welcome to the Blog 

I honestly do not remember when I met Amanda…maybe a decade ago? Even though my family moved away from Saint John, we have kept in touch through Facebook. This month, they travelled that lovely new highway down to St George for their family pictures (just a little over 30 minutes from the West side of Saint John to St George now!).

Seeing how big her kids have grown made me a wee bit choked up…was Sydney not just a little brown eyed mopet of a toddler last week?

Even though it was November we were blessed with a wonderful warm day, gorgeous sunshine and everyone was in a light and happy mood! Could not have been more perfect!

I honestly do not remember when I met Amanda…maybe a decade ago? Even though my family moved away from Saint John, we have kept in touch through Facebook. This month, they travelled that lovely new highway down to St George for their family pictures (just a little over 30 minutes from the West side of Saint John to St George now!).

Seeing how big her kids have grown made me a wee bit choked up…was Sydney not just a little brown eyed mopet of a toddler last week?

Even though it was November we were blessed with a wonderful warm day, gorgeous sunshine and everyone was in a light and happy mood! Could not have been more perfect!

Funny how life throws your curve balls…the plan and expectation was we would wait for mother nature to decide when the baby would arrive, baby was due Sept 1 but given my record for overcooking my kids I assumed mid Sept. Due to some dangerously low fluids they began inducing…47 hours later she arrived.

Once home I looked forward to some normalcy…the sleep deprived kind. But somehow this time it was different. She is my 4th child and I felt very confident that I should know what I was doing but instead we spent days in bed, me trying to coax her to eat and her crying and fussing and refusing…and something else felt off. So off…she would go very still and limp. From screaming to nothing.

A couple of doctor’s appointments later my fears were confirmed, she was not doing well. So, we moved into the regional hospital.

The diagnosis was failure to thrive, even with being tube fed she still lost weight and faced a few other health issues. There is nothing scarier than a doctor shaking their head and saying they didn’t know WHY.

Her blood pressure is unstable, her heart is misbehaving, she is having ‘grey spells’ and the doctors are as frustrated as we are. She is down from 7 lbs 11oz to 4 lbs 11oz.

So, Cecilia and I walk the halls at the Regional Hospital, we walk up and down paediatrics, chatting with nurses, getting to know other inmates/residents…we had long and deep conversations about fighting hard and the importance on eating. (My aunt commented she is the first girl in our family we prayed would gain weight)

After 5 weeks we are finally seeing some progress! New medications seem to be helping and she is calmer. I miss the kids, I miss home, I miss my bed. But we are where we should be. Thank you for the meal train and visits from my friends. We are hoping to get some day passes soon and come home.

Cecilia at 3 months old

Funny how life throws your curve balls…the plan and expectation was we would wait for mother nature to decide when the baby would arrive, baby was due Sept 1 but given my record for overcooking my kids I assumed mid Sept. Due to some dangerously low fluids they began inducing…47 hours later she arrived.

Once home I looked forward to some normalcy…the sleep deprived kind. But somehow this time it was different. She is my 4th child and I felt very confident that I should know what I was doing but instead we spent days in bed, me trying to coax her to eat and her crying and fussing and refusing…and something else felt off. So off…she would go very still and limp. From screaming to nothing.

A couple of doctor’s appointments later my fears were confirmed, she was not doing well. So, we moved into the regional hospital.

The diagnosis was failure to thrive, even with being tube fed she still lost weight and faced a few other health issues. There is nothing scarier than a doctor shaking their head and saying they didn’t know WHY.

Her blood pressure is unstable, her heart is misbehaving, she is having ‘grey spells’ and the doctors are as frustrated as we are. She is down from 7 lbs 11oz to 4 lbs 11oz.

So, Cecilia and I walk the halls at the Regional Hospital, we walk up and down paediatrics, chatting with nurses, getting to know other inmates/residents…we had long and deep conversations about fighting hard and the importance on eating. (My aunt commented she is the first girl in our family we prayed would gain weight)

After 5 weeks we are finally seeing some progress! New medications seem to be helping and she is calmer. I miss the kids, I miss home, I miss my bed. But we are where we should be. Thank you for the meal train and visits from my friends. We are hoping to get some day passes soon and come home.

Cecilia at 3 months old

Yes, I suck at blogging!! Partly because I have never been consistent at diary keeping or it could be I have been a wee bit preoccupied. One August 31, it was a special night…not only a blue moon but it brought us our fourth child, another daughter, Cecilia Elizabeth. Born at 7:13am, 7 lbs 11oz:)

The past 5 1/2 weeks have flown by…with many tales to tell but perhaps if I hold back it will force me to blog about it…

Please note the first photo, is NOT mine…it is from my sweet husband:)

Yes, I suck at blogging!! Partly because I have never been consistent at diary keeping or it could be I have been a wee bit preoccupied. One August 31, it was a special night…not only a blue moon but it brought us our fourth child, another daughter, Cecilia Elizabeth. Born at 7:13am, 7 lbs 11oz:)

The past 5 1/2 weeks have flown by…with many tales to tell but perhaps if I hold back it will force me to blog about it…

Please note the first photo, is NOT mine…it is from my sweet husband:)

It isn’t everyday you get to do a session with such a beautiful family or of another photographer’s children! In the most gorgeous location, we had so much fun getting these pre-Christmas family photos!! I will admit I was nervous doing work for another professional but I will say it was the easiest session, as these lovely girls are pro’s at getting their picture taken!

It isn’t everyday you get to do a session with such a beautiful family or of another photographer’s children! In the most gorgeous location, we had so much fun getting these pre-Christmas family photos!! I will admit I was nervous doing work for another professional but I will say it was the easiest session, as these lovely girls are pro’s at getting their picture taken!