PEACE

"...let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me..."

Wonder-Filled

Let the light from within shine brightly!

We made the Annual Toy Review!!!

I read my first issue of Mothering Magazine before my little bundle was born. A friend who would become my LLL co-leader had several on hand. After this encounter I too became a subscriber / collector and nearly nine years later I still cherish my collection of magazines.


With the sound of our GPS navigator echoing in my mind
"you have arrived" - we are so excited and proud to announce that our toy is included in the "Best Natural Toys of 2010"!!!

Our Wee Dump Truck made Mothering Magazine's -
Annual Toy Review.

Pumpkins

...the tingle that can be felt all around, that playful buzz of excitement, becomes an urgent yearning for Autumn's arrival!!!



The decadent sights of Mother Nature's beauty.
Cool mornings spent indulging our love of fresh air.
A bountiful harvest of delicious fruits and vegetables and the myriad of ways we prepare them to feast upon ~ not least of which, my most favorite ~ pumpkin pie.

Just the mere sight of pumpkins renders this mama giddy with anticipation of things to come.

Changes

As summer widens down and the seasons slowly shift our lives are evolving at a rapid pace.

Our home-schooled daughter is now a uniform wearing 3rd grader with an incredible love for school and her teacher in particular. This time has been especially trying for me as in honoring her request to go to school I have had to quite down the very boisterous voice inside crying no!
Our parenting choices are formed for numerous reasons and as our children grow they shape those choices with their individual needs.

"Change is good ~ We grow with change ~ Change opens new doors"

Today is the day I declare that I will embrace the changes as they unfold. Changes in mothering two young children, changes as a right of passage, adventures to experience as good things are sure to come.

Baby Shower "Mother-Load"

Next week I will attend a shower for the mother-to-be. This is the gift I intend to shower her with. All natural baby care products from my favorite baby skin care shop Sweet Knee, organic bamboo nursing pads by Posh Pads & Mommy's Little Monkey's I'm learning how to breastfeed onesie. These new mommy essentials will be delivered on a handcrafted, toxin - free, all natural
Flatbed Truck by our My Father's Hands LLC.
I chose these gifts as fun and creative and practical.

See, with our first born we had the baby-gear lined up in advance the crib, the changing table, diapers, clothes and more. Much, much more!
Chances were 50 / 50 for a boy or a girl right? And we wanted to wait and find out which it would be when our bundle arrived. In hind sight we could have waited on it all. The crib was never used as we chose the family bed, the changing table was in a room were our little one never stay (her stuff did). We reinvented the wheel as attachment parenting took form. Attending La Leach League meetings and later becoming a leader opened my eyes to a whole new world. A place where all that was need to care lovingly for our bundle was so simple : a sling, diapers and the breast.

Go take a hike!

For our summer holiday we spent five days, "unplugged" in the Smoky Mountains.
Green was everywhere in this temperate rain forest. In the smells and sounds as well as sights.
We were treated to early morning showers daily. The rain creating percussive sounds as it fell, flooding out the crickets' loud songs ~ an overwhelming cacophony that kept us awake the night before. In forest which is mostley untouched, we found deer trails leading to black berry bushes, salamanders and crayfish in the cool streams and ready made hiking sticks.
Looking forward to getting back to that magical place just as soon as we can.

Coastal Business Life

Steamroller

Finally the day has come.
After 3 revisions this toy was crafted to specification one last time. Now with the mornings rain the pollen washed away the stage was set for photos to be taken. Barely able to contain my excitement I have been waiting for this opportunity for months. The chance to quote Rita Gray's book titled Easy Street.

"Roll it, roll it wheels so fat. Roll it down to make it flat."

Handcrafted by My Father's Hands ~ Wooden Toys

Day Trip

To celebrate a birthday we chose to take a day trip to a near by destination. After a short car ride and a much anticipated ferry boat ride we headed out on a new adventure to explore the jetties. We had arrived during low tide which allowed us to peek at the marsh periwinkles and oyster beds. The photo above reminded me of natures amazing ability to make man made things her own.

Puppy Love!

My eight year old daughter captured this image of our sweet pup Cooper. Looking through these photos it has just now dawned on me that our 2 pups, litter mates Lola and Cooper have been a part of our family for a whole year now. Before we adopted them, it had been 14 years since we brought a puppy home. We did not remember the paper training weeks and months that were in-store for us or the destruction that comes with the territory as baby teeth fall out and pups are aching for anything to chew on. These two have been Talia's favorite photography subjects and dress up play mates and many hours have been spent in their loving warm puppy dog company. We love you two!

My Fathers Hands Wooden Toys

The little seed has been planted and as Spring approaches it begins to sprout. First strong roots heading down to the ground for nourishment ~ our mission: To create natural, unfinished, hand crafted wooden toys. Toys that allow our children freedom of imagination filled creative play. Peace of mind for parents knowing the toys are toxin free. Joy watching and hearing our children play. Pride knowing that we will replenish natures gifts by planting a tree for each toy sold.

Next for our seedling comes the growth upwards toward the sky. Reaching up and then out with leaves of green: Our web site has launched for all to see. Now we wait for Spring to arrive bringing warm weather, some rain and lots of sunshine: spreading the word "...my father's hands made these toys."

For more information about our toys and our mission please visit
http://www.MyFatherHandsWoodenToys.com

19 hour Winter Wonderland

As anticipation built up, the long awaited event finally occurred. It snowed in our southern carolina beach town and the snow stuck! Some children got to stay up late as the snow started coming down and got to play outside in PJs and coats. Our little ones went to bed early as we chose to wake them before sunrise the next morning. After rushing through breakfast, we did some serious bundling up and then took a walk exploring our white blanket world. We enjoyed every possible moment of this beautiful gift from Mother Nature making sure we had snow tasting, made snow angels, had snow ball fights and built snow persons. After all, we knew it would not last long. And in deed it lasted nineteen hours at best.

Daddy, make something that goes...!

Those were the words our son used as he looked longingly at the stocks of rough wood.

What is a father to do but oblige?
So with wheels that were stashed in a long forgotten box and the wood that was left over from a project completed, a toy truck was crafted with love and with care.

The sounds and the stories that followed that day bring a smile to mind and a song to my heart. Oh, the creativity of imagination filled play.

Our House in the Trees

"Your house is the one in the trees" a neighbor once said. Indeed our home is nestled amongst beautiful Southern Magnolia, Live Oak and Sweet Gum trees, to name a few. The trees keep us connected to the cycle of life throughout the season. So bring on the pollen, the leaves and the work and don't forget the shade that we have and the birds we adore and the climbing and fun we enjoy all the more!