Kinder® & Children's Miracle Network Partner Up For The "Joy To Share" Campaign!

Easter has come and gone, but it was definitely a memorable one for my family.  We travelled 4 hours North of Toronto, to celebrate the long weekend with family and good friends.  The fresh, spring air was just what my boys needed.  Although we've had an early spring this year, life and work have consumed my life lately and we haven't had the time for visits to the park and walks around the neighbourhood.

I had been looking forward to Easter at the cottage for weeks, four straight days without work (and housework - yippeee!), just quality time with my boys and husband...and then it hit.  On Thursday, I came down with the absolute worst flu that I have ever had.  I quarantined myself indoors for two days, away from my family and other civilization.  The other two days, I was slow moving, lacking the energy and patience needed to deal with two excited little boys.  Making homemade bird feeders on day 3 left me spent, and in need of an afternoon nap.  I felt horrible.

Being confined to my bedroom, I hardly got any photos of my boys and their cottage adventures on Easter weekend.  I did make sure to bring my camera along for our bird feeder activity, though.  It was a lot of fun, and we made enough to treat our family and friends to homemade Easter gifts.

While moping in my own influenza misery and missing my boys terribly, I began to regret the past few weeks where I allowed the busyness of life and work to interfere with the quality time my boys deserved.  I also spent time reflecting on a few blogs that I have read in the past, blogs where parents pour their souls to the world while dealing with a sick child, or the loss of a child.  How blessed was I to have two healthy, growing boys!

7 years and 2 boys has caused many visits to emerg and a handful of trips to Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto.  From on-going skin issues to a concussion resulting in vision problems and months of follow-up, our boys have kept us on our toes!  As horrible as it was to see our children in pain and suffering, though, they did have full recoveries and my boys and our lives went back to normal after they healed.  This is not the case for so many other parents.  Hospitals all across Canada are filled with children suffering from a number of health issues, and their families need all the support they can get.

Thankfully, the Children's Miracle Network is available to Canadian families in need, providing comfort, treatment and hope to millions of sick kids each year.  They currently raise funds for over 170 Children's Hospitals.  Through monetary donations, fundraising or volunteering, you can help this amazing organization and in turn, support your local Children's Hospital.

As a proud #KINDERMom, I'm excited to announce that Kinder® Canada is also supporting the Children's Miracle Network though a partnership called A Joy To Share.  Through the Kinder® Canada Facebook page, you can make donations to the Children's Miracle Network and learn about featured Hero Moms and Miracle Kids. 

The Miracle Kids tab provides stories of children, as told by their mothers, who have been helped by the Children's Miracle Network through their own local Children's Hospital.  Hayden, who has suffered with asthma from 6 months of age, has spent a lot of time being treated at the Winnipeg MB Children's Hospital.  Having a more serious form of asthma has made his condition difficult to treat with the standard approach.  I have suffered from asthma from a very young age as well, and I know how terrifying it is to struggle with each breath.  Thanks to the Children's Hospital and funding from the Children's Miracle Network, Hayden and his family have received the education and assistance needed to ensure that he lives a healthy life.  There are many other children profiled, each with a heartbreaking but inspiring story.  I encourage you to take the time to read these stories, and you can also comment on them.

 

During Easter, Kinder® Canada also supported the Children's Miracle Network through sales of their seasonal Easter items. You could find Kinder's® delicious chocolates paired with adorable plush toys (Lil-J received a Kinder® lamb from his Auntie Erica; he sleeps with it every night), and an awesome Kinder® Easter Egg Hunt Kit perfect for kids! I purchased my kit at my local Costco store and it was a hit with my boys.




You can follow Kinder® Canada on their Facebook page, and make sure to LIKE the page to participate in all that Kinder® Canada has to offer.  You can also follow Kinder® Canada on Twitter.

And don't forget to visit the Kinder® Canada website at http://haveyouplayedtoday.ca/ for nutritional & product information, as well as parenting information.

I’m part of the KINDER® Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group.

As with every post that I write, the opinions on this blog are my own.