This is my family.  You can see my husband’s hand trying to block mine while our boy has managed to grab a handful of tickling material in his small fist – my husband is under attack and giggling away.

Actually, this is my family, 8 years ago.   It’s a cliche that we all exclaim at some point:  ”Where HAS the time gone?”   Well, I’ll tell you.  It folds and disappears into our children while we are not looking.  Whereas my husband and I still look about the same, except with a few more grey hairs, the boy has gone and transformed himself!   In fact, our boy is now a completely different person, even technically, with all his cells replaced by new ones.  His face has changed along with his personality.  He has outgrown some fears and acquired new ones.  His sense of humor is different.  Even his hair is now a very different colour.  It’s as if the little boy in the photos was a guest, who came for a lovely visit with tickles and laughter, and then left.  Once in a while, I miss him.   And sometime in the future, I’m sure I will look back and remember another guest, a ten year old, who came along, singing off-key and who played in our rooms, taught me many things and made me a better person.

by Arcadia, age 6

by Tennyson, age 8

by Bennett, age 7

by Maja, age 4

by Maja, age 4

by Nathaniel, age 5

by Isabella, age 6

by Jake, age 6

by Mhari, age 7

by Julian, age 8

Please note that I am fully booked with orders for the rest of 2013.  Really, I am. But don’t despair.  Never despair.  Just check out the Softiemaker Showcase, a directory of independent softie-makers around the world who offer the service of making soft toys from children’s drawings.