seasons greetings.

Merry Christmas, everybody!  Here's a little holiday cheer from Mr. Sammy Davis Jr....



and for your viewing pleasure...Christmas all over the world.

via the atlantic.

festival of lights.

VanDusen Botanical Garden, Vancouver.

longhorn.

joshua creek ranch. boerne, texas

"To move, to breathe, to fly, to float,

To gain all while you give, 

To roam the roads of lands remote: To travel is to live."  ~hans christian andersen


(chuckanut drive, washington state)

agassiz fall fair.

Last September, we headed out to the annual Agassiz Fall Fair.  Started out with rain, but it didn't stop the hard-cores who braved the wetness to watch the opening parade.  We took shelter in the showcase building to view homemade baking, handicrafts, and artwork.  The last time we went, we went to the barn too late and missed most of the livestock.  This time we saw giant bunnies, buzz cut dairy cows, funky-looking chickens, and even watched a 4-H rabbit competition.  Then it was lunch and the real reason we go...bbq chicken and corn on the cob.  Amazing.  We enjoyed our meal while watching a Johnny Cash tribute.  Classic fall fair.

It was as big as his head.

helluuuuu again.

Time flies when you're doing life. For those of you who are curious, a little update:

~Matt started his MBA at Trinity Western U. specializing in Non-Profit Management.  It was a bit of a rough start (how fun can financial accounting and management really be), but I think he's settled in and enjoying it just a little bit more than before with courses that actually have to do with "non-profity" subjects.  I have to say, I think he's a much better student than I was; he gets his papers and assignments in on time. 
~He's still working at Pacific Academy as an Educational Assistant for the high school.  Next year, he'll be taking a group of students to help with UrbanPromise Honduras for their spring break trip.  Needless to say, I'm excited for/jealous of him.

~I've changed jobs from being an ESL teacher downtown to working with Union Gospel Mission in the downtown Eastside.  Why the change?  1. I got a layoff notice in the Fall and needed a back-up plan. 2. Lesson prep was filling up my evenings and weekends and I was beginning to resent it. 3. I was feeling more frustrated than fulfilled in my job.  What am I doing?  I'm working at the Women and Families Centre implementing a new program that involves coordinating a team of support for someone with complex needs to help with long-term improvement.  It's pretty cool, but a bit overwhelming.  So much to learn.  But I don't have to take work home with me which is pretty sweet.  And I have my own real office!

Here are a few pics from the past couple of months.  I realize I'm uber behind in going through my photos and posting some...all the way back to my time in Korea.  I've lost any motivation to take pictures because I'm so backlogged and taking new pictures just means getting behind even further.  However...I'm going to attempt to pull out my old photos and start posting them.  I have so much to show you from my/our past travels, and life in general, in the last couple of years.  So here begins a a whole lot o' flashbacking...

A day at the PNE with barnyard animals and Peking Acrobats.

And a day trip to Fairhaven, Bellingham with friends.  Wandered through antique stores and touristy shops,
and ended up at Rocket Donuts for a sweet treat.That's a bacon maple bar...that's right...'bacon.'  Weirdly enough, it was so good.

meeting a white dude for the first time

I grew up with dreams of being a missionary to some crazy tribe in the middle of the jungle, and being the first Westerner ever to contact them. These un-contacted tribes are nearly all gone now.  Many people think its abhorrent for missionaries, or any Westerners, to interrupt these peoples pristine existence and to let them continue living as they have for hundreds of year. On the other hand, some people say that these people are going to get in contact with the rest of the world eventually, and better a missionary or someone looking out for their rights, then a government or corporation looking to exploit them (as has happened countless times in the past). It will be interesting to see how humans deal with these last remaining un-contacted tribes in these last few years.

I don't know the background to this clip, what profession this white man has or the purpose of contacting this tribe. I'm also not sure how I feel about their choice, and how they so frivolously keep blowing apart these people's worlds by continually showing them "new" trinkets and gadgets. There are some huge responsibilities that come with introducing a culture and people to the outside world, one that I'm not sure I would want. Regardless, it is a fascinating video and interesting to think about. The music makes it all the more magical. Enjoy.

greatest video.

Do yourself a favour and watch this video, it will blow you away. If I could do half of what these guys can, I'd die happy.


enjoy.

seadog.

Steveston, Richmond

an evening exhibition.

Victoria, BC.

springtime.

Butchart Gardens, Victoria, BC

i heart faces: soft & sweet.

soft & sweet love.

Check out other entries at I Heart Faces.

i will sing you morning lullabies.

i heart faces: pets

Two-toed baby sloth.  How could you not fall in love with this face?

