Ayyam-i-Ha 2016 and the beginning of the 19 day Fast

so we just celebrated Ayyam-i-Ha, which for Bahais is a 4 day celebration before the Bahai fast.  it's a period of service, getting together with family and friends to celebrate, gift giving, and all that stuff  you do when celebrating holidays.  since i want it to be a very special time for the kids, i have been really thinking about what to do.  i want them to be excited about it, but i don't want the focus to be too much on material, on getting gifts and stuff.  this year, i hung up our old happy ayyam-i-ha banner in the front room along with decorations leftover from a baby shower for my bestie which included hanging paper umbrellas, moons and stars from the ceiling.  in the family room i hung a new banner along with some star lights and a nine pointed star paper lantern.  oh and i also hung paper stars from the ceiling again.  we hosted a children's ayyam-i-ha party one day and as a service component we asked all the guests to bring something to donate to a local charity that supports women and child victims of abuse.  i explained to z about giving away some of our toys to kids that don't have toys and asked him to choose a couple of his things to donate.  he chose a dump truck and then i added a few other things.  we ended up gathering about 5 big bags of toys and clothes to donate.  we went to a celebration in seattle and then went to a children's devotional.  we also visited some dear friends that we make a point to spend time with specifically every ayyam-i-ha, one of z's besties.  since the celebration is 4 days long, we usually give the kids 4 gifts. so we got him some mickey mouse slippers which he loved, and then let him have some ice cream one night, then i commissioned this awesome felt garden box from a friend and then as the last gift, i made a little tent/fort for him in our front room.  i'd like there to be a mix of some material gifts and some that are homemade and then some that are experiences.  so since z is still little, the experiences are things like parties or a treat like ice cream, but as the kids get older we'll maybe do something like go to a movie or whatever things like that they are interested in.  but anyway, we had a blast and i was exhausted afterwards.  it's such a great juxtaposition though because the fast is right afterwards, and so for 19 days during sun up we fast.  which is definitely a time of slowing down.  but this year i'm not fasting since i'm nursing the baby, and was thinking about some ways to participate by keeping the spirit of the fast.  so i am focusing more on spiritual aspects during the day, being mindful of keeping a prayerful attitude and taking the time to say prayers and read the writings every day.  another thing i decided to do was to avoid eating sweets during the day when everyone else is fasting.  the reason for that is because since baby A has been with us, i have been stress eating and since i have a sweet tooth, it's usually chocolate or cake or cookies, whatever we have around, that i turn to.  my intention is to turn towards God in times of stress, to stop, take a break and pray or read the writings when i am stressed.  me and a few of my friends that are also not fasting are sharing quotes with each other daily.  and lastly, i want to serve others.  food.  haha.  since i can taste the food that i am cooking!  so i have been cooking dinners for hubby with extra love.  i usually cook dinner anyway, but i'm trying to do so with more intention and focus on service right now.  with my kids during the day i'm also trying to slow down during this time, focus on them, sing lots of prayers, talk about Baha'u'llah and Abdu'l-Baha, read stories, stuff like that.  the goal is that this time will set the tone for the entire next year.  anyway, just a few days in i have already had a major experience that i believe was divinely inspired, which i'll talk about in another post.  so, to those of you participating, happy fasting!

so here is the garden box---i have been trying to make this for over a year, but i am just not a sewer, so i asked my friend elham to make the veggies for me and i made the little "dirt" pillows.  i looooove how everything turned out!

the strawberries can be picked since they are velcroed to the plant

she did such an amazing job!

our decorations in the family room

decorations in the front room

this is the tent i made for z in the front room

i put some super cushy quilts on the floor and some big pillows

i also added these fun star lights hanging at the top, so this is looking up at the top of the tent

the three of us enjoying the tent

i also made this calender, so there is a box for each day of the fast, and we replace a rain drop (to signify the winter since it doesn't really snow here but it definitely rains) with a flower (which signifies spring). and then on the 20th day is Naw Ruz, which is the spring equinox but also the Bahai new year, so it's kind of like an advent calender

oh, and i have been thinking about this time last year, at the ayyam-i-ha party in seattle, i was feeling so sick, nauseous, dizzy, just awful.  driving home from the party, hubs had to pull over a couple times because i was sure i was going to hurl.  i had no idea what was going on.  fast forward about 16 days later and i was pretty sure i was pregnant.  i took a test.  it was positive.  when i thought back to the previous month, and remembered how awful i felt around the 26th or 27th, i started laughing because that was obviously the moment that little miss A's egg must have been implanting.  crazy! so i was thinking about what a special time that was, haha!