Kunsthalle Bremen - Art Museum

These are some pretty grainy pictures, but I think they just add to the effect of our great trip to the Kunsthalle Bremen. I had planned this trip with the kids for a while (there had been advertising at our paediatricians office for some time) and after a nice, long bout of everyone taking their turns getting sick it finally happened. And as an added bonus, it was on a day that Jason could be there! 

Kunsthalle had a special exhibit for the kids so we had lots of fun exploring that first.  With magnifying glasses to inspect ink drawings, puzzles, paper hats, art stations and 3D exploring art, we were all pretty engaged. 

I loved the set up in the museum with a mix of old, antiques and more modern furnishings. Very fitting and quite beautiful.

Both kids really are becoming quite the artists and love exploring new mediums. They were pretty excited about their works of art being put up in the museum as well!

The boys tried on the creative paper hats.

We explored old suitcases filled with vintage cameras. The kids wanted to know what 'film' is...

One large room, filled with only one or two chairs (and a sink that was the source of a nice little bruise on Milayla's forehead) was made into a modern piece of art. The kids thought it was great; a large, funky room for running around in? Yes, please! 

That was until Milayla ran right into the camouflaged sink on the wall beside me. Can you see it??

I love getting pictures with my little girl. 

Yep, that left a mark.

Atticus is becoming a big poser and really loves giving cuddles, hugs and kisses for photos. I feel pretty spoiled with these two cuties.

 There was this really cool colored hole that went through all the floors of the museum and changed colors. It's hard to explain. I took a picture, but even that doesn't quite tell the whole story.

each of those colors are on a different floor. The holes are each covered and you can stand on them and look down - kind of scary from the top, actually.

We weren't sure whether to laugh, be intrigued or disturbed by their take on the Bremer Stadtmusikanten though. However, this picture with Atticus in it sure gives us a good laugh. He really gave this one some thought.

Bremer Stadtmusikanten at the Kunsthalle in Bremen, Germany

Then it was on to admiring all the lovely art which was incredibly varied and some of it very unique. We all took a big liking to the more classical pieces they had (like Monet), but there were some very abstract (and even 3D) pieces that really got the kids asking questions. I was pretty proud of the kiddos for how well behaved they were. We even watched a little documentary on their featured artist and the kids sat and listened so well that they didn't want to stop watching it. I was so impressed. I wish I could have taken more photos but no photos around the artwork.

Before heading out we made a stop into the gift shop which was filled with lots of great books. Atticus even picked one out for Milayla's birthday (more on that later!) that was perfect and she loves.

I really love taking the kids to the museums here and feel pretty blessed that I can share my love of museums with them so easily. As we were leaving a man stopped us to thank us for bringing our children to the museum as it made him very happy to see such a young family coming and appreciating this kind of culture. It wasn't until this man said something that we even noticed that we were the only family there that morning. I guess it's not everyone's first choice of places to be, but it sure was ours.

This was one of our Easter Egg Coupons and I am glad those have been such a big success. We have a few more on our list and are sure looking forward to them. Well, time for me to head off - we are taking Milayla out for the maiden voyage on her birthday gift (which you will have to wait to find out what that was until I post up her celebration photos - though I am sure you could take a guess!). Can't wait!

C.S. Lewis Quote

One of my goals for this year was to get at least one book read each month. Thankfully, I am on target (actually, ahead of that target at present) and loving every minute of it. It has really allowed me to weed out time-wasters and spend the little bit of extra time I get on things that will help me plan, improve and enjoy life. It has been a great blessing.

Another added aspect is that I end up with wonderfully powerful words, stories and quotes swirling around in my head and expanding the processes in my head. It's been great. I feel like it has given me greater power as a mother, wife and woman.

One of the quotes that I came across in my latest book that is really sticking with me is this one from C.S. Lewis:

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”

I love C.S. Lewis and his ability to craft with words in a way that I can only dream of ever doing. When I read this it sunk in deep to my heart. It felt like he had opened up my mind and examined it then described precisely how I have been feeling when I didn't know how to describe it myself. The remodelling that I feel going on throughout my entire being is greater than I expected, but I can feel the improvements and they feel good (though sometimes quite hard and seemingly impossible to understand). Throughout these improvements I have felt a greater need to rely on my Saviour and trust in Him because he knows what I need better than I do. He sees things more eternally than my finite vision can and His perpective is priceless and immeasurable. I am so very grateful for the blessing of prayer and the peace that it brings that me and our little family are in His watchful care. And I am grateful for growth. Growth in faith, love, abilities, and willingness. It's a slow process, and not always pleasant, but I am grateful for it because it brings me closer to my Saviour and Heavenly Father and enables me to bring my family closer.

