jungle park/ key return time

we spent some time at the jungle park this morning, a last hurrah - as we really don't have any more reasons to come back to brabham now the house is empty.

it's nice to see the kids happy and coping okay after losing grandma so recently. they say time heals all wounds, and although i certainly don't expect them to get over it, i know that in time we will all feel peace instead of pain. we know she is no longer in pain and is at peace, reunited again with stephen. it's not those who pass beyond the veil who feel the pain, it is those who remain.

i love seeing them smile

and listen to them giggle.

we met linden (the owner of the house) afterwards to return the keys. he was really happy with the state of the house which i am thrilled about. i had added poinsettias to the front garden bed, as well as mini agapanthus and geraniums to the side, aloe vera in the garden bed below oli's window and moses in the cradle along the back fence. all of the plants except the aggies were freebies from our local pages and i was so proud to see her garden look pretty for her. 

the house was completely empty (other than a few items the new tenants had purchased from us - as we've met them, they are related to friends of ours) and clean ready for handover

and the floors were literally shining in the sun when we came in. winning.

it was worth every cent having it professionally cleaned.

i have to write this down so that everyone can have a laugh in the future when we read back on this. i borrowed an outdoor vac from friends of ours and spent hours vacuuming the fake lawn out back because it was sooooo full of sand. it was bloody infuriating and i was so annoyed about it. but as you can see it looked sooooo good when it was done. worth it! 

it's so sad saying goodbye to this little house that has held so much love and so many memories, but we must go on. i just hope it holds as much love for the next family.

cleaners/ home collection

well, the finish line is so close i can taste it. the gardens are done...

the cleaners have been and the place looks immaculate

and we are good to go!

this is everything that is left. a bunch of bagged up clothing/ shoes and linen...

and some boxes of loose kitchen/ homeware items and tools. the tools and handy items are off to be donated to the mens shed and the rest will be collected by the good samaritan industries home collections. i still can't believe we have managed to get it all done, ready to hand the keys back to the owner this weekend.

it actually breaks my heart that this is all that is left of my in-laws. obviously we took all the sentimental items, the pictures, the momentos, jewellery and little things we and doug's sister wanted. but to be able to empty a home and have it all done in a month is insane. i feel bad, like it shouldn't have been this simple (believe me it was not easy) and that there should be so much more. but we have been careful and thoughtful - and this is it done.

mother's day 2021

i am so so blessed to be a mother. although i can say truthfully that i want to kill my children on the regular, i love them so much it hurts. you know how it is, you want to kill them one minute, you'd die for them the next. but i think i did okay. they are fun, funny and pretty damn cute.

so, to all of the mothers out there, happy mother's day. to those who have lost their mothers, i hope you felt them close today. i have been so blessed to be loved by two mothers, my own mother and my husbands mother.

my mother is everything i have ever wanted to be and the most incredible example of service. my mother in law raised the man who has been the greatest blessing of my life. she raised him to be strong, determined and respectful, just as she was. i am grateful for her example and miss her every single day.

i am truly grateful for my parents mothers and cannot wait for the day we are reunited. for my beautiful nanna who raised the woman who became my mother. without her example and beautiful spirit, i would not be where i am. my mother is amazing and i owe it all to my nanna. and for my grandma, who i am apparently most like. for her fiery temper and ability to stop someone dead in their tracks with a look, for her cooking and her singing - all things i have managed to inherit.

but most of all, i am grateful to be a mother in the gospel. for the mothers who are alongside me cheering me on and helping me to make it through the hardest of the days. there is so much peace to be found in the gospel and in the presence of those who are here to help us through. ❤

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

maddie and i were asked to sing in relief society today as part of their mother's day lesson and it was so lovely. i am so glad that she loves to sing too and we can have these experiences together. we sang "teach me to walk in the light" - a perfect piece for mother's day.

teach me to walk in the light of his love

teach me to pray to my father above

teach me to know of the things that are right

teach me, teach me to walk in the light

come little child and together we'll learn

of his commandments that we may return 

home to his presence to live in his sight

always, always to walk in the light

father in heaven, we thank thee this day

for loving guidance to show us the way

grateful we praise thee with songs of delight

gladly, gladly we'll walk in the light

❤

kruger way garage sale

we had a garage sale today. i was dreading it and it was not an amazing experience, but it also wasn't horrible... i just hate people who want to haggle over already cheap prices. it does my head in. we did well though - a lot of the items went and we have less and less to get rid of ourselves.

we had a lot of things sell on marketplace - and even just from the photographs we had listed advertising the garage sale, which was good too, until i had people grumpy as we were moving things out of the garage as they arrived. oh i came to buy that! well, sorry - it's a garage sale. you could have just as easily messaged me on facebook too mate!

i was amazed more of the tools didn't sell, but we have decided to donate all of the leftovers to the ellenbrook mens shed. i emailed and received the most lovely response from their group. i know steve would be happy knowing they are going to a good cause.

because we haven't long come out of lockdown and masks are still required, we didn't have the best turnout either, but any sales are better than nothing.

the bike went immediately and was collected later that morning.

and right as we had given up and had decided to pack away and give up, a couple turned up in a van and bought all the remaining furniture! admittedly they wanted to pay a lot less than we had it listed for, but considering it was sell it cheap or give it away? it was an easy choice.

it's hilarious as the exact same thing happened at steve and oli's garage sale when they were moving from queensland to here - it was like they were saying "don't worry guys, we've got this!" i honestly couldn't believe it, what a coincidence!

one more thing down - we are almost there!

almost there!

we are getting there - in fact we are almost there! the items in the house are all packed and sorted ahead of a garage sale this weekend, the home collection and cleaners are booked... i said to doug's sister i just couldn't bear having to clean the house for the end of lease on top of everything else and she agreed completely.

doug and i have been hard at work cleaning up the outside, sweeping, weeding, removing spiders webs and then as a complete fluke - there happened to be a lawn mower man three houses up when i was finishing one of our million jobs at the house. i raced up the street and asked him if he had time to do our little patch as well which he readily agreed to. score! super nice bloke and one more thing to cross off the list.

this little monkey has been dragged back and forth for weeks and has barely complained. as soon as we moved the television to our house, we took our little portable dvd player over there and he would alternate between following me about and "helping" and watching whatever movie was the flavour of the week. i have truly been lucky though as he's been pretty amazing. 

almost there!

 

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.

drops in our lamps

i came across these shared pictures on the internet this week and was amazed by their relevance in todays world. we are surrounded on all sides by temptation and the beckoning of another path. it can be hard to choose to walk the strait and narrow when it seems like anything would be easier - and it probably would be! as president henry b. eyring said, "if you are on the right path, it will always be uphill."

president kimball said it perfectly when he spoke about adding oil to our lamps, we so desperately need to be prepared and ready for what will come. the past 18 months have spoken volumes to many about the importance of being prepared. so many were taken unawares by the pandemic that appeared seemingly out of nowhere last year, myself included. i had some things i needed, but not nearly enough... now i am certainly better prepared than before. we can always do more, but i am on the right track.

the most important thing, is to be ready - and mindful of others. showing kindness and sharing our love and what we have with others. kindness never goes astray. we need to be filling our oil drop by drop, so we can be ready when midnight finally comes. i am a great lover of being organised and prepared for anything, so i have always loved the parable of the 10 virgins. 

if you're not a member of our faith and you're wondering what i'm on about - you can read more about the 10 virgins here.