CHRISTMAS 2007

For the sake of time, I'm going to group all the pics together over the last couple of weeks.

(Above is little Mary Kate in her car seat - the five arrive!!!!!)

The weekend before Christmas we had our grandchildren (Dana's & Will's kids) over for the "annual" gingerbread house making (& eating =), baking "Christmas tree" cookies, etc. They are arriving here on Friday afternoon and are spending the weekend with us. What excitement!!

Owen (7) brought his latest creation to show Grandmom & Grandad. He built it all by himself. Dana says he'll disappear (in the shed) for a couple of hours and then appear with a new bench or barbaric tool or candle in a log, whatever he's inspired to build that day. He's really extremely creative, but sometimes his creations can be dangerous, in which case Will either hides it (I think he has a museum of Barbaric tools by now) or he destroys it, like the pen Owen put a needle into at the point.

That's Andrew (9), the cowboy, in the back, moving with lightening speed.

It does not take them long to get the toys out. Tim (10) loves building with tiny Lego pieces. Here he is with Christian's space Lego from when he was young. It's given them hours & hours of pleasure, and some of the things they build are amazing. (Thanks Christian!)

So sorry, but some of the pictures are blurry. Hey, it's not easy to even remember the camera when they're here - I'm just glad I took it out and had it in my hand when they arrived =)

This is little Megan (5) with her larger Legos. (They think these toys are ours, and Al & I play with them when they are not here =)

Owen and Andrew love playing chess and are becoming quite good - especially Andrew who beat me fair and square. It amazes me that they understand the moves. It seems like just the other day they would tramp the chess pieces all over the board like checkers, and then proclaim themselves winners. Al is the one who spends the time playing chess with them and teaching them.

Sean is now an excellent chess player because of all the games he played with his father and brother. When he was little, he'd ask me to play a game with him whenever he got beaten, because he knew he'd win =)

This is the same old chess set that we've had for years, and that every child played with - even Sarah & Meghan, the Aguilar twins, when they could barely walk. Whenever we lost a piece we'd always find it, even if it was a few days later down a vent or in between a cushion. This may seem like a little thing, but I know it's the Lord. He spoke to me years ago about this chess set (which was symbolic to me), that if I would let go and not worry, He'd be in control. We've never lost a piece! Even little Mary Kate walks around with chess pieces in her hand as well as her mouth =).

A quiet moment - and there aren't many of those =) Grandad is trying to take a map. Shhhh!

I stopped playing Chinese Checkers with them to take this picture.

Timothy with his creations. (What a face!! "Do I have to smile?")

Here's Grandad trying to take his nap - and impossible task with five little grandchildren around. Rather than covering his head, he should have had earplugs.

(He needed a nap after a hard day's work so he could have enough energy to make the gingerbread house).

OK everybody's ready and it's time for Grandad to get up (of course there was no sleep, but he did get a little rest =)

Did we say eating is not allowed?
Mysteriously holes appeared in the bags of candy.

New rules: Try to leave some for the gingerbread house too =)

Even Mary Kate gets to sample some candy (of course). Amazingly there was still some left to decorate the house with.

This was our best house ever because we had a construction Co. (Sangree Construction Inc., nothing but the BEST) build it.

Last year we tried it when Grandad was at work and it was our worst year - the thing collapsed at least three times, with so many little fingers poking and licking and "building" =)

This year they actually waited until the "mortar" dried and the house was stable before decorating it. They all had a great time, especially Tim who planned the design. He said he thought it turned out great! We all agreed!

There's Mary Kate with Dana's doll when she was wee little. She just loves the "bee bee".
She actually walked around with two a lot of the time. She was a happy camper once she had her "bankie" (blanket), "pacie", and "bee bee", and the boys were not torturing her by sticking her pacifier into the nutcracker's mouth, and holding the leaver down at the back so she could not pull it out. She is so gentle, but sure knows how to get everybodies attention when she wants it.

Talking about nutcrackers, we were gluing them all weekend, and one still has no nose. Soon after they arrived I was in the bathroom when I heard Andrew say in his usual low voice "I didn't break nothing yet!" =)

Finishing touches!

