It's a Wonderful Life

What a wonderful break it has been these school holidays. Our first weekend away was just chock-a-block full of people to see. On Saturday night I spent sometime with one of my dear friends and her little girl.

Sunday was a big day, we woke up early to go to my Uncle's ward to hear him and my cousin, a recently returned missionary speak in sacrament meeting which was so lovely. Got to see my Aunty that I haven't seen in a few years and catch up with her.

We had lunch at Nic's Aunt and Uncle's house, a little family reunion before their daughter's wedding on the Monday. It was nice to meet some of his family that I haven't met before.

Sunday night we want to my grandparents place for dinner and to visit with family up from Newcastle who hadn't met Nic before. It was a lovely night being with my family.

Monday was the wedding which was lovely but more importantly I got to spend some time with two of my brothers that just recently moved back to Australia from the US. It was so wonderful to see them and spend time with them. I'm glad that they live closer and hopefully I'll get to see them more regularly.

That night we went out to dinner with my best friend from high school. Now I haven't seen her in a couple of years! It was so great to see her and her family again. She's the type of friend that you can not see for ages then get together as if you'd never been apart. Her mum is just the sweetest woman you will ever meet!

AND that was just the BEGINNING of our holiday :-)

Another Year Older

Another birthday come and gone. I always get sad when my birthday is over but always excited about what the coming year will bring. I'm not gunna lie that I could do without presents on my birthday cuz I totally love them! Lol but more important to me is that people think about me and that I get attention. Everyone knows I'm an attention whore haha I've mellowed down but still love it. For example:

This year my husband got me an awesome present! He totally spoiled me with a mini iPad so I can FaceTime my mum overseas. Major brownie points right! He gave it to me a couple days early (Sunday) cuz I was feeling down and it was a long weekend so I could enjoy it the next day as there was not work. Anyway, after reminding him as we're going to bed Monday night that it was my birthday in the morning-naturally I wanted it to be the first thing he said to me when he woke up lol-Nothing. So I get get up and start getting ready and still nothing, sitting at the table having my breaky and still nothing. He even asked me to make the lunches for school lol it wasn't until I made him look at his watch to realise the date that he remembered. 

Now I love my husband and he spoils me everyday (well most everyday lol) but on my birthday do not ask me to do anything lol

We had a lovely dinner that night at the local restaurant and it was so wonderful :-) 

I love birthdays! :-) 

The Most Wonderful Husband in the World

And you thought you had the most wonderful husband in the world. Ha! I bet mine is better than yours. Yesterday was Sunday and Nic and I stayed home from church because we weren't feeling well. We slept pretty much all day. That night my wonderful, caring, thoughtful husband told me that he would do the washing up and that he would cook dinner and that he wanted to draw me a bath so I can relax and feel better. He wouldn't even let me help.

That was just what I needed. I layed in the bath for almost an hour reading Boyd K Packer's book 'Holy Temple'.

We then had dinner, watched Wallace and Gromit and went to bed.

I thank the Lord everyday for putting Nic in my path and for Nic wanting me. I am so incredibly blessed.

My first Eisteddfod

Wednesday night here in Rockhampton was the Concert Band Eisteddfod. Not only was it my first Eisteddfod conducting my Emmaus band but it was my first time conducting in one ever! I can't begin to explain how nervous I was. I knew the band would sound great and I wasn't worried about them making mistakes. I was worried I would stuff up by going too fast or too slow, lose my place or my score altogether!

As we were setting up on stage I started to nearly freak out lol I really don't like being in front of people. But I'm a teacher, go figure aye. I felt my heart beating out of my chest as the curtain went up. But when the band started playing I just got into the zone. They sounded amazing and I had the biggest smile on my face.

After our first piece I heard a bell ring from the adjudicator's desk and had no idea what it meant, I thought I must have done something wrong! After our section I asked my coworker what that sound was and she said "Oh I forgot about that, it means that their ready for your next song. " So glad that I didn't turn around when I heard or started playing before I heard it! That could have been a right disaster!

