January’s projectFebruary 1, 2016

As part of my year of ‘appreciate’ I’m trying to note one thing I’ve really appreciated each day… I’ve challenged myself to add to that one activity I’ve deliberately orchestrated to do with Adam. With the cold and miserable January weather keeping us in, more days have been creative challenges, and less have been trips to the park!

Adam is at the stage he will taste chew everything he can put his hands on, plus I don’t really want to be washing him down multiple times a day when parts of the house are quite cool – so messy play was limited, but we still found lots of things to do.

Some things were basic like crayon work, hand-prints or just running around the room from one large animal picture to the next (animals from birthday). Others required a little preparation using things on hand, like a batch of play-dough or some little knock to flash balls placed in a bottle to shake and roll and hide.

I photographed some and here are my favourite 4.

1. Ribbon run – We play with this a lot! I used our bath-stand as a base, everything is simply tied on. Various thickness’s and textured ribbons, string, wrapping ribbon, paper ribbon, Christmas beading, and bootlaces. It’s great to sit and explore the different textures, but the most fun comes from walking, crawling or dragging a parent through.

2. Reveal board – this was the most work but we love it. The base is a trimmed box with the two sides glued together and a silver sticky tape border. With a trusty glue gun I attached wet-wipe lids, using the inside as a template for the various scraps we collected around the house. A quick measurement of the original labels, made short work of creating a printout for the letter and number labels.

3. Tissue paper shapes – this was made with a foam floor piece and some sticky back plastic. We had fun pulling apart some red and white tissue paper and placing it in and out the shape. It was lovely to watch him realise that some was sticking. We started with ‘Apple’ as I’m hoping to work slowly though the alphabet this year.

4. Paint bags – after cleaning the white off a zip bag with a touch of nail varnish remover, I put a few squirts of paint in and taped the whole thing down on the table. The whole family had a smush at it, making tracks and writing. Sharp nails did break it a bit too easily but it’s worth playing with until the end as you get a lovely effect as the paints blend.

Roll on February and the warmer days we hope!

Little elusive words that shape usJanuary 13, 2016

Missionary life is about bending your culture to fit into another tin, chopping off pieces and adapting others. It’s not about losing culture heritage and adopting another, nor is about creating a mini slice of your passport country in another land… though there are days it’s truly tempting to do that. The longer overseas mission is a ways of life, the easier it gets to squeeze into that odd mould, to realise that only by being true to the shape can you unlock access to the community.

But, living in that shape creates a longing that echoes down the years. My mother would tell stories of ‘Hogmanay’ with distant eyes and thinly veiled sadness, to her children’s bemused faces in the south east of England. I suspect my stories of ‘Bonfire Night’, ‘School fairs’ and ‘Carol singing’ will be met with similar faces in years to come. However, alongside loss comes incredible gain. When we squeeze into that tin we find gaps, gaps that we need to expand into, gaps that stretch our skills and dependence. Gaps that sing not of loss but of abundance, of gratitude, or grace given.

This weeks word on velvet ashes is thirsty. Thirsty is an odd word, we should hunger and thirst spiritually but that sort of primal longing is often very directed, where was my specific thirst? I was thirsty not for new experiences or people or opportunity, not thirsty for material possessions or relationships or projects. My life is blessed abundantly even though I often see it’s limitations above all. And that was it, my pessimism was ruling… I was thirsty for gratitude, thirsty for daily joy.

And so I am thrilled to say I chose my word for this year as ‘Appreciate.’ A word that sits upon my screen when programs close, upon the head of my weekly planning sheet and challenges me daily. I want this to be the year of rejoicing in those pieces of life where grace shines though, where blessings abound, where the darkest cave still has the flicker of candlelight. I want to appreciate the little things and store up a treasure trove of delight. Assured that when those limitations strike I can endure, brighten the darkness that tunnels bring with memories of light before and assurance that light will flood the walkway of my journey again.

December’s ProjectJanuary 9, 2016

Daily commitment is tough. It turns out I’m not that reliable. I don’t intend to fail and forgo, I just fall pray to the distractions of life. I forget to complete the task, or, if I remember I procrastinate, fill my time with the other things “I said I’d do” or tasks that need to be done.

The only way I keep to a task is to claim something publicly… it makes it harder to back down, even if it’s only to a couple of people. It’s not a pride thing as much as a promise thing. Mentally I accept failure is something I deal with daily, but promises are things I strive not to break, even if it gets uncomfortable.

Not doing my monthly creative project in November felt bad. Nobody was hurt by this failure and I had no need to do it but it still felt bad. And so I decided to up the stakes for December, I would be hyper creative, because as well as decorating the house and sorting Christmas pressies I would be creative every single day… I’d create a real time advent calendar.

My desk became a sort of sewing haven as scraps of felt were cut and stitched. Nap time became dominated by attaching buttons to a felt tree, and simplifying patterns. Then, as the day ended I would photograph my latest ornament, complete with gingham ribbon, and post the picture on-line. What was achieved is delightful. In the corner of the room stands a tree, a basic cone adorned with felt decorations. Each ornament has a story and as I hand stitched, every single last stitch, I dreamed of reusing them next year, complete with an accompanying daily activity.

Basic instructions are as follows… 1) Google felt cone tree tutorial, 2) buy the thickest interfacing you can find so you don’t end up having a floppy tree until Christmas eve, 3) use cheap thin felt and glue it, stitch only if you want to lose all nap time, 4) don’t try and create your own characters, one a day is enough without remakes, 5) make sure you count correctly otherwise you’ll suddenly end up with only 23 ornaments! 6) proudly place in the corner of the room for your child to generally ignore or throw the ornaments on the floor then eat them.

Warning: your child may mostly sit on the tree so it crumples!

Now… What to do for January?