On Saturday night Mommy came to pick them up because Grandad and I had a Christmas party to go to. You would have thought Mary Kate had died and went to heaven when she saw her Mom. She was happy before, but was ecstatic when she saw Dana. It was so precious! She shrieked with delight and laughed as she held her Mom ever so tightly, with her cheek next to hers. (Sorry about the blur - everything moves really fast when the grandkids are around =)

How precious is this!!!

Timothy made and calved a walking stick (for hiking) for his Dad for Christmas with Grandad's help, and here he is carrying out all the backpacks on it. A cute picture!
They are leaving for the night, but will be back tomorrow.

And we're ready to "step out" to a Christmas party that we always look forward to each year. Great food, and we get to dance together! Fun, fun, fun!

Dancing together! We sure enjoyed ourselves!

The really nice thing about this is that we only had to go next door as the party was hosted by the Anginos at Felicita. The weather turned lousy with sleet and freezing rain, but we could have walked home if we had to.
The ice storm that we had. (This is our lane and our house is on the left).

This is our first Christmas in our little cottage and we love it. It is so cozy and quiet, and although we still have quite a bit yet to do to the outside, we are enjoying the beautiful surroundings.

Sunday and the grandchildren are back, enjoying the snow and ice. We all went for a lovely walk together. We sure have wonderful places to walk, and the children sure enjoy it.

We enjoyed them so much, and made memories that we'll probably all remember for a long time. We missed Addie and Storie so much but maybe next year they'll come for Christmas =).

This is our "company Christmas luncheon" and Sean always makes it. This year I believe he only worked for Sangree Construction for half a day, and in fact that was the day =)

We sure are so blessed to have Sean home for the holidays, and for two whole weeks too!!!!

Flibbydibbydoo!!!!!!! (although we really do miss Christian, Holly and our girls =(
Next to Sean is Max, who Al loves working with, and says "he has the gift". We thank God for the wonderful employees He's blessed Al with over the years.

These are our dear friends, Bruce and Vickie Aguilar whom we've known for years.

We went out together for dinner just before Christmas, and what a wonderful joyous time it was. We had such a special time together laughing and chatting over delicious food, and even singing along with the live entertainer who sang and played his guitar for three hours straight without taking a break. Bruce and Al had requested a couple of "oldies" which he played for us.

It was a lovely night out, and we made the most of it!

We sure are blessed with with good friends and family.

Megan all dressed up on Christmas Eve.

We had Will, Dana and the children over ( and of course Sean ) Christmas Eve night and then went to their church with them.

We had a good time together, and after eating, the children opened their stockings.

What an exciting time that was, and to see their little faces light up was enough for us - but they were so grateful and kept thanking us. The boys each got a Dickie camouflage wallet with a dollar in it, and I think this was the biggest hit in their stockings. Megan had different things, so we just stuck a dollar bill in her stocking. Well, you would have thought it was a hundred dollar bill. Maybe next year we'll just put a couple of one dollar bills, and skip the shopping altogether =)

There's Will and Mary Kate, "poulez chopatoulis" alias "boo boo" (as the children call her) all dressed up on Christmas Eve. I wish I had taken more pictures, but as they came in I got all excited and forgot the camera for the rest of the night (this happens a lot I'm afraid).


We had a lovely quiet Christmas Day, the three of us, Al, Sean and I, as we have our Christmas at Will and Dana's with all the kids on Boxing Day, the 26 th. We have always celebrated it as Trinidad, which is where I'm from, was a British Colony and it's a big British holiday. So all my family, in Trinidad, Canada and England, as well as the US, are also off celebrating on Boxing Day . We got a web cam for Christmas and after calling everybody the day before, we were able to see as well as talk to Trinidad, England and Iowa. What a gift that was! They were able to see us and we were able to see them, and the best part is IT IS FREE!!!

I look forward to staying in touch, especially with Christian and Holly and our two precious grandchildren in Oklahoma, and being able to watch them grow up.

I'm so grateful for the technology we have today, although it can be frustrating when things go wrong - like my new video cam that I can't download as yet.

Well, stay tuned.....next time VIDEOS!!

Late Boxing Day at Will and Dana's...watching a video together after all was said and done.

GOD BLESS YOU & HAPPY NEW YEAR ONE AND ALL!!!!!

Trip to the Cascade Mountains

When I was in Washington, we had one day off a week, and we would take off before dawn and spend a glorious day seeing the sights.

