baby zoe's blessing

my gorgeous friends bianca's little girl zoe had her blessing today and oh is she a little doll. just look at those cheeks! ♥ 

she was looking so sweet in her dress and headband, that i couldn't help but take a million photos of her...

she is such a peaceful baby and slept through most of the day, what a perfect baby, i just love her!

and here they are... the happy landis family of four ♥

upside down and inside out

today we helped friends of ours move and took these two crazy kids along for the ride. doug helped move heavy things and i cleaned... and they played and giggled and got in everyones way but had a good time.

joseph even frightened all of us, when we couldn't find him at one stage... only to discover he was laying in a beanbag and had covered himself with the other... phew!

and at the end of the day, we made samoan koko and sat around chatting at the new house. it was a good day, a very good day ♥

a new old sewing machine

as a child, i learned to sew on my mums elna sewing machine. i would collect scraps and make little bags and whatever other easy things took my fancy. i watched her sew so many different things over the years and i have always had a love for her machine.

when the time came for me to have my own, mum searched for one the same to no avail. she eventually bought me a modern one which does the trick, but is plastic and just not the same. i had always hoped to find one the same one day and this week it finally happened! i was on the local buy, sell, swap page and it just happened to appear in the newsfeed... at an excellent price! i was so thrilled, as was mum when i showed it to her - as apparently it's the model up from hers! ♥

cannot wait to get sewing with my "new" machine

a big truck!

uncle isaac called this afternoon and said he would be unloading a huge amount of timber from his truck at a new block, not far from our house and asked if joseph would like to watch... so i loaded him into the car quick smart and drove him over there, and it was so worth it! he giggled with delight, pointed away and loved every second of it.

he is so so so obsessed with things that go... and trucks are so high on the list right now. he often says truck and points as they go past, so it's no wonder he was so thrilled to have had this great outing today!

general conference october 2016

what can i say? i love general conference, hearing the words of the church leaders... and i especially love that living in australia and watching it a week after those in the united states, i get to have a feed full of quotes two weeks in a row! ♥ this morning we watched the sunday morning session here at home (on the big screen woo!) and there were two talks in particular that i really loved.

the first was joy and spritual survival by russell m nelson, in which he spoke of finding joy, even in the darkest of times... it was so beautiful and i am sure it was comforting to so many. you can see it here

the other was "to whom shall we go?" which you can find here. this really touched my heart. i know there are so many who struggle with the gospel and are yet to find their place... those who struggle to remain active and those who just struggle in general! i loved hearing his words of comfort and counsel and will definitely listen to it again in time. 

general conference how i love thee!

you can find the whole lot...

here.

the annaliah doll

today i made a doll. all by myself! i went to mums to for supervision, so that there was no way i could mess it up but i was pleasantly surprised that i actually managed it! years ago i purchased the pattern for the "elsie" doll from candy kirby designs (before their dolls were available to purchase, the pattern was available) and finally had a really good occasion to use it, to make a doll for a special little girl in our ward. miss annaliah is having heart surgery in a matter of weeks and i wanted to give her something special to take with her.

it was so much fun and i am thrilled to pieces that i managed to get it done, especially all the little details like stitching on her face and adding a little lace collar...

here she is ready to stuff...

and her little mary janes!

and as a little finishing touch i found a ceramic heart button in mums sewing room and drew some little stitches on, so that she really is just like miss annaliah. i can't wait to see her face when i give her to her this weekend ♥

rise up (and become the person you were designed to be)

on saturday we had our stake relief society convention: rise up and become the person you were designed to be! it was such a wonderful day (being that i was already on a spiritual high from attending the temple with the graham family that morning ♥) and i feel so blessed to be part of a stake that had made so much effort to ensure the day was enjoyed by all who attended, but enabled us to be uplifted too.

throughout the day, there were classes held, with topics such as "dear are the sheep that have wandered", "lift up your heads and rejoice", "raising a valiant warrior", "nurturing marriage" and "direction, correction and warning" 

i attended the last two i've mentioned, which were great, the latter was about recognising and listening to the promptings of the holy ghost and certainly gave me a lot to think about. it was wonderful to be able to listen to the life experiences of others and think about how we can apply them in our own lives.

our lunch and dinner was provided in this amazingly decorated hall, which had been done in the theme of alice in wonderland, with three long tables, one themed as the mad hatters tea party, one as the queen of hearts and the other as the white queen. it was incredible, absolutely breathtaking as we walked in and saw it all set up.

i am just amazed that so much effort was made for us to enjoy our day

i mean seriously, all these little details, that i got to have a look at as i walked around taking photos on the day

and these funky signs about the place, directing us to our classes. so much effort on the littlest things made it all that much cooler

there was even between class snacks available as we went past...

♥

my beautiful parents were invited to present a class on the day, entitled "if you have desire to serve, you are called to the work" where they spoke of their experiences serving a full time mission in samoa. i am sure it was wonderful to listen to (i was banished, mum said i had heard their stories enough times and sent me elsewhere to learn something i didn't already know haha) and i loved their little island set up that i got to help with!

me and my mama

at the end of the day, after dinner had been served, we all filed into the chapel, to watch the general womens session of general conference (which you can find here) it was incredible as always. i feel so grateful to be able to hear the words of the prophet and other church leaders.

the cutest set up in the foyer as people entered the chapel 

and the best part of the day for me? seeing these amazing hats displayed and being loved by everyone in attendance. each ward in our stake was asked to make and provide 5 "mad hatters" hats for the set up and under the watchful eye of the most arty girl in our ward, we busted out these babies! i am so beyond proud of what the girls accomplished (my claim to fame here is that i helped with the paper mache) aren't they amazing? my favourite is for sure that gorgeous flamingo!!

more mad hats from ellenbrook ward... woo!

there was even a little service project on the day, assisting with the making of teeny little warm blankets for premmie babies in the local hospitals... i loved making them, they were so so cute!

and these beautiful women... are the ones that made the day happen. i love them so much and i am so so grateful to be a part of the dianella stake relief society. 

what. a. day! ♥