The Birth of Baha'u'llah

 Today Baha'is around the world celebrate the Birth of Baha'u'llah, the Prophet Founder of the Baha'i Faith and the Promised One of all the worlds great religions. There are usually commemorations, prayers, celebrations and picnics. We missed our community's event last night because of Maryam's tummy bug. I think we might have made up for that though. The kids and I had the best Holy Day. Ever. Everything was done very last minute as we had originally planned a picnic at the park with prayers and cake and friends, but because Maryam was still not 100 percent (not vomiting, but not 100 percent) we decided to cancel.  Here is what we did instead (and I think we may have a new tradition on our hands): I got a do-it-yourself-helium-kit from Spotlight, I inflated 19 balloons (there were 30 in the pack and I let the kids inflate the extras after breakfast) and attached them to "pearls" made from scrapbooking paper.

I used a hole punch to cut out a heart shape and used contrasting paper as a backdrop.

 I printed out 19 short quotes from Baha'u'llah, cut them out, rolled them up and tucked one inside each little heart pocket. When the kids woke up the first thing they saw was a room was filled with helium balloons.

  Instead of our traditional morning prayers I explained that because today was such a special day we were doing something a little different and that part of Baha'u'llah's mission was to give us words to live by, 'pearls of wisdom' if you will. I showed the kids the pearls on the end of each balloon and said that in the heart of each pearl lies some of  His (Baha'u'llah's) teachings, some of the wisdom that He has given us to help guide our lives. The kids then took turns reading aloud these pearls of wisdom.

Here are a few of my favourites:

“Dedicate the precious days of your lives to the betterment of the world”   ~Baha'u'llah

Man's merit lieth in service and virtue and not in the pageantry of wealth and riches.”  ~Baha'u'llah

“The essence of faith is fewness of words and abundance of deeds”  ~Baha'u'llah
 

“Be patient under all conditions and place your whole trust and confidence in God.” ~Baha'u'llah
 

“The country is the world of the soul, the city is the world of bodies.”  ~Baha'u'llah
 

“Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself.”  ~Baha'u'llah (Yeah, I made sure Anisa read that one.)

 

“A thankful person is thankful under all circumstances. A complaining soul complains even in paradise.”  ~Baha'u'llah (I love that.)

 

“Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbor, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face. Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer of the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge. Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech. Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all men. Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression. Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts. Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility.”    ~Baha'u'llah  (This one I divided into three.)

We brought the balloons with us to the dining room to enjoy a festive breakfast. And then got to work on the big plan for the day. Random Acts of Service for Baha'u'llah. This is based on something that a Baha'i blogger drew my attention to a couple of months ago (thanks Leanna) I think it is a brilliant idea and thought it might be a nice way to commemorate Baha'u'llah's birthday. While the kids ate I began reading them the book Not Every Sea Hath Pearls and was pleasantly surprised by how well a certain individual listed and clued in to the chapter. We then talked about what ways we might be able to offer service on behalf of Baha'u'llah in honor of His birthday, Ruhi compiled a list and here is what we did.

1). The kids unanimously decided that we should donate all of the balloons to the hospital. They quickly changed our pearls into Get well soon or I hope you're feeling better tags. These were distributed to sick kids in the pediatric ward.

While Ruhi and Anisa were busy making cards and paper flowers Bayan took control in the kitchen. 2). We made a chocolate cake to take to the nurses who are doing such a super job looking after all of those sick kids as well as a Thank You card to articulate what we were doing and why.

3). Anisa wanted to donate her Indian flowers to the play centre at the hospital to brighten things up a bit, so we  took those in too.

4). Bayan also helped bake chocolate chip cookies to take to the local police station as a thank you to the police officers who help keep our community safe. This too included a written Thank You card explaining the importance of today.

5). While we were there the children each donated a stuffed animal to be given to the interrogation room so that kids who have to be there can have something soft and cuddly to hold onto.

