900kms later

I originally called my blog 'bits and pieces' so I could alleviate any guilt associated with sporadic posting. Only posting once a month, that's OK - it's only meant to be bits and pieces of life not a full recount! But as the blogging has become more and more distant between each post, I have negated to include some pretty important bits and pieces from our lives.

Like the fact that we uprooted our family just before Christmas and moved from the city of Sydney that I LOVE with all my heart (I know, dramatic but true :) to Queensland!

Yes folks. It's official. We now live in the sunny state of QLD! 

 And unlike in Sydney where we almost never went to the beach, much of our holidays have looked something like this:

 picture taken by my sis Melissa! Thanks Mel. We love it!!

 
The reason for the move was for Chad's work. And without going into too much detail (really - does any husband want to have their every move recorded in their wifes perspective and out there for the world to read? :) Chad got a promotion that I am unbelievably proud of him for getting! I am amazed at how hard he works both at work and at home and how ridiculously capable he is. Infact, he might be the smartest person I know! I'm OK with the fact that the comment may be biased :) It's the prerogative of a wife to think highly of her husband!

Despite the fact that I miss my sister and wonderful friends back in Sydney, we are enjoying life here on the Gold Coast and it already feels like we've been here forever. But we won't be here for long.....

So much more to come :)
 

Simple pleasure

I am a bed maker. I know. Not that uncommon :) And I admit that I find it quite a delight walking into a room and seeing a bed made, with no bumps, the top turned down and pillows adorning it (I blame my mother completely :)!

But with this toddler around our house........

 
I really do have to question why I bother sometimes :)

 
Her current favourite place to hide; under my made bed covers or behind my pillows.

I guess she knows better than me and knows that a perfectly made bed, really holds no significance in
anything important.

She is good at teaching me this lesson. Since gracing our home with her toddler-hood, I have let many many things go. Some of them reluctantly, but eventually I realise, too, that some things just don't matter.

Age of Accountability!

A couple of months ago I was talking to Zahn about his upcoming baptism and he very earnestly said to me, 'I just don't think I'm ready to get baptised mum'. While his comment surprised me, I tried to be somewhat casual about it, while still acknowledging his feelings, and told him "everything will be fine son"!!

I was hoping the comment may have been a one off, but as we drew closer to his birthday and his baptism date, this trepidation he felt only increased. After a few heartfelt discussions with Zahn, Chad and I decided that if he really didn't feel ready, we would wait. But in the mean time, we would continue to make preparations, and do our best to help him feel ready.

We had organised for the missionaries to come and teach the discussions with him and hoped that this would help ease his troubled little heart. After the first discussion, I was lying in bed with Zahn saying goodnight, and again, he said so earnestly, "I just don't feel ready. I don't understand everything so how can I get baptised?". This was a sweet opportunity to share my feelings with him and to let him know that even as an adult, I don't always understand everything. I tried to explain on his level, that as we try our best to stay on the path that Heavenly Father has set for us, we begin to understand, step by step of the journey.  

While I tried not to worry and kept reminding myself that things always work out in the end (they really do), my heart did worry. 

We continued the discussions with the missionaries, and tried to clarify anything Zahn had questions about.

One night we were talking and he got a bit upset......again we shared special words and I reassured him that the decision was his and dad and I were there to support him, and help him make the right choice.

When Zahn had his 8 year old interview with the Bishop, I went in with him, and without knowing any of the concerns Zahn had been having, the words the Bishop shared were almost the same words I had previously shared with Zahn the night we lay in bed and chatted about his baptism. The Bishop talked about how we don't always understand everything, but as we are obedient and as we do the things Heavenly Father asks us to do, we are blessed and above all, we are happy.

From this moment, everything changed. Suddenly Zahn was saying he felt ready, and he was getting more and more excited.

The day before his birthday, he said to me: 'I just wish today was tomorrow so I could get baptised now'.

The baptism was a beautiful service filled with words from loving grandparents that shared things with Zahn that will help him on his journey of life. In fact, the words shared could not have been more suitable for him. As I watched him enter the font with Chad, and as he smiled up at all the people watching, the smile on his face told me, without doubt, he was ready!

How grateful I am for a knowledge of the truth and for the privilege it is to watch as my children also come to a knowledge of this truth.

Sunday 30th September, 2012. A beautiful day that we will not forget.