Bird is the Word - He/She/Him/Her

This page is a second to the previous post; our youngest son with his delightful little girl, our only granddaughter. Her parents shocked the whole family when they managed to have a girl amongst so many boys. My son was determined that she wouldn't be a 'pink' girl, he would bring her up wearing other colours, to be strong and tough, to make her way in the world with confidence. He came to us only a few weeks after she was born and told us that he was really worried about when she starts to date and how he was going to make sure that she would be treated right; the man in her life was going to have to love and respect her or he would have a father, grandfather and several uncles and a heap of male cousins who would line up to look after her. We actually found a little t-shirt that said 'my dad says I can't date until I am 30'! It made us laugh at the time but he has been true to his word; she is confident, she holds her own amongst the boys, she takes the bumps and falls and get up and keeps going, she doesn't whinge, she wakes up bright and happy and is comfortable in her own company or surrounded by friends and family but... just occasionally... she does wear pink!

I have written before of the love our boys show their children, a legacy of a very loving Dad of their own; our youngest was standing with me a few months ago watching his little girl play, he looked at me with so much love and said 'She is the best thing I have ever done'. I could not have been more proud of him at that point.

Thank you for looking and any comments you may leave, best wishes

 

 

 

http://birdisthewordchallenge.blogspot.com.au/

 

Scrapfriends Yummy Palette - May

I love hearing people's reactions to the news of a new pregnancy; the birth stories start, the questions ... what are you having, what do you want etc... It can also be a bit distressing for the new Mum, especially if there have been problems getting pregnant or with the pregnancy itself. I found after delivery our second son and falling pregnant with the third and then fourth that people were telling me I was carrying differently, that this one must be a girl for various reasons... all four pregnancies were different as were all four births. Yes, we always wanted a girl but stopped at four because of complications at the birth of our youngest. Having said that, I would not swap one of them for a daughter and never considered rejecting any of them as I have heard some women do.

When each of the boys married, their girls were warned of the strong male gene and told not to expect miracles; two found out what they were having before the birth, two, the sisters, did not.

My youngest sons mother-in-law was diagnosed with cancer just weeks into their first child's pregnancy and  did not have too long to live; she had dreamt that her daughter was having a little girl so our son and her daughter decided to have the sex confirmed at 20 weeks so that she would know before she died. Bets were placed and to our astonishment, the prediction was confirmed. Three months after her Mum's death and with me present, our little grand daughter was born. She carries both her grandmothers', two of her 4 great grandmothers and her paternal great, great Grandmothers second name as her second name. Her first name is as individual as she is. These photos were taken on the we renewed our vows for our 35th anniversary. She is such a delight.

Thank you for looking and any comments you may leave, best wishes.

 

 

 

http://blog.scrapfriends.com.au/search/label/Colour%20Challenge

Sketchabilities #91

Our third grandson, on his first birthday; the little one who was born 6 months after his lovely Dad was lost to us in an accident. I am still trying to catch up on album pages so this one goes back 2 years. All the firsts are tough when you have lost someone; we have been through so many already but there will always be another on the horizon. This little one had three 1st birthday parties; one with his Mum's family, this one with ours and another with friends. It was easier as both his parents come from large families and both were very sociable; so many people wanted to help and support this little boy after his Dad died and all had to be considered for the parties. We had our party in Kings Park as it is central to our city and no one had to travel too far. The little one wasn't walking alone yet but thoroughly enjoyed being the centre of attention; he was more interested in leaves and eating card envelopes than the gifts although he seemed to understand that the cake was for him. His mum had made the cake and decorated it to look like a train. It took a while to light a match in the light breeze but he had been practising blowing out candles for a few weeks and did well enough. There were a lot of gifts to open and many would be put away and brought out over the next several months. I was sitting back watching him and his Mum opening gifts and interacting with the guests; I was taking photos for his album and the sadness suddenly came over me and I had to walk away; his Dad would never know what a treasure he had left for us, his little boy who carries so much of his Dad in his character and has so much of our heart invested in him.

