Thursday 31 January 2013

RAK 27 - Shopping Cart

January 27, 2013

Random acts are hard to find and especially so on lazy Sunday's where we don't leave the house.  While a quiet day at home was much needed ... and deserved, the RAK was still required late in the evening.  That was remedied with a trip to the local grocery store for some dinner supplied and supplies for the coming week.  While heading back to my truck with an arm load of groceries I spotted the mom of our girlies best friends as she was unloading her buggy load into her vehicle.  I stopped for a quick help, not wanting to linger too long in the cold temperatures.  As I said my hello I noted that she was taking the last of her groceries from her cart.  With that I wished her a good day and I proceeded to take her cart back across the lot to the cart storage shack.  I think she was definitely surprised by this random act as she got into her warm car and thanked me.  I was warmed by the effects of doing something small for someone else.  And that was day 27 ... a great family day and a great little RAK.

Jeremy

Sunday 27 January 2013

RAK 26 - Jeff and Dave Turn 40, and raise a crap load of cash for Cancer

January 26th

RAK 26 - Jeff and Dave Turn 40 AND raise a crap load of cash for Cancer

For those who read these posts, that don't really know us personally ... Jeremy is a musician. His connections in the world of music are numerous... so, in short, we know some pretty cool people. :)

Two of our musician friends who have been playing music in various projects over the years, turned 40.  To celebrate this milestone birthday, they threw a huge party at The Artery in Edmonton. 




Dave and Jeff turn 40!





Let the festivities begin...

Dave and Jeff played music pretty much all night, show casing their various projects...


Dave and Jeff with Mae Anderson

Jeff and Neil Mac - their Project - The Dog and Pony Show...

Dave and Jeff with Amber Suchy and their Moscow Dynamo Project

Dave and Jeff with their long time band mates of Mustard Smile.

At the end of the night, they invited their musician friends up, for a super cool jam session...


A few of The Mishaps (Dave, Leah and Jeremy)
with Neil Mac on bass and Brandon Kruger on drums.
 

Mustard Smile joins in on the jamming...



It was an epic night filled with fantastic music played by amazing people.

But, the wonder and amazement does not end there.

Instead of charging cover for this event and in lieu of gifts, Dave and Jeff asked that patrons make a minimum $5.00 donation at the door.  All funds raised went to the Alberta Cancer Foundation in memory of Dave's Dad, and the many of their other family and friends that have battled this disease.

For our RAK #26, I (Coreena) went to this party a few hours earlier than my Mishaps gigging husband.  I happily sat at the door welcoming guests as they arrived to this event, and accepted their donations on behalf of Dave and Jeff.

I will update with final totals, but by first tally's, this event raised in excess of $700!!  Way to go guys!


Happy 40th Dave!


Happy 40th Jeff!






For you both we hope this lap around the sun is filled with endless smiles, unconditional love, superstardom, much more music, and ample oppertunites to fulfill your passions.


Sending love

The Kornel/Peters Family


You're gonna rock 40.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


UPDATE:  Final word...  Jeff and Dave raised $886.50 for Cancer...  SO AWESOME!!! 

“Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” -Margaret Mead

 





RAK 25 - Thanks Teach...

January 25 - RAK #25a - Thanks Teach...

There are five children in our family...  From where Jeremy and I sit, that is an absolute blessing. 

We are grateful every day for our healthy kids and for the wonderful things they bring into our lives.  We appreciate them for their individuality, we cherish them for their kind and loving hearts, we honor them for their contributions to this world, and we just plain love them for their mistakes.

Because we are a blended family, not all of our children have the same exact genetic make-up, but all of them contain the very best parts of both of us...  That does not mean that they posses only our strengths, because they do also posses our weaknesses, but, to us, that makes them perfectly imperfect... and that makes us functionally dysfunctional :)

Because there are five of them, and both Jeremy and I work out side of the home, we are not shy to say that we DO NOT do this 'kid raising' thing alone.  My 'Oh so helpful' Mom is for sure a huge part of how we manage...  But the unsung heroes in our lives are most certainly our children's teachers.  They are monumental in helping us to shape these little humans into contributing member's of society, not only in terms of education, but certainly in terms of real life lessons.

As today's RAK we delivered Tim Horton's coffee to the staffroom of our Children's Middle School.


The receptionist was so very grateful and happy to pass it on to the staffroom.

Thank you to all the teachers who have provided our Children with a safe and fun place to thrive.

Forever grateful

The Kornel/Peters Family.



RAK #25 b - Message for you!

Today was a Special day.  Some members of our family were interviewed for the daily news program 'Alberta Primetime'.  They contacted us after reading a newspaper story covering our RAK365 commitment.   When we were done, as a celebration, we stopped off at Indigo.  While we were there, we thought it was a perfect opportunity to do another Random Act of Kindness.

