Be Brave

We weren't planning to do a birthday party for Ruhi this year, just a magical outing with family and a  special dinner. 'Cause lets face it - it's a lot of work. There are invitations to create, activities to plan, the service portion to organize, pre party clean-up, post party clean-up, to say nothing about refreshments and the cake. Oh yes, the cake... But then Ruhi saw a flyer for a movie in the park and then this is what evolved...

Malala Yusufzai was just 11 when she started speaking against the Taliban. She believes that girls have the right to an education. They do not.

She was brave. She continued to go to school even when it was dangerous to do so. She continued to study, even when forced to flee from her home.

The Taliban tried to silence her. But she survived. Now she needs our help.

Here is what we can do. It doesn’t cost anything and it only takes a few minutes but if we work together we can help Malala realize her dream of a world where girls get an education too.

Go to www.amnesty.ie and click on ACT on the right hand side of the screen. Scroll down and go to the second page. Click on Help Malala Yousafzai and other activists in Pakistan. Type in your name, your e-mail and click submit. A letter, already written by Amnesty International and addressed to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, will be sent off. The more people who get behind this the more powerful it will be. If you know others who might be willing to support Malala’s fight for education please pass on the details to them.

 Thank you so much. Love, Ruhi

So,  what can you do except help put together a party for a brilliant girl, supporting a brilliant cause and put out the word so that others get a chance to do something they might not otherwise have done. E-mail a letter, dare to make a difference. Go on. Be brave.

Photo from Google images.

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.

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

Ahoy me hearties!

Once again we were up early to hang the decorations (not nearly as many as I made for Ruhi's party) but the perfect amount to frame the edge of the pergola...and I think it worked pretty well, especially when coupled with our pirate flag.The cannon balls were finished and ready to be fired, sparkly pouches were stuffed with gold nuggets and seashells and 22 pencil case party favors were filled, rolled and ready to go.The loot filled treasure box was locked up and waiting to be found, the pass the parcel(s) were wrapped up and ready,The cake, well the cake has inspired me to get some specialized help. I think that it is finally time to enroll in some sort of cake decorating course. Seriously. Do you even know what this is meant to be?I kept the food pretty simple so, when the first guests began to arrive, everything was ready.... except for the veggies. But I soon had helpers peeling carrots and slicing cucumbers. Thanks guys!

Aside from the sandwiches everything was gluten free. Gluten free rolls...if there are words in the English language that adequately describe their heinousness I simply do not know what they are. We went with wheat.
We played Pass the parcel first, to the rip roaring tunes of Lazytown's version of "You are a Pirate." Naturally.
We then headed outside to 'walk the plank.'

The kids loved this. A lot. Almost everyone took at least two journeys down this plank. Perhaps it had something to do with the golden chocolate coin they were awarded with at the end. So much more appealing than shark infested waters don't you think?

I considered having two planks, one raised slightly off the ground for the older kids and one laying on the ground for the younger ones, but then thought that that would probably be asking for trouble. In the end the one long one worked really well and I was surprised at how many of the little ones were happy to have a go with the blindfold (it was a must for the older kids, optional for the little ones, but pretty much everyone wanted to wear it.)

Some even managed to successfully maneuver around darling little toddlers who trudged up the plank to greet them. I bet real pirates never have to deal with that. A big thank you to Martha who carefully hung and tucked the little pouches of pirate booty around the backyard. That was the next task after the plank - to search the yard, using a spyglass, to locate the little treasures.From there we played sink the ship and each child had a cannon ball to fire.For this, as I mentioned before, we made two boats. One with smaller holes for the older kids and one with larger holes for the younger ones. M. was extremely helpful standing by to retrieve cannon balls.

While the kids tried to defeat rival pirates I zipped around the yard hiding color coded keys. 12 green and 12 blue. The keys could be found if you looked really carefully, or if you followed a treasure map that detailed the location where each key was hiding. The kids were then divided into two groups and sent off to search.

They worked really well together and, unlike real pirates, the team that found all their keys first went back to help the other team find their last couple of elusive keys. The kids were then able to open the treasure box and grab some goodies. Our happy pirates then trailed inside for some lunch and cake.

Which, despite it's state of decrepitness, the kids thought was great. One little girl even said that it was, and I quote: "the best cake ever!" Thanks A. love ya baby.

After my epiphany last night with Bayan, I remembered to simply enjoy the moments and this was pretty laid back and fun. The kids all seemed to have a great time and I know Bayan certainly did. My only panic attack was when one little guy with severe allergies ate the wrong cupcake. Despite some serious anxiety, he was fine.

Thanks to the generosity of all who attended Bayan managed to collect 100.00 for the Fred Hollows foundation. We received a lovely letter from his widow saying that the money will help at least four people regain their sight. This was far above and beyond what we had hoped to achieve and are very grateful and touched by the compassion and generous nature of our family and friends. Thank you all so much!

