A Photo A Day | May 27 – June 2

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Kaia Calhoun

This week was all about the KLOVE Fan Awards!

My hubby is in Citizen Way and played at the Ryman on Saturday as a part of the festivities so we make a trip out of it!

MONDAY on the road to Gatlinburg

TUESDAY off galavanting in Gatlinburg

WEDNESDAY on the road to Nashville

THURSDAY a cool floral tree in the parking lot at WSMV

FRIDAY Citizen Way sound checking it up at the Ryman! (my only opportunity to snap some REAL pictures of the guys)

SATURDAY coffee date with Mom at CREMA

SUNDAY one last look at Nashville

A full blog post of this week of adventures coming soon!

Check out more “a Photo a Day” blog posts HERE

Miss Independent is Back

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Kaia Calhoun

I have seen Josh for about five whole days in the last month and a half or so. For this Redeemed Tour Citizen Way started up in our neck of the woods then headed down south, all the way west, up to Washington and over to Montana and then, finally, one month later I picked him up at a McDonald’s off the freeway in MN. He had gone a total of around 8094 miles and 128 hours of driving for 19 shows at 19 different venues in 12 different states in 31 days and only slept 2 – 5 hours per night. Josh and Ben Blascoe split all those miles and all those hours in the driver’s seat of their 15 passenger van.

This map shows the first 31 days of the tour, February 1 – March 4.

Needless to say, after all those miles with high energy and sold out shows in so many cities and states Josh was in need of some serious sleep. Instead, he meets me in Minnesota to sing for my Grandma’s memorial service. For him this meant sacrificing his big need for rest and pouring any remaining energy into loving on me, working on memorial service details, and entertaining my extended family. And he did it all with such grace and love. He is incredible.

If you haven’t guessed, marriage for us is different.

Because of all our time apart and weeks spent fending for myself I have found that I have reconnected with the little Miss Independent from my teenage years. While Josh is gone I adopt a different lifestyle; I work all morning, around 1 or 2 I take a break or a nap, I get back to work, and come evening I read a book until I’m sleepy. I mix it up with the occasional hang with a friend, a walk with the dogs, a home project, or some knitting. It’s seems to be a very healthy pattern. Instead of powering through 8 – 10 hours of work every day I put in 4 or 5, take a break so I can power back up and get excited and inspired, then I work the remaining 4 to 5 hours.

I also have a whole manner of affairs to tend to on my own. Because of these little items I have to work on I have been finding that at the end of every day I feel very accomplished. By sweeping, doing the dishes, buying groceries, juicing, getting the oil changed, shoveling the driveway, clipping the dog’s nails, or paying bills I can feel like I’ve been productive even if I’ve only been working on editing the same wedding for three days straight.

Then Josh comes home and we try to squeeze in as much togetherness as my work load can afford. It’s a confusing back and forth because on one had I’m left to fend for myself and on the other hand I suddenly have someone around 24/7. Talk about some whiplash. We’re still navigating how to go between these two extremes in the ways that are easiest and most beneficial for both of us. For the rest of this Redeemed Tour the art of this back-and-forth will be put to the test. According to the schedule Josh is gone 4 – 5 days at a time then he’s home for 2 – 3. As for today and the rest of this week I am Miss Independent, then come Monday I am a Mrs again for a couple of days 😉

a Photo a Day | Feb 25 – March 3

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Kaia Calhoun

Ok, so I finally have had time to sit down and finish this post. With my grandma’s funeral behind me I am working to get back on track! Thanks again friends for all of your prayers and support in this season!

Monday… Sam’s little paw poking out of the bedding

Tuesday… An Echo in the Darkness (book review coming soon)

Wednesday… Drifter’s nose

Thursday… I built this fire with my own two hands (“How to Build a Good ‘Ol Minnesotan Fire” coming soon)

Friday… road trip with my little bro! (with a weekend full of fun memories I took a lot of pictures… full blog post from our 3 day ski trip coming soon)

Saturday… a sunset in Lutsen, MN

Sunday… a sunrise in Lutsen, MN 😉

To Grandmother’s House I Went

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Kaia Calhoun

Some of you friends have been very faithful in prayer on behalf of my grandma and I thank you so much for your support in that!

I suddenly had enough of fretting about her situation in my empty house and resolved to set my sails to Minnesota to be sure I got to see her. I decided last Tuesday evening, prepped myself all day Wednesday, and was finally on the road at around 6pm. I should have waited until morning.

