Sending Love One Doll at a Time

It's no surprise that I love to sew and it's equally not surprising that I love sharing the things that I make with others. It brings me so much joy to know that something I created with my own two hands just might bring a smile to a child's face. I ship out packages all week long headed to little ones celebrating birthdays and other special occasions, but today I sent out a very important package. You can see their seven smiling faces above.

Many months ago I stumbled upon the Dolly Donations blog run by Sarah, from Dolls and Daydreams, who creates adorable doll and softie patterns. In fact I made one of her dolls for my daughter's last birthday. Sarah designed a free pattern that can be used by anyone to make dolls to be donated to orphaned children around the world. As you can imagine many of these children have very little in their lives and have suffered in ways we cannot fully comprehend. It is my belief that every child deserves to feel love, joy, and security. 

So, these dolls are headed on a very long journey to South Africa where the UTHANDO PROJECT will distribute them to sweet little ones in desperate need of love and compassion. I realize that these seven dolls are a mere "drop in the bucket" when it comes to the overwhelming need of children in the world, but these dolls were made with love and there's never a dose of love that is too small.  

The beauty of Dolly Donations is that anyone can help with this project. You don't have to be skilled with a needle and thread to make a contribution. If you knit or crochet there are free patterns on the blog for you too. Want to learn more? Check out the Dolly Donations Blog or Facebook page and see how you can help send love to a child in need. 

Goodbye, my sweet little friends! I enjoyed watching you come to life. If just one of you brings a smile to the face of a little one holding you then my mission will be complete. 

Gratitude

Today I am grateful. That's not to say that I'm not grateful other days, because I do make an effort every day to count my blessings. But, today I am especially grateful. This weekend we got a call from my daughter's teacher. Unfortunately, it was news we had been expecting. One of my daughter's friends lost her mother to breast cancer this weekend. It was a long battle. We knew that the end was near and we tried to prepare our daughter a few weeks ago by delivering the news that her friend would soon need extra love and support.

I admit I took the news harder than I expected. Frankly, I had never met the mother and I have not yet had the opportunity to meet her daughter either. But that didn't stop me from connecting with the sadness that her family must be feeling right now. And I couldn't help feeling the loss that the mother must have felt when she realized that she wasn't going to see her young children grow up.

So, today I feel great gratitude that I have been blessed with another day. It's another day to see my girls smile and to feel their arms wrapped around me. Life as a parent isn't always easy. It's filled with tough decisions, exhaustion, and moments of pure frustration. It involves days when we have to break up fights between siblings, clean up never ending messes, and wash enormous piles of laundry. For many it means coming home from a job to face many more hours of work at home. It means nagging kids to get their homework done and to say "please" and "thank you". It's a job with no pay raises or monetary bonuses. We have to do it every day, 24 hours a day, even if we don't want to! And we never know if we are "doing it right".

But today I am grateful for all of it because without the hard stuff I wouldn't have the really good stuff. I embrace the things that my kids do that seem to drive me crazy. I am grateful to be driven crazy by such amazing girls! I look forward to the dirty dishes, the spots on the kitchen floor 10 minutes after mopping, and the toys spread all throughout the house...that I keep tripping over. My home is full of energy and life, and I'm blessed to be able to see it, hear it, and feel it all.

I don't normally set resolutions for the new year, but this year I made an exception. I have vowed to take better care of myself. It's easy to put our families before ourselves, but if I don't take care of myself too I'll miss out on so much and so will they. So, I'm working to add regular exercise into my week and trying to eat healthier. I'm going to make every effort to enjoy being a mother even on the toughest days. I'm going to try to let go of what isn't truly important and I'm going to do my best to be a better parent every day even if I don't always succeed. I want to be here to see it all for as long as I can. Today I am grateful for being here....

It's as simple as that.