Winter and Family

We’ve just come through the season of family. Every second year Brendon and I make the trek out East to Ottawa to spend time with my family. I come from a big crew - three younger sisters plus mom and dad. This year we were able to get three of the daughters together while the one remaining spent her fourth Christmas in Taiwan. We rented a cabin in Quebec about an hour away from Ottawa and miles away from the frantic energy that literally consumes many holiday festivities. With only one relatively small sister fight (somehow pulling hair is still a choice weapon at 33) the whole experience can be considered a great success.

With our souls’ a little replenished from our immersion in nature and family, we took off to Val David in the Laurentians to visit friends. As many of our closest peeps have begun to have kids it’s amazing how quickly and often our conversations begin to turn towards family, and not just of the nuclear sort but the importance and conundrum of grandparents.

Some of our friends with children have moved across the country to buy homes close to their parents. Others make the weekend trips to visit family regularly so their kids get to grow-up with grandparents. But one of our friends did what we did...though in typical Quebec-country style.

Monique and Ian have built a home in his parent’s backyard which consists of a couple of acres of beautiful boreal forest. Their two children now have a short nature walk to their grandparent’s house. Their own home is a beautiful combination of modern architecture and rustic cottage appeal. They’ve salvaged and bargained for everything inside the home. From the kitchen cabinets made from the drawers of an old dresser to the interior siding of the living room covered in the wood from an old barn. It’s inspiring seeing other couples making similar choices to ourselves, choosing not only to build their own eco-friendly homes but to do so near family as well.

I wish we could say we had pictures to share, but we got so distracted by our excitement that we forgot to take even one. I’m hoping Ian and Monique will see this post and send us lovely photos so we can share. Instead, here are four of our wedding photos hot off the presses!