peninsula farm

today madeline's class went on an excursion to historic peninsula farm, situated on the maylands peninsula. it was a pretty cool day for all of them considering their focus in society and environment this term had been learning about history - "the olden days".

they arrived at the farm and learned all about the original owners, the hardey family - who had a lot of children... girl after girl after girl until they finally got a son. who was then shipped back to england for a proper education at a young age and didn't see his family again until he was something like twenty years old!! i was horrified by this of course, but have to admit that some days,  the idea has merit. haha.

we then played olden days games (like skipping and horseshoe tossing) out the back of the house, before having a tour of the house, with it's low doorways, attic space and big cellar. it's pretty awesome!

i especially loved their food jars all set up. it looked really cool. seeing how the families lived all those years ago was a really awesome day. my favourite part was at the end of the day when they had all the children seated together and showed them a whole bunch of items from this time period and asked them if they could identify any of them. us mums knew some of them but not all, and the kids only got one i think! funnily enough, i remember a similar experience at my own school with olden day studies. i loved learning about earlier times and still do. antiques and shows with period times are the best.

madeline loved making windmills with her group the most and loved the whole day so much. she insisted that i needed to sit with her on the bus which was the cutest thing ever... i really thought she would have wanted to sit with one of her little friends, but no - she wanted me. i felt very loved.

gidge show

it's our favourite day of the year! we love love love the gidgegannup show and try to get there each year if we can, so yesterday we packed up all our things and set off early for a day of fun.

we love their show because it has all the fun and attractions of the larger shows... sideshow alley, the displays and entries of animals, crafts etc, but the small town country feel. we even watched horses being shod! joseph was apparently very intrigued by the cows

and absolutely loooooved his time on the rides.

he thought he was the coolest person ever when he got to drive the train!

and he and madeline rode this spinning one together (pass!) 

madeline tried her hand at the sideshow alley games

and found herself this magical face painter!

as you can see, she did a great job and madeline was very pleased with the results

what a cutie!

she was definitely living her best life - next thing i knew she had found herself a guinea pig to cuddle

and joseph even wanted to pat it too, which is unusual, he normally shies away from animals.

we had a wonderful family day out. i would 100% recommend country show days. they are the best - never too crowded and just as much fun as the city ones, if not more.

even alex enjoyed himself as he was pushed about in his pram by all of us.

the kids even managed to get a show bag out of us... to be honest, i don't mind buying them when they have things they'll use and keep in them instead of being full of lollies. haha. did i just become my mother?

thanks again for a wonderful day gidgegannup. we very much hope to see you again next year!

temple with kerri

i had the most wonderful blessing today, being able to be the escort for my beautiful friend kerri as she went through the temple for the first time to receive her endowment. for those of you not of my faith, the prophet brigham young explained it as such: "your endowment is to receive all those ordinances in the house of the lord, which are necessary for you, after you have departed this life, to enable you to walk back to the presence of the father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels, being able to give them the key words, the signs and token, pertaining to the holy priesthood, and gain your eternal exaltation in spite of earth and hell."

you have to prepare and be found worthy to enter the temple as it is literally the lords house here on earth. such a feeling of peace and love is found within the walls. rosemary m wixom put it beautifully when she said, "in the temple all feelings of inadequacy and imperfection begin to fade." once inside we are all equal and there to feel closer to our father in heaven, not ever to compete.

seeing kerri so happy and being able to share this experience with her was a wonderful blessing. i am so grateful for the choices she made that led her here today.

♥

above all else, i am so grateful to have a temple so close and to be able to attend regularly. what a wonderful blessing it is in my life and in the life of my family. 

revised young women theme for 2020

with great excitement at the beginning of this month, i read the new and revised young womens theme online in the days following general conference. there are many changes ahead as the new youth program is introduced over the coming months as 2020 begins.

the young womens theme has always been a huge thing to us girls. we recite it at the beginning of each class and it's something we all know and think about. i have grown up reciting one thing, which was changed slightly and confused the heck out of me when i was called to serve in young womens as an adult... (i was in the days before "and virtue" and "be prepared to strengthen home and family" were added to the older one) but that one little change, has now changed completely - and i love it! the words of the the new theme are just gorgeous.

