Is it really the end of June?!?!

I have had a crazy couple of weeks! I had the opportunity to perform live with Ira for Aboriginal Day here in Lethbridge (thanks for watching my kids for me, Mom...I couldn't have performed if you hadn't been here!). I was able to spend an evening coaching a group of local teens in stage performance, vocals and keyboards. They performed for the STARS benefit this afternoon and did a great job! I've been writing like crazy trying to finish up the songs for my album. In the meantime Declan has completed grade one near the top of his class and Rowan is still busy being the "royal" of the house! I'm working full time for an architect in town and John has gone down to part time with Safeway. It's a loooong story. I don't think I'll get into it. At any rate, I'm basically busy from 7am - 1am between work, studio time, practise, and kids. At some point, John and I really need to take a break, I just don't know when that will happen. I'm praying for a free weekend in July to whisk him away for a little couple time. Hopefully that will hold us for a little while.

Gotta run...more to do! Have a great week everyone!

Happy Father's Day...

I love Father's Day. I love doing something totally unexpected for my husband to show him how much I appreciate his role in our children's lives. This Father's Day was a little weird for me. I was working for most of it, practising for the upcoming concert. So a lot of the things I would normally do on Father's Day, like call my Dad (I'm sorry Dad, I love you! There's a card waiting for you when you get home) didn't happen. I did get to do a few things though...

I made brunch for my husband...his favorite. French toast, bacon, and a tray of cut up fresh fruit. We gave him gifts...Declan bought him a lava lamp (he's always wanted one), Rowan got him a Celtic Football shirt, and I got him the best of John Cleese's Monty Python on DVD. He said later that it was the best Father's Day ever. I'm glad I could do that for him. I was sad not to be able to spend the whole day with him, but he was very understanding about my practise time. I went to a larger studio with all the musicians that will be playing in the concert and we practised like mad things until we were sure we had our songs down pat.

Fathers are amazing to me. I'm convinced there is no one in the world with the energy of my Dad. He always made time to do things with us (even when he should have been sleeping or studying or something). We went ice skating, tobaganing, walking, we played frisbee, baseball, we chased eachother around the house (I can only remember two houses out of the many we've lived in that didn't have some sort of "racetrack"). In the summer Dad would take us to St.Vital park and make us run through the exercise track there...you had to climb things, swing on ropes, balance on logs, it was a lot of fun. We'd make him do the tough stuff like chin ups! Dad is always up for a moterbike ride or just sitting and chatting about whatever. He used to sit in the kitchen when we came home from school and talk with us until supper time and beyond. He taught us how we should be treated by the men in our lives and encouraged us to think for ourselves and learn from our mistakes. I can't imagine how hard it was for him to watch us when we went in the wrong direction...I do know he spent a lot of time praying for us and it shows in the women my sister and I have turned into. Dad, I love you!!!

The excitement builds...

I have been working for the past 5 months with a local artist by the name of Ira Provost. He is an Aboriginal man who has created an album of educational songs about the history of the Blackfoot Nation. This week the album was completed.

I did all the background vocals (with the exception of two songs) and all keyboard work. I love this album. It has a great sound (sort of blue rodeo with a Native influence) and a wonderful story. The artwork on the cover of the album was created by Ira's daughter, Miracle. She used makeup as her medium! It's a beautiful picture of Chief Mountain.

We will be performing 5 songs from the album on June 21 at Galt Gardens in Lethbridge for Aboriginal Day. This is really exciting as many of us worked on this album, but most of us have never met! We had our first practise session last night which went really well. We have two more before the concert. Hopefully we have good weather as the concert is outside!

If you're interested in hearing some bits of what's on the album, or if you're interested in buying one, click on Ira's name at the beginning of this post. It will take you to my producer's site where there are links to listen to parts of the songs. There is also contact information if you would like to purchase a copy.

So check it out! Sit back and enjoy some easy listening music. I know I will be!

News from the homefront...

Greetings All! Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Things have been crazy busy here. I just finished the final touches on an album for a man by the name of Ira Provost. It should be ready to be distributed by Monday. I did background vocals on all but one song and keyboard work on some of the songs. The album is a collection of educational songs and stories about the Blackfoot Nation. It is a wonderful tribute to their heritage. I'll have more details on how to listen to a sample of the disc and possibly buy one if you're so inclined in a future post.

I am also working on commercial voice overs and jingles. I have now done 8 radio voice overs and am currently working on two radio jingles. It's challenging work but thanks to the wonder of technology, I can do most of the work right on my computer. That makes things much easier for me.

Declan has now lost two teeth in total and his face looks totally different! He's in the final month of school which is always hard because the weather is so nice. Lucky for him that the school has planned three field trips this month...all outside water type activities so that should help break up his days.

Rowan is your standard two year old who is full of laughter, mischief, and defiance. She's learning her boundaries which is always tough. She loves swinging on the swingset in the park and sliding down the slide with no help. Her favorite snack is marshmallows and she can always be bribed with chocolate chips....no...she's not like her mother at all! ;)

John has decided not to go for management training at Safeway. Taking that step would mean moving to Calgary in January and that's just not something we want to do. Instead, he is taking a pay cut and limiting his hours. I will be taking a part time job as well as working at the studio with other artists, commercials, and my own album. This means that John and I won't see eachother as much as we used to...but on the upside, we both feel at peace with our decision to stay. Declan is in a great school and we like this town. We don't want to mess with that right now.

So that's all the news that's fit to print. Look for more updates soon!

I love my husband...

I can't really say anything for a couple of weeks yet but I wanted to let you all know that John and I have passed that T-intersection we were in. We considered all the possibilities and came up with a solution that gives us both a feeling of total peace.

I am beyond moved at the love and encouragement John gives me. He is so aware of the needs of his family and wants whatever is best for everyone involved. There was such a spirit of cooperation through all of this and I know it's because our friends and family have been praying for us. Thank you! I know that there will be more challenges, but we will get through them.

That's all for now...think I'm going to go hug my hubby!

Ahhhh...sleep....

Last night for the first time in many many nights...I actually slept. I slept through the night and then had a nap this morning while Rowan was playing! It's amazing how a lack of sleep can disturb the way you think, how you feel about things, and the way you react to people and situations. I was having a really hard time processing everything that was going on around me! Now I understand why, when something really stressful happens like a death or something, doctors will often prescribe sleeping pills. If you don't sleep, you can't process everything that's going on. You're more prepared to handle things if you've slept for a decent length of time.

I still haven't totally caught up on my sleep, but last night was a great start! To all who have been praying for me...thank you! I've still got a lot on my plate, but I'm better prepared to handle it now.

Think I'll take another nap...

Prayer...

Prayer is a hard thing for me these days. I have so much going on in my head, I have even more going on physically. I feel like I have no words to pray. I just ache and turn my eyes to God. I am so thankful that I have a God who listens to my heart, not just my words. Sometimes our best prayers are the groanings that make no sense to the human ear, they are the most truthful.

There's nothing I want to talk about, I don't want to unload on anyone right now. Sometimes we just have to work out these dark days with God and no one else. So on that note, even though I don't want to talk about it, please remember me in your prayers as I try and dig myself out of this hole I'm currently in. It seems pretty steep but I have faith that God and I can work it out.