When it was time to leave the store, we went over and picked a random book off the shelf, and inserted a 'Pass it on' card from the Brave Girls Club on a random page, and put it back onto the shelf...

Never ever ever give up.

We hope that whomever purchases this book and finds this card knows to not ever give up.

Now go on out there and spread your own kindness... <3

Kindly
The Kornel/Peters Family


RAK 24 - Text to Donate

January 24, 2013

RAK 24 is one that was spur of the moment and happened without any forethought or effort.  An effort that took only seconds but will hopefully effect change in the lives of many sick kids and their families.  A facebook post by a friend in regards to the Stollery Childrens hospital radiothon which indicated a "text to donate" option.  So with a simple text message I donated to the Stollery and then shared the post on Facebook to encourage those in my circle of friends to also donate.

Want to help too?  Text "STOLLERY" to 45678



Jeremy

RAK 23 - Let Them Eat Cake

January 23, 2013

For RAK 23 I combined my love of cooking and baking with the boredom of unemployment and baked a cake.  A Dutch Apple Cake from the Best of Bridge cook book to be specific, kind of a coffee cake thing that I have made before and it is quite delicious.  This time however my efforts were not for my own enjoyment but for the enjoyment of my wife's co-workers.  While it was tough to smell the warm appley cinnamony goodness of the cake.  And I had to set a permanent guard over it to prevent my teenage boys from devouring it.  It felt good to share my efforts with others.




Jeremy

Friday 25 January 2013

RAK 22 - Call Me Maybe!

January 22

RAK 22 - Call Me Maybe!


I was riding the bus home and I noticed that someone left their phone on the bus. So I grabbed it and took it home with me. Since I knew who it belonged to, my brother Ryley called his sister and let them know I had the phone.  I took it with me and gave it back in the morning.

If I lost my phone I would feel really bad.  So it felt good to know I got someone their phone back before they felt bad.

Emma

Wednesday 23 January 2013

RAK 21... To Conquer Every Mountain Shown...

January 21

RAK 21

This past November I had the privilege of spending some time with a group of PHENOMENAL women. We were a group comprised of women from all different walks of life, converging without judgment or pretense, but with hearts wide open and ready to completely love and accept each other. The amazing thing about Brave Girls Camp and the Brave Girls Club, is that it provides women from all over the world a way to meaningfully and artfully move forward on their own individual paths.  Camp specifically is a safe place to rest, restore, and simply be you.  The cool thing, is that you end up unconditionally loving every single person there...  This is the Brave Girl way.


 http://bravegirlsclub.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/lovebig-e1358920352541.jpg

All of the ladies I have met at these retreats have left a lasting impression.  This RAK pertains to the lovely lady who sat directly across from me in the art barn.  She is this smiling, peaceful, wise, beautiful, and incredibly talented mom of three 20 something aged girls. I will call her 'June' - only because she told stories of trying to do her housecleaning in a polka dot dress, full make up, high heels, pearl necklace, and an up do- because that is how June Clever did it! She had us all giggling at her description because she told a great story... And we could all completely visualize the out of place hair and the disheveled aftermath of a day of vigorous cleaning in her stilettos.

Well, one day, 'June' shed her heels, got real, and decided it was time to go out there and live the life she was meant to live - and never looked back. She put on her hiking boots and dared to think... What if... What if ....  WHAT IF.

For the last few months 'June' has been packing, training, and planning to realize her dream of hiking the freaking Appellation Trail! In the spring, she will start her 3500 km (2200 miles) (!!!!) hike across 14 states, through the Appellation Mountains... And she will finish her hike 5 to 6 months later... Did you see the part that I wrote up there^^^ about her having three 20 something aged daughters? This woman is ah-ma-zing!

As our 21st RAK, I mailed to her a little doll I found in the airport in Idaho.




She is attached to a key chain so 'June' can either take her with for encouragement, or leave her at home for a reminder of what she had accomished...


The message in the bottom seemed it was written just for her!





As we all said out tearful goodbyes on the last day of Camp, 'June' in all of her grace said "when we go back into life and face the struggles and obstacles in our way, KNOW that I am out there climbing that mountain for all of us."

You are such an inspiration sweet 'June'.  I can only hope Intrepid reminds you that you are loved and support by MANY..

I am sending you so much love and and positive energy...  and know that WE are cheering loud and proud from Canada.

Godspeed

Coreena on behalf of
The Kornel/Peters Family.



Tuesday 22 January 2013

RAK 20 - Post IT!