"I am a beloved daughter of heavenly parents, with a divine nature and eternal destiny. As a disciple of Jesus Christ, I strive to become like Him. I seek and act upon personal revelation and minister to others in His holy name. I will stand as a witness of God at all times and in all things and in all places. As I strive to qualify for exaltation, I cherish the gift of repentance and seek to improve each day. With faith, I will strengthen my home and family, make and keep sacred covenants, and receive the ordinances and blessings of the holy temple. "

i especially love the part that says "i cherish the gift of repentance and seek to improve each day." why? because we are not perfect! no one expects us to be... and we need to try each and every day to be better - so i am glad that's the message we are giving our youth.

thanks to one of the talented women on the young womens leaders facebook page (my apologies, i cannot find her post to credit her by name here), we were able to get this nicely set up page, which we have printed and framed for each of our girls to encourage them to learn the theme quickly. i feel really lucky to be serving in young womens and am glad to have these girls and their lovely families around me. i am excited for the new youth program beginning next year and the possibilities it holds!

young women’s personal progress

i actually cannot believe this day has come. i finally completed my young women personal progress. only 17 years too late, but i finished. when i was in young womens all those years ago i made a pretty good effort initially, then decided it really wasn't that important and it got pushed to the side for other less important things.

at the end of last year - it was announced that a new youth program would be introduced in 2020 and that personal progress would be discontinued at the end of 2019. so what happened next? i got fomo and decided that i needed to get it done before the cut off. now. cramming what is meant to take 6 years into one year? a lot to do. when you decide in july you want to do it all? even crazier. but i decided i would get it done - and got to work.

i found an amazing website dedicated to completing it all in a twelve week period, so i followed that and oh was it a blessing. all the readings, the book of mormon broken up into sections to know how much to read each week and even suggestions for how to complete each task and what you might like to make as your goals. someone give this girl a medal!

so, i got it done. even my 10 hour projects! thankfully as a leader you only have to complete three value projects, including the one for virtue - but i did five! so proud, let me have this.

for faith i grew a strawberry garden in the backyard. for divine nature, i stitched a sampler of the scripture d&c 88:119 for a friends future home, to give as a wedding gift. here's a pic! took me ages, but i think the final product looked amazing!

knowledge had me learning about the proper care, repairing and altering of clothing. i had worked on this a lot over time, so i focused on doing it better and doing it for others. good works was nice for my family. many home cooked meals, some new recipes - to ensure i'm going to be a good homemaker one day. haha. and finally - virtue - to read the entire book of mormon. i have done this many times, but it was nice to complete that along with this program.

i am just so proud to have done it! i made sure to print all my journal and put it in a display folder, and said to my mother - "this this is for madeline. so that one day when she comes to me and says something is too hard and she doesn't want to do it, i will show her this folder and tell her, i did this! with 3 small children! and you can do much harder things than this!" hopefully it works haha.

now onto my honour bee! i have just enough time to get that done too, so here we gooooooo!

general conference october 2019

photo from churchofjesuschrist.org

i love to hear the words from general conference each year. our church's semiannual conference is full of inspirational and uplifting talks focusing on the words of christ - the centre of our religion. we, as members of the church of jesus christ believe that the lord still speaks to his people in our day - and this is our opportunity to listen to the words of our prophet, his counsellors and the apostles. it is a wonderful experience for all who will listen and heed their council. the talks are broadcast to many different countries live and then made available shortly after to download and watch, for those who are not able to watch live.

there was a few talks that stood out to me this time around - as always, and i want to share parts of them here:

true disciples of the savior - terence m. vinson

it was so nice to hear an australian accent in the middle of all the americans and i was in fits of laughter as he spoke about being "fair dinkum" (a very australian expression) about the gospel. 

my favourite quote from his talk was, "what we need here is less wi-fi and more nephi!"

