Fe-Fe's World Of Craft, Creations and Kids.

This blog was started mainly for my crafting, however I also find myself writing about my family life too and in particular about my son Josh. Josh is just Josh to us and we're used to his quirky behaviour. As I don't want to have to mention Josh's autism every time I post about him, I thought I'd mention it here. Hopefully you will bear this in mind as you read and it may give you a little insight into the wonderful world of the autisic child in a very gentle way!

Saturday, 29 March 2008

This is Me!

I keep being asked to post a photo of myself so that people can put a face to the name...

...I have finally bowed to pressure.

So this will be the first and only time I will post photos of me - if you want to see me it's now or never! :-)

This was taken in Disneyland Paris a few years ago now. Look how little and cute Ellie and Josh are!!

This is me and Peej and was taken in Paris in January 2006 and it was freezing.

This is the most recent and was taken November last year in Busch Gardens, Florida. I loved these Giraffes they have such beautiful faces and they are so gentle.

8 comments:

ScrapMomOf2 said...: WHY wouldn't you want to post photos of yourself? What am I not understanding? You're a beautiful lady Fiona! I'm proud of you for posting them! Way to go!; 29 March 2008 at 21:20
Cazzy said...: You all look lovely. I have more reasons not to post my photo than you do!; 29 March 2008 at 21:31
Lee said...: So nice to "meet" you!!! Your pictures are just so awesome!! What a cute family and you are so pretty!! Come on now.........I post pics of me and I am a big, plus-size gal!!! LOL; 29 March 2008 at 22:05
Debbie said...: Great to see you Fe. :) You look great and have a lovely family. :) :)

Debbie x; 29 March 2008 at 22:34
Dee said...: She's a beautiful person inside as well as out and I'm not biased because I'm her mum either.....; 29 March 2008 at 23:05
Deborah said...: So nice to see you and your nice family! Love the giraffes picture! Deb; 29 March 2008 at 23:31
Sammie said...: Hi! I'm not quite sure which route brought me to your blog for the first time, but I just wanted to say how much I've enjoyed browsing your colourful and varied creations. Ilove the pic of you with the giraffes -it looks like one of those unforgettable moments. And I am so pleased for Josh that he won the Book Day prize. I have always loved that story because of the message it sends about everybody needing to pull together (!!!) no matter what they appear to be able to offer -every human being is a person to be valued for their unique contribution to our lives.; 30 March 2008 at 16:51
jay670120 said...: You look very beautiful and i cant see why you hide yourself away. Dont let these be the last we see of you . i cant stand being photographed either mind you.
Lovely pics and a lovely little family x; 3 April 2008 at 21:22

Ode to Special Mums

Ode to Special Moms(by Erma Bombeck)

Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures and a couple by habit. This year, nearly 100,000 women will become mothers of handicapped children. Did you ever wonder how mothers of handicapped children are chosen?

Somehow I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger.
"Armstrong, Beth, son, patron saint, Matthew.
Forrest, Marjorie, daughter, patron saint, Cecilia.
"Rudledge, Carrie, twins, patron saint, give her Gerard. He's used to profanity."
Finally, he passes a name to an angel and smiles, "Give her a handicapped child."

The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."

"Exactly," says God. "Could I give a handicapped child to a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel."

"But has she patience?" asks the angel.

"I don't want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she'll handle it.
"I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I'm going to give her has his own world. She has to make it live in her world, and that's not going to be easy."

"But, Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."

God smiles. "No matter. I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness."

The angel gasps, "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?"

God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a 'spoken word.' She will never consider a 'step' ordinary. When her child says 'Momma' for the first time, she will be present at a miracle and know it! When she describes a tree or a sunset to her child, she will see it as few people ever see my creations."I will permit her to see clearly the things I see...ignorance, cruelty, prejudice...and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life, because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side."

"And what about her patron saint?" asks the angel, pen poised midair.

God smiles. "A mirror will suffice."

"Welcome to Holland"

"Welcome to Holland" By Emily Perl Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away...because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss. But...if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.