January 20,

RAK 20

Well, it appears High School Exam Week is upon us.  For us, they started bright and early Monday, Jan 21 and run until the middle of next week.

For our 20th RAK, we armed ourselves with some colorful Post It notes, a Sharpie, and our head to toe winter gear (it was -30 degrees C/ -20 degrees F) and went for a walk (a really fast walk) to the High School in our town...

our messages...



We left our messages for the Students to find when they got there the next morning...





While the 'afraid to color outside the lines' members of our family were a little hesitant and nervous about the security cameras, the 'free spirited' family members posted the notes with vigor... Making sure they were good and stuck.

It was such a good experience for us all...  The little girls were so happy to think that they would brighten the days of the friends and school mates of their big brothers.

Ryley came home to report that the notes remained in place for the entire day!

RAK # 20 - a COMPLETE success... 

With Much Love

The Kornel/Peters Family



Monday 21 January 2013

RAK 19 - TEAM AWESOME!


January 19
First off, i am lazy and i don't like to run around too much for too long. I enjoy sitting at home playing guitar, piano, watching tv and hanging with my family. I don't like trudging through snow up to my knees. But everyday my sisters are bored and want to go sledding or play ps3 with me and i usually say no because i am into what i'm doing. But today i woke up and i felt happy. I woke up, eyes wide with a smile on my face. So with good spirits and no questions asked i walked out of my room and said "Mom, i'm going to take the girls sledding at Bellevue." And she looked at me completely dumbfounded. So I walked downstairs while they were playing wii and i said "well are we going sledding or what?!" and they both looked at me and ran upstairs and got their snow pants and jackets on before i could even get up the stairs. We grabbed our sleds and ran out the door yelling "TEAM AWESOME!!"(this is what we say because the members of team awesome are all awesome) It was a warm day and we stayed out there for hours sliding down the hill and walking back up again countless times. Today will be an early bedtime for me(maybe later than i'd hope because my friend is coming over) and happy thoughts in the morning. 

~Ryley

RAK 18 - SMALL TALK (or Stranger danger?)

January 18

RAK 18 is just about talking, listening, and being present in conversations. Particularly ones with strangers.  How many people do you encounter on the average day?  Walking to work, in line for coffee, running out for lunch, some shopping after work.  Every day each of us encounters dozens if not hundreds of "strangers" (what an odd word when you think about it, how do we now they are strange).  For most of us the business of life and preoccupation of our minds has relegated these encounters to at best a "hi" or "how are you", a rhetorical question since rarely do we take note or register the response. More often than not there is no dialog, simply a shoe gaze, or more common these days, we stare at our phones and catch up on Facebook. I am probably more guilty than average where this is concerned.  Perfectly content to stay in my personal bubble and avoid interaction with others except where it serves my present need.

So what would happen if I shed my apprehension and insecurities.  Looked up from the floor/phone. And initiated small talk with those around me. Taking the time to say hello, ask the questions, and truly listen to the responses.  That was the experiment for RAK 18.  Throughout my day I would smile at all who I met.  I would say hello.  I would ask "how are you?" and listen to the response.  And I would engage in whatever conversation should spark from these interactions.

While I had many opportunities to experiment with this through the day, I will document the greatest of them.   I arrived 20 minutes early for a noon meeting at an Edmonton Tim Horton's.  I got a coffee, found a table in the corner and proceeded to pull out my ipad to catch up on some "work".  Soon after, an elderly couple sat at the table next to mine with their steaming bowls of chicken soup and small coffee's. I looked up with a smile and she said hello, I responded with a "hi" ... on a normal day that would have been the end of it and I would have buried my head back into the iPad. Not today.  I continued with some small talk about the weather, which led to a discussion of all things Edmonton and some reminiscing of storms that were before my time in the city.  At the end I had a genuine smile and a peaceful feeling, and so did the couple.  Amazing how it lifts peoples spirit when you take the time to listen and talk.  Amazing how it lifts our own spirits!  That was the end of that exchange until after my meeting, then there were some genuine "have a nice days" as I left, knowing that they would.  Knowing that I would.

Try it, you will see.
Jeremy

Thursday 17 January 2013

RAK 17 - Everyday I'm Shovelin'

RAK Day 17 January 17th

Let me start by telling you my thoughts on shoveling snow.  I f*cking HATE it.  Seriously, I don't like the cold, I don't like pushing it, lifting it, throwing it.  I REALLY don't like when the shovel gets stopped suddenly by one of the cracks in the sidewalk and the shovel handle nearly impales my spleen.  And lets not even talk about the wind blowing 50% of the shovel full back into my face.  I am not looking for any sympathy, my issues with the snow are far reaching and I am considering therapy for them.  But perhaps this gives you more insight into why this was truly a random act of kindness.

