Some Christmas Surprises

Kristen spent a week in a small town near Knoxville, Tennessee with Andy's family. She came home with this beautiful, unique bowl, made from a beech tree. Carved into the bottom of the bowl. Thanks Kristen, Andy and Mark!

And, on Christmas morning, a surprise from Sinterklaas. He visits homes in the Netherlands on the 6th of December so it's no wonder it took him until the 25th to get to Canada. Sinterklaas knows what I like: Chocolate, red wine, an iTunes card and an orange. The Guinness is for Wes.

I think it was Eric who let him know our new address.

Grandma Linda Days

I must get back to posting a little more regularly but it seems that for the last 6 months, all I could think of was renovations. And that gets old, really fast. How many times can I complain about the dust and mud before I lose all of my faithful readers?

So...what to write about.

My adorable granddaughter will be hanging out with me one day a week starting in March. I am looking forward to spending time with her. Oh the things we will do!

Many years ago, I would hang out with my 2 nephews one day a week. The boys called these days "Auntie Linda days." Those were fun times. They'd watch a movie, play with different toys, read and create with glue, tape and markers. We usually managed to get out once a day, to visit the mall, go to a pet store, or, weather permitting, go to a park.

I am looking forward to creating memories with Aryana, to starting "Grandma Linda days."

I will post a picture of the lovely Aryana but I need some help from our resident tekkie first. For now, you will find a photo here.

Got a new computer

It's a Mac. One of the people who live here has convinced us that Apple is the way to go. We were having lots of trouble with our old lap top and needed something faster and more up to date. Now, we're just trying to figure things out.

This computer is faster than a speeding bullet. Wow! All I have to do is figure out how to work it. There is a CD that I stuck into the CD spot but I don't know how to make it work. Have to wait until the house tekkie gets home. Micah has been mighty busy setting all of this up for us in addition to supporting and advising others in this house about everything related to technology.

Handy to have someone so willing to help out living so close by.

I wrote this post about 3 weeks ago...

Well.

We have moved in. To our house. When we first moved 6 1/2 months ago, it was home. Then it became "the house." Later, we referred to it as "Dumoulin." Now, it is "our house" and in only 2 or 3 or maybe 4 or 5 weeks, we will once again call it "home".Our bedroom is mostly finished. We use 2 washrooms, one for the shower/bath and toilet and the powder room which has a working sink. The 100 year old floors have been refinished and are looking beautiful as is the newly installed cork that seems to fit in so well with the old/new look of this house.

The basement apartment is our current living/kitchen space which we share with Rob, Michele, Joey and Micah and the two dogs, of course. Almost every evening we sit together for a meal and talk about our day and any house related stuff that needs a decision.Before we began this restoration project, I insisted that I would not move in until EVERYTHING was finished.

Ha.

In retrospect, things have gone well. Most of the workers have been wonderful. I particularly like Greg, the floor finisher who prefers repairing and refinishing old wood floors to new ones. He gets it. There are many people who do not understand why we wouldn't just build something brand new, with level floors and straight walls. It's hard to explain the beauty and uniqueness of an old house. Fir floors that have a look about them that can no longer be duplicated. Tin ceilings that must have taken 100 hours to restore if you include removal, sanding and cleaning, reinstallation, caulking and finally painting. They are gorgeous. A stairway that we were able to save that is unlike any stairway anywhere.

Six or 8 months of renovations, considering I'll be here for at least 30 years doesn't sound too bad. We have certainly had our moments, times when we wondered what we were doing and if we'd ever be finished but now, the end is in sight so it's easy to be philosophical about it all.Will I ever do this again? Not on your life. I am going to live here until someone has to carry me out. This will be home, the place my grandkids will know as grandma's house.

No Apologies

I have not been terribly prolific with my posts this past year or so but I will not apologize. The worries of selling our big old house and then jumping into a renovation that has consumed my life and the lives of a good number of people around me has kept me from doing much outside of our home. This blog was begun for me to have some fun and to document my life and posts will come only when I feel that I want to write something.


Today we are not only moved in, we are actually living in our house. The kitchen is finished and everything except the dishwasher is working. I've been handwashing dishes for the last 6 months so a few more days will be just fine. The dust is still settling but there is less and less every day. And tomorrow, I call the company who has been storing our piano and that will be delivered by the end of the week. Oh joy! I have missed my piano!