6). We took paper flowers and  hand crafted cards to a lovely lady in our community who is very sick with cancer. We left these on her doorstep as I wasn't taking any chances with Maryam getting near her. A tummy bug, of any sort, is the last thing she needs right now.

7). We stopped by the cemetery to say prayers and bring flowers for sweet Sachi (a beautiful Baha'i girl whose love for Baha'ullah inspired countless people during her 2 year battle with leukemia) as well as some other friends who are buried there and the kids took it upon themselves to tidy up other graves as well, picking up flowers that had fallen over and ornaments knocked down by the wind.

8). We stopped by the library to donate a couple of Baha'i books, including the Kitab-i-Igan (The Book of Certitude).

9). Baha'u'llah was also known as The Father of the Poor so we donated two bags of stuff: clothes, games, books, etc. to the Salvation Army charity bins.

10). We took a basket of fruit and veg. to an elderly couple that doesn't get out much and stayed for a visit.

11). We bought  a photo album for someone who had been embarrassed to show the children their photos because they were kept in a shoebox instead of an album.

Baha'u'llah loved animals and we had hoped to make it to the animal shelter as well, but we ran out of time. Maybe tomorrow.


Over dinner Bayan asked what my best moment of the day was. I love that because I used to always ask them that question and I haven't done it in a while. I love that he remembered. While we ate we talked about some of the highlights, like seeing the appreciation on the nurses faces when they saw all the balloons and read the little tags for the kids, the huge smile that spread across one police officer's face when he saw that big plate of cookies come into the precinct, the gushing gratitude over a simple photo album and watching Maryam give Sachi's photo a kiss. I hope that's not creepy. The kids had just finished singing some prayers and her spontaneous kiss just seemed super endearing.

We ended the meal on a sweet note with ice cream and cake and are wishing everyone a perfectly wonderful Birth of Baha'u'llah.

Have you seen my blogging mojo?

It would appear that I have lost it. Somewhere between Ruhi's birthday and Ridvan. I am sure it's around here somewhere...I'll start looking again when Maryam wakes up. She is currently sprawled across my lap. She was up throughout the night vomiting and has finally fallen asleep. Poor love. Speaking of sleep...

Hard Things

This week the kids have done a number of hard things. And I am so proud of them for it. We have started attending a debating club. Neither of the girls like public speaking (Bayan is a whole other story) but it is an important skill nevertheless. Ruhi was game to try it and even prepared a little speech on the importance of refusing to buy tickets for live dolphin shows because of the trauma and wholesale slaughter that happens during dolphin hunting in Japan. It was pretty shocking to watch (the slaughter - not her speech) and I had no idea that it was even happening. Anisa was planning to come just to watch the proceedings but wound up getting suckered in by the fun game they were playing when we arrived. Bayan got suckered in too, but then he is happy to speak in front of large groups at the drop of a hat. So I got to watch my three in action while shadowing Maryam who was busily trying to climb every piece of furniture imaginable. I think there might be something said for homeschooling here because all of the homeschooled kids who got up to speak were poised and eloquent, even the six-year-old. And then there were my three. Ruhi and her opponent argued for the same side. (This could have been the other girls mistake - she did make a few. But then these mistakes allowed everyone to see Ruhi's poise under pressure, something that was difficult to watch but that I am so glad I got to see, because she handled herself beautifully.) Bayan decided he wasn't really interested anymore and wanted to play with the legos Maryam found. So when his turn came he got up, made a one one point statement and rested his case. It was a good point though. Anisa must have said: "Ummm, like..." at least thirty times during the three minutes she had to argue that it was better to know the future than not to know the future. She made some good points about being able to help others or being able to save your own life and then she said something about being able to find dinosaur eggs (we went on an excursion to the museum last Friday for paleontology week) and the entire audience had something to say about that. It is amazing how far and how fast things can get off track when dinosaurs are involved. I was super proud of Anisa for getting up there at all, especially when she had no intention of doing so. At this stage she is the one who likes public speaking the least and I love how she stepped, completely, out of her comfort zone to do something that is so difficult for her. After all that is really why we are doing this - to develop some important skills and to give the kids an opportunity to stretch their wings and practice doing hard things.

