She left

We took donjana to the station this morning. She looked sooo tiny with her two bags! subhanaAllah i'm sure the bags weight as much as her . She is only 17kg.. I can't believe that I won't see her for a whole week now! The house will feel so empty!

We met the group at the railway station. First it looked like only one or two families subhanaAllah. After all, I guess there was kids from 4 or 5 different families, so maybe all the other kids had siblings there too, the ages were from 7 to 14.. There was one girl from donjana's arabic group so she knows at least someone already. I saw a few girls about her age, so there will be friends for her inshaAllah.

MashaAllah there was an older girl, who is also a leader on the camp (she's maybe 18 y/o or something, and she's been there before. I could tell her about Donjana's needs lol.. Well.. not much.. A little.. Eeeeekkk.. I sound so silly.. like some Mother Goose.. lol..

It was kinda funny there.. All the other kids were 100% arabs, I guess because half Finns usually have Finnish as their official mother language so they won't be able to go on these camps. A mother of one girl asked why a Finnish girl is coming lol.. I heard her.. She spoke in Arabic and maybe thought I didn't understand. The teacher said Donjana is an Arab from father's side.. I added, also in Arabic, that her father is Palestinian... Lol.. The mother was mute after that.. She realized I understood what she said.. She didn't say anything offensive or bad though, but I guess it was just because she didn't want to look too curious.. And she was smiling at me all the time..

After the teacher got their tickets he told them all to listen and get together. Then he said he will give each one their tickets in the train. He spoke arabic but I understood each word (he has Palestinian accent mashaAllah , but he spoke 'official' arabic) ). One of the smallest girls asked in Finnish: What did you say?' loooool I guess that girl's parents speak also Finnish at home or either their (iraqi or irani?) accent is too different. The teacher said in Arabic kinda to himself with low voice that this is a camp for arab speakers lol..

There she is, behind the window


Soon after this Donjana went to the train with the group. Poor her, she couldn't manage to carry her bags.. Alhamdulilah one of the teachers took her bags so she didn't have to carry them. Her Arabic teacher sat next to her in the train (dh called him last night . I guess he told him to watch donjana good ). She left with a smile on her face mashaAllah. I was in tears but I'm sure this is all good. I've kept her like a small child kinda.. Maybe now she will learn to be more independent in a good way, taking better care of her things, clothes etc..

I called donjana once when she was on the way.. They had changed to the other train already, and she sounded exited and happy mashaAllah. I even forgot to ask her if she ate the sandwiches and apple that I put to her bag.. And I promised to myself to leave her in peace and call her only once when she arrives..

So I called her again in the evening. She sounded even more exited and told me that she has many new friends now! She had been playing mini golf and when I called they were playing football! There's a cool playground and a football field on the back yard and indoor playroom also. Sounds like a hotel to me lol mashaAllah!

Well.. it should: it's a huge, old mansion run by foundation for friends and families of kids with cancer. Lol so no old cottage, but a huuuge building with all the services. Oh , what a camp! They make conferences for business ppl, parties like wedding etc, camps for cancer kids, sports holidays etc there.. So i guess no rotten, old showers there . Actually they have even a really beautiful, new sauna.. I don't think donjana will get the touch of real camp life . To me it means either tent or bunk beds, sleeping bags etc.. This is her first camp, so it's easier for her like this..

When I called her the second time I remembered to ask about her snack: yes, she had been eating her sandwiches and the apple in the train, but still had some juice and pringles left alhamdulilah.


She shares a room with that older girl whom I met at the station and who is a leader there mashaAllah. Yeah, some of the rooms are for two.. What did I say.. Hotel holiday, not a camp, ***** 5 stars. Now I know Donjana is taken care of well! I wish she can sleep well and won't miss us too much. . I'm sure she will have a good time inshaAllah!

Donjana called me a bit after their bed time. I thought she will tell me she misses me or home or something.. But no. She wanted to tell me that she had a pyjama party with four of the smallest girls and they got to visit each others rooms. She was not tired so it was a bit difficult for her to sleep I guess. We said good night and it felt so weird.. She is 200 km away from me.. InshaAllah she slept soon after we spoke.

