A Day With Gabriel

Rachel brought Gabe over so that she and Lee could devote all their attention to Elijah's derby car race with the Boy Scouts.

When he first got here he was still tired so I lay on the bed with him. He stuck his head in my chest and fell asleep quite nicely.
I am totally incapable of napping so I snuck away and spent a bit of time doing the things that I do.

Later he woke but when he saw me instead of his sweet mommy, he pulled the covers over his head.

Once he was truly awake we spent some special moments together. Mostly we watched silly youtube videos and laughed a lot.

I heard a car pull in and told him to look out the window. It was his mommy and brothers and sister. He was so happy to see them.

What a great day.

Peaceful Bird Watching

If you are going through a very hard time or coming out of one you may find something simple that helps you deal with the pain. That is what birds did for me. If you have been reading my blog long enough you will remember the hard times with our son, Michael. After Michael left our home I would sit for hours in the quiet and watch the birds. The peace was just what I needed.

Recently I started watching and feeding the birds again. The word is getting around that there is food coming from the second floor of my house. I am pretty sure the squirrels can't even get to the feeders.

On sunny days the birds cannot see me inside the house. I keep the room dark and they are in the light. Aren't they beautiful?

Macrame Hanging Pot

When I was in 8th grade I was a loner hippy girl. One of my favorite things was art class and I loved macrame. I forgot my lonely pathetic state and got lost in my creative world. Macrame was big in the 70's. So, this past Friday I decided to do the same. I put some 70's music on and in my head I went on a journey back in time.





It is funny... I do not like this little hanging pot. I see so many flaws in it. I do like the memories associated with the experience of making it, getting lost in the creation. So, I will keep it, at least for now.

Happy Birthday Jonah!

Jonah had perfect behavior all day. Matthew took him to the park and played video games with him pretty much most of the day so maybe that helped. (thanks Matt)

Happy Birthday Jonah. You are now 11.

Bangladesh

I did something that I would not recommend to my friends. It is something that I warn my children not to do. It is not something that I intended to happen. It just did.

It started when I made a friend on myspace. Her name is Salmah. She is a sweet lady and she lives in Malaysia. Our friendship was just starting to grow. At the same time I became frustrated with the male stalkers I was encountering on myspace and decided to remove my profile and no longer visit myspace. I asked Salmah if she would be my friend on facebook and she agreed. So, as I left myspace I took Salmah with me.

At this point I had never considered accepting a friend on facebook that I did not know in real life. I at least needed to know that they were a friend of a friend. Taking Salmah with me was a rare exception.

I left many comments on Salmah's posts and eventually a friend of hers asked me to be his friend. I accepted with the idea that if he ever became inappropriate or rude I would remove him... and he never did. Next a friend of his (a doctor) sent me a friend request and another doctor and then a medical student of his.

Now, I had several friends and they were all from the same country; a little country called, "Bangladesh".

These people were the nicest, most friendly and caring people you will ever be blessed to meet.. and I was blessed. Over the next several months I spent much time chatting with and getting to know all kinds of people, all from Bangladesh. I studied the culture, language and was taught their history and customs.

My friends are from different religions and soci0-economic backgrounds. Doctors, a hotel manager, a man who works at brick making, young men struggling to find a place in their world, young women struggling to balance traditional ways with a new influence particularly of the western world and women my age who have the same concerns I do. All these are willing and even passionate to share with me their struggles, thoughts, and even their daily challenges. They see in me a mother, a sister, an aunty, or simply a friend. I saw in them a treasure of high value.

Finally, one day my husband sent me an email from work asking me if I would like to go to Bangladesh as a special birthday present. I was in shock. I could not believe he asked me that. I did not even give it a second thought. Of course I wanted to go. So, I made my plans. So many people offered to open their homes to me. I picked two women that I am most comfortable with and planned to stay with them. So, I spent two weeks in Bangladesh. I was treated like royalty and had a wonderful time. There is so much I want to share. Instead of writing about this adventure on this blog I have decided to start a new blog.

Here is the link to the new blog: www.mybelovedbangladesh.blogspot.com

Trick or Treat!