Famous & True Poem

Children Learn What They Live
by Dorothy Law Nolte


If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn.

If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight.

If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy.

If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty.

If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.

If a child lives with encouragement, he learns confidence.

If a child lives with praise, he learns to appreciate.

If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice.

If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith.

If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself.

If a child lives with acceptance and friendship,

He learns to find love in the world.

Child Abuse Prevention Month

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month (though it should be every month!)

This was posted by The Society Against Child Abuse:

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month

This Thursday, April 1, marks the beginning of Child Abuse Prevention Month when organizations and communities across the country will promote the importance of healthy child development and child abuse prevention. As one of the more than 3.5 million people who have chosen to support this mission and our organization, Prevent Child Abuse America and our flagship program, Healthy Families America, we offer our most sincere thanks for your commitment; we could not do our work without you. With April around the corner, we would like to share the following preview of messages to come over the next six weeks, highlighting the various ways you can get involved.

• Tomorrow (April 1) – Launch of an exciting new month-long fundraising challenge to help make an impact on families and children in communities nationwide.


• Week of April 5 – Next fundraising challenge message.


• Week of April 12 – Next installment of the fundraising campaign as well as re-introduction of the pinwheel-themed Facebook gift benefiting Prevent Child Abuse America, born from our national campaign, Pinwheels for Prevention^®. These are great to give as virtual birthday gifts or gifts at any time of year!


• Week of April 19 – Introduction of a new signature line of handcrafted pinwheel-themed sterling silver jewelry as well as the next installment of the national fundraising challenge.


• Week of April 26 – Final fundraising challenge message to make sure we end the campaign strong!


• Week of May 3 – Recap of all the great achievements you made possible in April!


• Week of May 10 – Launch of a new groundbreaking survey polling why members chose to join the Society Against Child Abuse, ways you may have supported our mission and your thoughts on how social media can positively impact real world social causes.

For Those of You With Small Children

For those of you with small children, our friend, Mark Wisher has written a new book called Don't Kiss The Prince.

Mark has been writing stories since he was 12-years-old. He was recently published in August 2009 and most of his work can be found on lulu.com, an online publishing site. In the future, he hopes to produce his own books and others. He runs under the publishing name MWI3. He started out writing at school, short stories to start with. Marks first story was about a worm from space, in which a lovely teacher gave him the chance to read to the whole class...and they loved it. After years of learning the doo's and donts of writing, he wrote another story called Sammy The Spider Travels The World. Mark has always been a keen reader of childrens books, and is a huge admirer of Rhald Dahl.

Find out if the curse of the mean witch Grizelda can ever be broken in Don't Kiss The Prince. Read it with your little ones! http://wisherponastar.webs.com/

Thanks Mark!

'Attach A Patch' Tutorial

Yesterday, Jeanne showed us how to make patches for our teddy tees. Today, she has put together Part II to show us how to attach our patches. I'm so excited to have these tutorials to share with you! Thanks again Jeanne!! Here is Part II - http://sites.google.com/site/wyrdbyrdsnest/attaching-patches

Enjoy All!

'Making A Patch' Tutorial

Hurray for Jeanne!!!

Jeanne is one of our Star Stitchers. She resides in sunny CA and frequently sends us ziplock bags full of beautiful patches she designs herself & stitches up. In the past, our designs were stitched directly onto the teddy tees with waste canvas (and if you've ever used it... you know it's not wonderful to work with). But recently, Jeanne has come up with a way that saves time by cutting out the waste canvas. Now we no longer have to baste edges, strain our eyes to find unevenly weaved holes, or fumble with 4" hoops, or the waste paper, in our tiny little work space. This allows us to get more patches done in less time so that we can stitch for more children! It is much more comfortable to do the stitching this way. And I believe it looks even nicer!

So, if you are interested in stitching with us or would like to learn how to make these patches, please visit Jeannes site and view her tutorial: http://sites.google.com/site/wyrdbyrdsnest/quirky-quistmas-twee/Home/making-patches While you're there, you can also check out her many designs and unique blackwork.

Thanks Je! Love, Me

The Passing Months

Forgive me friends, but it's been many months since my last post. We ARE still here though!

For those of you who don't know, my attention has been on my baby girl, Yvette, who is now almost 3. Sick with high fevers and seizures for the past year and a half, I think we are now close to a diagnosis. We're working with wonderful doctors (who have just run a gamut of tests) and we're patiently awaiting results. We should have the answers, and a plan, by her next apt Nov 3rd. I'll keep you posted.

We've had a few hospital stays. And on them, she was donated a couple of stuffed toys and a hand made, child-sized quilt. It made me think about what we are trying to do here. It also felt wonderful receiving something someone had put so much time and love into. I want to be a part of creating & giving that special personalized gift to another child as well.

I also saw how sad and scared she was, and how hugging her dolls from home gave her comfort. This comfort is needed by so many children out there and I wish we could share so much more.

HELP NEEDED

Among us are many children that are in desperate need of comfort and emotional support. Children who need to know someone has been thinking of them, and that someone has taken time out - especially for them. Our little stitching group would like to give these children something to hold onto through difficult times. So far, we have already been able to give new teddy bears to 50 loving & deserving kids (the pictures are also in my fb photo page - have a look!)

Currently we are working with a fabulous company that has very generously given us 50% OFF OF THE WHOLESALE PRICE for BEAUTIFUL 13" - GREAT QUALITY BEARS!!! Because of the awesome low price, we need to order a minimum of 50 bears at a time. So, in short, $4.20 is what is needed to make one child smile. If you are able, and would like to support our cause, any donation in any amount is very much appreciated.

We are a very strong group, but alone this has taken us much longer to do. Please help us to reach many more children, more quickly.

Thanks so much from our little flickr group (link and address are to the right!)

Love To All,
<3 donna