May Allah subhanahuwata'ala give her a fun holiday and a safe trip back home! Ameen.

here's a pic of the house mashaAllah

here's a link.. in finnish only, but there is some other piccies too..
http://www.kuortinkartano.fi/

Laundry day..Just for my little girl's camp ♥

SubhanaAllah we have had a nice weather lately! InshaAllah it will stay next week!
On Monday Donjana is going on a camp for one week. it's for Arabic speaking kids, for keeping up with the language and culture. MashaAllah!

Today I have made 3 loads of laundry (the basket is empty now mashaAllah ). I want to make sure alllll her thousands of clothes are clean when I pack her things tomorrow. Gotta goo and empty the machine one more time soooonish..



I'm afraid I will pack too much stuff.. You just never know the weather here. It could be one week hot or one week cold and rain.. So I need to put for her clothes for every weather for 7 days.. She needs a rain coat, wellies, sandals, sport shoes, t-shirts, long sleeved shirts, jacket and pants for windy weather, cardigan or such, shorts, dresses, skirts.. One pair of party clothes for camp party.. sheets and sleeping bag.. OMG stresssssssss!

From my town 15 kids are going (and another 15 from other towns). I was planning to get her together with some older girl who could help her with stuff. This is her first time out from home over night . It woild be good if some older girl would keep her company.. i'm sure I will know one of the girls who go from here, or at least someone's mom inshaAllah!

Two teachers go from here too. One is the one that was teaching donjana Arabic language at school. He is palestinian and knows dh too. dh doesn't remember him though.. They haven't met through school yet. The other teacher was teaching Islam for Nenna at school and he used to teach our Finnish sisters group years ago at the masjid. He was a witness when nenna and her dh got married islamically. I know his wife too, she used to teach us Arabic at the masjid. And he has been with dh on a dawah weekend trip.. Alhamdulilah I know I can trust both of the teachers.

The camp is over 200km from here, they go with a train and busses. Donjana has motion sickness sometimes on long drives. I got her medicine for that. InshaAllah she won't be sick.

SubhanaAllah I'm worried about so many things.. The trip.. How she can manage with her clothing..? Will she know how to take care of herself, her phone, her pocket money..? (I think I will give her phone to one of the teachers and she can ask to use it when she needs it). Will she like the food (alhamdulilah, all halal!). Will she miss us too much..? Will she know how to sleep there..? . I know she makes new friends easily, so I'm pretty sure she will have a good time if she can just adjust to the situation..

She is such a big girl already, I can't believe how time flies.. She is my baby anyway..

Sisters, please make dua that she will have a safe trip and a good time!

May Allah bless and protect my little girl! Ameen

Only for Allah

Today many people seem to forget what is really important. They think of property, matter in general, money, their looks and such things. Serving Allah (subhanahuwata'ala) is rarely the first thing in people's minds. It scares me to see that around me every day. So I searched for this story that I heard once a long time ago.





There was a pious man among the Banu Israel who always remained busy in the worship of Allah. A group of people came to him and told him that a tribe living nearby worshiper a tree. The news upset him, and with an axe on his shoulder he went to cut down that tree.

On the way, Satan met him in the form of an old man and asked him where he was going. He said he was going to cut a particular tree. Satan said, "You have nothing to be concerned with this tree, you better mind your worship and do not give it up for the sake of something that does not concern you." "This is also worship," retorted the worshiper.

Then Satan tried to prevent him from cutting the tree, and there followed a fight between the two, in which the worshiper overpowered the Satan. Finding himself completely helpless, Satan begged to be excused, and when the worshiper released him, he again said, "Allah has not made the cutting of this tree obligatory on you. You do not lose anything if you do not cut it. If its cutting were necessary, Allah could have got it done through one of his many Prophets."

