Monday, January 30, 2006

The Roys










Michelle Joy Esther







Michelle Dee Olivia Joy Esther







Here are a couple of pics of my good friends! Unfortunately, Brittany and Denis were not there the day I took these photos! And Melissa, of course, is still in the Philippines - though coming home in a few weeks - a trained midwife! I wish I had taken more pictures of friends in Saint John. But I did get some family shots. I will post them too in the coming days when I can spare a minute! :)

Sunday, January 15, 2006

Christmas Pics

Christmas Morning

Dragon Queen

Happy 2nd Birthday Simeon!

Christmas Day - Imagination Exploration!

Our Beautiful Little Christmas Baby!

No time to write these days! Sorry! But as promised, here are a few Christmas pics. Notice that these are ONLY pictures of me and the kids! I will post some Maritime family shots sometime soon as well! In the meantime, enjoy gazing upon my gorgeous children!!! :)

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

In Loving Memory

Sonia Lavictoire

September 17, 1972 - January 1, 2006

It is with incredible sorrow that we let you know that Sonia Lavictoire passed away in a tragic car accident on January 1st, 2006.
Sonia was a mother, loving partner, wonderful friend, doula, childbirth educator, La Leche League Leader and aspiring midwife. She was an incredible presence in the lives of all who were blessed to know her.

She leaves her husband Bairn Mooney and her beautiful children Everett and Oliver, ages 11 and 9. She is also survived by her parents Louise and Andy Lavictoire, brother Simon (Michelle), nephew Samuel, parents-in law Gail and Walter Mooney, as well as a large circle of loving friends. She was very close with her family and friends, and we are all stunned and devastated by her tragic death.

Sonia was an incredible person and we are grateful for the time we had with her.

Sonia's funeral will be held at Gilbart's Funeral Home on 309 Eveline St in Selkirk at 3PM on Friday, January 6th. Her obituary will be in the Winnipeg Free Press on Thursday January 5th.

Sonia’s friends have established a trust fund for her children’s education. Her family would also like to honour Sonia’s commitment to education and support for childbearing women by establishing a fund to be used for low-income mothers in her name. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation either to the Everett and Oliver Lavictoire Trust, or to the Sonia Lavictoire Memorial Trust at any branch of the Assiniboine Credit Union.

We are also gathering mementos of Sonia's work with birthing families for display at her funeral and to compile into a memory book for her children. If you have any photos or memories of Sonia that you would like to share, please email them to us at info@birthrootsdoulas.com Memories will also be posted in the forthcoming days at www.birthrootsdoulas.com/sonia.htm

Sonia, we love and miss you very much.

Tara Laba, Deanna Momtchilov, and Julia Allen

Birth Roots Doula Collective

Monday, January 02, 2006

Sad News

Today I received some very difficult news. A very dear friend of mine, Sonia Lavictoire, passed away last night in a car accident. She was a beautiful person, full of joy, and one of the most caring people I have ever met. She was not only a close friend, but also one of my doula partners who was involved in both my children's journeys into this world. We will miss her terribly. Please pray for her family as she leaves behind a great husband and 2 young boys. I can't even begin to imagine how they will cope with this awful tragedy.

We're Back!

Happy New Year everyone!

We are back in Winnipeg! The trip home was smooth, but for a couple of unexpected delays which meant spending the New Year transition in the air! The kids were great, as usual. It was a very difficult goodbye, especially for me, but it had its highlights as well. At the airport, Simeon stood on the opposite side of the glass, after going through security, and waved very excitedly to all the family who had come to say goodbye. He was so full of joy (of course not fully understanding that we wouldn't see them again for a long time) that I think it brought them alot of comfort. He is such an incredible little guy and we are so proud of him. Anyways, we had an awesome time over the past 6 weeks and we hope and pray we will get to see our East Coast family/friends again really soon!

Deyan and I were reminiscing last night and discussing how grateful we are for...everything! We are blessed with 2 healthy, beautiful children who bring us an incredible amount of joy! We are envelopped in a great support system. We have awesome families (spread all over the world unfortunately) who shower us with love. We have so many friends who give so much of themselves and make us feel welcome wherever we are. We have never lacked anything we needed, even with Deyan in full-time school and me being self-employed. For instance, since Simeon was born, we have only had to buy one article of clothing (a used snowsuit last winter) for either him or Esther! And anyone who knows us knows how well-dressed our kids are! There are so many more things I can think of, but I will leave it at that for now.

So, to all of you, thank you! You enrich our lives in so many ways and we are happy to have each one of you be apart of our family!

Many blessings be yours in 2006! :)

PS - Will post pics as soon as we download them.