While in Quebec Wes and I bought our second piece of original art ever. The new piece, created by a Quebec artist will be placed over the sofa in our new living room. It should be coming sometime this week.

There are lots of little things to be done before this place is finished but I am happy and content now to finally have my own place once again.

Quebec

I have fallen in love with this city. People who have been here before have told us that it is much like Europe and they are right. It reminds us so much of our trip to Italy. People seem to walk a lot more here than they do in Winnipeg (and believe me, it has been cold, so that is no excuse!) so there are usually plenty of people walking on the street, day and night. The shop keepers are friendly and do their best to speak English to us when they learn that we cannot speak French very well. Every restaurant we have visited has been outstanding. We cannot say yet which one we liked best. The service is excellent and the food, divine.

We are staying in a Bed and Breakfast in the old part of town where the streets are narrow and in the evenings we hear the clop clop of horses hooves. If I close my eyes, I can almost imagine what it was like around the turn of the century. The heat has not yet been turned on in the house so it feels pretty chilly but it is heated by hot water and we understand that kind of heat. If it were to be turned on now, the rooms would be uncomfortably hot. Hot water heat is the best in the winter but it is hard to regulate in the spring and fall.

Today, we spent the day driving around Ile d'Orleans, an absolutely charming island only 15 km from Old Quebec city. We stopped at a small village bakery and had a delicious croissant and a pastry simply called "pomme" which means apple in French. Chocolate from the chocolaterie, wine tastings at several vineyards and a number of apple cider tastings; a few pieces of cheese, a stop at a lovely old church and sightseeing, art galleries and apple orchards. I think the best surprise of the day was our visit to a maple sugar shack. There was nobody around when we first drove in and we were ready to leave when a woman came and asked us if we were here for maple syrup. She told us to wait a minute while she got her coat and then she proceeded to give us a tour of her maple sugar enterprise. That woman had maple sap running through her veins. She was passionate about maple syrup and we learned a lot about the work that she did. I think you have to be passionate about maple syrup to own a sugar bush and make maple sugar.

The view of the St. Lawrence river and the mainland beyond is beautiful even though most of the leaves have fallen off the trees. Apparently, we missed that by only 2 days.

The people are friendly and when I enter a shop I always say greet people by saying "Bonjour." Then they start speaking to me in what seems like rapid fire French and I have to hold up my hands and tell them I cannot speak French. I guess my "bonjour" sounds pretty authentic.

This evening we are having dinner at a restaurant called "Aux Anciens Canadiens" which is in the oldest building in Quebec City. I am consuming far more calories than I am accustomed. Good thing it's cold and we're walking a lot because I think the intake and output of calories is close to equal.

I have at least 15 posts that are partially written but have not yet been posted. This one I intend to post because I'm sick of my last post, which was a rant. An acceptable rant in my opinion but it's time for something more positive.

Yesterday we moved most of our furniture out of the SeaCan and garage and into our house! As I was sitting on the couch, I marvelled that this day has actually come to pass. We are mere weeks away from being completely moved in. It is a wonderful feeling. And the house looks BEAUTIFUL. Just gorgeous. I am so thrilled that I love the paint colours more than I did at first and that the tin ceilings look beautiful and the floors are gorgeous.

Pictures will follow. And we are going to have one doozie of an open house. I'll let you know when because everyone is invited.

What gets me REALLY MAD is those idiots who will not take their place in a line of cars when one of the lanes is closed. They go flying by all of us who have been waiting patiently in the right lane because it is obvious that the left lane is closed. Then they try to push their way in front of us.

Who do they think they are? Are they so important that they need to get to their destination sooner than we do? Do they think that we WANT to stay in the line? Grrrrrr. I'm still mad.

Randomness

Today is the first day in a long time that I have had the time or energy to sit at the computer to read up on the few blogs I follow. I realized that it has been over a month since my last post. So here is an update on my life for those of you who might be interested.

The house continues to look like a construction zone. A construction zone with a GREAT lunch room. I actually made chocolate chip cookies there one day for coffee break.

The mud at the house is just awful. There is no other word to describe the thick, sticky gumbo that gets tracked everywhere. I wish it would stop raining.

Spent a week in Ontario with my mom while my dad was working on our house. I haven't driven on the QEW or any of the 400 highways for years but it only took me a few moments to start driving like an Ontarian. 120 km per hour and people were still passing me.