The worshiper insisted on cutting the tree. There was again a fight between the two and again the worshiper overpowered the Satan. "Well listen," said Satan, "I propose a settlement that will be to your advantage." The worshipper agreed, and Satan said, "You are a poor man, a mere burden on this earth. If you stay away from this act, I will pay you three gold coins everyday. You will daily find them lying under your pillow. By this money you can fulfill your own needs, can oblige your relative, help the needy, and do so many other virtuous things. Cutting the tree will be only one virtue, which will ultimately be of no use because the people will grow another tree."

This proposal appealed to the worshiper, and he accepted it. He found the money on two successive days, but on the third day there was nothing. He got enraged, picked up his axe and went to cut the tree. Satan as an old man again met him on the way and asked him where he was going. "To cut the tree," shouted the worshiper. "I will not let you do it," said Satan.

A fight took place between the two again but this time Satan had the upper hand and overpowered the worshiper. The latter was surprised at his own defeat, and asked the former the cause of his success. Satan replied, "At first, your anger was purely for earning the pleasure of Allah, and therefore Almighty Allah helped you to overpower me, but now it has been partly for the sake of the gold coins and therefore you lost."


Source: From the book "Ihyaa-ul Uloom Ud Deen" by Imam Ghazzali (ra)

Some excellent news!

I have some excellent news! When we came home from mom's place on saturday, a letter was waiting for us in the mail box. it was from the school where my older son applied. MashaAllah wa alhamdulilah Allahu Akbar, they accept him! I'm so happy about it! Otherwise i don't know what he would have done now that his grade school is over.

He will study surface finishing, and the group where he was accepted is a smaller, special group with less theory and more real work. I think it will be good for him. It's something he always wanted to do! I'm so happy for him and i hope that he will take the school seriously and study good inshaaAllah!

The whole weekend and the beginning of the week have been great alhamdulilah! On Sunday we went to the Adventure Park with Nadia's grew and found a group of our dear sisters with their children sitting on the grass! They were having a picnic. My daughter Nadia and I had missed the discussion about this event on FB, but alhamdulilah we were there and saw our group! We had a good time!

Today I had to get my medicine from the pharmancy in the center. We decided to go to the library too, and I found some really nice books I've been looking for! On the way there we saw that Amira's f-dh was working in his brother's pizzeria, so we went to say Salam to him. The kids wanted pizza of course, so we stayed..

Nader was finally eating normally! Or more than normally actually! :D Poor guy, I think he has been hungry all the time during the time he's been recovering from the operation. He could not eat any warm stuff until today, only soft bread, pudding,ice cream and stuff. He still has been complaining about pain while eating until yesterday.

First he ate a quarter of family size pizza and then half of normal size pizza on top of that. All together that makes one full adult size pizza, which even I have trouble eating (and I love pizza and always eat too much of it.. And regret later :D ). His smile was until his ears mashaAllah.

He also didn't ask for the pain killer anymore. The first week I gave him two kinds regularly, but the last couple of days only if he felt like he couldn't be without. Alhamdulilah he hasn't asked for it too many times.

This is the first night he sleeps without any painkillers. InshaAllah he will not wake up for pain. At least now he seems to sleep peacefully. And it's amazing to see him sleeping with closed mouth, breathing from his nose! He hasn't done that in a very long time.. If ever.. Alhamdulilah seems like the operation really helped him and he's recovering well!

In the country side!

The kids and I were visiting my mom at her summer house in the country side. We slept there for two nights. MashaAllah we had so much fun, it was like a little holiday!



When we were leaving Nenna came to say bye to us. Laila wanted to go with us so much, so we took her too. Poor Ali, he was devastated. He shouted so much 'I like YAYA'(Laila) and wanted to run after the car.


Mom's place is in the end of this small private road, so it's a perfect place to have some hijab free days. too bad this time the weather wasn't warm enough to have some tan on my arms.. At least my hijabi tan lines are not that sharp on my face now lol..

We entered mom's house. The first thing we did was changing clothes. I keep some worn out old fashioned clothes and extremely ugly old dresses there so that we don't have to carry many bags with us. So don't wonder why the kids wear so ungly stuff in the pics :D


Mom had lunch ready when we arrived. The kids ate like they've never seen food lol. I love mom's kitchen, so cozy.. And she still cooks sometimes with a real wood oven or what ever it's called in english..