As I am still temporarily between jobs I have the great pleasure of driving my daughter to school in the morning (ok I'd rather be in bed but she begs!).  Upon returning home today I decided I should tackle the 2+ inches of fresh snow that had fallen over night.  With gloves on and a grumpy attitude about it, I set for to clear the snow starting with the sidewalk in front of our house.  The 65ft wide lot quickly losing some of its appeal.  I cleared our section leaving a crisp sharp line at the property line on each side.  Then the idea struck me.  How great would I feel if I woke up, or came home and didn't have to push that shovel.  And with that I set forth to clear the sidewalk in front of our neighbors to the west.  Hmmm that felt good.  But we have another neighbor, and I can't play favorites, so lets keep going.  Soon the neighbor to the east had a clear walk in front of his house also (I didn't realize how much wider his lot really is :)  ). Now to tackle my drive way, another 750 sq. ft of snow, oh joy.  By the end of this my energy level was up, my crankiness nearly gone, and though I was panting and ready for the couch and a coffee I decided then and there that my neighbors needed the full shovel-free-day experience.  And I set forth to clear their driveways and front walks also.

My coffee and couch were well earned today, and I have a peaceful sense of good to carry me through my day.  No one saw what I did, no one will know it was me, and I am glad for that.  I just hope that the neighbors had a slightly better day because of my shoveling.

Now I am ready for spring!
Jeremy

RAK 16 - You are COMPLETELY rocking your 40's.

January 16,

January 16 th is a special day...  Since the beginning of time - haha - ok so maybe only the last 41 years it has been "Sheri" Day...  :)

Sheri is one of my - what people now a days refer to as - BFF's.  We went to high school together, but never really hung out until our college days.  Funny though, because after we chatted a bit, we came to realize that we knew each other as children, and our parents were friends from way back!  It's like our friendship was waiting for us all those years...  Serendipitous really.

There are four of us from High School that have remained BFF's through the years.  Sheri, Tracy, Stacy and I have been friends longer than we have been wives and mothers.  We were each others bridesmaids, and were among the first to hold each other's newborn babies.  We have be through divorce, loss of a parents, loss of a siblings and even cancer together. We have cried together, we have laughed together, and we have laughed so hard we cried together.  Everyday I open my eyes grateful that I get to call these fantastic ladies my nearest and dearest.

January 16th is Sheri Day.  The day the world became a little brighter because a blond headed beautiful baby girl was brought into it to go on out there and make up her own rules as she went along.  We completely adore you for your unfaltering ability to stick up for what is right, for your light heart, your free spirit, your love of life, and yes, lovely girl, even for your abhorrence for lemon.

Although I always recognize Sheri's birthday, today, the Kornel/Peter's family went a little further than usual and had a bouquet of flowers delivered to her at her home as our RAK #16.

We love you Sheri, and hope that you felt cherished and loved on your special day.  you ARE COMPLETELY rocking your 40's.

Lots of Love

The Kornel/Peters Family

Tuesday 15 January 2013

RAK 15 - After you, no After YOU

January 15

Day 15's challenge .... let someone in line ahead of you.  A simple act of letting others go first whenever we are in line ups today.

My first chance to put this into action today was the bottle depot.  The depot was crazy busy today, I had trouble finding a spot to park! And to top it off I had a truck load, 15 cases and a bunch of bags of cans and bottles from the Christmas season. So I trudged through the slushy parking lot load after load until I finally had my mountain inside the building and in the line up ready for the next spot to open up.  After a short wait another couple people finished up and there was one 'spot' open to start sorting and counting my bottles for me. Time to put the RAK into action. There was one other person waiting behind me, he had less than I and was patiently waiting and chatting about the warm weather we are having here.  When they called me up I stood aside and said "why don't you go first".  He resisted.  I insisted. And away he went to the counter to get his bottle refund.

I felt good, he was surprised and happy to be out of there quickly. So operation "after you" was a success. Now to see how the rest of the family fared...

Jeremy

Monday 14 January 2013

RAK 14 - GET JENN TO OPRAH!!!

January 14

RAK 14 - Get Jenn to Oprah...

Today we are on a mission... We have a friend in our town, that would like NOTHING more than to go see Oprah.

In case you hadn't heard, Oprah is coming to Rexal Place in a week, and now there is a contest out there to win tickets!  The show quickly sold out, and the only tickets available to purchase are from the websites that charge way more than the face value of the ticket.  That is not affordable to her, and I know we ALL have been in this situation.

Today's RAK is to ask all of you to help us get Jenn to Oprah.  It's easy...

just click here and vote for her picture....





You can vote every 10 hours..!


