Help with some Housing

Hey Everyone! The Wapekeka First Nations Band has graciously allocated to our family it's first house - thank you so much, miigwetch!

The problem is... it is only a 1 bedroom unit for our 2 parent, 2 children & 1 co parent household - we are a blended family! Currently we have been living in one house with 2 grandparents, 1 uncle, 3 nephews, 2 children and 3 parents all consistently live in our household, with more nieces and nephews sometimes coming and going.. with only 1 bathroom, 1 kitchen and not enough bedrooms or space to cope... We are so grateful to the band for this opportunity for our own home for our little family of five.

Our 2 year old son can sleep with us in the bedroom for the time being but our daughter will have to sleep in the livingroom, which means her mother will have nowhere to sleepover as she co-parents with us. We will have no livingroom for family bonding or for our children to have friends sleepover as they grow up. We will have no space to have extended family & friends come to visit or just space to live outside of our own beds. 

My Stepdaughter's drawing - hoping for a 2nd house

The solution is to buy the construction supplies needed and pay a crew to build an extension onto the unit. But it is not cheap by any means considering the cost of construction supplies to begin with, shipping them rural/remote Northern Canada, then selling them wholesale, then shipping them to the First Nations reserve you are located in. 'Mistik North Building Supplies & General Store' does a huge service to Canadian First Nations but most families cannot meet the financial demands to cover such construction without help. Customers have to have it flown in by cargo plane or wait until Winter where ice roads can be build and travel to get the supplies themselves.

We have been quoted materials for 2 small bedrooms and a storage porch. Bedrooms so my son and stepdaughter can have their own space to live, learn and grow up.

Mistik North has initially quoted for 28k in materials from their lumberyard to Pickle Lake, ON Canada. To have it shipped the rest of the way to Angling Lake, ON Canada would be almost another 15k. So we created a GoFundMe to ask for your help to fundraise construction supplies for our first house!

Even if we can fundraised between 15-20k just to buy the materials would be the biggest blessing for our family after so much struggle. 

After the traumatic birth of my son and the stress thereafter our family is in desperate need of a positive fresh start. Three of my spinal disks started to collapse as I was 34 weeks pregnant with out son, we were awaiting news if we would be allocated a house and instead were awaiting an emergency c-section and spinal chord surgery. 

Instead we awaited news if I would ever walk again as a first time mother and stepmother. I worried if I would even be able to help my husband move into our first house if or when we got the news...

Thankfully two years later I am walking with my son, I am lifting him in the air as he laughs, I am buying furniture and picking out paint colours with my stepdaughter for our soon-to-be finished house, I am excited for our future with my husband... But no parent can easily admit that their future needs help. With my recovery I could drive with my husband to pick up the materials but we need your help for the cost. Please go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/wapekeka-housing-for-the-brown-bear-family

Please help my children, help our little family, finally have its first own place to physically/mentally feel safe and sound. Please!

What's in a name?

Mary-Anne.. Bobby-Lynn.. Mary-Kate.. Tommy-Lee.. Amy-Leigh.. Mary-Lou.. Mary-Margret.. Anna-Beth..
These are some examples of Two-word names, also known as double-barrelled names, are names that consist of two separate words, often BUT NOT ALWAYS hyphenated, used together as a single name.

And the newest addition?

NicholasLiam

Many have been wondering the story behind our Pear Bear's name..

Nicholas is Jeremy's middle name (surprise!)
Liam is one of the funniest, tallest, and first [male] friends I made working at GT in Kingston. He is a very valued friend to me and we went through thick n thin together! He has never judged me, never misunderstood me and always taken my side when work was hard. Some friends gravitate towards you naturally and you couldn't see your life without their friendship in it. Liam and I have never lost touch and we check up on each other frequently. He truly is a valued friend and I wish him all the best in his rising careers and life! We also took the same SLC IMC program years apart. Small world!
(Also who doesn't like the name Liam?)

Anderson is for one of the greatest men to touch my heart in my time in Kingston. Another GT coworker, he has gone through alot with me and taught me so much more. You cant always pick your family but Harry will always be family to me through hell or high water. When times were tough and work was hard to was always an ear to listen, a good judge and a wise friend. I couldn't get through a shift without him or Liam with me. I'm always thankful for the time we worked together and the shenanigans we had. I'm always happy to hear how he is doing and am so proud to have named my son after him and Liam.

Brown is Jeremy's Family Last name. To put it simpler it is the Western version of their name. The real family name is Mishakaameyashinoonini. The best translation of this is "people of (or who come from) water" from what my husband could learn. For those who do not know Jeremy is First Nations Anishinaabe and in Wapekeka First Nation they speak OjiCree.

And of course he has other last names known from My Side of the family. His Polish/Ukraine/German side and my Grenadian side (don't forget everyone I was adopted haha!) Pommer is from my German grandfather's side of my family and Haleshewski is from my Polish/Ukraine Nana's side of my family. 

Maybe one day my son will want to visit the Caribbean and see Grenada where his mom comes from..
Or visit the Ukraine or Poland to see where his Great Nana and great Aunts came from..
My son could wish to learn German like his Great grandpa..
Perhaps he will one day be fluent in OjiCree like his dad..
NicholasLiam has a big varied family any many options in life, and i am very glad.

But for now I can't wait for my son to meet his namesakes one day soon. All three of these men are so dear to me and I want my son to grow up to know his name, the men behind it and be proud of it. Your name is unique to you and your personality, your character and your heart. And my son definitely is one of a kind with a one of a kind name. I love him.