Self-worth

In aiming to achieve my '20 before 30' goal of reading all the books on my bookshelf, I have just finished reading a book called 'The Help' by Kathryn Stockett. It is written from the perspective of black women who worked for white families as domestic help in the civil rights movement in the 1960's in South America.

There is a certain part of the book that touched me so much as a mother. One of the women the book focuses on, called Aibileen, was describing the joy she felt from bringing up the white children. Although she was not their mother by birth, she loved them dearly like her own.

One particular child she was very fond of, partly because the child's own mother seemed to neglect her duties and never spent any quality time with the child. The poor child never recieved any words of praise or comfort from her mother, and so Aibileen took it upon herself to instill some self-worth into this little girl.

One particular scene that stood out to me was when Aibileen scooped the girl up into her arms and whispered the word's

'You is kind. You is smart. You is important.'

She repeated those words to that little girl throughout her childhood, hoping that she would believe in them. That she was somebody. That she was loved.

I took these words to heart and it made me realise how profoundly important it is that we repeat these same words to our own children. So they realise their worth. To us, and to heavenly father.

The small things

' Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.' A.A Milne.

Yesterday, we saw a miracle. A miracle that can be explained by science, but nonetheless a miracle.

We saw our baby for the first time. We heard the galloping of its heartbeat, its two hands and two little feet.

Motherhood is the best thing in the world.

Rainy day craftiness.

The sun seems to have forgotten it's summer of late.

Most days, we have been getting this;

Plus I have not really been well enough to go out much lately.

So when I get some energy, I have been making things!

Here are some samples of my creations;

I used some of the scrap wood that Ryan has hoarded over the years and dumped in the shed. Yes, he sometimes has his uses :) I then simply glued some scrapbooking paper and used some stick-on lettering from the lovely ebay. 

What I like most about ebay, is that our paypal account comes out of my husband's bank account. Not mine. Mmmm, crafty goodness.

Lizzie liked it and quickly claimed it for her room. Although I did nearly have a heart attack when she announced it was for 'colouring in' and took a wax crayon to it! Mummy would have cried.

I did intend to master the dreaded sewing machine, too (cue 'Saw' theme music.)

I did a small project I have been intending to do for ages; christmas stockings. They are by no means perfect as you can see. I have to stop myself from making them again as I am not quite happy with them but don't want to waste the fabric! I went for the 'shabby chic' look by 'appliqueing'?? some scrap fabric on to each stocking. Hmm, not so sure, but it was my first try!

And last bit not least, we have to have baking. I got the recipe for this little gem from a good friend and domestic goddess Angela Winter. Her blogspot is http://fantangela.blogspot.co.uk/. Take a look, you might start dribbling.

Of course. Lizzie likes to think she helps.  When I was spooning the mixture into the cake tins, Lizzie had a little look of panic on her face, and she kept saying 'That's enough, now!' as she knows it means she gets less to lick out the bowl!

For those interested, it is just a simple victoria sponge with buttercream and jam in the middle, topped with fresh fruit and white choc fingers. Voila! Lasted about 4 hours. Nom nom.

Sharing the world with your children

Firstly, I apologise for neglecting my blog for so long...baby Abbott no.2 has drained me of all energy. The dizziness, sickness and tiredness means I rarely leave the house and poor Lizzie's entertainment mostly consists of disney movies on repeat. I dream about dalmation puppies and thomas the tank engine.

One of Lizzies favourite pastimes is getting us to read to her. My heart sinks every time I see her stumbling towards me with a mountain of books. She settles herself next to me and expects me to read every one at least twice. I am grateful however for her passion for learning.

We have a collection of lonely planet books on our bottom bookshelf in our room which Lizzie usually likes to take off the shelf and leave them in a pile for mummy to put back. But today she picked one up and settled herself next to me and asked me to read it to her. 'It's called Thailand' I said, 'And you have to go on a plane to get there.' Her eyes lit up at this statement. Lizzie loves planes. 

So we started to look at the pictures (which to be honest is mainly what mummy does too!) of these lovely exotic destinations. I talked to her about monks, elephants, pretty seasides, lots of pretty colours and smells...I started to get excited myself.

We went through each book and went on a trip round the world. New York, France, India, New Zealand... She did make me laugh when I pointed to the statue of liberty. She screwed up her face and said..'Reindeer!' 

Almost....

 

But it was lovely seeing her interest and enthusiasm in all these places. It made me hope she would have my passion for travelling when she is older. And it made me even more determined to take her with us round the world so she can experience these things for herself.

Unfortunately with a baby on the way and Ryan half way through an expensive career change, our hopes of going anywhere exotic have dwindled slightly. However that does not stop us saving up for these wonderful trips, and teaching our children about the world. 

Here's to many more exciting adventures!