Switching Foots and Past Blasting

Due to camera issues, these are pictures taken from last summer. As our issues get sorted out, I figure it's good to post pictures of something we're all looking forward to anyway - the summer.

We have had a massive week around here. First, I am the current Lord of Catan. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go look up Settlers of Catan. If you look at the game and think you won't like it, then it is very simple:

You have a bad attitude.

Now on to this past Thursday night. Michelle and I (Kaelyn and Zoe too) drove to Edmonton to go and take in Switchfoot at Red's in West Edmonton Mall (courtesy of Doug and Megan's Christmas present to us). We were pretty excited, just due to the fact that it'd be our first date in quite some time. We got there, and Copeland opened for Switch, which was pretty great because we like some of their stuff. But in comparison to Switchfoot, WOW! I would say without a doubt that that was the best concert I have ever attended. Michelle and I were right out front of the band, and it was incredible. Unfortunately, we have no recent pictures because of our lack of camera battery charging, but you'll have to take my word for it:

It was amazing.

The concert was a few hours long, and there were so many moments when you were just in awe that we didn't even notice we had stood through the whole thing. Sure, our backs were a little sore, but man, was it worth it! Their new CD, Oh Gravity!, is pretty incredible too. Give it a listen if you get the chance. Kind of a trad-Switch/surfy feel to it. Dig it. One great thing about the band: despite their big-name status, Switchfoot works pretty hard at staying humble. I really appreciate that about any large-name act. On that note too, Bri, I still have your autographed Switchfoot CD. I need to get it to you (or you can come visit).

So, on the way home from the concert the next day, we got a flat tire and I'm proud to say, not only was I not able to change the tire, I couldn't even get the jack out. So I did the next best thing. I drove to Canadian Tire. When in doubt, Canadian Tire it out. It turned out to be an adventure in itself, because we had Zoe, a tired Kaelyn, and Michelle and I out of our car for half an hour (we went to Tim Horton's) while the car got fixed. An hour later, we were back on the road for home!

So with that, I'll leave you to your night/day! Hurray! February is almost over! I'll do another post on a more energy-filled night!

Shhhhh! Picasso at Work!

Note the intensity with which the artist displays her work. It speaks from the depth of her life experience; the things she has seen. It is a remarkable translation of societal movements viewed from the artist's vantage point. And her dexterity and range of motion leave nothing to chance.

She is...a fingerpainter.

That's what Kaelyn and Michelle were up to this week. Kaelyn's been harder to entertain as the day goes on, so they're taking up fingerpainting. And next week, we're working on a felt board because the Advent felt calendar was such a hit. So we'll see what cooks up on the felt board as the week goes on.

You certainly know you're friendly if you can outgreet the Wal-Mart greeter. Michelle was in the checkout so K and I were walking around the Wal-Mart entrance to the mall. Every time we walked by the greeter, she would say, "Bye bye." She charmed the Wal-Mart greeter. She's quite a bit of fun walking in the mall too, because she'll try and pull you in the direction she wants to go. Even if she weighs only 25 pounds, she can be persuasive. She leans back and pulls at your finger (she only likes holding one at a time) until the decision is made (sometimes we go her way, other times we go mine). For the most part though, if you keep going back to the "neighs" (the horsey merry-go-round), you're fine. Or just find a ball in a store. Or somebody her size who she can talk to. She's pretty easy going.

So this week was definitely a fast week. I put in 60+ hours in three and a half days working on an event at the church (which happened last night). And we had about 120 teens show up! That's really not the whole story though, because the band that we got was absolutely amazing. Gifted, talented, fun, relatable. It was an incredible night. For those of you who know him, Jimmy Rushton (who led the band) is an incredibly gifted individual. And a very good friend. Pretty stunning night though. We rented lights (which I learned how to set up), we had several high quality videos, a great actor, and then I got to speak at the end of the night. All in all, a fantastic night, and an exhausting next day! We were all pretty wiped today, so we sat back, did very little, and loved every minute of it. I really haven't spent that much time with Kaelyn and Michelle, so these next few days will be very nice.

