temple with oli

oli and i went to the temple this morning and it was so nice to see her there and now she was feeling peaceful. it's been a rough week for her, the chemo that worked before is no longer working and her dr has started her on one final option, which he has told us is much more aggressive than the other options and may be the last chance there is. she decided to go ahead, in her words, "i want to try everything they have. if i don't try it, i won't know, it could have been the one that helped." 

while we were sitting in the session waiting our turn to go through to the celestial room, she leaned in close to me and said, "i keep imagining i can see stephen there waiting for me behind the veil." i love that she knows that when her time comes, that he is there and will be waiting for her to take her hand as they spend eternity together. what a blessing it is to know that because of the sealing power in the temple, we know that families are forever. 

i have loved that we have been able to attend the temple so many times together over the years. ilove the time we get to spend together and seeing her so at peace in the house of the lord. what a blessing.

 

mothers day with borders

i have been so blessed to have these two amazing mums helping me every step of the way. those of you who know my mum (let's face it, if you are reading this you probably do) will know how incredible she is. she is so talented, can make anything... she cooks, she sews and when you need anything, if she doesn't have it, she will find it. she truly is life goals and i hope that one day i'll be just like her. 

a lot of you don't actually know my mother in law, but she is also amazing. she is so generous, always looks out for me and would do anything for me. sometimes she calls and says i have made dinner, come and pick it up. seriously so blessed. i am twice as lucky to have them both and absolutely treasure them. happy mother's day to the women who made me who i am.

i saw this on facebook this week leading up to mothers day and it is so true. love it so much. mum truly is the best friend i have ever had. i can tell her anything and never have to worry about it, because she listens, she understands and always does her best to help. i love you mum. ❤

 

this mothers day was a little different with regional borders in place... we couldn't go and visit mum! so i took advantage of some amazing local businesses in her area, owned by my best friend jennifer, who makes custom cookies at baked on benrua

and another friend chloe who runs a flower farm not far from mums house - called the grange farmhouse. they put together these amazing presents for mum and i was so stoked, it was almost as good as seeing her, knowing she was looked after.

my gifts from the kids were so cute - they bought one each from the school mothers day stall (all done online thanks to covid-19) a candle from madeline and a beaded bracelet from joseph, plus a cute keyring from each of them that they had made in class. i was quietly cracking up. madeline's had a bunch of flowers drawn on it and she had written "you smell nice." i must have cracked a smile when i saw it, she very quickly said, it's cause you wear deodorant every day! hahahah. this is from the child that spent years sniffing my worn t-shirts, so obviously she must like my smell. she also made me a coupon book and a card and joseph made me a "fill in the gaps book" about his amazing mum. super cute!

these little people test my patience on the daily but i love them madly and am so, so grateful to be their mum. ❤

oli's birthday ❤️

it was my mother in laws birthday today... and since i was feeling the birthday spirit, i made her a pretty cute cake! i love love love doing these birthday sponges, as they take minimum effort for maximum effect!

it's as easy as this... go to coles and buy an unfilled double sponge from the bakery section, and cut each of them in to two through the middle, place the bottom on your plate and spread a thin layer of strawberry jam, then cover with a layer thinly sliced strawberries and then a layer of whipped cream. place your next cake piece on top and repeat two more times before placing your top cake on. sprinkle with icing sugar and fresh roses, or if you don't have a generous friend with beautiful roses (or it's the wrong season) simply pop a few more strawberries on the top!

see! so easy and super cheap!

and as you can see, she was thrilled with the results... this woman is a sucker for cake with fresh cream

blowing out the candles with the grandkids help ♥

and it tasted just as good as it looked!

happy birthday oli! we love you!

mother in law

doug has just taken his mum back to the airport. it's sad. she has been here with us for two weeks and i have been able to sleep in each morning with baby joe whilst maddie has danced around the house, watched movies, had tea parties, gone for walks to the shop and just generally had a complete fuss made over her.

oli loves her grandkids so much (well just kids in general really - she has made no secret of her desire to have a whole bunch of kids even though she was only blessed with two) and i am so glad that she made the effort to come and help us for so long. i know so many mother-in-laws are crazy and cause all kinds of drama, but my mine is amazing! i am so lucky and feel so blessed to have her as a part of my life - and for my babies to call her grandma.