Alhamdulillah!

Finally my little one is here! We had a beautiful baby girl, Haniah (Pleasant in Arabic). She was born on September 20th, the 12th of Shawwal.

Alhamdulillah she and I are doing well. JazakAllahu Khairan to everyone who made du'a, please continue to remember us in your du'as!

So MashaAllah now she's 2 weeks and a few days old and our love for her just grows...

SubhanAllah I can't get over how she was inside of me growing from litterly nothing...Allah is truley the Almighty! Motherhood is going pretty well so far mashaAllah..that's probably because I'm at my mum's lol. I know it's not going to be easy and it wasn't easy bringing her into the world but seeing her cute little face (mashaAllah) is all worth it. Besides, it's another step in life and there are more to come.

May Allah (swt) make our children the coolness of our eyes and amongst those that He loves and favours in this world and the next.

the end is near

We're in the last part of Ramadhan, with only 6 days left. As exciting it is when Ramadhan was about to start and with Eid at the end, the ending of Ramadhan is hard to accept without being sad. We all know it starts off slow but then it goes like a fast breeze of wind. It's the only time of the year where there's so much worship and remembrance of Allah (swt) being done that it fills the air around us with Sakinah. In the last days we exert ourselves and beg our Creator for His forgiveness and more. We've tried to overcome our desires during this Blessed Month. Becoming closer to Allah (swt) and changing ourselves for His sake is what our life's goal is, inshaAllah we will succeed in that, in it's least bit if anything, during this month so far.

I still can't believe Ramadhan is almost over...

Please remember my family and I in your humble du'as in these last few days we have left!
And forgive me for my shortcoming and anything I've done to you knowingly or unknowingly!

I'm also 37 weeks and soon to be 38 weeks in pregnancy, the waiting is driving us nuts already! Well, whenever it is time for the baby to come, InshaAllah it'll be an easy, fast, healthy and normal labour with the end result being that my baby and I are healthy, strong & beautiful (physically, mentally and spiritually) as can be! This goes for all the expectant mommies out there!

Oh what a blessing and truly marvelous miracle pregnancy is, SubhanAllah. I'm going to miss it as well. They say the excitement for the first baby is unlike any other...inshaAllah the others in the future will be just as amazing an experience as this has been so far :) I feel so fortunate to be a woman to have the privilege to carry such a miracle and great sign of Allah (swt), the Creator of the heavens and the earth, all that is in between and all that we know and do now know, and of everything that there is including, time and space itself. SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah, wa la ilaha illAllah wa-Allahu akbar! (Glory be to God, All praise be to God, there is no god but Allah, and Allah is the Greatest!)

It's COMING!

It's coming!!!!!

I can't wait, been waiting so long, I'm so excited to finally meet you, and there's only a little while left!!

I can't wait for Ramadhan and my beautiful baby to finally come into this world inshaAllah!

First it'll be the most glorious of all months, Ramadhan then soon after this blessed month my baby's due date will be even closer and I'll finally get to meet it too inshaAllah!

It's such an exciting time alhamdulillah.

During Ramadhan there's so much Barakah (blessings) and so much Rahma (mercy) being showered down that inshaAllah it'll be the time were we can become closer to our Creator in every possible way. There's still a short while till Ramadhan, so may Allah (swt) grant us this blessed month that's coming upon us soon. Not all get too. Some pass away (as I type) right before Ramadhan even comes in! We need it for our poor souls and our hearts, we need it bad. We need the shayateen all locked up, the doors of hell closed and the doors of Jannah open! We need the mercy and blessings of Ramadhan to replenish our Ruh (souls), purify our hearts, and squash our nafs (base-self) inshaAllah!

May Allah (swt) grant us all this blessed month and accept all our good deeds, fasts, worship and du'as!

Then soon afterward the time for my baby to come to this world will be ever so close. The excitement, nervousness, and all these other feelings is indescribable right now. I'm 34 weeks alhamdulillah and it's like the clock is ticking louder and louder...

With all the symptoms of pregnancy coming, going or getting worse, it doesn't really matter so much because I can't wait for the end result of it all. Sure, it won't be all rainbows and glitter, but what's life for a couple without the blessing of a child?

SubhanAllah...

InshaAllah the baby comes at the right time, not too early and not too late! InshaAllah it comes healthy as can be and as easily as can be!!!

PLEASE remember us in your du'as during the blessed month of Ramadhan, especially while fasting!!