Photo was taken at the Aviarios Sloth Sanctuary in Costa Rica.  Although technically not "pets", the sloths are rescued and rehabilitated from life-threatening situations often involving encroaching urban development or harmful human interaction.  These special animals receive much care and love from the organization's workers and volunteers and are treated like family.

Check out more adorable pet/animal photos at I Heart Faces.

we worry about what a child will become tomorrow.

...yet we forget that he is someone today.  ~stacia tauscher

i heart faces: wind.

See other entries at I Heart Faces.

puddles were made for this.

i heart faces : shadows.

I Heart Faces is a photography website that runs weekly photo challenges.  I've been needing some motivation to cultivate this hobby of mine, so I thought I'd join in the fun.

This week's theme is "Shadows."  Photo was taken at the Illuminares Lantern Festival, a sweet community event held in Vancouver.  Check out other entries at I Heart Faces.

In lieu of the everymonday photo, I wanted to share yet another rockstar gift given to me by my rockstar husband.  As I was getting ready for bed after our anniversary date night, I noticed Matt sitting on the bed as if he had something on his mind.  Out of the blue, he asks me if I wanted my gift.  Now I was a little shocked because I thought we had agreed on no gifts this time around.  He proceeded to go into the closet and grab my guitar.  My eyes widened as I thought he was going to sing the song that I had always hoped he would write for me.  Close.

I've mentioned before a song that we love and played at our wedding.  Home by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros means a lot to us because with all the travels we've done in our lives so far, the saying, "Home is where the heart is," has grown to a have a profound and special meaning to us.  We have had to learn to invest and settle into many different places around the world that had eventually become home to us.  Now "home" has come to mean what we've become to each other; that no matter where we are or where we're going, we have a place of love, warmth, and security in each others' hearts.

And here's Matt's rewrite.  I had to sing it with him, which was a big deal cause Matt thinks he can't sing, nor does he sing in front of other people.  It was beyond amazing. 

Home 

(rewritten by Matt) 

Alabama, Arkansas, I do love my Ma & Pa

Not the way that I do love you

Well, holy moley, me, oh my, you’re the apple of my eye
Girl, I’ve never loved one like you

Man, oh man, you’re my best friend, I scream it to the nothingness
There ain’t nothin’ that I need

Well, peanut butter, baleadas, coco flan, cafe granitas
There ain’t nothin’ please me more than you

Chorus:
Ahh, Home
Let me come Home
Home is wherever I’m with you
(2x)
La la la la, take me Home
Mama, I’m coming Home

Costa Rica and Cheongju, Philippines, Honduras, too
I've been everywhere with you

I'll follow you in wilderness, spider babies, mosquito nets
Boy, I never loved one like you 

We laugh until we think we’ll die, barefoot on a summer night
Nothin’ new is sweeter than with you

And in the sticks we’re running free, like it’s only you and me
Geez, you’re something to see

Chorus

La la la la, take me Home
Daddy, I’m coming Home

“Kristin?”
“Matthew”
“Do you remember that day you got sick at Toby's?”
“I sure do, you walked me home.”
“Well, you fell into bed, nearly passed out.  Do you remember that?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Well, there’s something I never told you about that night.”
“What didn’t you tell me?”
“While you were lying in bed, thinking it was gonna be your last, I was falling deep, deeply in love with you,
and I never told you ‘til just now.”

Chorus

Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver

one year and counting.

this day a year ago, we said "I do" to each other.  woop woop.

(photo by Pure Light Studio)

ethereal.

I think they're fascinating.  I can stare at them for hours.

spring break + nephews = a trip to the aquarium.

We took the nephews to the Vancouver Aquarium last week.  Forgot that it was Spring Break for many schools so the place was packed with kids galore.  Fun was had by all...searching for a cave-hiding octopus, touching sea anemones, watching/helping Dora the Explorer save Amazon animal families, learning about the beluga whale melon, and, of course, searching for the sloth...until the very end, when what we expected to be an exciting Discovering Reef Sharks show turned out to be "so boring."  But we figured it was our cue that it was about time to go home, plus the fact that we had already spent about four hours there.  Managed to not lose anyone.  That is, if you don't count Auntie Kristin turning around for one moment to attend to the "bored" nephew, only to turn back and notice the other one was not where he was standing before.  A few minutes of minor frantic searching (let me remind you it was Spring Break in a dimly lit exhibition hall) and finally I spotted a shaggy blond top standing patienty with the shark lady host.

"I just wanted to ask her a question," says the inquisitive nephew.  Big sigh.

Regardless of a boring shark show, a short brothers time-out, and crusts on the lunch sandwich, I still think we scored some aunt/uncle brownie points.

Sporting cool 3D glasses for the Dora the Explorer movie.

Nemo found.

The scuba diver with the sharks wasn't that boring.