Tender Seedlings - The Add

This is the flyer i made for advertising about our Baha'i Baby and Toddlers Devotional/Playgroup: Tender Seedlings.

Mona singing the Baha'i Prayer "Blessed is the Spot" at the library

Two weeks ago, I took Mona to the public library to borrow some books for the both of us.
When we got to the library, we went straight to the kids section and Mona started to play with the toys there. She was pretending to make coffee for me with the little teapot and cups. She served me some coffee and told me to be careful because it was hot. Then she started to serve coffee to some people that were around us as well. It was really cute and everyone really seemed to enjoy their pretend coffee.

After choosing some books for her, we went to the adult section to choose some books for me.
While i was browsing around, Mona took a book from one of the shelf, as i didn't want her to tear it apart, i tried to take it from her, but she insisted that it was her book and didn't let go of it. After a little while, she sat on one of the sofa and started to read her book. To my amazement, she started to sing a Baha'i Prayer. For the very first time, Mona closed her eyes and started to sing the Baha'i Prayer "Blessed is the spot" by Baha'u'llah.
I was so surprised, that i didn't know what to do: Do i tell her to stop singing the prayer and be quiet as we were in the library, or do i let her say her prayer as she was so into it and singing it and doing it properly, without me telling her how to sit with closed eyes to say the prayer??
I decided to let her sing, and from time to time i had to remind her to sing in a low voice, as the singing was getting louder and louder. She sang the prayer over and over again, and each time with her eyes closed. I was so proud of her.
Then i remembered that i had the digital camera with me, and quickly got it out to record the end of her prayer singing session at the library. (Below is a video of what i recorded along with my English translation of what she was actually singing.)

The next week, we went again to the library, and as soon as we got inside, Mona asked for her book, I told her i don't know where the book was, so she went and took a different book from one of the shelf (it was a book about quilting), then she sat on the sofa, and started to sing the Baha'i Prayer 'Blessed is the Spot" very very loudly. I reminded her that we had to keep our voice down when we were in the library, then she started to sing the prayer in a whisper voice... it was so cute!!

Enjoy the video...

The world is full of colours

Today we had our second Baha'i Toddler Devotional and Playgroup (Baha'i Children Classes for little ones of 1 to 4 yr old).
We decided on a name for our Baha'i Toddler Devotional and Playgroup and it is now going to be called "Tender Seedlings"
Don't you just love this name??? We do!! It's really cute and it's just exactly what our brilliant toddlers are.... tender seedlings of God!

The theme of today was "The world is full of colours".
We all got comfortably seated on the big purple rug and lots of comfortable cushions in the playroom and we started with prayers, we sang "Blessed is the spot" and said a Writing from Baha'u'llah.
The children present (Mona and Aryan) were more cooperative than at the previous class.
After the devotional it was time for 'Story Time" and the little tots were so excited when I took out my 'Story Time Box' (which is basically a toy box filled with toys, puppets, books, pictures, material etc that i would need for the specific story).
The story today was about the world being one big beautiful garden with lots of different things and colors that make it so beautiful. I explained with the help of toys and pictures how we are all different but at the same time we are one big family and also shared the quotation from Baha'u'llah "The earth is but one country and mankind it's citizen."
Then I told the children that i had a big problem and they both had very concerned looks on their faces. I told them that I had those beautiful drawings of children from around the world, but that there wasn't any colors on them and that I needed their help to put colors and make the drawings more beautiful. So they sat down at the table and started coloring the pictures with beautiful colors. After helping them a little bit, the two mums and 1 grandma present, moved to the big table where we had refreshments and discussed about the responsibilities of the spiritual education imposed upon us as is mentioned in the Baha'i Writings.
It was very inspiring for us and we shared a few examples as well.
The children came to joined us for refreshments and of course it wasn't without any mess.
But it was once more a very exciting and wonderful time for us all, the children really enjoyed it and so did the parents and we can't wait for the next 'Tender Seedlings' Playgroup!

Our Baha'i Tube

Have you heard about Our Baha'i Tube?

It's just like youtube, but even much better, and is made by Baha'is for Baha'is.
You can post your videos there, as well as pictures, audios, and can even blog and write articles.

You can check out my blog and video page on Baha'i Tube here
You can sign in to share your videos and pictures and blogs with Baha'i Friends around the world.