Everything's ready but I still feel like there's so much to do! I have so much cleaning and preparing to do...I guess it's that 'nesting phase' that I'm going through now lol

Oh and how's the new look of the blog? Thought it needed a change...I'm still playing around with it so we'll see what it comes down to finally.

I'm also very sorry I haven't been updating! After my last post I got very busy with preparing exams and whatnot for our Evening Islamic classes at the Masjid. Then right after that, at 27 weeks I went to T.O and had a LOT of fun there. We drove back from there a few weeks later, don't worry we took it slow and came in 4 days. Alhamdulillah everything went well. I'll have to post some pics of our trip inshaAllah.

Then I had a few appointments and some more baby shopping to do. We just finished it all this weekend so we don't need to run around in Ramadhan. It's also a very, very busy time for my husband, since he's the Imam here in Regina!

So that's my post for now. InshaAllah I'll try to update a few more times before the baby comes. And don't worry I'll post (a quick short one) when the baby comes inshaAllah.

Just remember us in your du'as!!!

Passed the Half Way Mark

Now this picture is from Regina...spring is finally here!

Alhamdulillah.

I'm 22 weeks and therefore more then halfway through my pregnancy. I was supposed to post at 20 weeks but that was the week of my ultrasound and I wanted to make sure everything was just perfect. Alhamdulillah it was. Seeing our baby moving around, cuddling against the placenta, stretching it's hands and kicking it's legs (in 3D!) was just overwhelmingly amazing and awesome, subhanAllah. The radiology place here that does ultrasounds also show in 3D and I'm so glad that they do, you get to see the details more clearly then the normal black and white images. The woman who was doing the ultrasound was super nice, showed us all the vital organs and gave us lots of pics to take home. I had to obviously wait for the report to go to my doctor and finally get her say on the health of the baby...that felt like ages. Soon as I knew that it was all good alhamdulillah, it was such a relief.

I just started my 6th month now, so that means I have like 4 months to go inshaAllah! All the mothers were telling me how fast it will go and to make the most of it. Well, it sure went fast! I feel like it was just a while ago that I found out I was expecting...subhanAllah. Now time's flying even faster with the summer just around the corner, our masjid activities getting busier and our evening madresah coming to a close for the year. Wow, I feel like there's so much still to do. Soon I'll be in TO inshaAllah for a little visit then there will be just a few weeks till Ramadhan and then the due date will be unbelievably closer!!! Then inshaAllah our family of two will be three...oh I can't wait!

So besides all that, the spring (and almost summer) weather feels great. Seeing everything turn green just makes you feel better from the inside, subhanAllah. It's all so dead looking in the winter and then Allah (subhanahu wa ta'alaa) brings the world around you back to life in the most beautiful way that there is no way one can deny His existence. I just love being able to open the windows, hear the birds, and feel the warm breezes. Now we just have to wait for the actual summer then the fun begins inshaAllah! BBQs, freezes, watermelon, popsicles, ice cream, home-made kulfi, pani puri (ok that's just a majorly big craving that I'm having), lying in the hammock (when we go to TO), getting wet by someone waving the water hose around, going to parks, etc, etc, etc are things I just love doing in the summer and InshaAllah I'll be able to do ALL and more when I go to TO this summer! Then next summer we can introduce it all to our baby inshaAllah...can't wait for that and many more years after that inshaAllah.

Please, please continue to remember us in your humble du'as, du'a is quite the powerful tool for the believers, subhanAllah.

Almost Half Way!!!

Unfortunately not it Regina yet...the buds on the trees are just starting to show

Well right now I'm 19 weeks Alhamdulillah! I'll be 20 weeks next week inshaAllah, so until then
PLEASE, PLEASE remember us in your du'as!! My next post will be then since it's the middle point (approx) of my pregnancy and it just makes more sense to do a nice long post then inshaAllah.

But please remember us in your du'as as much as you can!!

Time Sure Flies!

Wow SubhanAllah I feel like the last post I did wasn't so long ago and I was only 14 weeks then, now I'm 17! Time is really flying now... I remember in the earlier stages I was hoping for the weeks to go faster and now it seems like it is. I know that always happens to me around April every year, time seems to move so fast for some reason. Next thing you know it'll be June (and it'll be warmer)!