 We are crossing our fingers for you Jenn!!

Kindly,
The Kornel/Peters family


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Update:  Sooooo...  With your help.... Jenn WON tickets to see Oprah!!!! 

Thanks so much to you all who took the time to vote for her photo...!  Your actions have helped make someone's dream come true!!

Sending love,

The Kornel/Peters Family


XO

RAK 13 - Support someone who dared to follow their dream.

Jan 13 - Support someone who dared to go after their dream.

I am not sure who is even reading these posts, or following this blog...  But for those who don't know, I work in the Engineering field as a Civil/Structural Designer.  I am a woman.  Because I chose my career with my own free will, you won't hear me go on and on about how hard it is being a woman in a male dominated world.  I knew what i was getting into, and still took the plunge.  But, please allow me to say, that there have been some skin thickening experiences along the way that have certainly strengthened my character.

I had, what I can easily refer to as a mentor, for many years at a previous place of employment.  This woman was a wonderful mother, an extremely loving grandmother, a supportive wife, and was a fantastic designer.  We shared other interests outside of work, and there was never a shortage of topics to chat about.  She taught me so much, not only about Structural design, but about sticking up for yourself, about how to get stuff done when you feel no one is taking you seriously, and even about how to be a step-mom when I felt I was sucking at that....

I loved working with her.  But, she had fulfilled her financial requirements at a fairly early age, and was able to retire to a lovely home on a beautiful lake in BC.  We still keep in touch, and she is diligent about including me on the distribution of her hilarious family newsletter update every Christmas. 

But still she inspires me.  She has always had a dream of being a writer.  I can't tell you how 'over-the-moon' I was for her when I received an email announcing her very first PUBLISHED poem and cover art. (click here).



Today's RAK was purchasing the book that contains her poem.  When I receive the book know that it will occupy a very special place on my bookshelf as a symbol of what it looks like when you dare to go after your dreams.  (in case you didn't know, I have MANY dreams :) )

Wishing you every success KR. You truly remain an inspiration. <3

Much Love
Coreena

now... all of you, go on out and do your own Random Act of Kindness...  post about it here if you wish, I would absolutely LOVE to read them.

RAK 12 .... Reach out to a distant friend in need.

January 12

Day 12 was a struggle to find an RAK. After a very unexpected and stressful week which included a surprise lay-off, my mind was everywhere. However the commitment and the accountability of this challenge reeled me back to reality and put my mind on others.

For Day 12 I reached out to an old friend in a distant city who is going through a tough time with life/marriage/kids etc. I don't want to betray any confidences so I will leave the details at that. It was a simple RAK but I think sometimes those make the biggest difference. A simple and unexpected email to say "hey man I am thinking about you, I am here for you, and you are not alone". I can't say for sure if it made a difference, but I know it would if it were me.

Personally taking that time away from all the other stresses in my life was great. I came away from that message feeling better about life, and myself and ready to face the world again.

Jeremy

 
I too will note that I spent much time this weekend communicating with a friend who is also going through a tough time.  I too will, for confidentiality reasons, leave out the details, but I think it is important to note that sometimes just being there for someone, in a non judgmental way, not offering advice or opinions is all people want from us. Sometimes, people just want to talk, and sometimes, it is our job just to listen.

As Jeremy mentioned, our family took a bit of a blow this week, but our resolve is strengthened to continue with this commitment, knowing that sometimes the best way to make us feel better about what is going on around us, is to simply do something nice for someone else.

Keep smiling,
Coreena



Friday 11 January 2013

RAK 11 - Shhhh! It's a secret... ~ Falling Together~

January 11

Well, I cannot yet post today's RAK yet because it is a bit of a surprise... It is killing me to stay quiet, but please check back in a few days... I will even have some photos!

Aidan is with us today, and she is happy to report that she helped a friend of hers find a lost text book!! Wahoo!! <3 data-blogger-escaped-br="">

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Update:
(January 22)

Well, we had to wait for the snail mail on this one, but I think it is finally safe to post...

On January 10, Jeremy was laid off from his job.  It was unexpected, but after the initial onset of panic, both he and I summoned up our reserves of positive energy, and were determined to NOT let this bring us down.  Together, after a few tearful conversations, we decided "We will figure it out."

Just before bed, I had changed my Facebook status to:




 
When I saw the last comment, and the dear person who posted it, I KNEW this had to be the 11th RAK, and set to work as soon as I got home.


Falling Together

Pounded, stained, painted and stitched
 

Made with SO much love.


... I promptly mailed it, and hope that when she opened it, it made her smile.


