Nursing Prac no. 2, Ward Changes and End of University celebrations

My second nursing Prac was at Gold Coast Hospital. I felt like I had been thrown into the deep end. But it really helped to build my self confidence and my skills. I also feel that I want to keep going with my studies. There have been alot of changes within our ward and stake at church over the last few weeks. The stake took three wards and created a fourth. We no longer live in Rochedale Ward. We are in Springwood ward. The children have lost some of their friends to the other wards and we are still trying to find our place, but I think it will be great. Our stake also was realigned, and there are now only 6 wards in our stake. Last week I finished my last exam and my prac. Dan and I celebrated by going to the movies and going out and enjoying a delicious dinner at south bank. It has also suddenly given me more free time. I don't know what to do with it!!

Addi and I went up to Toowoomba with Dan on one of his work trips, as I have so much free time, and just enjoyed the fun of being at a park. Addi (who loves horses) was so excited to ride on this horse!

Lachlan turns 11

Happy Birthday Lachlan. Lachlan turned 11 last week. He is growing into such a wonderful young man. I am so lucky to have him for a son.

Nursing Prac No.1

For my first Nursing Prac I was assigned to Mary Crest Nursing Home. It was a great place to start at to learn the basics. I really enjoyed getting to know the residents and even made friends with a lovely lady who lived across the road from my grandparents before they passed away. I was also able to visit the chapel which is also attached to the Hospital where my Mum passed away. In it they have an embroidered quilt with the names of all the people who have died in the hospital and Nursing home. How lovely to see Mum's name there.

October in Pictures

October was another busy month filled with Uni assignments and Practicals for me, halloween dress-up celebrations and awards for the kids. October also saw myself, Eryn and Lachlan participate in the Marianne Thrush fun run. It was also the long awaited 20 year reunion for Leah on the 20th! I had been working hard for months to prepare for this day, and then to have it eventually arrive was pretty exciting. Not everyone from High School came, but it was great to catch up with my friends that did go. It was a great night.

Celebrations in September

This month has already seen a lot of celebrations that have been wonderful. The first was seeing Eryn receive her Young Womanhood Recognition Award. This is an award that is a culmination of many value experiences for all of the 7 young women values. You must then complete a 10+ hour project for each value. Eryn was been working very hard on this ever since she came in to young women's 1 and 3/4 years ago. Finishing the Temple Walk was her final project. Well done Eryn.

The next celebration was celebrating and spending time with my Dad for fathers day. Kara and I were able to have a wonderful lunch down at Cleveland by the water with Dad. I have such a wonderful Father who does his best and is someone that I am proud of.

The final celebration came with an unexpectant call from a friend who lives in Sydney and was also one of my MiaMaids and Laurels when I was a young womans leader. She called and asked what I was doing and on a certain date, and then invited me to her sealing. It is so wonderful to see friends and the special committments that they make in their life. I was so glad to have been able to be there. Thanks Claire.

Walk to the Temple

Earlier this year the young women leaders in our ward thought it would be a great experience for the girls to make the long trek from our ward chapel to the Brisbane Temple. They had heard stories based on the Stonecutter (who had walked a long distance to work each morning to work on the temple.) of girls who had done similar things. So after much planning and training, the girls set out on their 5 hour trek to the temple. During that week Eryn had hurt her knee. She was so worried about how she would go. With the help of a knee support bandage and a blessing from her Dad, she made the very long trek to the house of the Lord. Dan and I were not at the temple, but further up the road cooking lunch for the girls, so we never got to actually see them arrive at the temple. But when they made it to the park up the road, they were absolutely exhausted. I am so proud of Eryn and what she did. I hope it will help her in the future to realise what a great blessing it is to have the temple within walking distance!

Fun in August

August in Brisbane is famous for it's windy days, the flu which makes it's rounds and the EKKA. This year we made our trek to 'The Strawberry Farm' to buy a strawberry ice-cream and tell ourselves how great it is to eat one and not be at the EKKA. I would like to go one year though!

During August, most schools also have their sports carnivals. Our school divides it up into year levels. Morgans grade mixed sport with games and even better, it was over in just 2 hours!

Finally August is famous for the annual 'Book Parade'. Mothers all over the land scrounge around for costumes for their children to wear, so that they can look like a book character. I only remembered the day before and thankfully Morgan was happy to be 'Little Red Riding Hood'. Mind you, after reading her the story and hearing about poor grandma and Red being eaten, she wasn't so sure.

Life in Pictures

It has been quite a few months since I last blogged. Mainly due to the busy-ness of life. So here is a catch up in photos.

Happy Mothers Day

Ideally I'm sure my children would like me to sleep in on Mother's Day. But I can't! I've always been a morning person - I inherited it from my mother. I was kinda hoping that mothers day could be cancelled this year - it's really a sad day now.

Yesterday Addison looked at a picture of my Mum and didn't even know who it was. Oh, how life changes in ways you never expected. I do have so much to be grateful for though today - I bought my own presents this year to avoid disappointment and Morgan keeps telling me about the delicious coconut ice that she made for me at school that is sitting in the fridge! I'm grateful for the chances I get each to day to be better mother than the day before. I'm grateful I get the chance to see my children grow and develop and even make mistakes that they will learn from. Actually I'm grateful for the chance I got to be a mother at all. The more I live the more I realise what a blessing it is in my life. Nothing else allows you to grow and learn so much about yourself than the chance to raise a child and see the circle of life start all over again. That's probably been the biggest help to me getting over the loss of my own mother. Knowing that we each have our turn in the race of life and that eventually we pass on the baton when our race is over. When I was in primary school and high school I loved short distance running. Not 100m, I was no good at that. But I love the 200. A few times I got to compete in the relay. In the relay race there was so much pressure to not drop the baton. But once you passed it on, the pressure was off and you could still stand there, just to the side of the track and still see the runners running along until the finish. That's how I hope it works. That all my mothers who have come before me have just passed on the batons and are standing at the side of the track watching the women who come after them running their races and eventually pass their batons on too. So today I will just think of Mum standing at the sidelines, with grandma and great-grandma Brown and Susannah and Rosie and all the others who I don't even know, cheering me on.

Catch up

Well I haven't blogged for a really long time. Mainly due to the fact that:




* we moved



* we lived at my parents house for a while & then helped pack it up for sale





* didn't know where Dan would get a job



* didn't know where we were going to live



* Christmas



* Dan got a job in Brisbane



* we moved back into our old (new) house



* the kids started school



* Eryn started High School



* Lachlan got his braces off



* Eryn got to go to her Year 7 graduation



* Oh yes, and Eryn turned 13




* and all the little things in between.








It has been a busy, uncertain few months but it is nice to feel grounded for a while. Atleast until the next adventure!