This day my friend Vi and I took off for the mainland and headed for the Cascade Mountains, and a little Bavarian town called Leavenworth. I had no idea the treat I was in for. I'm so grateful for Vi (and one weekend, Marie & Phil) who planned all these wonderful trips since she lived on Whidbey Island. What a wonderful time we had! Starting off early in the morning before the sun was up - on the road!

On the Muckelteo ferry the sun began to rise, and what a glorious day it turned out to be.

All of a sudden we were out of the fog and the mountains were right there.

What excitement I felt being surrounded by such grandeur and beauty.

The road followed the river, and every bend around the mountains was another painting.

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork" (Psalm 19:1)

What amazing beauty for us to enjoy!
We visited Vi's brother and sister-in-law, and this was taken from their dining room window.
The view was spectacular every where you turned. (This picture does not do it justice)

Their property bordered this crystal clear mountain stream. (Maybe I'll paint this one=)

Then we got to the town of Leavenworth, a little Bavarian town nestled in the Cascade Mountains. What a delight this was! We walked around, did a little shopping, went to an art gallery and had a lovely time talking to the artist, ate a late lunch (or early dinner=), and then had the biggest ice cream cone we could buy as we strolled by all the quaint shops.

Hope you enjoy your little tour as well. It was such a delightful place!

Notice the mountains in the background.

It was October, but there were still flowers everywhere!

We just loved the purple flowers on this building.

Just look at those mountains - they were everywhere you looked! Amazing!

The horse was all decorated, and notice the Bavarian hat on the driver. I felt I was in the Alps.

Well, here we are back at the studio working. This is Vi in the red with me, with Marie (also a good friend now) and Rob behind her (We sure did have a good time, with lots of laughs at times -Rob had a good sense of humor which I really appreciated).

What a blessing it all was!

Photos of our trip to Whidbey Island, WA

I know this is a bit late, but here are some pics of our trip out to beautiful Whidbey Island, WA.
Both Al and I really enjoyed touring in our rental car before I began art school. This was taken from the plane of the sun setting over (I believe) the San Juan Islands. Later I was able to take a tour by ferry with my (new) friend Vi, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It is so beautiful on a clear day!
This is the first beach we saw the following morning (Useless Bay). It was overcast and felt like we were in Alaska, with all the driftwood on the beaches and the huge evergreens. There was not another soul in sight! We loved it!

By the time we got to Deception State Park (what names they have =), the sun was out, and it was really clear, not to be taken for granted in the Puget Sound. We were very excited to be there - it was so gorgeous!
My Sweetheart!

The water was so very blue - but of course it does not show in the picture.

The seaweed there is so strange. Here is Al playing with a 20 foot piece of heavy seaweed, using it as a bullwhip, before it whipped him - ouch!! We both got hurt - boy would our grandsons have loved this, especially the cowboy, Andrew =)
This is the famous Deception Pass Bridge. The currents are so very strong and fast-moving through there as they have 12 foot tides this time of the year.

Notice the sky - they have the most incredible skies there, and it is constantly changing.

I got some great pics to paint!

It was pretty scary standing on this bridge, as we were so high up and could feel the bridge moving. It was also windy.

Taken from the bridge.

We took this one for Sean. (By the way Sean, is there a sign that says "NO KAYAKING" yet at your pool? =). This bridge looked like an enormous erector set.
We sure enjoyed touring Whidbey Island. It was a wonderful experience. I'm so glad Al came up with me and we were able to spend those few days together before the course began. It certainly is a beautiful place, and everyone who lives there seems to love it.

The New Renaissance Academy - Six week course

Hi everyone, it's been so long, I may have forgotten how to do this. There's a definite order to this , and I should have posted the pics before I started writing.
Well, it's great to be back home again. The course was absolutely amazing though, and far exceeded my expectations.
It was a very intense six weeks and I learned so very much, and consequently the time flew for me. I was so grateful for cell phones so I could talk to Al each day and keep in touch with my family. It was so wonderful that Al was able to come up with me at the beginning, and we were able to spend a few days together on beautiful Whidbey Island before the course started. (I'll post some pics of Whidbey, WA and my trips on my days off at another time).
I really worked hard, especially on the final piece, which we worked on for three weeks, sometimes I worked until past midnight. (We all did something different for our final paintings). Each day I would tell Al that I could not believe how much I learned that day. It was really an amazing course, and I am so blessed to have been able to do it, and now be a graduate of the New Renaissance Academy. I am so very grateful for such a supportive husband and family. I kept asking them to pray for me to understand and be able to retain it all.
Below are the pieces I did. The first week was mostly academic, and then we began putting into practice what we were learning.
The course was "The Fundamentals of Masterpiece Painting" implementing "The Lost Secrets of the Old Masters".