I've been reading up about the progress, went for a check-up a while ago & everything seems to be going well ALHAMDULILLAH. Just waiting for the next appointment so I can hear the baby's heartbeat again, it's such an amazing feeling that no words can describe it other then I guess, subhanaAllah. I always get a sense of relief and comfort hearing it and even more so when the doctor smiles and tells me the baby's doing great alhamdulillah. That just reminds me how much I love my doc- she's just awesome mashaAllah! May Allah (swt) reward her and bless her and her family with great success in both worlds!

I thought I would call her up everyday and bug her about every little thing that goes on, but alhamdulillah for the internet! Soon as I start feeling/experiencing something different I get the weekly progress of the baby in my inbox telling me it's a normal symptom. Then sometimes even before something new starts happening, I get an email telling me about it. Like, for this week I "might start snoring" which should be interesting if I do but I'm hoping I don't! These sites are so helpful and full of so much information for new mothers like me who would otherwise panic about everything. It's also great for fathers because some sites have special weekly info for dads only, and I know my husband likes it.

Other then that, we're just waiting for some signs of spring here in Regina. Well, at least the snow's 98% gone...unless tonight's 'flurries' decide to stick to the ground which would be very depressing indeed. Can't wait till the weather gets better and things start looking green and bright again...inshaAllah it's soon :)

It's Finally Here! Earth Hour 2010!

Like I've said many times before about Earth Hour, it seems small and fruitless, but it really isn't. It's about raising awareness and doing something that may seem useless to some but is actually the first step of action on a larger scale for many. I know for myself, it's done quite a bit and it has allowed me to really open my eyes to what's happening to this beautiful world of ours. As Muslims especially, we were supposed to do this a real long time ago.

It's a duty of ours as vicegerents on this world to protect and save the environment that we live in. We all know it's against Islam to waste all the resources that we have been blessed with. Whether it's water, food, electricity, money, etc we will be questioned by our Creator for all that we've used, consumed and wasted. The Scholars say that to show gratitude to Allah (swt) for His blessings is not just by saying shukr, but it is by using those blessings in the correct manner and not wasting it.

Turning off our lights for one hour today isn't what we as Muslims or even as human beings should only be doing, or doing it just for fun. Rather, it's the first step to taking more action to do what we should have been doing ages ago. InshaAllah with the right intention this will be a great means of reward for us and a time to reflect on our role as khalifahs (vicegerents). It can be a time of doing shukr to Allah (swt), reflecting on His marvelous creation, and even spending some quality time with our families.

Members of our families are sometimes too busy either watching T.V, sitting on the computer, cooking in the kitchen and being on the phone (texting included) with someone these days that they consider doing all that under one roof to be as spending time 'together'. Come on, we can do better then that and it can start today!

So let's get our candles out everyone!

Alhamdulillah- The 1st Trimester Over

Alhamdulillah I’m done my 1st trimester! Just knowing that is so exciting =D. Also, my nausea is starting to fade away (Alhamdulillah to that one!!) and I think I’m starting to finally show now. Well, it’s not much really but it’s something like a little bump! You know, even through all the unpleasant symptoms of pregnancy I still secretly enjoy them in a way...ok that may not make sense. Let me give you an example. Initially, I never felt the slightest bit of nausea, so I worried about it secretly then once I started too, it was like a relief! lol it sounds crazy but after I read that having nausea is something normal and actually good for the baby because of the hormonal changes that are happening in order to protect the baby, I thought, ‘Oh no!’ So, you can understand that when I did start feeling it in the mornings it was a sucky feeling but definitely a big relief!

There are still so many things going on right now, some symptoms are going away some increasing and some new ones! I guess it’s because this is where the baby really starts growing. The uterus expands, baby gets more meat on, ooh and I’ll start to feel some movement in a few weeks inshaAllah! Also, next month should be around the time when the ruh will be blown into the baby soo that will be something.. I heard that when that happens the baby will give a big kick to let its moma know that it’s alive now. Hmmm I’ll have to wait and see but it would be incredible to feel that and know that the ruh was just blown into the baby while it being inside of me!! SubhanAllah again.

Soon it will also be able to hear and react to sounds, I tried researching to find out when babies in the womb can actually start hearing but I got mixed information. Some say 20 weeks and some say from 15 weeks but basically scientists are not exactly sure when they are able to hear and also be able to remember those sounds. It’s just something I’m really curious about because as Muslims we’re encouraged to recite Qur’an and do dhikr as often as possible but it’s even more essential to do so during pregnancy. If today there is research proving to some extent that sounds that that baby hears in the womb actually do affect the baby and it’s development, it’s something to really think about. They suggest playing classical music like Mozart but what is the best sound in the world? It’s the recitation of the Words of Allah (swt), our Creator. Nothing can beat that now can it? SubhanAllah.

