Hungry for Life Updates

"and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday." ~Isaiah 58:10

I've had lots of people ask me what's going on with Hungry for Life and how my support team building is going, so I thought a HFL update was in order! As for HFL USA... we now have 7 staff members, 5 of which are raising support! You can read about each person here. We are obviously under the HFL USA section. We are eagerly anticipating and already planning our Auction and Dessert fundraiser which is set for November 12th at Noah's in South Jordan. We are so thrilled to get to host our event at this awesome venue! As lots of you know, a fundraising auction and dessert is a lot of work, so we are already looking for donations. If you or someone you know has any hook-ups (gift certificates, items, services, etc.), let me know! :)

We also are currently working with 3 churches in Salt Lake and Seattle and they are all headed to Haiti within the next year. Our field partner they will be working with is Joy in Hope. I am so inspired by the heart and determination behind our field partners. They are so joyful and eager to see their world changed. We are so lucky as an organization to get to come alongside them and work together towards a common goal. It has been fun getting to go and meet church teams who are interested in serving God on a team trip. I know that my trip to Haiti was truly life-changing (not to sound cliche), and I feel like I am as eager for these teams to get out there as I would be if it were me on the team as well. So far, HFL Canada has been doing all of the "dirty work" that I'll eventually be doing, but they are allowing me to spend some good quality time getting my support team built so that I don't have to do both (and prepare for a baby! Phew!). It truly is such a wonderful blessing to get to work with such an amazing organization. Mike is in Denver right now and he had 4 church meetings there, so I'm eager to hear if we'll have some churches in Denver that we're working with!

Personally, my support team building is going well. I have been having desserts at my house to tell people about HFL USA and ask them to become part of my support team, prayer and financial. So far, they have gone great. It is fun to see people get as excited about HFL as I am, and to really get and understand the heart behind what we do. The thing I'm struggling with is the follow-up. How do I contact friends about the financial part? Any advice? :) By the way, if you're reading this from out of state, consider it only a matter of time before you get my packet in the mail! :) Anyway, I really believe in this organization and I know without a doubt that God has placed me right where He has placed me at just the right time to serve Him with HFL. So, I'm really not worried, just learning to trust Him more and more with every aspect of my life. It's so strange, because I've never felt like I've truly relied on God for a job. I went to college, got a job, and made money. But now, I'm just trusting that He's in charge and will bring the right people to me. Challenging, but oh so good!

Anyway, I hope you are all doing well. On a personal note, we are at 30 weeks now! There's a lot that we still have to do to be ready, but I know it will all get done with spare time left over. My classroom is all packed up and moved, quite bittersweet. I don't think it will sink in that I'm not teaching anymore until August and September come and go. Matt is enjoying the summer and is in St. George at a basketball camp and gets back tonight. He is such a good coach. I went down earlier this week to watch some of his games and I just love to watch him interact with these girls. It cracks me up! I hope that someday they look back on their high school years with fond memories of "Snyder". :)
Happy Friday everyone!

Oh the Thrills!

This whole pregnancy thing is such a rollercoaster. And no, I don't really mean of emotions... surprisingly I haven't been very emotional (everyone tells me that it has to do with the boy hormones inside of me... maybe that accounts for the pimply adolescent face and desire to swear).

Each trimester offers its share of valleys and peaks (morning sickness, happiness, excitement, frequent peeing, clothes not fitting...). Today I am going to touch on a few of the highs and lows of the third trimester so far (yes I know it's only been a week since I've been in the 3rd, but there are definite changes brewing already!)

Peak #1. Keep Kicking! We have one active little boy. Yesterday I was sitting in on an interview and I couldn't help but watch my belly. Every now and then he would kick really hard and my belly would visibly move on the outside! I couldn't get over it. He moves so much at night and in the morning, I just love it. I know the day will come when I complain that he's taking up all the extra room I have left, but I'm going to try to remember how fun this part is.

Valley #1. Sleep. Or lack thereof. In the morning when I'm tossing and turning, I usually just make the call that it would be easier to get out of bed and just get some stuff done than it is to lay there and try to get comfortable again. It doesn't help that June in Utah has finally arrived and the thermometer keeps creeping closer and closer towards hot and uncomfortable. Let's not forget that I keep waking up in the middle of the night accidentally on my back (a pregnancy no-no), then spend the next hour worrying that I've done something horrible and irreversible to my baby (let the worry begin!). Plus, everything seems like a bigger deal in the middle of the night so God and I have been having many "serious" conversations that I just can't seem to relax about!

