Day 1

Day one was an easy one for me. Today we celebrated Eli's third birthday, so I was able to shower gifts upon him.  And I couldn't have asked for a more grateful recipient!  We gave him a play tent, a camping chair and, best of all, his very own Ergo Baby DOLL carrier!  He loved it all, but he was really thrilled with the Ergo.  He put it on and ran around the house and yard screaming, "My very own Ergo.  I am so happy about this!"

Day one: success!

Hands Full of Giving

I have just committed to a worldwide giving movement called 29 Gifts.  Along with 10000 other people worldwide, I am going to try over the next 29 days to awaken the giving spirit in myself, and hopefully the world around me. 

"The Challenge is so simple. Just sign up at http://www.29Gifts.org and commit to give away 29 gifts in 29 days. Your 29 Gifts can be anything given to anyone... money, food, old sweaters, smiles, your time, kind words, positive thoughts, prayers...

WHY SHOULD YOU DO THIS? To inspire more generosity on our planet. Because to see our world change, we have to do something to change our world. Plus, the best way to attract abundance into your own life is to be in a perpetual state of giving and gratitude."

I am so excited about doing this.  Track my progress here.

29 Day Giving Challenge

Sometimes I feel that all I do is give.  With two sons it is hard not to feel that way, sometimes.  I gave birth.   I give milk.  I give love, cuddles, lullabies.  I read books.  I make breakfast, lunch, dinner...  You get the picture.

Yet, when I really sit back and evaluate my life I can't help but see just how fortunate I am.  I have two, amazing, wonderful, sweet little boys.  I have an incredible husband who bends over backwards to make me happy.  I have parents who are willing to house my small family when we have no job and no place to live.  I have friends who forgive that my brain is sometimes not what it used to be, and sometimes I am late, and sometimes I forget, and sometimes I just can't be the person I was before this was my life.  I have faith in Jesus Christ, which carries me through life's trials when nothing else can.  I am truly living the life I have always wanted to live, and who can ask for more?

I have a friend, Rachel, who has joined the 29-Day Giving Challenge.  Basically, all you have to do is give a gift, be it an actual physical gift, your time, money, etc., every day for 29 days.  What a wonderful way to make the world a better place.  Despite the fact that I feel I give so much to my boys, teaching my boys to be Christlike, the one who gave his life for each of us, is the greatest thing I can do.

So, here I go.  29 days.  I've signed up, and I'm committed.  While I can't imagine that I will disclose every gift, I will try to document my experiences here.  Feel free to join me.  The world could use a few more gift givers!

Gift Exchange!

Since moving back to Calgary I have either been too busy or too lazy to do much crafting.  Between renovating the basement and our trip back east it seems I haven't had a minute to spare.  But, to get my butt in gear, I have signed up to do this fabulous gift exchange. Basically, I get to make something for someone else, and in return, someone else will make something for me!  I've seen variations of this on blogs and think it's such a good idea.  Now I just have to come up with something clever, original, and not too heavy (I have to mail it!) to make.  I'll let you know how it goes!

Worth a Thousand Words

I seriously love this picture.  Enjoy!

The Sniebe Adventures Continue

After our week in Michigan we spent a week in Ontario.  We met up with half of my family, (Alice and Aaron were visiting Holly, and Joan was staying with her while doing a massage course in Toronto) and spent the rest of the time with our friends the Snells.  We did all the things that we never got to do while we were living out there: Medieval Times, The African Lion Safari, St. Jacob's Farmer's Market, Canada's Wonderland.  It was so much fun.  The weather was beautiful, the attractions were a blast, and the company was unbeatable.

Eli was a robot.  A robot... with a gun.

 

 Look at that face!  Who couldn't love that face!!!

Canada's Wonderland!

 We can't wait for the Snell's to move back to Alberta, where the Sniebe adventures can resume!

There's no place like home...

Sometimes I wish it were as easy as knocking together my ruby slippers to find my way home.  The past two weeks I have learned just how elusive home is right now.  We love being in Calgary where all our family is near, but going back to Michigan for Jared's grad made us realize just how much it became our home while we lived there.  Driving into the Rochester area we felt a wave of comfort flow over us.  We spent a few days with some of our closest friends, and even though we were sleeping on the floor, we felt more comfortable than we have in many months.  First we went to the Govern's, and the Paxtons came to play aswell.  After the first hugs things fell right back into place and we sat and talked and laughed and carried on as if we had never left. 

The neatest thing was to see Eli fall right back into his friendships.  It didn't take a few minutes for he and Ava to fall back into it.  I honestly have never seen two kids play so well as they do, and five months apart didn't change that at all.  Here's Ava helping Eli undo his buttons.  We seriously miss Ava!

After the Govern's we went to stay with the Jamison's.  We LOVE the Jamisons!  The weather was so gorgeous that we stayed up and talked in the backyard until way too late, we went to the zoo and otherwise enjoyed ourselves.  Here's a few shots of the zoo.

The nicest part about being there was having Jared around all the time.  I'm not sure I like this idea of him working and being away all day, every day.  We like having him around!

On Sunday morning we did crepes with the Wallaces and then went to Rochester ward, OUR ward!  I didn't even want anyone to make a big deal about us being there, because I wanted it to feel like we still belonged.  It was so nice to be surrounded by people we knew.  I went up to two new sisters that had just moved in and told them how lucky they were to be there, and how wonderful the ward was, and I felt like telling them if they didn't appreciate it like they should they didn't deserve to be there!!!  Seriously, I almost did.

 We spent the last few days in Michigan with our dear friends the Paxtons.  Sarah is so wonderfully pregnant and I secretly hoped she would go into labour while we were still there so I could meet her little baby. But instead of birthing, we spent the time doing what we've always done: hanging out and letting the kids play.  It was wonderful!

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We read the greatest book at the Paxtons called Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy.  Luckily, they happened to have a bumblebee costume so E could reenact the entire book.  He makes a wonderful Bumblebee Boy!!!

We spent the last day there at Greenfield Village, a historical village that Henry Ford created.  It was really neat to explore.  We never had a chance to go there while we lived in Michigan, so I'm glad we went on this trip.

It was really a wonderful trip.  I am already planning our next visit back.  Tyler and Eric graduate next summer, so I figure why not go and see them walk?!  Hopefully between now and then we will find our home, but it's nice to know that we will always have a family there!