relief society christmas party: australian style

\we had our ward relief society christmas party tonight and it was a hit! i have been so lucky to have so many people who helped out and worked so hard for it to be a success. i wanted something a little different from the ordinary christmas decorations being that we are celebrating christmas in australia and it's hot! so i had my lovely mum bring some gum tree branches from the farm, which we placed up and down our tables. it looked incredible and smelled amazing too!

we were also able to borrow some white chair covers and red sashes from some sisters in the ward, which really allowed us to make things look elegant and festive.

we began the evening with my two councilors and then myself sharing a christmas tradition from our home. mine was that my father used to read the christmas story (luke 2:1-20) to us on christmas eve before we went to bed. i then had our bishop step in and read it to our sisters before sharing his testimony and leaving a christmas wish with us all. it was a lovely moment for us all as he's not been bishop for long and it gave him a chance to address most of our wards sisters at once.

we had three activities (a nativity embroidery, cookie decorating and a christmas version of pass the parcel) for the sisters to do on the evening in a round robin (15-20 minutes per station) and i could hear lots of laughter and fun as i walked around the building. i'll cover them in my next blog post which you can read here. 

we ended the evening with the introduction of our ward relief society program for 2018 "light our world" (full credit to the lovely heather taylor from the facebook group lds relief society presidencies for generously allowing us and others to use her beautiful handouts) enclosed in sweet journals we purchased for all of the sisters. see here for more details

we finished with the "light the world 2017" video a closing prayer and supper. (we had all of our sisters bring a favourite treat to share and there was plenty to go around!)

drinks were water with frozen strawberries and mint, and a fruit punch.

it was such a wonderful night. i am so lucky to be serving in relief society and for the joy it brings to me and others. 

merry christmas to all... and to all a good night! ♥

2018: a year to shine

i have spent the last few weeks putting together these journals to be handed out at our relief society christmas party this thursday... i am a member of a facebook group called "lds relief society presidencies" and about a month ago, one of the members shared these amazing printables that they had used this year, to continue the "light the world" program all year long. she had posted them with the hopes that they would benefit other ward relief societies around the world... and they are certainly going to do just that for us! we took the printables and went one step further to create something awesome!

i started with these journals from kmart australia (just $2 each!) then printed all 13 of her printables (one for each month, plus a year at a glance page) and put them staggered along the edge into the pages to be used throughout the year.

here's a little bit of my spiel that i'll be delivering along with the journals:

"We have made the coming year as easy as possible for you sisters by making these diaries for your use throughout 2018. The light the world program was designed to allow us to become closer to Christ and we as a presidency felt it important to continue the “light the world” program throughout the year. Here you will find ways to light OUR world. There are topics (eg: September is: Jesus honoured his parents and so can you) to be focused on each month. There is a brief description of each, followed by ways that you can participate. These are easy things, things that you can incorporate into your days without too much trouble. Please take the time to become familiar with them, read the topics, think about what they meant to you… because we will refer to them often throughout the year.

With the curriculum changes happening as of January 2018, the first Sunday will now consist of a discussion, lead by a member of the presidency. When there is not a local or national need for something else to be discussed, this topic will be the one mentioned in your diaries. If you are familiar with it beforehand, you will find it much easier to participate.

Please use your diaries, they have been made with love for you all and hope you will use them, reading each months topic often. There is also an additional 9 blank pages in the back for you record your experiences throughout the year, as you participate in the “light our world” program. 

As Visiting Teaching has also changed, there will no longer be a prepared message from the ensign for you to use each month when visiting. The new idea is to simply “do what she needs.”

Sister Bingham, Relief Society General President told the Church News, “We want to help sisters understand how to really care for and strengthen each sister.” “The Church handbook doesn’t talk about our responsibilities to teach a lesson. It talks about how ‘visiting teachers sincerely come to know and love each sister, help her strengthen her faith and give service. Visiting teachers seek personal inspiration to know how to respond to the spiritual and temporal needs of each sister they are assigned to visit.” The changes are meant to help visiting teachers look beyond a universal prepared message and figure out what the sister they visit personally needs. “What are we supposed to do?” asked Sister Sharon Eubank, First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency. 

“Do what she needs.”

For those of you who enjoy leaving a spiritual thought, you may also use the monthly “light our world” thoughts. Encourage the sisters you visit to become familiar with their journal, to participate along with us and to be an active participant of our ward relief society.