Then they run to their play house. They love it! My mom's husband built it when my older daughters were little, so already two generations have been playing in it..



The most of the whole three days we spent there, they were playing there or next to it in the sand box. They played even cleaning the house, which is not their style lol.. The house wasn't very clean after the cleaning btw.. :P



They 'cooked' some funny stuff and invited mom, her dh and I to eat. Hehe.. it was delicious :p . Mom let the girls take chives flowers and they went to pick up whole spring onions lol..


They dig out the horses I made them two years ago. It so funny, they treat them like 'real horses' for a while but then they suddenly throw them somewhere and forget they exist lol.. They have always wanted to bring them home, but i think they have more interest in them when they can play with them only twice a year or something ;) .


and the bows and arrows that I made last summer. Lol, yeah.. Every time they have a task for me. This year they wanted me to make swords :D , so I did. Mom's dh has an every man's dream, a work shop with all the tools you can dream of. he has also plenty of materials for things, and when ever i feel like making something, he has everything I need.

Nader was helping me. He didn't have an electric machine btw.. just some sand paper on that plastic thingy.. And these are NOT crosses, they are swords! We made one for Ali too. Poor thingh had to stay home with mama..



They were playing the four musketeers lol.. All for one and one for all. I wish they would really understand it btw.. they're all quite selfish and don't want to share :D . I'm not sure i let them keep the swords though.. Depends if they know how to handle them without anyone getting hurt. they're not sharp btw :P .

Last year I had a task from mom too.. I knitted and crocheted new clothes for these puppets. Now half of the colours are gone..



After I finished the task of the year, it was time for me to relax.. I was just watching mom's beautiful garden, reading a good book in a swing with my coffee cup.. MashaAllah, so peaceful..


The day went too fast, just relaxing, eating, weeding some of mom's veggie beds.. Yeah.. she has so delicious veggies, all organic.. Means a lot of weeding..

It's quite therapeutic btw.. All the aggressions are taken care of after pulling out thousands of thistles, having hands full of spikes.. No, of course I don't wear cloves.. When you pick up thistle spikes from your hands you really feel alive ;) . I should do that more at home too lol.. my lawn has some thistles, but I just run on them with the cutter usually..

While I was weeding, the kids had been using the water colours. they messed up their room upstairs, some splashes of colour were found around the floor and walls :o. they also played indians and painted some stuff on each others faces.



All of us got quite dirty lol, so we went to the sauna to wash ourselves. I love mom's sauna, it's not electric like mine, it's heated with real wood. Feels totally different.



Soon it was time to put the kids to bed.. Laila and Deena slept in the bed on the right side, one at each end of the bed. Donjana slept on the sofa in the right side. You can see some of their water colour mess on the table..


Nader and I slept on the bed made of the upstairs living room sofa. It took some time to make the kids to fall asleep, especially Deena. Alhamdulilah finally They were all down. I could sit, relax and watch some football.. Mom and her husband were sleeping as well.

The other days went pretty much like the first day.. We started with breakfast. Even Nader could eat quite well.. He still has pain in his throat from the operation. He cried only when he saw me at the table. With mom he ate like nothing happened. :D I'm soooo gonna get him rid of that habit.

This is mom's downstairs living room btw..

Mom's nearest neighbor is a horse farm. it's about 300m away.. If you are a bird.. By walklking the road it's maybe 600meters away. I'm quite sure you can't see the little red house behind the field in the pic.. maybe if you click to grow it you can see it.


My kids love horses. they would love to take riding lessons too, but it's sooo €€€ here :( . InshaAllah later some day.


We had a really fun and relaxing time. Im pretty sure mom is not so relaxed though :D . InshaAllah she is resting now. She couldn't have a break from the kids lol..

So we said good bye and left. On the both sides of mom's private road there's so pretty flowers. I just had to stop one more time and take a pic :D . Not feeling like going home, but mom needs her own time with her dh.


InshaAllah we'll be going back in a month, when the berries are ready to be picked up :P