Speaking of hard things we all went for a hike last weekend. We walked a total of 8 kilometers, 4 of which were uphill. Uphill. We have hiked around this waterfall before but never to the top of the mountain. Mehran has made it but I have always stayed behind with exhausted and unhappy children. Sunday was different. Sunday we strapped Maryam to my back, laced up our shoes and headed for the top. We went with some of Mehran's friends and one lady in particular kept stopping. At a quarter of the way she paused to catch her breath, saying that she didn't think that she was going to make it. She rested halfway saying she didn't think she could go on. She sat on some rocks 3/4 of the way up saying that that was all she had in her and she stopped about every two minutes on the homestretch because that part was mostly vertical. I know this because I was right beside her pausing to catch my breath but determined to make it to the top because I had never done it before and because Bayan was doing such a super job chuffing it up the hill. When we reached the top she was so glad that she came and so proud that she made it. She should be, it was hard work. We met some other people at the top who asked if I had hiked the whole way with the little one on my back, when I said that I had one of them responded by saying: "Thank you. I didn't think I could make it, but when I saw you I thought if she can do it with a baby then so can I." (I guess he missed the fifty times I paused, clinging to trees, gasping for breath.) I think it is nice how we can inspire each other to achieve something that we don't think we can. I know I was inspired by the elderly man I saw running down the mountain, I was impressed by the two guys in army fatigues who hiked the whole way wearing massive, heavily laden, backpacks, I was amazed by the lady who passed me twice while running up and down the mountain. Twice. Beyond that I was so proud of the kids who made it to the top without one word of complaint. Truly. There were multiple blisters but zero complaints. I am amazed and grateful because it was such a wonderful day.

I love it that at least three people there that day, myself included, may not have reached the top if it hadn't have been for others, for being inspired to do better than they believed they could.

Imagine

Imagine a child. A beautiful, wonderful boy. Imagine watching this child undergo a heart transplant at only two weeks old. Imagine watching him triumph over incredible odds... and live. Imagine watching him grow. Imagine watching his delight as he enjoys the simple things of life. Imagine seeing him overcome huge obstacles with grace and dignity. Imagine his patience as his body begins to fail. Imagine that he does not need one transplant, but two. Imagine the doctors that have been seeing him for years saying that they can no longer help. Imagine countless hospitals that do not return calls. Imagine searching desperately for a doctor or hospital who can help. Imagine finding one. One. Imagine a health insurance company refusing to cover the costs while this child gets worse and worse and worse. Now, imagine that child...is yours.

The following link will tell you the story of Robert Moldenhauer and his family, a brave young boy who is on his way to Boston in the hopes that it will save his life. They need your prayers and support. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=320633711337673&set=a.320624458005265.79765.10001731398896&type=1

11 Things I love about Ruhi

1). That she is always willing to help.

2). Her sweet, kind and generous nature.

3). She is such a hard worker. If she hasn't finished something she will stay up late just to make sure it is done. Were talking mathematics here people. Math.

4). She is super responsible and pretty much always does the right thing.

5). Her honesty. I think in 11 years she has once told a fib and she was like four when it happened. I love that I can trust her implicitly and know that she is telling the truth.

6). I love her patience with her siblings and how she can put up with some pretty irritating stuff and love them all in spite of it.

7). I love that she is willing to try new things.

8). She is so very good at art and has a lovely singing voice.

9). She always remembers to say prayers. On nights when Maryam is upset and I don't sit with them for prayers and stories, I hear her voice calling from her room: "Who wants to say prayers?..." Followed shortly by her own prayer. It melts your heart every time.

10). Our stolen moments at night watching a movie (or the Amazing Race) and munching snacks or making things.

11). She is content with what she gets, grateful for what she has and really has to think if there is anything she wants because as she herself says: "I have so much already. I really don't need anything else." What kind of kid says that? My kind of kid. And we love her. Very much. Happy Birthday Ruhi honey.

