welcome to the badlands: Oh..the Christmas Season..

Christmas this year brought our family a lot of ups and downs. On Christmas Eve my Uncle Richard passed away after a short, gallant battle with cancer. It was really hard to be away from my family during this time (as we were in Alberta) but it was comforting to know that there were friends and family surrounding my aunt and cousins at this time. I am also glad that Sonia was able to have a fun filled Christmas. (Especially since you could tell that she could feel the emotional vibes we were all giving out when we did finally get to Vancouver.)

I miss my uncle terribly already, but I know that he wouldn't want any of us to dwell on the sad parts of this, but to look to our futures with joy and anticipation.\
CLICK HERE to see the obituary.

This year Christmas was spent at my in-laws. All of my husbands brothers came with their wives and babies (and baby bumps!!). It was a very full house. Sonia ADORED playing with her cousins and her aunties and uncles and Dave and I loved hanging out with the family. We had a BIIIIIG dinner on Christmas Day with some of Dave's extended family (adding four more kids under 8 to the equation!). It was a blast.

It was great to see all the friends and family out there in the prairies. I miss them all so much...I do not miss Alberta. ;)
We had only planned on being gone for the week, but with everything happening with my family in Vancouver Sonia, Dave and I stayed there for another week. It was a very emotional time but it was awesome to see everyone. I had felt so far away from them during my time in Alberta and my heart really ached for them.

I spent New Years with Dave (and a sleeping Sonia) at my sister's house in Burnaby...although not with my sister. Jackie, Kyle and their friend Marlee headed to the local pub to tie one on. And that they did. I won't go into details. (hahaha) It was a nice quiet night.

The next day was spent planning and preparing for my uncles Celebration of Life at Meadow Gardens Golf Course to be held the following day. It was so nice to see how many people love uncle Richard as the room was FILLED.
The service was beautiful and very very emotional. Following that, we all went to my uncle's favourite restaurant where they had closed half the restaurant to us. We ate, drank and visited. I got to spend the night with my cousins dancing and talking. It was very therapeutic. Since I wasn't around for all the chaos it was really good to be able to spend time with them.