I think that’s enough for now, I’m still reading up on what happens at 14 weeks and generally what to expect in the 2nd trimester inshaAllah. With that said, please continue to remember my family and I in your du’as!

made of earth

Allah Almighty says:

“And verily we did create man from a product of (chosen) clay. Thereafter we placed him (as a drop of sperm) in a place of rest, firmly fixed. Then we made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood. Then of that clot we made a (foetus) lump. Then we made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh. Then we developed out of it another creature (by breathing life into it). So Blessed be Allah, the Best of all creators” (Surah al-Mu’minoon 23: 12-14).

Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said:

“The seed of one of you remains in the womb of the mother for forty days in the form of a Nutfa (sperm). Then it remains like a clot for another forty days, and then for a same number of days like a lump of flesh (when the formation of the limbs and the growth of the bones begin) (Sahih al-Bukhari & Sahih Muslim).

Reading these and knowing that it's happened/happening/will happen inside myself is beyond explanation. SubhanAllah. Just reading about the changes that my body is experiencing and how the baby is developing makes the entire experience of pregnancy so exciting to learn about and I just can't believe it's happening!! More then anything though, it just puts so much awe in the heart and mind for our Creator, Allah the Almighty and Glorious. SubhanAllah, it's so amazing and beyond anything man can ever create. At random times I just stop and think about how there's life growing inside me and it's so overwhelming, it's unbelievable! Allah (swt) is indeed 'Ahsanul Khaliqeen', the Best of all creators.

So finding out in January was one of the biggest joys of my life and for my husband as well. For us to go through this together is such a blessing in every way possible, alhamdulillah and mashaAllah. Our families are obviously thrilled, especially my family because I'm the eldest and therefore the first having a baby. My sisters are already planning on doing every type of spoiling they possibly can...so to my dear sisters, there will be rules laid down :p haha

I've nearly finished my first trimester and I can say that having nausea all day is definitely not fun. It's like having the stomach flu everyday! Oh and feeling very tired is an understatement, the tired feeling is like you've haven't slept for days and days and all you want to do is sleep more and more. These are just 2 of the symptoms of early pregnancy, 2 of very many I must add. But alhamdulillah it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, it went much better then I expected! Like they say, every pregnancy if different.

Anyways I'm starting to get some heart burn (another perk of pregnancy!) so I'll end it here for now. I just want to ask for everyone's du'as that Allah (swt) protects the baby and keeps it and myself healthy throughout this whole process inshaAllah. And that the child be born healthy, strong, beautiful physically, mentally and spiritually with Iman and Taqwa making him/her a salih child inshaAllah!

I know, I know..but I have some good NEWS

Okay, I said I was going to be posting more this year and now it's March and there hasn't been any postings. Hehe can I be forgiven? I have a perfectly good excuse though! It's because of it I've been sort of unable to sit and make posts for the blog but now I'm at the stage where I think I can be up to it again. I missed the blog a lot and I miss posting too.

So what's the big excuse then? Actually, before we get to that, let me say that I wasn't going to say it on this blog. I was thinking of making another blog for it. But then I thought of the name of the blog and I realized, hey, this is the blog to talk about it! I'm sure you've guessed it by now :)

If you haven't, I'll let you keep guessing!

Now I'm super excited to blog about this whole new experience (Alhamdulillah, MashaAllah) and all the ups and downs that go with it inshaAllah. Don't worry, I'll still post other things and I still haven't forgotten about the Marriage Series ;) I know people are still waiting for the 3rd part in that one.

Any guesses??

I'll wait for someone to comment and then I'll begin the posting inshaAllah!

Take care for now, and remember me in your du'as!

A New Year Brings New Promises!

So after going to Toronto again, my life here just gets more busy! Alhamdulillah I had the opportunity to attend the RIS conference this year and it went pretty well I think. Although I wouldn’t say it was of one of the best ones that they’ve had, but it was still fun.

Well besides that, I think I need to get on with my blog now. I will continue the next part of the ‘Seeking to Get Married’ series and I will add some posts that have been in the works for some time now, inshaAllah. I also have many, many pictures yet to share and I will get to those too inshaAllah. Until then, I hope the readers of this oh-so-sad blog will forgive my poor efforts of maintaining it. I shall again try to redeem myself and try my best-est to continue keeping it ALIVE.