My 10 Personal Objectives of Motherhood

I'm always a little leery of posting my thoughts on this blog (outside of the day-to-day happenings) because I worry that people will think I see myself as an expert, or worse, they may think I actually am one. I'm not. I'm a mom (which requires a great deal of expertise in and of itself, along with a heavy dose of on-the-job training), trying every day to improve in places that I see in need of improvement. While I hope my efforts to improve, learn and grow through motherhood will bless me with the knowledge I need to bless my family, I still shy away from the word 'expert' because I have a lot to learn. But let's make a few things clear though; I love motherhood. I love being a mom. And I aim to magnify my calling as a Mother for the benefit of my children, my family and those around me.

And that brings me to the point of this post. Early on in my motherhood journey I was trying to more diligently focus on my role as a mother and I realized I was lacking a great deal of direction. The desire was there, but with no destination in mind, that desire was only fuelling motivation that was running me in circles or getting me places that I didn't really want to be. Not fun. So I sat down and did some serious thinking.

I'm big into goals. I love writing them, breaking them down, working towards them and, especially, achieving them. My personality matches well with that kind of progression. When I think of times in my life where my progression was really magnified and I excelled it was when my life had clear expectations and plans set forward (like projects at work or assignments at school). So it became clear to me that I needed to set forth clearer expectations/objectives for myself that I could work toward to strengthen my confidence in mothering and, therefore, my abilities. I found the best way to come up with those objectives was to know where I wanted to end up.

Quite simply, when my children are grown, what do I hope they will say of how I raised them, of the example that I set for them, how I loved them, the time I spent with them or the way that I made them feel? I set to work making a list of several things that I would hope they would say. Some examples of that are: She always gives us heartfelt compliments, she listens and understands, she always sets a good example, she hugs us - a lot.

Then, I picked what I felt were the 10 that I felt the most drawn towards (some of them could be easily combined with other items on the list) and I transformed those from being words from my children to being objectives/affirmations for myself so that, hopefully, they will one day be the words from my children!



Everyone's list will probably look a little different, but here is what my final list of 10 looked like:


1. Give compliments and praise - not just for a job well down, but for the efforts, skills and desire.

2. Say 'yes'.

3. Have a vision and share that vision - of the gospel, our family and each of its' members.

4. Give love abundantly. Give hugs.

5. Take time for me - learn, relax, breath.

6. Smile often. Forgive easily. Laugh.

7. Listen. Enjoy every moment of their little voices. Encourage thought. Validate their thoughts.

8. Lead by example. Make choices that I would be proud to have my children emulate.

9. Take take to teach. Be patient and understanding. Clarify and expound with love.

10. Be consistent.


Now, the process doesn't stop with the list. This needs to be an active list or there won't actually be any progression towards my vision. Which means I need to be working on it - all the time. So at the beginning of the week (usually on Sunday evening) I sit down with my list and I ponder it. I ask myself questions such as; where am I feeling particularly weak? or,  What do I sense my children could use more of right now? Then I set little goals, that usually pertain to one of my objectives, that I plan to specifically work on that week.

It's a work in progress. But the key is that I am progressing and that feels good.  It has a positive effect on me, my family and my ability to bless my family in my role as a mother.

Motherhood can be tough and oh, so wonderful. It isn't meant to be a perfect journey, it's a progressive journey and it's awesome.

Moments to remember

I just want to write a few things down to help my mind remember these sweet little moments that I have been having with Milayla this week. Milayla has been teething and it hasn't been a particularly fun time for her, but she has still been the biggest sweetheart. When she is teething she gets really cuddly and wants to stay nice and close. This desire to be close means a little girl who held on to the bottom of my long sweater while I made breakfast this morning. A little girl who held tightly to my hand as we explored the sand at the lake and clung to my leg when it got a little too chilly outside. It has also meant lots of naptime cuddles, books and kisses. It has really required me to focus in on Milayla and see all the diversities start to emerge in her personality. It's incredible. I love being a part of this process. I love being a mom. I love being her mom. I love having her on a chair next to me in the kitchen, breaking up cauliflower for dinner, not because it's the most entertaining thing in the world but that's because it is where I am and she wants to stay close.