Ordinarily I avoid driving in the night at all costs. In this case I was bent on getting there ASAP so I not only drove in the dark but I started my drive in the dark. And then, about halfway through my drive, snow hit. With the pitch black blanket of midnight sky cast by nighttime darkness and thick cloud cover my headlights seemed to barely pierce the endless darkness around me. It was so dark that, for the first time in my life, I was actually grateful for light pollution when I came upon some because I could actually navigate my tires into and safely along the lone pair of treads set before me – there was not a snow plow in sight and the snow was only getting heavier so the freeway was covered with one thick snow blanket. At one point I contemplated just pulling over and sleeping in the car until the snow passed, or until a snow plow came through, or until morning but I’m as much of a stubborn Norwegian as my grandma so I kept at it.

I passed five cars swallowed by ditches, nearly got sideswiped by an over-confident semi truck driver, and added an extra hour or so to my already 7 hour drive but I made it.

The next morning I awoke to coffee time with Mom and then we headed to visit Grandma. I was hopeful in going to see her because only a couple of days before my mom told me how Grandma said something like this, “those who believeth and are baptized will be saved.” Up until this point I thought my grandma was intentionally as far from finding God as possible. I can’t say whether she has asked Jesus to be Lord over her life, though hopefully I will find that out soon, I can say that knowing she quoted scripture gave me hope that if she didn’t already she might be much more up for it than I thought!

My time with Grandma was lovely and gave me peace. Honestly, my Grandma is a hoot to hang with. We talked a lot about Josh, I think she has a little crush on him ;), and I tried to get her to tell me stories from her childhood.

On the last day I was home I went to visit her by myself. I brought the dogs and Josh’s music so she could meet my furry kiddos and hear some rough cuts of Citizen Way’s new album coming out in the next couple months. She was amused by my pups until Sam tried to snuggle one too many times and drew blood on her fragile skin with his persistently knife-like claws. So I put them away and put the music on. She reclined and listened intently to every tune I played for her. I’m pretty sure she couldn’t have possibly understood the lyrics but I was praying all the while that the words would sink into her heart anyway. After she tired of music we chatted. At one point she dozed off and she was so still that I thought she died right in front of me! But, just before I asked Gene, her 24 hour caregiver, for help, Grandma spoke again behind me. Thank the Lord! I was so freaked!

Before I left I asked if I could pray for Grandma. “Oh yeah!” she said. A much more enthusiastic response than I expected so my heart fluttered even more hopefully for her. After the prayer and a gentle, awkward stooping hug and said goodbye. I said “I love you Grandma” and she said “drive safe” (she doesn’t say “I love you”) and that’s all I know for now.

I have written her a postcard and called her since but I have nothing else major to report. She is gradually but surely declining daily in health as the toxins seep into her blood but she’s a tough old lady and is hanging in there. I’m still so hopeful I will get to see her at least one more time when I go up in about a week for a ski trip with my brother.

Continue praying for her salvation until I find out for sure whether or not she professes Jesus Christ as her savior but please also pray for her pain and that she can keep a sound mind until I know for sure she’s in God’s hands 🙂

The flowers are the Valentines flowers we got her 🙂

Minnesota Road Trip: one long car ride and onto one lazy day

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Kaia Calhoun

It’s funny that I title this “Minnesota Road Trip” because Josh and I take this trip all the time. But hey, why not make the trip sound like an adventure?

Despite my protests Josh and I were scheduled leave after he got home from a dragster race with KLOVE on Sunday… at 6pm. I knew this meant driving in mostly darkness and that I am no longer a young whipper-snapper full of excitement when the words “late night” pass through my ear canals. With the assurances that I wouldn’t have to drive a minute if I didn’t feel up to it, I consented.

Three and half hours into the trip, that’s about halfway, Josh couldn’t push on so I dropped my work and took the wheel for the rest of the trip.

Our radio busted within the first couple hours of the trip so I put in some headphones and plugged myself into my iPhone to jam to some sufficient awakening music. After a couple hours my posture became increasingly droopy and my eyelids were having trouble withstanding their own weight. I was pondering pulling over for a late night nap when I saw a sign:

“Hudson 10 miles
St. Paul 31 miles”

With those lovely numbers in sight I had a burst of a second wind and got us through the cities. The next glitch in the trip was a momentary brain lapse that led us a mile off course. I was pretty unfazed though and kept my spirits up until the next set back. We were on 55 and it was 2 am and there were signs for a mandatory detour. To my dismay this detour took us a good 5 – 7 miles off course and I was fuming. All of a sudden I was bursting with a sort of rage at Josh for not holding up his end of the deal (after all, I wanted to leave in the morning) and for possibly being responsible for breaking the radio, at myself for causing the first detour, and at the immediate vicinity for existing in a way that took me off course and later into the night. Of course I take it all out on Josh though. I sometimes wonder if I will ever manage to point my anger in the right direction or, better yet, get rid of any unrighteous anger altogether.

We are here now in Buffalo, Minnesota. We relaxed yesterday away and are doing the same this morning before an evening of friends and family.