This blog is a result of a couple of nights of crafting and it just makes me smile to see how things that are so small can be used for something so great. 

A few weeks ago I posted a picture on my facebook page of the various “nests” that I had made…just as a “hey, this is fun” shot, nothing more. 

 There was an overwhelming response to them along with a great interest for people wanting to purchase them.  I was definitely caught off guard and thought that the only way that I would sell them would be if the money went somewhere of value.  I have heard people, at times, associate the “eggs” with the number of children that they have and so the thought of helping kids was perfect!

One of my close friends, Erin Perry, works closely with fmn ministries and spends a month of her summer holidays in Romania working at the Isaiah Center.  Rachel Ross is an amazing woman who has moved from the United States to Romania and they both have such a passion for these children and this ministry.

The Isaiah Center is located in Tinca, Romania and exists to provide nuturing and education for abandoned, abused, and neglected Roma (gypsy) children.  Through this facility these kids have the opportunity to develop and grow in a loving and secure atmosphere. They are provided daily with education, food, clothing, shelter, love, hygiene and medical treatment.  Furthermore, the families of these children are being worked with and helped as they are provided with parental training and life skills which impact the parents, children and their village in a positive way.  Here are just a few pictures (not taken by me, just watermarked for their safety) of the village and the children….

Please visit the website for more information or further ways to get involved.

As for the necklace pendants, they are all handmade and can be done with specific colors if you desire.  There are large, medium and small beads available.  A picture of the different options is below for your reference.  They are $15 and ALL of this amount is going straight to the Isaiah Center.  Please email orders to info@uncontainedphotography.com

For the past 3 years, I have had the amazing opportunity to organize, produce and co-emcee an annual event called the Laugh for Life Gala at the Winspear Centre in Edmonton. November 7, 2008 was no exception…other than I was the only emcee for the evening! It was great to see so many of you there to share in such a fantastic night!

Laugh for Life is a fundraising gala that is geared towards providing people with a clean night of comedy in the gorgeous venue of the Winspear Centre. There is also a silent and a live auction that takes place through the evening to raise funds for The Mustard Seed and Candeo Housing Association.

This year was the 5th anniversary of this great event and we celebrated with a fantastic evening that was far from being short of laughs! Tim Hawkins and Bob Stromberg were the comedians for the evening and I don’t know if I have ever laughed so much in a long time! I heard from a few of you who said that your cheeks were still hurting the day after from all of the laughter! I suppose that it is true what they say…that laughter truly is the best medicine!

Talented artist, Tracy Dunham and band (Rondah Worrell, Rob Dunham, Mark Franklin, Bryan Muth and Karlus Andrews) graced the stage and wow’d us all with their music as we all watched in fascination as Performance Painter Lewis Lavoie created two stunning masterpieces on stage while they played.

Stockwell Day was the auctioneer for the evening and turned out to be the third comedian as he was absolutely hilarious and simply fantastic! As a result of such a successful live auction and the combination of such generous giving through the silent auction and other avenues, this evening raised $32,500 for two fantastic charity organizations. This total also set a new record in the amount of funds Laugh for Life has given away in its five-year history which is so exciting!! Plans are already underway for LFL’09 which will feature comedian Anita Renfore at the Winspear on Saturday, October 24, 2009. Feel free to visit www.laughforlife.ca for complete information on that and information on how to get your tickets early. You will not want to miss out on this!

So thankful for all of you that I had the privilege of working with on this gala as well as all of you who attended and laughed to make a difference.

We truly can change the world around us.
Christine