Uplifting stuff :)

I would like to share some of a beautiful beautiful address given by our new and beloved Prophet Thomas .S Monson.I heard sooome of it at conference(dramas with children :)..ours and others..long story)...but loved reading over it again at home and feeling the peace and uplift that it bought
I have just copied some of my favourite parts from his talk in the Sunday morning session of onference entitled;
"Finding joy in the Journey" Oct general conference of the Church Of Jesus Christ of latter day saints...it goes...

"I begin by mentioning one of the most inevitable aspects of our lives here upon the earth, and that is change. At one time or another we’ve all heard some form of the familiar adage: “Nothing is as constant as change.”

Throughout our lives, we must deal with change. Some changes are welcome; some are not. There are changes in our lives which are sudden, such as the unexpected passing of a loved one, an unforeseen illness, the loss of a possession we treasure. But most of the changes take place subtly and slowly.

Day by day, minute by minute, second by second we went from where we were to where we are now. The lives of all of us, of course, go through similar alterations and changes. The difference between the changes in my life and the changes in yours is only in the details. Time never stands still; it must steadily march on, and with the marching come the changes.

This is our one and only chance at mortal life—here and now. The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. Opportunities come, and then they are gone. I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and non-existent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey—now

If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly.


Send that note to the friend you’ve been neglecting; give your child a hug; give your parents a hug; say “I love you” more; always express your thanks. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved. Friends move away, children grow up, loved ones pass on. It’s so easy to take others for granted, until that day when they’re gone from our lives and we are left with feelings of “what if” and “if only.” Said author Harriet Beecher Stowe, “The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone.”4

In the 1960s, during the Vietnam War, Church member Jay Hess, an airman, was shot down over North Vietnam. For two years his family had no idea whether he was dead or alive. His captors in Hanoi eventually allowed him to write home but limited his message to less than 25 words. What would you and I say to our families if we were in the same situation—not having seen them for over two years and not knowing if we would ever see them again? Wanting to provide something his family could recognize as having come from him and also wanting to give them valuable counsel, Brother Hess wrote—and I quote: “These things are important: temple marriage, mission, college. Press on, set goals, write history, take pictures twice a year.”5

there wasmuch more in the talk..but that will do :)
x
Bron
check out the rest of the talk at www.lds.org

oh aaaaand
how do you look stay at home and look after your 4 children while your husband travels overseas for weeks at a time?how do you do it?...yeah how do I/can i do this ???????????

this is what DieterF.Uchdorf(second counsellor in the First presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints... had to say about that kind of stuff.....

Faith is such a principle of power. We need this source of power in our lives. God works by power, but this power is usually exercised in response to our faith. “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:20). God works according to the faith of His children.

soooooo...
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me :)
B

What did Tony do in England???

Um babe i thougth this was a business trip.looks like a whole lotta sight seeing goin on here:)
but so glad you had the chance to look around.
He absolutely loved it.

Chatsworth house(Pemberly from Pride and Prejudice...his fav book/movie)













Phantom in Her Majesty's theatre London
Windsor and Warwick castle

Choc Chat and Chill night

Kath and i decided to have a girls night and ...eat chocolate basically :)
It was great.I ended up preparing heaps of yummy eats and treats and the girls bought more goodies so we had quite the feast :)
and a bit of sing star too :)
thanks gals twas fun...looking forward to next time
xo
Bron

Trick or treating

Yes i know i know...we are in the land of Oz and trick or treating is not usually the thing to do...but the kids asked me if they could go and then Mum suggested we could go to her place for dinner and walk along her street.The boys were very excited and so i caught the fun of it all...note the creativity i displayed to organise my costume ..hee
So Fletch invited 2 friends to join us and after some afternoon tea at our place(including donuts on the line...thansk Kristy)we threw some dress ups together and drove to Mums.
Mum only told a few of her neighbours but we ended up walking most of the street.The loot was awesome and the children were very happy:)

Mums group Halloween Party

Our Playgroup Enrichment group with the mums at church is just the best.I love it for the frienships that we have there.
Thanks Kristy and Miriam for a fun morning.
face painting
Apple bobbing
Halloween craft
Donuts on the clothesline
yummy halloween treats and even party bags to take home

Lazy mornings

love this...
good for them... good for me:)
what a blessing to live in this beautiful place for a time :)

another PAV off

We decided to have another "Pav off"on sunday for Grandma Ellens bday lunch.
These were originally inspired by the fact that Lawrence's michelle started making aamzing desserts putting us all to shame,Chloe and i decided to get involved with our pav decorating guild:)what was once a friendly and enjoyable display of the traditional Pav with a little creativity in the way the fruit was placed on top...has escalated into... WAR !!!:)
We had a guest judge a.k.a ..Dave..who carefully viewed and then tasted the entries before announcing that....Chloe and Paul had won !!!!helloooo whose friend are you Daaaave:)..even the sacrificial ferrero rochers didnt have the intended bribery effect :)
but ... its on again for Christmas day..by then we may have recovered from the amount of Pav we all ate...Yu-um

Tony's entry (was going to be brons entry but Tone took over and so to save a domestic in front of the family i let him finish.....this is serious stuff people.)
ice magic on the pav then cream crushed oreos strawbs and more ice magic


















Lillie and Georgia even got invlved..inspired Gil for next time.Well done girls..they even made one with an "A" especially for Ammon :)















the winning entry..black forest pavlova
choc ripple biccies mixed in with the cream