make an offer!

so... we made an offer on a house! a few weeks ago we went to a mortgage broker and found out that we could actually buy a house! that you know banks would actually lend us money and that we would then have to act like grown ups and pay it back for the next 30 years... haha

so, we went to look at a few... and this one, number 4 in aveley, was amazing. the only flaw was that it didn't have the big back yard that i have always pictured... but it does have a big park (and by big i mean an entire blocks worth) of park directly out the front door. talk about epic... best of both worlds, because we don't have to take care of it...

but... they accepted our offer! it's all systems go and now we just wait for finance. oh my gosh. we may have bought a house! ♥

someone is having a birthday

someone is having a birthday! our sister missionary serving in the new zealand hamilton mission will be 26 next week and this big box full of wonderful things (makeup, clothes, cookies, pens, treats...) has just left perth to attempt to make it for her birthday. fingers crossed. we love you and miss you and hope your day is amazing! xxx

(update 20/08/2015 package was returned to us less than a week later, it made it to the east coast and then failed to clear customs, because i had put sparklers in there! how funny! they are not a big deal, or so i thought, you can buy them at the supermarket here for goodness sake... but they can't leave the country because they are considered explosives. toooooo funny. package arrived about a week late. she was still excited!)

a trip to clackline and york

no matter how long it's been, or how many times i visit... going to clackline is always like going home. after church yesterday we (doug and the kids and his parents and i) went to my parents house for dinner... and the kids and i stayed the night. i love it there. i love the drive up, the farm, everything there... and just being there. 

madeline was in heaven too, as we always let her sit on our laps to "drive" up mum and dads road. i remember how important i always felt when they let me, so i love to watch her.

and today we went to the salvation army jumble sale in york... imperative when visiting - there are bargains to be had! and then took the kidlets for a play at the park near the bridge. they are so cute it's insane... and i love to watch them playing and laughing together.

and swinging the day away...

of course we then had to stop in for a visit to the lion monument in clackline...

(i am unsure if i have ever shared this story on my blog, so apologies if you are reading anything you've heard before... 

my brother likes to tease my sister in law and say she is a little gullible... and one time upon visiting clackline they happened to discuss the lion monument. jared told her that years and years ago there was a travelling circus that visited the local school. according the jared version of the story, a lion escaped and attacked (ate?) two of the children and the monument was erected in their memory. donna replies with, "oh my! but wouldn't they have had children on the monument? not a lion? it seems odd to me that he would be the one remembered" upon which time she glanced at my brother who was stifling a laugh. what a clown)

the creek that flows under the old clackline bridge...

and the vintage train carriage and old tractor parked by the clackline general store.

even if i visit a million times, i will never tire of the place. 

we love clackline! ♥

strength beyond their own

i'll lend you for a little time

a child of mine, god said

for you to love her while she lives

and mourn for when she's dead

it may be six or seven years,

or twenty two or three

but will you, 'til i call her back,

take care of her for me?

she'll bring her charms to gladden you,

and shall her stay be brief

you'll have her lovely memories

as solace for your grief

i cannot promise she will stay

as all from earth return

but there are lessons taught down there

i want this child too learn

i've looked the wide world over

in my search for teachers true

and from the throngs that crowd lifes lane

i have selected you

now will you give her all your love

and not think the labour vain

nor hate me when i come to call

to take her back again

i fancied that i heard them say

'dear lord thy will be done'

for all the joy thy child shall bring

the risk of grief we'll run

we'll shelter her with tenderness

we'll love her while we may

and for the happiness we've known

forever grateful stay

but should the angels call for her

much sooner than we've planned

we'll brave the bitter grief that comes

and try to understand

i got one of those calls tonight that no one wants. i've been a funeral director for 10 years now, but nothing prepares you for the moment that a friend calls upon you for help because someone has passed away. even less when that someone is their child, who is still a baby. 

my sweet friends from church lost their 9 week old baby girl this week to sids (sudden infant death syndrome), she went down for her nap and never woke. she slipped from this life to the next, back to the arms of her heavenly father. it breaks my heart to know of the pain they are feeling, but as i sat with them and helped them, answered their questions and helped them through the funeral process, i felt peace. they spoke so bravely and with a sure knowledge that their family is eternal. that their sweet girl will be back in their arms one day. i know they have truly "cast their burdens upon the lord" and feel peace in their hearts, along with the anguish. they have truly been blessed through prayer, with strength beyond their own.

how grateful i am for the sealing power of the temple. to know that my family is also eternal... and to know that i will be with them after this life and throughout the eternities. 