Worry is sin.

Today we had a pace-maker clinic at the hospital for Anisa. These, and the cardiology ones, usually make me so nervous. What will they find? How well is the battery lasting? Today, as we raced around running errands before our appointment I barely had time to think about it. I am finding that a lot lately. I barely have time to think. In some ways this is good. In others not so much. If I haven't the time to think, then I haven't the time to worry. This is good, because I really have to learn that lesson that we are all in Gods hands. No matter what. I tend to be a bit of a control freak and this is a hard one for me. I know it. I do. It's just that sometimes I forget. I like to have plans, back-up plans and contingency plans for those back-up plans. I need to learn to let go a little more and to just go with it. Not having time to think or stress really helps with that. As part of the kids read aloud program we got a book entitled Catching their Talk in a Box, the title didn't grab me and I was not altogether sure how much I would enjoy reading that story but it turned out to contain some gems that we all needed to hear and that I, for one will not soon forget. It tells the story of a Cristian Missionary named Joy Riderhoff and I won't go into the details here, but man if ever anyone trusted in God under all circumstances this lady did. Her life was transformed by a preacher who told her: "Worry is sin. If you trust in God you don't worry. If you worry, you don't trust in God." And she, like me, was a worrier, but she learned not to be. That is what I am aiming for. But it sure is hard when you have kids. I am not sure that I'll ever get there, but I am certainly going to try, especially in light of this up-coming surgery and how worried I was the last time. I am hoping that I can put everything into God's hands, for real, and be entirely confident and positive for Anisa's sake. I almost teared up as the pacemaker specialist told us that the battery is definitely being expended and we needed to book the surgeon soon, but I didn't. See? I've still got a way to go. We saw the receptionist, got the necessary paperwork and headed off for Persian classes. As we were walking Anisa put her hand in mine and I think I held on just a little bit tightly. We both have our moments, but man alive, I love that girl.

Ayyami-iha recap

Day 1: The kids arrived at Breakfast to find their presents waiting for them on the buffet hutch.Bayan was so excited that he couldn't resist a little peek. For which he felt kind of bad - so we decided to let him go first.He has been waiting for 6 months for this robotic dinosaur set (another score from the markets) and could hardly contain himself. The baby dinosaur and remote control were in his gift bag and he had to use the remote control to find the mother dinosaur.Ruhi got some much needed new clothes.Anisa got the ipod she has been pining for. It was also secondhand and only plays a selection of songs that we have hand picked. I am such a control freak.After breakfast we high tailed it to Bayan's tennis lesson and then went straight to our first Ayyam-i-Ha party of the season. There were games, and songs,gorgeous decorations and random bits to put on our noses whenever the urge to become an elephant strikesThere was lovely food, an amazing cake and lots of friends and fun.We cut the party a little bit short to high tail it to the neighbourhood centre where we were helping to host our community's Ayyam-i-Ha party.We had to set up the craft tables, make the sweets and organize the decorations.We made trays and trays of cream puffs and some basic cookies and then we got a little more creative. We used the 9 pointed star cookie cutters (thanks Mom) from Special Ideas to make some flower cookies. We crushed some hard candies in the middle to make it look like the flower's center. I didn't get to try one. They went pretty fast. But Anisa assured me they were really good. That was what we were aiming for.The kids sang a prayer together. They sounded awesome. A truly heart melting moment.All in all it went really well, everyone seemed to have a great time. The crafts were a success. We had prayer rocks, Ayyam-i-Ha card making and flower crafting. Some of the older ladies even came to make flowers as well. Bless them.Day 2: Featured a treasure hunt to try to find where their presents were hidden. That Maryam is so clever. She knew just where to go for hers, though she did have some help from Anisa and this is one of her favorite spots at the moment.Today was book day. All of the gifts were books (mostly second hand that I had found at the markets. Love the markets.) I was especially impressed with the set of hardcover 39 Clue books that I found for Ruhi. She has really been looking forward to reading the rest of that series and it just so happened that this lady had all the books that Ruhi hadn't read yet. They were as new, in immaculate condition and only 2 dollars. But best of all was Maryam's face when she saw this book in her bag. She was so happy. She opened it right up and just sat there absorbing it with a huge smile on her face. Even Bayan, who is pretty keen on the "fun present" aspect of Ayyam-i-Ha, was happy with his book and library bag. I love that they were content and grateful for what they received.There was a children's classes Ayyam-i-Ha party and dinner later that evening. With sparklers. Which they loved.

