Wednesday 28 May 2014

Update

Sorry it's taken me so long to update this blog! Thankfully most of you know what's been going on through facebook but for those of you who don't, I'm sorry! Nate is safe and sound at home - thank God! He spent 5 days in the hospital and didn't wake up until that Saturday morning. I'm so grateful that God spared my little sweetheart and I am seriously praying that we don't need to make any more hospital trips.

Life has been very busy with three kids under four. It can be overwhelming at times but at the end of the day when everyone is in bed and I have a moment to myself I am extremely grateful for my family. The smiles, the laughter, the squeals of excitement - they make every day worth it. Nathan is thriving and is fattening up nicely :) I can hardly believe he's already 3 & 1/2 months old! Time really does pass by quickly. Some days feel incredibly long of course but in the grand scheme of things time is passing by so fast. I've been an active part of a new community initiative in my city to help parents of premature babies. When I was expecting Nathan and I knew that he would be early I asked a bunch of moms about what to expect and there were a few moms who had preemies but not a ton. A good friend of mine, Nicole, had her son at 33 weeks as well and he is now a thriving toddler so she decided to start a group just for parents of preemies to be a support system. She also decided to start making packages for parents with babies in the hospital because it happens so suddenly and they are most often unprepared. The packages include really practical things like preemie outfits, hats, hand sanitizers, shampoo & conditioner, deodorant, etc and she even called and sent out a ton of emails to companies trying to get donations and Tim Hortons stepped up to the plate and donated $600 worth of gift cards for the parents! She's been funding these packages solely through donations and her own bank account because she has a heart of gold and really wants to help facilitate the transition for parents. Having a baby in the hospital is one of the worst things to go through (far worse than cancer for me) and having a care package full of practical and really awesome things helps to bring a smile to the face of a parent going through one of the worst things they'll likely ever go through. She's working hard to raise the money to become an official charity in order to continue providing this much needed resource to our city and I'm happy to help! We're going to do a fundraiser in September so please be praying that it's successful and provides enough to cover all of the expenses! Feel free to check out the facebook group page or website here - https://www.facebook.com/popottawa?ref=br_tf or http://popottawa.wordpress.com/

All of this has gotten me thinking about applying for charity status for my Christmas project (we bring gifts and dinner to families who would have nothing for Christmas and do it anonymously in Jesus' name). My incredible husband Rob nominated me for the Walmart mom of the year award and if I win I would get $10,000 for our family and be able to donate $10,000 to my charity of choice!! If I win I may just use some of the money to get that set up :) You can see the page here! It would take a miracle for me to be chosen but thankfully my God is in the miracle business ;) http://www.momoftheyear.ca/mom/?mom_id=48902

As always, I'm grateful to be alive and grateful for my family. Life is sweet as long as you focus on what's going well instead of what's not.

His & yours,

Meggan :)