madeline beth meets beth

last week madeline beth finally got to meet beth. i knew that if we dared to go back to perth without seeing her our lives would not be worth living - so off we went to meet her halfway at sizzler in carindale. 

as mentioned in previous posts, beth introduced doug and i all those years ago, and it's all because of her that we're here today... 

for that reason miss madeline was aptly named madeline beth ♥

doug and baby rohnan

we had a lovely lunch together, getting to know to know the two!! (wowsers!) babies beth had had since we saw her last, nimera and baby rohnan. i am a sucker for an adorable, cuddly little baby, so i snatched rohnan out of his pram the minute he woke up and proceeded to cuddle him for as long as possible. such a sweet, darling boy! beth really knows how to make good looking kids!

me and darling baby r - so snuggly

final farewell

our main reason for the trip to new zealand was to attend the unveiling of mama and papa's headstone. on friday morning we all went to the manakau memorial gardens and met with all of doug's family that had travelled from all over the world to be there 

doug's uncle sale spoke at the ceremony about families being together forever and even though i couldn't understand a word - i know that everyone around me could feel the beauty in what he was saying. doug's mum told me that the words on the top slab meant something along the lines of the words in the hymn 300 - families can be together forever... they pulled the tapa cloth off to show the headstones and that was it. a few hymns were sung, and again i didn't understand, but feeling it was enough.

it's been a whole year now since mama and papa passed away and as i said in previous posts it is tradition in the samoan culture that the family gather together as the headstone is unveiled. it is the last thing that we do for them, so it is a big deal, and being that i couldn't be at the funerals cause i was too far pregnant, we made a special effort to be there and most of all for maddie to be there with all the family that she'd not yet met. 

at the end of the ceremony balloons were released heavenward with messages attached for mama and papa. i have no doubt that the two of them sat with maddie before she came to us and got to know her - and again i take comfort in knowing that we are indeed part of a forever family and we will one day see them again.

maddie with her mama & papa 

♥♥♥

she's here!!

miss ella has arrived!!! couldn't even wait until i got back, ella katherine was born 21.05.2012 at 4:51pm, weighing in at a gigantic 7lbs 12ozs from my tiny friend lisa! (and three and a half weeks early at that!) the same lisa that we did the preggo shoot of less than two weeks ago, lucky we got it in!!!!

i am so bummed that i won't be seeing her until i get back but i am so glad everything went okay, a very sweet baby girl has safely arrived and lisa is going to be the best mommy!!

♥♥♥

hamilton

on december 9th 1977 my parents - with my two oldest brothers (who at the time were just 4 and 2!) finished a hugely long trek from perth all the way to hamilton to be sealed as a family for time and all eternity. i now appreciate this so much more - after flying from perth to brisbane, brisbane to auckland and then driving the hour and a half up to hamilton. it was a long way. even more so in the days when they had to drive across australia, then fly from sydney and then drive some more. back when cars didn't have air conditioning and money was tight. but they did it. they did it for our family. and i am so grateful that it hurts. i stood there in absolute wonder of my beautiful parents that put our family first - and managed it. it makes me feel like i didn't put in enough effort! for us the temple is not only a simple 10 minute drive away - but in the back yard of our chapel! i see it every sunday. one more thing to be grateful for!

it was for that reason that while we were in new zealand i felt like i had to take madeline to the temple. it may be the only opportunity that i have to take her to see the temple that my parents (and coincidentally doug's too!) were sealed in all those years ago. it was so special taking her around the grounds and telling her that.

we also had a look in the visitors centre while we were there - and when i sat madeline down on the bench in there - she just couldn't take her eyes off the christ statue. it was so sweet. i am sure it's cause she still remembers who he is, i mean it hasn't been that long after all.

i love to see the temple. regardless of how many times i see it, i still love it. i love to walk in the grounds and feel the sweet spirit within. i am so blessed to have the gospel in my life and to know that i am part of

a forever family

new zealand

last week doug, maddie and i went to new zealand! no jokes. it was touch and go for a while, but we managed to make it work and left last tuesday to spend the next 5 days with his family. believe it or not, it's been a year since doug's grandparents passed away, and as per samoan tradition, the unveiling of the headstone happened that week. we flew to queensland and spent the weekend there before flying out with his mum. maddie was very excited for her second plane ride, i have a feeling she wasn't too thrilled about the first one being the red eye from perth - i think she was just far too tired but this time she was gorgeous. we flew air china and it was great! movies, tv, music, food... and heaps of empty seats. definitely flying with them again!