Day 3:
Began with customary warm Milo and marshmallows.

This was followed by some simple gifts, like much needed shoes, more homeschooling and lots of gift making for friends. Above are the aprons we finished today. Just in time for the party tomorrow.

Day 4:

Began with a string maze. I woke up early and, with my trusty sidekick Maryam, we wound yearn from each child's bedpost to a present that was placed somewhere around the house. The living room and hallway looked something like this:

Only it was better in real life. I had to up my game a bit because today was "handmade" day. The kids all got new aprons. Maryam loved hers and didn't take it off all day. You can kind of see her in it below. Super cute. I also kind of cheated, because I didn't make Bayan's elephant nor Anisa's fairy costumes (again scores from the markets). Anisa's Princess costume is partially stitched and even the Belle dress that Ruhi is wearing is not entirely complete.But I did make my own bias binding and the kids didn't seem to mind - so there you go. Note that pile of laundry in the corner. Why can I never get through all the laundry??? After gifts we got busy finishing off our world map tablecloths that we were making for some friends. The kids (read Ruhi) drew and labeled all the countries, while Anisa and Bayan helped color in. They all embellished the world with random animals. Just because.

The blur by Anisa's feet is Maryam and below Bayan got busy making new crayons out of old crayons and pieces of oil pastels. This did not work as well as we had hoped, but we managed to make enough for everyone to have a few sticks. Bayan rather enjoyed the bashing the crayon part. As far as he was concerned it sure beat the heck out of coloring continents or shading that pesky Pacific Ocean. We joined friends for another Ayyam-i-Ha party. The kids had a super time giving their gifts to each other. This was "Christmas Morning" Ayyam-i-Ha style, with yummy snacks and friends to play with. You can't get better than that. day 5:

We gave them this: Which, to the untrained eye, looked like this:

Which is why Bayan looked like this:

Until he worked out that the slips of paper in the jar were actually more than just slips of paper. Each piece of paper had a neatly scrapbooked activity listed on it. Something that we will do for family night each month during the year ( I did 12 in total, but I am thinking that next year I will rack my brains a little better and base it on the Baha'i months instead.) I tried to include a range of activities, many of which were either low cost or free, such as a twilight picnic at the beach, doing a service for another family, making cookies and watching a movie, or a games night. Some of them will cost a little bit more, like bowling, swimming and an outing to the cinema, but at least the cost is spread throughout the year.

We are going to make this Ayyam-i-Ha jar a must do every year. It is the gift that keeps on giving. Giving time, experience and family fun without adding to the stuff we already have. This was my most favorite gift. I hope over time it will become the children's most favorite as well.
Bayan perked right up when he came across the pizza night. Bless him.

The last gifts they received were from each other. They were so excited to be giving the gifts that they had so carefully chosen for each other. (Handmade is best, but with all the other handmade stuff we ran out of time... I'm just sayin'.) Because they have been earning money for a service project and because I don't want them spending heaps of money on things that they don't even need they each had one dollar to spend. They drew names out of a basket and each child only bought for the sibling whose name they had chosen. They were so excited.That is a bubble wand by the way. Maryam loves bubbles. I love how they really thought about what "their person" would want and how they shopped accordingly. This year the kids were working hard to earn money to send to Tonga to a help sponsor a couple of girls who wish to attend the school there. They've been doing odd jobs, cleaning and pulling weeds and although they haven't done this as consistently as I would have liked it has been good to have them working hard to help others. A concept that comes more easily to some than to others but I won't name names.

