Portable Reminders of Home

When I packed to move from Canada to Guatemala in April 2015, I made sure to bring a few little things that reminded me of my home.
I thought I had shared this picture before but I searched the blog and didn't see it. So here it is!

The nightshirt that my sisters, nieces, nephew, and I coloured before I left Canada.

I had this idea before I moved away to have my family paint a t-shirt for me to wear. I bought some fabric crayons, which were CRAP actually, and luckily had a chance to see my family and get it done before I left.
I outlined the eight black hearts and put the initials on the shirt before I let them loose on it. The top two hearts are my sisters, S&A (you remember from their trip here in July), the middle heart is me, and the five lower hearts are my nephew and four nieces who are: D&J twins age 14; I. age 6; and M&P twins age 4. (Yes, two sets of twins!) Things got a bit carried away and I got some bonus designs on the bottom as well. :D
It is a little bit worse for wear now.

Faded, torn, stretched out... and I still wear it almost every night!

I love that shirt. It's so comfy and I can always look down and be reminded of my loving family back in Canada.
I also brought along this little fella that my younger sister gave me.

Lucky Pony loves Guatemala!

I don't remember if there was a specific reason I got Lucky Pony. Probably just cuz my sister is awesome and Lucky Pony is awesome and he and I were meant to be together! He sits on my desk and supervises my work. (P.S. He's not a giant. He's only 3 inches tall. It's just a zoomed in picture to show his cuteness.)
Here is what I brought from my older sister, plus a new-ish addition as well.

Dragonfly suncatcher and Guatemalan hummingbird.

The pale purple beaded suncatcher on the left was a gift from my big sister. I think it's from a shop that we used to stop at on the long drive down from our home town to ... wherever. You can't really see it but there is a silver dragonfly near the small purple beads. I love it and made sure to pack it. Unfortunately, it doesn't catch any sun where it's hanging now but I do get to look at it all the time.
Next to it is the hummingbird I bought here in Pana because it reminded me of my niece and nephew. We had a joke last summer that we were the Hummingbird Gang. We had hand signs and everything! When my sisters came to visit, I made sure they went back with beaded hummingbirds as gifts for everyone!

The thing that I brought with me that reminds me of my parents is my lovely camera! They spoiled me a few years ago and bought me a very sturdy, very fun little camera plus a huge memory card for it and a pretty carrying case. I'm grateful every day for that camera -- and I'm sure YOU are too! It's what makes this blog so colourful and fun to look at. :)

I'm looking forward to the day when I have enough money saved to go back to Canada to visit. I'm going to stuff my suitcases full of gifts to take home... and then re-stuff it with gifts to take back to Guatemala!