I got up and went into Ella’s room and she was reading books with all her toys from her basket (books, soft dolls) all around her. He was talking to her and she was “talking” back.

The cutest.

(P.S. I know it’s hard to read posts with this theme. I’ll be changing it after Christmas to make it easier on the eyes!)

To be clear, this is me writing as a concerned citizen and has nothing whatsoever to do with my line of work.

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Minister Stultz,

This is my first time writing to you as my MLA. I don’t write often, but when I do, it is because of something that is very important to me and my family.

I see that there will be a free vote on shale gas exploration coming up soon. I have been watching this particular issue closely, as there is much at stake.

While I recognize this may seem like an easy win for government revenues in the short to medium-term, I remain very skeptical about the techniques used to extract this oil from our land.

This decision will undoubtedly have repercussions for generations to come. It is so vitally important that it not be clouded by money, because health and welfare simply cannot be bought. Environmental ‘accidents’ cannot be undone.

If all of the evidence out there pointed to hydro-fracturing being a safe, sound practice with virtually no ill-effects, then I would feel much more at ease seeing this come to New Brunswick. That is unfortunately not the case. We are hearing from dozens of individuals who have had their lives virtually destroyed by this business practice. Statistically speaking, it will not be ‘if’ this would ever happen here, but ‘when’. I can’t, in good conscience, accept that level of risk.

Watching the horror of the deadly earthquakes and subsequent tsunami in Japan earlier this year was devastating. Seeing the fallout from the Fukushima Nuclear Plant was in some ways even more heartbreaking – because it was preventable. Let’s not pave the way for a regretable legacy for New Brunswick.

I know this is a particularly difficult vote, so I urge you to follow your heart and vote in a way that will put the health and safety of New Brunswickers above all else. Anything less is a disaster-in-waiting for future generations. I want better for my children.

Thank you for reading my comments.
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2011 has been quite a year for events. I got to see not just my first, but TWO CFL games; INXS, U2, Blue Jays Baseball, and we got Fibre Optic lines to our home for internet and television now. So, lots of content!

The kids are evolving like crazy. Marshall speaks almost better French than I do now, and Ella, although she’s been sick a couple of time this month alone, is a super cutie. We should have our family photos up soon.

We had our Santa Claus Parade on Saturday, though we only caught the last 15 or 20 minutes of it. At least Marshall got to see the big guy.

This will be our first year with an artificial tree, so it probably go going up over the next week or so. No more watering or needles everywhere. It’s gonna be a fun one!

More soon and lots of pictures coming!

This weekend is the big U2 concert in Moncton. I haven’t been to any of the concerts at Magnetic Hill before, so should be interesting. Rick and Marshall have been in Quebec for the last week, returning on Friday by train – I miss them! I’m Marshall will have lots of stories to tell me. We’ll have about a week off together as a family, then I’m off to see my sister and her family (and I’ll get to see my new niece Sofia!) a week from tomorrow!

Ella is running around now pretty steady on her feet. She likes to play with the toy kitchen, and with blocks and cars and trucks. She’s well-rounded. She is quite hilarious as you will see in some of the videos when I get them loaded.