Christmas Greetings!

It has been nearly a year since I have posted something new to this blog. For those of you who were checking (Grandma Loewen), I apologize and vow to do better!!

As the Christmas season approaches, it is common practice to reflect on the year's events, experiences, and general "goings-on". This has been quite the year. I remember kicking it off with Veronika by saying - "wow, so many life-changing things are happening to so many of us - 2011 is going to be epic!!". Well, true-to-form, life stepped in and altered quite a few expectations, and changed the course of how 2011 was to unfold. But, epic is has been!

We are expecting our first baby, a son! He has been dubbed "Little Jerry" from day one and each day his little kicks make us more and more excited for his arrival. Due March 25, I am officially in my sixth month of pregnancy and feeling awesome. I am tired, I'll admit, but I know that's par for the course...

We are truly blessed - and have been blessed this past year. We kicked it off by jetting to sunny Barbados with Dad and Sharon. It was a relaxing week of sitting by our backyard pool (we were in a rented house), reading in the hammock, and taking trips to nearby beaches. The sand was the softest we've felt anywhere! And Sharon and I discovered our new favourite beverage -- spicy V8 juice! Of course, not to be found anywhere in Canada :(

Like I said, we are truly blessed, for we followed up our Barbados trip with a jaunt to the Dominican with the other half of the "W" clan, Amanda and Andrew. The resort was at the top of our favourites list and I would recommend it to anyone. Sushi at 11pm anyone?? Yes, please!! Just don't ask Jer about jumping over cement water features.... Unfortunately, this trip ended with a farewell to our Edmonton family. Andrew was awarded a promotion, therefore the Weir's picked up camp and moved to Montreal. We miss them dearly and Edmonton life has certainly not been the same since.

What is a year without a trip to the mountains? They're practically in our backyard, and are the only viable replacement to the Whiteshell, so we definitely try to frequent them. In April, we took a quick weekend trip to find some serenity and peace from the daily grind. We ate amazing food, drank good wine, and capped it off with decadent (gluten free!) chocolate birthday cake. Oh, and we skied Sunshine! Another highlight: I did my first black diamond run (on purpose this time!) and made it to the bottom unscathed!

Summer brought a week-long trip to Winnipeg (with the added bonus of seeing Charlie and (expectant) Julia) and a long weekend trip to take part in Nicola and Ryan's (beautiful) wedding in Vancouver. We got to spend some time up in Squamish and Whistler, where Scott and V showed us the most amazing time in their hometown. We also extended our deck and built a fire-pit (well, when I say "we", I mean paid help and Jer, respectively!!). All the better to party with, my dear. And thanks to the Squad 2 wiener roasts, that we did!

So yes, in a nutshell, this year will be one to remember.

Much love to all of our friends and family. We wish everyone a joyous Christmas season.

Robin, Jeremy, and Little Jerry

Christmas at Home 2010

the dust has settled

We've broken a towel bar, dropped something on the wood floor and left a red wine ring on our countertop (although the latter was NOT a problem thanks to our AWESOME quartz composite indestructable surface!)  and home is officially home. We couldn't be more happy in this space.  The moment we turned the key we felt comfy and settled and often joke that if we were to ever move again, we'd put this house on a flatbed truck and take it with us! 

Here are some shots of the decorated and lived in space....

Like a patchwork quilt our grass rolled out just in time for fall.

Our favourite space in the house is the kitchen island. This winds up being our chosen hang out when friends come over and wins over the newly shipped dining room table when chatting over coffee and crepes. 

My studio space

Possession in less than 24 hours!

Since it has been months since my last posting on the blog with respect to our build (facebook has had recurring updates if you'd like to see all the snapshots), here are a few snippets as we have progressed to today - the day before possession!

The infamous orange door. Incorrect carrot puke above, correct burnt orange below.

art gallery volunteer!

I am officially an Exhibition Tour Guide at the new Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA)! I start in June and am placed in the Warner Bros. exhibit as well as the MC Escher exhibit. A great contrast of illustrative styles, and of course, charged with political sub-text.

I went there today to pick up my packet of reading materials and stopped by the Karsh: Image Maker exhibit on the way out. They had an interactive component where you could have your picture taken by an old school camera and of course, being the avid photo junkie, I wanted to try it out! Here's me - a la Josef Karsh!

house update no. 2

 

Our porch is up! Lately, as the weather has been getting nicer, all we can talk about is how great it will be to curl up with a blanket on the porch with our morning breakfast - or dinner - or whatever - just have the option of being OUTSIDE. Needless to say we were pretty excited as we rounded the corner onto our street yesterday to see the beginnings of our porch being built!

Jer peering in through the window to see... drum roll please... that the dry wall is finished and the ceiling is done!! This is a huge stepping stone along the way, for once the ceiling is done, the trades can be booked and we can be given a possession date! So, stayed tuned! We should be meeting with our site supervisor later this week!

In addition to the porch, the drywall and the ceiling - the siding is on the house! After spending 2 hours selecting the exterior finishes, it was a huge relief for me to see the colours go on the house - and be happy with them!

 (Our house is on the left with a spec house being built on the right)