Sending so much love,

Coreena
(on behalf of the Kornel/Peters Family)








Thursday 10 January 2013

RAK 10 - Post a letter to loved ones far away

RAK 10 - Post (as in mail!) a letter to loved ones far away...


letter?  what's a letter?



In this day and age of instant communication and modern convenience I believe we have all but forgotten the lost art of letter writing.  What were we before text messages, email, and Facebook Chat?  How did we figure out how to properly spell a word before there were spell checkers?  Stationary...? with matching envelopes...?  YES there was a time when many people, besides Martha Stewart, used them on a regular basis.

Haha... Ladies... remember when we used to first spray the paper with perfume so the person receiving our letters would could catch a quick whiff of our signature smell?  Fellas... do you remember getting such a letter?

Today's random act of kindness was to resurrect this lost art, and for our family to sit and handwrite a letter to a far away family member we don't often see.  Just a small token of our love that requires a little more effort than hovering over the 'send' button and clicking the mouse.

What we learned...

  • that pens and pencils are scarce in our house!
  • that none of us can spell worth a darn, and we rely quite heavily on the spell checker
  • that the person receiving the message may not be able to decipher our varying degrees of mis-spelled words and chicken scratch...   :)
  • and that the ability to organize ones thoughts before putting pen to paper is requires practice when there is no backspace key.
We hope to have more letter writing in our future.

Sending love
The Kornel Peters Family


Wednesday 9 January 2013

RAK 9 - Do something kind for someone who is doing something huge to help others...

January 9, Helping someone who is doing something huge to help others...

I have a friend who one day decided she was going to raise money by shaving her head for a cause... Shave. Her. Head...  wow.

Our family has done many things to raise money for cancer, but I can honestly say, I have never been brave enough to shave my head.

Today's random act of kindness was directing people to this fundraising page... (click here)

The money from this fundraising will directly benefit kids with life threatening illnesses.


Edmonton Hair Masacure
A headshave allows us to understand one small component of cancer - hair loss. Children's hair loss often results in a weakened self esteem. Our aim is to inspire every man, woman and child to recognize the urgency of the decline in health in our youth and make necessary steps in making a difference.
"It is no longer about cancer killing kids….It's about kids killing cancer!"


I will also be contributing $50 to this fundraising campaign, but I will increase that amount by $1 for every person who leaves a comment on this post or who becomes a 'follower' of our blog from now until Saturday January 12th! (eek... until my own funds run out!! :) )

If you are able to donate yourself that is AWESOME...  Every little bit helps!  If you cannot donate at this time, please keep Charissa and her family in your thoughts and prayers.

Our family is certainly no stranger to Cancer. We have witnessed many people we love battle this disease.  This RAK is dedicated to those who have fought cancer, for those who are fighting, and for those who have yet to.

<3 <3 <3
The Kornel/Peters Family

In the mean time, go on out and participate in your own Random Act of Kindness...!


********************

Update:  Today when I got home from work, and sat to eat a quick dinner before a family outing, I was inundated by chatter from Emma (10) and Amber (8) at the individual  Random Acts of Kindness they were able to accomplish today.  

Emma went down our street after school today setting up all the garbage cans that had been knocked over and left in shambles after the garbage truck made its rounds.  She wanted to push the garbage cans back to their respective houses, but had trouble manoeuvring them in the snow, and was worried she might not put them pack in exactly the right places.

Amber was able to help a friend during recess that had fallen down and hurt herself during recess.  

My kids are off and running with this whole kindness thing...! <3  


RAK 8 - Hold the Door Day



Coreena declared day 8 "hold the door open day".  A simple request, make an extra effort to hold doors open for others through out the day.  Sure it seems like common courtesy to some but we all get busy and rushing and sometimes the common courtesy's get forgotten.

I made the effort.  Coreena made the effort.  The kids made the effort.  Hold the door day was a success.

Hope someone held a door for you
Jeremy

RAK 7 - Kindness Kindness everywhere

January 7

Today was a collage of goodness coming from our family.  We didn't set out the day with any RAK intentions, so we all just played it by ear, and saw what the day brought for us:

You can do it!!

I (Coreena) passed a co-worker in the hallway at the end of the day on Monday and we stopped to chat.  During that chat I learned that she was nearing the end of her first 'smoke-free' workday!  This girl had smoked for 14 years, and decided that 2013 was the year she would quit.

I have never smoked, so I can't speak from experience at all at how challenging this decision is, but I have witnessed many people around me struggle with freeing themselves from that addiction.  My RAK for that day was to go to her desk while she wasn't there, and leave her an anonymous note of encouragement that said "You can do it!"  in the form of a Brave Girls Club PASS IT ON card.  (I think she knows it was me:) )

She has told me that she keeps the card near her to remind her that yes, she can in fact do it!