"sweet is the peace the gospel brings"

seventeen months ♥

another month has raced by and now he's another one older! :( where is my sweet little baby going?

he is obsessed with switching power points on and off, slyly looking at us while he does so... on off on off on off on off... he also loves the tv remote, turning the tv on, changing the channel, turning the volume up load! 

he's also taken up crawl around the floor with your nose down like a sniffer dog... it is hilarious to watch and makes me laugh so hard.

he loves toy cars and zooming them along the ground, swinging in your swing for hours on end and chocolate! he can't get enough of it in his little face and always point at wherever you have seen it come from and make a lot of noise in the hopes that mummy will give in and let you have more.

he stood at the side of your bath and said "up up up up up!" over and over until i put him in, so excited to get in and splash about. there are two teeth poking through in his bottom jaw, ready to complete your set of baby teeth. ouch! 

he are still trying very hard to talk and making lots of noise, but certainly getting his point across. 

as adorable as always!

change the way you look at things

i saw this online this week and could not resist sharing it with everyone i know... we even read it and discussed it during our family home evening tonight. what a powerful message this piece of paper holds. simply looking at something from another angle, can change everything! something terrible, can be changed to something great.

maybe that is how we need to look at our lives. are we sending a negative message, simply because we are being read the wrong way? maybe we need to take another look at everything around us - as something we think doesn't really look all that great... could become something amazing!

a funeral fit for a funeral director

photo courtesy of abc.net.au

today was truly one of the saddest funerals i have attended in my life. a few weeks ago i spoke of a visit to the hospital... to visit a dear friend who i feared would not be with us when i returned from brisbane. as fate would have it, i was right... and my friend bill passed from this life to the next while i was away.

bill was truly one of a kind. to know him was something else. i met him during my early days with chippers as our company worked along side his and had the pleasure of spending many hours with him getting to know him better. he was conveniently in the same ward as us too, so we had sundays for a chat as well. he was so quirky, always saying the most random things and always had me laughing.

his funeral was just the same... i cried, but it was between laughter. his wife ellie and his seven children spoke of his character with such love, whilst keeping his quirkiness alive through many stories and experiences that many of us remembered. ellie made us all laugh especially by recounting a conversation she had had with bill during his final weeks in the hospital, when he had informed her that he wanted a private funeral. what a crack up. after his years of service to the saints in perth, he wanted to slip away privately? ellie was having none of that and of course the chapel was filled to the stage... it was practically like being at stake conference.

some words from our old bishop particularly stuck with me, as he spoke of bills dedication to serving others... he spoke of the words of gordon b hinckley as he dedicated the temple here in perth, asking the saints to wear out the carpets. to attend the temple and wear them out through service. as bill was dressed for his burial earlier this week, his wife fussed over his temple shoes noticing that they were worn thin. what finer example could there be of service than those shoes being completely worn? how many sessions would bill have had to attend to achieve that?

bill passed away on the same day as elder l. tom perry of the quorum of the twelve apostles and another friend who spoke joked that he had chosen that day as elder perry had needed someone to assist with the necessary arrangements on the other side, and who better than bill to do so? 

the graveside was especially meaningful, as bill had helped so many polynesian families over the years that he was given a traditional send off, having his coffin called onto the grave and then all the boys doing the haka once it was in place. doug and our friend nifae were called upon to assist and my tears flowed as i watched the polynesians pay their respects. what a beautiful culture i have been blessed to marry into.

goodbye bill. it was an absolute pleasure to know you and call you my friend. 

until we meet again ♥