memories of 9/11 - 20 years later

twenty years ago today, i was sitting in a café in natal, brazil with a few other exchange students when footage of planes hitting a building and the ensuing terror was shown on their television. we were all pretty amazed, but thought it was a preview for an upcoming movie and continued to eat our lunch. a few minutes later, the owner came over to our table and told us that what we were seeing was live news footage, there had been a terrorist attack on the world trade centre in new york city and that we had better go home to our families until we knew more. none of us was an american, but this day would affect us all and the rest of the world in all the years to follow. 

my host family were due to fly to walt disney world in florida the next week. they never ended up going as all flights were grounded in and out of the us for a time. airport security was tightened to what we now know. people were fearful of what would happen next. almost 3000 people died that day, 25000 people were injured and the destruction of the world trade centre lead to a global recession. this act of terrorism and the lives lost will never be forgotten in history because even though it happened in the united states, it affected the world.

douglas was on his mission in melbourne at the time and received a call that morning from his zone leaders telling them that something had gone down in the u.s. and to stay home until further notice but if they absolutely had to go out to go in neutral clothing, not their suits. it was such an unknown at that stage and no one knew what effects it would have. being that most people assume missionaries from our church are american, it was safer to lay low until they had more information. their phone rang off the hook all day with members calling to make sure their families were okay.

i feel so blessed to not have had to deal with an act of terrorism in my life and to be so sheltered in sleepy western australia, but i am constantly mindful of those who have dealt with (and continue to deal with) these horrific situations. when so many things have happened over the years there have been calls to pray for these people, pray for this place, pray for this thing. but above all, we need to pray for the world. if only one day we could know peace.❤

 

a memory from st john of god

today doug went to make some deliveries on our family's behalf to those who cared for his mother during the months she battled her way through endless doctor's and hospital appointments, radiation and chemotherapy.

we called the receptionist of her wonderful doctor and found out what bubbly he liked and bought a really nice bottle for him, then bought her a beautiful bunch of flowers, as well as one for her general practitioner who had been by her side the entire time - and is still dougs preferred dr. she is so wonderful. they were all so very happy to see him and said such kind words about his mother. both of the women shed a few tears which was incredibly touching. we are so grateful for these amazing people who gave her not only medical advice, but so much comfort during the darkest times, with their kind words and love that they offered. i know there are often who speak badly of drs and their service, but we were truly blessed with the very best. 

doug also bought me this beautiful cross to keep as a memory. his mother was cared for in st. john of god hospital - a catholic hospital and the day she passed away, our bishop had brought his young daughter to the hospital with him. she had become a bit fidgety and the two of us had gone for a walk to the hospital gift shop where i saw it. i loved it so much and it seemed a beautiful piece to have in memory of his mum and the hospital that cared for her. he agreed and went back for it while he was there. i will always treasure it.

100 years "old"

today, if he were still with us, my grandfather joseph would have been 100 years old. one hundred. and what a legacy he's left behind. one of the proudest moments of my life was being able to name my first born son after him and watching him now, looking just like him, with that same fiery temper, is more than just a freaky co-incidence.

to celebrate we had a j party at jared and donna's place over the weekend. all our j's are born in an 8 day period... starting with joseph on the 20th, jared on the 21st, grandad joseph on the 24th and jared david on the 27th. how's that?! mum even made this epic 100th birthday cake and brought it out for everyone to enjoy after dinner. (and it was delicious, oh my gosh.)

i often wonder what i would say to grandad if i had the opportunity to see him and chat. i hope he's watching over us and proud of what we do. i am forever grateful for eternal families and look forward to the sweet reunion we will get to experience one day, because he is still, after all this time, 100% my favourite family member. 