Lifting the funk

I had so many plans of things that I wanted to accomplish during the school holidays, of things that I wanted to do with the kids and for the kids -yet the past week and a half (the holidays are only two weeks) I have spent in a serious funk. I have had no energy or desire to do anything. At all. I have read quite a bit. Slept. And mostly stayed home with the children. We have had two playdates. Two. Whether it was just that we were all overworked and overwhelmed and just really needed some down time, or weather the planets have been misaligned or I am entering a mid-life crisis I really cannot say. Thankfully the funk has lifted, somewhat, the past couple of days and I have begun to enter serious party planning mode. Prior to this I had merely managed to do bits and pieces like cut some fabric panels and print treasure box templates to accompany the invitations which I only managed to mail a few of days ago. (The party is tomorrow. See what I mean? A serious funk. I just didn't care and couldn't be bothered. I told myself that I still have time...And then yesterday dawned. My funk was slightly lifted, my head a little clearer and I had a better realization about all there is to do.

In an appropriately panicked mode I dragged the children around to the various shops gathering miscellaneous food supplies, timber boards and large, discarded, boxes. They were so patient and sweet until we hit the fabric store where two individuals (who shall remain nameless) ran amuck through the faux fur section, gave me a nervous twitch in the paint and craft supplies and caused numerous ladies to stop, laugh and offer sympathetic smiles in the quilter's corner. We left the store with fabric, paints and an extra 1,000 meters of German sewing thread (because I used up the previous 1,000 meters sewing for Ruhi's birthday party...1,000 meters....indeed) We headed back home with a very disagreeable boy, a disgruntled sister and a disgraced mother who, despite the fact that it was barely 11am, had had just about enough for the day.

But there was so much more to come and so much more to do. In between finishing off the decorations and pirate flag with intermittent "help" from a few enthusiastic pedal pushers; in the midst of stitching together 24 bean bags (ahem - I mean cannon balls) and having further "help" filling them with obscure beans and old baby pasta (much of which wound up all over the floor); in between wrapping up the pass the parcel (which, in tying with our theme, consisted of the gorgeous storybook The Sign of the Seahorse and various ocean figurines) and doing various cleaning jobs throughout the house I also had the pleasure of responding to frequent frenzied calls of "MOOOOOMMMMM!" Twitch. Twitch. Normally this was followed by: "Bayan did..." "Bayan said..." or "I can't open the door." Mehran "fixed" the sliding door, only now none of the kids can open it and any time they want to go in or out I have to play doorman. Twitch. Twitch. Below is one such example of what Bayan did while I was finishing off some party favour pencil pouches ( I love these. They are from The Creative Family book by Amanda Soule, except that in my funk induced state I didn't refer to her instructions or measure anything. Hers are much better, as was Martha's prototype that inspired me to even attempt this, but I like these anyway. They are super fun to sew. I made 12 slots for pencils, and then tweaked the design by adding a larger slot for a coloring in sheet, later a ruler should fit in the space, plus two little pockets for a pirate coin and an organic lollipop - it is a party after all- and later on perhaps the pockets can serve as a spot to put an eraser and pencil sharpener... anyway back to Bayan) who was outside doing this: rearranging the pirate planks, upturning furniture, relocating the outdoor play equipment and repositioning the sprinkler system that he then turned on in order to better moisten the pergola and anything else unlucky enough to be in range. And look: he is so proud of his efforts. I was slightly less impressed. While I cleaned up, the girls started painting rocks (Bayan did manage to wash them...but we had were issues there as well).

We are making little pirate pouches containing gold and silver nuggets, sparkly white rocks and seashells which the kids will search for using spy glasses made out of long rolls of brown paper and aquarium contact paper.I was summoned outside once again only this time it was not Bayan, but rather Bangles who was causing the chaos. He had caught the little blue tongue lizard that resides (rather reclusively I must confess) in out back garden. He was playing with the poor little thing much to the lizards distress.

This is one courageous lizard. He stood his ground and hissed at Bangles for all he was worth. I'm not sure that I would have had the gumption. Bangles was unperturbed and found him most fascinating. He was rather dismayed when he was carried inside and placed under house arrest. The lizard, however, was offered food and drink by two doting youngsters and then disappeared into the garden again. Meanwhile there were pirate ships to paint. We got two large boxes and painted a pirate ship on each one. Holes will be cut in each box and cannonballs will be fired.

I had lots of help with these and just when I thought I could not stand the thought of anymore "help" especially as it was getting late, Bayan came to stand beside me in the kitchen. He dragged over a chair, washed his hands and relieved me of the electric mixer, blasting a fine spray of chocolate across the kitchen in the process, but we won't dwell on that. Instead let's dwell on this: I was hit by an overwhelming warm and fuzzy feeling as this little one (who is not so very little anymore and who singlehandedly had caused me to teeter on the brink of at least 17 different types of nervous breakdowns throughout the day) stood beside me in his pyjamas blissfully savoring the last drops of chocolate batter from the beaters. He closed his eyes and was so very just in the moment. It was a wonderful reminder that I needed to do the same thing. Forget about what I needed to get done and let some things go...there just is not time and no one will know that the cupcakes which will be dusted with cookie crumb sand were meant to have marzipan starfish gently nestled on top. So, forget the starfish. Remember the child. Remember the joy of just being in the moment, of making it fun instead of making in perfect. The most uplifting moment of my day was so simple. Just standing beside my son and watching him savor a process, without worrying about anything else. Children are the best teachers. Thank you Bayan for reminding me about what is really important. Thank you for reminding me to stop, to enjoy, to slow down and to remember the beauty that every moment can bring.