Thank you for looking and any comments you may leave, best wishes

 

 

 

http://sketchabilities.blogspot.com.au/

13 Arts May Challenge

Required: sketches, stencil and pinwheel

Our eldest son's son, our third grandson; this little boy has been through a lot in his short life but his character, the strength he has to deal with adversity is very much like his lovely Dad. Our eldest son was strong, independent and confident, afraid of very little and willing to try anything, but safety was always very high on his agenda and nothing was done without it being considered. His little man is so much like him, I see our son in him in so many ways. Despite being profoundly deaf due to contracting meningitis on his second birthday and having two cochlear implants fitted five weeks later, he will still put on ear muffs when in the workshop with his other granddad; he is a tough little fellow, willing to try anything, independent and confident... except when it comes to shopping centre Father Christmas'; he is not fond of those at all! This photo was taken at Christmas time and I have cropped it but just out of range there is a Father Christmas who had to move off his chair and stand behind it for the annual photo as that was as close as this little one would get. We have our own friend who plays Santa for us in our home; he hands out gifts the each year and he is able to get closer and occasionally get a hug but not much more. I guess time will change that and one day we will get a photo of this little man on Father Christmas knee.

Thank you for looking and any comments you may leave, best wishes.

 

 

http://13artspl.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/wyzwanie-7-challenge-7.html

Scrap Around the World - May Sketch and Mood Board

 

My lovely niece found this challenge blog through the very talented Eila Sandberg. My niece lives on the other side of Australia and we scrap together by text messages, sharing our pages through photo uploads and giving advice to each other. We love the challenge sites and often enter the same challenges.

The colours in this mood board spoke to me immediately as I had purchased the papers and flowers during a recent visit to Adelaide in South Australia, the result of a work related trip. To my surprise the colleague I had gone to train was also a scrap-booker and took me to a shop near her home where we spent a happy hour shopping. I also love old doors so tried to make my page shabby but also elegant like the table setting. 

I have been an admirer of Heather Jacobs work for some time but we were also drawn to each other through a shared story of grief in losing a son in a motor bike accident. We had emailed each other but never met. I took the opportunity of catching up with Heather and her lovely husband whilst in Adelaide and spent many hours sharing stories. I had the good fortune of being able to see her wonderful pages 'in the flesh' so to speak; the layering and detail are incredible and so much more than you can see in the photos on the computer. Her strength but also her art have inspired me for some time. I have attempted with this page to emulate her work just a little but cannot do her justice.

We are all fortunate that this wonderful hobby of ours draws together such a diverse group, allows us the opportunity of meeting wonderful people and by sharing our stories helps us to heal the pain and support each other.

I scrapped this on a recent retreat and had misplaced both the mood board and sketch so please accept my apologies if it does not follow the sketch too closely, I was doing it from memory.

Thank you for looking and any comments you may leave, best wishes.

 

 http://scraparoundtheworld.blogspot.com.au/

Once Upon a Sketch - May: Numbers

I am having a catch-up year with my scrapbooking and it seems this little one has been a bit of a focus over the past two months; our fourth grandson on his 1st birthday.

His Mum and Dad invited only close family and anyone who had made time to spend time with this little one in his first 12 months of life; the result was a picnic in the park for 80 people! Luckily the park is a short walk from their home and had ample room to accommodate everyone without inconveniencing the neighbours! His favourite TV character at the time was Hoot the Owl and his Mum had gone to a great deal of trouble to create the beautiful cake. He received so many books, toys and clothes as gifts but his parents are very wise and put many away to bring out over the following year; they are also a part of a Mother's group so the toys are shared among a few families so everyone gets enjoyment and use from them.

Thank you for looking and any comments you may leave, best wishes.

 



1 2 3 Challenge - May

Colour: Red, Word: Happy, Technique: Balloon - this is the first time I have played with this challenge and I look forward to the next one!

Our fourth Grandson, he had major stomach surgery only three weeks before this photo was taken and although he was still on a soft food diet he had recovered really well. All our grandchildren love to be outside but this little one is passionate about being outside. He will give us a kiss and cuddle hello and his first words after that are 'Pop, Outside!' He is not quite two but has a large vocabulary for one so young and strings words together really well, with this little combination he gets Pop's attention immediately and he, his Dad and his Pop go outside for a bit of 'boy' time while I catch up with Mum and his baby brother. This is a double page, the full title being 'So Happy Outside'.
Thank you for looking and any comments you may leave, best wishes.

Sketchabilities #90

Our one and only Granddaughter, she has six male cousins so there is a risk of her becoming a tomboy! People often ask if she gets spoilt by us as the only little girl in two generations, my answer is always no, they are all treated equally.  This is an older photo; she is 18 months old now.

We were out the back in the garden and I had my camera out (of course); she loves the camera and was crawling toward me, I had to give her the camera case so I could capture a few more shots of her. She is such a happy little one, she wakes up smiling and just loves to be outside discovering new things. The little suit she was wearing frames her face so beautifully.

Thank you for looking and any comments you may leave, best wishes.