Shine like stars!: August 2009

Monday, 31 August 2009

Birdie, rest a little longer.

Cradle Song from Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809 – 1892):

What does little birdie say

In her nest, at peep of day?
Let me fly, says little birdie,
Mother, let me fly away.
Birdie, rest a little longer,

Till thy little wings are stronger.
So she rests a little longer,
Then she flies away.

What does little baby say,

In her bed at peep of day?

Baby says, like little birdie,

Let me rise and fly away.

Baby, sleep a little longer,

Till thy little limbs are stronger.

If she sleeps a little longer,

Baby too shall fly away.

I have a photo of Jessie like this when she was a little bit younger than Ellie is now. I remember taking the photo and how I felt as I took it. Thats the funny thing with photos, they tell a story, but its always a one sided story. It may capture a moment on film, but what you do not capture is the story from the one behind the lens. When I captured the photo of Jessie sleeping, I was in labour. Jessie had been so tired, that she had fallen asleep on her bed during the afternoon. I remember the flashes of conflicting emotions running through me as I watched her peacefully rest. She was my precious first child. No longer a babe, no longer nursing, she was a little girl now. But my love for her was so strong. She was my daughter. I couldn't help wondering how it was possible to love another child the same way. I watched her little face, all relaxed and dreamy, almost with a sense of sadness. She had no idea how a new babe would change things.. how would she react to sharing us with another?

Then along came Ellie, by the way, it is very possible to love both your children with equal amounts of love!! there is plenty to go around! here I am, watching her sleep, loving her so much and wondering how she will feel, not to be the youngest ? I'm overwhelmed by both my daughters. They give so much to us as their parents. Yes its hard work, a lot of the time, but the rewards are so good. They fill me with such love and satisfaction, my purpose is all wrapped up in them and beyond. I still find myself, watching them while they sleep-wishing that time would slow and save me more days with them when they are small, calling me 'mumma' xxx

The end is near...

So, its bank holiday weekend, the girls have had a lovely Summer holiday, but they are starting to get restless now. We've pretty much done everything we can think of a few times over and theres only so much scrap book you can do in one day. As it was a sunday, I decided to cook a roast for lunch and then have toast and tea for our 'tea-time.'

The girls enjoyed this, as they are especially into drinking tea at the moment. Drinking from porcelain tea cups made it all the more exciting.

We also decided to make named vest tops for sleepy time -Ellie is wearing hers here at the table, but heres a better look:

This morning, i woke and dressed the girls and made the breakfast. Jessie had a friend coming over , so we rose a little earlier than usual. These 'morning' photos made me laugh:

Tired, spaced out faces!

"Are you awake Jessie?"

"I guess not!"

"sigh"

This early evening, when Jessie's friend had returned home, i plodded down the garden with my camera and a bowl for collecting apples-I plan to make apple sauce or apple marmalade (will let you know how that goes) I managed to take a few pictures of the yield of fruit, both from the apple tree and the tomato plant.My feet stood surrounded by soggy, fallen apples on the ground and as i reached high into the branches for the 'good' apples, my thoughts drifted. "It seems such a shame to see fruit go to waste like this. It falls to the ground and is not used, so therefore it simply rots. I felt a familiar voice whisper , "yes-what a waste" Ponder ponder....

James tomato plant

Yummy Tomatoes

Apples for marmalade

Plenty more where these boys came from!

"Use the gifts that God has given and invested in you-dont let them go to waste!"

Saturday, 29 August 2009

Oh so tired!

The kiddies had such an exciting day,

they decided to 'camp out' in their room tonight.

Jammies on, 'binkies'-or blankets at the ready,

they settled down to sleep.

They listened to a few pages of their 'robot story C.D',

and that was enough! I found them crashed out!

I couldn't resist a photo...

Night all. x

Beautifying babies!

Today was a fun day, I decided to entertain the children by setting up a salon for them.
I set it all up, while they entertained themselves quietly in their room, then when I was all set, I called them in.
"Wow!" Jessie exclaimed, "this is great!" They both jumped into the big black chairs and made themselves comfortable.
We pampered for over an hour, curling, cutting and trimming hair, painting nails, applying perfume, hand cream, face cream, make up and hair clips.
They had such fun, little faces smiling with glee. Here are some snap shots:

Ellie receiving a hair cut and Jessie reading as she waits.

Jessie choosing perfume

Waiting for their nails to dry & Ellie inspecting the finished article..

Happy customers!

Thursday, 27 August 2009

Carefree & Happy

Take your shoes off, enjoy the sand between your toes.

Let your hair down, stand, with both of your eyes closed.

Take a deep breath and let me be your guide,

Run freely, I'm running by your side!

Rebekah Knight

Creative hands to serve him.

So, last night, I was trying to sleep. I was restless.

I wasn't so much as disturbed, but my mind was busy.

I felt happy, as thoughts flicked through my mind.

I smiled & I pondered. I was quietly talking to God in my thoughts.

I am enjoying where I am right now in life, the excitement of fresh paths, and new beginnings.

Thinking of all the wonderful things he has been sharing with me and showing me.

Opening my eyes to new dreams, ideas, desires & outlets.

I was wondering why it is that recently, I have had such a desire to journal and to write.

I have so enjoyed capturing my thoughts and putting them to creative use.

Creating stories about my children, poems, blogs...it has really stirred my heart.

Then, almost from no-where a sequence of memories filled my mind.

Memories of me being a little girl, possibly aged 5 yrs, being told that I had a very active imagination.

My teacher, at that time had told my parents that my imaginative writing, was commendable.

I remember how proud I was hearing those words at the parent teacher evening; looking down at my work, marked with a star, that I had illustrated with crazy colors...

Then another memory came to mind. I viewed these memories as if I were watching a slide show. Following various events though out my life.

This memory was from when I was approximately 12 yrs old. I had started writing a fictional book

all about the life of a teenage girl, who attended a boarding school. I remember the illustrations I had drawn, of all the characters, including the strict headmistress who wore a long black cloak & had piercing black eyes!

Poems, pictures, emotions and memories from times past, flooded back to me. All in chronological order.

I then heard the voice of my heavenly Father whisper to me, "You see, it has always been there. I placed this desire in you and its grown as you have." I felt him smile over me.

I felt like something within me had engaged, a realization, an awakening to something that had always been present..I had just not noticed it so much.

So I will continue to enjoy capturing moments, drawing from my thoughts, stirring my imagination & all in the knowledge that my Father smiles as I do so!

Summer holiday in a nut shell..

This summer holiday has been fun, we have aimed to do things that cost very little or nothing at all!
This has proved to be quite easy after using a little imagination. Walks in the windy woods, taking adventures in the rain, feeding the ducks, visiting the beach, parks, swimming, paddling pool in the garden,
climbing trees, collecting apples and blackberries, baking, having friends over, going to the library to do the Quest seekers challenge, homework-involving creating a scrap book about our daily summer fun. Comfy slumber movie nights with mumma and dadda. We have had a lot of fun and I am a little sad to see it end so quickly. Here are some highlights.... :-)