Charlie is here!!

Okay, this is a quick one. I am just on a quick stop home, and figured I would spread the news. Charlie William Veinot was born to Kelly and I last night (June 30th...his actual due date) at about 10:30PM. It was a tough go during delivery for Kelly...first one without an epidural. She made it through, and Charlie is now with us. We are so excited, and so were the three girls this morning, when they met their baby brother (all with their "Big Sis" shirts on).

Okay, I better go. More info and pictures when we get back from the hospital.

A Tale of Two Girls

Once upon a time, there were two pregnant women that gave birth to two lovely babies within the course of five days. The first was named Audrey, and she was blessed with brown hair and an older brother. She was born in the land of Yarmouth.

The second, born five days later, was named Ruby, and she was blessed with blonde hair, and two older sisters. She was born in the land of Halifax.

Not only were these two girls born cousins to each other, but they would become friends and playmates. And...at a certain time each year, they would celebrate their birthdays...TOGETHER!

Here are the Birthday Girls...

They were born June 3rd and June 8th. Their magical 2nd Birthday Party was held Saturday, June 5th.

And look, their Birthday cakes...made by the village baker.

And then the cake was devoured...

And that is the tale of two girls that turned two together.

Here are a couple pictures of Ruby on her party day (her birthday for real is on Tuesday).

HAPPY B-DAY AUDREY AND RUBY.

My Brave Mother In Law

It has been almost a year since we received the news that Debbie had Lymphoma. We were quite shocked, and did not know what to expect as a result. She was to start Chemotherapy as soon as possible.

I never thought Debbie would make it through Chemo treatments. I don't know why. I guess I didn't think she was brave enough, or strong enough. I mean, nothing against my wonderful mother in law...but I seriously underestimated her.

As she went through the treatments for six months...I was surprised at her strength and courage. She dealt with the treatments very well, and was very brave.

As she went through more treatments early this year, it was evident that the pain was wearing her down a little. She still managed to impress me with her bravery.

Then, a month ago, when we got the news that more cancer was forming within her body, we were saddened, and could do nothing but hope for the best. She started a new, more intense chemotherapy, and it was definetly obvious that she was wearing down.

As we visited in early May, I saw how tired out Debbie was. She spoke of wanting the whole buisness to be over. The cancer was taking its toll. Poor Debbie was strong though, still...if not physically, then surly spiritually. She was very brave. She was not afraid to pass on. She wished the pain would go away, and was at peace with things in this life.

Then, last Friday, as we received the news that there would be no more chemotherapy, it was a time of sadness. Knowing that her cancer was winning the battle, and not her, was terrible news. We rushed to Halifax as soon as we could, to see her. Though the pain was almost completly absent, due to the morphine...we saw a very subdued and tired Debbie. But, she was brave, and at peace. She was happy, knowing that she would soon leave the pain that her treatments had left her with.

As we visited, expressed our love, and said our goodbyes...we did not know when we would see her again. We did not know if she would get to see Charlie or not. But we were blessed to spend that time with her.

We knew that her condition had been deteriorating all that week, but were not sure when she would pass away.

Last night, around 10:15PM, Ralph called to let us know our brave Debbie has passed away.

She leaves us having been much loved by so many. We intensely miss her. But we are happy that she is in a peaceful and restful place.

Her example of bravery is amazing. I wish I could express how deeply she will be missed. But how blessed we were to have her here. We will cherish all memories of her.

My mother in law was brave. She was loved. She was "my favorite mother in law".

Anny the Fourth

It has been four years now that Kelly has been stuck with me. Poor girl! We have had some fun times the past four years. We are about to have our third baby since our marriage. It has been a lot of pregnancy time. Actually, I just used my calculator to do the math...and Kelly has been pregnant for 52% of our marriage. Yikes, I never thought about it that way until I saw those numbers.

Anyway, I just wanted to send a Happy Aninversary to my wonderful wife, Kelly.

Emma #2 / Honey

Hi, my name is Ruby. I like to use the least amount of words possible when I talk. I am a minimalist. If I can get away with calling both my Mother and Father the same name, I will. Mom seems to work fine for both of them.

Actually, I am getting much better at talking now. I have started calling my Father something besides "Mommy". I now call him "Poppie". He doesn't mind, especially in contrast with being called Mommy all the time.

I have two older sisters. The oldest is Emma. The other one has a name, too, but I prefer to keep it simple. I just call the other one Emma, too. It's much easier that way. Actually, just so I don't get them too frustrated, I have also been known to use the name "Honey" for my other sister. It's cause she's so sweet.

