Untitled.

Have you ever wondered why so many women cry so easily and so often?


 Our shoulders are strong enough to carry the weight of the world, yet gentle enough to give comfort.
 We have the inner strength to endure both childbirth and the rejection that many times comes from our children.

 We have a hardness that allows us to keep going when everyone else gives up, and the strength and desire to take care of our family through sickness and fatigue without complaining.
 We have the sensitivity to love our children under any and all circumstances, even if our child says words that hurt us, or they turn their back on us.

We have the strength to carry our husbands through his faults, the desire to protect his heart,
  and her resolve to stand beside him unfalteringly.

And finally, we have a tear to shed. This is ours exclusively to use whenever it is needed.



"The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair...
The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart - the place where love resides."

November, come and gone.

This month is going by so fast, just like last month and the one before.

November brought a first birthday to our youngest and the first, albeit light, snowfall. Winter is upon us, friends.. are you ready? I'm so not. If it could stay september all year round I would be a happy, happy girl.
I must say though, we are coming up to christmas much more prepared than ever before, and I hope it;s a sign of things to come.. the time of year is so much less stressful when you take it one day at a time and don't attempt to cram it all into a few short weeks.
This will be the first year in a long time that we will be staying home for Christmas.. with my new job among other things, we decided that a quiet Christmas is what we want this year.. us at home, the kids actually getting to play with their new toys on Christmas day, and a nice dinner, followed by a long sleep... it will definitely feel strange though, we haven't had such a holiday in a long time now and something will feel off about not rushing around and being surrounded by the family that we adore. I'm not sure that this will be a routine, but for this year, it works.

We have a few things on our calander over the next few weeks, my work christmas party is on Sunday.. Rob's birthday party is on the 6th, and his work Christmas party is on the 10th. His employer really goes above and beyond for their annual event. It is an overnight stay, and up until now has always been held at a lovely place called Eganridge in Bobcaygeon. (http://www.eganridge.com/) Last year, we brought a 4 week old Trenton along with us, and he slept almost the whole time. This year, it's at a lovely place called Viamede in Stoney Lake (http://www.viamede.com/) and there will be no children joining us. We're both looking forward to the event, but mostly to curling up at the end of the night in bed beside a crackling fire, with a beautiful view of the lake.

How are you spending your holidays? Do you have special traditions within your family? Are your December days mostly quiet or very busy?

Wordless Wednesday: Flashback.

On this day.. one year ago.

This photo was taken on November 16th, 2010. 6 days after baby T was born.
I remember this day, even though much of it was spent just like the image depicts.. sleeping, with my new baby in my arms. I remember that Rob had taken the older kids out while Trenton and I slept off the exhaustion of the past week.. we spent the whole day on the couch together, nursing, talking, cuddling, sleeping.
Rob came in with the kids at the end of the day and took this photo of us.

I remember that this way the day that the fogginess started to clear, this was the day the reality of life settled in. This was the day my emotions hit me like a rock to my stomach.
I remember how I felt.. I felt like the luckiest person to ever walk the planet, I was completely blissed... I was staring in awe at the family we had created, the family that was finally complete.. and that's exactly how I felt.. complete. Like if I died at that very moment, there would be no regret.

As long as I live, I will remember that feeling. Through the hardships, through the financial difficulties and arguments and angsty teenagers, I will remember that feeling. I will remember my purpose on this planet and remember how lucky and loved I am. I will remember that I have felt love deeper than I could have ever imagined. I will remember that I felt complete.

What else in the world could I ever need?

Twelve Months Of Trenton {Twelve}

Dear Trenton;

It happened. a whole twelve months have passed since you came into the world. Despite my efforts to make the year happen as slowly as possible, it flew by, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
You're a whole year old.

It seems like someone flipped a switch the minute you turned one. Your words sound clearer, your steps are strong and determined, you know exactly what you want.
You have lots of words now, "Mama, Dada, Baba, Milk, Yeah..." I think my favourites are when you call your sister.. you go toddling toward her room with a firm, "Heeeyeeeee!" She loves it as much as I do. The other is when you see the cat, Otep. You point, and smack your lips and say "Owwwww" which means Otep, we know, because it's the only time we hear that sound come from your mouth. It's pretty much the cutest thing ever.

You're not only walking, you're almost running now. You love being able to walk on your own outside and explore. It will be so much fun watching you toddle around in your snowsuit and discover the snow for the first time.
You seem to like daycare, but you only just stopped crying at dropoff.. but every time I pick you up, you are all smiles.
You're incredibly cheeky.. you know exactly what "No" means, and when we say it, you give us this hilarious grin that says "What are you going to do about it?"

Your personality develops a little more with each passing day and I am having a blast getting to know the little you. I could just explode, I love you so much.

I am happy that this project is done, I don't think we would have successfully gotten another photo... you were not having it by the end.. but I know I'll be glad that we stuck through and did it together. It will be nice to look back on.

I love you, little man. Here's to the next year.