Danielle aka MOM

This is me, the author behind #thestruggleisreal.  I may be the only writer here but these other guys give me all my material so they are a crucial part of the blog. I love to write, I think I’m particularly funny although my husband doesn’t entirely agree always. I am a wife, mom and love Jesus.  I am currently in the process of getting a book published,  write for a monthly Christian magazine, started a non-profit organization and help with my husband’s new business administration, and am trying to raise some decent, civil and hopefully polite children as well!

Lorne aka ‘THE DAD’

Lorne is my husband, and father to both our little girls.  He’s my partner in crime, my best friend and he buys me chocolate a lot so we keep him around.  We have been together for 8 years and married for 6.  We met in Alberta at a Camp and he fell madly in love with me (haha 😉 ) We lived in Western Canada, where we got married on top of a mountain and then got married AGAIN in Ontario at a traditional white wedding.  So basically Lorne married a blonde and a brunette in the matter of a year. Lorne’s passions in life are seeing if he can give his mother as many grey hairs as possible by rock climbing or ice climbing up frozen water with ice picks and daggers coming out of his toes. We just started an adventure based company and are now taking people out to learn how to climb.....oh AND he let me write a book about him, so he's pretty brave as well!

Madison aka ‘The First Born’

Our 5-year-old Madison Elizabeth is the most dramatic, I mean hilarious child I’ve ever met.  She’s one of those energizer bunny kids that literally never stops, I used to have to run her after dinner like a puppy because she wouldn’t sleep type of energy. She is strong-willed, fearless and out-going and pushes me to places I didn't know existed before she came into our life; she’s going to change the world one day I just know it.  She gives me most of my material for the parenting part of this blog, what I have learned with her is how incredibly hard it is to raise a mini-version of yourself!

Check out her 'get to know you' interview below!

Mackenzie aka ‘The classic Middle Child’

The baby turned middle child of our family is our little 3 year old Mackenzie Grace.  She’s sweet, cuddly, cute and knows it.  Her goals in life is to be touching me at all moments in a day and make sure I get nothing done if she’s awake. She loves to give hugs and kisses, dancing and LOVES her big sister and her new little brother more than anything else in this world. Don't be fooled by her adorable smile, she comes with a full attitude and mischievous plans that if its quiet in our house-she is definitely up to no good (like redecorating our bathroom with nail polish!)  

Matthew aka 'The Newbie'

Our newest addition, Matthew David is the sweetest and most adorable baby boy to ever exist. He gave me a good run for my money thinking I new was I was doing after having 2 other kids and made sure I knew very quickly I did not know everything about parenting and babies. Nonetheless, its safe to say we are obsessed with this little guy and cant imagine our family without him! 

Molson aka ‘The Puppy’

Molson is our 2 year old puppy that likes to chew every toy our kids own and lives up to the ‘puppy’ expectation that people fear, he is currently adjusting to not being the only other boy in the house.  He enjoys eating things that are not necessarly food, chewing on things that are not supposed to be chewed and is pretty convinced he is part of a wolf pack that chills in the forest behind our house. 

Us in a nutshell