So aside from work, things keep moving along here at home. Kaelyn continues to grow her vocabulary and opinions. She really likes walking around the house in her momma's "shees" (shoes), and today we found that she'll even wear her mom's jacket! She's playing more games too, and will sometimes just spend time exploring. But as always, just give her a ball, and she will play. Pretty enjoyable little one.

Michelle has been tutoring over these last few weeks and enjoying that quite a bit. Who knows? Maybe she'll start a tutoring business! She had quite an encouragement too when her student got a 94% on his math exam. That was a great boost to her week as well.

So with that, the intention is to post a bit more over these next few days, but I wanted to leave you with some recent pictures of our little goof tearing around the house! These pictures are getting increasingly hard to come by, because she doesn't like the flash of the camera. To get these coat pictures, I had to chase her around the house and surprise her with the camera. Little mover!

The Life of Kaelyn

Busy.

Very Busy.

As I've looked at pictures over the last few days, I've realized just how busy our little one is. At this moment, she's on her toy horsey holding four balls and her big teddy bear. Or she's trying to walk in my shoes. Or mommy's shoes. Or she's wanting to turn the TV on. Or she's clomping around the upstairs in her "shees" (shoes) and you can hear her stomp around the entire circle of the main floor. Now she's putting the balls away in her kitchen. And the entire time she's doing anything, she's also talking.

She's definitely a girl.

There's a bit of an art form in translating 17-month-old speak. Kaelyn's saying so many words and phrases now, it's just fun to sit and listen to her. She just said "It's a whee!" What that means is that she's pushing her teddy bear on the toy horse.

Girl. Definitely.

So our little girl continues to be such a gift. Her camel sound is so cute (she hocks a loogee), her many phrases are fun just to listen to, and she's definitely a social butterfly. Yesterday in church, I asked the nursey worker if it was okay to drop Kaelyn off. She said it was no problem, because she doesn't play strange and will just play with everyone. Kind of a nice thing to hear. Her two buddies in the nursery are Seth and Josh, but she likes kissing Josh a little bit more. She can continue to do that until she's three, when she will no longer be allowed to play with boys until she's forty or so. Dad's rules.

This week has certainly had its ups and downs. I was away at youth pastor's retreat from Tuesday to Thursday, which was pretty...boring. But least I got a ton of ping pong games in. I raced back to Sherwood Park on Thursday, and then we raced home. Not the first time I've felt this way, but it was sure nice to get back to Hinton. That's right. You heard it here. Nice.

Friday and Saturday were a little more user friendly. I myself got a lot of work done, spent some quality time with family and a few friends, and of course, I WON AT SETTLERS. Some would like to think I brag a lot about my victories. While that may have a bit of truth to it, I would view it differently. What I'm really trying to do is restore pride to winning. By bragging about my victories, I make Michelle's few victories that much sweeter. So really, I'm trying to serve her by making sure my victories get the attention they deserve in the discussion of our lives. Actually, you could more accurately look at my "bragging" as humility. Just trying to serve everyone around me by restoring the definition of victory.

Oh, I won at Saskatchewan Roughriders Cribbage this morning too. At 9:30am. First game. First win.

In order to serve you, the reader, I think it would be good...instructive even, to give you a riddle to improve your day:

What happens as consistently as the sun rising each morning, the noon day hunger arriving, and each night bringing sleep?

Answer: The victories of Shaun.

Good hey? Again, I just want to emphasize for everyone out there that this is not "bragging", but instead it is serving. Humility. That's what I'm all about. I'm easily the most humble person I know.

So at any rate, not too exciting of a week around here. We're just settling back in, getting ready for a very busy week to come. Things are pretty melty around here, but we're about to see a colder week come upon us once again. There's isn't much snow left actually, except back in the trees; that's the one thing I dislike about Hinton. Well, that and the fact that it's not built on a white sand beach in the Dominican. Hm....

So with that, I'll leave you all to your week! We'll be harder to reach on the phone, because I'm spending this week on the street interviewing people. Should be much fun, but a little intimidating at times. Long live video production!

Have a great week!

Your very humble servant, Shaun the Victorious (and humble)