Catching up on some photo editing

There seriously aren't enough hours in the day! The washing and ironing are piling up, there's bills to pay and paperwork to do, but I just want to cuddle my little boy and get my camera out to take pictures of him so I can capture all the precious moments that are flying by!

Families are forever

I just love this picture of my family. It was taken Christmas 2007, our last Christmas all together. I gave this copy to Dad for Christmas this year and it sits in his room here. I'm currently serving as a teacher in Relief Society and this weeks lesson is about Celestial Marriage taken from the talk given by Elder Russell M. Nelson at Oct. General Conference. Preparing the lesson makes my think about this picture, and the blessing it is to know we will be a family forever.

Nathaniel's Blessing

I've had such a busy week, so I'm a little behind, but our little man was blessed on Sunday. Here he is pictured with Nanny after Sunday meetings at our ward's 'munch and mingle'. We had a lovely day as a family, kate was able to make it, but poor Rich and Chessy were snowed in, we missed them, but they are visiting for Valentines day.

We had a very chilled Sunday morning, with pancakes, bacon, sausage & eggs for breakfast. Jarom and Tayler thought they were in a hotel, they loved it. Nathaniel was at his best and very chilled. Grandpa was busiest, having to teach Sunday school and give a talk in Sacrament meeting!

Jason gave Nathaniel a lovely blessing. He has given each of our boys lovely blessings, each one brief and straight to the point. One of the things he blessed Nathaniel with that stands out in my mind is Reverence. At the time I thought - 'Oh boy, if this boy needs to be blessed with reverence, then what do we have to look forward to in the future? Is he really going to be that hard to handle?' Seriously though, reverence is one of my favourite things, as the Primary song says - it's more than just quietly sitting, it's thinking of Father above, and if I'm blessed with a son who sincerely turns his thoughts to his Heavenly Father every day I will feel very blessed indeed.

Birthday boy is 6!

Tayler was 6 last Friday. He had the most amazing day - he woke up to find snow and his school cancelled for the day. He got to stay at home and play all day! How great! On Saturday his cousins came round to play and they all went bowling together. They had a great time. We had homemade burgers for lunch and even a game of pass the parcel. Tayler planned the whole day, and I have to say it was one of the best birthday parties we've held. The boys were such fun to be with and Jarom and Tayler had a super day.

So Tayler is 6. The years really fly by. He has really matured in the last 8 months it's amazing to see the changes in him. He is still a patient laid back boy, but he has developed a strong will recently. I'm sure these qualities will be of great benefit in the future. Academically things don't come easily to him, but he's not too reluctant to put in some effort when encouraged. I am very impressed with the progress in his reading over the last 6 months and this has shown in his spelling also. Maths isn't his strongest subject, but this is coming on slowly. Tayler is still enjoying Beavers and Football. Every Wednesday he comes home buzzing about what he has accomplished that evening - he came home a few weeks ago after earning his first badge - the first aid badge - and placed Jason in the recovery position, he had us all in hysterics. Football is so good for him, and we love his coach Noz for being so patient and supportive. The activity is so good for Tayler and he is picking up some football skills. His love for Football is more social, he simply loves being part of the team and being with his friends, he's not so bothered with scoring goals.

In terms of Tayler's muscular condition. He is doing very well. He stays active which is wonderful, the trampoline and the Wii are great exercise as well as all the other activities he does. We bought him a trailer bike for his birthday so that he can ride behind Jason's bike. Riding a bike is something Tayler will probably not be able to do on his own, but riding attached to Jason's bike means Jason can help and do all the hard work. We're looking forward to good Spring weather so the boys can get out in the fresh air. We can see deterioration in Tayler's muscles, particularly in his ankles, which is why riding a bike is so hard, but his splints are helping him, and because of his easy going nature he doesn't mind wearing them too much.

We are incredibly proud of him, he makes us laugh, there's never a dull moment with Tayler around. He speaks his mind and we love his honesty. We are particularly impressed with his understanding of the principles of the gospel. He asks the most incredible deep questions and reflects upon our answers. He is also developing a lovely testimony, which he isn't afraid to share with people around him. It is really wonderful to start to see Tayler becoming a fantastic young man.

Yesterday's day off school

The boys loved having a day off school yesterday due to the snow. Jarom was out in it virtually all day, Tayler however preferred the warmth of the living room. Jarom made a great snowman in the morning, that had actually melted by the afternoon the sun was so bright yesterday. Tayler and I watched one of our favourite movies together - 'Nacho Libre', we laughed together all the way through it!

Really looking forward to the weekend - Tayler's birthday is Friday, his party on Saturday, and Nathaniel's blessing is Sunday. I'm really looking forward to my family coming to be with us all.

It snowed

It hardly ever snows in our town. We live by the sea and the so called 'warm sea breezes' keep the snow at bay. However yesterday all the weather conditions were just right for snow. This is the view from our office window and it still looks white and pretty. Dad and I had to pick up the boys from school early yesterday. We live on the hill side and our driveway is also very steep so we did the sensible thing and left early to pick them up, needless to say they were very happy. They spent their time playing in the snow when they got home, what fun they had.

Would you believe that this morning Jason set the alarm clock for 6:15 so that he could get up with the boys before work and go sledging - how crazy was he? They actually did it too. They came home frozen, but they actually went sledgeing at 7am this morning. Tayler vows he is never doing it again, but Jarom loved it!

Lazy sunday mornings...

We love having church in the afternoon. It means we get to hang around in our PJ's and have pancakes for breakfast. That really is a welcome relief from the Monday-Saturday madness which is our life!

Coconut Fudge Cake

This is definitely a family favourite. Yesterday I managed to do some baking for the first time in a while, and this is so yummy and easy to make I made a big batch. The recipe is as old as I am and was handed around all the mums in the playground when I first started school. My mum would make it for us as a special treat, and I remember that we would polish off a whole batch as soon as she had made it, there was never enough. So I double the recipe - and double the amount of frosting on the top too!

The Ingredients are:

8oz Margarine or butter

6oz Sugar

6oz Coconut

8oz Self Raising flour

2 tbsp Coco

24 tbsp icing sugar & 4 tbsp Coco (for the frosting)

1. Melt the margarine and sugar in a pan.

2. Mix the dry ingredients together.

3. Combine the two together and spread in a tin (I usually add foil so it doesn't stick).

4. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes Gas 4 170-180oC.

5. For the frosting mix the icing sugar and coco together and add a very small amount of boiled water a little at a time till the mixture has reached a sticky almost runny consistency. This should be spread on the top of the baked coconut cake as soon as it has come out of the oven, the heat for the cake melts the icing so that it is easier to spread.

How easy is that? Let me know if you try it.