For what it's worth....

A dear dear Ontario neighbour, who to the best of my knowledge has know me my entire 43 years of life, has made a request! She wrote, "It is so nice to be in contact with you and seeing the babes and Sean make it extra nice. I would like to see more pics of you though." I must say, the camera is something that I avoid for good reason these days...maybe one day I'll have reason not to be so shutter shy ...

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Well Pam, I took to heart what you said about not seeing pics of ME! I must say...these days, I avoid the camera's unforgiving eye, when at all possible...but this blog is not only something for friends & family to have fun keeping up with...it's something that my girls will one day be able to look back on & see our life - THEIR life in full colour! Whether I like the pics of me or not...I'd like to think that the girls will want to see them....

Just don't expect to see a tiny Tori, a stunningly beautiful TJ or Perfectly coiffed Roberta. It's not exactly a glamorous life style up here & my body has fallen far from grace...

Humbly, here I am...

Spruce & Beetle are two of my babies, I love them dearly & have owned them since they day they were born. (Dec 03/06)

In my neck of the woods the Spruce Bark Beetle has killed some 70% of the forests, Not a romantic inspiration in the naming of my dogs but I thought the names were catchy nonetheless ...Just when the twins are old enough to start running a team, these two should be mature enough (& calm enough) to do the job!!

With all 4 of us down with a bug,

a friend dropped by with home-made-chicken-noodle-soup tonight!

YUMMMMMY!!

Sarah thought it was absolutely wonderful!
I was rather grateful because I'd not slept all the night before & I had NO interest in preparing anything for us....

I must say though,
that husband of mine does do lots of the cooking around here & he's an awesome chef to boot, so why mess with a good thing??

OK...THIS would be a rather scary photo but it's not about ME, it's about my HAT! It was my Christmas present to myself! The red is sheared beaver & the ivory is wool stroud, the rest of the fur is beaver as well...the ties are home-tanned moose hide...
Every single stitch was hand done by a well loved & highly respected local Elder (and brilliant artist, I might add). I just HAD to have it...Lucky for me she was able to make another, more masculine one, for Sean! This meant I could justify the purchase :) He DID need a new mushing hat, after all :):):)
You should see HIS..it's just as gorgeous
& let me tell YOU...
at minus 50, you'd be happy to pay TRIPLE what I paid!!!
I'm SUCH a good wife, don't you think?

OK...so it's only -45 here but I was only outside for a few minutes at this point
& the fur tips are already frosting up!!

Adelaide & I LOVE to play the Tickle Game together...Heck
"Tickle"' is now her first word
(after "Daddy", that is)
& she ASKS to play by saying it!!

& here we all are,

snug as three bugs in Aunt Mary's woolen afghan :)

cuddling in the living room built for us by my loving husband,

but not without the incredible support of two families brought together as one yet spanning four countries

& warmed by the children that have filled it.

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So in the end,
I may be frumpy, stretched & tired from growing two perfect little humans,
but tonight, I'm OK with that...

because...

when I reflect on what I have gained on the inside,

instead of what I have gained on the outside,

I clearly see that it's worth every scar.

Thanks for making me take another look Pam :)