• Health

    The Importance of Uniforms In Sports #TMMWVC #WorldVisionGifts

    October 29, 2014 - By 

    At first glance this field seems pretty unremarkable. But first glances can be deceiving. This is a field built with love, sweat, volunteer hours and some financial investment from Canadian donations. This is another tangible space made real and safe for children, because of the help of World Vision Canada. This is a field of dreams where we are about to learn the importance of uniforms in sports in Colombia, and the need for children to have a field of their own. We have driven to a field outside Santander De Quilichao near Taminango. This is an area that is…

  • Health - parenting

    100 Tiny Little Land Mines Of Grief

    October 27, 2014 - By 

    There are days you brace for knowing full well you may feel her absence keenly. Those days are difficult enough. But it’s the 100 tiny little land mines of grief that hit erupt unexpectedly shattering your heart that are the most difficult because you are often surrounded by them all day every day. These are my 100 tiny little land mines of grief: Sears. Every single senior citizen I see. Phone calls from Gerry, first man you met when you entered that retirement home three years ago, first friend who might have been the love of your life, weeping softly.…

  • Health

    Tommee Tippee Gingerbread Collection

    October 27, 2014 - By 

      Baby’s first Christmas is a time of special magic. Babies bring hope and wonder to the world just by their presence, and depending on their age, they help us see this season with new and excited eyes. My oldest daughter Sunshine was ten months old at her first Christmas—old enough to taste the mashed potatoes and peas, play strange at all the new relatives, need help opening her presents, and have fun with the wrapping paper. The following year, she made us all laugh by ripping a piece of wrapping paper from a present, running across the room to…

  • Health

    Colombian School Kids Wordless Wednesday #TMMWVC

    October 21, 2014 - By 

    On our first day in Bucaramanga, these beautiful Colombian school children asked us questions. What is the temperature in Canada like? What sports do you play? We turned the tables and asked them some questions back. What do you want to be when you grow up, we challenged them. Many soccer players, teachers and policewomen here. This school in Bucaramanga was unique. It was located perilously high, we thought. Until we ended up at the next school atop an even higher mountain. This school took place behind heavy locked gate and barbed wire fence. A security guard kept watch at…

  • Health - Travel

    Two Hands are Enough – My Experience Travelling with World Vision Canada

    September 30, 2014 - By 

     People told me I’d be changed after travelling with World Vision Canada. That’s fair, of course and true and yet also trite. Inadequate.  Changed Words sometimes are so thin, evasive and even limiting. Changed doesn’t begin to capture the depth or range of emotions that I felt when walking through Asimiflor, a brand new area development program in Bucaramanga, the saddest place I have ever seen children living. My week travelling with World Vision Canada was jam packed with big adventures and interviews and so many stories shared that I will be recounting them for a decade or more. Eye…

  • Health - Parenting - parenting - special needs

    Learning Resources For Kids with Special Needs

    September 29, 2014 - By 

    It’s the time of year when updating Individualized Education Plans and getting all the specialists lined up again takes a front seat here at my house. This past week I spent a few hours juggling the numerous doctors and people I want sitting at the table when my daughter’s new IEP is revised. She has been identified now with a learning disability in one area of math. It took me four years of pushing the school to believe that and it also took a private educational assessment that cost us a lot of money this summer. But it’s all good…

  • Giveaways - Health - Parenting

    Levana Sophia Digital Video Baby Monitor #Giveaway ARV $100

    September 29, 2014 - By 

    Every new parent is nervous, I think. But new adoptive parents are a whole different level of nervous and anxious. We are crazy from the waiting sometimes and so grateful for our precious gift of parenthood that we can be hyper vigilant about our new roles and responsibilities. I can easily recall how we (mostly I) spent many nights hovering outside the door of Payton’s nursery. I remember how I didn’t trust that Payton would keep breathing all night long on her own. I read a lot about SIDS and I worried about the things that could go wrong. I…

  • Health

    When I Sponsor a Child With World Vision Canada Does My Money Really Go To Them? Child Poverty #TMMWVC

    September 26, 2014 - By 

    When I sponsor a child with World Vision Canada does my money really go to them? This is the number one question I am asked most in the days leading up to my trip to Colombia. I spent a week finding the answer to this question inside many impoverished Colombian cities where violence and drugs are a threat to childhood and family health. I witnessed extreme child poverty and the work World Vision is doing to try to help. I hope these posts help answer that question and many others too. Meet Miguel and Juan. I introduced you to them…

  • Food - Health

    Lifeway Kefir Low Fat Cultured Milk Smoothie Drink

    September 19, 2014 - By 

    So what exactly is Kefir? Kefir is a smooth version of drinkable yogurt packed with protein. It is essentially a cousin of yogurt with roots that go back to Europe over 2000 years ago. It is jam packed with probiotics which is why I wanted to try it. The taste is a bit tart, almost sour. It takes a bit of getting used to actually. My kids love drinkable yogurt and one of them found this strawberry flavoured cultured milk smoothie to be a bit sour. I have a sour streak, or should I say, a love of sour tasting…

  • Health - infertility - parenting

    Generations of Hope Free Family Fun Day in Calgary #abhc4ivf #abpoli

    September 11, 2014 - By 

    A free Family Fun Day carnival celebrating healthy families formed after infertility takes place September 21 in Calgary. Generations of Hope, an infertility advocacy and awareness group, hosts this amazing event each year. This year Family Fun Day will take place in Calgary on September 21st from 11 to 3 p.m. Rain or Shine at Olympic Park. Infertility patient support and advocacy group in Alberta: Infertility impacts 1 in 6 people in Canada. Infertility is a complex health issue as recognized by the World Health Organization. Infertility patients all can benefit from finding a support group and connecting with them early…