"giving our all doesn’t mean that we will be continually enveloped in blessings or always have success. but it does mean that we will have joy. joy is not fleeting pleasure or even temporary happiness. joy is enduring and is founded on our efforts being accepted by the lord."

spiritual capacity - michelle craig

sister craig spoke about the importance of being able and ready to receive personal revelation. i loved her talk!

our souls long for a connection with our heavenly home. we want to feel needed and useful. but at times we struggle to distinguish between our own thoughts and the gentle impressions of the spirit. prophets, ancient and modern, have taught that if something “invites and entices to do good, it comes from christ.”

four ways to increase your spiritual capacity to receive revelation.

be intentional about creating time and space to hear god’s voice

the prophet joseph smith taught that most often god reveals himself “to individuals in private, in their chamber; in the wilderness or fields, and that generally without noise or tumult.”

satan wants to separate us from god’s voice by keeping us out of those quiet places. if god speaks in a still, small voice, you and i need to draw close to hear him. pick a time and place, and listen for god’s voice every day. keep this sacred appointment with exactness, for so very much depends on it!

act without delay

when you receive promptings and then act with intention, the lord can use you. the more you act, the more familiar the voice of the spirit becomes. you will increasingly recognize god’s guidance and that he is “willing … to reveal his mind and will.” if you delay, you might forget the prompting or miss the chance to help someone for god.

this reminded me of a quote from thomas s. monson “never, ever, postpone a prompting!” I have thought of this so many times in recent years and it has been the most amazing counsel.

get your errand from the lord

president henry b. eyring has taught us to seek revelation by asking god who we can help for him. “if you ask questions like that, the holy ghost will come and you’ll feel nudges about things you can do for other people. when you go and do those things, you’re on the lord’s errand, and when you’re on the lord’s errand, you qualify for the gift of the holy ghost.”

believe and trust

each of us has a different mission to perform, and at times the spirit may call us in “another way.” there are many ways to build the kingdom of god as covenant-making, covenant-keeping disciples of jesus christ. as his faithful disciple, you can receive personal inspiration and revelation, consistent with his commandments, that is tailored to you. you have unique missions and roles to perform in life and will be given unique guidance to fulfill them.

each one of us, can strive to seek, receive, and act. as you follow this eternal pattern ordained for our day, you will draw nearer to jesus christ—his love, his light, his direction, his peace, and his healing and enabling power. you will increase your spiritual capacity to become an everyday instrument of his hands in accomplishing his great work.

found through the power of the book of mormon - ruben v alliaud

i loved every word of this talk. his real life story of being found through the power of the book of mormon had me enthralled and very amused. he was a great speaker and his message was the best. highly recommend listening to this one, its way better in his accent.

thru cloud and sunshine, lord, abide with me! - reyna i aburto

i feel like this talk will have touched the hearts of so many who struggle with mental health issues

“all human beings—male and female—are created in the image of god. each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and … each has a divine nature and destiny.” like our heavenly parents and our savior, we have a physical body and experience emotions.

it is normal to feel sad or worried once in a while. sadness and anxiety are natural human emotions. however, if we are constantly sad and if our pain blocks our ability to feel the love of our heavenly father and his son and the influence of the holy ghost, then we may be suffering from depression, anxiety, or another emotional condition.

my daughter once wrote: “there was a time … [when] I was extremely sad all of the time. i always thought that sadness was something to be ashamed of, and that it was a sign of weakness. so i kept my sadness to myself. … i felt completely worthless.”

a friend described it this way: “since my early childhood, i have faced a constant battle with feelings of hopelessness, darkness, loneliness, and fear and the sense that I am broken or defective. i did everything to hide my pain and to never give the impression that i was anything but thriving and strong.”

my dear friends, it can happen to any of us—especially when, as believers in the plan of happiness, we place unnecessary burdens on ourselves by thinking we need to be perfect now. such thoughts can be overwhelming. achieving perfection is a process that will take place throughout our mortal life and beyond—and only through the grace of jesus christ.

in contrast, when we open up about our emotional challenges, admitting we are not perfect, we give others permission to share their struggles. together we realize there is hope and we do not have to suffer alone.