When we played our last song I was so excited to turn around and bow because they played amazingly! It was so much fun and I just felt so proud of my kiddos for doing such a fantastic job! Although we didn't get a place we got a great score, 82/100 and first place got 86/100. I couldn't have asked for a better result :-)

Term 2: I'm still teaching...barely

Coming back to work after the Easter school holidays was not easy. On day two I can honestly say I had tears in my eyes because I just didn't want to face the day. As I was driving to work that day (Wednesday) I was paying/talking to my Father in Heaven telling Him that I didn't think I'd be able to find the strength to handle my classes. I pleaded with Him to help me and strengthen me.

Before I had even arrived at work I had calmed down, tears gone and a feeling of peace had come over me. At lunch I was talking to one of my colleagues and told her about shedding a couple of tears before work. She suggested I pray and it felt so wonderful to be able to tell her that I did, and even more exciting to witness to her that it worked! :-)

I recognised the Lord's hand in everything that happened that day. I had such a warm welcome as I walked into school from students and teachers alike. This was such a blessing because that morning (along with the tears) I told Nic that I don't know how long I could do this job for and that I don't think I enjoy it. I actually do enjoy my job. It has more hard days than easy ones but I live for the moments when I see my students enjoy my lessons or get excited about learning something new. I hope I can continue to recognise the Lord's hand in every aspect of my life and thank Him every single day for the things He does for me!

Poco

So a few weeks ago Nic and I agreed to take in a kitten that was from an abandoned litter. I wasn't too keen on it but thought that this kitten needed a home and we could provide it with one.

Because she was so young she had to stay at the vet for a couple weeks. We had no idea what she looked like or what her temperament would be like.

When she finally came home she was about 3 weeks old and it was seriously love at first sight! She was the sweetest and littlest thing I had seen, she was playful, fun and happy. I've never had a pet before so I was unsure what to do or if I would like it.

I love watching her play and eat and sleep. I don't much like the scratches but I can live with them. I love watching her learn how to pounce and run around like a crazy cat! She is such a joy.

Poco has been a part of our family for about 5 weeks now and we absolutely adore her and couldn't imagine our lives without her in it! I love coming home from work to this little creature excited and happy to see me.I am so grateful for the company she gives me when Nic is away. I am grateful for a loving Father in Heaven who blesses us each day with beautiful animals.

Keeping a Record of My Life

Just last night I was reading through some of my journals. I absolutely love reading about my past experiences! Ever since I was 8 years old I've kept a journal, I can remember this because I got my first journal as a gift from my mother on the day I was baptised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Now, I have not always been diligent at writing in my journal but enough that I am grateful for the memories that have been recorded so that I can look back on experiences that I've had. In one of my journals I wrote a quote on the first page so I could see and remember it every time I opened my journal at the time, I love this quote so much it is from Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, "Knowledge carefully recorded is knowledge available in time of need" (November Ensign, 1998). This has been one of the principles I live by. I think it is very important to know where you've been in your life, having it written down somewhere and being able look back to see the progress you've made in your life is such a great tool. Some days it takes more effort than others, but when you don't take the time out to record experiences you've had it's easy to forget.

I remember attending a YSA fireside, I can tell you the exact day and the circumstances surrounding it that discouraged me enough that I nearly didn't go, and that is all because I kept a journal. It was Wednesday the 27th of July 2011, Virginia Pearce and Sheri Dew were the speakers. Have you ever had that experience where you were in the right place at the right time and heard the exact thing that you needed to hear to help you through a situation? This night was one of those nights for me! That doesn't happen very often for me but I think my Father in Heaven knew that I needed extra help at that time. It seemed as if everything these women were saying was specifically for me. So many things said that night made such an impact on my life, but one thing that stood out to me was when she said that we need to record ALL experiences we have with deity. Now, seeing as I am a dedicated journal writer this was an important principle for me to improve on. I am always so grateful to have these experiences and memories written down, that I am able to look back on them and remember the feelings I had that day, remember the strength I received to overcome a trial and how my faith grew stronger through it. 

As we go through life we have our struggles and we have our triumphs, both have great impact on our lives. It is crucial to our own personal progress that we keep a record of these things and could possibly help you when you happen to go through something similar in the years to come being able to look at how you dealt with it years before. 

So, if you can't tell, keeping a journal is extremely important to me and I hope maybe this blog post aka journal entry will inspire some of you to put journal writing as a priority in you life. One day you will be grateful that you did I promise! :-D