Remember as it says on the cover, 2018 is a year to shine. Shine with the light of the gospel and make it the best year yet."

thank you thank you thank you to the amazing heather taylor, who shared her idea and printables with the rs presidencies page. we are super grateful and absolutely love them, as we are sure the sisters in our ward will too! printables are available here. i am so grateful for the church and the sisters who share their ideas to help others!

a special sealing

best. day. ever.

yesterday our friends were sealed as a family. it was the most amazing day, with so much love in that room. i felt so blessed to be in there and share that moment with them. we took a lot of beautiful pics, but this watercolour will have to do... as it's a day i don't ever want to forget.

thanksgiving 2017

there are so many things in life to be thankful for... so people can question all they want why we are celebrating thanksgiving here in australia while it's hot outside and definitely not winter, but each year we have thanksgiving with the pinker family and love every minute.

after dinner, we go around the table and each person tells everyone else what they are thankful for. i was particularly thrilled this year for my very un-gushy husband to say he was thankful for me! i personally am grateful for friends that are family! i also said openly, that no matter how badly i miss my grandfather joseph, i am so grateful that through him passing away, we met the pinker family. i needed someone to play the piano for me when i sang at his funeral, someone suggested i call the stake organist, which was taui... and here we are, 10 years later!

doug and i loving thanksgiving dinner!

my pumpkin pie which i sadly didn't get to eat any of this year... i didn't want to punish everyone by making it gluten and dairy free

and taui's pav, there is a piece missing because he made me a df piece. what a gem. i was into that faster than he could cut the rest. 

and the traditional thanksgiving selfire. aren't we an attractive bunch?

happy thanksgiving everyone! i know i certainly have plenty to be thankful for ♥

bloom into beauty

my friend melinda is the young womens president in their ward and last week she called and asked if i had any flowers that they could use to decorate for their young womens in excellence evening. we had a good laugh (i have more than just flowers and she knew it) then made a list of things that we could use to pretty up the place. 

earlier this evening we decorated to make their room look like they were having a garden party... and then as an added bonus, i got to stay and enjoy the evening! all of the young women got up one by one and briefly shared what they had worked on for their personal progress throughout the year. it was so fun to watch them speak of their achievements and i really enjoyed being there.

plus they received a little pot of flowers with this gorgeous handout attached to take home. so cute! (i am totally filing these ideas away for future reference, just in case i ever end up in young womens again one day...)

mel spoke last and amongst her comments directed at the girls she read this beautiful quote from jeffrey r. holland:
 "I want you to be proud you are a woman. I want you to feel the reality of what that means, to know who you truly are. You are literally a spirit daughter of heavenly parents with a divine nature and an eternal destiny. That surpassing truth should be fixed deep in your soul and be fundamental to every decision you make as you grow into mature womanhood. There could never be a greater authentication of your dignity, your worth, your privileges, and your promise. Your Father in Heaven knows your name and knows your circumstance. He hears your prayers. He knows your hopes and dreams, including your fears and frustrations. And He knows what you can become through faith in Him. Because of this divine heritage you, along with all of your spiritual sisters and brothers, have full equality in His sight and are empowered through obedience to become a rightful heir in His eternal kingdom, an “[heir] of God, and joint-[heir] with Christ.” Seek to comprehend the significance of these doctrines. Everything Christ taught He taught to women as well as men. Indeed, in the restored light of the gospel of Jesus Christ, a woman, including a young woman, occupies a majesty all her own in the divine design of the Creator."

it is the most wonderful talk, if you have a chance to read the whole thing, please do! you can find it here. 

♥♥♥

primary presentation 2017

once a year, the primary children (4-12 years old) take over the main meeting at church and speak about what they have learned during the year and sing the songs they have been taught. this years one was held yesterday. it is the cutest thing and as much as i am sure anyone who doesn't have children or grandchildren in it wants to bang their head against the wall, i genuinely gained an appreciation for it the year i was the primary music leader in dianella ward. after teaching the kids the songs all year, i was keen as mustard to watch them perform! then my madeline was old enough... and now i'm hooked i guess. next year joseph will be in there too. fun times!

maddie did great, got up there and busted out her one line "we are blessed when we follow the prophets counsel" without batting an eyelid. thank goodness! a wonderful improvement in comparison to years gone by. ♥

grandma kendall and madeline had a great time taking this picture, oli turned up to church with the exact same dress (in an adult version) as maddie. oh did we laugh! i totally posted it online with the caption "when grandma tries to steal your thunder and turns up to church on primary presentation day in the same outfit as you."

these kids are amazing. sometimes these two yell at each other. sometimes they hit and throw things and take things just to annoy the other one. but sometimes they love each other madly. and today was one of those days. while madeline sat out the front during the primary presentation, joseph kept turning to me and saying i want to go and sit with madddddddie! then she would look in our direction, grin and give a discreet wave and his little (good) arm would pop up into the air, waving madly at her to say hello. i am so glad they are friends... some of the time.

i don't know how impressed this kid was about being buttoned into a shirt and vest with a sling on, but we succeeded and made it through the day.

plus in todays news... it is off! after a visit to princess margaret hospital a week after his arm as broken, it was decided that the sling they gave him wasn't enough to keep the arm immobile enough to heal, so the dr gave him one that was ziptied to hang in the optimal position. he hated it and constantly asked for it off. there was no play equipment, trampolines or water for the last 4 weeks and i know he is thrilled it's off. we were having to stand him in the bath and wash him with a wet flannel, then tip his head as far forward as we could in the laundry sink to wash his hair. :( thank goodness that's over. he's being a little funny about anyone looking at it and still wants to keep it inside his shirt and bent, but i am sure he'll be right as rain in a few days. the best news from the dr was, that no matter what he does now, it will heal perfectly, as the arm naturally falls to where it should be and in 1, 3, 10 years time, if for any reason he needs to have an x-ray, you would never even know it had been broken. yay! let's hope the years to come with this kid are accident free!

family ties

cousins are the first friends we have has children... may i introduce you to mine? my cousin renee. we are 9 months apart in age ♥

twice or so a year, we get together with our cousins (and kids) from mums side of the family and meet up in kings park for a play and a picnic. it is hilarious seeing the next generation hanging out... and it's lovely to be able to spend that time with my cousins. we were so close as kids and it's nice to have time set aside for family

poor joseph couldn't get into it as much as he would have liked, with his arm still hitched up in a sling, but he still enjoyed himself. two more days until his hospital appointment, fingers crossed it comes off!

doug and his girl having a cuddle

the next generation of "marshall" kids - minus a lot haha

joseph and madeline (mine and dougs), taelor and isaac (jaydon and jenna's) and koby (renee and chris's)

and these two girls. i love watching them hang out. they are so keen to be friends... maybe we'll have to do it more often, bunbury isn't that far away after all!

christmas gifts from winter woodworking

further to my last post, i swear i am going to be organised this christmas. so much so, that i ordered my brothers christmas gists last week too! they are getting personalised wooden christmas decorations, made by our friend who owns a home business called winter woodworking. he is so clever and i have to admit, nearly every time he posts something new on his page, i feel like i need to buy whatever it is haha. thankfully none of the boys read my blog, so here is a sneak preview of their decorations. so happy with how they turned out. mr winter, you are amazing! 

an organised mum

a couple of weeks ago, i was browsing facebook and came across these adorable candy cane sleeves from giggles party design. 30 sleeves, four different designs, personalised with your childs name, posted... all for $15. where do i sign? i had madeline choose some candy canes the next time we were in kmart (is it a surprise to anyone that she chose rainbow ones? really?) they arrived last week and they are now sitting in a bag in the cupboard ready to go. they worked out to be 60c a piece which i am more than happy with. i am hoping this is the year i am super organised and ready for christmas well in advance so i can actually enjoy the season. here's hoping!

my little pony: the movie

we checked out my little pony: the movie this afternoon with some friends. the movie was okay, the kids were not... i was about ready to resign as a mum. joseph is not doing so well being restricted in his sling (which has been upgraded to something he can't move about in and it's driving him crazy) and hence he's driving me crazy! he waltzed about the cinema here and there and decided at one point he didn't even want to watch the movie... while madeline wouldn't stay in one seat - and let's just say i didn't see a lot of the movie. it seemed nice, lots of bright colours, cute songs and... well, i guess we will be watching it on dvd on day so i can see what actually happened. 

oh being a mum is hard. i am hoping one day it pays off and as they grow up i'll feel like my hard work paid off. but, here's a picture of the girls looking all sweet and innocent (while joseph flat out refused to be in it...) to make it look like we had a good time. 

a day with the girls

friday was a girls (and joseph) day out and about. we hit up a few opshops and found some excellent pieces. i was pretty happy right there... but the afternoon was even better as i had my first visit to lily and the angel in alfred cove. it's a quirky little cafe full of vintage treasures, excellent treats (vegan, gf...) cups of whatever you like and a rack of preloved clothes. what could be better? i found myself a gorgeous dress which mum insisted on paying for, turns out it was so she could take it home. hmmmmm i had better get a turn!

my orange cake and soy hot choc. yummo!

the front of the store is houses a florist as well, so there are lots of lovely flowers surrounding you as you eat and drink and enjoy a chat with the owner who is just gorgeous. i'll definitely be stopping in again next time i'm on my way to fremantle... put it on your list!

pp girls mini disco

these five girls are the funniest. a few days ago i watched them bop around singing at the top of their lungs in our theatre room whilst listening to the mini disco playlist i'd thrown together at midnight the day before. 

long story short, one of them was sick when the school disco was on. the other four went and i snapped a pic of them looking chuffed to be there and hanging out together and posted it on my instagram. her mum saw it, she saw it... and she was devastated that she missed the party.

i couldn't let that happen, so an idea was born to make the pp girls mini disco! it was pretty easy... a few sets of fancy lights strung up about the place, some boppy music streaming onto the screen via apple tv, snacks and a few kids! they had the best time - and us mums had a pretty good time chilling out in the kitchen too. maybe something we will have to revisit... we have such a good bunch of kids here - and some pretty excellent mum friends. ♥