a winter walk....

today our winter walk was of a different kind. today we had a purpose which went beyond having a stroll and breathing the fresh air. today we had others in mind, our local, wild birds to be precise.

as we snuggle together and keep ourselves warm and cosy, waiting for this long and cold winter to come to an end, we often forget about all others who are also anticipating the warm and fruitful days that the summer will bring.

so we feed, we feed them, in order to feed our own souls.

 

 

winter evenings

When you can't shake off the cold (and lets face it, that's most days in our neck of the woods), dim the lights, and light candles, lots and lots of candles. there's something about visually seeing the flame that gives you a warm and cosy feeling.
(oh yeah, switching on the heating and consecutive cups of hot drinks also helps).

....the season to be jolly

:: Fresh fallen snow, to play, roll, and build with

 

::evenings spent indoors, reading, quietly to ourselves and to each other

 

:: hot cups of tea wrapped in our hands, throughout the day

 

:: home made cakes with hot custard, on a cold, wet evening

 

:: evenings spent in candle light, helping us forget the bitter cold outside

 

:: and soup, warm, fulfilling and healing

 

 

 

the things that help me get through winter

a winter walk

the best walks are the walks, when you go out expecting it to be an ordinary walk, but then something surprises you, like the walk at the beginning of spring when you spot the first crocuses and daffodils, or the walk in autumn, when you find a tree full of apples, in a spot that you walk past almost everyday, but this tree has gone unnoticed, but the best walk is the walk in winter, when you expect the tree's to be bare, but instead you are faced with one of the most prettiest sights that you'll see at this time of year.



welcoming winter.....with a smile

 

Snow, hot chocolate, wooly blankets, knitting, coughs and colds, short days and long nights, these are just some words that remind us of winter. Winter, for most of us, is not our favorite season because of the cold weather and early sunset. But while many of us are shivering and complaining of this weather and darkness, our past predecessors rejoiced at the coming of winter.


Imam al-Hasan al-Basri (rahimahullah) said, “The best season to a believer is the winter, its nights are long for those who wish to pray, and its days are short for those who wish to fast.”

Winter is the season of the believer because it is so easy to do good deeds. Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) has made this a great mercy for us; we can fast these short days without any decrease in the reward and we have a huge gap between Isha and Fajr to pray some night prayers.

Umar (radi Allahu anhu) said, “Winter is booty for the devout worshipers.”

So take advantage of these short days and long nights!

Also now that we are in winter, we may need an extra push to keep renewing our wudu because of the cold weather. Here are some benefits of wudu to motivate yourself to keep up this sunnah, even though you’re freezing cold:

1) Expiation of sins

:: “He who performs the Wudu perfectly (i.e., according to Sunnah), his sins will depart from his body, even from under his nails.” [Muslim]

:: He who performs Wudu like this, his previous sins will be forgiven and his Salat and walking to the mosque will be considered as supererogatory act of worship.” [Muslim].

:: “When a Muslim, or a believer, washes his face (in the course of Wudu), every sin which he committed with his eyes, will be washed away from his face with water, or with the last drop of water; when he washes his hands, every sin which is committed by his hands will be effaced from his hands with the water, or with the last drop of water; and when he washes his feet, every sin his feet committed will be washed away with the water, or with the last drop of water; until he finally emerges cleansed of all his sins.” [Muslim]

this information has been taken from here:
http://muslimmatters.org/2010/11/14/sunday-open-thread-why-winter-is-the-season-of-the-believer/

snow activities

it's been really cold and snowy over here, we've been mainly in-doors, this is what we've been up to..

catching snow flakes and looking at them under the microscope

drawing snow flakes

salt dough snow flakes

welcoming winter

whne i woke up today it felt like the world was covered in a sprinkling of icing sugar, it wasn't snow, it was frost. branches looked like fluffy reindeer antlers. i was expecting it disappear by 12 o'clock, instead it stayed all day

ever since the weather has gotten cold, my little ones have been ill. winter is definitely the season when the weather takes it's toll on our bodies, minds and immune systems.

so this year i have devised a little plan. the plan is to try and prepare my family, using as many natural ways to stay healthy and keep the immune system boosted, for the months ahead. here's how.

:: one thing that cropped up again and again when i was researching was, washing your hands. so i'm going to try and get all of us to wash our hands whenever we've been out, after sneezing etc.

:: wrap up warm, wear layers of woolly clothes, cosy socks, extra blankets at night, a hot water bottle at the end of the bed works wonders, and don't forget hats, gloves and scarves when your out and about.

:: use essential oils like eucalyptus and lavender on bed linen and with a candle burner to sooth and unblock the airways

:: eat loads of fruits and veges, i know that it's easier said than done, especially if like mine your children don't like vegetables but you know you children best so do whatever you can.

:: cook warming and healing foods like chicken soup (or any soups), chicken soup is very healing and soothing, especially for someone who is run down.

:: give your immune system a helping hand by eating vitamin C rich foods such as broccoli, tomato, red, orange and yellow peppers, blackcurrants, papaya, mangoes, oranges, and don't forget fruit juices are a great way to get vitamin C inside you.

:: herbal teas (this is for adults) work wonders when you are feeling a little under the weather, they warm you up and give you that extra boost, ginger, lemon and honey are all good for common cold symptoms.

:: take plenty of naps and get as much rest as possible, it really does revive and revitalise.

i have by no means given you all the answers to beating coughs and colds throughout winter, but i hope i have made it that little bit easier for you to get through these cold and frosty winter months. if you have any suggestions do let me know.

maybe now, instead of dreading the winter months we can embrace it.

autumn/winter ice sculptures

after a very boring week of workbooks and worksheets, i decided to give the kids a break today. after a couple of hours of reading to each other and watching programmes about fishing and another about animals that live in holes, the kids went out to play. their discovery of this block of ice and leaves fascinated the children, and got them really excited, it also gave me some inspiration to make our own ice sculptures! so we got to work looking for whatever we could find that could go into our sculptures.


here's what we found


we arranged these objects in a glass

poured in some water

and left them in the freezer for a few hours

and voila, beautiful ice sculptures to admire, well for a few hours anyway.

the kids absolutely loved this activity, it was very exciting for them, they waited impatiently all day, checking if it was ready or not, i would definitely recommend this activity to anyone.

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