A LIFE WORTH LIVING....: July 2012

Thursday, 26 July 2012

Most excellent news :-)

A blog post with some FABULOUS NEWS!!

http://shavingmyhairoff.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/unbelievable.html

We are so amazed at the generosity shown by people!

Total funds raised now stands at £280.00 with £ 79.00 pledged and more to come tomorrow...

There is going to be an online auction - got to plan a date for that and ask for a few more donations...

We have the opportunity to do a bag pack at Morrisons but need at least 15 people to help out in shifts. Trying to get that many people together on one day isn't that easy...

I have ideas for ways to do it but as yet not had time to put them into practice.

It seems on average people have made between £300 and £400.

It would be great if we could do two... One before she shaves her hair and one after...

I have had many ideas for the actual hair shaving event on the 12.12.12. So far non of the ideas have panned out as the people I have asked are unable to help for one reason or another. I have a very active imagination and some of the ideas would work but would require far more energy than I have to give. I have to keep the whole event within my limits whilst ensuring I don't give half measures - if that makes sense? Alan and I are fully committed to helping Milly raise the funds and make as much money as is possible for the two charities. I would hate to get to the end and wish I had done more or dreamed bigger....

There is going to be an *act* of some kind. Preferably Xmas related - we are hoping for a choir/group to perform. Milly and I are going to go round and ask local businesses for raffle prizes on the night and we aim to have some kind of food and drink to be sold...

Good job we have a good few months to get it all sorted!

This fundraising malarky is far from easy but days like today make it so worthwhile.

Monday, 16 July 2012

A new post about adding The little Princess Trust as another charity to raise money for.

http://shavingmyhairoff.blogspot.co.uk/

New link on the side bar.

Sunday, 15 July 2012

From Milly's blog

Lynn here :-))

We have been thinking of ideas to keep the blog updated and to get more people reading with the hope that will encourage people to donate and we can raise as much money as possible for Cancer research.

Milly wrote this on her JustGiving page

A few months ago I watched the film "My Sister's Keeper" About a girl with cancer, it touched me deeply, there was a bit were she was saying she was a freak for being bald and I thought about it and got to this, shaving my hair off for cancer research charity.

We are very aware that Milly is making a choice to loose her hair and that many people with Cancer don't have that choice.

As we share Milly's story of her fundraising efforts we thought it would be apt to hear from people who have been through / still going through Cancer to hear their story about the process of loosing their hair and how it affected them.

We don't mean to be insensitive.

Nor do we want to make light of the situation - unless of course that is part of your story and how you coped.

If you feel that you would be able to write your story and share it on here or I would love to hear from you.

If you know of someone who may feel able to please pass on this request.

You can write it and send it to me to be posted on the blog.

My email is bamberh@aol.com.

" Stay strong and shine on" <3

Firstly, an apology to those of you who are seeing this on the other pages I have posted this. I am trying to keep as many people as possible updated on the progress of fundraising and plans we have for the future :-)

Posted on Milly's face book page this morning..

Good Morning! Lynn here :) I have been deputized and will be adding updates on here alongside Milly :)

We are having regular planning sessions to discuss ideas and plans to hold an event on the day she has her hair shaved off are coming along. More on that as we have something concrete to report.

The fundraising pack has arrived and we are going to get the sponsorship forms photocopied and start by knocking on doors in the village and asking family and friends to sponsor Milly.

We hope that some family and friends will take a form and spread the word further by asking their friends and workmates to sponsor her. ♥

Justgiving total stands at £114.00 :-))

Saturday, 14 July 2012

A quick photo post as time is short and crochet awaits :-))

It has been a busy day with one thing and another...

Not long after we got up we had a visit from the lovely Amy who had tales to tell about her school trip to Germany...As I was making Milly her breakfast I added another egg and some bread and made Amy some eggy bread and beans too :-) They hung out for a while upstairs and then bounced for a while before asking if they could go in the paddling pool as it was so warm out. Whilst they walked back to Amy's so she could get changed Alan and I took the cover off , I sieved all the debris that had managed to get in and Alan blew up the big tyre for them. If the weather had been better in what has passed for Summer so far the pool would have warmed up a bit over the months it has been up

They went in for a while but the water was freezing!

As I got ready to go into town they were coming in to get warm :-)

The rest of the day was taken up with jobs and a trip into town for me.

I wanted to record a really lovely trip we took to Beamish a few weeks ago with Liz, Gary and the kids.

Charlie boy came too <3

Fish and chips in the old fashioned way..

Most Delicious and highly recommended :-))

Could be a long wait as they cook them but well worth it.

Camera shy Milly with El.

Milly and Catherine at School :-))

Handsome Charlie Boy <3

Galloper.

Ice creams.

Sarsaperilla Milly's new favourite drink.

Tram rides and Bus rides.

Oh and the reason Milly wants to visit again Shuggy boats :-))

Physically it was a big trip for me having traveled from home the day before.

I would normally have had a day to rest but I was so well looked after.

Liz and Gary both took cars so we could all fit in and I didn't have to drive all day..

When I got back Liz's Mum looked after me as by that time I was a bit like a limp rag :-))

A wonderful day with really wonderful people <3

Friday, 13 July 2012

Milly's blog now has a follow widget if you should wish to do so :-)

It will be fairly quiet until we receive the Cancer Trust fundraising pack with sponsorship forms in etc.

Once that comes we will be updating it regularly so you can follow the journey.

Milly's blog

Online donations - thanks to all who have donated so far - stand at £84.00!