Last year when I organized the treasure hunt for the coins for the food bank I hit a couple of snags. Like not remembering where I hid the coins... umm yeah... Anyway this year I was all prepared and organized. I even wrote a poem filled with riddles for them to solve as they collected their coins. ( for those interested this can be found at the end of the post.) It worked really well. They worked together, helped each other and amassed a small fortune in the process. Which we took directly to the shops for them to buy groceries for the food bank. We added these to the ones we had already collected from members of the community and though you can't see it very well here they did get quite a bit. 67 kilos of food to be exact. We got to mention the Faith again and the kids were even treated to another tour of the freezer. They love that place. From the food bank we high tailed it to Hungry Jacks (Gag! I know. But Ruhi is nearly 11 and this was her first milkshake. So there.) for a much anticipated Milkshake which we enjoyed after prayers on the beach. The kids played along the rocks and we hurried home for dinner before heading off to Feast.

Oh and for anyone interested in the riddle / poem for the treasure hunt... here you go.

To help the hungry and those in need - to these words listen well.

How much money you will find - only time will tell.

Through riddles and prose you will gather your clues

and can collect a golden fortune if you so choose...

(Bayan) here is your first clue: it rhymes with pig.

It grows outside. It is a __ __ __. (Fig tree)

(Anisa) you're next. Listen closely - your coin is well concealed.

You must dig a bit, in the dirt, until it is revealed. (Veggie patch)

(Ruhi) a riddle will help you find what you need.

Go through the garage to follow this lead.

Stop at a structure sturdy and tall

that collects raindrops as soon as they fall. (Rainwater tank)

Let's all help (Maryam) find the next place

in our treasure filled, little, Ayyam-i-Ha race.
It's the spot where we bake and grill and cook

So peer inside and take a look. (Oven)

I am filled with all sorts of good things to eat,

cheeses, drinks, fruits, veggies and meat.

Look carefully, for somewhere inside

ten silver coins do secretly hide. (Refridgerator)

Family night often finds us here, watching movies on a screen

Look closely and a hint of gold can almost just be seen. (Television)

I am always helpful when there are dirty dishes around.

Look carefully inside for here a special coin is found. (Dishwasher)

We travel all around the place in this lovely thing with wheels

not knowing the aches of weary bones or the pain of how that feels.

So search thoroughly through our big, black, van

to find as many coins as you possibly can. (Pretty obvious)

With rubber ducks and bubbles I help you to keep clean

And somewhere underneath the suds some money can be seen. (Bath tub)

I'm warm and cozy, soft and comfy - it is here that you rise upon waking.

Search carefully between the covers and the coins are yours for the taking. (Bed)

Families gather around me to share their evening meal.

Now you must hunt high and low to find the coins I conceal. (Dining Table)

I walk. I run. I dance. I play.

I hide the coins you seek today.

Find the basket. Find a pair.

Find the treasure. Take your share. ( Shoes in the shoe basket)

When clothes are smelly, dirty or unclean

they get tossed inside this special machine.

When the clothes are all washed and out on the line

then you see the coins that sparkle and shine. (Washing machine)

Bouncing, jumping, running way up high -

bouncing, bouncing towards the sky.

You love my mats, you love my sides.

Somewhere here your treasure hides. (Trampoline.)

From places all around the world special things are sent

to our little box and to those for whom they're meant.

Sometimes there are packages, sometimes letters or a bill

But what you'll find today will give you a special thrill. (Mailbox - containg the last clue, 20 dollars and 3 chocolate coins.)

Let's stop here for a moment and remember how lucky we are.

From all this food to fill us up we are never very far.

Unlike some who must struggle and strive

everyday just so they can survive,

who never have enough to eat or know from where their next meal might come...

Remember that that could be us, right now we are just luckier than some.

So think about what you would most like to eat

if it were you starving or living on the street...
It is here that our treasure hunt must stop.

Now we count our coins and head over to the shop.

Happy Ayyam-i-Ha.