 

my father-in-law

there are only a few days until we will lay stephen to rest - but i wanted to share a little more about him here before that happens.

he was the manliest man you would ever meet. no airs or graces. just man. he was always busy, tinkering around in the garage, cleaning something or sweeping up. he was such a hard worker and i know it killed him to have to give up work when he got too unwell, and to eventually lose the movement in his hands at the end. being so fiercely independent made it so hard for him to ask others for help, even when the time came that he had to. he appreciated the doctors and nurses at sir charles gairdner hospital so much and always spoke so highly of them and their care. they really made him feel welcome and comfortable during his time there.

he had an undeniable love for classic rock. he always spoke about classic rock. not this "new crap" the old, real music. ac/dc was his all time favourite and he never ever let this one go... years and years ago when i first began working in the funeral industry i was walking from one of the funeral chapels to the main gate when i had a man approach me asking me if i knew where he could find bon scott. i answered saying,"um, does he work here?" turns out, which i had no idea of at the time, he was the lead singer of his precious ac/dc and has a special memorial area at the fremantle cemetery. he made sure to tell that story to anyone who would listen, at any opportunity he got.

he loved his grandchildren like mad. even though they drove him nuts touching things and moving things and being children, he was crazy about them. he loved to tell them stories about poop and farts and make them giggle loudly at the most inappropriate times.

when baby alex arrived, steve only had eyes for him and was given the immense pleasure of being the first one to see him walk when i had popped out to the car one day... he didn't do it again for a few weeks!

he told me a few times in the past months that he would love us to have one more baby - "a little girl!" he said, "i have always loved little girls!" oliveta keeps reminding me of that and telling me stephen said i need to have one more baby, but i think doug will take a lot more convincing! i love this photo of him and baby madeline, i have never seen him more happy in his life than when he became a grandfather.

he was so, so proud of doug and told me over and over how glad he was for the choices he had made in life and how lucky he was to have married me. he certainly knew how to make me feel good about myself.

he could be very wishy-washy about the church and the dedication it took to remain strong, but i know in his final days he was ready to return to his heavenly father. he spoke to us about the importance of remaining faithful and i know he wants that for his family and children, to be part of their eternal family and remain sealed to him and oliveta in the eternities. i will be so happy to be there with him.

above all, he gave me endless amounts of crap. it was like it was his life mission to tease me and we both loved it. he would remind me frequently about how he didn't like me when he first met me and wasn't that impressed, until i matched his sarcasm with my own, answered him back and gave it back as much as he was handing it out. it was then he realised he was stuck with me. i remember well that he always said his favourite shirt was the one that said, "international sarcasm society. like we need your support." 

he loved opshopping as much as i did and loved it when i would take him with me. we would hunt out bargains together and loved showing them off to our equally unimpressed spouses when we returned from our trips. in fact, he still owes me 3 opshop trips and you better believe i will be taking them out of his estate. lol. i wish. but i also know if i did, he would be even more proud of me.

he always spoke so fondly of his younger years and his time in new zealand. i know more than anything he wanted to return there to visit one last time and i know he will be there with us every step of the way, when we have our family holiday there in a few years time. he asked us over and over near the end if we would go for him.

most of all, i love the way he cared for his wife. he did all the little things for her. made sure her car was ready, provided for her and was all a strong husband should be. i am so grateful he was a fine example for my husband, who works just as hard and provides for our family too.

steve and oli, young and in love in samoa. he would always tell us the stories of his life in samoa too and recalled them with such fondness. i know he would have loved to have made it back there too.

it's hard to believe that this little guy grew up to be all of that, but i am so grateful that i got to be a part of his life for so long. steve, i will always love you. i am so grateful i got you as my bonus father and will miss you each and every day. ❤

yellow roses

as we were walking back to the car yesterday after the temple, i paused at the roses and took a snap to share here, because the yellow roses at the temple hold a wonderful memory for me. thirteen and a half years ago, my husband broke one off of the bushes, knelt before me and said, "jade i've loved you from the first time i saw you and i promise i'll love you forever. will you marry me?" 