our little girl had a sleep on the plane and then we propped her up in the spare seat in our row with the pillows. she had a great old time chatting with grandma oli as we flew on. it's so nice to see her with her queensland grandparents finally getting the chance to get to know them. it was nice for oli too while we were over there, maddie was overwhelmed a few times by all doug's little cousins all wanting to hold her at once and when she cried she would only go to me or her. i bet she loved it. ♥

we hired a car and stayed at a local hotel that was not only convenient but very reasonably priced. very helpful - considering the freaking price of fuel. omgsh. i could not believe it. insanity. but we did have a good time in our very short stay...

i dragged doug and his aunty off to one tree hill - i just could not help myself, after so many years of watching the show and knowing the there was actually somewhere called that in downtown auckland? it had to be done. without question.

it seemed all too soon that we were back at the airport with miss maddie ready to board our flight back to brisbane - i'll be sure to report in posts (soon!) about our adventures, but i couldn't resist posting these two adorable photos of her hamming it up for the camera right before we checked in... in the traditional new zealand buzzy bee ride and in the little airplane ride we found next to the mcdonalds playground. i am almost certain that she thought she could fly herself home if she tried hard enough.

more soon xx

reunited

it has been a very long time since i last saw this girl. since october 2009 to be exact. and i have missed her like crazy. i can't even explain how much. my gorgeous sister in law (one of 4 - this one is my husbands sister) niques. we have been reunited and have started our craziness all over again, it's like it never ended. i read somewhere once that the best friends we have in life are those that we can go years without seeing (or sometimes even speaking to), then pick things up exactly where we left off. we are one of those. i have barely stopped laughing since i got here.

it's also really special because it's the first time she has met miss madeline and i can report that i am pretty sure that she's in love. they are having an absolute blast together and she is loving her first niece. i have a feeling that i'm not going to want to leave when our time here is up.

♥

mothers day

mothers day this year was very special for two reasons... 1. it was my first one ever! and 2. we got to spend it with doug's mum in qld for the first time in years. i know they are stoked to have us here with them and spend time with their precious grandbaby. i can barely get a cuddle in for myself! :) we gave oli a framed picture from our kai shoot (as seen above). my favourite one, i can't wait to have one framed for our wall when we get home.

me and little miss on mothers day at the in-laws. she looks so grown up here, how frightening. not too long now and she'll be one! i haven't gotten my present yet - doug says it's waiting back in perth for me - apparently it was either too big or too heavy to bring? something like that... sound exciting! i shall keep you all posted though.

my first mothers day was lovely, lots of cuddles from maddie and a beautiful family dinner. nothing too fancy, but time with family - and let's be honest, what could possibly be better than that?

10 months

this little munchkin is now ten months! i can barely believe it. she is so animated and so much fun. dad dad dad is what i hear most of the day while she crawls around the house getting into everything and making a general mess. but i don't mind cleaning up - it's what i do best. i love her huge eyes and the little dimple in her cheek when she grins at me. i live for her smiles. she loves her daddy more than anything and loves to see him come in the door, waiting very impatiently while he puts his things down and then swings her in the air. i so glad she came to live with us and love each day we spend together! ♥

preggo shoot!

apparently i can take photos too now! haha. last weekend my beautiful preggo friend lisa (see baby shower here) asked me if i would have a go at taking some pregnant shots of her, she is currently 8 months pregnant and looking amazing, so of course i obliged. i in no way claim to be a professional, but i was pretty pleased with the results... especially after her sister-in-law had finished editing some of them. so - the above is an edited one and the ones below - all unedited. she is gorgeous and looking like a goddess with her that preg belly she has going on... so much fun.

if at first you don't succeed...

try, try again

happy birthday poppy

yesterday was poppy steve's birthday - doug's dad. so after church while maddie was still all dressed up we took this photo and sent it through. what better birthday present could there possibly be?!

i have been so blessed scoring steve as a father-in-law, he is lots of fun and has a wacky sense of humour. i can't wait to see him this week and spend time with him. it's been far too long!

perfection

one + one = three

doug + jade = maddie

our perfect little girl

another photo from kai ♥