Mr. Nice Guy

RAK's do not to be anything big an extravagant. Nor do they need to cost a bunch of money or result in any big effort.  My day 7 included making an effort during my daily commute to let people merge in front of me.  Traffic was especially heavy, first day back for a lot of people.  And I spent a long time waiting in lines of traffic.  It would have been easy to be frustrated and not leave any gaps for others to merge.  But I made an intentional effort to let people merge in front of me.  Even the ones the passed everyone hoping to get ahead in the line.  Something small.  Hope if took some f the driving stress away from a fellow motorist.

Jeremy


RAK 6 - Helping one you love

January 6 - Helping one you love.


I (Coreena) come from one of those big beautiful families.  My mom is one of 13 children.  In my daily life, when I talk about experiences I have had, things I have done, or people that I know I am often leading the story with a "My cousin...." or "I have an Aunt that..." Everyday I feel grateful for being a part of this amazing group of people I get to call 'Family'.

A few of us cousins and second cousins are near the same age, and have gotten quite close over the years.  I certainly consider them friends, but they have actually become more like sisters to me.  This RAK pertains to one of these cousin/sister/friends.

My cousin/sister/friend Tracey is one of 'those' people who just loves easily.  There is little she wouldn't do for those she loves... and quite honestly, she truely loves everyone!  I feel a little inadequate saying a member of her family was the recipient of RAK #6 because it kind of pails in comparison to the amazing things she does daily for those around her!  Those who know her can attest to this.

Tracey has three fantastic children.  The littlest is 6 and her name is Sammy.  Sammy is this firecracker of a little girl.  She is a total free spirit, and she exemplifies one who 'marches to the beat of her own drum.'  Whenever I am around Sammy, she makes me smile, as I know one day, when she is unleashed upon the world... it will be forever changed.

On January 6th, our family met Tracey's family at the local ski hill for a day of family skiing.  Tracey and her husband do not ski, so Sammy and her brother were all set to ski with our family.  At her mom's insistence, Sammy was required to take a lesson (she has skied before, as her brother pretty much lives at the hill!)  After her lesson, and her repeated successful attempts maneuvering the bunny hill, I decided I (in my limited skiing ability) with the help of my girls, would take her up on the chairlift to a longer runs.

She was fearless, and she managed so well, we did it several more times that afternoon.  We could be seen making our way to chairlifts and tow ropes with her being pulled merrily along by holding on to the end of my poles.

We had SUCH a lovely day, I truely look forward to the next time she gets to join us.  I am quite sure she brightened our day as much or more than we brightened hers.  I LOVED the smiles on all the faces at the end of that day.

Lovingly

The Kornel/Peters Family


********************
Update:  There are times when you do something nice for someone and know you have made a difference because you can see the smiles, feel the gratidude, and hear the chatter...  But sometimes, ok... Mosttimes I suspect, there is someting bigger going on that you don't alway see right away.  This is one of those times.

Tracey and her family are in trying to decide whether they should move to a different house in a different town so husband/dad is able to be home every night.  Tracey's son Langdon (14) is really resistant to this idea, and is not at all excited about leaving his school and his friends.  "He has been afraid of leaving the safety and security of his place in the world." 

Tracey has let me know that in the time following our 'ski day' her son, for the first time, "feel there was hope and possibilities of new beginnings."

 
So I guess on huge lesson we will take away from this random act of kindess is that sometimes, we accidently touch the hearts of people without even realizing it.  I suspect, armed with that knowledge and awareness, we will go about our daily routines just a little bit different tomorrow.  <3 <3

Tuesday 8 January 2013

RAK 5 - Listening up

January 5th - Listening up.

Music is pretty important to me.  There is music present in all that I do whether it is external or the songs in my head, music is always there.  Driving my vehicle is definitely one time where I like my music, and I like specific music for the mood I am in (or want to be in). While I know others including my wife and 'nana' cater to the passengers and let them pick the music for the drive, I typically encourage (force) my passengers to be enlightened by my personal listening choice of the day.

On Saturday I drove the boy (Josh) to the doctor in the city. I ran into a drug store before coming home and while he waited, he plugged his iphone into the car and listened to his music (typically not what I would choose ... like father like son).  On my return he scrambled to unplug and put my ipod back on and I stopped and suggested that he could just listen to his music for the drive.

I am pretty sure he was happy to share his System of a down and other choices with me for the drive... and I was happy to hear and check out some stuff I hadn't heard before.

Opening the mind.  Sharing the airwaves.  And paying attention.  That was my RAK for day 5.

Jeremy

RAK 4 - PASS IT ON

January 4th


Today random act of kindness was one of "Pasisng it on"!

