Today was a very special day for us. Teddy and I, witnessed the unveiling of the painting we had our beautiful, talented friend Melissa Townsend (Hiltz) paint for us.

It was beyond worth the wait… and I am so lucky that she allowed me to photography the unveiling, and her beautiful self on my new Oliphant backdrop.

When we saw this amazing piece of art we were both speechless, I thought to myself “wow, we are all grown up”.  The scene took us back 5 years ago to our honeymoon in Positano, Italy; this vivid painting is so 3-dimensional that it makes you feel you are there, and we cannot wait to return this September with Vatican in tow to tour around as a family, and revisit all of the amazing streets, restaurants and people.

This was a labour of love for Melissa, she told us that over the course of this adventure, she thought about painting over the whole thing 3 times and redoing it, but we are so glad that she didn’t and LOVE it just the way it is.

Being an artist can be very rewarding, empowering and enlightening, but it can also be very confining because you have so much that you just want to release all at once, and sometimes nothing comes out.  Teddy and I are so very proud of Melissa and her work, and honoured that we now have a piece to call our own.  It compliments our new(ish) home so wonderfully, and brings a warm smile to our faces every time we walk into our front room.

Melissa is a loving mother, amazing wife, and very special to me; she is such a kind soul. I know how much of her heart she put into this breathtaking project; a lot of blood, sweat and tears, and it is because of this that I wanted to give her a little something to help her put things into perspective when it gets too heavy.

The GIVING KEYS bracelet, hers says BREATHE, because sometimes that is all you need to help collect your thoughts and push through the funk.

We love you Melissa, and will cherish and pass this lovely masterpiece on throughout our family for generations.  You gave us such a special gift, we will forever be grateful and are so thankful to have you as such a sweet, giving friend.

The hanging of the piece was a family affair, we all shared in the fun; little Vander kept William occupied so we could get everything perfect.

Our painting is home…