BirthMom Buds Bulletin December 2005

With Christmas being just a few weeks away, I am grateful that the chaos is almost over. Back before Halloween was even over, the stores had started to decorate for the season, children everywhere were making their lists for Santa and toy commercials flooded the televisions. One night an idea came to me on how my family and I could enjoy the holiday season. I guess for me it comes down to how you look at things and I needed to reevaluate how I was looking at Christmas.

For example, my Christmas tree. No longer do I look at it as a needle dropping obstacle that takes up over a quarter of my living room. A pine tree shows strength and is a symbol for those who have showed strength through suffering. The only thing I am suffering through is vacuuming up pine needles, again.

Decorating the trees and homes of many people during this time of year is the candy cane. There is a lovely and touching legend about how and why the first candy cane was made. I see a candy cane now as reds ribbons of relationships in our lives twisted together beautifully not a sticky sugared mess that is stuck to the faces and hands of children around the world.

Under the tree lay presents, gifts and surprises for Christmas morning. They are our hopes, dreams and promises and a reminder of the ultimate gift, the birth of Jesus.

Christmas cookies, to me, no longer are going to be the reason for my New Year's resolution to lose 10 pounds. I will looks at them as a blessing of wealth, happiness, and tradition. I have all my cookbooks and grandmother's recipes, my home, and my possessions around me. Many of our friends and neighbors in this country lost those things, and much more, in the past year due to nature and things out of their control. Cookbooks, homes and possessions can be replaced, I vow not to take for granted things that can not.

Santa Clause, a favorite childhood symbol of Christmas, is something impossible to ignore in modern society. Whether or not there is a Santa in the true meaning of Christmas, I choose to see him as a remarkable example of how a person can show kindness to millions and expect nothing in return except for people to be nice.

Outside, at least where I live, snow blankets the mountain tops, trees, and ground. Although the idea of shoveling out one winter's storms isn't appealing to me, there is nothing more beautiful in nature that a cool crisp evening where the full moon shines on glistening new snow. The brightness and whiteness of snow reminds me of health and prosperity.

And finally this Christmas season, when I just can't bear to hear Jingle Bells or Silent Night one more time I will remember that bells are a symbol of creativity. Music is what feelings sound like and I am feeling like having a Holly Jolly Christmas. I hope you find your self under the mistletoe kissing your true love or searching for happiness and may your Christmas be filled with Joy.

Ideas and Insights: Some tips and ideas ranging from gifts for your birth child, creative ways to deal with being a birthmom, insight on things to do or say with your buddy, ways to shed some light about being a birthmom to those who just don't get it, and more.

Cinnamon Ornaments:
Ornaments are great little keepsakes for your birth child! Start a tradition and give him/her an ornament each year.

Mix together to form a stiff dough. Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters. Make hole at top of ornaments on rack to dry. Let dry 1-2 days or until thoroughly dry, turning occasionally. Hang with decorative thread, ribbon or natural raffia. Makes 12-15 ornaments.

Buy a pillowcase in your child’s favorite color. Then cut out shapes with pinking shears (such as dogs, cats, stars, trucks, etc) out of scrap materials. (If you don’t have any scraps you can get material cheap on barging tables at Wal-Mart and fabric stores - buy 1/4 yard of several fabrics) Buy a yard of fabric fusing and fuse shapes to pillowcase per directions. You could also cut their name out in fabric and fuse that on pillowcase. If you sew - you can sew the appliqués on if you choose.

Fleece scarf
Anyone can make a fleece scarf. Go to your fabric store and get 1 yard of Fleece in a color and/or pattern your child will like. Fleece is normally 58-60 wide - the width will end up being your length !!!!! Depending on the size of your child cut a strip of fabric between 6" and 10" wide and the 58-60" side will be your length, for smaller children cut the length of the scarf to an appropriate length. Trim the ends to remove salvage , then cut fringe 1/4" to 1/2" wide depending on width of scarf and fringe should be cut up into the long part of the scarf apx 2"-3" on each end . This

Blankets
You can also make no sew tied blankets out of fleece. Hancock Fabric offers free projects on line for Fleece and for fabric projects and has several no sew fleece projects.

Prayers Please ~ We have decided to add this section because so many of you have asked us to remember you or your loved ones in our prayers. We have never wanted to force religion on anyone, so if you don't pray, then skip this section and go on to the next! And if you do pray - add the people listed here to your prayer list. Mary (Snowprincess in our chats) has agreed to be in charge of this section, so please send your prayer requests to her - just put "BBuds prayer request" in the subject so she won't think it's junk mail! :)

Thank you for remembering me in your prayers over the past few weeks. The medication transition is almost complete and things are going great. Thanks to God for giving me the strength to make it through this. ~ Tracy V.

"Please keep my husband's Pop in your prayers. He has cancer and has been told he will lose all vocals and needs a miracle. Also, I'd like to ask God to keep his hand on a very dear friend this holiday season, as it is her first holiday after I major loss in their family." ~ Lani D.

"Please continue to pray for our troops and their families and as well as for Savannah (fellow member's daughter) who is undergoing treatment for Brain Cancer. Savannah is back in the hospital and we are all praying she will improve so she can go on her Make-a-wish trip to Disneyland this month" ~Mary B.

"Please pray for my brother in law as he continues his battle with cancer." ~ Coley

Birthday Buds:If you would like to have your own birthday or your birth child's birthday mentioned in this section of the newsletter, please email the birth date, your name or your child's name, to Amy by the 25th of the month before your birthday. For example, if your child's birthday is Jan 21, then you need to email it to Amy by Dec 25th.! So email Amy with those Jan. birthdays now!

Suzi Thompson's birth son, Jacob, will celebrate his 11th bday on December 4th.
April Haberman will celebrate her 21st birthday on December 10th!
Brandy Mosley's birth daughter, Phoebe, will celebrate her 2nd birthday on December 20th.
Anna Johnson's birth daughter, Lottie, celebrates her first birthday on December 25th.
Sarah Justice celebrates her 25th birthday on December 30th.
Brandy Mosley will celebrate her 23rd birthday on December 31st.

Founder's Corner: A new little section to help keep you up to date with Coley and Lani as they share their lives, their thoughts, and what they're doing with BirthMom Buds.

Inspiration: Little things to inspire a birthmom from poems, stories, and quotes to encouraging words.