So, that's a little about me. I am going to turn 2 in June...the same month my new brother is going to arrive. I am going to teach him how to push a chair over to the counter and climb up to get all the food. It's a trick I learned from Honey. Here's Honey now...

Hi, I am Morgan. Ruby calls me Honey, but I don't like it. I wish she could say my name. I am busy...or so I hear. I love getting into things, and jumping all over the house, and putting on like 10 dressess or outfits per day. I just have a lot of energy to burn off, and I figure I might as well take care of it while my parents are young, right? I love Madonalds. Yeah, most people call it McDonalds...but they don't know what they are talking about.

Anyway, I just turned 3 a couple months ago, and I am fully potty trained. I have been able to do the whole toilet thing for a while now, but I wanted to keep my parents on their toes...so eventhough I was cool with using the toilet all by myself...I just once in a while would let stuff go in my underwear for the fun of it. My parents...they didn't think it was cool though. Ah well, I am done all that nonsense now though.

Hello, I'm the real Emma. I am a little Diva. Whatever that means. I love to sing, and make up my own songs. Oh, and I love the movies...so when I turned 8 a few weeks ago, I had a party with some of my girl friends at the theatre. It was awesome. I was baptized the exact same day, too. It was really awesome. There was even a spider in the font with me and Pops. We had an awesome get together at our house after. There was so much good food.

Last week I was playing outside with some of the boys in the neighborhood, because it was so nice out. I was playing hockey for the first time. They were really fun to play with. I scored the winning goal for my team. I love playing with my sisters, too. They think I am the greatest. I am so excited for the little boy on the way. I am going to have fun dressing him up and painting his toenails. Pops says that will never happen. I am betting he's right. I love being a girl. Girl power!!

The Time Has Come

Well, today Kelly and I took the kids to the Great HRM for our March Break getaway. I know, I know...most of my collegues are off to Mexico or the Dominican. But, what could be better than basking in the sun in Dartmouth, NS!! Seriously, we are going to have a nice week of weather.

Plus, I hear Darrell Dexter is having a Yard Sale. I bet I can get some expensive cameras and computers for cheap!!!

Anyway, I'll put the "Down with the NDP" banter on the backburner, cause we have some way better news.

We stopped into Kentville on the way up, and strolled over to Ye Old Peek-A-Boo Baby, just to check in on our little person that we are growing. The little one's been getting lots of chocolate bunny and milk...I think that's a sure-fire recipe for a successful baby!!

Well, we told the lady right away that we were very interested in finding out the gender of this little one. So she hopped right on it, and found this...

I don't know if you can see the little arrow or not...but it's pointing at what we call in our home a "peanut" or "pee-pee". Yup, that is correct...IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We both were definetly SHOCKED!! I was expecting a girl for sure. Morgan has consistently predicted that it would be a boy. I guess she was right. Emma has been saying she wants a brother, so her wish came true. We are so excited to know what it is. I think I am the most excited of all. I am really excited to teach the young lad how to spit, cuss, and throw the good ol' pigskin. Actually...that's what my plan is for all my kids anyway. But still...it's exciting.

Here are the other pictures.

Sucking his thumb

Face Shot

Not the best picture...but his face again.

This is what he was doing most of the time we were there...hiding.

Anyway, this was to be the most exciting part of our break...and it was worth the wait and money. Now the trouble begins, of coming up with a name for the little guy. Kelly and I have a hard time with agreeing on boy names. We'll get it done though.

WOOHOO!!!!

OH CANADA!!!

WOW!! I have been on a crazy train the last two weeks, watching as much of the Olympics as possible. Even at school in the mornings, I would turn on my LCD projector and put on the Olympic coverage, so that I could watch during my breaks.

I have been staying up too late, and ironically, the little girls have been getting up earlier! What kind of luck is that?? But it has all been worth it. There have been so many great moments from the Olympics. Canada's first Gold at home. Close finishes. Funny commentators. It has all been awesome. And Kelly even started getting into the games about half way through, and was dissapointed if we didn't get the chance to sit down and watch some in the evening.

But the greatest moment of all was at the very end. Facing the USA in the men's hockey final...with a possibility of not only a Gold medal...but the chance to break the record for most Gold medals at a winter games. And what a game it was!! What dissapointment in the last 24 seconds of the game, when USA tied it all up!! I was so mad!! But the excitment soon began as our own Nova Scotian boy slapped that puck in the net in overtime!! WOOHOO!!

WAY TO GO CANADA!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, now that it is over, I can get back to a normal bedtime, and maybe get some work done at school. haahahaha.

Proud to be a Canadian...