I love it so far, and there are some really amazing videos there!
Go see for yourself!
http://ourbahaitube.com/index.php

Lemons at the 19 Day Feast...

Tonight was the Baha'i 19 Day Feast of 'Nur' which means 'Light'.
It was a longer feast than usual and i must admit that Mona was pretty much well-behaved for 3/4 of the time. She was talking in her low voice like we told her to, whispering, even though we had to remind her to keep her voice down, but she did a good job at it. We kept her busy with a drawing book and colored pencils and some snacks. After 1 hour though, she started acting up and didn't want to stay quiet, so I took her out for a bit and she ran and jump around for a bit till she got tired i think, then we went back inside and she was good again and when she saw the oranges on the refreshment table, she couldn't wait anymore... 'Mona hungry' she said when she saw the food on the table! lol...

During the feast, we remembered the dear friends in Iran who are prison because of their Faith and belief, and organised a special devotional meeting for them in our community. We read and discuss the message of Ridvan from the Universal House of Justice, shared news of activities that are happening in our community and I got to shared a bit about our first Baha'i Toddler Devotional and Playgroup, among other things.

So about the lemons you ask, well, we have a lemon tree in our backyard and it has been giving lots and lots of yummy lemons lately, so much that I didn't know what to do with them.
We gave lemons to our family members each week, but there are still plenty left and too much for me to use in daily cooking (all of my cooking now contains lemon juice! lol).
I wanted to prepare some lemon biscuits or lemon bars to bring to the feast, but i didn't have enough time to do it, so I though i will just bring the lemons to the feast for people who want to take some home.
The lemons went like hot cakes!! I was happy and so were the friends!!

A Tribute to the True Lovers

We created a video tribute for the 7 baha'is of Iran in prison.

It is a poem written by Mrs. Shahla Nabilzadeh-Ghotbi (my mother in law) and she is actually reading the poem in both of the videos. One in Farsi (persian) and one in English.

I did the montage with the music, voice and pictures.

Here is the link for the videos:
For the english version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4f_G8bAc-E
For the farsi version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kfDZpHAUEI

If you like it, don't forget to rate it by giving 5 stars (just under the video player) so that many more people get to see the video.
The higher the ratings and numbers of viewers, the more chance people will see what is happening in Iran.

And please do share the links with friends.

Enjoy the videos.





Much love,

Baha'i Toddler Devotional and Playgroup

Today we had our first Baha'i Toddler Devotional and Playgroup. It's like a small Baha'i Children Classes but for toddlers.
We start with prayers, then a little animated story with puppets and toys, then it's refreshments and snack time and then playtime.
There were 3 toddlers, 2 girls aged 2 years old (Mona and Ashi) and 1 boy aged 3 year old (Aryan).
We are expecting more toddlers to join in at the next classes and it sounds very exciting.

Today, as it was our very first time, we started with devotions. When we told the tots that we are going to do prayers and gave them each a prayer board book, they started to refuse to say prayers, Aryan started to run away and Mona started to throw the prayers books on the floor. We quickly distracted them and started to sing 'Blessed is the Spot", while we were singing all the kids kept quiet and listened attentively to the moms singing.
After the devotions, we let the kids go play and have some snacks while we discussed on the details and programs of the future Baha'i Toddler Devotional and Playgroup.
We decided to have the classes every Saturday afternoon at our house and we would used the stories I have found. Our goal is to get the children to learn some short Baha'i Prayers and how to behave when prayers are being said. We also want to teach them spiritual virtues and stories of the Faith with the help of puppets and toys. The only thing we forgot to talk about was a name for the class.

So after the break, I gathered the kids around Mona's red table to tell them the story of Noah's Arch. I used Mona's puppets and animal toys and a boat and a little man to illustrate the story.
The kids participated by making the sounds of the animals. They really enjoyed the story and even clapped hands when it was done. After the story, they were invited to come and play with the animals.

The children really had a great time, specially Mona. They need to get used to this new routine and new friends and I am sure our Baha'i Toddler Devotional and Playgroup will become a success.

Here are some pics of the children playing with the animals after the story and some pics of Mona playing after everyone had left.

Happy birthday to the love of my life....

This Wednesday was my sweetheart's birthday! We suprised him on Tuesday night, with a little birthday cake after the family dinner. Mona really loved the surprise as there was lots of candles on the cake for her to blow off with daddy!