I went on a canoe trip with 13 other women. It was great. We had 2 gorgeous summer days in Northern Ontario where the water is so clear that you can see to the bottom of the lake.

Michele has been taking care of Dixie for most of the last 6 weeks. I think Dixie likes her better than me.

We moved to another apartment in the same building at Ft. Garry place last week. It is a lovely apartment with a balcony on the 12th floor. I am enjoying apartment living very much although I'm sure that one day I will long for a real house. For now, this haven is suiting me just fine. It's just a little hard to have people over for a visit.

My granddaughter is adorable. I saw her today for the first time in 2 weeks.

I watched "Julie and Julia" last night and enjoyed it thoroughly. I read the book earlier this summer and still enjoyed the movie. You must watch it if you get the chance.

Tomorrow, I paint. Things are definitely progressing at the house.

New Digs

I suspected it would come to this. We have renovated before and have survived and I was sure I'd survive this one too. But this one is different. EVERYTHING is being restored. Every wall, every bathroom, every floor, every ceiling. And so it was that we decided we had to move out. Eric and Tim have found temporary places to live and Wes and I are now on the 18th floor of Ft. Garry Place, downtown Winnipeg. Kristen is still in the house with the dogs but I suspect she won't last long.

I can see the Golden Boy from my living room window and the rear of the Fort Garry Hotel from the bedroom window. If I stick my head out the window, I can almost see our house. This is a wonderful, peaceful, respite from all the construction and I am so grateful for it.

Indoor parking (great on a rainy day), washer and dryer, kitchen, internet, quiet, dust free and housekeeping on Mondays to boot. I am looking forward to the completion of the renovations and enjoying our new space but for now, this is a great place to be.

Sigh.

Another fantastic Folk Festival weekend.

Construction workers leave all kinds of things around the place after they leave.

Power tools
HammersPictures of the bossAnd...their pants? I believe these pants belong to the drywall taping guy. I'm not sure what he was wearing when he left.

Restorations

I've decided to change my attitude about the renovations. I'm calling this a restoration project, rather than a renovation project. Restoration has a more positive ring to it, don't you think? And, we are finished with the tearing down and everything is looking better every day.

When you are living with a huge project such as we are, you have many interesting people coming around every day. That is one part of the construction that I will miss.

Back Lane

After not having one for about 22 years, we have a back lane behind our house. When I first moved to Winnipeg thirty years ago, I didn't even know what a back lane was.
There was nothing like that in the town where I grew up. For those of you who don't know, a back lane is a lane that runs behind houses, eliminating the need for front driveways and giving homeowners a place to put their garbage cans and other junk that have no place to be stored. I have not seen a back lane that doesn't look shabby and messy. Most back lanes are rutted and in disrepair. I have never really understood the need for a lane especially because it takes up space that could otherwise have been used as backyard. IMHO.

I have discovered a great use for back lanes, now that I have one. Because we are sharing a house and yard with Michele and her family, we find that we have some surplus stuff to deal with. Michele had a patio set which was great until the fabric started tearing and the glass in the table exploded one day. It was a great set and with a little work, (well actually a lot of work) could become quite usable again. Neither one of us has the gifts or talent to pull off one of those "we found this set and for only 40 dollars were able to make it look as good as new" makeovers. And we really didn't need the set because between the 2 households, we have plenty of lawn furniture.

So we put it out in the back lane and voila! It disappeared within hours.

Now, what else can I put out there?

We buried an old friend yesterday. He was 51 years old, a husband, father, grandfather and friend. He was much too young to die and had many years of living to come as far as I was concerned. But somehow, cancer invaded his brain and continued it's deadly growth for 9 months until his body finally succumbed to it.

When we found out in September about the tumour, we began praying. Hundreds of us, praying hard. We reminded God that he had the power to heal with just a word. We prayed for a miracle. What a testimony that would be! We'd tell the world that the tumour had miraculously disappeared and we'd give God all the glory. God is good, we'd say.

But that was not to be. As I watched Gerald lying on the hospital bed, the life slowly seeping out of him, I wondered about the healing. I thought back to the times in the previous 9 months when he rallied and we ached to believe that would be the beginning of restoration to health. I watched him as his laboured breathing became slower and the times between breaths became longer. I saw his body, once tall, strong and athletic, reduced to skin and bones except for the puffiness that came from medications.

