I'm a Pin-up!

I was very excited to discover that 2 of  my tutorials from years ago have been pinned onto Pinterest. It wasn't even pinned by me :)

The Funky Balls tutorial was a very popular post at the time. Only surpassed by the Fairy Headpiece tutorial which is very popular in Italy - they must be really into dress-up there!

Possum's new shoes

Possum went to work with Sharpies, rubbing alcohol and a dropper....

Happy Grommet Day

We discovered in the holidays that Turtle wasn't just being selectively hard of hearing, but actually couldn't hear very well at all. We decided to investigate. Having the GP look in his ears and go "hmmm, I haven't actually ever seen anything like that before" was not reassuring and sent us hot-footing it to an ENT surgeon.

Thankfully it seems that having another set of grommets and possibly some adenoid-shaving might solve the problem.

Today was the day.

He was very well looked after by my colleagues - I must say it is useful to be on the receiving end sometimes!

Slightly apprehensive, watching "A Bug's Life" in the pre-op holding area.

Highlight: The blanket from the warming cabinet!

Slightly sleepy in recovery...

Highlight: the lemonade iceblock....

 

Sleeping it off on the Children's ward

Highlight: cannula removed

Finally some food.....! Although what he really, really wanted was a bacon sandwich.

(The minute we arrived home, Chef went to work on the sandwich)

"Organise yourself..." - an answer to a prayer

I had been wondering, pondering and praying about how I could help foster a certain atmosphere in our home, our MTC. I want to make our home more of a holy ground, a haven. For example, work was and is still needed to make sure our home can be a bicker and sarcasm free zone. As the "Guardian of my hearth" I feel the responsibility keenly to help my children grow in the gospel, to ensure they have spiritual experiences.

In the middle of the night, I woke up and the answer came quietly to my mind. The answer was a scripture from D & C  - 88:119 ..  Organise yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.

I knew then what I needed to focus on, both personally and as a family. I also knew that I would like and need a visual reminder on the wall. Thankfully I know a wonderful artist - Eleanor McComb who takes commissions. In my mind I had a vague image of our house and the temple along with the words from the scripture. Eleanor came up with this wonderful design painted on a canvas and even made the house look exactly like ours :) I love the trees. Our front yard has tall gumtrees, and the temple also has trees around it. Perfect.

(This is an Instagram photo of the canvas on our wall, hence the black frame...)

On that note, I just re-discovered a talk by elder Gary E. Stevenson from the April 2009 titled "Sacred Homes, Sacred Temples"   Here's an excerpt:

"Recently, in a stake conference, all present were invited by the visiting authority, Elder Glen Jenson, an Area Seventy, to take a virtual tour of their homes using their spiritual eyes. I would like to invite each of you to do this also. Wherever your home may be and whatever its configuration, the application of eternal gospel principles within its walls is universal. Let’s begin. Imagine that you are opening your front door and walking inside your home. What do you see, and how do you feel? Is it a place of love, peace, and refuge from the world, as is the temple? Is it clean and orderly? As you walk through the rooms of your home, do you see uplifting images which include appropriate pictures of the temple and the Savior? Is your bedroom or sleeping area a place for personal prayer? Is your gathering area or kitchen a place where food is prepared and enjoyed together, allowing uplifting conversation and family time? Are scriptures found in a room where the family can study, pray, and learn together? Can you find your personal gospel study space? Does the music you hear or the entertainment you see, online or otherwise, offend the Spirit? Is the conversation uplifting and without contention? That concludes our tour. Perhaps you, as I, found a few spots that need some “home improvement”—hopefully not an “extreme home makeover.”

Whether our living space is large or small, humble or extravagant, there is a place for each of these gospel priorities in each of our homes.

In order to keep the temple and those who attend it sacred and worthy, the Lord has established standards through His servants, the prophets. We may be well-advised to consider together, in family council, standards for our homes to keep them sacred and to allow them to be a “house of the Lord.” The admonition to “establish … a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God” ⁹ provides divine insight into the type of home the Lord would have us build. Doing such begins the construction of a “spiritual mansion” in which we all may reside regardless of our worldly circumstance—a home filled with treasure that “neither moth nor rust doth corrupt.” ¹⁰

There exists a righteous unity between the temple and the home. Understanding the eternal nature of the temple will draw you to your family; understanding the eternal nature of the family will draw you to the temple. President Howard W. Hunter stated, “In the ordinances of the temple, the foundations of the eternal family are sealed in place.” ¹¹

Thoughtful Friday

..... And he's off....

Can't believe Turtle is off to high school already. But today is the day. He has been a little apprehensive, high school is a big step. But I have every confidence that Turtle will be just fine.

I am so very proud of him and the fine young man he is growing into. He has a strong moral compass and he is compassionate. He makes me laugh with his own special brand of humour. Last year at the yr 6 farewell the school chaplain described Turtle as the school's big brother, who with quiet leadership set an example to others. I'm sure those traits will help him in high school.

do you hear the music?

Imagine learning the jive or the waltz, or the paso doble or even zumba. Imagine learning the steps and performing the dance without music. Envisage how mechanical the movement would be if you were learning to dance by going through the motions without the music in the background to add meaning and richness to your dance. I'm thinking that in addition to being more complicated, it would also be awkward and boring!

Yet, it this what I am teaching my children to do with the gospel? Are they learning the motions but not feeling the Spirit accompanying them, tutoring them, lifting them? Attending Church without feeling engaged?
What about lessons I give to the YW at church?

Some time ago I stumbled across this talk given at BYU Education Week in 2009 by dr A Lynn Scoresby on the "Crisis of Unbelief" among the youth of the church. As a mother and a YW leader this topic is extremely pertinent. The talk covers the importance of belief as a step on the path to faith, testimony and conversion. It covers reasons for loss of belief as well as how to help children and youth nurture belief. You can watch the talk here

Since October Gen Conference in 2011, I have been studying and pondering the importance of teaching by the Spirit. I listen to a lot of talks online and have another whole lot of talks and audiobooks downloaded to my iPhone so that I have access to inspirational and uplifting material any time. It seems that everything I have read or heard since then has brought me even more things to ponder and learn in that area.

I have to say that when they announced the new mission ages and the new youth curriculum in the October 2012 GC I had an overwhelming feeling of "rightness",  it made everything click into my place in my heart. I knew why I had been prompted to focus on this and to understand how vitally important it is to having the Spirit guide us as we prepare lessons, and to ensure we are truly teaching by the Spirit in. Both at church and at home. My children need me to arm them spiritually, to pack their luggage for their missions spiritually speaking, and also to arm them for the times ahead. This means that I need to prepare myself spiritually in order to be receptive, I need to study the scriptures, learn, strengthen my own testimony to put myself on ever higher ground. I have work cut out for me :)

 "Our children are learning to dance without hearing the music"