I have these lovely little PASS IT ON cards  from The Brave Girls Club...,  and they are just so great for randomly leaving for others to find.

shhhhhh.....

I left it behind in the ladies room of a downtown restaurant on January 4th when we were out with friends.


Just be who you are

But it looked so lonesome sitting there by itself,  so I tucked in a couple more...




you are so beautiful
you are imortant
just be who you are

I hope they made someones day, and I hope who ever found them will leave them for someone else when they are done with it.

Sending love
Coreena









Thursday 3 January 2013

RAK 3 - YAY Coffee!

January 3, Day three...!

Today we decided to do a Random act of Kindness through Coffee...  I know, it doesn't score any points for originality :)...

We did the classic "Leave a $50 gift card at the drive thru" move, and hope that we helped kick start a few peoples day with a fabulous dose of Starbucks ... and a smile.  Maybe a few of them were inspired to pay it forward.  (We are crossing our fingers over here.)

We love our coffee and are so pleased to spread our love one cup at a time.

Until tomorrow...

Kindly

The Kornel/Peters Fam.

RAK 2 - We love you nana

Our nana is awesome.  We are so lucky we get to live near her.  She does so much for us.
  • She takes us to music class
  • She takes us to dance class
  • She takes us for pedicures 
  • She bakes with us
  • She makes us happy
  • She's awesome
  • She makes us laugh
  • She is really good at loving us

On January 2nd we went to her house and 
  • We helped her by crawling underneath her stairs to pull out boxes for her Christmas decorations
  • We helped her make lunch
  • We cleaned up after lunch and we made her sit down and relax well we did  
It was fun to do something for someone without being told and seeing their reaction.  I think nana was pretty surprised that we did that. 
                                       
                                                                Love,
                                                                        Emma and Amber

Wednesday 2 January 2013

RAK One - Truth Cards


January 1, 2013 was Day one!

Our first Random Act of Kindness was inspired by the work of the lovely Melody Ross and beautiful Kathy Wilkins and their tireless efforts with The Brave Girls Club to make this world a better place for every woman in it.  They have partnered with Full Circle Exchange to help women who have been rescued from human trafficking.  (click here to learn more)

On New Year's Eve we converted our dining room into a studio for our family to sit together and make Truth Cards to be a part of the Full Circle Truth Card Exchange.

... hard at work



We created 42 Truth Cards to send to those Brave women that are trying to put their lives back together after being rescued from the most deplorable of conditions.

42 messages of love and encouragement

We personalized each card with a hand written message...

personalized with love by our family



On January 1st, our family put the finishing touches on 42 truth cards that will make a difference in the lives of 42 women that have faced unfathomable adversity.  It is our hope that our messages, at the very least, put a smile on the face of the women who receive them.  We hope that we are a small part of helping them on their journey of rebuilding their lives by letting them know that they are NOT forgotten, that they are completely WORTHWHILE, that they are LOVED and thought of by people whom they have never met, and that the world NEEDS what they have to offer.

What we learned:
  • That Dad is really good at making awesome backgrounds, but likes to take a break now and then to play guitar.
  • That the teenage boys in our family are really not that into making art.
  • That Mom could sit there all day and all night without taking a break putting paint, ink, and mod podge on cards.
  • That art is so fun when we can sit together at a table creating and enjoying each others company.
  • That our girls are so very profound with their messages to these women even with the limited information we have given to them about the conditions under which these women have lived.  Mom was moved to tears on several occasions.
  • and that the ONLY thing that separates 'us' from 'them', or makes our stories different from their stories is that we were born in a different geographical location.
  • That doing nice things for others without expecting anything in return is exceptionally good for the spirit.
Our family sends so much love, support, encouragement, and positive energy to these Brave women.

To find our how to create some truth cards of your own to support this movement - click here.

Love always,
The Kornel/Peters' Family.





Tuesday 1 January 2013

The beginning...


Hello 2013!!  Today is a FANTASTIC Day...  It is the perfect day to start things fresh and new, and that is exactly what we did.  We, the Kornel/Peters family have taken on a huge endeavour for this year, and we are so excited to share it.

We have decided to embark on a family mission of completing 365 days of Random Acts of Kindness (RAK for short).

In short, we are committing to doing at least one 'Random Act of Kindness' per day for the whole of 2013.  It might somedays be as simple as picking up garbage on a walk, or sending a letter to a friend, or it might be a family volunteer day at the Bissel Center, or perhaps Santa's Anonymous, or Habitat for Humanity...  Who know where this will take us.!

We will be taking turns writing about our experiences here, so check often back if you wish to see what we have been up to!

From our family to yours, we wish you an incredibly blissful and kind 2013!

Cheers