Section 1: "The Fundamentals of Composition & Light"
This is a charcoal drawing I did of a still life that we set up. It is 18"x 24"

Section 11: "The Fundamentals of Perspective"

This is a pencil drawing that I did in a little town on the water called Coupeville. It is 6" x10"

Section 111: "The Fundamentals of The Natural Laws of Color"

This is 11" x 14" and is done with a very limited oil palette on linen. It was a practice piece we worked on for three days, putting into practice all that we had learned. I chose to do Whatcom Falls which I had visited with friends on my day off. Everyone did something different. The amazing thing about this is that I did not use white for the falls. I used a tinted blue, orange and yellow one on top the other, layer upon layer to make the white falls. Everything has all the colors in it, with certain ones predominating. This is not a very good picture I'm afraid, as I just took it and a part of the top is cut off, but you get the picture =) Look at the depth you get with this type of painting. It takes hours and hours, but it really is worth it! (I'll have a better pic of it put on my website later). Everything is brought up from the shadows into the light step by step, instead of matching the color and simply putting it on the canvas. It's painting the cause of the effect of what you see - not just the effect, ....and everything has all the colors in it.

This type of painting needs to be viewed with the right lighting, like the paintings of the old masters who painted using this sfumato technique, in order to be really appreciated. I'm sorry that my photos do not do them justice.

All our paints, linen (not canvas) etc was supplied for us, and we had the very best quality of everything. The linen is museum quality Claussens linen from Belgium @ approx $100.00 per yard, and one particular tube of Old Holland paint I heard was $69.00 after the discount.
My final painting which you're about to see took me over 150 hours, so from now on I'll have "major" and "minor" pieces. I wish you could see it in reality to see all the colors and the details.

Thanks Al, Christian & Holly, Will, Dana, Tim, Andrew, Owen, little Megan (who missed me so much) Sean and everyone else who prayed for me while I was in Washington. I sure missed you all, and came home to find little Mary Kate not just walking - but running....how wonderful is that!





This was my final piece.
I called it "La Voie" (The Way)
16" x 26" oil on linen

Still on the easel! Under the bright lights in the studio it looks bright, but it is dusk and although not dark, the lamp has come on.

This makes me think of my season of life -it is dusk and hopefully my light is beginning to shine too. (The lamp seems to turn on and the painting lights up under the right lighting - so many analogies - Jesus being "The Light" who shines through us).

It is a place I had been to in France called La Roche Bernard, and had spent a quiet hour and a half there while my group was eating at a restaurant close by. (I had needed some quiet time with the Lord).

I love the contrast between the ancient buildings, the old stone walls, and the beautiful flowers.

It speaks to me of this generation walking in the footprints of their ancestors, living and making it their own by planting flowers (although some are growing there all on their own). They are making the little pathway or "The Way" (La Voie) beautiful , that others would want to go that way as well, and the lamp is on to light the way.

To me it is a picture of my life and what I hope to be, as expressed through one of my most favorite songs "Find Us Faithful" by Steve Green. Here are the words:

"We're pilgrims on a journey on the narrow road,

And those who've gone before us line the way

Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary,

their lives a stirring testament to God's sustaining grace.

Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses

let us run the race, not only for the prize,

but as those who've gone before us,

let us leave to those behind us

the heritage of faithfulness passed on through godly lives.

(Chorus)

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful,

May the fire of our devotion light their way,

May the footprints that we leave, lead them to believe,

And the lives we live inspire them to obey.

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful!

After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone,

and our children sift through all we've left behind,

may the clues that they discover,

and the memories they uncover

become the light that leads them to the road we each must find.

(Chorus) "

Hebrews 12:1 says,

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses (those who've gone before us), let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God".

Oh may all who come behind me find me faithful!