Where God, is the healing for which we so fervently prayed? Where are you in all of this? What do you mean when you say that my prayers will be answered if only I ask?

And then it occurred to me that the healing was indeed beginning. God knew that Gerald's time on earth was coming to an end and God knew that he would no longer need his mortal body in heaven. Flesh, bones, organs and bodily systems would only weigh him down like a ball and chain, impeding his ability to enjoy eternity. As I watched his body wasting away, I began to see his spirit, his God-essence become larger than his formerly imposing body, created for his time on earth. The healing of his spirit accelerated as his earthly body deteriorated.

We were created to live with God for eternity. Our time here on earth is short and none of us will experience complete healing from pain and sorrow until all that holds us to this earth is removed and we meet God, unfettered by our human bodies.

Today, the tears come frequently and the sadness easily overwhelms me. He will be missed and I know I will still wonder why it happened this way and why Gerald had to die so young. But I am grateful for answered prayer. Today, Gerald is healed. He is happy and free of pain, free from his feeble, weak body. Our prayers have been answered.

Gerald Folkerts

Rest in peace Gerald.

Looking on the bright side

There is a definite advantage to having a dryer catch fire. It has moved the installation of the solar powered dryer to the top of the priority list.

Perfect Day

So far, today has been a perfect day. We biked to church, were invited to some dear friends for lunch and took a walk to our favourite Gelati place which just happens to be a block away from our friends' home.

A bike ride home and now, a glass of wine on the deck, looking at the new patio doors that were so expertly installed on Friday.

These moments of peace are a treasure during this time in our lives.

Renovations

Welcome to our home!Renovations.

That's all I can think about. I've posted 10 Renovation photo albums on Facebook so if you're interested in all the dusty details, check that out. If you are not yet my friend, please ask and I will probably be happy to be your friend.

Most of the time I think I'm crazy for doing this (renovations that is, not facebook although I think facebook can be crazy too). I have moved from a gorgeous 3500 square foot mansion to a less than 800 square foot basement apartment. This is only temporary but sometimes, it's hard to stay positive and think about what is to come.

However, what is to come is a beautifully laid out space, with gorgeous cabinets, some lovely architectural details and we hope, the outstanding tin ceilings that are part of the charm of this old house. Because our home will be shared with my sister and her family, the building permit gods have decided that we need sound and fire barriers. While I understand the theory behind all of that, it adds more work and the possibility of having to remove the beautiful tin ceilings. Removal of the ceilings can be a challenge-some say it's impossible so we are looking for alternatives. Can't we just ask our housemates to promise to be a little quiet? And can't we all promise not to play with fire?

I am happy that the worst of the dust is finished. Now, it is mostly new construction that will be happening and I'd rather breath in that kind of dust than 100 year old plaster dust.

And, just between you and me, I do enjoy having the workers around. They are fun and add some spice to my life.

Renovations

I've been so preoccupied with the renovations, that I haven't had much to post about. My dad and mom are here now, so that dad can help out with some of the work. He is an electrician by trade and having him here brings back memories of the constant renovations that I grew up with. I enjoyed it much more when I was 12.

There are blood, sweat and tears going into this reno.

If you look closely, you will see a blood spot in the middle of the door.

In the Netherlands, the land of my ancestors, there is a wonderful tradition where you eat a gebakje (decadent small cake) on behalf of a person who is having a birthday. Usually, you eat the gebakje with the birthday person but if the person is not around, then you must eat one in his or her honour.

Happy birthday Micah!

Thanks for having a birthday.

Renovations

I've posted lots of renovation pictures on my facebook page but this one I had to post on my blog. Wes believes that demolishing the walls in what was once the coal room in this house is the dirtiest job he's ever done.

Asbestos removal was also part of our day's activities.Whew. Sometimes, I wonder if we're just plain crazy to be renovating a 100+ year old house.

Paska

Happy Easter!

I hope this tastes as good as it looks!

New Freezer

We sold our freezer with the house so we needed a new one before our frozen stuff begins to thaw. It was delivered today. As the 2 movers were setting it down, one of them said that it seemed quite heavy and did we get it full of food?

"No," I said, "but maybe there's a body in there. Hee hee."

I opened the lid and screamed at the top of my lungs as the 3rd mover guy looked up from the inside of the freezer and grinned at me.

