How to tell the parts of the world in forest

As we walked through the forest to our favourite spring for collecting some fresh drinking water, Mamma called us to the one of the trees, saying that she wanted to tell us something. She asked us to look closely at the bark of the tree all around, if we could notice anything. Upon examining the tree, we saw that one side of it is covered by moss. Mom then told us that all the trees grow moss on the northern side of their trunk to protect themselves from the cooler northern winds. Thus, the side with the moss on is facing the North - and from there, you can easily figure out the rest of the sides of the world - South, East and West.

It is helpful to know this quality of trees in case you get lost in woods, so you don't end up going in circles, while figuring your way out. It is also helpful for determining the direction of prayer. For example, if we know that in Latvia the direction of prayer is nearly Southwards (a little towards East), looking at moss on a tree can help us determine the approximate Qibla.

Hafsa's first artwork with acrylic paints

While watching M.A.D. arts and crafts presentations in Karachi, Hafsa always wished to have the acrylic paints that the presenter was working with for making perfect paintings. Well, her Dua got answered - Vecmamma gave her an artist's kit with acrylic paints and even a real canvas in it! So here is first Hafsa's own made wall painting on real canvas - it's hanging in Vecmamma's living-room.

It's time to travel again!

It's been two years since our last visit to Latvia, so it's time to travel again! Early in the morning on June 1st, we boarded Turkish Airlines flight for Istanbul, from where we would catch our connection to Riga, Latvia. We stepped into the plane with some worries in our heart and recited the traveling Dua, as all of us still very well remembered our last flight Istanbul-Karachi, which ended with an emergency landing (due to some electrical fault in the airplane), delaying our arrival to Karachi for whole 12 hours. At that time, after finally arriving to Karachi, Uzair swore that he would never fly again... :) but here we were again - on the plane, arriving to Latvia safe and sound. :)

This time around, Asma had her very own seat - she was feeling quite important. Propped up by two pillows, she even managed to watch a cartoon in the small screen, which was fit in the back of the front seat. It was her first experience of using a headset all by herself as well, which she considered a very serious activity. :) Although the ear-pieces kept on falling out of her tiny ears, we managed to keep them in place with a head-band.

  

A happy moment

When we heard HibaKidz (http://hibamagazine.com/hibakidz/) announcement about a photography contest featuring pets of kids, we were very sorry we couldn't participate, as we didn't have any pets. Later, however, HibaKidz allowed kids, who have no pets, to take photos of any other animals and send them in for the contest.

On the last day of submissions for the contest, we got rrrrrreallly lucky - Allah (swt) gave us the chance to participate! In the morning, our Mamma found in the back of our house an eagle!!! It seemed to be unable to fly. We couldn't see any obvious injuries on his body, so we gave him some water and let him be our guest.

As we looked at the eagle, we got the idea of taking photos of him and sending one in for the HibaKidz photography contest. And that's what we did! Here is the photo we sent in:

The one-liner we gave for the photo was as follows:
"What are you looking at? I'm not a pet - I'm a predator with shaaaaaarp claws!"

After sending in the photo, we were eagerly waiting for the results to be announced. Today was the big day and here are the results:

We are thankful to Allah (swt) for this success!!!

Mini-lady Asma

Lately, Asma has taken keen interest in all sorts of lotions and perfumes - she loves to smell nice. One day, Mamma was feeling that Asma has been gone for quite a while and searched the home for her. What she encountered upon finding Asma, was worth of a photography session. She had managed to get to Mamma's cabinet of lotions and beautified herself all over with the content of one of the jars!!!

Asma enjoying building games

Recently, Asma has been interested in all kinds of blocks/building games. She can keep herself busy on the carpet for quite a while, constructing her creations.

 

Hafsa's science project on HibaKidz site

Hafsa's science project (of growing her own salt crystals) got published on HibaKidz website! Check it out: http://hibamagazine.com/hibakidz/science-success-how-to-grow-your-own-salt-crystals/