nine months later, at the same place, the perth australia temple of the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints, we promised to do just that - and somehow, we are still loving each other, even though sometimes it's hard. but seeing those roses each time i go to the temple reminds me of those two youngsters, madly in love that knew a future together was ahead of them and totally possible. that's when i know that we will always make it through ♥

anzac day parade

madeline's school had their anzac day parade today. she came home earlier in the week, telling me excitedly about how she needed a flower for their class wreath... and about the anzac book that their teacher had read to the class. i know that she's not quite old enough to understand really what war is about,  but then can any of us that haven't experienced it really understand?

she stood still while i pinned these medals to her dress (which i can assure you did not go to school for the parade) for a picture to remember today, and then peppered me with questions about my grandparents as she held their picture. my grandfather, joseph goodlet fought in world war two and those medals belonged to him. war was something he never wanted to speak of and i know it's something that stayed with him long after the war was over... for the rest of his life.

i am so, so grateful for the men and women who gave their lives for our freedom. who saw things that will never be forgotten... and who bravely stood up and left their lives behind, so that we can have what we have today. we are blessed beyond measure.

lest we forget

they shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old

age shall not weary them, or the years condemn

at the going down of the sun, and in the morning

we will remember them

lest we forget

the power of prayer

he is the greatest of all. he is the creator and governor of the universe. and yet he will listen to your prayer!

i learned that my heavenly father knew me personally when i was seventeen years old. i always knew i had a father in heaven who loved me and never doubted the truth of the gospel, but it was this day that i truly knew that he cared for me and would help me if i would only ask.

a few weeks after my seventeenth birthday, i left for a year overseas in brazil on student exchange. i struggled. i was homesick, i was angry, i was confused and i was hurting badly. my first few weeks were spent crying often, wishing for home and trying hard to accept that i needed to move ahead with my life.

and then school in a foreign country began. i spoke barely 10 words of portugese, understood nothing and needed to somehow make it from my home to the school on a bus. i had been instructed which buses passed the school and how to ask if i was concerned that i would take the wrong one. so whilst waited at the bus stop i carefully asked the driver, "passa cefet?" to which he nodded, so i got on the bus. 

it turned out the bus did not "passa cefet" and as the minutes passed and we hadn't passed the school, i became worried and began to panic. i couldn't ask anyone for help, i had no idea where i was... and no way to get back home. i didn't even know my host family's address or phone number by heart yet. 

so i prayed. i sat on that hot bus surrounded by people i did not know and begged my heavenly father to help me find my way. to somehow send someone that could help me. and he did. no sooner had i ended my prayer, tears pouring down my face, a gentleman on the bus, a member of the military police who i had not seen board, touched my arm and asked me a question, which of course i could not understand. i kept repeating the name of my school to which he nodded, clearly understanding where i needed to go. 

this wonderful man tapped the driver on the shoulder, had him stop the bus and motioned for me to follow him. we walked half a dozen blocks in the opposite direction, where he flagged down another bus and spoke quickly to the driver, gesturing at me and then pointed to the seat directly behind the driver. i pulled out my purse which was waved away. i boarded the bus and ten or so minutes later, the driver opened the doors, turned to me and pointed at my school.

i knew that day the power of a sincere prayer. i knew that my heavenly father had heard me and sent help, sent me someone that could guide me safely to my destination. to this day i have never forgotten that man. to him this may have been just another day, but to me it meant everything. 

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

we have been given the power of prayer in our lives specifically to help us find our way and during a wonderful lesson on sunday this memory sprung to my mind as clear as if it were yesterday. there were some wonderful quotes from the lesson (a combination of chapter 6: how mighty a thing is prayer and 7: the whisperings of the spirit from this years relief society/priesthood manual) from president hinckley, especially this one:

- be prayerful my friends, and listen

what a wonderful reminder to not only pray, but to listen! how often do we pray and not wait for an answer? if we had a conversation with someone, would we say what we had to say and just walk away? or do we wait for them to respond? next time we pray and tell heavenly father what is on our minds, may we make the effort to wait and listen to what he has to tell us.