Peak #2. Food! Up until yesterday I was happy to eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it. But, last night we started our Bradley course child-birthing classes and I was soon aware that my usual diet was no longer going to cut it. You should see the sheet I have to fill out every week of what I am eating. And, the little checkboxes at the bottom are already stressing me out. I actually think I'm going to have a hard time eating as much as I'm supposed to, and trying to stay within our grocery budget. (Think: 2 eggs a day, 2 large servings of protein a day, and enough milk and lettuce to feed a small army). I think I can do it, and I just ate the largest breakfast I've eaten in awhile, so we'll see! Should be interesting trying to figure out how to fit it all in and dealing with the inevitable disappointment the Bradley instructor will express when I show her my pink sheet next week. On the bright side, the other couple in our class is delightful! We have more in common than I ever would have thought we could have with complete strangers. I think we'll be friends. And, they're having a boy too... seems to be the trend!

Valley #2. Nesting. I know this should be a peak, but when the countdown on my google account reminds me there are only 77 more days left until little Ryder's appearance (don't worry, we're not really naming our child Ryder Snyder, it's just a fun nickname for now), I start to hyperventilate. I think it mostly has to do with the fact that I have been so stressed with the end of the school year and with cleaning out my classroom (which should be done as of TODAY!), that I haven't had any time to do the nesting things I've wanted to do. However, the nursery is painted (the most adorable Martha Stewart blue), and we are ready to start assembling furniture and moving in and organizing. I'm sure that I'll get everything done entirely too early and then be kicking myself (if it's physically possible by then) because all I can do is just sit and wait, but I'm okay with that.

Valley #3. Maternity clothes. I can't even describe how much I loathe them. Sure, the pants can be comfy on the belly, but the new appearance of a sagging crotch and back pockets that end up on the upper part of my thigh are definitely NOT attractive. Shirts are now becoming a problem too. It's okay, this too shall pass... right, RIGHT???

Peak #3. The realization that God's timing is nothing but perfect. I have been wrecked by His love and providence lately. I don't know why I spend so much time worrying when I know that the plans He has for me are completely perfect. I couldn't have even tried to plan life the way that it's turned out, and yet it's all so wonderful that all I can do is be in awe and sit back to watch what He'll do next. I'm so humbled by how involved He is in every little detail of life and how He chooses to involve me in His greater plan. I'm doing the Daniel study by Beth Moore (again!) and love the fact that I can be a part of the goal that He is moving creation towards, yet I can still have intimate moments where I know He's watching out just for me. I hope you're able to recognize one of those moments this week and that you will be in awe with me at just how amazing and loving God is!

Well, I could end on that, and leave you with a warm feeling inside, but instead I will end with
Valley #4. The fact that all modesty and decency in my marriage has been thrown out the window. The constant trips to the bathroom, "escaping air", and put-some-hair-on-your-chest burps (could it again be the boyish hormones?) have become permanent fixtures in our marriage. Most of you might say, "So what!? My husband always does that, it's about time for payback!" However, my wonderful (and I really do mean wonderful) husband has always been an extremely discreet fellow.. so now I'm the one feeling huge (did I mention I passed up my husband in weight this week? I had read about this day, but nothing could have prepared me for it), rude, manly, and gross. Oh well, I'm sure it only gets better from here! (wink, wink).

Junebug

It's June, I can't believe it!

Here are a few things I like about June.
1. School's out for the Summer... Schooool's out forever!
2. My Birthday (the 19th peeps!)
3. The weather is perfect, not too hot but definitely warmer than the Spring...
4. Pools are open.
5. Gardens are growing (some are dying, mine are somewhere in between, except for the rosebushes out front, we have 35 bushes and counted 20 buds on one bush alone!)
6. Everyone seems happy!
7. Many trips to Home Depot = happines

Speaking of Home Depot. I think that would quite possibly be the funnest (yes I used that word) place to work. I'm not sure why, but I get happy when I get to go there. Maybe it's the festive orange that seems to deck every nook and cranny, but really I think it's a mix of the fact that I haven't outgrown the junior high "if-i-could-build-my-fantasy-house-it-would-have-a-slide-and-robots" phase and the fact that I am 1/2 of Wild Bill, my engineer-why-would-you-pay-someone-to-do-that-when-you-can-do-it-yourself Dad.

Well, I know this is a random post but it's just one of those days. I'm feeling bittersweet about the end of this school year since I'm not going back. I will not miss all the little details that come along with a classroom, but I will definitely miss the cute little people that fill it. I'm also feeling frustrated that I can't do as much as I once could (oh, you know, about 6 months ago). I had a to-do list with only 4 things on it (4!) for this weekend and only got one thing done.. oh well, such is life! Cheers to a happy and healthy June!