release time

last night we got to be a part of something wonderful, as dominique was released honorably from her missionary service in the new zealand hamilton mission of the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints. we have watched from afar as our girl has grown and changed, as she has tirelessly served her heavenly father each day and we are so, so proud of her and what she has achieved.

after a meeting with our stake president, family were invited to join in, as she was officially released! i know there are so many wonderful things ahead for her and can't wait to see where life takes her next.

besties reunited! ♥ 

sister kendall is home ❤️

our girl is f-i-n-a-l-l-y home! 18 months done and dusted and she is back home with us. dougs "little" sister dominique (aka sister kendall) arrived back from the hamilton new zealand mission and we are so so happy to have her home. it is all madeline has spoken about for weeks and she has taken great delight in crossing out each number on her "aunty is coming home" calendar. 

we all met at the airport and arrived a little while before she did, just in time for madeline to find herself a good spot to watch for aunty from... ready to rush into her arms when she came through the gate.

us kendall girls reunited again... we are so happy to have her home and cannot wait for the fun to begin! ♥

someone is having a birthday

someone is having a birthday! our sister missionary serving in the new zealand hamilton mission will be 26 next week and this big box full of wonderful things (makeup, clothes, cookies, pens, treats...) has just left perth to attempt to make it for her birthday. fingers crossed. we love you and miss you and hope your day is amazing! xxx

(update 20/08/2015 package was returned to us less than a week later, it made it to the east coast and then failed to clear customs, because i had put sparklers in there! how funny! they are not a big deal, or so i thought, you can buy them at the supermarket here for goodness sake... but they can't leave the country because they are considered explosives. toooooo funny. package arrived about a week late. she was still excited!)

missionary mail

monday brings missionary mail and photos from dominque in new zealand. she is currently serving in pukekohe with sister park from utah and by the looks of it, having the time of her life.

she hasn't changed one bit, seeing the pictures of her... and i know she has made the best decision she has ever made in her life - because by the time she is done, everything will be different!

she is a legend, i love her, i'm so proud and miss her every day. ♥

mothers day 2015

another mothers day has come and gone... and i have to admit, it was not the best... joseph hasn't been well for a few weeks, although as it was originally just a very runny nose, we hadn't taken him to the doctor. on tuesday morning he woke up and coughed and coughed and coughed, so i bundled him off to the doctor, only to have them test him for whooping cough! personally i don't think that's what it is, he isn't terribly ill, even now... but as there has been a few cases in perth recently, they had to check for it. i am feeling pretty blessed that he has been immunised, so if by some crazy chance he has contracted it, it would be an extremely mild case and not potentially dangerous! anyway... because of that, we are on house arrest. :( he can't go anywhere until the results are back - which won't be until tuesday, blergggg. he seems okay and is on antibiotics, so fingers crossed.

so, no church for us today, although doug went (he had a speaking assignment...) which meant i missed out on hearing him speak and hearing my primary children sing, they had practiced and practiced for weeks to sing "i often go walking" to their mums. devastated. 

there was good parts of my day though... i got a gorgeous white cardigan and some lollies from the kidlets...

 i got to facetime with my mum in France, where she is living it up with dad and my brothers family... i am so grateful for her and every little thing she has done for me over the years. some people are insulted when they are told they are turning into their mother... i however take it as a compliment, there is no one i would rather be. she is loving, generous, compassionate, christlike and so so so talented. she is an amazing cook, can sew anything, makes beautiful creations out of old junk and is one heck of a snappy dresser.

mama you are the queen of my heart!

the highlight of my day though, was talking to doug's beautiful sister, serving in the new zealand hamilton mission. she has been been out just 17 days and in the field just 5 days, but as it was mothers day she was entitled to a call home. it was so nice to hear from her and actually get to see her face! i already miss her so much and it was the best to see her!

all in all though, my mothers day was okay... because i got to share it with these two adorable monkeys that i get to call me "mum". how grateful i am to be their mum and for every single day i have already had to spend with them and every one i'm yet to have. even the hard ones when someone is in tears most of the day (and yes, that someone is sometimes me!) i love my babies - and i am so glad to be 

a mum

sister kendall is off!

well it's official, we have a missionary in the family. niques was set apart last night in samoa "with a healthy body and a sharp mind" ready to serve the lord in the hamilton, new zealand mission. she has worked so hard, for so long and is finally there - and we could not be prouder if we tried. 

return with honour my little sister. it has been a joy watching you grow and i know you will be a fine missionary 

♥

niques is going on a mission!

oh. my. gosh. it is finally happening!! after over a year of preparing and trying her butt off to get there, niques got her mission call today!

dear sister kendall... you are hereby called to serve as a missionary for the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints, labouring in the hamilton, new zealand mission, reporting to the auckland missionary training centre, april 23rd 2015.

new zealand! how exciting. we are stoked, she is excited... and it's all go go go.

good things come to those who do!