and: 

- in the middle of the night, ideas have come into my head which, i think, have been prophetic in their nature

-listen for the whisperings of the spirit in the middle of the night

-i don't know why revelation comes sometimes in the night, but it does

sometimes we need to leave our cares with the lord when we retire to our beds. always be listening, for the answers will come. they may take time and it may be in the middle of the night, but they will come.  how grateful i am for a way to communicate with our heavenly father and to know that he will help me in my time of need ♥

madeline's kindy grad

i honestly feel like i blinked and all of a sudden this school year was over... this evening was the primary school open night and miss madeline graduated from her kindy class. we are so proud of her and her eagerness to make friends and learn about absolutely everything... she's just grown up so much!

madeline and her two best friends from school, charlotte and isabella with their graduation certificates. 

madeline receiving her certificate from mrs tiekink 

the kids sang for all of the parents on arrival.. the good old tune "a sailor went to sea" that is so old that we sang it back when i was at school.

and just like that it's almost over... our little girl is a big girl, school finishes next week and next year she is in pre-primary full time. i can't wait to watch her take on the world!

throwback thursday

my sister in law dominique sent me this picture this week of a very little madeline. sometimes i still can't believe that when she was just 12 months old i braved the world and went back to work, leaving her with niques. she was still just a baby and maybe i should have stayed at home with her and been that mum. but... seeing this picture reminded me how happy she was... she was in her house, with her toys, with her aunty she loved - having a fabulous time each day. 

i am so and forever grateful to niques. she taught this little girl to say please and thank you, how to count, to say her prayers... and never once asked for anything in return. she and madeline are the best of friends and that is a wonderful blessing to me in itself. 

how lucky she is, how lucky we are, for her love and kindness. for her efforts to make madeline the sweet girl she is today. and most of all, for spamming my message and email inboxes all the day long with precious photo moments of this sweet girl. i can't thank you enough.

baby book

we have been so lucky... when mum and dad decided to go to samoa to serve a mission teaching at church college we were so worried about who would live in their house, of course we wanted to make sure their home and their things were safe... but time started to creep up on us and still we had no idea who there could possibly be that wanted to live in a house in clackline! 

but god works in mysterious ways and one day i received an email from a friend - who knew i had attended northam branch when i was younger - asking if i might know of anywhere near there for rent, as people from his home branch in new zealand were moving over for work... boom. obviously it still all depended on whether or not the people were happy with the house and wanted to live there but it was a start.

greg and his wife chris turned up to have a look, they got along with my parents like a house on fire and a few weeks later they moved in - and are taking fabulous care of the place.

much like my mother, chris is into all kinds of art and crafts - and a few weeks ago gave me this beautiful book she had made, as a gift for baby joseph. i ummed and ahhed for some time about what to do with it and then had an amazing idea... when i was pregnant with madeline and in her first year and a bit of life i wrote in a journal for her to have, with all her milestones and the likes, but it always struck me as a little boring. it was all writing and no pictures - and although beautiful was not something she would probably want to share with anyone, as it was very personal, being full of her mothers thoughts and feelings.

so i decided to make the book full of the photos i had taken and to handwrite his milestones into the book alongside them. here is the beginning! our first look at our little boy - at my half way ultrasound...

photos of my growing bump as time went on throughout my pregnancy...

then his birth announcement and little bits and pieces, like a small paragraph about jourdin our student midwife who helped throughout my appointments etc...

and then... each month i'll add josephs month shot on his chair (see here for the ones i took of maddie) and write a little something about what's going on. i am so super excited about it and can't wait to keep adding to it. thank you so much chris, you're the best!!!

broken bones!

i broke my elbow in high school - year 10 in fact.

so that's actually 12 years ago now.

didn't hurt at the time, i was too busy worrying about the fact that half my face was missing, from the gravel burn... face planting off a bike into gravel at a pretty good speed is never fun...

but... it hurts now.

what the heck??

i'm broken - and need replacing!