1. I had a wonderful time in Dunedin. It was great having a couple of days away from 'normal' life, spending time with my friend P, and checking out the little city. It was beautiful weather too which was a huge bonus as it can get cold down there!
One of the highlights was visiting the Cadbury factory... CHOCOLATE! Even though some of the original products are no longer made there, they still make lotsa fun stuff like the boxed chocolates and easter eggs. It was a fun tour and you get chocolate as the guide takes you through. yum.
(pointing is a bit off... )
(us in the sugar bowl... this is my fave pic!)2. I've been thinking about how to explain infertility to others in a short and sweet way (if that's possible)... because I am giving a notice at church sometime soon to tell them about the church's desire to have a support group or network for those struggling with infertility and/or miscarriage loss. This is huge for me because those who know me know I'm not at all an upfront person, plus I'm pretty much baring my all by being up there!
However, I'm so thankful for this opportunity as this is something I'm excited about, but kinda freaked out at the same time. You can pray for the right words to say in that short time (like 2 mins), so that women for whom this is relevant to will feel safe and comfortable to maybe respond or at least feel cared for, and also that the rest of the church will gain bit more insight into this topic. Also if you have any good quotes or ideas, let me know!
3. Another blogger Heather posted about this video, Empty Arms. This has been on my resources page too but I thought to post about it again because it is just a really well done project.
It is a video that explains infertility so well... if you haven't seen it I encourage you too- there may be tears though! I also like how Heather puts it in her post where she said, "You guys all know that we are adopting, and though that is seen as a "resolution," the stamp of infertility on our hearts will never truly go away." I think she says it in such a succint way.
4. I have thought of posting the above video on my Facebook page just for some friends who may be interested to watch it or pass it on to others, but I'm still not really sure about it! As much as I have been super open about my journey, I also don't always know how much to say about infertility/miscarriage stuff on Facebook. Funny huh? Hmmmm. What do you think?
5. When I was in Dunedin I met a girl who'd been in foster care. It broke my heart to hear that her mom for various reasons was struggling to cope with her kids, and had to give two of them up to be taken care of by another family. This little girl was now back with her mother, but her brother is still with the care-giving family. What a mess. I am not here to judge but I'm just saying it was simply so impacting talking with this real life child who was in the midst of this. I don't dare to imagine the impact this is having on these children.
As the husband and I have been thinking through these situations linked to adoption, etc, it just really hit home and I wondered if God was just nudging me to slowly open my heart to the various ways I can parent one day, even if it is not conventional... not sure yet, but it was a conversation I'll remember!
6. Summer is on its way... so that means strawberries! Yay. Looking forward to more.
8. Sammy's chicken-legs stretch. See what I mean?
9. About a week ago I finally finished lining some of our room curtains. Yeah I sewed the lining on by hand cos' it was quite thick and I'm not so used to how machines work still. Felt very accomplished. Um... think I've had this project on for like way too long! Anyway, very relieved to be finished. We haven't put them up yet but we'll get there hopefully haha...
10. Rocky Road- Snickers RR on the left, and and newly discovered Cookies 'N Cream RR on the right. I found the 'original' Snickers recipe in a Women's Weekly Cookbook (great books). They were an instant hit with the girls.
Recently, I stole some inspiration from my friend K and made this Cookies 'N Cream one. So awesome. These are great treats for bringing over to parties or as gifts! Let me know if you want either recipe. (Sometimes I take a while to email you but I do do it eventually haha...)
Thanks for reading! Have a great day.
(oOPS. We were cleaning as I typed this off and on. Now it is 11. ha.)
3 comments:
Posting on your facebook is a big step. It is definitely a personal decision based on how much feedback you can handle. People feel like they can say whatever they want, so I don't post a lot about infertility on there. I post it on my blog and then link that to facebook.
Our dogs do the chicken leg stretch too!
I'm jealous it's almost summer there...we are just entering winter - blah!
Have an awesome weekend friend!
that is an awesome video...lots of tears...she has some very gut-wrenching statements that maybe you could use at church in your presentation....maybe the husband could be part of it for moral support
lots of good food - chocolate, your homemade goodies - YUM...Beautiful peonies...never saw that color before...God bless...have a blessed weekend xoxox
i'm with heather, SO jealous it's warm there!
and YUM the cadburry factory?! i absolutely adore their mini eggs...yum, yum, yum.
sammy's little tush is adorable ;)
and with your annoucement at church, when we did ours, we actually showed that empty arms video and had one of the pastors just annouce the support group and the point of contact. the video was really powerful and i think it really helped people understand what infertility was about.
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