes and dreams, and all the everyday moments.