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May 6, 2010 - 9:32 PM  I've been doing a fair bit of driving this week, working in courthouses in Fort Macleod, Taber, and Brooks. I didn't even realize that these towns had their own courthouses. I learn something new every day. For example, did you know that the court house in Brooks has but one court room? It's true. That court room has but one retiring room for the judge, that retiring room has but one rest room, that rest room has but one toilet, and I plugged it. A sense of nervousness I am not accustomed to arose in me along with the water in the bowl — and I immediately began to pray and fast. I'm not sure what the legal ramifications of plugging a judicial john are, but obstruction of justice comes to mind...  I do believe one of the reasons I worked at Sylvania Lighting Services as long as I did, apart from the daily satisfaction of brightning lives everywhere I went, was that I have long had a fascination with light and shadows and the moods & feelings they can induce. Picture in your mind a warm, inviting, relaxing room. What makes such a space so pleasant? I'd be willing to bet a good part of it is the lighting... I have several old incandescant light bulbs that I've been saving for lamps and decorative fixtures, and as you can see in the picture the distortions in the glass create unique textures and patterns of shadow on the surfaces it illuminates. I love this picture.  The girls have been quite involved in the renovations as we have been preparing a room for our oldest daughter. This will free up her existing room to become a nursery closer to our bedroom. My dad has been over almost every night for the past couple of weeks transforming a cold, empty corner into a beautiful bedroom.  Kristi took her to the bookstore to look at some fashion and decor magazines to see if she could get some ideas for her own room. We wanted to give her as much creative control over the space as possible, and were simply blown away at the colors and design she picked. When you see the room, remember that it's colors and style were picked by a seven year old!  Of course, what's the fun of picking your paint if you don't get to apply some of it?  Learning how to use the roller. Oops! That's the ceiling!   Every good painter knows you have to clean your brushes after you use them.  When they weren't helping, they were watching my dad work away, usually perched upon a ladder or stool of some sort. I couldn't help but think back to all the times I also watched my dad work when I was a wee lad. How things have come full circle.  Kristi's mom came out from BC and stayed with us for a week, and I'm sure she didn't stop working from the time she arrived until the time I drove her to the airport. I honestly don't think we could make it through this time in our lives if it wasn't for the incredible help and sacrifices of both our families. We are both incredibly thankful for all their help and support. It is greatly appreciated. My mom has kept our fridge stocked and our bellies full, often bringing ready-made suppers and lunches for us to re-heat. Blair and Alissa came over today and painted the nursery for us. We are truly blessed by our families.   I couldn't post pictures without including at least one of the baby belly Kristi is boasting. She is such a beautiful mother and woman. I love her very much, and she has made this experience as fun as it has been exciting.   This is one of the better pictures of the color scheme on the back feature wall. Not a bad design for a seven year old!  All the hard work has paid off. Tonight the new room is occupied for the first time, and it's resident couldn't be more pleased. When I was tucking her in tonight, I asked her what she was looking forward to the most about being in her new room. "Spending time by myself, reading, coloring, drawing, writing..." was the reply. It will be interesting to see how being a floor apart from the rest of the family affects her in the months and years to come. May 13, 2010 - 9:57 PM Season of Growth Dare we think the snow is gone?  I saw many lawn sprinklers out this afternoon as I drove home from the dentist. Happy are the days that are full of green grass beneath spraying sprinklers. I'm fighting off the urge to install an underground sprinkler system in my yards. Fighting it not because it wouldn't be a good thing or bring value to the property and greener grass, but because I can't afford to start any new projects right now, what with the pending arrivals of two life-long projects on the horizon. I've been discovering that the put off what I want to do in favor of the needs of the children mentality runs deep within the role of parenting. Who would have thought?  I had a root canal today. Twenty-nine years old and already having root canals. Kids, BRUSH YOUR TEETH! I say it now because I have to, not necessarily because I expect you to listen. For I too was once a young lad, invincible and omnipotent, throwing such senseless cautions to the wind and not brushing my teeth as I pleased. And here I am, smacked in the mouth with the consequences of my folly. Oh to have the knowledge of the aged with the vigor of youth! In case you missed it, those are two inch-long probes drilled into the root of my teeth. This was taken in preparation for the X-Ray to confirm that the roots of the tooth had been successfully and completely removed prior to inserting plastic rods and melting them in place with a soldering iron. You read that right, they push plastic sticks into the holes they've drilled in your tooth and then heat the tooth with a soldering iron to melt the plastic into place! I had smoke coming out my gaping mouth! That's a pleasant smell! In case you missed it, have a look again:  My motorcycle, a 2000 Honda VTR 1000 FireStorm, is up for sale. So far I've posted it in the Bargain Finder (buysell.com) and Kijiji. (kijiji.ca) My dad and I cleaned it up the other day and I have to say, it's never looked so good! Hopefully someone out there is looking for such a sexy bike...   After I returned from the dentist, my mouth was still frozen and Kristi started laughing, saying that I looked like an "Adorable stroke victim" with my half-hearted smile. What do you think?   It's ultrasounds every two weeks from here on in for Kristi. Definitely one of the many perks to having twins is the more frequent use of this amazing technology. Both babies are about 4 pounds each and still growing at the rate of singletons! Kristi's into her 32nd week now, and everything is looking perfect. One of the comments Kristi's received a lot (and from a lot of different people) lately is Oh my goodness, you're the size of a HOUSE! "A duplex" was my witty addition to that comment. Fortunately for all, she has a wonderful sense of humor about the whole thing. I'm sure if I received house-like comments as often as she has, I'd probably have a complex of some sort. Maybe a housing ... complex? *sigh* I must again thank the many people who have come over with meals, cleaning, child-walking-to-the-bus services and keeping Kristi company during the day. The support is greatly appreciated and we are all very grateful to everyone who has played a part in making this family work.  These are a few of my favorite things... My work took me through Claresholm the other day and of course - I couldn't pass up a chicken kebob from the 7-Eleven there. Sadly, it was the worst kebob I've ever had from there - quite a stark contrast from their usual fantastic—ness.   My travels around southern Alberta last week took me through some older provincial buildings, and in one I came across this wonderful relic of computing history: An eight inch floppy disk.   You have to love the prairie sky.  As the shoemaker's children go barefoot, so it is with my computers of late. I had not one but two computers die horrible deaths in the last week or so, leaving my house without Internet access. Both computers had capacitors bulge on them, though in different places. On the one it was beside the processor and every couple of minutes the screen would jump to random characters and flashing happy faces. The other computer, while still very stable, had two of the exact same capacitors fail beside the south bridge controller, and consequently NONE of it's PCI slots work, and only one of the two onboard ethernet controllers is functional. *sigh* So now I am trying to sell some stuff on eBay to see if I can scrounge some money together for a new computer. Kind of a fun project in and of itself. We'll see how it goes! May 30, 2010 - 1:23 AM The Twins Have Arrived! And life will never be the same.     May 31, 2010 - 7:58 PM Big News! We've Got Babies!      It's not easy being this little. Our little bundles do a lot of sleeping, interrupted only by feeding, changing, and measuring. The doctors have told us that as soon as they can feed on their own, we can bring them home. They've already had their IV's removed, and are now only being watched in the NICU until they meet the last take-home stipulation! Thanks to everyone who has prayed for us and lent us their hands. Our hearts overflow with gratitude at this most joyous occasion!      BACK to Journal Index |