These are all just simple little things but I can feel them adding strength to the communication and relationship between us. Even though our little chats aren't much right now, I hope these moments and chats are laying the groundwork for many future moments and great conversations to come. She is so incredibly special, talented and smart and I know she will only continue to build on that.

And I am writing all this down so that I can better remember how important it is to focus on those moments that I get with each of the children. That I am in the moment; the unplanned moments as well as the planned ones. That they feel my presence and my love. That, together, we are building relationships that they know will always be there to support, guide, and uplift as they grow and learn to navigate this life. And I want to solidify my knowledge that when those moments are happening - nothing else matters. Because those hands won't always be little, and they won't always be tugging on my sweater while I am in the kitchen - so I will use these moments now to build the moments of tomorrow.

April Date Night

We picked our outing in April based solely on the venue for this very small, intimate concert. Luckily, the concert was incredible! I have never been that close (2nd row) to such amazing musicians. They were so truly talented, and Jason and I felt pretty blessed to be two of a very small audience sitting in the classic salon (that operates as a small art gallery) of an historical Bremer house. The details of the house were amazing!

The concert lasted 3 hours and I wish it had kept going. There was a violinist, a classical guitarist and a renaissance guitarist. It was unique and absolutely beautiful.

see that funky picture on the bottom left? That is a new feature in downtown Bremen that had us a little perplexed as to why it's there. Not sure if you can see it, but it is light up laundry strung between the buildings. Hmmm... interesting.

So happy Jason and I got to go to this little concert together. The building was beautiful, the concert was incredible and I got to enjoy it all with my best friend. Perfect.

Look at that handsome guy! ;)

As a Mom Thinketh

Life has been so hectic lately that I have found the most calming time to make dinner preparations is during nap time. It's not that I don't appreciate the two very helpful pairs of hands that love to set the table and stir anything they can get those adorable fingers on, but I saw nap time dinner preparations as an opportunity to turn on some audio books that I had wanted to listen to for a while but had failed to find the time to do so.

So over chopping onions I commenced to listen to the first of many books on my list: As A Man Thinketh written by James Allen. Many consider it a classic but it was one that I had never read so I was excited to see what I thought. And there were no shortage of thoughts about it. The most poignant thoughts came to me after a rather stressful morning; we had had many errands to run that morning, cleaning to get done, dinner guests to prepare for and books I had promised to read to the kids. Not an easy morning for two little toddlers to handle especially when they have a frazzled mother at the helm.

As I was chopping and half-heartedly listening to the audio, I reflected on the morning and thought of all the ways I could have handled the inevitable bumps in the morning better when the audio, that had become nothing more than white noise in the background of my thoughts, echoed in my mind crystal clear;

“Self-control is strength. Right thought is mastery. Calmness is power. ” 

Calmess is power. It felt like those words were being etched into my mind as I thought to myself, "man, if that is the case then I am missing out on a lot of power that could be mine and I need to find a way to do better". 

In general, I feel like I do quite well at staying calm on the outset, but on the inset I am anything but. I share a common problem with many other moms out there - my mind never turns off. I saw an eCard the other day that said something to the effect of "Men: if you ever want to know what a woman's mind feels like, imagine a browser with 2857 tabs open. all. the. time.". Yes, that's me (my mind AND my browser!). 

The promise of greater power, if I could get that inner calmness into check, is great and all, but what exactly am I supposed to do to get there? Because, as a mom, I greatly value the idea of being the source of strength, grace and serenity no matter what the pressures of motherhood bring (a lofty goal, I know) I really want to figure out the answer for this (which may not be universal for everyone).

I really enjoyed this Power of Mom's article where Allyson (the author) focused on some great ideas in her article about appreciating the now that would definitely help. And Saren and April (also from The Power of Moms) did a phenomenal job in their radio episode about 'Your Deeper Yes' on how to zero in on what is important for you, as an individual, to give your time to. And while all their suggestions for actions to take were incredible they didn't address the core problem for me; I am constantly applying the actions but yet there is a seemingly continuous reoccurrence of the problem. For example, how many times can I say 'yes' to too many good things while the quality (and quantity!) of time I have for the best things in my life falls inevitably short? It is is a feeling like I am pulling out the same weeds again and again without ever getting to enjoy the beautiful flowers in my garden; a frustrating cycle for someone who likes to enjoy the beauty of the moment.

