cleaning out the closet

today i tackled a long overdue project at the mother-in-laws house with the "help"of a cheeky little redhead. the linen closet was bursting at the seams and over the course of this crazy year everything had been thrown in all on top of each other.

after dumping it all on the floor (very best way to sort haha), i sorted it back into sets, threw some out, donated a few huge bags and folded, folded, folded until it was all neat and tidy and how i wanted it. alex of course climbed in and out of the cupboard and all the linen and messed it up time and time again, but we finally got it done. of course i forgot to take a before shot, like always, so i can't show off just how beautiful this after shot is, but i am super proud of the end product.

sorted, sealed, delivered! and the very best bit, was that under all of it, i found the covers from the air mattresses we were loaned by a friend back in january when all of oli's family arrived for stephen's funeral, which had been missing since then. winning.

another thing checked off the to-do list.

 

temple tuesday

i had the most wonderful opportunity to serve this week... by being in the temple during its maintenance period and assisting with the things that needed to be completed before it reopens. i've never had the chance to be part of the temple cleaning that they do each week so it was so different  for me to be there with barely any one around. those who were, were quietly going about their jobs... and there was still such a strong sense of quiet - and peace. 

i love to see the temple... and go there too! ♥

zone conference luncheon

joseph and i had an adventure today... each of the ward relief societies within our stake were asked to cater a zone conference for the mission and today was our turn.

one of the gorgeous sisters helped out by cooking half the food, and i collected it all from her house where we had kept it frozen. then leah and darrio arrived to help me and we got to work. we defrosted and cooked and worked busily away together while darrio chased after joseph and right as we put out the last pot of soup, the missionaries filtered in.

it was all over so quickly and we were packing away... but it felt so good to serve. to serve those who are serving the lord. the missionaries (all 58 of them) sang "called to serve" to us as a thank you and it was just all so perfect. what a blessing it is to serve.

darrio took this little snap of joseph as they ran about outside and sent it to me with the caption "little man with a good plan." let's hope he loves the temple as much when he grows up as he does now!

sensory pillows

we are currently doing a stake relief society service project constructing "sensory pillows" (and aprons) for the alzheimers association of wa. these pillows allow persons suffering from alzheimers a possible opportunity to reconnect with past memories and places by using their sense of touch.

i went into a little op shop this morning and looked for some random items all with different sizes, textures and feel and got the whole lot for $2... score! then home to drag out all my things i have stashed away and i got sewing! i had to do most of it by hand unfortunately due to the awkward cushion shape... grrr, but eventually had both finished and ready to hand over to stake! yay!

i actually enjoyed it in the end and am pretty proud of my efforts. makes me feel good that i've done something nice for someone else :)

service

 

i have grown up in a home watching my mother and father always giving their time, talents and love to those around me. i am so grateful for their beautiful example and am striving to do the same for those in my life. i only hope one day that i can love those around me the way they do.

being a member of the church has also shown me the beauty and blessings that come from service - when we have been blessed with so much, it's only fair we should share what we have with others.