Then on the actual day of his birthday I prepared birthday cards with the help of Mona and also made an indian feast for dinner. On the menu there was roti bread, tandoori chicken, potato curry in a yogurt gravy sauce and rice with salad (got all the recipes on the internet).

I looked all over the supermarkets for colfi-malaii ice-cream, but unfortunately they didn't have any... non the less, the indian dinner feast was a success and was so yummy that there were fingers licking by the 3 of us.

And today we spent the afternoon and evening with his mum and step dad and his brother and nephew. It was really nice and lots of fun.

Hubby was really spoiled this year, as gifts he got clothes and toiletry, a new LG touch phone, which is like a pda with a phone in it, and the new Nintendo Wii Fit, which he so absolutely wanted to have since the very first time he heard about it.

He was so happy is really having fun on the wii.

Of course everyone had a go at the new wii fit and we had so much fun too. It's really awesome and more. We'll see how fit our family gets with it. I'll keep you all updated about this... lol.

Happy Mother's Day to mamijoon

Last Sunday was Mother's Day in Mauritius and in France.

Mona helped me in making a cute card for my mother aka mamijoon.

Mona choose the butterflies and the pictures of mamijoon to put on the card.

I don't post many personal things on my blog because I am a rather private when it comes to my personal life and personal details about my family members, but in the spirit of Mother's Day I want to share a little about my own mother, especially because I know she reads my blog and will definitely see this... :)

Here are some random facts about this wonderful woman:

• Her name is Mary, but she is mostly called by her middle name, Sylvana.
• She has been in the education field for most, if not all, of her life, as a teacher and then as a principal of primary school.
• Her students have and still appreciate and value her as one of the best teacher they ever had.
• She is loved and looked up to by so many many people in her life.
• Many of my friends wished their mother was like mine.
• She is a very intellectual person and knows almost everything about everything!
• She is a brilliant Baha'i teacher and mentor.
• She taught the Faith to my father (and so many others).
• She has been member and the secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of Mauritius for over 20 years.
• She has very high standards and expect the same from her children.
• She taught me how to read and give talks in public.
• She never missed a single birthday of her children, children in law, or grandchild, no matter where they are in the world. We always receive birthday cards from her on time or in advance!!
• She loves words!! She is always doing crosswords, always!!
• She is a book lover and i got my love of books from her and so did little Mona!!
• She loves to sing!
• She is the most kind hearted, beautiful and talented person I know!
• She is the first person I refer to when I have an important decision to make and in every other situations, I always ask myself "What mom would do if she was in this situation?".
• If I am even half the women she is, then I can count myself as a success!!

Thank you for everything mamijoon!! You are my role model and my hero!

Je t'aime maman!

15 May 2008 - Six Bahá'í leaders arrested in Iran; pattern matches deadly sweeps of early 1980s

Six Bahá'í leaders arrested in Iran; pattern matches deadly sweeps of early 1980s
15 May 2008

NEW YORK — Six Bahá’í leaders in Iran were arrested and taken to the notorious Evin prison yesterday in a sweep that is ominously similar to episodes in the 1980s when scores of Iranian Bahá’í leaders were summarily rounded up and killed.
The six men and women, all members of the national-level group that helped see to the minimum needs of Bahá’ís in Iran, were in their homes Wednesday morning when government intelligence agents entered and spent up to five hours searching each home, before taking them away.
The seventh member of the national coordinating group was arrested in early March in Mashhad after being summoned by the Ministry of Intelligence office there on an ostensibly trivial matter.
“We protest in the strongest terms the arrests of our fellow Bahá'ís in Iran,” said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Bahá’í International Community to the United Nations. “Their only crime is their practice of the Bahá’í Faith.”
“Especially disturbing is how this latest sweep recalls the wholesale arrest or abduction of the members of two national Iranian Bahá’í governing councils in the early 1980s -- which led to the disappearance or execution of 17 individuals,” she said.
“The early morning raids on the homes of these prominent Bahá’ís were well coordinated, and it is clear they represent a high-level effort to strike again at the Bahá’ís and to intimidate the Iranian Bahá’í community at large,” said Ms. Dugal.
Arrested yesterday were: Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. All live in Tehran. Mrs. Kamalabadi, Mr. Khanjani, and Mr. Tavakkoli have been previously arrested and then released after periods ranging from five days to four months.
Arrested in Mashhad on 5 March 2008 was Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, who also resides in Tehran. Mrs. Sabet was summoned to Mashhad by the Ministry of Intelligence, ostensibly on the grounds that she was required to answer questions related to the burial of an individual in the Bahá’í cemetery in that city.
On 21 August 1980, all nine members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Iran were abducted and disappeared without a trace. It is certain that they were killed.
The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Iran was reconstituted soon after that but was again ravaged by the execution of eight of its members on 27 December 1981.
A number of members of local Bahá’í governing councils, known as local Spiritual Assemblies, were also arrested and executed in the early 1980s, before an international outcry forced the government to slow its execution of Bahá’ís. Since 1979, more than 200 Bahá’ís have been killed or executed in Iran, although none have been executed since 1998.
In 1983, the government outlawed all formal Bahá’í administrative institutions and the Iranian Bahá’í community responded by disbanding its National Spiritual Assembly, which is an elected governing council, along with some 400 local level elected governing councils. Bahá'ís throughout Iran also suspended nearly all of their regular organizational activity.
The informal national-level coordinating group, known as the Friends, was established with the knowledge of the government to help cope with the diverse needs of Iran’s 300,000-member Baháí community, which is the country’s largest religious minority.