So where do we find the root of this lack of calmness, balance and focus? In the words of James Allen, “As [a mom] thinks, so [s]he is; as [s]he continues to think, so[s] he remains.”. 

All of our actions, everything that we are, begins as little seeds of thoughts in our mind - we must weed out the bad and plant and nurture the good to live a centred, peaceful life.

While the absoluteness of that last sentence is still something I have yet to fully accept, I certainly do believe that there is a correlation between our thoughts, our actions, the quality of our relationships and the quality of our life. 

For example; if I begin the day worried about how much there is to get done and not having enough time to get it all done my actions are typically hurried, frantic and just plain stressed. Approaching it this way does not save me any time, in fact, it usually takes more time as I cannot focus on the important things to get done, I don't take time to exercise the wisdom of putting first things first, nor are my children particularly keen on cooperating with a crazy person. 

Alternatively, if I begin the day with a few deep breaths, put the most important things firsts, then allow and accept things to unfold in the natural rhythm of that particular day, magical things happen. The kids are happy, I'm happy, and all the important things get done with a whole lot less worrying. As a wonderful, added bonus, I find I even have extra time on days that are approached like this (and that is certainly not a byproduct of having less items on the to-do list). 

So, how do we actively plant seeds for days like the second alternative? We choose our thoughts. 

Just like we choose what clothes we want to wear, buy, keep or get rid of, we can choose the thoughts that we wear, buy, keep or get rid of. If certain thoughts do not help us come closer to our goals as who we want to be as mothers, women or even wives we can plant thoughts that do and weed out the ones that don't. The aim is to have a mind that is a clean, beautiful, serene and peaceful garden because that is precisely the kind of mind that will be able to create a clean, beautiful and serene home.

This is all part of my journey to focus and feel an inner calm no matter how crazy life can sometimes get. I'm sure some of these thoughts seem incoherent and I may even babble on occasionally but I feel it is important for me to get them out there - so here they are, at least the first part of them. I am hoping to sit down and write more thoughts on this as they formulate (in other words; I hope to write some more soon). Until then, I'm sure there will be plenty of other wonderful things posted here :). 

A few things from my iPhone in April

I'm working on kicking my iPhone picture-taking-addiction, I really am. But in the mean time, enjoy these photos from April (and yes, we were still in our winter coats in APRIL). 

I am grateful for children who make the most of boring trips to the mall and enjoy the little vehicle section. None of us are shoppers, so it makes a world of difference that the kids are so positive about being there (it helps that we keep our shopping trips short and infrequent so these things really are a novelty). 

Milayla is pretty comfortable behind the wheel, even with an eery Mickey riding in the backseat. 

 In hopes of Spring we bough some new shades and had way more fun trying them on than most people probably do.

I've started up vocal lessons in a building with the craziest identity crisis I have yet to see. The exterior is in the original, rather ornate gothic style (not completely sure if it dates accurately back to the 15th century, but I know the surrounding buildings do). The stairway and hallway all look like they were renovated in the 70's complete with deep brown tiling on the floors - and walls. Then you step through the doorway into this white abyss. The sensation of walking through that doorway almost feels like you are falling. Crazy. Seriously. Fun acoustics though.

 The sun has been shining enough to get in some serious play time and the park. Thankfully, as I am writing this, I can confidently say that all of our winter gear has been packed away - spring is here :). Of course, in Bremen that means I have also brought out the kids' rain boots, mud pants and rain coats - but hey, with happy, sunny days and no more freezing temperatures - I'll take it!

Which brings me to rainy days. They happen, a lot. And since we bike around to get places, it isn't always as simple as heading to something indoors (like the museum). It does mean that we have plenty of fun doing Mommy School, running experiments, and taking funny pictures/video to send to Daddy at work during out free-play time.

And, of course, there are plenty of trips to the library. I'm kind of in love with how much the kids enjoy the library. And I love getting to watch the puppet shows that they put on there. Sorry that the pictures are a little blurry, these puppet shows are pretty high-energy.

And, last but certainly not least, the kids wanted me to make sure that I put on pictures of a few of the crafts they did to kick off Spring (and Easter, in this case). They were pretty anxious to make sure that the Grandparents got to see their awesome colouring AND cutting. So be sure to 'oohhh' and 'ahhh' because these kids put some hard work into their crafts.

I have a few more on my phone, but those are going to have to wait for another day because I have a sick little girl that I get to cuddle the afternoon away with (and that is infinitely more important).