“Life is not
measured by the number of breaths we take,
but by the moments that take our
breath away”
(Maya Angelou)
My name is Val and I’m a mum, wife, health professional, novice
cake decorator, want-to-be party stylist and the list goes on….. Sometimes I
think we are so busy in our lives that we forget that there are very special
moments happening around us right now. So my New Year’s resolution is just
that, to stop…. and cherish those special moments.
Over Christmas, I heard from two friends, one
was pregnant and the other miscarried. I was thrilled for my pregnant friend
but my heart ached so much for my other friend and although I will never know
the depth of her heart ache, I know what it feels like to want a child so much.
New Years Day this year was a very special
day for me; it was my second son’s baptism. Blue eyes is 7 months today and
very much a wanted child. Why is it that the success of pregnancy is always
celebrated but the challenges of trying to conceive is hidden … almost the
black sheep of the family that not one wants to talk about.
My first child, brown eyes (now 3 years
old) was conceived relatively quickly (after a bit of help from western
medicine) but the Engineer and I tried for many long months (using both western
and eastern medicine) before blue eyes was conceived. During that time I went
through a rollercoaster of emotions and had many conversations with people who
opened up to me about their journey to conceive. Tell me readers, why do we
hide so much when as women we need to band together and support each other
through one of life’s hardest challenges for a woman? Is it shame? Failure?
Blue eye’s son’s baptism was a day of
celebration - to thank God for blessing us with another child and to pray for
guidance to raise him as best as we can. The cake I made was specifically
picked because I liked the bird topper image I found online (my version is no
way as beautiful as Rouvelee’s Creations). The mother and baby bird are nestling and that is exactly how my baby son
slept on us when he was born… the anti co-sleeper in me had a bit of learning
to do.
Since it was summer, we decided to have a
pool party, BBQ and ice cream parlour for dessert (thank you Amy Moss from www.eatdrinkchic.com for your ideas and
printables). I had 11 well behaved kids for the whole party desperately waiting
for dessert so they could tuck into home made ice cream, cake pops (thank you Angie
Dudley from www.bakerella.com for all
your inspiration) and of course…. Lollies!
At the end of the day, it was so lovely
to relax by the pool with my glass of French bubbles and cherish the moment….
My dearest and closest around me, my ever patient and kind Engineer and yes….
My beautiful children that I am so blessed to have.
Readers what did you cherish on New Years
Day?
3 comments:
What a wonderful idea for a New Years resolution! The party table looks lovely and the cake looks amazing! Hope 'Blue eyes' enjoyed himself :-)
Beautiful story....thank you for sharing xxx
Beautifully written Val. I love your honesty and openess about relatively taboo subjects. After 2 years of 'trying' we miscarried our first baby at 11 weeks, and having not told anyone that we were pregnant we grieved the loss alone. After another year and a half, Praise God that we were blessed with Miss 3, 2 years later, Miss 1. Reading your blog is inspiring! You're so right that we need to take time to appreciate the wonderful relationships we have with our friends, (and draw upon the invaluable support and comfort these relationships can offer), and also to 'stop and smell the roses'. Thanks so much for this lovely glimpse into a gorgeous party, and your great resolution. I wish you all the best in 2012, and look forward to reading more...
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