Baha'i World News Service
http://news.bahai.org/story/632

To all the mothers in my life.... Happy Mothers Days!!

"...great honor and nobility are conferred on the role of motherhood. Mothers have the unique privilege of being the "first educators, the first mentors" of their children. "O ye loving mothers, know ye that in God's sight, the best of all ways to worship Him is to educate the children and train them in all the perfections of humankind; and no nobler deed than this can be imagined."

From the Baha'i Writings

Was it Mothers Day or Valentine Day today???

The rest of my day was wonderful and it ended so beautifully!!!

After the brunch (breakfast/lunch), hubby had to briefly go meet a client, so I spent that time with my daughter to play and cuddle a bit. Then it was time for her nap, and i decided to nap with her too. We slept together on our big bed and she fell asleep in my arms while i remembered the good times that have gone by since Mona has been blessing our lives with her love.

Then i fell asleep too. :)

When we woke up, hubby was already back from his appointment and the house was smelling fresh and clean. Hubby had cleaned the whole house!!

Everything was tidy!! Not a toy in view on the vacuumed and mopped floors, the dishes was washed and put away, the tables was dusted, clean and shining!! You could only smell the fresh lemony smell of the cleaning products. I was shocked and impressed!! Because first of all the house looked like a battle field of plush toys, legos and dolly when we went for our nap and secondly because we didn't hear a single noise of hubby cleaning while we were sleeping!! He was so careful to not wake us up, as he wanted me to be surprised when i woke up!! And indeed i was!!

We were supposed to go get my present together today. I had asked for an electronic food steamer and hubby wanted me to come to choose which one i wanted, but we decided to go and get it the tomorrow morning instead, as we were supposed to go out for dinner with the family.

We went to dinner at a Persian restaurant in the city with all the family members and of course with hubby's mum. We had a lovely time there and ate yummy chicken and lamb kebabs with Persian rice and salad and yogurt and of course there was persian tea (but i had a cappuchino). Mona really had fun running around and playing with her cousins in the restaurant.

We got back home around 9pm, spent some time together as a family and then decided that it was time to put Mona to bed. I went in the bedroom with Mona, read her some story books, said our prayers together and waited for her to fall asleep. When i came back to the living room, hubby told me that my bath was ready. "My bath?" I said, and thinking to myself that I didn't really wanted to take a bath, but when i stepped into the bathroom i was so surprise!! Hubby had ran a hot bubble bath for me, and had put lots and lots of candles everywhere!! It was so romantic and felt just like in a spa!! And it smelled so good too!!

I really enjoyed the bath!! And when i got out of the bath, i had another surprise waiting for me!!

Hubby had dimmed the lights in the house everywhere and lighted candles all around the house. He formed a heart with rose petals on the bed...

What happened after that is very private and will not be shared here!! lol

It felt great to be so wonderfully surprised by my sweet shohar (husband in Persian)!!

I felt like today was really my special day... not only was it mothers day, but it felt like valentine day too!!

I really felt loved and cherished by the two loves of my life today!!

I am so blessed to have, not one, but two angels by my side everyday!!

Here are some pics of the card Mona made for me with the help of her daddy and pictures of the dinner at the Persian restaurant: