what an honour!

well the day has come, miss madeline received her first honour certificate today at their junior school assembly. it was adorable, they don't tell the kids beforehand, so she went up to get it with a look of absolute joy on her face, she was thrilled beyond words. of course i am a proud mum over here too... especially seeing as her teacher miss hannah said something so lovely about her "being a kind and caring classmate who is always striving to bring the best out of herself and those around her!" wow. lucky miss hannah has never seen her at home! hahahaha.

we celebrated (shhh there's no need for her to know that it was already planned) with the pinker girls this evening watching mamma mia 2 at the cinema. maddie and i love the first one and we have watched it over and over (and listened to the soundtrack in the car a million times) so it was a perfect movie to take her to. we loved it. i especially thought the younger cast were amazing, i feel like they got it so perfectly spot on when they chose the actors. it's just lovely. cheesy, but great. a definite must see if you like musicals!

aladdin the musical

last night was amaaaaaazing! i can honestly say that probably my all time favourite movie is the walt disney cartoon aladdin. i love it so much. the story, the songs, aladdin himself (i mean seriously, what little girl wasn't in love with him haha), the marketplace, the outfits... i just love it all so much. the first movie i can remember seeing at the cinema is actually aladdin, mum took isaac and i with our cousins renee and jaydon during the school holidays when i was a kid. so imagine if you will, my absolute delight when i opened a christmas gift from doug to find not only the aladdin musical soundtrack, but tickets to the musical for the week after it opened in perth! so chuffed. so i waited and waited and waited some more, for 7 whole months, until the time came for us to go and watch it.

and it was so worth the wait! the sets were amazing (i would expect nothing less from disney), the storyline wasn't ruined through stage adaption (always a plus) and the additional songs were gorgeous!

i just loved everything about it! i felt like the luckiest girl alive as i watched it all come to life before me.

disney, you have done it again. you are amazing!

♥

tax returns

oh my goodness, look who is getting a tax return, and i don't even have a job! yes i know it's random, but i own shares that i purchased pre-tax while working at invocare... which i receive dividends from every 6 months. these dividends are taxed at a rate which assumes i am working full time, which obviously i am not... so i get it all back... a whole $41 worth. i'll be off opshopping with that when it comes in for sure!

i used the mygov etax system, which i highly recommend. it is so easy to use, pre-fills most of the information for you and i had mine and dougs complete in probably 15 minutes. so much easier and cheaper than paying someone to do it. i'm stoked. plus it was only last week... and looks like they'll be in any day now. yay!

fresh hair

can i just take a moment here to show off this delicious child that i made? we've just been for a haircut, through which he sat as still as anything, didn't complain once and was as good as gold. he looks so cute and so grownup and i could just eat him up. i know being a mum, i'm biased, but i can never get over just how perfect his skin is and how blue his eyes are... i'm a little obsessed. let's hope the next one is just as cute!! ♥

we love babs! ❤️

if you don't know that my mum is amazing and my favourite person in the world, then you don't know me at all. she is seriously the best. she can cook, sew, do pretty much anything art wise (whereas i don't seem to have an artistic bone in my body) and seems to know everything. i believe that's a mum thing, but i'm still waiting for that to happen over here...

the thing i love the most though, is her endless patience with my kids. some days i feel like i absolutely want to strangle them, but she just keeps her cool and watches them play and plays with them for hours, never getting frustrated. what a winner.

for example, this cake. she decorated it with the kids and they all loved it. they could put anything they wanted, anywhere they wanted, she just laughed along with them and to be honest, it looked (and tasted!) amazing!

cutting the cake with nanna. my two favourite girls! ♥

happy birthday mum. we love you so much!

a gold class party for maddie

there have been many childrens parties that i have put a lot of effort into... we've had paris, milk and cookies, princesses, my little pony, pineapples and moana for madeline, we've had dinosaurs, cars and planes for joseph... and this year i just wanted something small and simple. i didn't want to be baking all day and night and setting up until the early hours of the morning... so i went with something easy, but fun! 

a "gold class" party!

we bought this house, complete with a lovely fully decked out theatre room... a screen that spans almost an entire wall, projector, surround sound... and recliners. so what could be more prefect?!

our guests arrived and collected their bottle of water, tub of popcorn (empty yoghurt containers with microwave popcorn), tube of mini m&ms and a small container of starburst lollies.

then we settled in after much giggling, to watch our feature film...

disney zombies! it's the newest disney channel original movie, complete with singing and dancing (because lets be honest, it wouldn't be disney without it!) the girls loved it and sang and danced their little hearts out. perfect!

after the movie, we moved into the dining room for pizza and lemonade... also easy

and cake! aunty jenny was given the year off this year... as we decided on a simple gold star theme - and this mini cake from woolworths was perfect! just $7 and cut beautifully in to 8 pieces for our 8 kids. plus, in the middle were more of the gold balls as a cool surprise. the kids loved it!

all set up and ready to go, gold star decs left over from isabels first birthday party... gold polka dot plates, cups, napkins also left overs, but available at red dot. so cute and just right for the theme!

our birthday girl! ♥

hanging with her mates from school and church... they are such a cute little bunch and had the best time. it was definitely a good choice for a party!

happy birthday miss maddie! ♥

birthday ballet outing

yesterday (which was madeline's actual birthday) she and joseph had to come to a midwife appointment with me. they were so well behaved and i was stoked... so afterwards we went to sherbert bakeshop and cafe for a treat

i love it when these two love each other. it's my favourite... i just wish it happened more often! this photo says it all though, it's times like this that make being a mum totally worth it.

it's someone's birthday somewhere? that someone is meeeeee!

after the cafe, we drove a little way up the road to turn around, and used the west australian ballet centre carpark. it was then i had the most wonderful idea. my friend taui works at the ballet centre and should be at work at that time... so i made a call, hoping he was available. to my absolute delight he was, and madeline got the best birthday present of all time, a private hour long tour of the west australian ballet!

we went into all the studios, where madeline was able to dance to her hearts content... not once did taui rush her, he was more than happy for her to dance her heart out and insisted his work could wait, as nothing was more important than madeline's birthday. what a love!

we even got to have a peek into the studio where all the costumes are made!! madeline was in ballet heaven. what a lucky, lucky girl!

posing with uncle taui before going home.

what an amazing gift. i absolutely cannot believe how lucky our girl is! it has just renewed her ballet obsession that much more and she is bursting with joy, telling everyone that it was the best birthday present (and best birthday!!) ever. oh it's great to be seven!

♥

i have no doubt this feisty little redhead is going places! 

madeline is seven

miss madeline turned seven today. i cannot believe that i have managed to keep a small human alive that long! but somehow we have managed. she is smiley, happy, super smart and unbelievably headstrong. i mean, no one is ever going to tell her what to do, including her parents, which is a daily trial for us... but we will get there! i am praying that she's trying to establish herself as boss of the house before the baby arrives and that once he arrives, she'll realise i need her help and calm down.

top of her birthday wish list was a new "our generation" doll and she squealed in delight when she opened this one we managed to find, who came complete with a ballerina outfit, spare dance clothes and a pile of accessories. thank you kmart!

another year down... one happy girl in the house. i can't believe that this time next year, we'll be celebrating with her baptism! ♥

28 weeks

grow baby grow!

just for those following along at home... baby k is 28 weeks along today, everything is going well, still feeling good and my little bump is growing steadily. it's all very exciting... not too long to go now!

school holiday “fun”

the kids and i took off to mums for a couple of days... well, joseph and madeline had a sleep over by themselves one night, the i followed the next day. we were having a great old time until friday morning when this little muppet crawled into bed with me proclaiming that he "needed a bucket!" oh hell. we raced into the bathroom just in time for him to empty his stomach... rank. obviously i thought our plans for the day were going out the window, but he proceeded to fall asleep and stay that way until well after lunch under the watchful eye of grandad, while mum, madeline and i had a quick trip to york to check out the bargains at the salvation army jumble sale. thank goodness for grandparents!

(clackline in the winter, the prettiest place there is!)

eventually he perked up enough to start asking for dad and home, so we loaded him into the car with a bucket and a blanket to drive home, which happened without any further drama. phew! 

plus, our opshop buy of the week pictured here... madeline in her beautiful ballerina dress that we picked up for just $5! she has been dancing around the house in it and is completely obsessed... she already has it earmarked for next years disney on ice. what a crack up - oh well, 11 months to go!

apia waterfront project

a few months back i received an email from a lady who works for a government development department in apia, samoa, where my husband was born. she was writing to ask my permission to use a photograph she had found on my blog (here) for a sign on the waterfront in downtown apia. oh my goodness was i thrilled to pieces! we had such an amazing time there and i took so so many photos and blogged about every single thing we did, so i was beyond happy to share it. i responded with a gleeful yes and a request that perhaps she might be able to show me the completed sign sometime in the future... 

so imagine my delight when last week i had a reply, complete with a detailed picture of the sign (my picture is of the catholic cathedral top left) and a picture of the sign in real life on the waterfront. i'm so proud... one of my pictures on display in downtown apia. yay!

let us oft speak kind words: a relief society first sunday council

LET US OFT SPEAK KIND WORDS

The adult human body is 60% water, the brain is 73% water. So keep that in mind while you watch this video... (what is rice cooked in? water!) harsh or kind words will have an effect on our bodies over time!

Have we thought of the effects our words have on others? 

Words have been found to affect water crystals. Japanese researcher and healer, Dr. Masaru Emoto, conducted experiments on water molecules. These experiments showed human thoughts and intentions can physically alter the molecular structure of water. Specifically, the water crystals were altered simply through conscious intention.

Water from bottles labeled with positive messages had intricate structures and diamond-like reflectiveness when frozen and magnified. Water labeled with negative words had collapsed structures with yellow edges when frozen.

Dr. Emoto demonstrated that words have a vibration and will actually alter the structure of water crystals. He found that uplifting, positive, and encouraging words created beautiful, balanced and symmetric crystals. Destructive, hateful and evil words had the opposite affect on the water crystals. The visual evidence is breathtaking.

We use the transformational power of words every day. You control this incredible force because your thoughts become your words. You are the master of your ship, guiding it to safe lands of prosperity, abundance, happiness, and freedom. Choose your words wisely and be the agent of positive change in a world that desperately needs you.

Using words is a major key to the effect we have on others. It is implemented into everything, boldly and subtly, in our daily lives. We must believe in the power of words. As we consistently hear hopeful and uplifting words, their influence brings hope and joy to our thoughts. By changing the words we think, speak, act, write, listen, read, and wear, we can improve ourselves and others. (Source: https://www.samson.life/blog/effect-words-water)

How do you feel when someone is unkind to you?

How does it feel to be constantly belittled by someone over a long period of time?

How do you feel when you’ve been unkind to someone?

Johnny Lingo - Mahana became a beauty when she was told she was beautiful. For those who aren't familiar with the story, you can watch it here.

mahana whilst she believed she was ugly and useless 

Our words and actions must uplift – not tear down

One thing we often tend to overlook is the power in our words and and actions and how they might affect the people around us or even our feelings about ourselves. Mahana’s Father conveys this powerfully as he speaks about her in preparation for the negotiations. He says: “She’s as foolish as she is ugly… I’m ready to give him a cow just to have him take her off my hands”

Imagine being the butt of all the jokes as everyone gathers to witness the negotiations regarding your worth. Your already tender feelings are only exacerbated as you overhear the villagers make fun of you and the impending proposal. Your father thinks you are foolish and ugly and even goes too far so as to say that you have no worth. You would need to be sold – or so he thinks, for you to be married. The travesty in this is not that everyone else thinks this of you, including your own father – but that you are probably starting to think that about yourself too!

This is heartbreaking – especially when it comes from the people who you love the most. It makes sense that we let their words have so much power over us. They are people that we love and the ones we assume love us too, so what they think and say and feel about us matters!

Be careful with your words and especially with your actions. Be one who builds up and uplifts. Use your words to help make someone feel good about themselves. Be generous with your compliments and sparing with your criticisms. And remember – Your value doesn’t decrease based on someone’s inability to see your worth!

Many things can happen to make a woman beautiful. The thing that matters most is what she thinks of herself. 

(Source: https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/nextlevelmormon.wordpress.com/2015/07/21/3-lessons-from-johnny-lingo/amp/?source=images)

mahana once she believed she was beautiful and loved ♥

moral of the story: let us oft speak kind words to each other!