I think I made their day.

Poor Jed.

While we were away, Jed stayed at "Susan's Dog Paradise." He must have thought that he had died and gone to heaven what with all the extra kibbles he managed to steal while Sadie the dog wasn't looking. And the blue cheese appetizers that he ate while the humans were distracted. Apparently blue cheese dog farts bring dog farts to a whole new level. Lucky for us the blue cheese is all out of his system.

Jed has a wee little phobia about basements and this is a problem because we are currently living in a basement and we are responsible for Jed. There are 2 ways to get into this basement and we are grateful for the fact that Jed has found the courage to navigate one set of stairs. Problem is, as soon as he gets down the stairs, he races for the other stairway, goes to the top and is unable to get down again. So I need to let him out the back door where he finds his way to the safe-for-Jed stairway and it all happens again.

Even the best of food will not coax Jed down the stairs.

At least Dixie is a good dog cousin. She has no problem going up or down any stairway and usually keeps Jed company while he is stuck upstairs.

Thursday was moving day. Thursday was also a day in the middle of a snowstorm so when the huge moving truck came to our street, the driver just knew he could not back into the driveway. There was that much snow and Wes had cleared the driveway twice already.

Lyle, the guy in the office who had come to do the estimate, told us that they could come again on Saturday to move us but not earlier because they didn't have any smaller trucks available until then. I raised a wee bit of a stink and I don't think that Lyle like my little stink. It was successful because the moving company decided to rent a truck and still move us on Thursday. So, with the late start, our stuff was moved in by 10:00 PM. What a day! I spent 2 hours just clearing the huge drift of snow that was in front of the back door. I don't think too many people need to spend several hours shovelling snow on the day that they move.

This is a picture of Mike, the head mover guy. I have not met many more people who love their jobs as much as Mike does. He has been doing this for 28 years! He was a pleasure to work with.
Friday and Saturday were spent cleaning the old house and then organizing the new. Today, we spent a quiet day in our cosy little apartment. We will have times of chaos and I am grateful for this time of peace and quiet. Renovations will start soon.

Watch for pictures of our new place soon!

We're Home!

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed.

We got home on Monday night/Tuesday morning, depending on which time zone we're thinking about. Today, all day, was spent packing. Wes knows how to pack, that's for sure. I do too but I'm much slower and I think about it...

All

Night

Long.

One day, I'll be sitting in my beautiful new living room thinking that this will have been all worth it but today, I'm just hoping to get through the day and manage to pack up the rest of the house.

We're actually doing very well in the packing department. Physically, that is. Mentally, I've got lots more to do and I tend to do that work around 3 AM, CST. Sucks.

El Salvador was an incredible experience and I think often about the people there as I pack up all of my material possessions. It would take a local Salvadoran about 2 hours to pack up I think, not counting the chickens, pigs, roosters, kittens, puppies and various other animals. It's taking me at least 2 days to do the same. What a strange world we live in.

On a very bright note, I saw my most amazing granddaughter today for the first time in 2 weeks. I must say, in my humble opinion, that she is one of the cutest babies I've ever seen.

LA

Los Angeles is HUGE. We drove for 2 hours today on the Pacific Coast highway. We went through several towns but were not able to tell where one ended and the next began.

Every now and then, I remember El Salvador and what we saw and experienced there. The cultural differences are many. In El Salvador, the rooster living in the compound of our hotel started its cockadoodledooing at 4:00 AM. It is very quiet in our hotel here in LA. Perhaps I will sleep beyond 4:00 AM today. That would be nice.

Dinner in Newport Beach and then back to our hotel. We are travel weary and looking forward to coming home to the prairies tomorrow.

Images of El Slavador

Yesterday, we found a most interesting bar. Grass roof held up with branches, sand floor and ancient coke cooler. The local beer was 85 cents, which is cheaper than bottled water. I have been drinking beer!

From this: to this:

We are leaving tomorrow already. This has been quite an experience. We have developed relationships with people living in extreme poverty and now, we are in a gorgeous resort where the few wealthy Salvadorans come to play. This is my first time in a third world country and there is much to process. While all the people we have met in this country have shown great friendliness to us, I haven't seen a lot of joy or heard much laughter. They seem to be a pretty serious lot.

Working hard

Just in case you all thought we were lying on the beach drinking pina coladas, we're not.
The homes we're building are made of concrete block and yesterday, I had the task of priming the walls with a runny mixture of concrete and water. The bricklayer called it "soupa." One person would throw a cup of the mixture on the wall and then I would brush it with a broom. It is, I beleive, the messiest job I have ever done in my life. The shower felt mighty good.

El Salvador 2

It was only 6 days ago that we left Manitoba for Central America. Right now, I'm sitting beside the pool, enjoying the 30 C (that's PLUS 30 for all you Northerners), weather in Usulutan province, El Salvador. We are staying close to the hotel because today is election day in El Salvador and the people here take their elections very seriously. Nobody is expecting anything to happen but there may be some unhappy people driving about and we are told that we best stay away from town.

It's very common for men to walk around with machetes and almost every store has a security guard with a rifle so we don't want to take any chances. We also have a guard here at the hotel with a rifle that he carries lovingly around with him at all times. We are especially friendly towards him! I feel very safe here and the local Habitat office is doing a good job of taking care of us.

We were in town this morning though to watch some of the festivities. All the kiosks you see in the picture are voting booths. Over 80 percent of Slavadorans vote. Once they are finished voting, they must ink their thumb so as to keep anyone from voting more than once.

There is not much tourism here so we 12 Canadians turn heads wherever we go. People are very friendly, always smiling when we pass them on the street. I find the fact that I do not know Spanish to be a definite disadvantage and I vow to learn basic Spanish at the very least for the next time I come here. And I do plan to come back to Central America.

We started working on our Habitat house on Wednesday. Carlos and Miguel, the bricklayers on our house, are letting us do just about every job that needs to be done. On some sites, the volunteers don't get to do as much as we do. All the homes must be able to withstand an earthquake. There are minor earthquakes every day in this country although we haven't noticed any.

I missed Thursday at the work site as I developed some gastro intestinal thing, a common occurence when travelling. There have been 6 of the 12 of us who were down for the count, as it were which apparently is a pretty high percentage for Habitat. I guess it's part of the whole experience.

I am holding a Coke bottle, full of gasoline. Nowhere in Canada would anyone let you do this! Carlos, our bricklayer was mixing gas with paint for priming steel beams while smoking a cigarette. I made sure I stayed far away!
A fairly typical home in El Salvador

The market. Oh the beautiful fruits, vegetables and food that was being prepared! I loved the market and would have loved to buy food from there but my stomach is still not back to normal and I wouldn't want another bout of what I had last week!

El Salvador

After a loooong day of travel, we are finally in El Salvador. It is amazing to me that only 2 days ago I could hardly stand the cold and today, the heat is really getting to me. It doesn't take long to change from one extreme to the other.

Yesterday we had an 8 hour layover in Los Angeles and one of the airline employees suggested we go to Santa Monica Third Street Promenade. It was a lovely way to spend an afternoon and evening. We dipped our toes in the Pacific Ocean, window shopped on the promenade and ate sushi on a patio while we watched the sun set.

At midnight we boarded a plane for the red eye flight to El Salvador where we landed at 5:15 AM. We got to the hotel and met most of our Habitat home building team. There are 12 of us, ranging in age from 20 something to a couple in their 60's. After a power nap, we spent the day travelling around to some ruins, and a lake that was formed from the crater of a volcano. Tomorrow, we travel to Usulutan, a small rural community, where we plan to build 2 houses.

I had planned to upload some pictures but blogger doesn't seem to be cooperating. We will not have internet access at Usulutan so this may be the last you hear of me for a while.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go...

Gave a kiss to our most beautiful granddaughter who will be soooo different when we get back.

Tomorrow we leave for El Salvador for 2 weeks. With all the busyness of packing, moving and talking about renovations, I haven't given much thought to our trip to Central America. I am getting excited now that the suitcases are packed up. It will be a great trip I'm sure. We'll be building houses for Habitat for Humanity and also spending several days of R&R at what looks like a lovely resort.

Hopefully we will have computer access in El Salvador so I will try to post from there.

The Newest Member of our Family

I usually hate those middle of the night phone calls because most often, they bring bad news. Not this one though. We learned of baby's imminent arrival around 2:30 AM and by 3:35, she was here. In my very unbiased opinion, she's gorgeous.

The first family portrait Aryana Faith
The proud papa