Christmas morning will never be the same in the Mallard-Rancourt House…I found myself giddy like a little kid again. Although our kids are only 7 months old and will not remember their first Christmas, this was our chance to start our own family traditions and share these special moments together as a family for the first time. We started the morning with just Brett, Sawyer, Jordyn and I and we opened our stockings together. The kids, Brett and I were made these beautiful Christmas Stockings from our friend’s mom. It was such a touching gesture and she even customized them with the kids names on them and ours with “Dad” knitted into them. “Grandma Bosch” will forever have a special part of our Christmas mornings and we thank her dearly for that. Shortly after we finished opening stockings my Mom and Brother came up and we opened gifts as a family which was special. We hosted dinner at our place which lead to a quick transition to starting dinner and most know this takes hours to put together. All in all we had a great first Christmas and we can’t wait to celebrate more of these special days together as a family.
Brett and I also wanted to do something special for Raylene (Our Surrogate ) and Lisa ( Our Egg Donor ) this Christmas. Something that really shows how much our family appreciates them both for bringing our children into our lives and us into theirs. Sooooo Sawyer and Jordyn bought them beautiful “Heart Key” pendants with a white gold chain. We felt as a family that this symbolizes the key to all our hearts as these amazing woman have filled our hearts with nothing but the purest love we could ever feel.
Which also brings me to our Christmas Eve, we spent that night with the Bussinger Family, with them now becoming an extension of our own family. We had appys, drinks, laughs and even caught a Christmas movie before the end of the night. Perhaps this will become a little family tradition for our families which is just fine by me!
It’s very interesting how we all go through different phases through our lives when it comes to what Christmas means to us. As a child our Christmas was about family first and presents secondary. There was always lots of gifts but the excitement of being together with all our family was always instilled in us from a very young age. Brett and I work so hard every day to fill our children’s lives in love, laughter and family. When I say family I don’t only mean those who are in our immediate family, this goes so much further than that. Our family is much bigger than most would know with our dearest closet friends deeply rooted into what makes us a family. I truly believe with this as our ‘platform” our children will grow up with the same connection to these values as I did.
It is very easy to allow Christmas to get away from you and be taken over my consumerism. Some kids have no connection to anything other then what they are getting for gifts which is a tragedy in itself. I recall back 4 years ago, the year after my Grandmother had passed away. It was a real struggle for our family as she was a true pillar to our family structure and dynamic. We decided that we would not exchange presents but rather write a card for each and every one at the table. Touching on why they are so special to each of us and why we love them. As we sit around the table as a family reading our cards, reflecting on so much joy and those who are no longer with us with tears of great memories and moments we have all shared together. We discussed this year about doing this again next year perhaps!
Now some exciting updates on the kidlets…..
Our kids have been doing great and have met so many exciting milestones. I had the chance to take a week off work over the Christmas Break and the timing could not have been better. With our kids on the cusp of their 7 month “Birthday” on January 2ndthey are evolving and growing by the minute literally. Over Christmas break I shared in seeing Jordyn say “Dada” for the first time on Christmas Eve and now being her only word it is all she “Talks” about now lol. I was home to see Sawyer “Crawl” for the first time too, the two of us watched on encouraging every “Step” of the way like his truest biggest fans. On top of all this Jordyn has pushed through two of her lower teeth and Sawyer has pushed through one of his lower teeth. As exciting as this is many of you know what having one teething baby is like, times that by two! It’s been a struggle, but your heart does not allow anger or frustration because you know the wines and cries are not for fun, they are because of a pain they just don’t know how to deal with. So we have had many days of long snuggles and comforting and that’s just what the Dr has ordered.
In my last post I had mentioned that I nominated Brett for a trip to Rest, Relax and Recharge with gay parent website and facebook group "Gays with Kids". After being home for a week and a bit with him I noticed even more how much he needs this. He's truly our families star. Being a stay at home Daddy has become second nature for him. He balances our kids day to day needs which includes making all of their food from scratch. I say this in almost every post but I truly mean it, I could not imagine anyone other than him by my side raising our children. LOVE THIS MAN OF MINE, well ours because I now share him with our beautiful kids! Ohhh and the results are IN! We WON! This couple from little old Chilliwack rose above every couple from right across North America and this includes all the mega cities like NYC, LA and Toronto. This was truly humbling experience that touched our hearts. We had people from all over placing votes which totaled over 4000 in about a week. Our local Radio Station StarFM even did a special shout out for this contest highlighting Brett and I’s commitment to our community. They also mentioned the valued volunteer role I have locally with the StarFM Kindness Crew which spreads “Kindness” Daily in our community. All in All I can’t thank you all enough for your special role in allowing this to happen for us. We have selected NYC and we cants wait!
In closing I want to touch on the special connections Brett and I have made through our blog. We have been connected with several same sex couple aspiring for the same goal and that is to have a family of their own. We have reached out to several of these couples and have had the chance to be the helping hand through the process and by their side to answer any questions as they arise. Such a gift to share our experience and help others along the way to creating their own family. So thank you for sharing your stories with us, your aspirations, and allowing us to be part of this with you.
Blog again soon my friends,
Justin