****************

there are so many wonderful talks from conference, in all of the sessions. i absolutely recommend reading/listening to as many as you can. 

it's the most wonderful time of the year!

possum magic: alexanders first birthday

on saturday we celebrated our little alexanders first birthday with a little party for our family and some friends. it was the best afternoon and everything was so so cute.

when i was pregnant with alex, i saw the cutest idea for a kids birthday party with a possum magic bush theme. i loved it instantly, having grown up in the bush and most of all because my dad has called me possum my whole life! he bought me a copy of the book when i was very small for a birthday gift and i have read it over and over and just love it. the beautiful illustrations, the story - all of it. so it was decided then and there that that would be the theme. thankfully doug was happy with it too.

one of my beautiful friends has access to a colour copier at work so she copied page after page from the book for me, which mum and i sewed into bunting and hung all over the loungeroom. it was the absolute perfect touch and i am super grateful. made it look a million dollars.

we also had a tablecloth of mums with a gumnut print on it and the cutest serviettes ever with kookaburras and native australian flowers on them

and wooden plates. so good. perfect for the bush theme. (thank you kmart!)

the cake was so good... a giant lamington! (simply unfilled sponges bought frozen at our local woolworths, made up a few hours beforehand with jam and cream)

and gingerbeer (can't get more aussie than that!) and water for the drinks...

the best bit of it all was doing the food. if you haven't read the book, it is about a possum whose grandmother makes her invisible to keep her safe from snakes in the bush. one day she decides she'd like to be seen again, only for them to realise that she needs to eat human food for it to happen.

they go around australia eating different things until the find the right ones... but i made all the food mentioned in the book!

anzac biscuits in adelaide

mournay and minties in melbourne. for the mournay, i made my regular tuna mournay mix and then baked spoonfuls in little puff pastry shells. it was so yum! even my kids that don't like tuna mournay declared it was delicious. winning!

****

steak and salad in sydney. i combined the two and made this salad here and it was yummm! mum said to me, "jade, you really don't have to make alllll of the things." then asked me for the recipe. you're welcome mum.

pumpkin scones in brisbane (thanks mum! she makes the best pumpkin scones)

vegemite (and cheese) sandwiches in darwin. 

pavlova in perth

and lamington (cake!) in hobart.

i was straight up obsessed with all of it. it was absolutely perfect! 

he was adorable, smiled at everyone and had a great time being adored. he is such a sweet boy and we are so blessed to have him. 

i am just the luckiest mum. he even lets me smooch him without complaining. 

our happy little family! ❤

last but not least, i had my friend jen make little fondant stamped and painted cookies for everyone to take home. green and gold to be aussie as, and she even packaged them with little gold edible stars. talk about above and beyond.

best. party. ever!

happy birthday little alex. we love you like mad. 

alexander is one! - our little strawberry

one year old.

how on earth did that happen? wasn't it just last week we were bringing you home from the hospital after your stint in the special care nursery?

yet here we are, with a one year old who is cheeky and smiley and such hard work. but even saying that, i wouldn't change it for anything.

during the last month you have:

-loved crawling around and getting into everything

- pulled out all the dvds over and over

-been kicked out of your capsule into a rear facing seat so aunty jenny's baby can use the capsule!

-put anything and everything in your mouth

-pulled the cereal out and tipped it on the floor whenever you can sneak into the pantry

-walked along on your hands and feet rather than crawling

-been tucking your necklace onto your thumb to have it there when you suck your thumb for the last month or two

last week when we went strawberry picking with mel and her girls we came home and ran water in the trough to wash them, only i decided we needed some photos of my "little strawberry" having a bath in with them. i have never seen this kid so happy...

he was grabbing at them, shoving them in his mouth as much as he could while i tried to snap pictures

and looked as though he would have happily stayed in there for the afternoon!

these photos were such a perfect glimpse in our little man and it was perfect having them to share on his first birthday!

doug had to work, but we spent the day having some time with our faves, the pinkers at the bowling alley in morley. i am 99% sure alex had no idea what we were there for, but smiled away all the same and looked like he was enjoying himself.

alex looooooves donuts and when we were in fremantle yesterday we picked up some krispy kremes to make him a makeshift cake ahead of his birthday party on saturday. 

it certainly was not my finest effort, but it looked cute and as you can see, he loved it.

happy birthday my beautiful boy! 

we are so happy you came to us, we love you so so much.