Loving the Roost (with all its madness)

And thank you for a house full of people I love. Amen
- Ward Elliot Hour

Sunday, 20 December 2009

Art and Craft for Kids... keeping those little fingers busy, busy



The school holidays have flown by... almost, thanks to some wonderful art and craft sites I found online. Here are some of my favourites (and Jeshan's too).









and some stuff Jeshan and I made over the holidays...








Thursday, 17 December 2009

The Invisible Mother

My sister-in-law sent me this article and it really ministered to me (and made me cry). Hope you like it too... MOM.



Invisible Mother.....


It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'

Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible.. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more! Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this??

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude -but now, they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!?

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England . Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe .

I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof. No one will ever see it. And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does.

No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've

baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become. At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's

bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, “My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for 3 hours and presses all the linens for the table.” That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, “You're gonna love it there.”

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Great Job, MOM!

Sunday, 6 December 2009

My Boys






So.... our second son Jeremy Trishan, was born on July 13, 2009. Sometimes I am unnerved by the fact that I have a house full of boys... when I grew up in a house full of girls! Anyway, it has been a learning curve I can tell you that.

Jeshan loves his little brother. As with all children with a new baby in the house, he does get a little rough when playing with the baby, but only because he doesn't know his own strength. You should watch him trying to get Jeremy's attention though... he is just the cutest. He tries immitating us... you know how adults bob their heads up and down when talking to a little baby? Well Jeshan does this, while flashing his brightest smile and talking in a high pitched voice "Hi Jeremy, Hi Jeremy, Hi Jeremy". Jeremy has a special laugh and smile just for Jeshan.

Speaking of smiles, Jeremy is full of it! I've never seen a baby smile so much and for such a sustained period. You just need to talk to him and he will give you a wide toothless grin, while wagging his tongue... as though he too is saying hi.

When Jason's sister Jennifer was here, she would ask him every hour, every day, "Hi Jeremy, you want to eat cendol? Shall we go for ice kacang?" and three month old Jeremy would laugh and smile and kick his legs - sometimes even clasping his hands together in glee.