Just giving page

More news anon :-))

Wednesday, 11 July 2012

My gorgeous, generous and very brave daughter :-))

My AMAZING daughter is going to shave of her hair for Cancer research!

She has set up a blog..

http://shavingmyhairoff.blogspot.co.uk/

and a facebook page..

https://www.facebook.com/ShavingMyHairOffForCancerResearch

and a just giving page...

http://www.justgiving.com/Milly-Bamber

I am sooo proud of her and would really appreciate if you could spread the word and - if you are able to - donate to help her raise money. <3

Monday, 9 July 2012

Boo!!

Still here, just pre occupied.

I have a new love.

I have found the joy that is Crochet :-))

I will be back with an update soon.

Life is good and moving along nicely..... if in a rather soggy fashion :-)

<3<3<3

This is me.....

There comes a time when you have to stand up and shout: This is me damn it! I look the way I look, think the way I think, feel the way I feel, love the way I love! I am a whole complex package. Take me... or leave me. Accept me - or walk away! Do not try to make me feel like less of a person, just because I don't fit your idea of who I should be and don't try to change me to fit your mold. If I need to change, I alone will make that decision.When you are strong enough to love yourself 100%, good and bad - you will be amazed at the opportunities that life presents you.” Stacey Charter.

Why we Home educate

( Slightly edited from a blog post I did when we started out) In the end the actual decision to take Emily out only took a matter of days but before that it had been around a year and a half of talking about ti and reading books, Free range education by Terri Dowty, Educating your child at home by Jane Lowe and Alan Thomas were two that had a real impact for different reasons. Free range education has lots of examples of real life home educators and I think I can say that it was this one that convinced me the most that we could do it. We are two very average people ,neither of us left school with many qualifications, we went on to do quite well in our chosen professions and had no need to think about the education system at all until Emily came along.

I knew about home education and when Emily was born considered it as an optionbut always felt my lack of education would be a problem and that I wouldn't be capable of providing her with what she would need.Looking back with hindsight it is easy to see how wrong I was!!

School never really suited Emily......After the nursery year at a very highly rated, high achieving school we knew that particular School wasn't for us and took her out. We enrolled her in a lovely village school with only 70 children in the whole school .The ethos of the school was totally different, the children didn't wear uniforms and there was much more emphasis on the children being individuals.The head was a sensitive and principled man who wanted the best for the children. We thought we had struck gold.Over the reception and year 1 Emily gained confidence and really started to bloom. It was at this time she was diagnosed with dyspraxia( we had had to go down the diagnosis route as our observations of Emily's difficulties were not enough to enable the teachers to tailor things so she was helped and given less work in class) but she managed quite well in the more relaxed play orientated early years.Year 2 with more emphasis on academic activities got progressively harder for her. She is very sensitive and it wasn't just the academic side it was the embarassment of having to put her hand up for the toilet,seeing others being told off and worrying in case she did something wrong and got the same treatment, panicking because she couldn't do the work and the teacher never had time to sit with her (alot of this did not come out until she had left school) her behaviour at home became worse and worse she was so angry and obviously stressed . At this time we began to seriously consider taking her out but held back because of my lack of confidence in my ability to provide her with an adequate education ,my health being so poor was also a major stumbling block.

Then in year three it became blatantly obvious that something needed to change .She was struggling on all levels and we couldn't allow the school system to damage our daughter anymore.She became ill with a bug that was doing the rounds and she was off for two weeks , during that time I had a conversation with a friend who home educates her two children and I was so upset I couldn't make a decision and she said just go with whats in your heart and that really helped me to shift my thinking and stop worrying about what I couldn't give her and focus on what I could give her.

We never sent her back.I still get emotional when I think of that time , the look on Emily's face when we told her she would never have to go back to school was priceless,the immense sense of relief that we were off the treadmill of school life and the excitement of the time ahead and to be honest the fear of the unknown......

So here we are four years on and a lot of reading and researching later I feel comfortable with what we are doing . The changes that have happened so far have been helped along the way by the many wonderful blogs out there.They are so varied and there are so many different approaches , I have found ones that I can identify with and have read a lot of archive material that has been written in each and found answers to so many of the questions I have had that they have helped me to sort out what will work best for us .As much as I wish we had done this earlier and saved Emily from the distress that she went through I do believe things happen for a reason and that the time was right for us to take her out and that looking on the bright side one of the benefits is that at least she has had a taste of school and now we all know without a doubt that it is not for us !!!!

It is very liberating to be making decisions based on what works best for us as a family and not what society expects.

Let your child be a child.

No child was ever spoiled by too much love.

Be authentic with your child.

Listen openly to your child’s needs.

Believe in your child’s good intentions.

Find the humour.

Look past the behaviour… what is your child feeling?

Have fun with your child today!

“There is no reason why we cannot say ‘No’ to children in just as kind a way as we say ‘Yes’.” - John Holt

“Play is really the work of childhood.” - Fred Rogers

“The best way to make children good is to make them happy.” - Oscar Wilde

Children thrive in a peaceful and loving environment.

A child needs love most when things go wrong.

Children reflect the treatment they receive.

A few qoutes I like....

Life shouldn't be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in, broadside, thouroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly shouting, 'WOW'.... Beth Moore

The perpetual testing of public school children is like a gardener constantly pulling his plants up by the roots to see if they are growing....(unknown)

Children require guidance and sympathy far more than instuction...Helen Kellers teacher

I hear and I forget I see and I remember I do and I understand...Confusious